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Hosts pay price for underwhelming batting effort as Superchargers cruise home with 18 balls to spare

ECB Media20-Aug-2025

Northern Superchargers returned to winning ways under the lights at Lord’s to romp home past hosts London Spirit and climb to third in the table in The Hundred men’s competition.Zak Crawley took most of the plaudits for 38-ball 55, but it was a batting effort that owed a debt of gratitude to his colleagues with the ball – the Superchargers attack impressing as they limited Spirit to just 135 for 3 batting first.The win takes Superchargers to 16 points, level on points with defending champions Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets, with a gap threatening to open up underneath fourth-placed Southern Brave on 12 as the race for qualification hots up.The Lord’s faithful might have hoped to see a performance from Aussie superstar David Warner but it wasn’t his night, departing for a four-ball duck. Jamie Smith and Ollie Pope scored 41 and 52 respectively but no Spirit batter was able to get away and really open their arms, and at the interval the visitors would have fancied their chances of chasing down the total.Crawley lay a marker down immediately, demonstrating his class against Dan Worrall’s opening salvo with a couple of stand-and-deliver boundaries through the off-side and that was much the story of the reply, with Spirit never able to build sufficient pressure with the ball.It was left to Crawley’s captain Harry Brook to slap the winning runs over mid-on, with 18 balls still remaining, to signal a comfortable win and keep Superchargers right in the hunt for qualification.Meerkat Match Hero Crawley said: “It was an important game for us to get a win tonight, so the boys are very pleased with that win and it was a good all-round performance.”I try and keep the fundamentals the same whether playing red-ball or white-ball cricket and then maybe premeditate a little bit more in white-ball cricket than I would in a red-ball game, but I try and play similar shots. I think that’s what I’ve done a bit better this year than I have done in previous years.”When you’ve got great players coming behind you, you can just be a bit free at the top and today it wasn’t as easy after the powerplay. It felt good in the powerplay – really good – and then definitely got harder. So it was nice to have that cushion behind with those boys coming in.”I’m surprised to be standing here, to be honest, I thought Rash [Adil Rashid] would be the Meerkat Match Hero. He bowled unbelievably tonight and so did all the other lads to keep them to 140. We felt like we could chase that and it definitely got easier under lights.”

Chelsea cruised to a 6-0 win over Austrian side St Polten on matchday three of the Women's Champions League league phase on Tuesday night, which included a landmark 150th goal scored by the club in European competition. Sonia Bompastor's Blues move up to second in the standings, at least for the next 24 hours, with Sam Kerr working hard and rewarded for her efforts.

Kerr lacked conviction with a great early chance only a few yards from goal, but Wieke Kaptein made sure to put a similar opportunity away to break the deadlock after 12 minutes. Naomi Girma's bundled would-be second for Chelsea just over half an hour in was chalked off due to Kerr being offside as she knocked the ball across goal to the American, but there was nothing wrong with Catarina Macario's low strike from the edge of the box just before the interval.

A top Schluter save denied Macario a quickfire third right after the restart. But Alyssa Thompson soon drew a penalty by bamboozling Izabela Krizaj, that Macario made no mistake converting. Thompson had a goal disallowed with Kerr again offside in the build-up.

Kerr kept at it and eventually got her reward with a well-taken goal to make it 4-0. A heavily deflected Lauren James effort on her return from four months out handed Chelsea a late fifth, officially recorded as an own goal. A heavily deflected Lauren James effort on her return from four months out handed Chelsea a late fifth, officially recorded as an own goal from Lisa Ebert, before Kerr’s second of the night wrapped up the 6-0 win.

GOAL rates Chelsea's players from the NV Arena…

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  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Livia Peng (6/10):

  Standing in for the injured Hannah Hampton, although she may have got that nod anyway due to the Lionesses number one being rested on matchday one. Largely a spectator.

  Ellie Carpenter (8/10):

  Chelsea had so much of the ball in advanced areas it was the perfect opportunity to get forward, playing like an extra winger at times, and she laid on the early breakthrough for Kaptein with a smart cutback. Defensively strong too.

