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Worcestershire County Cricket Club can confirm they will play India at New Road over 4 days commencing Wednesday 31st July.Tickets are now available in advance from the Ticket Office on 01905 337921 priced £9 for Adults. Admission for adults on the day will be £11.Since the match is being played during the school holidays, a specially reduced price for all children 16 and under of just £2 will be available for advance purchases and on the day. A Family ticket is also available in advance for just £20.Chief Executive, Mark Newton, is delighted the tourists will be visiting New Road, "During the Natwest Series, India proved what an exciting team they are and we are committed to putting out as strong a team as possible for this match. Last year’s match against the Australians was a sell out and we expect there to be strong interest for this match."

The new leaders of the Norwich Union League Division One, Worcestershire Royals, take on the bottom club, Durham Dynamos, in the next round of matches to be played this Sunday with every prospect of maintaining their place at the top of the table. Not only did they get there by ousting the existing leaders in their last match, but they meet a side still looking for their first point of the season. The unpredictability of cricket in this competition is one of its great appeals, but it would be a major upset if the Royals did not win again at New Road this weekend.Warwickshire Bears – the team deposed by the Royals last week – meet defending champions Kent Spitfires at Edgbaston. The Spitfires came through strongly at the end of last season to grab the title and are in a reasonable position now, two wins away from the leaders but with a game in hand on the Royals and two in hand on the Bears. And a win at Edgbaston would really give their season some momentum, something against which the Bears will be on their guard.There are two other fixtures in Division One. Glamorgan Dragons are level on points with the Kent Spitfires, but they have only played three matches in the competition so far this season. They go to Taunton to meet the Somerset Sabres buoyed by their recent success playing as Wales against England. Steffan Jones will revert to being a Sabre in this fixture after masquerading as a Dragon in the “international”.Nottinghamshire Outlaws have had a pretty miserable time this season. The only difference between their record and that of Durham Dynamos is that they had one match washed out, and so have two points to show for their endeavours. They have an east Midlands derby at Grace Road against Leicestershire Foxes who have at least won once this year, but once only.In Division Two the leaders are Gloucestershire Gladiators. They meet Essex Eagles who are six points behind but who have two matches in hand. If the Eagles are to soar, they will need to win this one, but they will be without their talismanic captain Ronnie Irani who is away on international duty. The Gladiators, on the other hand, will have all guns blazing.Surrey Lions are only two points adrift of the leaders, and they have what looks like an easy match against Lancashire Lightening, although they have to travel to Old Trafford. Lightening are languishing, just off the bottom, lost by six wickets in the corresponding match at The Oval, so they need to strike once in this fixture, let alone twice.In a process reminiscent of evolution itself, the Sussex Sharks move inland from their Hove headquarters to Arundel to play Middlesex Crusaders. The visitors have four points from two wash-outs so far this season, while the Sharks have only just begun to show their teeth, although one win might suggest they are only milk teeth at this stage.

Scott Boland’s superb early-season form ensured Victoria overcame a herculean effort from opener Daniel Hughes to secure their second victory of the season over New South Wales.It took to inside the final hour until New South Wales’ resistance was finally broken when Boland trapped Liam Hatcher lbw to break a ninth-wicket stand that had spanned 25 overs and then he soon removed the injured Trent Copeland to wrap up the match.Hughes, who took numerous blows on the body and an additional one on the foot when James Pattinson hurled the ball back at him, was left unbeaten on 89 from 319 deliveries as he carried his bat. He was not dismissed by a bowler in the game having been run out in the first innings and in total faced 451 balls in the contest – the most in his career.Victoria were strongly placed at the start of the day with New South Wales already three down but they could not break through in the morning session against Hughes and Jack Edwards although Hughes had a life when he was caught at short leg off a Pattinson no-ball.However, after the break Boland – who has put his name in the frame for Australia selection – produced a beauty to take Edwards’ off stump and quickly found the edge of Lachlan Hearne with some late movement. He thought he had Hughes moments later with a brute of a bouncer that was fended to slip but it was given not out with replays inconclusive.Matt Short removed Sean Abbott moments before the new ball which was then shared by Boland and Pattinson. Late in the second session, Hughes played a delivery back to Pattinson who rocketed a throw into Hughes’ boot which left the batter in pain and angry. Words were exchanged although tempers appeared to have calmed when players returned after the break.Hughes and Peter Nevill ate into the final session before Mitch Perry trapped Nevil on the crease with one that nipped back. Perry struck again in his next over when Nathan Lyon clipped one firmly to short leg where James Seymour clung on with some help from his sweater.At that point the result appeared a formality, but Hughes and Hatcher repelled the Victoria attack. Hughes attempted to farm the strike where he could while Hatcher withstood strongly until Boland had the final say.

