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Two days after picking a hat-trick on his BPL debut, Dhaka Dynamites offspinner Aliss Islam is under the scanner for a suspect bowling action. No sooner than a few hours after the game, the Rangpur Riders team management realised that the 22-year old had a “faulty action.”According to the Bengali daily , all his deliveries in Thursday’s clash between Dhaka and Rangpur were found to be suspect.Aliss took the tournament’s third hat-trick by removing Mohammad Mithun, Mashrafe Mortaza and Farhad Reza. Then, he picked the key wicket of Rilee Rossouw, who made a 44-ball 83 to put Rangpur on top. Then, with Rangpur needing 14 off the last over, Aliss only conceded 11 to give Dhaka a two-run win over the defending champions.Jalal Yunus, head of BPL’s Technical Committee and BCB’s bowling action Review Committee, confirmed that the on-field umpires had reported Islam’s action to the BPL governing council. The 22-year old will have 14 days to report to the review committee.”He will have a test and if we find something, he will be off from all forms of cricket unless his action is corrected,” Yunus confirmed.In fact, Yunus had also revealed that he thought Islam’s action was suspect even when he played in the Dhaka First-Division League last year, but that he had rectified it.He is the third bowling to be reported in the BPL. In 2016, West Indies allrounder Kevon Cooper and Bangladesh left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny were reported for illegal actions.

In a bid to expand the coaching staff of India A and Under-19 teams, head coach Rahul Dravid has requested the BCCI to bring former India opener Vikram Rathour and ex-India and Haryana wicketkeeper Vijay Yadav on board. Dravid believes that, with the busy schedule ahead, expanding the support staff would help him not just share the workload but also develop coaches for the future.However, Rathour’s name has sparked a controversy in the media and a note of dissent from acting BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary, who believes it will be a conflict of interest – Rathour is the brother-in-law of former India offspinner Aashish Kapoor, the chairman of India’s junior selection committee.On January 30, Dravid wrote to Saba Karim, BCCI’s general manager (cricket operations), saying he wanted extra personnel on the coaching staff to assist him in looking after the two teams. Both men had met earlier in January to chalk out a pathway for qualified Indian coaches who could be given work experience at the India A and Under-19 levels. Dravid suggested to Karim that Rathour could join as early as February 13, when India A start their second unofficial Test against England Lions in Mysore.”With regards to our discussion and plans for short- and medium-terms for India A and Under-19 teams in the pathways programme I do feel that with the upcoming amount of cricket for both these teams it would be beneficial to bring in more support/coaching staff into the system,” Dravid said In the e-mail, accessed by ESPNcricinfo. “It will help us when tours are happening etc.”Keeping the medium-term programme in mind I would recommend that we bring in Vikram Rathour, who has been a former international player, selector and a qualified coach, into our development programme so that he can work with us and assist us as and when required. My suggestion is that we could start with the second India A Test at Mysore and onto the India U-19 series against South Africa. This will also help us in developing of our coaches which should be an important part of our process. “Dravid told Karim that upcoming Indian coaches could be hired on a part-time basis to help them understand the dynamics of the coaching requirements at the Under-19 and India A levels. During their meeting, Dravid pointed out that he, along with Paras Mhambrey and Abhay Sharma (assistant coaches for India A), would be increasingly focusing on preparations for the Under-19 World Cup next year, and hence it was imperative to expand the coaching staff. As part of those preparations, the BCCI is conducting a quadrangular series comprising two youth teams from India, along with South Africa and Afghanistan. That series, to be played in March, would follow the two unofficial Youth Tests between India and South Africa starting February 20.Fotocorp

