Charlie Dean has ended up being the leading wicket taker for England (joint overall with Hannah Rowe of New Zealand) with 10. Incredible for a 20 year old making her debut.

 

England won 4-1 in the ODI series.

India opener Smriti Mandhana made her highest score in Tests, but the first day of the one-off day-night women's Test against Australia was heavily affected by rain in Carrara.

 

India finished on 132-1, with Mandhana 80 not out - beating her 78 against England this summer.

 

Two hours were lost in the afternoon, then more rain after 28 balls meant only 44.1 overs were possible.

 

Teenager Shafali Verma was the only wicket to fall, for 31.

 

Mandhana, who has 15 fours and one six, will resume alongside Punam Raut, who is unbeaten on 16, when play resumes at 05:30 BST on Friday.

England men will play three one-day internationals in the Netherlands in June 2022.

 

The games will take place on 17, 19 and 22 June at the VRA Cricket Ground in Amstelveen.

 

They will overlap with the three-Test series against New Zealand, meaning multi-format players are unlikely to tour.

England all-rounder Sam Curran has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup with a back injury.

 

Curran complained of back pain after playing in the Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kings on Saturday and scans have shown a lower-back issue.

 

The 23-year-old's brother Tom has been called into the squad as a replacement and is replaced on the reserve list by fast bowler Reece Topley.

 

England's first World Cup match is on 23 October against West Indies.

England have held positive talks with Cricket Australia (CA) as they seek to move a step closer to confirming the Ashes can go ahead as planned.

 

Discussions between CA, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the Professional Cricketers' Association and players took place on Tuesday.

 

They are believed to have been better than a previous meeting on Sunday.

 

The ECB will meet on Friday to decide whether or not the series, due to begin on 8 December, will take place.

 

England's players have raised concerns over about conditions for the tour, including whether or not their families will be allowed to travel, quarantine arrangements and any potential 'bubble' they might have to live in.

 

 

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has had a second operation on his injured finger but is unlikely to play in the Ashes against Australia this winter.

 

The 30-year-old took an indefinite break from cricket in July to protect his mental health and rest his left index finger, first injured in April.

 

He originally had surgery in April but has now had a second operation to remove two screws and scar tissue from the finger.

Chairman Ian Watmore has left the England and Wales Cricket Board.

 

The 63-year-old, who took over from Colin Graves in September 2020, departs after serving only 13 months of a five-year term.

 

The ECB said he had reached a "mutual agreement" to stand down at the end of the domestic season.

 

Watmore said: "It is with regret that I step down as chair of the ECB, but I do so in mindfulness of my own wellbeing and that of the game which I love."

 

He added: "I was appointed to the post in a pre-pandemic era, but Covid has meant the role and its demands on time are dramatically different to all our original expectations, which has taken a personal toll on me.

 

"Given this, the board and I feel the ECB will be better served by a new chair to take it forward post pandemic.

 

"Leaving now, at the end of the season, gives the board time to find a new chair to support cricket through the challenges of the 2022 season and beyond."

 

Deputy chairman Barry O'Brien will step up on an interim basis but will not seek to take the post long term.

The County Championship is to revert to two divisions again in 2022.

 

Following two seasons under revised structures in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the England and Wales Cricket Board was keen to return to the format agreed by the 18 counties in 2018.

 

After discussions with the ECB, clubs voted to return to a 10-team Division One and eight-team Division Two.

 

Two counties will be relegated from Division One and two promoted from Division Two next year.

Scotland took a big step towards qualifying for the Super 12s stage of the Men's T20 World Cup with a second win in three days.

 

Scotland, who shocked Bangladesh on the opening day of the tournament, beat Papua New Guinea by 17 runs in Al Amerat, Oman.

Australia fast bowler James Pattinson has retired from international cricket after deciding he is not ready to push for Ashes selection.

 

The 31-year-old took 81 wickets in 21 Tests but had his appearances limited by a series of injuries.

Scotland are one win away from qualifying for the Super 12s stage of the Men's T20 World Cup after claiming a second victory in three days.

 

Scotland, who shocked Bangladesh on the opening day of the tournament, beat Papua New Guinea by 17 runs in Oman.

 

Bangladesh overcame a scare to see off Oman by 26 runs later on Tuesday and avoid an early exit.

 

Scotland will progress as winners of Group B if they beat Oman on Thursday at 15:00 BST.

And Scotland have qualified with three wins out of three. This is the first time they've reached the second round of a T20 or 50 over World Cup.

The postponed fifth Test between England and India will be played at Edgbaston from 1-5 July next year.

 

The series decider, due to be held at Emirates Old Trafford in September, was called off after India withdrew over Covid-19 concerns.

 

The rearranged Test will count towards the outcome of the series, which India lead 2-1.

 

Old Trafford will replace Edgbaston as the venue for the second Test between England and South Africa in August.

Ireland were knocked out of the Men's T20 World Cup as Namibia pulled off a shock eight-wicket win in Sharjah to reach the Super 12s.

 

Ireland laboured from 62-0 to 125-8 after Paul Stirling fell for 38.

 

Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus hit 53 not out from 49 balls and David Wiese an unbeaten 28 from 14 to seal victory with nine balls to spare.

 

Namibia are playing in their first T20 World Cup and are the lowest-ranked side.

 

In finishing as runners-up in Group A, they join India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Scotland in Group 2 of the Super 12s.

England bowled West Indies out for 55 as they made a stunning start to their Men's T20 World Cup campaign with a six-wicket win in Dubai.

 

In a near-perfect bowling performance, England humiliated the defending champions by dismissing them in 14.2 overs.

England squad for Ashes tour:

 

Joe Root (capt), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (wk), Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Suffice to say. Scotland had a bad day at the office. Having seen Rashid Khan in action during the T20 Blast, Afghanistan could be more of a challenge in this World Cup.

Edited October 25, 20213 yr by Flatcap

Yes, Afghanistan's trio of spin bowlers will be a danger to any team on those wickets.

Wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock made himself unavailable for South Africa's T20 World Cup match against West Indies after refusing to take the knee.

 

Cricket South Africa (CSA) issued a directive before the match that all players should make the gesture.

 

Captain Temba Bavuma said at the toss in Dubai that De Kock, 28, withdrew "for personal reasons".

 

CSA said it would "await a further report from team management before deciding on next steps".

Australia maintained their 100% record at the Men's T20 World Cup with a dominant seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka.

 

Chasing 155 for victory, opener David Warner hit a fluent 65 from 42 balls. When he fell in the 15th over Australia needed only 25.

 

Steve Smith, with an unbeaten 28, and Marcus Stoinis completed the job with three overs to spare.

 

Sri Lanka's 154-6 had looked competitive on a slow pitch, but their bowlers struggled as openers Warner and Aaron Finch, who made 37, shared 70 to set Australia on their way.