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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt was difficult to know what was the most satisfying sight for England fans on the third day at the MCG. Was it Alastair Cook straight-driving a boundary to bring up his double-century? Was it Stuart Broad backing away and swiping yet another bouncer to the square leg fence to raise his fifty? Was it Australia’s players shaking Cook’s hand at the end of a second consecutive day’s play, once again not out? In the end, it was probably nothing more than the sight of the scoreboard, which showed England holding a 164-run lead.If this was England’s day, it was more specifically Cook’s day. If a Cook’s tour is parlance for a quick trip around many venues, it neatly summed up his Ashes campaign until now: Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, never more than a couple of hours at the crease at once. He entered this Test having failed to reach fifty from any of his past 10 innings, the longest such drought of his career. Questions were being asked about his place in the team.But you don’t play 149 consecutive Tests and score 11,000 runs without a healthy dose of resilience. Cook took a conscious decision to be more proactive in this innings, to play a more positive brand of cricket. The end result was 27 boundaries, an unbeaten 244, more than 10 hours at the crease and 409 balls faced, the longest innings by any visiting batsman in a Test in Australia since Cook himself accumulated an unbeaten 235 at the Gabba in 2010.More correctly, that was the end result . Because at stumps, England were still batting, on 9 for 491, with James Anderson yet to score. Cook and England had batted through the day, building the kind of first-innings advantage that leaves Australia’s dreams of a clean-sweep all but over. If England achieve nothing else in this series, denying Australia a 5-0 scoreline would be an outstanding recovery.There were all sorts of fascinating figures from this day’s play. Cook’s innings was the highest score by any visiting batsman in a Test at the MCG, beating Viv Richards’ 208 from 1984. Cook began this innings in ninth place on the list of all-time Test run scorers and will finish it in sixth, having passed Mahela Jayawardene late on the second day, then Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and finally Brian Lara with a cover-drive for four from the penultimate delivery of day three.He compiled a 100-run partnership with Broad, remarkably just the second time they had batted together in 113 Tests featuring both men. But perhaps the most telling figure was Cook’s control rate – despite spending such a long time at the crease, Cook was in control of his strokes 91% of the time. Australia had one chance to dismiss him on day three, when he flicked Pat Cummins to square leg on 153 and Smith spilled a difficult catch, but it was a very rare mistake.His double-century, the fifth of his career, came up with an impeccably timed boundary driven straight back past the bowler Jackson Bird along the ground, from his 360th delivery in his 563rd minute. His partner at the time, Broad, was jumping for joy at the non-striker’s end as soon as he saw the ball leave Cook’s bat.Broad, for his part, played an invaluable role by scoring 56, the first time an England No.10 had made a half-century since Chris Lewis in 1991. In one of the least surprising tactical decisions of all time, Australia’s fast men peppered Broad with bouncers, but he found ways to evade, survive, and then swing and score from the short stuff. He struck eight fours and one six, and brought up his fifty by backing away and swivelling a hook for four off yet another bouncer.Broad was eventually out when he slashed Cummins high towards third man, where Usman Khawaja made good ground to take a catch low to the ground while diving. Replays were needed to see whether Khawaja had collected the ball cleanly, and although the ball bobbed out of his hands and became invisible under his body as he dived, the soft signal of out from the on-field umpires was enough to ensure Broad was sent on his way.The morning had started with Cook at the crease alongside Joe Root, who had 49. Root had no trouble registering his third fifty of the series, but on 61 he threw his innings away with a top-edged pull off Cummins that pinpointed Lyon at deep square leg. It continued Root’s frustrating habit of getting out after reaching a half-century; his career conversion rate of fifties to hundreds is 27%, roughly half that of his counterpart Smith.Still, the Root-Cook partnership had been worth 138 and had delivered England to a position from which they could push for a first-innings lead. Dawid Malan then fell in strange circumstances when on 14 he was adjudged lbw to Hazlewood and decided against using a review, although replays confirmed a thick inside edge. It made Malan the second England batsman this innings to be lbw off his inside edge, after James Vince also failed to review on the second day.Lyon, who is virtually assured of finishing 2017 as the year’s leading Test wicket taker, removed Jonny Bairstow, caught behind for 22, and Moeen Ali, whose disappointing tour continued when he was well caught by Shaun Marsh at short cover trying to clear the infield for 20 off 14 balls. Chris Woakes combined with Cook for a 59-run stand that ended when Woakes gloved one through to the wicketkeeper off Cummins for 26, and Tom Curran followed soon afterwards, caught behind off Josh Hazlewood for 4.But all the while Cook remained. At one point, Smith even resorted to an eccentric-looking field containing three catching covers that resembled a displaced slip cordon in a futile attempt to force an error from Cook. It worked about as well as the short-pitched barrage to Broad. It was yet another sight to please England fans, a sign of Australia’s desperation. But Cook was not to be moved. By stumps, he had a strong chance of becoming the first England batsman in 20 years to carry his bat in a Test innings. It would be well deserved.