Australia coach Matthew Mott has admitted that his team had been playing catch-up since the first hour of the day-night Test against India after a wayward display with the new ball, and were also left to rue the number of dropped chances.”We knew India would be a great challenge for us, and we thought we’d hit happy times winning the toss and the wicket had a tinge of green,” he said. “We had a very good pace attack, but we probably just missed our mark in the first hour and they got away to a really good start. From there on we just felt like we were clawing back a little bit.”Related

• India stand tall to take the honours in day-night draw

• Mandhana records highest score for a visitor in Australia

• Healy: 'India showed us what we couldn't do with new ball'

• Smriti Mandhana, and the search for the 'feel'

While the weather was a large factor in the game ending in stalemate with the first two days severely impacted by storms – twice preventing Australia from bowling for an extended period under lights – the Australians also had themselves to blame after putting India in, something Mott insisted was the right decision from Meg Lanning.At the end of the first hour, India were 70 for 0 from 15 overs with Smriti Mandhana having brought up a run-a-ball half-century, which she would convert into a dominant 127 as India ended up batting for 145 overs. Before dinner on the opening day, Australia had to rely on their spinners, Sophie Molineux and Ash Gardner, to give them some control.”I thought India played really well,” Mott said. “Mandhana’s innings was exceptional. But we were behind for the rest of the match and they held all the aces, they earned the right to put us under pressure. And we never really got back in the game.”Think our catching was a bit of an issue, obviously had upwards of eight chances in the first inning so the bowlers created the opportunities but unfortunately we weren’t good enough to capitalise so left to rue that. But I was really proud of the way we hung in there we kept our standards right the end.”For much of the opening session of the final day, it looked as though Australia would comfortably avoid the follow-on when Ellyse Perry, who continued her astonishing Test run-scoring record going back to 2017, and Gardner were making good progress against the old ball. However, they were shaken by Meghna Singh’s new-ball spell, and when Pooja Vastrakar removed Georgia Wareham to leave them eight down, they still needed five more runs.”Batting-wise, we were under the pump today but we showed a bit of fight, making sure we got past that follow-on because that could have made it really interesting,” Mott said. “Ellyse Perry again showed her skill and determination to get us over the line there… and it’s something the rest of the group could probably learn a little bit from.For a while, India looked like they might be able to enforce the follow-on•Getty Images

“We don’t get exposed to that too often but I’m sure the batting group will reflect on what worked for her in this Test and why she was able to keep out more good balls. We probably played at a few we didn’t have to, but the pressure that India built up led us that way as well.”Australia had included four debutants with Stella Campbell and Annabel Sutherland producing impressive spells, while legspinner Wareham was able to sneak in for her maiden Test wicket shortly before India’s second-innings declaration having only had 11 overs in the match.”Georgia probably didn’t get as many overs as she would have liked and that was a talking point, but the rain didn’t help her,” Mott said. “Darcie [Brown], that’s her first crack at this format and think she’ll get better and better. Stella really showed what she could do and is also someone who probably wasn’t on the radar 12 months ago. Annabel Sutherland, I thought she was extraordinary in the first innings. Everything we talked about that we got wrong in the first session, she then delivered throughout so thought she was a real beacon.”At times it felt as though Lanning had too many bowling options and that there was room for another specialist batter (the injured Rachael Haynes was replaced by allrounder Sutherland) but Mott said that the selection had been partly based on being able to spread the workload around a young attack. There will likely be a number of changes for Australia’s next Test, against England in the Ashes in late January, with Haynes, Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen certain to return if they are available.