Subsequently, in another e-mail, Dravid told Karim that Yadav should be roped in from the quadrangular series in March. Yadav had already served as the fielding coach of the India Under-19 team in previous Emerging Asia Cup tournaments.”In addition to Vikram Rathour I would also say we bring in Vijay Yadav to be a part of the coaching staff during the Quadrangular Under-19 series next month. He has been part of the NCA and also Under-19 and India A teams in the recent past.”Karim, along with BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, agreed to bringing Rathour and Yadav on board subject to the approval of the Committee of Administrators (CoA), the supervisory authority of the BCCI until fresh elections are conducted. Karim also checked with Rathour for his willingness while asking him to disclose any conflict of interest. Rathour is understood to have agreed on Monday, while admitting he was related to Kapoor.Under the BCCI constitution, the ethics officer is the authority to adjudicate on conflict issues. However, with no ethics officer in place, the CoA will have to decide on Dravid’s recommendations. Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, said that he would consult his colleague Diana Edulji before taking a final decision. “The appointment has not been done,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “No approval has been given.”Choudhary, on the other hand, questioned the “process” in hiring Rathour and whether the position he would be appointed to had been advertised. “What exactly was the process that was followed?” Choudhary wrote in an email to the CoA, Johri, Karim and the two other BCCI office-bearers. “Knowing Rahul [Dravid], I am certain that even if he would have recommended a name, he would not have said that processes must not be followed to engage the services of Vikram.”I also see that the matter of conflict of interest has been raised in the media and I am surprised that this was not known to the person making the decision since the crux of the conflict has been in the public domain at least for the last two-and-a-half years.”Rai said the reason the job was not advertised was because it was “only part-time and not a full-time appointment so that a process was required.” As for the perceived conflict issue, Rai said he had received Rathour’s reply via Karim on Monday.

Mark Ramprakash says that he does not want to be “pigeon-holed” as a specialist Test coach, in the wake of his sacking as England’s batting coach.Ramprakash revealed via Twitter on Friday that he would not be involved in this summer’s Ashes, after being told by Ashley Giles, the new director of England cricket, that his five years in the role was being brought to an early end.And, speaking on BBC Five Live on Monday evening, Ramprakash insisted he had no regrets at the timing of his departure, adding that he was keen for a role with more responsibility in the future.”Any time there is a change of management there can be movement,” Ramprakash told. “I was quickly signed up by Andrew Strauss. With a new man [Giles] comes different ideas.”I have been lucky to do this job for five years and no one has an automatic right to keep doing it.”Throughout his playing days, Ramprakash had a reputation for intensity – often to the detriment of his performances at international level, where he made just two centuries in 52 Test appearances.However, in appraising his time with the current England squad, he said that the levels of relaxation and enjoyment within the dressing-room were notably high, and a credit to the easy-going approach of the backroom staff, led by Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace.”The environment at international level is better now‚” Ramprakash said. “The players integrate the newcomers and help them feel relaxed. The senior ones are good at welcoming the new ones.”There are some fantastic people among the backroom staff,” he added. “Coaches can sometimes get in the way. Trevor allows the players to own the dressing room. He has no ego, is very patient and has a dry sense of humour. He keeps them happy and relaxed, which is an important thing at that level.”Ultimately, however, a coach has to be judged by results, and in England’s recent Test campaigns, the blame for their erratic record has been placed squarely on the batsmen who have consistently failed to put imposing totals on the board.England’s defeats in the first two Tests against West Indies earlier this year came after they had been bowled out for totals of 77, 246, 187 and 132, but Ramprakash insisted that several factors had contributed to their shortcomings.”Top orders in Test cricket have been struggling all around the world – while the white ball often has not been moving at all,” he said. “There are some stats suggesting that wickets are falling more cheaply than at any time since 1959.”Part of it goes to the type of line-up that you select,” he added. “We’ve got very aggressive players who play a lot of white-ball cricket. As a coach, when they come into Test matches, you want them to play to their strengths.”The county scheduling makes it more difficult,” he added. “There is a preference for the white ball in June, July and August. An even spread of first-class cricket would help them. We don’t have the same number of players who are prepared to just hang in there against the moving ball.”Looking to the future, Ramprakash said that he would be open to working in “franchise cricket”, adding that he had learnt a lot from his colleagues in the England set-up since being appointed to his England role in November 2014.”If a position of more responsibility came along I’d love to have a crack at that,” he said. “I feel in a good position. I’m open-minded about the future.”I’ve done it for five years. I’ve learnt a lot from Trevor Bayliss, Peter Moores, Paul Farbrace and Andy Flower, there’s no question about that.”I don’t want to get pigeonholed as just a Test match batting coach. They play a lot of white-ball cricket.”