There are days when bowlers bowl their hearts out on flat pitches and don’t get the rewards they deserve. And there are other days when a bowler doesn’t bowl close to his best on a green pitch but things fall into place for him. It was the second kind of those for Neil Wagner on Friday when he ripped through the West Indies line-up with a career-best 7 for 39, despite not feeling in great rhythm when he started bowling. West Indies had started well with an opening stand of 59 before Wagner picked six of the first seven wickets to fall and reduced them to 97 for 7. Wagner, despite sending down a barrage of short balls like he often has in the past, called it a “bizarre” day.”At the start, I didn’t really feel like I had a great rhythm,” he said. “I obviously first tried to pitch the ball up to see if there was any swing or movement and adjust my lengths a little bit. I struggled for a bit of rhythm and felt I had to try and find a way of adapting pretty fast. So myself and Kane [Williamson] spoke in the middle and I tried to work that wind, when there was a bit of a stiff breeze and eventually worked towards the plan and it came off. It was just one of those bizarre days when things sort of happen your way. I think I’ve bowled a lot better on other days and not get a wicket and then you get days like this. I guess it’s cricket.”I wouldn’t say it was one of those days when you felt a 100% perfect and everything is just coming out sweet and the way you want to. I felt I had to work really hard and find a way to be consistent and it’s just one of those days. I recall a couple of weeks back in a Plunket Shield game where I felt a million dollars and couldn’t get a wicket. And then you go out there today and things don’t really tick but wickets just keep falling. As I said, bizarre sort of a thing when you get in a bit of a zone and it works and ends up being your day.”Certainly, got a bit worried at one stage; they were looking quite comfortable and played really well. We had flashes of the Bangladesh game. I thought they started really well and obviously implemented their plans pretty well and then we had to find different ways and ask questions and hopefully get rewards and it helped. In the end, it worked out our way.”The New Zealand bowlers went wicketless for nearly 22 overs despite expectations of a seamer-friendly track in Wellington. However, when Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Colin de Grandhomme could not taste success in their opening spells, Wagner was introduced in the 18th over with three slips and a gully. It was in his third over, though, that he changed tactics after realising there was no lateral movement on offer. New Zealand placed a forward short leg, a leg gully and a deep square leg as Wagner peppered the batsmen with his short balls.”The pitch was not doing as much as we expected it to do. As soon as you pitched it up, I think the ball went out of shape a little bit and got quite soft,” Wagner said. “And there wasn’t really a hell of a lot of movement off [the] wicket, it was quite breezy and windy so wasn’t quite swinging conditions. And then we obviously had to adapt our plans and try and find different methods to try and stop the scoring rate. That eventually worked out in wickets for us which was pretty pleasing and worked out well.”Wagner was on a hat-trick twice in the innings. The first instance could have easily gone unnoticed when he dismissed Shai Hope on the last ball of the 28th over and then saw debutant Sunil Ambris step on his stumps on the first ball of his next over. Four overs later, Wagner had Roston Chase caught at leg slip before sending down a yorker to dismiss Jason Holder for a golden duck. Wagner later said he wasn’t aware of one of the instances until he saw it flashed on the scoreboard.”To be honest, at that stage I don’t think too much about something like that,” Wagner said of missing out on both hat-tricks. “I think in one instance – I can’t remember which one it was, it all seems like a bit of a blur now – it was on the last ball or something and I knew Boulty is bowling from the other end and I knew I wanted to keep that guy on strike as well so get him off strike to get one and then Boulty has a crack through him as well. So if he got on, it wouldn’t have been too bad a result.”I think at one point I saw on the scoreboard I was on a hat-trick and I didn’t even know. I think it was on the first ball of the next over, so I didn’t even know. It’s just the cherry on top at the end of the day if it happens.”