Ashton Agar would be “absolutely shattered” if subjected to the sort of public critique directed at Justin Langer, adding he is full of respect for Australia’s coach and his unwavering values.Player unease about Langer and his approach ignited intense speculation about the future of the former Test opener, who is contracted until mid-2022.Langer’s posting of a motivational message on LinkedIn made headlines this week but the issue hit its crescendo in August, when Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley publicly backed Langer to remain coach for the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes.Hockley, CA chairman Earl Eddings and on-field leaders Tim Paine, Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins even met to discuss “the elephant in the room”.Langer and Australia’s T20 World Cup squad will assemble later this week ahead of their tournament-opener against South Africa on October 23.Agar, a long-time mentee of Langer at both domestic and international level, said he and team-mates know the head coach is listening to feedback and will do “whatever he can to suit the needs of the team”.Related

• Kane Richardson: 'If the World Cup had been in June, I wouldn't have gone'

• After week of stress, Australia might only have papered over the cracks

• Justin Langer on talks with players: 'We all got a lot off our chests'

• Mitchell Marsh's No. 3 success could force Steven Smith into middle order

“You can’t help but respect that and we’ll back him in 100 percent at this tournament and going forward,” Agar told reporters from the UAE. “He’s got strong values and morals as a person and he sticks to them, unwaveringly. Knowing him over 10 years, not a lot has changed.”I respect him a lot for that. We just have to have a bit of understanding around how horrible that experience [in recent months] would have been and respect someone coming out of that and still doing their best.”Langer said he felt like “Superman” earlier this year, having responded to player feedback and tried to clear the air prior to a T20 tour of the Caribbean.But Australia, minus Cummins and several rested stars, suffered lopsided T20 series losses to West Indies and Bangladesh with the heat on Langer most intense while stuck in an Adelaide hotel room for a fortnight.”All the criticism and everything that he’s copped…to be dragged through the media while you’re in quarantine, all of these different things,” Agar said. “If that happened to you or I, we would be absolutely shattered. But speaking to him recently, he’s doing really well.”Selectors included legspinners Adam Zampa and Mitchell Swepson alongside Agar in their World Cup squad.Agar is upbeat the trio, having played together in Bangladesh, could be squeezed into the same XI during the upcoming tournament.”It’s all dependent on the surfaces that we get,” Agar said. “We’ve seen in the IPL now that the wickets are getting a little bit tired, we’ll probably get some fresh wickets for the World Cup. But it wouldn’t be really exciting.”

