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Zimbabwe put forward a team effort led by Tadiwanashe Marumani’s fourth T20I fifty to post an imposing 191 for 8. But Sri Lanka’s top four batters made light work of their target by ending the game with 14 balls and eight wickets to spare. With it, Sri Lanka took the series 2-1.Kamil Mishara will be the name on everyone’s lips after the game, though, with his 73 not out off 43 balls the shining light in an outstanding display of batting from the Sri Lankans. Pathum Nissanka (30 from 20 deliveries) and Kusal Mendis (30 off 17) once more delivered a strong start in the powerplay. But while Sri Lanka have long struggled to maintain that momentum, on Sunday, Mishara and the returning Kusal Perera dusted off the 192 chase with ease with an unbeaten stand of 117 from 63 balls.Earlier, Marumani rode his luck to propel Zimbabwe’s efforts, and he was ably assisted by cameos throughout the innings. At one point, Zimbabwe looked poised to breach 200, but Sri Lanka again excelled during the death overs, particularly with Dushmantha Chameera and Matheesha Pathirana, to ensure Zimbabwe had a total that was eventually gettable.Tadiwanashe Marumani scored a steady half-century•Zimbabwe Cricket

SL’s powerplay one-upmanship

After Zimbabwe posted their highest total against Sri Lanka – and their third highest total at the Harare Sports Club – Sri Lanka knew what they needed to do to chase it down.Part one played out as expected, with Kusal Mendis and Nissanka once more providing the Sri Lanka with a customary blistering start to the chase. The pair put on an opening stand of 58 off 32 deliveries, as Sri Lanka struck 67 runs in the powerplay for the loss of just one wicket.It was the ideal response to Zimbabwe, who had done similarly well in the powerplay by scoring 58 for 1. That effort had been led by a somewhat chancy knock by Marumani, who played anchor, as both Brian Bennett and Sean Williams provided the aggression.Dushan Hemantha picked up three wickets•Sri Lanka Cricket

Mishara announces himself

Prior to this tour, Mishara had briefly introduced himself to Sri Lanka’s cricket followers in 2022 during matches against India and Australia before swiftly finding himself back in the domestic wilderness. In the years since, he has crafted himself as a batter full of intent and aggression – it was ill-advised in the second T20I, but on Sunday, he showed how useful that skillset can be.Coming into bat late in the powerplay, Mishara soon found himself the senior man in a partnership with Perera, as both Mendis and Nissanka had fallen in quick succession. But with lopsided boundaries on offer, both Mishara and Perera smartly took the singles and twos on offer, without searching for the boundaries – a luxury afforded by the strong powerplay.However, a stunning loft down the ground for six, hitting through the line, signalled to all watching what Mishara was all about. It would be another ten deliveries until he found his next boundary, but scarcely was a dot ball registered under his watch.Mishara’s assurance also seemed to revive Perera, who had been dropped for the second T20I following a lean patch of form, but here he seemed to be finding his feet once more. The pair eventually began finding boundaries as and when needed, with Mishara in particular looking always keen to take on the onus. By the end, Mishara looked assured in a challenging middle-order role, one Sri Lanka will be hoping he can hold on to for a while.Sikandar Raza batted at a high tempo•Zimbabwe Cricket

Chameera, Pathirana dent Zimbabwe’s charge

Sikandar Raza said after the game that he was absolutely thrilled with Zimbabwe’s batting effort, and with 191 on the board, you don’t have to wonder why. It was a performance built on a strong powerplay, but more importantly, smart and aggressive cricket throughout.Dushan Hemantha, for example, picked up three wickets – the most in the innings – and they were the prized scalps of Williams, Raza and Marumani. But such was the trajectory of the Zimbabwean innings that it hardly halted their momentum.Each of Zimbabwe’s top seven reached double digits, while five of them struck at a strike rate of 150 or more. It was the quintessential team innings, and one that saw them score 95 runs through the middle overs (7 to 16). Yet, by the end of the game, many watching on may have felt they were perhaps 30 runs short.That is primarily down to Sri Lanka’s excellent effort with the ball at the death, where they conceded just 38 runs and picked up four wickets, a period which culminated in a final over where the returning Pathirana gave away just six runs and accounted for two wickets – one of which was a run-out.

