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Play domestic cricket, score runs and force the selectors to pick you again. This is India head coach Rahul Dravid’s simple message to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, on whom there has been much spotlight over the past two months for their decision to skip domestic cricket.Both Kishan and Iyer were not considered for the BCCI’s annual retainers in this round of recommendations for 2023-24. A board release at the time of announcement late last month reiterated its recent stance that “all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team”.Kishan hasn’t featured in any form of cricket under the BCCI’s ambit since opting out of the two-Test series in South Africa. He had, instead, been training at a private facility for some time in Baroda with Hardik Pandya, his IPL captain.Related

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Iyer, who was left out after the second Test against England, missed the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals citing back spasms, even though he was medically passed fit by the board’s doctors. Iyer has since returned to play for Mumbai in the semi-finals and is due to play in the final starting Sunday.”They’re always in the mix,” Dravid said after India’s 4-1 series win over England in Dharmsala on Saturday. “Everyone who’s playing domestic cricket is in the mix. Firstly, I don’t decide contracts, right? Contracts are decided by the selectors and the board. I don’t even know what the criteria are. I’m involved in – people ask me my opinion on the 15, and me and Rohit select the XI. That’s how it works.”We’ve never discussed whether somebody has a contract or not, whether he’s going to be selected in the 15. There are enough examples of people playing different formats of the game, whether they have contracts or not.”I don’t even know sometimes what the list of the contracted players is, when we take these decisions, discussions on the 15 or the playing 11 for that matter. No one’s out of the picture, no one’s out of the mix, it’s just a question of hopefully them getting back and fit, playing cricket, and forcing the selectors to pick them again.”Minutes after India’s win, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced a Test Cricket Incentive Scheme that will increase match fees of players by 300% should they feature in over 75% of the Tests played in a season.Dravid emphasised on the need to look at this step as a “reward” for hard work and not necessarily just think of it as a financial gain for being available to play Tests.”I really hope money is not going to be the incentive to play Test cricket,” he said. “It’s just nice the hard work and how tough Test cricket can be is being recognised. So, I wouldn’t see it as an incentive to make people play Test cricket, I hope not. I hope it never really comes to that. But I think it is just probably a recognition that this is a tough format, and it is a hard format.”And it takes a special person to do what [R] Ashwin has done, to play 100 Test matches. You go through a lot, and rightly so. You guys [media] celebrated Ashwin today, and Jonny Bairstow, you’ve celebrated Stokes a few games ago. Because I think all of you recognise how challenging the format is and what it takes to be able to have consistency and to be able to survive the test of time in this format.”We don’t celebrate 100 T20s in the same way, do we? But yeah, it is nice that the BCCI is recognizing it… I think it is a reward, not an incentive. Looking at the guys who came in and played in this series, I think everyone wants to play Test cricket. It’s just a recognition of what you need to be able to do to survive and play in Test cricket.”It’s only when you get here that you realise that sometimes it’s quite tough and it is not easy, but it is extremely satisfying. In especially a series like this and Test matches we’ve seen in the last 4-5 months, if they are well supported and well documented by people like you, I am sure that there will be a lot of people still wanting to play Test cricket.”

Match abandoned Charith Asalanka’s dazzling century and Dilshan Madushanka’s double-wicket maiden had given Sri Lanka the advantage over Zimbabwe after 54 overs of cricket, but persistent evening rain in Colombo meant the first ODI ended without a result.Rain threatened through the afternoon, finally arriving four overs into the chase. At the time, Zimbabwe, chasing 274 for victory, were reeling at 12 for 2 after Madushanka’s new-ball spell had just removed Tinashe Kamunhukamwe and Craig Ervine for ducks.But Asalanka’s 95-ball 101 was the standout performance of the day, not only for his shot-making but also for the patience he showed. With batters regularly falling around him and no real partnerships taking shape, Asalanka had to adjust his tempo and rein in his aggressive instincts till he eventually felt the time had come.He was on 52 when the No. 8 Maheesh Theekshana joined him with 13 overs to go, and he built a partnership of 23 with Theekshana and 52 with Dushmantha Chameera by rotating the strike smartly and picking the right balls to attack. All four of Asalanka’s sixes came in that period, and he took Sri Lanka to a respectable 273 for 9.Dilshan Madushanka bowled two maiden overs, picking up two wickets in the second of those•Ishara S Kodikara/AFP via Getty Images

