Great to see Salt and Pepper are finally playing in the same team. :P

 

Phil Salt and Michael Pepper have been opening the batting for Team Abu Dhabi in the T10 tournament.

Harry Brook has moved above England team-mate Joe Root to become the number one Test batter in the world rankings.

 

The 25-year-old has overtaken Root after scoring 171 in the first Test of England's current tour of New Zealand and following it up with scores of 123 and 55 in the second Test in Wellington to give him a ranking score of 898.

 

Root, who replaced New Zealand's Kane Williamson at the top of the International Cricket Council rankings in July, is just one point behind Brook on 897 and could take back his crown when the third Test starts in Hamilton on 14 December.

Australia opener Nathan McSweeney says he hopes to "throw a few more punches" at India quick Jasprit Bumrah in the third Test which starts at the Gabba on Saturday (00:20 GMT).

 

McSweeney, 25, has been dismissed by Bumrah three times in four knocks so far and has only managed to score nine runs against him.

 

Bumrah has 12 wickets in the two Tests including an unplayable spell of 5-30 in India's 295-run win in the first Test in Perth, while Australia's Mitchell Starc has 11 wickets as the hosts dominated the pink ball Test in Adelaide.

 

But McSweeney hopes the challenge posed by the "unique" Bumrah will serve him well for the rest of the series and his career.

Australia secured a clean sweep in the three-match one-day international series against India with an 83-run win in Perth.

 

The world champions recovered from 78-4 to post 298-6, with all-rounder Annabel Sutherland striking a masterful 110 from just 95 balls.

 

India then started positively in pursuit of 299 for victory, reaching 189-3 with opener Smriti Mandhana hitting a sparkling century of her own.

Northamptonshire have re-signed veteran former England, Essex and Sussex all-rounder Ravi Bopara for next summer's T20 Blast.

 

The 39-year-old scored 340 runs and took 13 wickets in the competition in 2024 but was forced to miss the Steelbacks' quarter-final defeat by Somerset because of a hand injury.

Hampshire fast bowler Scott Currie has signed a new deal until the end of 2027.

 

The right-arm pace bowler made his debut for Hampshire in 2020 and has gone on to play for them 45 times since.

 

"Scott made big strides last summer across all formats," said Hampshire's director of men's cricket Giles White.

 

"He's an exciting talent and an excellent professional. If he continues to develop, he has the ability to help take the team to the next level."

 

Currie has taken 73 wickets for Hampshire and made his international debut for Scotland in March, qualifying for them through his father.

The England women have won their first test in 10 years. Most test matches are 4 days instead of 5.

 

Marred by controversy as Cricket South Africa didn't fund the DRS which proved contentious.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/ckg1jj0lvwyo

England have recalled batter Joe Root to their men's one-day international squad for the tour of India and the 2025 Champions Trophy, but the injured Ben Stokes misses out.

 

Root, ranked number one in the Test batting rankings, has 171 ODI caps but has not played for the white-ball side since an outing at the World Cup in November 2023.

 

He is part of a 15-player squad that also includes pace bowler Mark Wood following his recovery from a right elbow injury.

The Women's Ashes squad has been announced: -

 

ODI squad: Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

 

T20 squad: Heather Knight (captain), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Linsey Smith, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

 

Test squad: Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

 

11th, 13th and 16th January for the ODIs, 20th, 23rd and 25th January for the T20s and 30th January for the start of the Test. The latter marks the 90th anniversary of the 1st Women's Test Match.