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England allrounder Moeen Ali has called the recent Australia team “rude” and that they are the only one he has “disliked” following the 2017-18 Ashes series and a previous tour three years ago.Shortly after the Ashes, which Australia won 4-0, they were sent into crisis by the ball-tampering saga in South Africa which led to 12-month bans for Steven Smith and David Warner and a nine-month ban for Cameron Bancroft.Cricket Australia commissioned a review into the culture around the team while much criticism was leveled on them, both for what happened at Newlands and also the environment that built up beforehand.”Everyone you speak to . . . they are the only team I’ve played against my whole life that I’ve actually disliked,” Moeen told the in an interview with Mike Atherton. “Not because it’s Australia and they are the old enemy but because of the way they carry on and [their] disrespect of people and players.””The first game I played against them, in Sydney just before the 2015 World Cup, they were not just going hard at you, they were almost abusing you. That was the first time it hit me. I gave them the benefit of the doubt but the more I played against them they were just as bad, the Ashes here [in 2015] they were worse actually. Not intimidating, just rude. Individually they are fine and the Aussies we’ve had at Worcester have been fantastic, lovely guys.”Asked about the subsequent events in South Africa, Moeen said: “I’m someone who generally feels sorry for people when things go wrong but it’s difficult to feel sorry for them. This ODI series they were very good actually; they’d been…humbled.”Moeen endured a poor Ashes series in Australia and was eventually dropped for the final Test against New Zealand in March and has since conceded he should have been left out before that. He returned against India at the Ageas Bowl last month with a match-winning nine-wicket haul to seal the series.Australia’s one-day series against England earlier this year was their first outing since the ball-tampering scandal and a new-look side lost 5-0. They will shortly play their first Test cricket since South Africa when they take on Pakistan in the UAE next month. The Test squad includes a number of new and recalled faces in the absence of Smith, Warner and Bancroft alongside injuries to pacemen Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

Welcome to our new rolling report. This page will keep you up to date throughout the match, with updates from our team at the ground, stats and graphics, end-of-session reports, and more (if you don’t see the blog immediately, please hit refresh). But don’t worry, you can still follow traditional ball-by-ball commentary as well

Durham have signed Cameron Bancroft as their overseas player in all formats for 2019 -a further chance for rehabilitation for the Western Australian batsman after the ball-tampering escapade involving three Australian players.Bancroft was given a nine-month ban from international, State and Big Bash cricket by Cricket Australia that will expire in late December after he was caught trying to change the condition of the ball with sandpaper during a Test against South Africa in Cape Town.David Warner and Steve Smith, the other players banned after the Cape Town malarkey, with each of them serving 12-month suspensions, have already secured overseas contracts in Canada and the Caribbean Premier League.Bancroft’s competitive cricket has been more low-key, restricted to the Northern Territory Strike League. He is also expected to play for the WA Premier League club Willetton before an expected return with the Perth Scorchers.Bancroft, who admitted to altering the condition of the ball using sandpaper, had signed for Somerset in 2018 but his contract was withdrawn.Alongside the talk of forgiveness, but what is most interesting is the cricketing decision. Bancroft, subject to calls from Cricket Australia for either the World Cup or, more likely, Ashes series, has signed up for the whole season, an increasingly rare event in the English county game.In part, it is an indication of his desire for a settled period after a highly-fraught experience, although it also represents good positioning. With the World Cup due to take place in England next summer, followed by an Ashes Test series, he will hope to force himself into contention with a burst of early-season form. That is a sizeable task. Even before the ball-tampering affair, his Test place was under scrutiny and he has played only one T20I.Cameron Bancroft playing in the NT Strike League•Getty Images

His reputation in T20 is not particularly high, but the same is true of Tom Latham, the New Zealand batsman who has stabilised Durham’s top order in the past two seasons. They have reached the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast under Latham’s captaincy with a game built around lower totals on the more challenging pitches in the north-east.Durham head coach Jon Lewis, said: “Cameron provides us with a very talented overseas signing who can bulk up our batting line up and help us compete for silverware.”Tom Latham has done a great job for us over the past two seasons but we anticipate Tom being unavailable due to the World Cup in 2019, therefore we were delighted to be able to bring Cameron in.”Cameron is a talented top order batsman and a great talent across all formats, he has the appetite and temperament for scoring big runs.”Bancroft said: “I am grateful for the opportunity and I can’t wait to get over and make an impact with Durham”.As part of his punishment, Bancroft has been required to undertake 100 hours’ community service. He has volunteered for a Perth charity working with children who have cancer and has undertaken a course in Spanish.