  Lucy Bronze (7/10):

  Obviously not known for playing at centre-back, but it was a repeat of the recent WSL win over London City Lionesses, affording Millie Bright and Nathalie Bjorn a rest after the Arsenal game.

  Naomi Girma (7/10):

  Didn't know much about she managed to get the ball in the back of the net, after an initial header came back off the post and rebounded in…not that it mattered because of an offside flag.

  Sandy Baltimore (7/10):

  Freed up to move higher up the pitch once Niamh Charles was brought on in the second half.

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  Midfield

  Catarina Macario (9/10):

  Always a threat with exceptional delivery in to the danger area from both set-pieces and open play. Finished her chance with great precision to double the lead at a key moment right before the break and showed composure from 12 yards to send Schluter the wrong way for 3-0. The width of a post away from a hat-trick after striking the woodwork with a late free-kick.

  Keira Walsh (7/10):

  Probably wishes opposing players would stop flying in on her ankles, after Arsenal's Victoria Pelova at the weekend and now Fanni Nagy here. hardly misplaced a pass all night to help exhaust St Polten.

  Wieke Kaptein (7/10):

  It was a case of a well-timed run that got her into the right place at the right time to score early on. Tidy on the ball throughout.

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  Attack

  Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (7/10):

  Ought to have made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage-time, but denied one-on-one by Carina Schluter's outstretched right foot. Otherwise a source of decent creativity on the right.

  Sam Kerr (9/10):

  This was her first start in almost two years – since December 2023 – after coming through injury hell. Got into the right positions constantly, but should have done better with an early opportunity and put a great headed chance wide. Eventually scored, setting the chance with a brilliant first touch, and arguably a sharper and more match-practiced version of Sam Kerr would have scored a hat-trick on another night.

  Alyssa Thompson (7/10):

  Won the second half penalty that really put the game beyond doubt and was unlucky that her goal was chalked off due to Kerr being offside.

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  Subs & Manager

  Veerle Buurman (6/10):

  A nice opportunity to give the Dutch teenager meaningful minutes, replacing Girma at half-time.

  Niamh Charles (8/10):

  A very impressive half hour.

  Lexi Potter (7/10):

  Another youngster to get a chance on the big stage.

  Sjoeke Nusken (6/10):

  Almost got a Chelsea seventh in stoppage time at the end, drawing a good save from Schluter.

  Lauren James (7/10):

  First Chelsea appearance since last season for the final 15 minutes. Deflected late shot goes down as a Lisa Ebert own goal.

  Sonia Bompastor (8/10):

  Kept key players Millie Bright, Nathalie Bjorn and Erin Cuthbert on the bench to provide at least some rest, and made good use of the wider squad. The result never really should have been in doubt.

Mitch Marsh made nine om Sheffield Shield return amid speculation he’s an outside contender for an Ashes spot, as Sam Elliott’s 5 for 33 put Victoria in control

AAP04-Dec-2025

Mitchell Marsh’s return to red-ball cricket has not gone to plan with the Ashes outsider failing for Western Australia against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.Marsh had been touted as a potential shock factor at the top of Australia’s order in the series against England. But his return to Shield ranks yielded only nine runs, batting at No.3 for WA on Thursday’s opening day at the MCG.WA struggled to 194 all out, with Sam Elliott taking 5 for 33, before ladder-leading Victoria reached 51 without loss at stumps.Marsh’s most recent Shield match was in October last year. And he hadn’t played a first-class game since being axed from the Test side after the Boxing Day win against India last year, when he scored four and a duck.Marsh’s surprise return to red-ball cricket came amid speculation Test selectors are toying with deploying the hard-hitting batter as an opener against England.But after Travis Head’s first Test heroics at the top of the order, Marsh’s prospects of adding to his 46 Tests appear slimmer.On Thursday, the 34-year-old struck two fours, including a trademark pull shot. But he was also troubled by the movement of Victorian quick Mitchell Perry, who had a couple of lbw shouts turned down against Marsh.Australia’s T20 captain lasted only 16 balls, launching at a full, wide delivery from Perry and edging to wicketkeeper Sam Harper.Allrounder Aaron Hardie top-scored with 53 from 73 balls and Cameron Bancroft was next best with 39, while Jayden Goodwin and Cameron Gannon chipped in.But the West Australians collectively folded late as Elliott crashed through the lower order after Perry captured the initial three wickets.Elliott, who also took a five-for against NSW last month, took five of the last six wickets to fall as WA lost 5 for 42.Victoria’s opening batters Blake Macdonald and Harry Dixon posted a half-century stand inside 13 overs.Eight points clear atop the table, Victoria are chasing a fifth win from six games against WA who have one win from five games.

