Australia batter Steve Smith says he has nothing left to learn about English conditions as he begins a stint at Sussex before this summer's Ashes.

 

Smith, 33, is available for three County Championship matches before Australia face India in the World Test Championship final from 7-11 June.

 

The first Ashes Test against England at Edgbaston starts on 16 June.

Kent need to get back to basics in order to get their season back on track, says coach Matt Walker.

 

Kent crumbled from 87-2 to 128 all-out in a nine-wicket defeat by newly-promoted Middlesex inside three days at Lord's last weekend.

 

They lie nine points off the foot of County Championship Division One, but having played a game more than the four sides below them.

 

"We need to take a deep, hard look at ourselves," Walker told BBC Radio Kent.

 

Kent's season began with a seven-wicket win over Northants which earned 19 points but they have added only 12 more combined from defeats at Warwickshire and Middlesex plus a home draw with Essex.

 

"It's not panic stations," said Walker. "We hoped we'd have two wins from these four games. Middlesex was certainly one we earmarked, but we have to stay positive and not let it linger."

South Africa fast bowler Shabnim Ismail has announced her retirement from international cricket at the age of 34.

 

Ismail, who has taken 317 wickets in 241 games across all three formats of the game, said she had made the "difficult decision" to "move on to the next chapter of my life".

 

She joins Lizelle Lee and Dane van Niekerk in retiring from the South Africa fold in the last 12 months.

 

"I am so grateful for the opportunities and experiences I have had," she said.

 

"As any athlete knows, training and competing at your best requires much sacrifice and dedication, and I now find myself wanting to spend more time with my family, particularly my siblings and parents as they get older

Liam Livingstone's 82 not out was in vain as Mumbai Indians chased 215 to beat Punjab Kings by six wickets in the Indian Premier League.

 

Livingstone struck seven fours and four sixes, including three sixes in a row off England team-mate Jofra Archer, as Punjab posted 214-3 in Mohali.

 

Archer finished with 0-56 - the most expensive T20 figures of his career.

 

But Ishan Kishan hit 75 and Suryakumar Yadav 66 on a flat pitch as Mumbai raced home with seven balls to spare.

Lancashire captain Keaton Jennings is facing a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

 

The 30-year-old was forced to retire injured having hit 189 in last month's County Championship match at Somerset.

 

Lancashire said Jennings "will undertake a rehabilitation programme guided by the club's medical department" for the next month.

 

Fellow batter Dane Vilas will captain the Old Trafford side in Jennings' absence.

Greece international fast bowler Ari Karvelas has signed a two-year contract extension with Sussex.

 

The 29-year-old joined the club last August and took two wickets on his debut against Middlesex at Lord's in the County Championship, also scoring 57 runs.

 

He helped the club reach the One-Day Cup semi-finals, where he finished as the club's top wicket-taker with 20.

 

South Africa-born Karvelas then signed a permanent contract last October.

 

"Ari has impressed me in my short time at the club and I love his attitude," said Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace.

Andrew Balbirnie says Ireland's sole focus is on the opening ODI against Bangladesh as they aim for a 3-0 win to keep their World Cup hopes alive.

 

The skipper will lead out his side at Chelmsford on Tuesday knowing they need a whitewash to retain hope of reaching next month's World Cup Qualifier.

 

He said: "We're a confident team but we can't get too far ahead of ourselves.

 

"We'll just have to think about winning the first game and then work on the second match."

 

A 3-0 victory may not even be enough for the Irish as they aim to pip South Africa to the final qualifying spot to make the World Cup in India later this year.

Nine of Scotland's women cricketers have been issued with professional contracts for the 2023-2024 season.

 

In November, Cricket Scotland revealed they would introduce salaries to the women's squad for the first time, calling it a "watershed moment".

 

The selection process was undertaken by a panel during February and March and the players are Abbi Aitken-Drummond, Loran Jack, Megan McColl, Priyanaz Chatterji, Katherine Fraser, Ailsa Lister, Orla Montgomery, Hannah Rainey and Ellen Watson.

 

"I'm absolutely delighted that nine of our best women's players have agreed to be the first to sign with Cricket Scotland," said interim head of performance Toby Bailey.

 

"Given the rapid growth of women's cricket across the world, promotion and investment in the women's game in Scotland is now a cornerstone of the strategy for the organisation, and today's news is a big step on the road to ensuring that cricket in Scotland is fair and inclusive for all.

Northamptonshire have named England all-rounder David Willey as captain for this season's T20 Blast.

 

Willey, now 33, took a hat-trick in the final when the Steelbacks lifted the trophy for the first time in 2013.

 

He later moved to Yorkshire but rejoined Northants for this season, and is returning earlier than expected from the Indian Premier League.

 

"As a club we need to maximise all of his expertise," said Northants head coach John Sadler.

 

"He's played in all the tournaments around the world, he's playing international cricket, he's played with the best players and coaches and now he's bringing that into our dressing room."

 

Willey, who made 83 T20 appearances in his first spell with the club, replaces Josh Cobb as skipper.

Nine of Scotland's women cricketers have been issued with professional contracts for the 2023-2024 season.

 

In November, Cricket Scotland revealed they would introduce salaries to the women's squad for the first time, calling it a "watershed moment".

 

The selection process was undertaken by a panel during February and March and the players are Abbi Aitken-Drummond, Loran Jack, Megan McColl, Priyanaz Chatterji, Katherine Fraser, Ailsa Lister, Orla Montgomery, Hannah Rainey and Ellen Watson.

 

"I'm absolutely delighted that nine of our best women's players have agreed to be the first to sign with Cricket Scotland," said interim head of performance Toby Bailey.