Before Asalanka stole the show, it was left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava and Zimbabwe’s spinners who impressed. Ngarava operated on that nagging off-stump channel and, with the new ball, accounted for Avishka Fernando for a duck and Sadeera Samarawickrama for 41.Offspinner Tapiwa Mufudza – the highest wicket-taker in Zimbabwe’s recent Pro50 tournament – found turn through the afternoon to finish his ten-over spell with none for 37 on ODI debut. Sikandar Raza got an arm ball to bowl Theekshana and also controlled the middle overs as he claimed 1 for 41. Raza’s direct hit to run Kusal Mendis out for 46 was also crucial in pegging Sri Lanka back on a surface that promised big runs at the start.Blessing Muzarabani produced a strong spell to finish with 2 for 62, using his height to hurry Sri Lanka’s lower-order batters and add the dots. Faraz Akram, on ODI debut too, was wayward with his medium-pace, but sent back fellow debutant Janith Liyanage (24) and Sahan Arachchige (11) against the run of play to ensure Sri Lanka never ran away with the game.With many of Zimbabwe’s bowlers struggling to cope with the conditions, Ryan Burl was used as a fill-in, but his 3.2 overs went for 32, with Asalanka pouncing on the opportunities at the death before being run-out in the last over looking to get back on strike.The second ODI will be played at the same venue on Monday.

Big picture: 4-1 or 3-2?

After three run-fests, Raipur finally provided an even contest between bat and ball as India sealed the five-match series with a game to go. But expect the runs to start flowing again, and with some intensity, as India and Australia travel to Bengaluru for the fifth and final T20I.A turnaround time of under 48 hours isn’t ideal but the Australians, Travis Head and Tanveer Sangha, in particular, might not complain. The duo are the only ones in the current squad who have been in India since the start of the ODI World Cup – Head as part of the 15-man squad, Sangha as travelling reserve – and will keenly be looking forward to going back home.Australia have tried as many as 19 players so far in the series, ringing in the changes in a bid to give some of their exhausted players a break. They made five changes for the Raipur T20I but the reinforcements coming in failed to level the series. While they’ve taken the fast bowlers to the cleaners consistently, the Australian batting has been found wanting against the spin duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel.Related

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They could, however, expect some respite from the Bengaluru pitch, which has historically not aided spin as much as some of the other surfaces they’ve played on as Australia look to end their tour of India on a high.While India haven’t been as clinical, what would please Suryakumar Yadav the most is the individual players standing up under pressure. Jitesh Sharma, playing his first game of the series came in and smashed a 19-ball 35 in Raipur while Rinku Singh showed that he was not just a finisher and had the technique to set up a total as well.The fast-bowling unit is probably one area where the boxes haven’t been ticked, but Deepak Chahar’s return after an injury layoff will give India reasons to be happy. He didn’t have the best of starts to his spell but came back well later and struck two important blows. The team management will hope for a more rounded show from the fast-bowling attack come Sunday.

Form guide

India WLWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Australia LWLLWYashasvi Jaiswal has a powerplay strike rate of 174.62 in the series so far•Associated Press

In the spotlight: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Aaron Hardie

Barring the third T20I, Yashasvi Jaiswal has given India a quick start in every game this series, but is yet to make it out of the powerplay. No other batter in the series has scored more runs in the first first six overs than Jaiswal while his strike rate of 174.62 during this phase is only second to Head’s 194.11. However, the Indian management might want him to convert his starts into something more substantial. Jaiswal has had a terrific start to his T20I career – two fifties and a century in 11 innings. Bengaluru gives him a chance to add to those numbers.Aaron Hardie hasn’t set the T20I stage on fire yet, but the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is probably one venue where he will feel most at home. He likes pace on the ball and the ball coming onto the bat, and the conditions in Bengaluru are likely to provide him with that. Hardie had a tremendous 2022-23 BBL season, finishing as the top run-getter. He hasn’t fully shown that big-hitting potential in the two T20Is that he has batted this series, but the surface in Bengaluru and the boundary dimensions could help him unleash some of those hit-through-the-line maximums. A few wickets with the ball, and Hardie could well be the player to watch out for.