West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor has signed for Somerset for the rest of the Vitality Blast. He is expected to be available for nine South Group games, as well as the knockout stage if Somerset qualify.Taylor was a member of the West Indies squad that lifted the 2016 World T20, and played his most-recent T20I in January. He has previously appeared in county cricket for Sussex and Leicestershire.”We are delighted to have secured such a high-quality player for the business end of the Vitality Blast,” Somerset’s director of cricket, Andy Hurry, said. “He brings with him a wealth of international T20 experience and is a player who can really impact games with the ball, both with the new ball and especially at the end of an innings.”Taylor is set to debut in next Friday’s game against Surrey at The Oval. Once one of West Indies’ fastest bowlers, he claimed 5 for 11 as England were bowled out for 51 in Jamaica nine years ago and has played more than 150 times for his country across all formats. In T20, he has taken 104 wickets in 89 games, with an economy of 8.12.”I’m really excited to be joining Somerset for the Vitality Blast,” Taylor said. “It’s a real honour to join such a prestigious club and I hope that I can help bring my experience to what looks like a really exciting group of young players.”

Mohammad Hafeez will not face any penalty over his outburst in the media against the ICC’s process of reviewing suspect actions.The Pakistan allrounder was given the opportunity to clarify his comments to a three-member PCB disciplinary committee and he said: “”My intention was not to criticise ICC protocols nor did I mention any respected cricket board in my interview. The interview was all about my suggestions to improve the [bowling action test] standards and to remove doubts from the minds of cricket fans. Unfortunately, my comments were misinterpreted and used out of context.”The committee, which included Director Cricket Operations Haroon Rasheed, Media Director Amjad Hussain and General Manager Salman Naseer, accepted his explanation and declared the matter resolved.Hafeez, 37, had questioned the ICC’s methods of finding bowlers with suspect actions last month after he was reported for one, then banned and was finally cleared to bowl again. Having been through such scrutiny for a third time in his career, Hafeez suggested the relative power of cricket boards came into the picture and wondered how umpires could spot the tiniest errors in a bowler’s delivery.He told that the results of his testing in Loughborough showed that he flexed his elbow only a couple of degrees over the acceptable limit of 15. “So I have my doubts about this calling system. This is suspicious, why are match referees or on-field umpires not able to see those flexing up to 35, but me with 16 degrees.”The PCB had initially taken no interest in the remarks, but were moved to action once the ICC took notice of them.