Railways secured their second outright win of the season, routing Assam for 55 in their second innings and handing them an innings-and-184-run loss in Guwahati.Resuming on 41 for 7, Assam added only 14 runs to their score before being dismissed in 32.3 overs. Seamer Anureet Singh, who sparked the collapse, ended with 5 for 28 – his 15th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Deepak Bansal and Amit Mishra complemented him with two wickets each. Wicketkeeper Kunal Saikia was the only Assam player to reach double figures in their second innings.Legspinner Shreyas Gopal bagged a match haul of nine wickets, including four in the second innings, to wrap up Karnataka‘s second outright win in two matches, against Hyderabad in Shimoga.Chasing 380, Hyderabad were bowled out for 320 with B Sandeep top scoring with 80. The overnight pair of opener Tanmay Agarwal and captain Ambati Rayudu had extended their stand to 53, before Agarwal was pinned lbw by offspinner K Gowtham. Allrounder Stuart Binny then claimed the key wicket of Rayudu for 31 to pin down the visitors to 117 for 4. Sandeep and Ashish Reddy then propped up the chase with fifties each before the spinners cleaned up the lower order. Gowtham took three wickets, and stretched his match haul to six. Hyderabad were ultimately dismissed in 109.4 overs.Karun Nair, who had struck 134 off 229 balls, was named Man of the Match in his first match of the Ranji Trophy season.Offspinner Chirag Khurana’s second six-wicket haul of the match trumped Rinku Singh’s 136-ball 122 not out – his maiden first-class hundred – and secured Maharashtra‘s 31-run win over Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow.Resuming on 256 for 4, Maharashtra added 26 runs to their overnight score before declaring on 282 for 7, setting Uttar Pradesh a target of 324.The hosts lost Almas Shaukat and Himanshu Asnora early, and when captain Suresh Raina was dismissed for 5 by Khurana, Uttar Pradesh were 105 for 4. Akshdeep Nath and Rinku then put on 112 for the fifth wicket in 21.2 overs. The stand ended when Nath was dismissed for 79 off 123 balls. Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar contributed 23 but his wicket triggered a collapse: Uttar Pradesh lost their last five wickets for 38 runs to be bowled out for 292.

What is it stake you ask, in this second and final Test of an always low-stakes rivalry? The ICC will focus on the rankings – if Pakistan don’t win, they drop to seventh, the lowest they have been since January 2010. Late August 2016, when they officially became number one, suddenly feels much more than just 13-and-a-bit months away.That might not sting as much though as, potentially, the end of one of the proudest streaks in international cricket. Two days after the scheduled end of this Test – October 12 – will mark exactly a decade since Pakistan last lost a home series – 1-0 to South Africa.One can crib about the semantics of ‘home’ – that Pakistan have only played one actual series since then in their actual home and the rest in their adopted home of the UAE – but that should actually add lustre to a remarkable run. Since 1970, Australia, West Indies, India and New Zealand have had ten-year plus undefeated streaks at home and they all had the benefit of playing at their real home. Pakistan themselves went undefeated in Pakistan between 1980 and 1995, but given the circumstances of this run, it is at least the match of that.What it will mark, more definitively, is the end of the MisYou era. That end had begun in Abu Dhabi, not so much with the final-day collapse and loss, but with the decision to play three pace bowlers and a lone spinner. Misbah, if he could help it, rarely went that way.Pakistan want to persist with three fast bowlers because they feel it is now their strength, though Wahab Riaz will come in for Hasan Ali, who has a slight niggle in his left glutes that management is keen to rest ahead of the limited-overs games.Asad Shafiq slaps one over midwicket•Tom Dulat/Stringer