Team news: Expect more changes

India made four changes to their side for the fourth T20I, and with the series in the bag could well make a few more for the final game. They might be tempted to give Washington Sundar a game in place of one of Axar or Bishnoi, while Tilak Varma could also get a game, in case the team management wants to rest any of the players in the top order. India went with Mukesh Kumar, Chahar and Avesh Khan as their fast-bowling options in Raipur and are unlikely to make any changes on that front.India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Shreyas Iyer/Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Axar Patel/Washington Sundar, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Mukesh KumarAustralia don’t have the scope to make a lot of changes, considering they have only 13 players in the squad left. They could consider bringing in one of Kane Richardson or Nathan Ellis in place of Sangha.Australia (probable): 1 Josh Phillippe, 2 Travis Head, 3 Ben McDermott, 4 Aaron Hardie, 5 Tim David, 6 Matthew Short, 7 Matthew Wade (capt,wk), 8 Ben Dwarshuis, 9 Chris Green, 10 Jason Behrendorff, 11 Tanveer Sangha/Nathan Ellis/Kane Richarson

Pitch and conditions: Another run-fest in the offing

Runs, runs and runs have been the theme at the Chinnaswamy Stadium of late. With short boundaries and a placid surface, another run-fest could well be on the cards on Sunday. In the IPL this year, scores in excess of 180 were breached in nine of 14 innings, and even in the ODI World Cup batters enjoyed their time here.While the overhead conditions are likely to remain cloudy, there is no threat of rain with the temperature expected to hover around the 18 to 22 degree mark on the Celsius scale.

Stats and trivia

• Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored all his runs (117) in this series in the first powerplay, at a strike rate of 174.62.
• Jason Behrendorff has the best economy rate of all bowlers – 5.75 after three matches. He has also picked up four wickets.
• Rinku Singh has scored 49 runs off 20 balls in the death overs in this series, striking at 245.00.
• Suryakumar needs just 20 runs to reach 2000 runs in T20Is. If he gets there on Sunday, he will be the quickest Indian to the mark.

Quotes

“Throughout the series, he has been bowling very well. And our partnership has also been great. He’s bowled in the powerplay so have I, and that combination has been good.”

Spin took 13 out of the 15 wickets that fell on the first day of the Dhaka Test. New Zealand sunk to 46 for five in response to Bangladesh’s 172 all out, and finished the day on 55 for five as Mehidy Hasan Miraz took three wickets and Taijul Islam two. The Bangladesh spinners gave back what their batters suffered at the hand of the New Zealand spinners.Play was called off at 4:16pm, at least 14 minutes before the scheduled end, as bad light took effect on a murky day in Dhaka. Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Philips remained unbeaten on 12 and 5 respectively after the visitors ended up losing half their side in 49 minutes.Mehidy removed Devon Conway when the left-hander left an arm ball from the offspinner. Taijul removed Tom Latham in the next over, caught behind to a delivery that kept low, caught well by wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan. Taijul struck in his next over too, when Henry Nicholls was caught at mid-on by Shoriful Islam.Related

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Mehidy then had two in three balls in the 12th over when Shahadat Hossain took a good catch at short-leg, to remove Kane Williamson. One ball later, Tom Blundell was trapped dead in front of the stumps.New Zealand’s spin trio had earlier led the way as Bangladesh folded for 172. Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel took eight wickets between them while Tim Southee took the other one that went to the bowlers. Mushfiqur Rahim, meanwhile, was given out obstructing the field, a dismissal that came at a critical moment for the visitors.Mushfiqur and Shahadat Hossain had only started to resurrect Bangladesh with a 57-run stand after they had fallen to 47 for four, before the 88-Test veteran had a brain-fade moment. Otherwise though, Bangladesh’s batters got out to soft shots as the visitors pounced on the mistakes.Mushfiqur Rahim had steadied Bangladesh before he was out obstructing the field•BCB