 

"Given the rapid growth of women's cricket across the world, promotion and investment in the women's game in Scotland is now a cornerstone of the strategy for the organisation, and today's news is a big step on the road to ensuring that cricket in Scotland is fair and inclusive for all.

Ooh that's good to hear! Certainly a big moment for women's cricket in Scotland, hopefully things can only go uphill from here.

Yashasvi Jaiswal hit the fastest half-century in Indian Premier League history as Rajasthan Royals thrashed Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets.

 

Jaiswal, 21, reached a majestic 50 from 13 balls - one ball faster than Pat Cummins and KL Rahul's previous record.

 

He finished unbeaten on 98 from 47 balls as Rajasthan reached their target of 150 with 41 balls to spare.

Teams in The Hundred women's competition have signed 26 players in the first round of the open market.

 

The final 30 players will be revealed in July, alongside the wildcard picks in the men's competition.

 

New signings:

 

Birmingham Phoenix: Abtaha Maqsood, Erin Burns, Chloe Brewer, Sterre Kalis

London Spirit: Grace Scrivens, Tara Norris, Niamh Holland

Manchester Originals: Liberty Heap, Phoebe Graham, Fi Morris

Northern Superchargers: Marie Kelly, Aylish Cranstone, Phoebe Franklin

Oval Invincibles: Eva Gray, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Kira Chathli

Southern Brave: Georgia Adams, Rhianna Southby, Danielle Gregory

Trent Rockets: Josie Groves, Emma Jones, Naomi Dattani, Alexa Stonehouse

Welsh Fire: Alex Griffiths, Claire Nicholas, Sarah Bryce

Former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Bradburn has been named as Pakistan men's head coach on a two-year deal.

 

Bradburn, 56, fulfilled the role on an interim basis during Pakistan's recent white-ball series against New Zealand.

 

Pakistan won the five-match one-day international series 4-1 while the T20 series was drawn 2-2.

 

"It is a great honour for me to work with the highly talented and skilful side like Pakistan as a head coach," said Bradburn.

 

"The New Zealand series has been valuable to get game time and create clarity of roles, culture and brand to win."

Bangladesh beat Ireland by three wickets in a dramatic second one-day international at Chelmsford to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

 

Set 320 to win a match reduced to 45 overs a side by rain, Bangladesh triumphed with three balls to spare thanks to Mushfiqur Rahim's 36 not out.

 

Najmul Hossain Shanto made 117 and Towhid Hridoy 68 to set up their chase.

 

Harry Tector hit 140 off 113 balls and George Dockrell an unbeaten 74 off 47 in Ireland's 319-6.

 

The final match of the series takes place at the same venue on Sunday.

 

Ireland, who needed to win the series 3-0 to retain hope of automatic World Cup qualification, will compete in a 10-team qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe starting next month.

Glamorgan raced to their first win of the season inside two and a half days as they beat Worcestershire by 10 wickets.

 

Timm van der Gugten (5-48) picked up his third five-wicket haul of the season.

 

Worcestershire added 32 runs for the loss of their last three wickets on the third day.

 

Glamorgan openers David Lloyd and Eddie Byrom polished off the target of 79 in 20 overs.

Dane Paterson claimed five wickets against Northamptonshire to propel Nottinghamshire to a victory by an innings and 25 runs on the third day of their County Championship match at Wantage Road.

 

South Africa international Paterson's first four scalps came in an opening burst of eight overs, all thanks to catches behind the wicket which left the Steelbacks reeling at 11-4. Despite Saif Zaib (26) putting up some resistance, they never recovered and were all out for 72.

 

It follows Northamptonshire's first innings collapse on day two when they lost seven wickets for 17 runs and a similar dispiriting batting display in their last home game against Hampshire which also ended in an innings defeat.

Durham held their nerve on a nail-biting final morning to defeat Yorkshire by one wicket and extend their lead at the top of the County Championship Division Two table.

 

Durham required 33 to chase down their victory total of 246, while the visitors needed two wickets to end a 17-match run without a County Championship win.

 

The hosts were composed to whittle down 31 of the required 33 as Ben Raine completed a brilliant half-century under pressure.

Joe Root was out for 10 in his first Indian Premier League innings as Rajasthan Royals were thrashed by 112 runs by Royal Challengers Bangalore.

 

Root overturned an lbw decision on one before being trapped in front by left-armer Wayne Parnell after 15 balls.

 

It came amid a dismal Royals batting effort, including the loss of England's Jos Buttler for a duck, as they were bowled out for 59 in 10.3 overs.

 

Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell hit fifties in RCB's 171-5.

 

South African Du Plessis made 55 from 44 balls and Australia's Maxwell a 33-ball 54 before the visitors were lifted by 29 from 11 balls by left-hander Anuj Rawat at the death.

Kasey Aldridge smacks a juicy full toss for four off George Bell and that’s a second career first-class fifty.

 

It’s also a second of the season - both have come against Lancashire. This one was made off 98 balls.

 

The lead is 358 and we have 32 overs left

Surrey's relentless five-pronged pace attack, superbly supported by England Test wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, overwhelmed Middlesex as the county champions eased to a nine-wicket victory at the Kia Oval.

 

Foakes took six catches, a record in a first-class innings for Surrey against their London rivals, two of them high-class efforts, while Jordan Clark's 4-25 headed an irresistible collective performance with the ball that also included day four wickets for Sean Abbott, Kemar Roach and Gus Atkinson.

 

Dan Worrall, who took 5-48 in Middlesex's first innings of 209, went wicketless second time around.

 

Only the combative Ryan Higgins, who hit 42 from 71 balls, and tailender Ethan Bamber, with a bright unbeaten 25, offered any fight with the bat as Middlesex slid from their overnight 128-3 to 240 all out.