The pitch is dry, conditions hot and humid and Sri Lanka will play three spinners. This is the problem with two-Test series, that there isn’t enough time to know whether a strategy shift such as this has worked and should be persevered with or dumped. There were murmurs throughout Abu Dhabi about shifting from two spinners to three fast bowlers, but in truth, it wasn’t Pakistan’s bowling, or their bowling combination, that messed up there.By and large, and especially in the second innings, the attack did well. If there was a question mark it was over the most experienced of the trio of fast bowlers. Mohammad Amir went wicketless in the Test and other than a late second-innings spell in which a catch was spilled off his bowling, he did not look quite right.By Mickey Arthur’s admission, Amir started the Test poorly on the first morning and some observers felt the switch in conditions, from bowling in England with Essex and then bowling in the extreme heat of Abu Dhabi played a part. Just two first-class matches ago, after all, he took his second career ten-for, to add to a summer in which he bowled his most decisive spell since his return in 2016 – against India in the Champions Trophy final.It is worth nothing that since his 6-44 in Kingston back in April, he has taken just seven wickets in seven innings. He will play, of course, and Sarfraz Ahmed, his captain, is not concerned.”Amir did bowl well in Abu Dhabi but unfortunately did not get wickets. I’m sure he will give us a better performance here.”Sarfraz Ahmed was aggressive before playing on•Francois Nel/Getty Images

The real problem, which pre-dates Sarfraz’s ascension, is with the batting – one might quip that is an issue that pre-dates the creation of Pakistan itself. The last-day collapses are stacking up, but so too is the pressure on Asad Shafiq.Shafiq had as poor a second half of the Test as imaginable, first dropping two catches in Sri Lanka’s second innings at slip, and then undone by a combination of a good ball and indecisive strokeplay when he was on 20 in the chase. His first-innings 39 was more assured but it bore clear signs of the extra responsibility his seniority now demands. It means he is averaging less than 31 in 16 Tests since the start of the England series in 2016 – a curious run given it includes two memorable hundreds and a handful of important fifties.Arthur was unequivocal in his backing for Shafiq after the Abu Dhabi Test, insisting that he was a major part of this side’s future. But Pakistan don’t play another Test till next May, and that too in England, a break long enough to work against a Test-specialist like Shafiq.Sarfraz – and you’ll note a pattern here – is not worried.”Asad was playing really well in that first innings but just got out. In the second innings he got a good ball. I have full confidence in him – he is our main batsman and I’m confident he will show his form in this Test and hopefully help us win it.”Most of Sarfraz’s work in the days since Abu Dhabi has been of this nature – to give his team the confidence that one bad innings does not make them a bad side. Pakistan have chosen not to practice too much in the days since.”We worked on a few key things that we got wrong, like the fact that we went into our shells and played a little slow when batting,” he said. “We’ve spoken about that, but mostly we’ve told the guys to play their natural games and to not be scared of failure. One good or bad performance doesn’t make a difference. The main thing is we have to back them.”Pakistan don’t often go into a Test in the UAE needing to win it to save the series. It has happened only once before, that too against Sri Lanka, nearly four years ago. Then, they produced the memorable chase to level the series. Sarfraz played a key role in it, moved up the order to give the chase some oomph. It is the moment where his rise began to where he now sits. And he now admits he should’ve gone up in the small chase last week. He will learn. Pakistan needs him to.