Bangladesh lost four wickets each in the day’s first two sessions. The root of the rot was in the sixth over when Bangladesh opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy tried too many things in the day’s first over of spin. Patel started off with deliveries that spun and kept low, to which Joy tried everything including a wild slog.The wicket followed soon after, when Santner had Zakir Hasan top-edging an attempted hoick towards long-on. It took a top-edge, and Williamson took the easy catch at mid-on for eight. Within four balls, Patel had Mahmudul caught at short leg, catching the inside edge with a poke. Mahmadul made 14.Mominul Haque fell caught behind attempting a near-impossible cut shot against Patel. The ball had spun back at him, stayed a tad low, as Mominul, for the second time in this Test series, was caught behind off the inside edge. Glenn Philips had got him in Sylhet, while Patel had him in the first innings in Dhaka.It was clear that batting wasn’t going to be easy on this pitch, so Najmul Hossain Shanto attempted to hit his way out of trouble. It lasted just 14 balls when his third attempt to reverse-sweep ended up in him being pinned lbw by Santner.Mushfiqur and Shahadat batted out the 13 overs before lunch with a little more ease, as Bangladesh went to lunch at 80 for four. Both batters used a bit more commonsense in their approach, which they were also expected to do after lunch.Forty-seven minutes after the break, Mushfiqur did the unthinkable. After he defended a Kyle Jamieson delivery in the 41st over, for reasons best known to him, Mushfiqur tried to pat away the ball that was already a fair distance from his stumps. New Zealand appealed immediately, and the TV umpire obliged with the obstructing the field decision.Mushfiqur made 35 off 83 balls with three fours and a slog-swept six. Shahadat followed him back to the pavilion in another 20 minutes, Phillips having him caught down the leg-side for 31. He struck two fours in his 102-ball stay.Phillips then removed Nurul for seven runs, with the bat turning in his hand as he attempted to hit out at the offspinner. Santner had Mehidy caught at slip for 20, in the over before tea. Phillips added his third when he had Taijul lbw for six, with the batter not attempting a shot.Southee, who didn’t concede a run in his first five overs, took the final wicket in his sixth over, when he had Shoriful Islam caught behind for 10. TV umpire Ahsan Raza decided that Tom Blundell took the catch cleanly after the on-field umpires couldn’t ascertain the legality of the catch.The 15 wickets that fell on Wednesday is the most on the first day of a Test in Bangladesh, while the 13 taken by spinners is the joint-highest along with the India-Australia Indore Test earlier this year.

It’s been one of the toughest selection calls imaginable, but England have opted to axe Jason Roy from their final World Cup squad, after a protracted saga that has dominated the back-end of the international season. Here’s how the timeline unfolded.August 13
Matthew Mott, England’s white-ball coach, tells the that he hopes to convince Ben Stokes out of ODI retirement: “Jos [Buttler] will probably lead the way on that communication, but Ben’s pretty straight with all of us. We will see if he’s keen.”August 14
report that Stokes will “make a sensational U-turn” and that he has indicated to England’s management that he will be available for the World Cup.August 15
England’s selectors meet in Nottingham, where Buttler is staying ahead of a Hundred fixture. They come up with a 15-man squad for their four-match series against New Zealand, which doubles as their provisional World Cup squad. Jason Roy is pencilled in as Jonny Bairstow’s opening partner, with Dawid Malan as the spare batter.August 16
England announce their squad, with Stokes’ return squeezing Harry Brook out. “That’s the incredibly tough decision we’ve had to make,” Luke Wright, one of the selectors, says of Brook’s omission. “I’m sure he’s disappointed but unfortunately in a 15-man squad, someone’s going to have to miss out.”August 18
Brook hits 44 off 24 balls for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred, 24 hours after Malan was dropped by Trent Rockets. “Obviously it’s disappointing but I can’t do anything about it now,” Brook says. “You’ve just got to move on. I’m trying not to think about it anymore.”August 22
Brook hits 105 not out off 42 balls for Superchargers against Welsh Fire, in a team total of 158 for 7. It is the highest individual score of the men’s Hundred season, and the fastest century in the tournament’s brief history. “I had my gameplan, stuck to it, and thankfully I middled a few,” he says.Harry Brook produced an astonishing century for Northern Superchargers, soon after his World Cup omission•Getty Images