A decade ago Australia won an ODI series in India despite a surfeit of injuries. Numerous stronger sides have left empty handed since then, so it was with a great deal of satisfaction that Aaron Finch’s team sealed this victory from 0-2 down, the first time an Australian side had ever done so in 50-over matches, with a disciplined, determined and tactically astute defence of 272 in Delhi.Being 0-2 down is something the Australians have become used to in more than one sense over the past year, missing the names of David Warner and Steven Smith from their team sheet as a result of the Newlands scandal.But there was much to be savoured in winning a series over one of the World Cup fancies in the final assignment before the Smith and Warner bans expire at the end of this month. Their reintegration meeting in the UAE later this week will take place in the afterglow of a first series victory in seven attempts dating back to January 2017, at the same time inflicting India’s first home ODI defeat since 2015.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Tellingly, two of the men to stand up in the former leaders’ absence were those who were directly replacing them: Usman Khawaja gliding to a second century of the series to further press his case for World Cup inclusion, and Peter Handscomb providing more than useful support having been promoted to No. 3 after Shaun Marsh was dropped. Finch and the national team coach Justin Langer have spent some months feeling like they were short of viable options; now they find themselves spoiled for batting choice.Equally the Australian effort with the ball and in the field showed an expanding tactical and technical repertoire, as Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon combined artfully as spin bowlers on a slow, low Feroz Shah Kotla pitch, only a matter of weeks after it appeared that Langer and company had belatedly acknowledged the need to find wicket-taking spinners for the middle overs. Masterful too was Pat Cummins, giving barely anything away, while Marcus Stoinis returned from injury to enjoy his He-Man moment when coaxing an edge from Virat Kohli.India had not lost any ODI series at home since going down 3-2 to South Africa in October 2015. That result arrived only a matter of months after Australia won the previous World Cup so was not considered a major reverse. However this defeat, on the cusp of the IPL, has left India with precious little time to iron out an increasing number of wrinkles. By contrast the Australians can now look forward to a further five matches against Pakistan.Marcus Stoinis is fairly pleased with his work, don’t you think?•Getty Images

India’s chase, and defeat from 2-0 up for the first time in history, opened more than a few questions for Kohli and the coach Ravi Shastri, not least team balance after only three specialist batsmen were selected. With Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli dismissed cheaply, Rohit Sharma seemed weighed down by the task before him, twice offering chances spurned off Zampa’s bowling before charging wildly to be well stumped by Alex Carey. MS Dhoni’s resting for the final two matches provided opportunities for others in India’s middle order, but they were far from taken.All this was after Khawaja’s dismissal in the 33rd over of Australia’s own innings had seen the game change markedly. Jasprit Bumrah’s discipline and wickets shared among the rest meant that the team lost 6 for 54 in 77 balls just as they were looking to accelerate. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja were the chief wicket-takers for India, while Ashton Turner and Stoinis were irritated to have failed to go on from their starts. Jhye Richardson and Cummins put on a pesky 34 runs in 2.4 overs and ultimately ensured the Australians would be happy with their total.Despite Australia’s record-breaking chase in Mohali, led by Turner, Finch chose to bat first and attempt to put scoreboard pressure on India, who also made a couple of changes, calling in Jadeja and Mohammed Shami while dropping Yuzvendra Chahal and KL Rahul.Shami and Bhuvneshwar floated the ball full in the early overs in search of swing, but slipped obligingly into the driving zones of Khawaja and Finch as the tourists made a fluent start. Khawaja in particular was punishing on balls either too straight or too short, while Finch was for the most part content to bat in his partner’s slipstream. Neither batsman was overly troubled as they rattled to 76, and it took an excellent delivery from Jadeja, spinning past the outside edge of Finch’s bat and clattering off stump, to separate them.Adam Zampa is starting to bamboozle more and more batsmen in international cricket•Getty Images

Handscomb was quickly into stride however, maintaining the momentum from his Mohali innings by finding the boundary while rotating strike expertly with Khawaja, who was soon saluting his second century of the series. It was his third in international cricket since he returned from knee surgery with a hundred against Sri Lanka in Canberra last month.At 175 for 1 with 17.1 overs left, a major score seemed likely, but when Khawaja picked out Kohli at cover, causing the Indian captain to hurl the ball into the turf as he released his frustration, the game began to shift in momentum.The ball was ageing, the pitch slowing, and new entrants to the crease found the going harder. Glenn Maxwell shaped to hit Jadeja inside out but could not clear cover, Handscomb’s innings ended when he was surprised by extra lift from a Shami delivery he wanted to run down to third man, and Turner’s follow-up innings to Mohali ended when he miscued Kuldeep Yadav to long-on after he had lifted the left-arm wristspinner for six.At the other end Stoinis soaked up 16 dot balls out of 27 faced before dragging Bhuvneshwar onto the stumps, but Richardson and Cummins were able to pull together a priceless stand in the closing overs to push Australia’s total past 270. From a point where Kohli’s men had looked likely to need to beat the previous record chase at the ground – 281 in 1982 – they were ultimately left with a target of more modest dimensions.Kedar Jadhav punches through covers•Getty Images