England allrounder Ben Stokes has been reprimanded for making “an inappropriate comment” during the second day’s play in Headingley. He received one demerit point for the offence, taking his total up to three; if he gets to four demerit points, he faces a suspension on disciplinary grounds.The news that Stokes is one more intemperate outburst away from a ban adds to England’s growing list of potential issues ahead of the Ashes. As a key cog in the side, as well as Joe Root’s vice-captain, his potential absence for a Test against Australia would be hard felt.Stokes received one demerit point apiece in October and November 2016 for similar verbal offences. Each demerit point remains on a player’s record for 24 months, meaning one more offence before the end of October 2018 will result in suspension for Stokes from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whichever comes first – except in the case of more grave offences, which could attract longer suspensions.The incident occurred after the fifth ball off the 101st over of the West Indies innings, when Shai Hope hit Stokes through the cordon for four. Stokes’ subsequent expletive was “clearly audible through the stump mic and also heard by the match officials”, according to an ICC release, and amounted to a breach of Article 2.1.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct which deals with “using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during an international match”.The charge was brought against Stokes by the match umpires, and the penalty levied by match referee David Boon. Stokes accepted the offence, so there was no hearing required.Stokes has been one of England’s most consistent batsmen this summer, scoring hundreds against South Africa and during the ongoing match at Headingley. With questions over the top five, England could ill afford to be without him in Australia.While there have been some suggestions he could try to “tactically” pick up another demerit point and serve a ban during a less high-profile series – the limited-overs matches against West Indies, for example – that would carry further risk. Points remain on a player’s record for a two-year period and suspensions become cumulative, meaning Stokes would face a ban of two Tests or four ODIs if he were to reach eight before October 2018.

With 82 ODI wickets in 48 matches, he stands a chance to be the fastest New Zealander to 100 ODI scalps, but it is possible Mitchell McClenaghan may not even take a shot. His request to be released from a central contract to pursue a future in overseas T20 leagues has been accepted by New Zealand Cricket. This was almost a formality after McClenaghan had been picked up by Durban Qalandars in the new Global T20 league in South Africa. McClenaghan expects to play in the Big Bash League, which begins three days after the South African league ends on December 16.While McClenaghan, 31, stays eligible for selection for New Zealand whenever available in the future, it is hard to envisage a time when he won’t be busy playing in the T20 leagues. He has been an integral part of Mumbai Indians in the IPL, St Lucia Stars in the CPL and Middlesex in county cricket. Add two more leagues to his commitments, and the only time he might have left to play for New Zealand is in world events. A precedent of such a return is Daniel Vettori’s participation in the 2015 World Cup.Lockie Ferguson picked up the contract vacated by McClenaghan. New Zealand, top-ranked in T20Is and on No. 5 in ODIs, have a big limited-overs home summer lined up with Test series being cut to two each to make space for more limited-overs cricket. New Zealand are supposed to play 13 bilateral ODIs, six bilateral T20 internationals and a triangular series of T20Is with Australia and England. They will play only four Tests.”Some new playing opportunities have arisen in the past few weeks, which mean my circumstances have changed,” McClenaghan said. “I’m very grateful for the respect, understanding and goodwill which has underpinned my request to be released from my NZC contract. I’ve worked closely with NZC throughout the process, while also making it clear I still harbour ambitions of playing for New Zealand in the future.”The general manager of NZC High Performance, Bryan Stronach, suggested more releases are not unimaginable. “We have to recognise that, as the T20 game matures, specialists will want to explore the different opportunities that become available – and I think Mitch’s case is symptomatic of that,” Stronach said. “This agreement has been reached amicably and mutually; all parties understand the change in Mitch’s circumstances, and he is released from his contract with our best wishes.”Unable to match the offers made by the global leagues, NZC remains flexible in its contracts when a player wants to choose leagues over international cricket. It means McClenaghan could have stuck with his national contract and obtained no-objection certificates whenever he wanted to play in other leagues, but that would mean being available for New Zealand in every small break between his leagues commitment.