CPL 2025 got off to a low-scoring start in Basseterre, where St Kitts and Nevis Patriots rode on a stellar bowling performance led by Waqar Salamkheil to run out six-wicket victors over Antigua and Barbuda Falcons.After Jason Holder opted to bowl, Kyle Mayers, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naseem Shah left Falcons at 39 for 3 inside the fifth over. Salamkheil, the Afghanistan left-arm wristspinner, came on in the eighth over and was on target off his fourth ball, pitching just outside off stump and turning it back in to hit Fabian Allen’s stumps. He went on to spin out Shakib Al Hasan, Imad Wasim and Odean Smith to end with 4 for 22 from his four overs.Fortunately for Falcons, USA batter Karima Gore was in good nick, but with no other batter making a significant contribution, he had to pretty much go it alone. Gore’s 34-ball 61 included eight fours and two sixes, and Falcons would have wanted him to bat longer than he did after having walked out in the first over itself. As it happened, Farooqi returned to get rid of Gore in the 12th over, a slower delivery sliced high for Andre Fletcher, the wicketkeeper, to take a sharp running catch.All Patriots, the CPL 2021 winners, needed to score was 122, and though they got there quite comfortably, and never really looked in danger of not being able to, there was a little stutter in between thanks to Rahkeem Cornwall.Evin Lewis took off in a flash, scoring 25 in 13, before falling to Obed McCoy in the fourth over. Patriots made it out of the powerplay with just the loss of Lewis and 55 runs on the board, but in the seventh over, Cornwall sent back both Kyle Mayers and Rilee Rossouw. And suddenly, at 56 for 3, Patriots were looking just that little bit out of sorts.But Fletcher was playing a sedate knock, and in Alick Athanaze, Patriots found just the man for the job. Fletcher fell after scoring a 26-ball 19, to Salamkheil’s compatriot AM Ghazanfar at the end of the tenth over, but Patriots had reached 76 already by then. Athanaze, with an unbeaten 28-ball 37, and Holder, with 18 in 14 balls, finished the job from there with five overs in the bank.

Stumps Washington Sundar’s prize wicket-taking set India up for a 135-run pursuit on the final day of the third Test at Lord’s, but in a twist to an enthralling fourth day in which 14 wickets fell, they only have six wickets in hand.Brydon Carse removed Karun Nair and Shubman Gill cheaply for impressive figures of 2 for 11 from four overs and Ben Stokes bowled nightwatcher Akash Deep with the last ball of the day as three wickets fell in the last half-hour of play.Related

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Washington’s 4 for 22 included the key names of Joe Root, Jamie Smith and Stokes before he claimed the last England wicket to fall, Shoaib Bashir, as the hosts took a lead of 192. After scores were level on first innings, that meant India needed to chase down 193 for a 2-1 lead in the series.Jofra Archer broke through in the second over of India’s pursuit when Yashasvi Jaiswal attempted to pull a shorter, wider ball and sent a top edge into the air above wicketkeeper Smith.But it wasn’t until 30 minutes before stumps that England were able to make inroads again, Nair flummoxed by Carse’s nip-backer and offering no shot as the ball struck the inside of his back knee. Gill, on 6, failed to overturn his lbw dismissal after he was hit on the knee roll by one in line with middle stump.When Akash Deep entered still needing to don his arm guard and gloves, Root revved up the crowd to protest at any time wasting, which had been Gill’s bugbear in a heated exchange with Zak Crawley at the end of day three.1:20