Rehan Ahmed scored a superb maiden century to save Leicestershire from defeat in the LV=Insurance County Championship match against Derbyshire at Derby.The England Under-19 allrounder decorated the last day of the season at the Incora County Ground with a breathtaking 122 off 113 balls to provide a memorable finale to a miserable season for Division Two’s bottom club.It was also a record-breaking performance as he became the first Leicestershire player to score his first hundred and take his maiden five-wicket haul in the same match. The 18-year-old was well supported by Lewis Hill who scored 60 off 157 balls and shared a fourth wicket stand of 163 in 35 overs with Ahmed.Harry Swindells, with 48, and Tom Scriven, (30), added a further 70 and although Sam Conners celebrated his county cap by taking his 50th Championship wicket for the summer, Leicestershire were 86 ahead at 405 for 7 when rain consigned the game to a draw with 20 overs remaining.Derbyshire probably sensed the chance of an early finish when Ben Aitchison struck in the fourth over of the morning. Sam Evans had driven the fast bowler square to the boundary but the next ball drew him into playing and Wayne Madsen held a low catch at second slip.Leicestershire’s top order had collapsed in the first innings but Ahmed joined Hill to provide another impressive demonstration of his talent.After a frenetic start, Ahmed settled in to bat with controlled aggression, playing shots all around the wicket to reach a brilliant hundred. An upper-cut for six off Aitchison was one of the memorable shots in a maiden fifty which came off 60 balls and he needed only 39 more to reach three figures.There were no signs of nerves as he waltzed down the pitch after lunch to deposit Leus du Plooy’s left-arm spin over the long-off boundary and he dished out the same treatment to off-spinner Alex Thomson. Another six off Thomson took him to 99 and the next ball he drove through the covers for his 12th four to reach three figures in only his third first-class match.Ahmed is now in the distinguished company of former England allrounder Phillip DeFreitas who was the last Leicestershire player to score a century and take five wickets in an innings in the same game, in 2003 against Sussex at Grace Road.It was the first time it has been done in a first-class game between the two counties at Derby since Derbyshire’s Garnet Lee made an unbeaten 107 and took 5 for 31 in 1928.Ahmed drove Thomson for a fifth six but in the next over he skied a slog-sweep at du Plooy and Luis Reece ran in to take the catch at mid-on.Hill had played a valuable supporting role but he fell to the second new ball when he tried to cut Aitchison and was caught at first slip.Conners beat the bat numerous times before he struck twice in consecutive overs, having Scriven caught behind pulling before Swindells dabbed the fast bowler into the gloves of Brooke Guest. But the light was fading before rain swept in just after 4.30pm with Derbyshire finishing fifth in Division Two while Leicestershire end the season without a Championship victory.

MI Emirates, the Mumbai Indians-owned team in the UAE’s ILT20, have announced their roster of non-UAE [overseas] players, headlined by old favourite Kieron Pollard, and Trent Boult, who opted out of a New Zealand central contract on Wednesday to spend more time with his family and focus on T20 franchise cricket.The league has allowed the six participating franchises to pick as “direct acquisitions” up to 14 overseas players for their line-ups – with up to nine allowed in the playing XIs. For MI Emirates, the 14 are Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran and Andre Fletcher (from the West Indies); Boult (from New Zealand); Imran Tahir (from South Africa); Najibullah Zadran, Zahir Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi (from Afghanistan); Samit Patel, Will Smeed and Jordan Thompson (from England); Brad Wheal (from Scotland); and Bas de Leede (from the Netherlands).Related

• Shane Bond appointed MI Emirates head coach

• Trent Boult hoping he's not done with Test cricket just yet

• Lynn, Hetmyer, Jordan join Gulf Giants in ILT20

• Russell, Narine, Bairstow join Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for ILT20

• Boult's choice a landmark moment in fast-evolving landscape

While Pollard has been a one-team man in the IPL, turning out for Mumbai Indians every season since starting out with them in 2010, Boult was traded to Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2020 season by Delhi Capitals and went on to play a starring role in their title run. He picked up 25 wickets that season, second only to Jasprit Bumrah’s 27, and was the Player of the Final as Mumbai Indians won their fifth title. Bravo and Pooran have also represented Mumbai Indians in the past.”I am delighted with our dynamic group of 14 players that will be part of our #Onefamily and represent ‘MI Emirates’,” Akash M Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio, the owners of the franchise, said in a statement. “We are glad to have one of our key pillars, Kieron Pollard continue with MI Emirates. Joining us back are Dwayne Bravo, Trent Boult and Nicholas Pooran.”On Thursday, the franchise owned by the same group in the yet-to-be-named South African T20 league – MI Cape Town – had announced their pre-signings for the inaugural edition, to run more or less concurrently with the ILT20. That list reads: Rashid Khan, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada and Dewald Brevis.The MI Emirates team will be based in Abu Dhabi. The local UAE players will be added to the squad in the near future.