Much depended on how the hosts could start, and though there was a sprinkling of boundaries against the new ball, Cummins’ dismissal of Dhawan opened up the opportunity to hunt Kohli’s wicket while the ball was still new. Cummins and Richardson were unable to find a way through, but Stoinis, bowling across the seam and finding extra bounce, did the trick by finding a thin edge through to an exultant Carey.Rishabh Pant threatened for a while, but was becalmed and then dismissed by Lyon’s offbreaks, prodding at a delivery that turned and bounced, offering a catch to Turner at slip. Vijay Shankar also made a start, only to sky Zampa to Khawaja at deep midwicket, and when Rohit was dropped off consecutive Zampa deliveries – first a thin edge through to Carey and then a catch by Maxwell at cover – Indian frustration was clear.Zampa did not have to wait long to celebrate, for in his next over Rohit ran down the wicket, was beaten between bat and pad and clearly stumped by Carey after he had stayed admirably low with the ball. Ravindra Jadeja had not scored when he stretched forward and was beaten by a Zampa wrong’un with Carey again in position for a stumping, this time achieved by the barest of margins as the left-hander’s foot was deemed to be stuck on the line and not behind it.That left India 132 for 6 and seemingly in quicksand. Bhuvneshwar and Kedar Jadhav got the equation down to 50 off 25 balls with a nifty union of 91 that brought the crowd to life and had Finch nervously drying the ball as late evening dew began to settle.But Cummins returned to have Bhuvneshwar miscuing to mid-off, and the very next ball Jadhav was well pouched by a running Maxwell off Richardson, leaving Stoinis to complete formalities by knocking out Kuldeep’s middle stump. At the boundary’s edge Langer, so frazzled for much of the past 10 months, raised two arms in triumph.

Who’s in form and who’s notJames Pattinson was the only member of the Australia A squads playing overseas this week. He only played once though after Nottinghamshire’s Royal London One-Day Cup clash with Durham was washed out. Pattinson took 1 for 55 from nine overs and made an important 15 from 10 balls in a thrilling win over Northamptonshire.Ashton Turner, another Australia A squad member, oddly didn’t get selected in Rajasthan Royal’s last IPL game against Delhi.Chris Lynn, who is not in Australia’s winter squads, had an excellent finish to the IPL for Kolkata making 46 off 22 against Kings XI and then 41 from 29 in the loss to Mumbai Indians.Andrew Tye dismissed Lynn but had a very difficult season for Kings XI. After being the IPL’s leading wicket-taker in 2018 with 24, and an economy rate of 8.00, he took just three wickets in six games this season with an economy rate of 10.59. In his last two outings he conceded 78 runs in just six overs.#AsheswatchThe Royal London Cup continued in England this week as the County Championship remains on hold with World Cup preparations ramping up. Although 50-over white-ball form may not carry as much weight towards Ashes selection, the Australian selectors are undoubtedly keeping an eye on the players involved.Cameron Bancroft was starved of opportunity this week due to bad weather. Durham’s clash with Notts was abandoned prior to the toss and he was 18 not out when the clash with Yorkshire was washed out after 34.2 overs, a result that eliminated Durham from the competitionMatt Renshaw is putting his hand up for allrounder status in white-ball cricket. He took 2 for 17 from five overs and made 32 not out in Kent’s a big win over Surrey. But his returns with bat and ball against Essex weren’t as fruitful. Peter Siddle didn’t play for Essex.Marnus Labuschagne has been doing plenty of bowling, taking 2 for 57 from his full quote of 10 overs for Glamorgan against Middlesex, but he would prefer a few more runs after making 16 in the loss and became the first List A wicket for Sam Robson’s part-time spin.Jake Lehmann made an impressive start to his short spell with Lancashire•Getty Images