Manjrekar: Lord’s Test 70-30 in England’s favour

The issue went from prickly to farcical to downright funny when Carse rapped Akash Deep’s pads. He survived England’s review on umpire’s call with impact on the top of leg stump and India sent the physio out to apply some strapping to the batter’s leg, chewing up more time.England managed to squeeze in another over, though, and Stokes struck with the fourth ball, flattening Akash Deep’s off stump.India’s bowlers started the day with great intent. Jasprit Bumrah caused Crawley all sorts of discomfort without being rewarded and Mohammed Siraj produced a miserly seven-over opening spell yielding two wickets.1:28

Washington: One of my best days with the ball

Ben Duckett was the first to go pulling to Bumrah at mid-on amid an impassioned send-off from Siraj that ensured the tensions of the previous evening remained high.Siraj then pinned Ollie Pope lbw, although it took an India review to confirm his dismissal for just 4 off 17 balls. Pope’s average in the second innings languishes at a mere 19.64 now.Nitish Kumar Reddy relieved Bumrah midway through the morning session and removed Crawley for the second time in the match, this time a loose drive outside off stump gathered by Jaiswal at gully.1:48

Manjrekar: Gill looked tentative

Harry Brook mounted a counterattack, ramping Akash Deep for back-to-back fours before launching him down the ground for six but it was short-lived. He fell for a 19-ball 23 when, attempting to sweep a full, straight one, Akash Deep flattened his middle stump in the perfect riposte.Enter Washington as India turned to spin after lunch and he rattled Root’s middle stump with one that slid under the attempted sweep and ended his fifth-wicket stand with Stokes at 67. Root’s 40 became England’s highest of the innings and his dismissal ended a run of four scores of fifty or above at Lord’s (including three centuries on the trot).Four overs later, Washington bowled Smith for just 8 with an excellent quicker ball that didn’t turn in the slightest but skidded past the outside edge and onto off stump.2:16

Trescothick: It’s going to be an amazing final day

At that point, England were 164 for 6 and they were subsequently becalmed as Stokes and Chris Woakes looked to avoid further damage.But Stokes added just six more runs after tea before Washington struck again, beating the slog sweep and clattering middle stump to send him on his way for 33.Bumrah was finally rewarded with the wickets of Carse and Woakes, the former to a stunning, pinpoint-accurate yorker on leg stump and the latter to one that expertly clipped the leg-side bail.Bashir’s was the 12th bowled dismissal by India for the match when Washington beat his defences to close out the innings, completing an England collapse in which they lost their last four wickets for 11 runs, and their last six for 38. Washington’s 4 for 22 is the best by an India spinner at Lord’s since 1974.

South Africa’s Dane Paterson will spend April and May playing for Middlesex in the County Championship, a move which will give him the chance to play at Lord’s and pitch his case for selection ahead of the World Test Championship final on June 11.Paterson, 35, took five-wicket hauls in both of the Tests he played in South Africa’s home summer, against Sri Lanka in Gqerbha, and against Pakistan at Centurion. He has signed a contract which covers Middlesex’s first seven Championship fixtures – including four games at Lord’s, where South Africa will face Australia in the WTC final.Across four seasons with Nottinghamshire, Paterson took 180 Championship wickets at 23.25, including seven five-wicket hauls, but the club have opted not to renew his contract. He will instead join Middlesex, and will hope to spearhead their attack after Ethan Bamber’s departure to Warwickshire over the winter.Related

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“It’s an honour to be joining Middlesex,” Paterson said. “I will do my best to give Middlesex the best chance of getting promoted back to Division One again, where the club belongs. I can’t wait to be playing at Lord’s – such a prestigious ground – and I’m just really excited about the challenge that lies ahead.”Whilst obviously I’m sad not to be returning to Trent Bridge after what has been an amazing four years, I’ll always treasure the time I’ve spent there. It quickly became a home away from home for me and I made friendships in the dressing room which I’m sure will last a lifetime.”Paterson joins Kyle Verreynne (Notts) in signing for a county ahead of the WTC final, with David Bedingham also due to back at Durham. Rassie van der Dussen revealed on Thursday that he has turned down a move.Australia’s Cameron Green (Gloucestershire) and Beau Webster (Warwickshire) will also use the Championship to prepare for the final, with many other likely participants involved in either the IPL or PSL during the April-May window.Kane Williamson is also due to play for Middlesex this year, though will not overlap with Paterson•Associated Press