ScorecardThe warnings were there for Somerset in their first match of the season, slightly less than three months ago, when they began their Division One campaign with an eight-wicket home defeat to Essex, new to the rigours of First Division life. Their situation became graver by the week as they remained stuck at the foot of Division One and their young captain, Tom Abell, stood down from the side because of a loss of form.Finally, at Scarborough, at the eighth time of asking, and with a new captain at the helm, Somerset’s cricketers ended their torment in 2017 with a 179-run victory over the once highly-fancied Yorkshire at Scarborough.”It’s been a tough year, and there’s been some tough words,” said Gregory as Somerset prepared for a long trek home in happy frame of mind. “It’s brilliant to get that first win on the board, and to put in a performance like that is very special. I think I’ll call it quits there and just go with the 100 per cent record as captain.”Somerset remained stoically winless until Liam Plunkett attempted to hit Jack Leach for a fourth six but only nicked the ball to Jim Allenby at slip. Cue delight in Stogumber. Cue street parties in Lydeard St. Lawrence.In truth, though, the cricket had descended into late-innings carnival by the time that last wicket fell. Yorkshire’s attempt to score 337 in 90 overs had long been a laughably optimistic enterprise and the chief giggler was a 6ft 5ins seamer from North Devon whose pace and hostility were appreciated by everyone at North Marine Road, not only the band of hardy supporters with wyverns on their chests.This was Craig Overton’s day and it was Craig Overton’s match. The giant all-rounder took 4 for 47 on this final day at Scarborough and finished the match with career-best figures of 9 for 134. Making good use of a pitch which offered him bounce and carry, Overton discomfited all the batsmen in this game and dismissed every member of Yorkshire’s top order at least once.On the day when Somerset at last took closer order on the counties above them, the all-rounder’s cricket displayed the brio that may sustain his county in dark times. No doubt the absent captain, Abell, who has played a couple of second team T20 games this week, was quick to text the players with his congratulations. Abell is that sort of bloke.As for Yorkshire, the bitter truth is that supporters at North Marine Road were more surprised by the rapidity of their side’s collapse than the fact of it. A once formidable batting order which used to cope serenely with England calls now seems riven with an unlucky bag of fallibilities. These weaknesses have been largely responsible for their team losing two of their last three Division One games and trailing leaders Essex by 38 points having played a game more.Harry Brook, who now has three championship appearances on his CV, looked the most secure of the top order and his appearances may be restricted by the broken hand he sustained in the nets on the final morning of this game. Seeking to explain this defeat by referring to the injuries which befell Plunkett and Ryan Sidebottom avoids the central problem which has suddenly befallen Yorkshire cricket. “It won’t do” said someone at North Marine Road before explaining himself in some detail.”We’ve spoken at length about our batting for a long time now but it’s got past the point of talking about it,” said the Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale. “It’s about doing it now and we need to back things up on the field. We didn’t work hard enough and we now want players to respond to what’s happened. Whether that’s by going into the second team and making big runs or by making runs in the T20, you just want to see a response. We’ve been here many a time before with Yorkshire cricket and we can turn this on its head.”Yorkshire’s woes began with the fifth ball of their innings when Alex Lees drove carelessly outside a Lewis Gregory inswinger and heard the ash dancing behind him. But it was not until the fourth over that West Country hope trespassed into the land of belief and it was Overton who led that cautious advance.The delivery which dismissed Brook would have moved the bowels of a Test cricketer, let alone a batsman whose memories of Peppa Pig are still fresh. Short, quick and deeply nasty, it reared up at the 18-year-old and brushed his glove. Steve Davies completed a difficult one-handed catch with deceptive aplomb. Rather less allowance can be made for Peter Handscomb, who pushed forward a trifle at his first ball but was hit on his front pad. Some thought the ball but might have been going over the top but Tim Robinson sent the batsman on his way. Yorkshire were 12 for 3 and the North Devonian did his best to disappear into the arms of his colleagues, a task that proved well beyond him.Four overs later Tom Kohler-Cadmore hooked Overton into the pavilion, where a spectator received a glancing blow but proved himself the sort of chap with whom one would go flying by brushing away all solicitous enquiries. Next ball Kohler-Cadmore failed to cover Overton’s steep bounce and edged the ball to slip where Tim Rouse held on. .For ten overs Adam Lyth and Tim Bresnan scored freely against attacking fields before Lyth, having flattered his supporters briefly, deceived them grievously when he drove at Overton and inside-edged the ball into his wicket. That left Yorkshire on 67 for 5 and all but doomed. The folded arms and the grim expressions said as much.An hour after lunch the players were shaking hands. Jack Leach, who had not been required to bowl in the first innings, took four of the wickets, bowling Tim Bresnan with a ball that pitched on leg but hit off and having Rashid caught at slip. Another tasty bouncer from Overton left Andy Hodd with little option but to scoop the ball to Eddie Byrom at square leg.”I’d like to bowl on that sort of wicket every day,” said Overton. “It was ideal for me and I don’t think I’ve bowled better than I did at the start of the second innings. I’m not sure Harry could have done too much about the ball that got him this morning. It’s one of those you just try and avoid and it can be a tough one to take.”As Overton spoke he was interrupted by Somerset supporters offering their congratulations. This victory is not enough to take their side out of the bottom two places in the table but it offers them hope, enough at any rate to speed them home in good heart this summer evening.

Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club kept themselves in contention for the 2017 Dhaka Premier League title with a 97-run win over Mohammedan Sporting Club at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium.Doleshwar moved to 22 points to draw level with Abahani Limited, while Gazi Group Cricketers occupy the top spot with 24 points. If Gazi Group beat Doleshwar on June 5, the last day of the Super League, they are assured of becoming champions, even if Abahani win against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club.But if Gazi lose to Doleshwar, and Abahani beat Dhanmondi Club, then Gazi, Doleshwar and Abahani will be level on 24 points, making for a three-way tie. In that case, Gazi Group’s three wins in matches against Abahani and Doleshwar will see them to the title.If, however, Abahani and Gazi both lose, Gazi and Doleshwar will be on 24 points each. And with both teams having beaten each other once, it will come down to net run rate to determine the champions. Given how close they are currently in that regard – Gazi have a net run rate of 0.687 and Doleshwar of 0.532 – it is more than likely that Doleshwar will win the title.During the match on Saturday, Doleshwar lost wicketkeeper and opener Jaker Ali after being inserted. Shahriar Nafees, who top-scored with 70, and Imtiaz Hossain (48) then stitched together 79 runs for the second wicket. Nafees added a further 51 with Marshall Ayub, the only other half-centurion of the match, before being caught off Bipul Sharma’s left-arm spin.Marshall’s 50 came off 60 balls. Following his dismissal in the 45th over, contributions from Rajat Bhatia (37 off 32) and Farhad Reza (20 0ff 12) shored up Doleshwar to 264 for 6.Mohammedan were reduced to 24 for 2 in the fifth over, before Shamsur Rahman and Bipul added 69 for the third wicket. The dismissal of Bipul, who top-scored with 48, triggered a slide as Mohammedan went from 93 for 2 to 103 for 6. They never quite recovered thereafter, and were bowled out for 167 in 34.5 overs despite a late 31 from Sajedul Islam.Offspinner Sharifullah took 3 for 32 in seven overs, while Reza, Delwar Hossain and Rahatul Ferdous took two wickets each.

Warwickshire have hailed the decision to host a day-night Test a “great success” after better than anticipated ticket sales.The club have already sold more than 45,000 tickets for the first three days of the Test (against West Indies) and expect that number to exceed 60,000 before the match starts on August 17. Sales for day two and three – Friday and Saturday – are particularly strong.Day-night Tests have been played with success in Australia and the UAE but, given the unpredictable climate in the UK, there is some trepidation about how the first day-night Test in England will go. There were also fears that a relatively modest West Indies Test team might not represent the attractive proposition it once did.From a ticketing perspective, though, the idea has clearly been well-received. Warwickshire are especially delighted with the fact that more than 40 percent of the sales have been made to people who have never previously bought Test tickets which suggests either the timing – with the game stretching into the evening – or the spectacle is helping the game appeal to a new market.While it is hard to provide more than a rough estimate, the club believe that, had the game been scheduled as a normal day encounter, they might well not have reached 30,000 sales by this point.”This is a Test that could have proved a pretty tough sell,” Warwickshire’s chief executive, Neil Snowball, told ESPNcricinfo. “But we’ve seen there are clear benefits from the novelty value and we’re looking forward to a great event.”The match – the first day-night Test in which England have played – will be preceded by a round of day-night Championship matches at the end of June in which all of England’s Test players are scheduled to be made available. That means that James Anderson, who is likely to take the new, pink ball in the Test against West Indies, will have the chance to bowl with it when Warwickshire host his Lancashire team at Edgbaston in a game starting on June 26.England will also play a day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide in November.

Royal Challengers Bangalore might have to start IPL 2017 without their captain Virat Kohli, as he battles against time to recover from the shoulder injury he picked up during the Australia Tests. The IPL starts on April 5, with Royal Challengers playing defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament opener.”It’s still a few weeks to go before I can be 100% on the field,” Kohli said at the end of the Dharamsala Test, when asked about his fitness. “But these things happen in your career. Got to take it in my strike and move forward.”Kohli had hurt his right shoulder during the third Test in Ranchi, when he dived in an attempt to stop a boundary. He sat out the final Test as a result.Royal Challengers were yet to offer an official comment on Kohli’s availability. Kohli has missed only one game for the franchise so far, in the inaugural season in 2008. In 2016, he scored 973 runs for RCB and could have become the first player to score 1000 runs in an IPL season.