Nottinghamshire 285 (Montgomery 80, Hameed 70, James 50, Hogan 4-47, Harris 4-65) and 259 for 4 (Clarke 95, James 76*) drew with Glamorgan 318 and 421 for 5 (Byrom 144, Northeast 105*, Lloyd 60)Nottinghamshire showed why they are leading the way in Division Two by batting through the day in Cardiff to frustrate a Glamorgan side who needed nine wickets for victory.Chasing an improbable 455 to win, Notts finished on 259 for 4 with wicketkeeper batter Joe Clarke making 95 and Lyndon James unbeaten at the end on 76. Captain Steven Mullaney was 28 not out, while Notts finished 195 behind.Glamorgan were left to rue a couple of decisions which could have exposed the Notts tailenders to the second new ball, but the Cardiff wicket remained true and in the end the pursuit was called off with just over nine overs to go as both sides agreed a draw.The Welsh County were only able to take three wickets on the final day, two of those to the occasional spin of Colin Ingram and Kiran Carlson, and they were unable to claim the win that would have moved them second in the table.Notts will feel they have earned their cushion in the promotion hunt, with a 19-point gap to third-placed Worcestershire and Glamorgan a further four points behind that.Clarke would have enjoyed giving Welsh cricket fans an exhibition of his talents as he will be back at the Cardiff Wales Stadium on a regular basis in the next few weeks as part of the Welsh Fire squad in the Hundred.He came to the wicket early as Glamorgan got the perfect start, James Harris trapping Matt Montgomery lbw in the second over of the morning. Getting rid of the first-innings top-scorer seemed a crucial breakthrough for the Welsh county.However they had to wait until six minutes before lunch for another wicket to fall as Clarke and Ben Slater successfully blunted the bowling attack.Glamorgan captain David Lloyd ran through his options and brought on Ingram, who lured Slater into giving a caught-and-bowled chance with the batter departing for 48.That put Notts three down at lunch, probably the minimum Glamorgan required to continue their push for victory.The afternoon session was one of frustration for the bowlers with even half chances few and far between as Lyndon James joined Clarke and the pair took the score to 184 for 3 at tea.Clarke seemed odds-on to move onto his century, especially when Glamorgan brought on part-time spinner Carlson for the first over after tea.An innocuous ball outside off stump flicked Clarke’s edge, Chris Cooke took the catch and suddenly the game was thrown open.Glamorgan took the second new ball as soon as it was available with 25 overs to go and the mood of the game changed as Notts captain Steven Mullaney joined James at the crease.Australian Michael Neser charged in with the new ball and had a strong lbw shout against Mullaney turned down second ball, while the fifth ball was edged past first slip.A couple of overs later he had a huge appeal for caught behind, again off Mullaney. The Glamorgan players sank to the ground when umpire Hassan Adnan kept his hand down, knowing a win was slipping away.

Justin Langer won’t return to coaching in the near term after deciding to take up “other opportunities” despite Ricky Ponting pursuing him vigorously for the Hobart Hurricanes’ head coaching role.Hurricanes announced Jeff Vaughan as their new head coach on Friday and he will combine the job with his role as Tasmania head coach. Vaughan is Ponting’s first appointment in his new role as Hurricanes’ head of strategy. Ponting also appointed James Hopes and Darren Berry as assistants alongside Vaughan.But Ponting was candid in explaining that his close friend Langer had been his first choice. The pair had discussed the role at length and Langer had shown interest early in the process before other opportunities piqued his interest.Related

• CA hit back at Langer's claims as fallout to coach's exit erupts

• Justin Langer joins Channel Seven's commentary team

• 'He could actually win you a World Cup' – Ricky Ponting pushes Tim David's case

• Ponting and Khawaja flag BBL concerns amid rise of new T20 leagues

• 'He's got a bit more thinking to do..' – Ponting reveals Langer might be interested in coaching Hobart Hurricanes