Micky Van de Ven was left blown away by the performance of a Tottenham Hotspur star in the 2-0 victory against Brentford at the weekend.

Tottenham secure first Premier League win since late October

The pressure has been mounting on Thomas Frank in recent weeks, with it even emerging that Tottenham were considering a move for Barcelona manager Xavi as a replacement, but the Dane may have bought himself more time courtesy of a victory against Brentford.

Spurs breezed to a 2-0 win against the Bees, which was their first triumph in the Premier League since winning 3-0 at Everton at the end of October, with Richarlison opening the scoring after 26 minutes, finding the back of the net for the seventh time in all competitions this season.

Xavi Simons was the creator, and the Dutchman then went on to score his first goal since moving to north London just before half-time, sealing all three points for Frank’s side in the process.

Simons has received heavy criticism for making a slow start to life at Tottenham, with Jamie O’Hara left particularly scathing after the defeat against Fulham, but he clearly has the full support of teammate Van de Ven, who singled the attacking midfielder out for high praise after Brentford.

Simons needs to build on his Brentford performance

Frank will no doubt be delighted the Netherlands international appears to be finding his feet, receiving a SofaScore match rating of 9.5 after registering a goal and an assist against Keith Andrews’ side.

Having finally shown what he can produce, the 22-year-old needs to build on that performance, starting on Tuesday against Slavia Prague, with Spurs set to host the Czech side in their sixth Champions League game.

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Frank’s side have looked bereft of ideas at times this season, with only a Richarlison wonder goal preventing them from suffering an even heavier loss against Arsenal back in November.

As such, Simons needs to step up, and Tottenham will be hoping the former RB Leipzig man can start recording similar attacking numbers to what he did during his time with the German club, registering 22 goals and 24 assists in 78 games.

Bilal Sami replaces Saleem in Afghanistan’s squad for the three-match series in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2025

Afghanistan’s right-arm fast bowler Mohammad Saleem has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi due to a groin (adductor) overload.As a result, Saleem will report to the ACB’s High Performance Center for rehabilitation, a release by the Afghanistan Cricket Board said.In Saleem’s place, right-arm medium-pace bowler Bilal Sami will be joining Afghanistan’s squad for the ODIs against Bangladesh.Twenty-three-year-old Saleem has played two ODIs so far, with both of those matches coming against Bangladesh in July 2023. He last played for Afghanistan in his solitary Test, which was against Sri Lanka in Colombo in February 2024.Saleem’s replacement Sami, meanwhile, has played for Afghanistan only once, which was on ODI debut against Zimbabwe in December 2024. Sami, 21, has played 25 List A games, where he has 44 wickets at an average of 25.72. He represented Afghanistan Under-19 at the World Cup in 2022, where he got four wickets in five matches.Sami was recently in action at the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament, Afghanistan’s domestic List A competition, which ended in September. There, he was his team Speen Ghar Region’s second-highest wicket-taker with ten wickets at an average of 22.90, and an economy rate of 4.97.Afghanistan’s first ODI against Bangladesh will take place on Wednesday, October 8.

Dan Lawrence battles with unbeaten 44 but weather has the final say in Superchargers’ campaign