Did you see?Jake Lehmann made an excellent start at Lancashire as a replacement for Glenn Maxwell. He struck 77 not out from 66 balls in a win over Derbyshire. He then followed up with 23 in a loss to Warwickshire.Injury listTurner revealed last week he will need shoulder surgery after the Australia A tour of England. It will be the third procedure he’s had on his right shoulder but he hopes it will fix the issue that has restricted his bowling and throwing.Performance of the weekCallum Ferguson is a forgotten man in Australian cricket. He was in the mix for the ODI tour of India but was dropped from South Australia’s Sheffield Shield team late in the season. He made 103 not out from just 95 balls for Worcestershire on Monday as they chased down 352 with ease at Derby. Ferguson had a great season in the Royal London Cup last year with Worcestershire and will be hoping to carry that form forward.

Having scored the run that ended Somerset’s 14-year wait for a major trophy, James Hildreth admitted to feeling an unusual mixture of emotions. Delight at his side having secured the Royal London Cup, overcoming 2018 winners Hampshire by six wickets, mixed with relief and surprise at not coming second-best once again; as well as a “bittersweet” sense that he and his Somerset team-mates may be the last to experience the feeling of winning a domestic limited-overs final at Lord’s.From next season, the 50-over tournament is set to run alongside The Hundred, and the addition of the ECB’s new format to an already crowded schedule means List A cricket is likely to be downgraded to “development” status. With the final also moving to Trent Bridge, Somerset’s victory on a sun-kissed afternoon at Lord’s looks set to mark the end of an era in English one-day cricket.”We thought about it to be honest, it’s kind of bittersweet,” Hildreth said. “Because it’s great we got the opportunity to play in it, but it’s sad in a way because you want other guys to experience it in the future. It’s such a big history, especially with our club, legends winning one-day trophies and images of them playing here. So it’s special for us but frustrating that more guys potentially can’t experience it in the future.”It seems like it will be a very different tournament with The Hundred coming in. We don’t know how everything’s going to look at the moment but you’re getting your best players go off and play in The Hundred, and what the one-day tournament will look like … it’s bound to be weakened because the best players won’t be playing it. So that’ll be frustrating but time will tell because nobody really knows what’s going on next year.”While Somerset enjoyed several successful trips to Lord’s in the 1970s and ’80s, winning the Gillette Cup and its successor the NatWest Trophy, as well as twice lifting the Benson & Hedges Cup, they have more recently been associated with near misses, finishing as runners-up in all three major competitions over the last decade. Hildreth is old enough that he played in the 2005 Twenty20 Cup final victory – hitting the winning runs on that occasion, too – and he was grateful for finally being able to add to that title.”It was a frustratingly long time ago, to be honest, it feels like we should have had a few more in between,” he said. “I’m so glad we got over the line today, I’m really pleased for the boys especially the young lads, some of their first experiences of a being in a final and to come away with the right result is great for them and hopefully a platform for us to kick on.”Hildreth, who recently set an appearances record for Somerset across the formats, showed his experience to finish off the job but it was two of the club’s young talents in Jamie Overton and Tom Banton who provided the platform. Overton was named Man of the Match for his three-wicket burst that knocked the stuffing out of the Hampshire innings, while Banton then proceeded to demonstrate why he is so highly rated with a run-a-ball 69 to calm any nerves around chasing.James Hildreth celebrates after hitting the winning runs•Getty Images

“I absolutely loved it [being out there at the end], it’s why you play, for those kind of moments,” Hildreth said. “You want to win trophies with your mates and that’s exactly what happened today. The first half we did well, the bowlers restricted them – we always felt they were under par at the halfway stage. We were pretty confident with chasing it but you always want to get off to a good start. Tom Banton has impressed the whole tournament and it was great he could showcase his talents today in the final.”Relief [was the feeling at the end]. Strange, because it was like ‘Wow, we won!’ It was quite bizarre but it was great, we’ve been bridesmaids for so many years. We’ve all seen the support in the stands, they come around everywhere with us, we’ve got the best support in the country, so it’s great to do it for them.”As for ending an even longer wait, Hildreth was cautiously optimistic that the club would be able to sustain their challenge in the Championship. Somerset, who have never won the pennant, currently sit top of Division One with three wins from four, although they saw Lewis Gregory (side) and Josh Davey (quad) pick up injuries at Lord’s. While the club may not have the same depth as other squads, they have the following week off and there is likely to be renewed vigour when they resume four-day competition against Surrey at Guildford on June 3.”We’re playing well, coming off the back of a few wins – a few different players coming into the Championship team but we’re playing good cricket. There’s no reason why we can’t keep winning games and push on in all three competitions.”