Match Facts

March 4, 2017
Start time 1400 local (0100GMT)1:38

McGlashan: de Villiers could decide fate of series

The Big Picture

Neither side has wanted to grasp hold of this series. There has been some impressive cricket from both, headlined by Martin Guptill in Hamilton and AB de Villiers throughout, but also vulnerabilities exposed – perhaps more than expected in the case of South Africa who arrived as the No. 1 side. It has made for compelling viewing.New Zealand have made it their thing this season to dethrone the top one-day side. Firstly they did it to Australia and now they have done it to South Africa (at least briefly). Whatever the outcome at Eden Park it is unlikely to change each sides’ thinking too much in terms of the Champions Trophy, but South Africa have a few unwanted concerns over the middle order while New Zealand remain in a muddle over the wicketkeeping position which has a knock-on impact to the middle order.Talk of momentum heading into the decider would appear pointless given how New Zealand responded to being bowled out for 112 in Wellington. South Africa need to find a similar reply after being Guptill-ed. If they don’t, de Villiers will leave Eden Park with that sinking feeling again.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WLWLW
South Africa LWLWW

In the spotlight

Tim Southee has had an interesting series. He has bowled some superb deliveries, and his four-over spell of cutters in Hamilton helped throttle the South Africa middle order, but overall he has gone for 6.59. Although it needs to be qualified that he bowled to de Villiers at the death and, crucially, got his yorkers in to seal the Christchurch victory. He returns to the ground where he (just about) held his nerve against Marcus Stoinis’ onslaught earlier this season.AB de Villiers has barely put a foot wrong with the bat – although some help from his middle order would not go amiss – but he now needs to steel himself and his team for a crunch encounter. Was it fate that there would be a deciding match at Eden Park? Before the T20I, he had noticed now much semi-final was replayed on TV. This is another excuse for the sports channels in New Zealand to re-run the match again.

Team news

New Zealand have added Matt Henry to the squad on duty in Hamilton. It is unlikely they will play two frontline spinners at this ground although Jeetan Patel’s offspin added a new dimension to the attack. Henry bowled well in the recent Plunket Shield match, even if it wasn’t enough to keep him in the Test squad, while Lockie Ferguson was expensive in the Wellington ODI.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, Dean Brownlie, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 James Neesham, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Lockie Ferguson/Matt Henry, 11 Trent BoultAndile Phehlukwayo sat out the previous match with a tight groin – his changes of pace were missed – but is fit and could rotate with one of the other allrounders. South Africa would have liked a chance to rest Kagiso Rabada, but with the series on the line may find it difficult. After backing from de Villiers, it appears unlikely JP Duminy or David Miller will be replaced by Farhaan Behardien.South Africa (probable) 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Andile Phehlukwayo, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran Tahir

Pitch and conditions

This could be the truest wicket of a series where the pitches have provided unexpected assistance, especially for the spinners. De Villiers said that Imran Tahir, who took 5 for 24 in the T20I here, would enjoy the extra pace in the wicket. There is the chance of late showers. Rain in an Eden Park match between these two. Where have we seen that before?

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have won just two of their nine one-day series against South Africa: 2004 at home and 2013 away.
• In 73 ODIs at Eden Park, New Zealand’s record is level-pegging: 34 wins and 34 losses (with two ties and three no results)
• AB de Villiers averages 203 against New Zealand on their home soil. He has only been dismissed three times in 11 innings. The most runs by a visiting batsman to New Zealand in a series of up to five matches is Rahul Dravid’s 309 in 1998-99 – De Villiers is on 239.

Quotes

“Really looking forward to it, it’s a nice challenge for us as team. Don’t think this series has seen the best cricket we capable of, so tomorrow is a little opportunity to play in big pressure game.”
“I don’t think either side has played the perfect game. There have been patches of brilliance but not a complete performance.”