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Agarkar: The gulf between both sides stood exposed

R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets each as India wrapped up a 304-run win – their biggest runs margin away – halfway through the final session of day four. With finger injuries leaving Rangana Herath and Asela Gunaratne unavailable to bat, India only needed to take eight second-innings wickets. They completed the task in 76.5 overs, with Dimuth Karunaratne and Niroshan Dickwella proving their only real roadblocks.Karunaratne enhanced his reputation as a specialist in the second innings – where he now averages 42.14 as against 27.32 in the first – with 97, while Dickwella contributed a skittish 67 to a fifth-wicket stand of 101.Otherwise, India didn’t have to work too hard for wickets on a firmer-than-usual Galle pitch that offered consistent bounce and only occasionally sharp turn, after setting Sri Lanka the task of surviving the best part of two full days or chasing an improbable 550.The fifth-wicket partnership looked unlikely to last too long when it began, with Dickwella playing a series of risky shots – sweeps off the stumps, inside-out drives, dabs with an open face – while new to the crease. But he survived and eventually settled, and Sri Lanka could breathe a little easier, particularly with Karunaratne looking calm and secure at the other end, taking the singles afforded him by Virat Kohli’s puzzlingly defensive fields and picking up the odd boundary with the square-cut or flick.But danger was never too far away. As tea approached, Hardik Pandya found both batsmen’s outside edges in a seven-over spell of reverse-swing. Karunaratne’s uncertain jab flew through a mostly vacant cordon – one wide slip and no gully – and Dickwella’s was shelled by Ajinkya Rahane, who flew to his left from gully for a difficult one-hander.Eventually, both batsmen were out sweeping Ashwin. Dickwella fell in the fifth over after tea, undone by bounce and sending a thin edge to the keeper, and Karunaratne followed him 11.3 overs later, dragging a bottom-edge onto his stumps when he was in sight of a sixth Test hundred. Nuwan Pradeep then fell for a two-ball duck, stretching out and failing to get to the pitch of an Ashwin offbreak that grabbed inside-edge on its way to a diving catch at leg slip. Lahiru Kumara was last to go, top-edging a slog-sweep off Jadeja and holing out to mid-off.The new-ball bowlers took an early wicket each after India declared early in the morning. Mohammed Shami struck the first blow, going around the wicket, hitting the seam, and getting the ball to bounce disconcertingly at Upul Tharanga. First, the ball seamed away just a touch after angling in, and Tharanga, poking away from his body, edged to second slip, where Kohli shelled a sitter. No worries for Shami. One ball later, he produced another peach, this one coming back in, lifting, and cramping the left-hander for room. All he could do was chop the ball on to his stumps.Then, in the sixth over of Sri Lanka’s innings, Danushka Gunathilaka fell to a loose shot for the second time on Test debut. Umesh Yadav had Cheteshwar Pujara stationed at square leg, just in front of square. It was either a routine field placement or India had sussed out a tendency to flick in the air. In either case, he failed to keep that shot down against a full ball that swung into his pads, and Pujara took a simple, low catch.Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis took Sri Lanka to lunch with a half-century stand for the third wicket. They weren’t especially tight with their defence, every now and then playing and missing when they could have left alone. One loose drive from Mendis, off Umesh, resulted in an edge that didn’t quite carry to second slip. That apart, though, both batsmen looked comfortable, Karunaratne strong off his pads and Mendis fluent while driving and cutting.The spinners, who hadn’t yet settled in their 10 overs before lunch, began finding more turn and bounce after the break. In the seventh over after the break, a tendency to play away from his body at Jadeja consumed Mendis. Having just punched Jadeja to cover off the back foot, he tried the same shot off the next ball. This one, though, was fired in quicker, and bounced higher to take the edge.Three-and-a-half-overs later, Angelo Mathews fell to an ill-advised shot, jumping out and looking to hit over mid-on. To give the bowler credit, though, Jadeja beat the batsman in the air, and found sharp turn. Nowhere near the pitch, Mathews sent a leading edge ballooning to backward point.India declared 6.3 overs into the morning, having clattered 51 in that time, with Virat Kohli, who resumed on 76, bringing up his 17th Test hundred and 10th as captain. Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane hit only two fours and a six in that time, but scored off all but seven balls they faced, against Sri Lanka’s deep-set fields.