Middlesex did not sign an overseas player last year due to financial constraints but Paterson is the third they have announced this month, after Kane Williamson and Josh Little. They have also brought in Zafar Gohar, the Pakistan-born spinner, as a local player thanks to his British passport, and signed Ben Geddes from Surrey as a replacement for Mark Stoneman.Alan Coleman, Middlesex’s director of cricket, said: “We are really pleased to get this signing secured as Dane is a player that will bring an enormous amount of quality to our pace attack and is someone that can make a real impact for us in the first half of the season.”He has proven throughout the four-years he spent with Nottinghamshire that he has all the attributes needed to succeed in English conditions, and he brings with him a wealth of experience, built up over many years on both the domestic and international stages.”Elsewhere, Durham have announced the signing of Brendan Doggett, the South Australia seamer who recently played for Australia A against England Lions. Doggett is only eligible for a short-term visa but is due to arrive in time to face Warwickshire on April 11 and will be at Durham for the early weeks of the 2025 season.

Mitchell Marsh, who was dropped for the final Test against India, is in line to play his first BBL match for nearly three years after being added to Perth Scorchers’ squad to face Melbourne Renegades at Optus Stadium on Tuesday.Quick bowler Jhye Richardson has also been made available for a BBL return having been part of the Test squad for the final two matches of the Border-Gavaskar series.Related

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Availability of other Test players will be confirmed in the coming days, but Travis Head has effectively confirmed he won’t be featuring for Adelaide Strikers.”I’m wrecked,” Head told Fox Cricket at the SCG on Sunday. “I don’t know what I’m going to do in the next few days but we’ve got 10 or 12 days off now before we go to Sri Lanka and I’m going to use every little bit of that.”Marsh returned to Perth on Monday following Australia’s series-clinching victory at the SCG where he had ceded his place in the side to Beau Webster who went on to produce a memorable debut.Marsh could be available for a longer run with Scorchers through to the end of the BBL if he doesn’t make the squad for the Sri Lanka tour which is due to be named later this week.His last BBL outing was in January 2022, after which he missed the following season having opted to have ankle surgery in a bid to earn a Test recall which came to fruition in the 2023 Ashes, where he scored a century at Headingley. He remained a fixture in the side until a few days ago when he paid the price for a lean series with the bat.Webster could be available for Melbourne Stars’ next game against Sydney Sixers on Thursday and also the return derby against Renegades on January 12.Steven Smith (Sydney Sixers), Sam Konstas (Sydney Thunder), Marnus Labuschagne (Brisbane Heat), Usman Khawaja (Brisbane Heat), Alex Carey (Adelaide Strikers), Nathan Lyon (Melbourne Renegades) and Sean Abbott (Sydney Sixers) are the other players from the Test squad who could turn out for their BBL teams. Scott Boland, who plays for Melbourne Stars, may be rested after his workload in the final two Tests.Most of those names are then likely to be part of the Sri Lanka tour which begins with a training camp in Dubai. Teams that reach the BBL finals will be without any of the players who are on that trip.

Alice Capsey will join England Women’s T20I squad for their tour of South Africa after earning a belated call-up to cover for injury.Capsey, who was initially left out of the touring party amid an extended form slump with the bat, has left WBBL side Melbourne Renegades to join her England team-mates in South Africa today.England said her recall was due to “a couple of minor injury concerns within the squad” but would not elaborate, adding only that all squad members were taking part in a light training session on Monday amid “a couple of niggles, nothing major”.Capsey made a top score of 19 in three innings at last month’s T20 World Cup, where England failed to reach the knockouts. Since then, she has scored 72 runs in eight innings at the WBBL, where she is currently the third-highest wicket-taker with 13 at an average of 13.23 and economy rate of 7.21, including a best of 5 for 25 in a losing cause against Perth Scorchers.Capsey and the injured Dani Gibson were the only members of the T20 World Cup squad not included in the original group bound for South Africa, with middle-order batter Paige Scholfield and fast bowler Lauren Filer called up after missing out on the World Cup. Scholfield made her England debut on the tour of Ireland in September.South Africa host England in three T20Is from November 24 in East London, followed by three ODIs and ending with a Test in Bloemfontein.