Matt Roller30-Aug-2025It will be Trent Rockets, not Northern Superchargers, who face Oval Invincibles in Sunday’s Hundred final at Lord’s after a soggy night in south London ended in an abandonment. Showers delayed the start by 20 minutes, prompted two hour-long interruptions, and eventually wiped the game out altogether, with Rockets progressing by virtue of their higher group-stage finish.The final call came at 9.52pm, nearly four hours yet only 80 legal balls after the scheduled 6pm start. Rockets twice started to chase adjusted targets – 134 off 75, then 105 off 55 – only for the drizzle to turn into rain, and the crowd had thinned by the time a final heavy downpour prompted umpires James Middlebrook and Martin Saggers to finally pull the plug.The final will start barely 20 hours after the Eliminator ended, and a stop-start night hardly served ideal preparation. “It’s been a long day… I thought you had to wait until the rain stops before you start,” reflected Rockets’ Marcus Stoinis, who removed Harry Brook and David Miller before the rain took over. “It’s a bit of chaos, but I think it will be fine.”Invincibles, by contrast, have had since Monday to prepare for Sunday’s final as table-toppers, and will welcome back Stoinis’ close friend Adam Zampa as a handy replacement for Rashid Khan. Jordan Cox and Sam Curran helped them to surge home against Rockets in the stand-out match of the group stage, and they are gunning for a third successive title.David Willey struck with his third ball to remove Zak Crawley•ECB/Getty Images

“It was a good contest last time,” Stoinis said of their meeting at The Oval earlier this month. “We probably had the better of them for the majority of that game and they played really well. Credit to them for winning… It was some of the best hitting that there’s been in any cricket, really. But to be honest, we haven’t really thought about it – we haven’t had a chance!”This was a cruel end for Brook’s Superchargers, but one they could have avoided. These two teams were level on points heading into the final week of the group stage, but Superchargers lost their last fixture on Tuesday, and Rockets clinched second place with a win on Wednesday. With no reserve day for the Eliminator, it proved enough for them.”I think everybody in the world knew that was going to happen,” Brook said, ruefully. “Everyone saw the forecast was going to be shocking from about five or six o’clock. It is what it is. We can’t do anything about it.”It’s easy to say loads of things when you’re sat on the losing side. You could say we could have played last night, knowing that it was going to rain tonight; or we could have brought the game earlier, say the girls play at 11 and we play at 2. But this is how they’ve set the schedule… There’s so many things you could say.”Harry Brook was cleaned up by Marcus Stoinis•ECB/Getty Images

Rockets shaded the limited action there was, with captain David Willey setting the tone after winning what looked like an important toss. He struck with his third ball, which Zak Crawley edged to slip, and frontloaded his 20-ball allocation into the first 40 in the knowledge that the innings was unlikely to last its scheduled duration.Dan Lawrence top-scored with an unbeaten 44 from No. 3 around cameos from Dawid Malan and David Miller as Superchargers reached 76 for 3 after 50 balls at the first rain break, and 119 for 5 after 75 at the second. Lawrence was unusually due to keep wicket, but the discarded Michael Pepper took the gloves as a substitute fielder after Malan tweaked a muscle.After the first long delay, Jacob Duffy pushed the first ball of Rockets’ chase past Tom Banton’s pad; after the second, Banton slashed him over slip for four and picked up four leg-byes from an attempted scoop. But no sooner had Matthew Potts removed his cap to bowl the second set, than the rain returned with a vengeance, sending Superchargers’ season down the drain.

Prasad, a former vice-president from 2013-16, announced his candidature for the KSCA (Karnataka State Cricket Association) elections in Bengaluru

Shashank Kishore21-Aug-2025

Venkatesh Prasad, the former India seamer, has vowed to restore the image of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, while also committing to improved governance and transparency at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) if elected at the upcoming elections.Prasad, who served as KSCA vice-president from 2013-2016, announced his candidature for contesting in the board elections, on Wednesday at an event in Bengaluru. His team includes Shantha Rangaswamy, the former India women’s captain, and Vinay Mruthyunjaya, a ex-KSCA officer bearer and member of BCCI’s finance committee.”We would like to bring back international cricket,” Prasad said. “It’s such an iconic venue, Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has been standing for the last 50 years. This [permission to host matches] is something which has never happened. Even our own Maharaja Cup has also been moved out which is not a good thing.”Prasad’s potential re-entry into administration comes at a time when the KSCA finds itself on a sticky wicket. The association has been functioning without a secretary and treasurer since June, after they resigned citing moral responsibility in the aftermath of the stampede around the M Chinnaswamy Stadium premises that claimed 11 lives during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s victory celebration.Police permission for subsequent events have been repeatedly denied, forcing the KSCA to shift the Maharaja T20 Trophy to Mysore. As things stand, it looks increasingly likely Bengaluru will not have permissions in place to host matches during the upcoming Women’s World Cup.Related