“I’m on record saying that I’ve spoken with Justin quite a bit about coming down here and being the head coach of the Hurricanes and he was quite keen,” Ponting said. “The initial conversations were pretty exciting. And he would like to get back involved again. But as things got progressed and things got a little bit closer, I think he’s had some other opportunities and exciting things maybe come across his desk that he thinks he might be able to enjoy a little bit more through the course of the summer.”I’m sure you’ll find out about some of those things over the next little period of time. But as soon as he [took] himself out of the running, it was really obvious to me who the next guy had to be and that’s the guy that we’ve appointed as head coach in Jeff. I’m not hiding from the fact that I spoke to him [Langer]. I spoke to him a lot about it and I think everyone, probably around Australian cricket circles knew that I was trying to get him down here for the Hurricanes but it wasn’t to be.”Langer has remained in Perth since his messy departure from the Australia men’s coaching job in February. He has been doing a lot of corporate speaking as well as fulfilling his duties as a board member for the West Coast Eagles, an Australian Football League club.When Ponting first flagged Langer’s name as his number one candidate for the Hurricanes job back in June, it was met with a lukewarm reception from Hurricanes’ veteran Matthew Wade when he was asked about Langer’s style.Vaughan’s appointment is likely to be a popular one. He has vast experience having been with Tasmania and Hurricanes previously as an assistant under former coach Adam Griffith. He left both in 2021 to join the Australia men’s coaching team under Langer for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes, but returned to take the Tasmania job earlier this year just prior to Andrew McDonald taking over as Australia’s head coach.”Everyone that I’ve spoken to around Tasmanian cricket or around the Australian cricket team just had glowing reports about Jeff with his coaching ability and his coaching style and his people management,” Ponting said. “I think that’s exactly what the Hurricanes need right now.”Hobart Hurricanes coaching team (left to right), James Hopes (assistant), Ricky Ponting (head of strategy), Jeff Vaughan (head coach) and Darren Berry (assistant)•Cricket Tasmania

Combining the Tasmania men’s domestic program with Hurricanes’ BBL team under one coach is a model that has worked successfully in Western Australia under both Langer and Adam Voges and is currently employed in South Australia and Queensland.But the addition of Hopes and Berry adds significant global franchise experience to Hurricanes. Hopes has been an assistant under Ponting in the IPL at Delhi Capitals while Berry has previously coached Adelaide Strikers in the BBL and coached South Australia to a T20 title in the old Big Bash competition. Berry has been an assistant coach at title-winning teams in the IPL and PSL and also works in the Hundred.”With Jeff being the head coach of the Tigers and what I felt the Hurricanes needed right here and right now it just seemed like the perfect fit for him to be in charge of both programs,” Ponting said. “But in saying that was also really important to me that I got high-quality experienced assistant coaches underneath Jeff to make sure that when Jeff is away with the Tigers that the Hurricanes program is actually in as good a shape as possible by the time he joins, which will be probably two weeks before the first game.”In other coaching news, Griffith has joined Victoria as their men’s bowling coach under head coach Chris Rogers. Victoria have also appointed Ben Rohrer as their new batting coach to take over from Andre Borovec, who has joined the Australia men’s team as an assistant coach in the role Vaughan vacated.Former Victoria and Australia batter Cameron White has departed Adelaide Strikers to join Sydney Sixers as an assistant coach under Greg Shipperd.

Big picture: Early start for New Zealand’s summer

New Zealand’s clocks have only just changed to summer time and this T20I series against Australia – with three games across four days – will mark the earliest start ever to an international home season as both teams look to continue their build towards next year’s World Cup. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the forecast suggests there will need to be some luck to get three completed matches.The home side is coming off the back of their T20I tri-series final victory against South Africa in July, while for Australia, this series is the latest in an extensive run of the format which has already featured West Indies and South Africa in the last few months and will be followed by India in late October.The two teams are tracking well: New Zealand have won nine out of 11 T20Is in 2025 while Australia’s formline has been formidable with just two losses in 17 matches since the last T20 World Cup.Related

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• New dad Jamieson keen to defuse some fireworks on the field