Batsmen Nadia Gruny and Shebani Bhaskar anchor a USA batting unit ready to resume international competition for the first time in more than five years after they were named in a 14-player squad for the ICC Europe T20 Qualifier this August. The squad was picked after the conclusion of a series of trials held in Indianapolis from June 9-11, organized by ICC Americas staff, as they continue to oversee USA’s cricket operations while the USA Cricket Association is under suspension.Gruny was USA’s leading scorer at their last international competition in 2012 when they finished runner-up to Canada by virtue of the net-run-rate tiebreaker at that year’s ICC Americas T20 Championship in the Cayman Islands. Gruny, 33, most recently captained a USA Women’s XI last September in Philadelphia against a touring MCC Women’s side featuring former England players Charlotte Edwards and Claire Taylor.Bhaskar was also part of the USA Women’s XI that played against the MCC in Philadelphia, though this will be her first time playing for USA since the 2011 Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh. Only 17-years-old at the time, Bhaskar was USA’s leading scorer at that event with 139 runs in six matches, including a top-score of 72 for USA’s only victory, a one-run win over Zimbabwe in which Bhaskar’s direct hit from cover resulted in the game-ending wicket.

USA Women’s T20 squad

Neha Anand, Candacy Atkins, Claudine Beckford, Shebani Bhaskar (wk), Sugetha Chandhrasekar, Nadia Gruny, Uzma Iftikhar, Triholder Marshall, Samantha Ramautar, Akshatha Rao, Erica Rendler, Sindhuja Salguti, Sindhu Sriharsha (wk), Onika Wallerson

The other big name to return for USA is former West Indies Test player Candacy Atkins. The 33-year-old starred for USA in the buildup to the 2011 Women’s World Cup Qualifier but ultimately boycotted the team’s participation, along with several of her team-mates, for what they claimed was discriminatory treatment from the USA Cricket Association by way of tour stipends that were far less than those provided to men’s touring squads. However, Atkins came back to captain USA less than six months later at the 2012 ICC Americas Women’s tournament.One other player with international pedigree, but still relatively new to the squad is former India A and India U-21 batsman Sindhu Sriharsha. The opener played for a USA team captained by Gruny against Pakistan in a two-match bilateral series in November 2015 held in Florida.Of the five players yet to play a full-fledged international for USA, three of them – Sindhuja Salguti, Sugetha Chandhrasekar and Onika Wallerson – played as part of the USA XI that took on the MCC Women last year. Wallerson formerly represented Guyana in the West Indies domestic women’s competition before migrating to the USA. The other two, Neha Anand and Uzma Iftikhar, have a chance to play for USA for the first time against any competition.USA will face Netherlands and Scotland in the double-round robin Europe T20 Qualifier scheduled to be held in Scotland from August 14-19. The ICC announced last year that USA would be given a wildcard entry to the tournament since there is no Americas qualifier. The top two teams will advance to the global qualifier for a chance to go to the 2018 Women’s World T20 in the West Indies.