'Venky is here to make a difference' – Kumble backs Prasad for KSCA post

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No police clearance yet for Chinnaswamy to host Maharaja T20

Chinnaswamy stampede: KSCA secretary, treasurer resign citing 'moral responsibility'

KSCA have also run into issues with the local regulatory bodies, including the electricity supply department (BESCOM) that has cut-off power to the venue due to non-compliance of fire safety regulations.Bengaluru was slated to host the Women’s World Cup opener, the second semi-final, and even the final – if Pakistan don’t qualify. Those games appear to be in a limbo after the KSCA has missed multiple deadlines set by the BCCI to secure all approvals.”One of the preconditions whenever the BCCI allots matches, they give us a deadline to get the state government permission. If we don’t get the permission, they will not host the matches,” Mruthyunjaya explained.”In the current situation, as you know that the permission has been denied… What we mean to say is, we are going to work together to see that as and when the match comes to Bangalore, we will put our efforts to get the necessary permissions from the government agencies.”Prasad & team’s immediate priority – if they’re elected – is to address the safety concerns that led to the stampede. A one-member committee appointed by the state government noted serious flaws in the stadium’s design, and deemed it “unfit and unsafe” to host big matches involving large gatherings.Mruthyunjaya outlined plans for a comprehensive review of the Justice Michael D’Cunha report, while conducting all necessary safety audits before seeking government permissions to resume hosting matches.”We would definitely like to review the recommendations of the Judicial Commission with respect to the government agencies,” Mruthyunjaya said. “There will be no compromise with respect to the safety of the fans, safety of the spectators, safety of the cricketers. When it comes to safety, we want to give priority to that.”Prasad also outlined KSCA’s ambitious plans of increasing the Chinnaswamy Stadium’s seating capacity, factoring in all engineering challenges. “We need to work on that. Because as I said earlier, this was built in 1974. I’m sure we cannot take it to 80,000 and so on. So probably another 15,000 more, maybe up to 50,000 and now it’s 34,000-35,000.”Prasad also shared plans of developing a Lord’s inspired cricket museum with interactive exhibits and virtual reality experience to showcase the heritage of Indian and Karnataka cricket.

Pakistan have cancelled another scheduled pre-match press conference, this one ahead of their Super Fours game against India on Sunday. According to the schedule the Asian Cricket Council released, a Pakistan player or member of the coaching staff was scheduled to do a press conference at 6pm local time on Saturday. The team was also slated to train from 6pm onwards for three hours at the ICC Academy in Dubai. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that training is set to go ahead as scheduled.The reason for cancelling the press conference is not yet clear. It is the second time in as many games Pakistan have scrapped their customary pre-match media duties. They had declined to hold a press conference ahead of their must-win game against UAE, while the handshake saga with match referee Andy Pycroft raged on.Meanwhile, Pycroft has been confirmed as the match referee for the India vs Pakistan game on Sunday too.Related

• India, Pakistan will look to put off-field issues aside in Super Fours clash

• Six wickets, no runs: The myth and math of Saim Ayub

• The Pakcroft drama: everything, everywhere, all at once

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• Pycroft to stand as match referee in Ind vs Pak Super Fours game

In the days since, that feud has largely been put to rest after the ICC organised a meeting between Pycroft and Pakistan’s coach, captain, media and team managers where Pycroft offered his regrets for the way events at the toss against India had unfolded. He had told Salman Ali Agha there would not be a handshake with the India captain Suryakumar Yadav, which Pakistan had interpreted as Pycroft’s failure to uphold the ICC’s code of conduct and demanded his “immediate removal” from the tournament.The meeting before the UAE game appeared to have placated the PCB somewhat; they put out a short video of it, with no audio, and said in a statement that Pycroft had apologised. That, in turn, appeared to have angered the ICC, who took exception to the recording of that video, writing a strongly-worded e-mail to the PCB, saying the board had breached protocol by filming without consent in the Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA). There is no official confirmation that the PCB ever responded to that email.India will not hold a press conference on Saturday either. As is customary for sides who play their next game after only a day’s gap, they held an embargoed press conference looking ahead to the Pakistan clash, following the conclusion of their game against Oman on Friday night.Sunday will be both sides’ first game in the Super Fours stage.