Shakib Al Hasan has signed a one-year contract with the Rangpur Riders and will play for them in new BPL season, which begins on December 6. The allrounder leaves Dhaka Dynamites having led them to the final thrice in three seasons, lifting the title in 2016. Given the rivalry between the two sides, Shakib’s move is a bit of a coup by the Riders.The franchise owners Basundhara Group presented Shakib, who is currently on leave from Bangladesh duty, in their headquarters on Tuesday.This is Shakib’s second stint with the Riders although he played under different owners during the 2015 season, in which he took 18 wickets but scored only 136 runs in 11 matches. Shakib has also played for Khulna Royal Bengals (2012) and Dhaka Gladiators (2013).Shakib’s acquisition by the Rangpur franchise, as their icon player, also means that Mashrafe Mortaza has to look for a new franchise for the upcoming season, having led them to their maiden BPL title in 2017, and the knockout stage in the previous season.

July 21

Eoin Morgan to make BPL debut with Dhaka DynamitesEoin Morgan, who led England to their first World Cup title last week, is set for his maiden Bangladesh Premier League stint, after signing up with Dhaka Dynamites for the upcoming season.In 2016, Morgan had expressed his concerns about going to Bangladesh following a terrorist attack in Dhaka in July. He and Alex Hales eventually withdrew from England’s squad due to security reasons.Morgan has played 268 T20s, scoring 5652 runs at a strike-rate of 128.25. Morgan’s next assignment after the World Cup is the Euro T20 Slam, where he will represent the Dublin franchise. Morgan will then join another World Cup star Shakib Al Hasan at Dhaka later this year.Duminy to join Rajshahi KingsRajshahi Kings have signed up JP Duminy, the South Africa batsman who recently retired from international cricket, as one of their two out-of-draft signings. They haven’t announced their other signing yet.Duminy has been a regular in other top T20 leagues like the IPL, but hasn’t featured in the BPL until now. He didn’t play in the 2019 season of the IPL, having endured an ordinary 2018 season with Mumbai Indians, scoring just 36 runs in six matches at the strike rate of 90.00. He had a better time at the PSL last year, scoring 251 runs at an average of 35.85, with two fifties.

July 18

Shane Watson crunches one through extra cover•Getty Images

Khulna Titans rope in Shane WatsonKhulna Titans have roped in Australian allrounder Shane Watson for the 2019-20 Bangladesh Premier League. Watson was the first of the two direct signings for Khulna, who finished at the bottom of the points table last season.Watson, who had missed the 2017 BPL due to injury, after signing up with Dhaka Dynamites that year, said that his primary goal would be to win a maiden title for Khulna.”I am super excited to join the Khulna Titans for the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League season,” Watson said. “The coaching and management team at the Khulna Titans are putting together an amazing squad, so hopefully we can bring home that title that we have always been looking for.”Watson announced his BBL retirement in April, but he continues to be an active player in other T20 leagues. In May, he nearly took Chennai Super Kings to the IPL title and he is now set to turn out in the inaugural Euro T20 Slam.The seventh edition of BPL is scheduled to start in first week of December later this year.

Essex’s Mady Villiers has earned her first call-up to the England Women’s squad for the T20Is against Australia, as they look to save face after surrendering the Ashes in last week’s drawn Test in Taunton.Villiers, 20, made an unbeaten half-century for England’s Academy in the Australians’ Test warm-up match, and impressed with her resolve after coming in at No.9 to a scoreline of 89 for 8 at Marlborough.She is the only new face in a 15-player squad, as England – currently 8-2 down in the multi-format Ashes – seek the 3-0 clean sweep in the T20s that would allow them to claim a share of the series.Captain Heather Knight said: “It’s almost like a one-off IT20 series and we need to give it everything across these last three matches.”We came back strongly in Australia in 2017 and it would feel very different if we ended up at 8-8. That has to be our aim now and we want to finish strongly.”The first of the three T20Is takes place in Chelmsford on Friday.England squad Heather Knight (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Georgia Elwiss, Jenny Gunn, Amy Jones, Laura Marsh, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Mady Villiers, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt

Hick XII 120 and 156 for 5 (Bancroft 93*) beat Haddin XII 105 and 170 by 6 wicketsCameron Bancroft inched his way to the defining innings of a low-scoring scrap in Southampton to give himself the best possible chance of being named in Australia’s Ashes squad on Friday, and also help the Hick XII to victory over the Haddin XII in an internal trial match played on a dicey pitch.All the qualities that saw Bancroft first picked for Australia in 2017 – dogged defence, absorption of quality bowling and a limited game around which others can blossom – were on display as he posted the highest score of the match, an undefeated 93 from 194 studious balls. David Warner, who may now be reunited with Bancroft as openers, made the only other half century, while Marnus Labuschagne’s 41 on the first day was also noteworthy.Thanks to Bancroft, the chase was negotiated effectively, as Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Jon Holland were unable to force their way through, and the Test captain Tim Paine was at the crease to help knock off the last 22 runs required. Pat Cummins, having bowled so well on the first two days, was spelled from the attack ahead of the first Test against England in Birmingham next week.Mitchell Marsh also made a useful partner for Bancroft in a stand worth 54, with scores of 29 and 23 plus 5 for 34 amounting to a significant allround contribution. Bancroft, Labuschagne, Marsh James Pattinson (4 for 35 from 23 overs for the match) and Peter Siddle (5 for 45 from 24) were the fringe players to acquit themselves best in this fixture, providing the selectors Trevor Hohns and Justin Langer with the final pieces of information for their squad deliberations.At the same time, Kurtis Patterson, Joe Burns, Matthew Wade and Pete Handscomb would have been disappointed not to make their mark in what were admittedly very difficult climes for batsmen. Any umpire marking the surface were it a formal first-class fixture would have been hard-pressed to give the pitch a passing grade. Low scores for Steven Smith and Travis Head compounded the sense that Australia’s batsmen will be undercooked for Edgbaston next week.Even so, the match figures returned by Starc (1 for 79 from 22 overs) and Hazlewood (2 for 56 from 24) will cause further contemplation by Hohns and Langer as to the best balance of the Australian bowling attack for Edgbaston. Starc, who was taken for a precautionary knee scan on Wednesday, bowled with high pace at times, but was blunted consistently by Bancroft, only taking his first wicket of the game when it was very near the finish.

Lancashire increased their lead at the top of Division Two with a comprehensive win in under three days against a Glamorgan team who were outclassed in every department, with the margin of victory – an innings and 150 runs – a clear indication of the difference between the two teams.While Lancashire, on their performances this season, will provide formidable opposition in Division One next year, Glamorgan, who were second before this game but are likely to move a few places lower after the current round of fixtures, will need to improve significantly if they are to gain promotion.Apart from Dane Vilas’ brilliant innings that enabled Lancashire take a lead of 288 on first innings, their seam attack probed incessantly in both innings, with the impressive Danny Lamb, in only his fifth first-class game claiming 6 for 89 in the match.Lancashire resumed on 544 for 8, but their innings lasted only four balls before Saqib Mahmood edged Samit Patel to slip after a single had been added. When Glamorgan began their second innings, Nick Selman was almost dismissed from the first ball of the innings when Tom Bailey failed to hold on to a return catch.Instead, the Glamorgan openers made it into the 15th over before being parted, Lamb removing Selman lbw to make it 28 for 1.Five runs later Charlie Hemphrey departed, also leg before to Lamb, who was quickly followed by Shaun Marsh, and when David Lloyd and Billy Root were dismissed by Richard Gleeson in successive deliveries, the home team had subsided to 40 for 4. Patel and Chris Cooke then shared an useful partnership of 42, before both were out leg before – Cooke the fifth lbw victim of the innings and the team’s top scorer with 41.The last four wickets fell for 15 runs, and at 3.30pm Lancashire were on their way home, with Glamorgan left to reflect on their two recent heavy Championship defeats – to Middlesex by 256 runs and here by an innings.