ScorecardPaul Horton scored a half-century as Leicestershire batted on•Getty Images

Derbyshire ended a run of three consecutive defeats in the County Championship as their Division Two match against Leicestershire at Derby ended in a tame draw.Leicestershire batted on in their second innings for 57 overs before declaring on 217 for 3, which included half centuries for openers Paul Horton and Harry Dearden. A target of 304 in 33 overs was never realistic and the inevitable draw was agreed with Derbyshire 42 without loss from 10 overs.There was always a chance the game would end in stalemate on such a lifeless pitch but the day began promisingly for Leicestershire, who took the last two Derbyshire wickets in 11 balls. Clint McKay struck with the third delivery of the day, which moved away just enough to take the edge of Rob Hemmings bat, and Tony Palladino gloved a pull to give Zak Chappell his fourth wicket.A lead of 86 was increased to 183 at lunch by Horton and Dearden, although Horton was given a life on 8 when he was dropped at first slip by Wayne Madsen off Tom Taylor.Horton completed his first fifty of the season before he was caught behind off Taylor and Dearden fell to a stunning piece of fielding by Billy Godleman, who threw the ball up at long-on to avoid taking it over the rope before completing the catch.He took a more straightforward one to dismiss Mark Cosgrove and give Jeevan Mendis his eighth wicket in the game but the Sri Lankan’s match figures of 8 for 283 were the most expensive in Derbyshire’s history.The game almost ground to a halt after Cosgrove’s departure with Colin Ackermann and Ned Eckersley scoring only 43 runs in 13 overs while Derbyshire slowed down the over rate.Leicestershire finally declared three overs after tea leaving Derbyshire to score at more than nine an over to pull off what would have been an astonishing victory and the players shook hands with 23 overs still to bowl.

England have suffered a blow ahead of the Women’s World Cup with the news that their captain, Heather Knight, has suffered a stress fracture in her left foot and is expected to be out for five-to-six weeks.Knight should be fit to return for the tournament, which starts in seven weeks’ time on June 24 with England playing India, but the injury could hamper her preparations. She will wear a protective boot for the first stage of her recovery, before returning to light training, with a goal of being ready for England’s World Cup warm-up match against Sri Lanka on June 19.England have been focused on this tournament since Knight was appointed as Charlotte Edwards’ replacement at the start of last summer. Speaking at the unveiling of England’s new kit on Tuesday, she was excited about the challenge of trying to win a global trophy for the first time since the 2009 Women’s World T20.”It’s been a long time coming, but it’s going to come round pretty quick now, and what a summer it’s hopefully going to be,” Knight said. “There’s nothing better than a home World Cup and being able to captain in it, so as a team we are pretty excited.”Knight and the coach, Mark Robinson, have enjoyed a successful 12 months working together, with four limited-overs series wins from four, and England will go into the Women’s World Cup ranked as the No. 2 ODI side in the world, behind reigning champions, Australia.However, England’s recent record in global tournaments has not been impressive, despite the advent of professionalism in 2014, and Robinson has suggested they still have improvements to make. The injury to Knight – whose all-round importance is emphasised by her averaging 38.75 with the bat and 19.00 with the ball as captain – is particularly unwelcome ahead of a competition she believes will be the “most scrutinised ever” for the women’s game.Heather Knight has led England to four series wins from four since being appointed captain•Getty Images

“It’s a massive opportunity for women’s cricket to put the sport out there and show how far the game’s come, and I think it’s going to be the most publicised and scrutinised World Cup ever,” she said. “As a team we are in a good place for that. It’s going to be slightly alien I think, the things we’ll come across, but we’ve worked hard in the last year to be ready for that added pressure and expectation, [and] that’s a good thing for our sport.”A positive for England in recent days has been the return to action of wicketkeeper-batsman Sarah Taylor, after almost a year away from the game, and Knight was encouraged by her progress and potential World Cup availability.”She’s done massively well to make that trip to Abu Dhabi and was involved in a lot more than we thought she would be. Seeing her back on a cricket pitch was really brilliant. She would still walk into any team in the world and we’d love to have her. She’s taking it one step at a time. The signs are positive, and we’ll see how it goes leading up to the World Cup”It’s brilliant that it is becoming easier to talk about [mental health], it’s made it a lot easier for a number of people. To see Sarah addressing those issues is good to see, it puts cricket in perspective a little bit. Mental health, and health in general, is a lot more important.”