Richard Whittam KC has been appointed chair of the Cricket Discipline Panel (CDP), a new independent tribunal which will take over from the Cricket Discipline Commission as the body to hear and adjudicate on regulatory breaches in English professional cricket and subsequent sanctions handed out.Whittam’s appointment, made by the ECB board for a four-year term, comes after an open recruitment process. The 64-year-old is a specialist regulatory and criminal barrister with a background in sport.After serving as a deputy high court judge between 2016 and 2022, Whittam was appointed as the Rugby Football Union’s Head of Independent Judiciary last year. He has chaired discipline, safeguarding and appeal panels in rugby union since 2014. Whittam is also a member of the Word Rugby and European Professional Club Rugby Judicial Panels.Whittam will be responsible for presiding over specific disciplinary cases, and appointing the other members of the CDP who possess an appropriate range of skills and diversity. Once they are in place, the panel will begin considering cases, taking over this role from the current CDC, which is chaired by Tim O’Gorman.The CDP’s function will be to consider cases brought before it by the Cricket Regulator, the body responsible for monitoring compliance with and enforcement of adherence to the game’s regulations on behalf of the ECB. Formed in 2023, the Cricket Regulator was a key recommendation from a damning report published by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) in June of that year, detailing structural inequalities across race, gender and class in cricket in England and Wales.The majority of cases brought to the panel will relate to breaches of the ECB’s Professional Conduct Regulations, but will also include other regulations such as the Anti-Corruption code, Player and Match Officials’ Minimum Standards, Cricket Playing Conditions, Bowling Review Regulations, Pitch Regulations and Head Protector Regulations.Speaking on his appointment, Whittam said: “I am delighted to be appointed to this important role. It is vital to the integrity of cricket that the sport’s rules and regulations are upheld. As the first Chair of the CDP I look forward to getting the Panel up and running and ensuring that cases are dealt with promptly, in a fair, thorough and transparent manner.”ECB chair Richard Thompson said: “The independent Cricket Discipline Panel will play an important role in enforcing cricket’s regulations and dealing with any misconduct and regulatory breaches. Richard Whittam KC has an impressive background in law and sports discipline which makes him the ideal person to chair the Panel.”I’d like to pass on my sincere thanks to Tim O’Gorman and all the panel members from the Cricket Discipline Commission for the service they have given the game over many years. They have performed an important duty in enforcing cricket’s regulations, and I’m grateful for their continued service while the new Cricket Discipline Panel members are recruited.”