August 25
Buttler leaves the door open for Brook’s return. “There’s still a long time before everyone is meant to get on the plane, so we’ll wait and see what happens,” he says. “We all know Harry’s a fantastic player and we saw what he can do the other night. It’s not like it’s a surprise: we know what a brilliant player he is.”August 27
Roy wins the men’s Hundred with Oval Invincibles, but makes his third duck of the season in the final and finishes the tournament with 154 runs in nine innings. “It was a great moment but then you wake up the next day and you’re like, ‘Sh*t, I’ve got work to do before the World Cup,'” Roy later tells the .August 30
England cruise to victory in the first T20I against New Zealand at Chester-le-Street: Malan makes 54 off 42 balls, and Brook ends 43 not out off 27. Asked if he feels under pressure from Brook, Malan says: “I don’t know where that comparison’s come from… I bat top three and he bats No. 4, 5, 6.”September 1
In the second T20I in Manchester, Malan makes 0 off 4 and Brook whacks 67 off 36, including five fours and five sixes. “Harry played brilliantly,” Buttler says. “[There is] a lot of noise around… credit to him for how he’s handling it.”September 3
Malan scores 2 off 11 in the third T20I at Edgbaston; Brook makes 8 off 8. The publish an interview with Roy, who admits he is unlikely to play international cricket beyond the World Cup: “It’s going to be tough with the 50-over stuff and I’m not in the T20 set-up… do they want to look at the future, which is probably the right thing? Will Jacks is ripe for that job. I’m at ease with it.”Jason Roy made a duck in the Hundred final, to compound his run of low scores•Getty Images

September 5
Malan hits 26 off 21 in the final T20I at Trent Bridge, while Brook makes 4 off 8. Speaking before the game, Mott repeatedly stresses that the squad is only “provisional”, telling Sky Sports: “What I’ve been most impressed by is his response since missing out and that’s what great players do. There’s a lot to play out before we pick that first XI against New Zealand in India and we’ve always said it’s a provisional squad.”September 6
Brook is added to the squad to play New Zealand as batting cover, with Malan’s wife expecting a baby and Bairstow sustaining a shoulder niggle. He is also included in a 13-man squad to play Ireland at the end of the month.September 8
Roy suffers a back spasm in Cardiff on the morning of the first ODI. Malan and Brook open the batting together, putting on 80 in 15 overs. Malan makes 54 off 53, while Brook manages 25 off 41; Liam Livingstone, who would not have played but for Roy’s injury, hits his second ODI fifty.September 10
Malan misses the second ODI at the Ageas Bowl, the day after his son’s birth. Brook opens alongside Bairstow and makes 2 off 12, while Roy is not deemed fit enough to return. Livingstone hits his second half-century in three days to secure his World Cup place.Malan’s ODI form against New Zealand was too good for the selectors to ignore•Getty Images

September 13
Roy suffers another back spasm on the morning of the third ODI. He tries hard to shake it off in the warm-ups but is ruled out. Malan rescues England from 13 for 2 at The Oval, hitting 96 off 95 balls and sharing a stand worth 199 with Ben Stokes – whose 182 breaks Roy’s record for the highest individual ODI innings by an England batter.September 15
Roy fails to convince England that he is fit enough to play in the fourth ODI at Lord’s. “It’s a frustration, and the most frustrated person is Jason,” Buttler says. “He is not quite fit to play a game of cricket today.” Malan hits a sublime 127 off 114 balls, his fifth ODI hundred in 15 months.September 17
England name their finalised World Cup squad, with Brook replacing Roy in the only change from the provisional list.September 18
Wright explains that Malan has leapfrogged Roy as Bairstow’s opening partner, and that Brook’s versatility and fitness gave him the edge over Roy as the spare batter: “It’s been an incredibly tough decision but it shows where we’re at in English cricket, that there are so many tough decisions.”