England spinner starred at Lord’s last week, but reveals she ‘wasn’t sure’ she’d return from mental-health break

Valkerie Baynes22-Jul-2025Sophie Ecclestone has revealed she considered quitting cricket in the aftermath of the off-field drama surrounding England Women’s T20 World Cup and Ashes failures.Ecclestone missed the start of the international summer when England hosted West Indies, instead playing for Lancashire during the T20I series while she managed her comeback from a knee injury. She was then ruled out of the ODI series, citing the need to prioritise her wellbeing.Having returned for both white-ball series against India, Ecclestone spoke about the reasons surrounding her absence in a pre-match interview ahead of the third and final ODI at Chester-le-Street.She had come under fire during the Ashes in Australia, where England lost the points series 16-0, after Alex Hartley, the former England spinner turned broadcaster, said Ecclestone had refused to be interviewed by her on TV. Hartley also said she had been “given the cold shoulder” by England players since criticising their fitness following their group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup last October.”It was a tough time for me personally,” Ecclestone told Sky Sports in a pitch-side interview before play on Tuesday. “I tore my meniscus and I had a very sore knee, but I feel like personally I was so tired and so drained from the last few months.Related

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“As a cricketer, we don’t stop, we don’t get much time off and we go from franchise tournaments to England tournaments and it takes it out of you. I feel like during the West Indies series I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to come back and play cricket.”I was away from cricket and I cried to a few people, I cried to my dad, I get emotional now, but it was it was a tough time. But I feel like I’ve come out the other side now and I’m back playing cricket.”Ecclestone credited team-mates Lauren Bell and Alice Capsey, along with her family and friends for helping her return to the cricket field with “a smile on my face again”. That culminated in a Player-of-the-Match award for her 3 for 37 at Lord’s on Saturday, which helped England to an ODI series-levelling victory.Ecclestone disputed the use of the word “refusal” when it came to the infamous interview with Hartley, and appeared to take issue with the timing of the request to talk, suggesting that she wanted to concentrate on her warm-up.”It was a weird time,” Ecclestone said. “I feel like obviously that went down the wrong way, and a few things were said, and I was just concentrating on cricket at that moment.”A lot of things were being said which wasn’t ideal for me and it affected me quite a lot to be honest. It took a lot out of me. There were a lot of words being thrown around about me that I thought were untrue and it wasn’t very nice to hear.”I kind of had to put that to one side, and I did go off social media for a couple of weeks actually during the Ashes, just because it was affecting me quite a lot, what was being said. It wasn’t very nice but we’ve all learnt from that now and there’s a lot of feelings involved but we’re all over that now, and ready to move on.”Ecclestone went on to say that she believed misconceptions had emerged about her in the fallout from the incident.”I feel like a lot of words were being thrown around about me that weren’t true,” she said. “Just that I was really arrogant maybe, and that’s just not me as a person.”The word refusal was getting thrown around and that just wasn’t really true and some of the things people were saying about the team I didn’t really agree with, so it was hard to take for me and hard to take for the team.”Immediately after the Ashes, Clare Connor, managing director of England women’s cricket, described the interview situation as “an unfortunate incident that won’t happen again”.”Our players in general… embrace their media obligations,” Connor said. “It matters to them to be good role models for women’s cricket and the England women’s cricket team. As professional women’s cricket has developed at the rate that it has over recent years, that scrutiny is something that we will all have to embrace and accept.”Ecclestone acknowledged that women’s cricket being in the spotlight more than when she made her debut as a 17-year-old in 2016 was a positive thing and said she had learned from the experience, including the public’s reaction.”I was so surprised,” she said. “I feel like it got slightly blown out of proportion but it was no-one’s fault. It was hard at the time because I feel like I came out to my phone and had about 25,000 messages about something that had happened in the media and I was like, ‘well what’s happened?’ Then I came out and I saw it all, and I was just like, ‘wow like that’s mega.'”

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