Durham’s Ben Raine took four wickets for 23 runs from 18 overs to deepen Lancashire’s relegation fears on the first day of the Vitality County Championship match at the Riverside.Raine made the most of bowler-friendly conditions to help reduce Keaton Jennings’ side to 177 for 6 after 78 overs on a day that was shortened by morning rain.Home supporters might view that as a decent return in a match played with a Kookaburra ball but Lancashire’s plight could have been vastly worse had not Matty Hurst made a fine 74 not out and Josh Bohannon added 49 during two long sessions when run-scoring was often difficult.Raine was well supported by Matthew Potts, who took 2 for 36, while West Indian bowler, Chemar Holder, endured a testing first day as a Durham bowler, finishing with nought for 53 from his eight overs.Persistent drizzle delayed the start of play until 12.50 and it was no surprise that Durham skipper Scott Borthwick chose to bowl first on winning the toss.Nor was it particularly startling, given their current form, that Lancashire’s first innings began badly. Raine had Luke Wells caught behind by Ollie Robinson off the first ball of the game and then produced a magnificent delivery which nipped away and bowled Jennings for 9 in the ninth over.Josh Bohannon tucked into three wayward overs from Holder before losing his third-wicket partner, Venkatesh Iyer, with the total on 49 when the Indian allrounder was caught behind off Potts for 7.Matty Hurst survived for 36 minutes and 26 balls before scoring his first run but Lancashire’s closest shaves came at the other end where Bohannon edged Potts between the wicketkeeper and first slip and survived a confident appeal for caught behind off Raine, before finally falling for 49 when a thin-edged catch to Robinson gave the Durham seamer his third wicket.Lancashire got to tea on 96 for 4 but soon lost George Bell for 7 when Lancashire’s No.6 pulled Potts straight to Holder at midwicket.Although Hurst reached his fourth Championship fifty off 88 balls with seven fours and a six, the visitors soon lost their sixth wicket when George Balderson edged a drive off Raine to Colin Ackermann at second slip and departed for 10.Hurst and Tom Hartley then batted with great good sense for over an hour, adding an unbroken 39 in 25 overs to ensure that Lancashire didn’t suffer any further damage before the close, although by that time their side still needed 73 runs to secure their first batting point since July 1.

South Africa opener Reeza Hendricks fetched the highest bid of Rand 4.3 million at the SA20 auction ahead of the 2025 season. MI Cape Town won a fierce bidding war against Pretoria Capitals to scoop up the batter.Hendricks had a wretched T20 World Cup earlier this year and was released by Joburg Super Kings ahead of the auction, but his recent form – he had scored back-to-back half-centuries against Ireland in the UAE – meant he was still in demand for SA20 2025. Hendricks will reunite with his Lions team-mates Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton at Cape Town.”Reeza Hendricks adds a lot to the group in terms of his skill,” MICT coach Robin Peterson said. “He is an international, quality cricketer with lots of experience at the top of the order.”A day after the auction, Super Kings unveiled Sri Lanka slinger Matheesha Pathirana as their wildcard player. Pathirana has had success with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, but this will be his first time at the SA20.Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi went unsold at the auction with six franchises having only 13 spots to fill on Tuesday.Related

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Durban’s Super Giants filled up their only slot by snapping up West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph (R 425,000), who had originally gone unsold. Joseph has already played for Lucknow Super Giants, Durban’s parent franchise, in the IPL. He is currently in action for defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL. If Joseph makes himself available to West Indies for their two-Test tour of Pakistan in January, he will miss a chunk of the SA20. The Test tour will run from January 16-28, clashing with the SA20, which will get underway on January 9.The SA20 will be Joseph’s second T20 stint in an overseas league after IPL 2024. Joseph will work with Allan Donald, the new bowling coach of Super Giants.MICT also added batter Colin Ingram to their roster, picking him for his base price of R 175,000. Offspinner Dane Piedt will shore up Cape Town’s spin attack, having been picked up for R 175,000. This will be the 34-year-old’s first stint in the SA20 and will he work with coach Peterson, who had been his team-mate at Cobras.Dane Piedt, who returned to Test cricket earlier this year, will play his maiden SA20 for MI Cape Town•Getty Images