Bas de Leede put in an all-round performance for the ages as Netherlands stunned Scotland to book their ticket to the 2023 men’s ODI World Cup in India. First, de Leede’s maiden five-wicket haul helped Netherlands restrict Scotland to 277 for 9. Netherlands needed to chase that down inside 44 overs to trump Scotland on net run-rate. Around the halfway mark, they looked all but out of the contest, before de Leede smashed 123 off 92 balls, his first ODI century, to power them over the line in 42.5 overs, with four wickets to spare.This will be Netherlands’ fifth appearance in the men’s ODI World Cup. They last featured in the 2011 edition. De Leede, meanwhile, became only the fourth player to score a hundred and take five wickets in a men’s ODI, reducing Brandon McMullen’s equally outstanding hundred for Scotland to a footnote.In the morning, Scott Edwards opted to bowl citing help for seamers in the first hour, and Logan van Beek duly sent Matthew Cross’ off stump cartwheeling in the opening over of the match. Christopher McBride and McMullen ensured Scotland didn’t lose another wicket in the first ten overs. While McBride struggled with timing, McMullen looked at ease. He used his feet well, often coming down the track to try to disrupt the Netherlands seamers’ lengths.McBride chipped in with two successive fours off left-arm spinner Clayton Floyd in the tenth over but fell to de Leede in the next when he pulled straight to short midwicket. De Leede picked up his second wicket when George Munsey gloved a pull that was caught down the leg side.That left Scotland 64 for 3 in the 15th over, but McMullen was looking more and more comfortable by now.Through a perfect alchemy of timing and power, he put up an exhibition of eye-catching strokes. In the 11th over, he timed offspinner Aryan Dutt over long-off for his first six. A few overs later, he went down the pitch to a short ball from de Leede and smashed it over mid-on. To bring up his fifty – off 63 balls – he lofted Ryan Klein over wide long-off for another six, and then chipped Floyd over extra cover for back-to-back fours.Brandon McMullen scored his second ODI century•ICC/Getty Images

McMullen reached his hundred off 106 balls, with a punched four through extra-cover off van Beek. He and Richie Berrington added 137 off 135 balls for the fourth wicket, and took the side past 200 in the 38th over. Scotland were eyeing a total in excess of 300, but the late strikes from Klein and de Leede reined them in. Klein first had McMullen caught behind and then left Michael Leask’s stumps in disarray to make it 207 for 5.Berrington held one end up and brought up his half-century but couldn’t provide the impetus. He was on 64 when de Leede uprooted his middle stump. Shortly afterwards, de Leede sent back Chris Greaves and Mark Watt off consecutive deliveries to complete his five-for. All that meant Scotland could score only 74 in the last 12 overs.Max O’Dowd and Vikramjit Singh gave Netherlands a steady start of 65 in 12.4 overs before Michael Leask trapped both lbw in successive overs. The loss of Wesley Barresi and Teja Nidamanuru in a short interval further dented Netherlands’ chances, leaving them needing 170 in 20 overs to qualify.De Leede was on 19 off 30 at that stage. He and Edwards revived the chase by hitting four fours in four balls, across the 25th and 26th overs. The pair added 55 in 44 balls before Edwards failed to connect with a sweep against Watt and was lbw.Even at this point, Scotland were the favourites; Netherlands needed 115 in 13.1 overs with half their side back in the pavilion. And when the next three overs produced just 12 runs, it became 102 required from ten overs.With Netherlands’ backs against the wall, de Leede went on an all-out attack. He started by hitting Watt for a six before picking up two fours off Safyaan Sharif a couple of overs later. Saqib Zulfiqar too found the occasional boundary to keep Netherlands abreast with the required rate.With 45 needed in four overs, it was even-stevens. That’s when de Leede went into overdrive, hitting four sixes in a space of ten balls that also included a maximum from Zulfiqar. One of those hits took de Leede to his hundred, off just 85 balls. By the team he was run out, Netherlands needed just two from 11 balls. They got them in singles.

Hobart Hurricanes have been able to shore up their BBL list by re-signing in-demand power hitters Tim David and Ben McDermott beyond next season.David, 27, has signed a one-year extension to take his contract through until the end of the 2024-25 season. McDermott, 28, has committed to the Hurricanes until the end of 2025-26.David has become a global T20 phenomenon since making his name at Hurricanes in 2020 after starting his career as a fringe player with Perth Scorchers. He has become a mainstay in Australia’s T20I side over the last 12 months.Related

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Despite being part of the Mumbai Indians franchise and playing for MI Cape Town in the SA T20 last year, after he had completed his BBL commitments, as well as MI New York in the upcoming Major League Cricket in the United States, David will continue to commit to the BBL with Hurricanes for the next two seasons.”I am very happy to be extending with the Hurricanes for the next couple of years,” David said.”While I am playing a lot of my cricket overseas, I feel at home among my teammates and support staff in the Hurricanes setup, and I am hopeful that I can contribute more to this group going forward.”Ben McDermott goes on the attack•Getty Images