• Maxwell out of NZ tour with fractured wrist, Philippe called up

For this series, there are key absentees in both squads. New Zealand are missing captain Mitchell Santner (abdominal injury), Will O’Rourke (back), Glenn Phillips (groin), Finn Allen (foot), Adam Milne (ankle), Lockie Ferguson (hamstring) and Kane Williamson (unavailable).Australia are without Cameron Green (playing red-ball cricket), Glenn Maxwell (broken wrist), Josh Inglis (calf strain), Nathan Ellis (paternity) and Pat Cummins (back). It is also their first T20I series since the retirement of Mitchell Starc, although he had not featured since the 2024 T20 World Cup.Given the players Australia are missing, it will be interesting to see how they structure their batting order and specifically how high Tim David slots in following his recent success at No. 5. New Zealand, meanwhile, have been boosted by the returns of Kyle Jamieson and Ben Sears to add to their pace options, which will somewhat help counter the injuries to Ferguson and Milne.These matches are being used to mark 20 years since the first men’s T20I between New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park, although the game itself happened in February of 2005, with Bay Oval being rebranded “Beige Oval” and there will likely be plenty of references to the big hair on display that day in Auckland. There are also plans for an under-arm bowling contest between fans during the interval which harks back to, well, you know what.The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, currently held by Australia, is up for grabs after the 2024 change that saw it presented for T20I series.

Form guide

New Zealand WWWWW
Australia WLWWWThe series is a chance for Matt Short to reestablish himself in Australia’s side•Getty Images

In the spotlight: Matt Short and Tim Seifert

This is an important series for allrounder Matt Short after a run of injuries which have prevented him playing for Australia since the Champions Trophy. There will be a logjam for batting spots when everyone is available, so he will need to stake his claim for a position in the World Cup starting XI. Since making 66 in his second T20I back in 2023, Short has made some handy contributions without quite building on starts, although he has been shifted around the order. After Maxwell’s injury, Short will also likely have an important role to play with his offspin to help fill in the fifth bowler’s quota.Tim Seifert is on a terrific run in T20 cricket. In his last 11 innings at international level, he has made 497 runs at 55.22 and a strike rate of 168.47 including a career-best 97 not out against Pakistan at the end of last season. He is also coming off a productive CPL for St Lucia Kings, where he made 396 runs with a strike rate of 169.23 with a career-best 125 not out off 53 balls against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons. However, his record against Australia in T20Is needs considerable work: in eight innings he has made just 52 runs at 7.42. Seifert, the holder of a casual contract with NZC, has committed to being available through to next year’s World Cup.Rachin Ravindra emerged as a doubt following a training mishap•AFP/Getty Images

Team news: Squad depth test for both teams

Rachin Ravindra was ruled out of the series on the morning of the opening match having suffered a nasty facial injury in a fielding mishap during training. Jimmy Neesham has come into the squad but Tim Robinson could play at the top of the order.New Zealand (possible): 1 Tim Seifert (wk), 2 Devon Conway, 3 Tim Robinson, 4 Mark Chapman, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Bevon Jacobs, 7 Michael Bracewell (capt), 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Jacob DuffyThe injuries to Maxwell and Inglis, plus Green not being on the tour, reduces the squeeze on batting spots meaning the returning Short and Marcus Stoinis will both likely feature. With three games in just four days there will probably be some rotation among the quicks.Australia (possible): 1 Travis Head, 2 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 3 Matt Short, 4 Tim David, 5 Alex Carey (wk), 6 Mitch Owen, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Ben Dwarshuis, 9 Sean Abbott, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood

Pitch and conditions

Despite it being very early season, the expectation is that the surface in Mount Maunganui will be good for batting. The breeze could also be an important factor for batters and bowlers. The forecast for the opening match is good – although it will be cold in the evening – but the second game on Friday could be in bother with rain on the horizon and it looks like a case of fingers crossed for that and Saturday.

Stats and trivia

• Tim David needs 17 runs for 1500 in T20Is and 75 for 1000 playing for Australia
• Three of New Zealand’s eight highest T20I totals have come at Bay Oval: 243 for 5 vs West Indies in 2018, 238 for 3 vs West Indies in 2020 and 220 for 6 vs Pakistan in 2025.
• Mitchell Marsh has never won the toss and batted first as T20I captain, but only one match has been won at Bay Oval by a side winning the toss and fielding.

Quotes

“It’s certainly one of the bigger trophies that we can contest for a bilateral series and it has a lot of history. We haven’t had it for a while, so we’ll be doing everything that we can to get it back in our cabinet.”
“Obviously we’ve got some quite aggressive players and it’s going to happen where we lose early wickets, but we’ve got that much talent and skill down the order that we can dig our way out of those situations.”