Piedt had ended his South Africa career in 2020 and moved to the USA but a SOS from South Africa red-ball coach Shukri Conrad brought him out of retirement from South Africa cricket earlier this year.Back-to-back champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who are usually big on fast bowlers, continued in the same vein, forking out R 2.3 million for England’s Richard Gleeson, who had represented Super Giants in SA20 2024. Super Giants were keen to buy him back, but Sunrisers eventually won the bidding war. They also spent R 175,000 on Dolphins’ fast bowler Okuhle Cele.Gleeson will turn 37 this December but was among the very few fast bowlers at the auction who could clock 140kph. Gleeson also has the yorker and bouncer in his repertoire and could potentially slot in for Dan Worrall, who has signed up for ILT20 2025, and complement Craig Overton. Gleeson’s recent form is also encouraging: he was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the Zim Afro T10 with 12 strikes in eight matches.As for Cele, he was Dolphins’ leading wicket-taker in the 2023-24 T20 challenge with 17 wickets in 14 games at an economy rate of 8.14.Super Kings spent R 175,000 each on allrounders Wihan Lubbe and Evan Jones in set three. Both Lubbe and Jones had been part of Paarl Royals in the past. Super Kings also recruited New Zealand allrounder Doug Bracewell for his base price of R 175,000 in the express set. Bracewell will return to Super Kings, having been part of their side as a replacement player for Romario Shepherd in SA20 2024. The 34-year-old had recently given up his domestic contract with Central Districts to become a T20 freelancer and hence will not feature in New Zealand’s Super Smash, which will also overlap with the SA20.Shamar Joseph played for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024•Getty Images

Royals, who had just one spot open, filled it by picking wicketkeeper Rubin Hermann for R 175,000.Capitals, who missed out on Hendricks, spent R 800,000 on Dolphins’ Marques Ackerman, who was previously with Sunrisers in the SA20, and R 1.50 million on West Indies opening batter Evin Lewis. Royals completed their business with the signing of former Super King Kyle Simmonds for R 175,000 in the express round.”I think all six teams look very strong,” Graeme Smith, the former South Africa captain and current SA20 commissioner, said. “From a league perspective we want to see all six squads competitive. It’s a nice mix of some quality South Africans and superb international names that have joined us for season three.”As a cricket competition, we want to see the South African players get stronger every year. We have seen the success of the IPL and the number of players that can be picked for India. I think we saw that progression last year with the likes of Ottneil Baartman. He had a great World Cup, and we are starting to see those types of players come through.”Super Kings selected Warriors’ allrounder JP King as their rookie player, having invited him to their training sessions last season. JP King’s brother CJ King, meanwhile, went to Super Giants as their rookie player.With Super Kings signing Pathirana all six teams have locked in their wildcard players. Notably, Royals had picked former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik as their wildcard player. Having retired from Indian and international cricket in June earlier this year, Karthik will become the first Indian to feature in the SA20.

Full squads

Durban’s Super Giants: Brandon King, Quinton de Kock, Naveen-ul-Haq, Kane Williamson, Chris Woakes, Prenelan Subrayen, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Noor Ahmad, Heinrich Klaasen, Jon-Jon Smuts, Wiaan Mulder, Junior Dala, Bryce Parsons, Matthew Breetzke, Jason Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Shamar Joseph, CJ King (rookie)Joburg Super Kings: Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Maheesh Theekshana, Devon Conway, Gerald Coetzee, David Wiese, Leus Du Plooy, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Donovan Ferreira, Imran Tahir, Sibonelo Makhanya, Tabraiz Shamsi, Wihan Lubbe, Evan Jones, Doug Bracewell, Matheesha Pathirana, JP King (rookie)MI Cape Town: Rashid Khan, Ben Stokes, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Azmatullah Omarzai, Dewald Brevis, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Nuwan Thushara, Connor Esterhuizen, Delano Potgieter, Rassie van der Dussen, Thomas Kaber, Chris Benjamin, Corbin Bosch, Colin Ingram, Reeza Hendricks, Dane Piedt, Tristan Luus (rookie)Pretoria Capitals: Anrich Nortje, Jimmy Neesham, Will Jacks, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Liam Livingstone, Will Smeed, Migael Pretorius, Rilee Rossouw, Eathan Bosch, Wayne Parnell, Senuran Muthusamy, Kyle Verreynne, Daryn Dupavillon, Steve Stolk, Tiaan van Vuuren, Marques Ackerman, Evin Lewis, Kyle Simmonds, Keagan Lion-Cachet (rookie)Paarl Royals: David Miller, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sam Hain, Joe Root, Dinesh Karthik, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Bjorn Fortuin, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Van Buuren, Keith Dudgeon, Nqaba Peter, Andile Phehlukwayo, Codi Yusuf, John Turner, Dayyaan Galiem, Jacob Bethell, Rubin Hermann, Dewan Marais (rookie)Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Aiden Markram, Zak Crawley, Roelof van der Merwe, Liam Dawson, Ottneil Baartman, Marco Jansen, Beyers Swanepoel, Caleb Seleka, Tristan Stubbs, Jordan Hermann, Patrick Kruger, Craig Overton, Tom Abell, Simon Harmer, Andile Simelane, David Bedingham, Okuhle Cele, Richard Gleeson, Daniel Smith (rookie)