McDermott has committed to Hurricanes long-term despite leaving Tasmania after eight years to relocate to Queensland with his young family to play his domestic cricket for the Bulls.McDermott said it was difficult to leave Tasmania but remaining with Hurricanes provided a silver lining.”I haven’t spoken a whole lot publicly about it, but it was genuinely a really difficult decision to make,” McDermott said. “Ultimately, family comes before everything, which I know everyone down in Tassie was really understanding and supportive of, but it was a really hard decision given how long I was down there, how much I grew as a cricketer during my time in that program, and the fact that a lot of the guys I played with for all of those years are some of my best mates.”The fact that competitions like the Big Bash allow players to move around a little bit is perfect for me – there’s a lot of similarity between the Tigers and Hurricanes squads, so I’m rapt that I will still have the opportunity to play with a lot of those guys and spend some quality time down in Tassie over the next few years.”Plus, on-field, I really believe we have a great team that can make history for the Hurricanes. We had pretty much all of the ingredients last year, and things just didn’t quite go our way when it counted. With a couple of tweaks here and there, I’m really excited about what we can achieve not just in BBL 13, but beyond that as well.”Hobart Hurricanes squad: Tim David, Paddy Dooley, Nathan Ellis, Peter Hatzoglou, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade

Legspinner Danielle Gregory starred with a triple-wicket maiden to demolish Sunrisers for just 64 as South East Stars triumphed by 91 runs at Radlett to go top of the table in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.Sunrisers looked well-placed to record a first victory against their local rivals in any format after restricting them to 151 for 9 from 29 overs in a rain-reduced game, with legspinner Abtaha Maqsood taking 4 for 23.But the Stars bowlers rose to the challenge, with medium-pacer Phoebe Franklin taking a trio of early wickets to finish with 3 for 18 while Sophia Dunkley pulled off four outfield catches, two of them outstanding.Gregory then claimed three wickets in an over, returning figures of 4 for 12 as the innings disintegrated and Sunrisers were dismissed in 17 overs for their second-lowest score in the tournament.After morning showers, play finally got under way at 12.45pm, with Sunrisers inserting their visitors in overcast conditions and gaining an early reward when Dunkley’s leg stump was sent flying by Kate Coppack.It took Stars until the fifth over to register a boundary, courtesy of Bryony Smith’s sweetly-struck on-drive, but they began to gather momentum as she and Kira Chathli capitalised on short bowling from Coppack and Eva Gray.A downpour struck with Stars 37 for 1 in the eighth over – and, when play resumed an hour later, the visitors continued to make good progress despite the loss of Smith, caught in the deep off opposite number Kelly Castle.Paige Scholfield, with two centuries already to her name in this year’s tournament, thrashed Gray for the first six of the game and followed it up with another maximum off Mady Villiers as she raced to 27 from 25 balls.But the pendulum swung towards Sunrisers as Villiers had Chathli caught at midwicket for 28 and the innings never recovered after Maqsood’s flight trapped Scholfield in front in the next over.Smart glovework behind the stumps by Amara Carr brought the spinner two more wickets, while Alice Davidson-Richards was bowled attempting to drive through the off side and Grace Scrivens’ tidy spell of 1 for 15 from five overs helped to squeeze the Stars tail.Although the target was raised by four runs to align with DLS, Sunrisers set out needing less than five and a half an over – but that assignment looked close to impossible once their top order had been blown away by Franklin.Freya Davies, a model of accuracy during her opening spell, brought one in to bowl Scrivens before opening partner Lissy MacLeod slapped a wide delivery from Franklin into the hands of the cover fielder.Leaping to her left at extra cover, Dunkley pulled off a magnificent grab to remove Villiers and, when a slower ball by Franklin deceived Saskia Horley, the fielder gobbled up a more straightforward chance.Cordelia Griffith did her best to hold Sunrisers’ innings together, hitting four boundaries in her knock of 27 from 29 until she fell victim to another impressive catch by Dunkley, running back from mid-off to take the ball over her shoulder.Gregory then collected three wickets in six deliveries, including a return catch to dismiss former team-mate Gray for a duck and although Carr and Coppack stemmed the bleeding with a stand of 20 for the ninth wicket, the damage had long since been done.