Lewis Goldsworthy led the way with 95 as Somerset boosted their chances of reaching the knock-out stage of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with a convincing five-wicket win over Worcestershire at Taunton.The Rapids were bowled out for 263 in 47.3 overs after losing the toss, Tom Taylor lifting a limp batting display with 73, off 65 balls, including seven fours and three sixes. Ben Green claimed 3 for 58In reply, Somerset reached 267 for 5 with 5.3 overs to spare, Goldsworthy hitting his runs off 108 deliveries, with nine fours and a six, while James Rew contributed 70 and Andy Umeed 44. Left-arm spinner Fateh Singh returned career-best List A figures of 4 for 52.Worcestershire openers Ed Pollock and Gareth Roderick set about Somerset’s opening attack with gusto, taking the score to 55 in the eighth over before Pollock lofted a catch to deep square off Ned Leonard and departed for 30.Roderick looked in good touch, moving to 35 off 41 balls but then carelessly helped a ball from Ogborne around the corner to be caught at fine leg. At 68 for 2 in the 13th over, Worcestershire needed to rebuild.Hopes that Jake Libby and Rob Jones could do the job ended with poor shots by both off Green, Jones, on 14, mistiming a catch to mid-wicket and Libby, having progressed comfortably to 24, guiding a short ball straight to Goldsworthy at point.Another soft dismissal saw Rehaan Edavalath offer a simple return catch to Jack Leach and at 117 for 5 the Rapids were in a hole. Ethan Brookes followed the pattern, having struck four fours, when he advanced down the pitch to Goldsworthy and lofted to Leach at mid-off.The same over saw Singh, on four, dropped by Umeed at short extra cover. Singh profited to hit a six off Goldsworthy before being bowled for 14 making room to cut off-spinner Archie Vaughan’s third ball of the game.Taylor cleared the ropes off Kasey Aldridge and Goldsworthy and Tom Hinley followed suit off successive short balls from Aldridge as the pair launched a spirited counter attack. Hinley’s 32 came off just 18 balls before he skyed Green to Ogborne a long-on.Tommy Sturgess was run out in a mix-up over a second run with Taylor, who went to an impressive half-century off 53 balls before being last man out.Somerset’s reply got off to the worst possible start when George Thomas shouldered arms to the first delivery from Taylor, an inswinger that clipped the stumps. But Goldsworthy and Umeed soon settled in to put the outcome beyond much doubt.They had added 96 for the second wicket in 18.4 overs when Umeed was caught at deep square for 44 attempting to slog-sweep Singh in his first over. Goldsworthy went to a 63-ball fifty soon afterwards, having struck six fours.Rew hit two glorious drives through extra cover and then straight and Goldsworthy cleared the ropes at mid-wicket off Hinley to bring up a half-century partnership in ten overs.Rew then smacked fours of three successive Hinley deliveries in the 31st over in reaching fifty off 43 balls. It was young wicketkeeper’s fourth half-century in seven Group A matches and contributed to the stand with Goldsworthy that reached three figures off 88 balls.Rew fell to a catch at cover off Singh trying a reverse sweep and the bowler followed up by dismissing Goldsworthy, bowled by a full ball, and Sean Dickson, caught at slip, with successive deliveries in the 39th over.But by then Somerset only needed 45 and 18-year-old Vaughan’s rapid unbeaten 31 off 24 balls sealed a comfortable success.