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Brett Lee’s right elbow will spend the next six weeks in a brace after he had surgery in Sydney on Wednesday. Lee, who picked up the problem on the one-day tour of India, was considering his playing future when he learned last month he would be out for the Australian international season.Trefor James, Cricket Australia’s medical officer, said Lee had an operation to repair a damaged ligament. “He will be required to use an elbow brace for a period of approximately six weeks and then commence more intensive rehabilitation,” Dr James said. “His return to bowling will be determined in due course as he is regularly assessed by the surgeon and Cricket Australia’s medical staff.”Over the past year Lee has been forced into long-term rehabilitation by ankle and side complaints before the latest setback threw more doubt over his future. The run of injuries have him stalled on 76 Tests and 310 wickets and he has not played in a five-day game since limping off the MCG last December. One of the benefits of this enforced lay-off is he has been able to spend more time with his young son.

The financial crunch currently engulfing the PCB, a fallout of the Lahore terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team in March and the subsequent banishment of Pakistan as an international cricket venue, dominated proceedings at the first meeting between an ICC task force and the board in Dubai. As a result, there has emerged the possibility of a series between Pakistan and an ICC World XI to help raise funds to sustain cricket in the terror-struck country.The PCB gave a detailed presentation to the five-man task force about how it has been hit by the terror attacks, and particularly how revenue from a broadcasting deal with Ten Sports will take a big hit not only because teams will not play in Pakistan in the near future, but also because ties with India are currently on hold. Losses of up to US$125 million have been claimed by the PCB as a series of tours have been relocated, postponed and cancelled. In just over a year, Pakistan has also lost hosting rights of the 2008 Champions Trophy and the 2011 World Cup because of security concerns.Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, said that during the meeting with the ICC ways to soften the impact on development work in Pakistan were discussed. “We made a detailed presentation to the ICC task force of our own views on the situation,” Butt told reporters at Gaddafi Stadium. “So far we have suffered a lot of losses because of postponements, relocations and cancellations and that is having an impact on domestic and junior cricket. We have losses of nearly 71% of our total revenues, amounting to US$125 million. Task force members were informed of the measures taken by PCB to combat these challenges.”The board was in any case in a bad way financially when Butt took over but a five-year TV deal with Ten Sports, worth approximately US$140 million was meant to have eased the situation somewhat. The terror attacks have put paid to that for now. As an example of how bad the situation is, it is believed that the board is not using Kookaburra balls in domestic cricket because they are too expensiveThe meeting was more for brainstorming ideas rather than producing concrete proposals. One such idea, Cricinfo understands, is a series of limited over matches – ODI or T20s – between an ICC World XI and Pakistan in the UK or the Middle East next year. Two possible windows have been also been discussed, either in the UK immediately after the World Twenty20 next year in April, or in November-December, in the UAE. As well as raising revenue for the PCB, the series is intended to highlight the cricket fraternity’s support for Pakistan.Much of the meeting revolved around the issue of the board’s depleted funds and little substantial discussion was held on ways to get international cricket back to Pakistan; that, it seems to have been acknowledged, was something outside the control of cricket boards for now.Unsurprisingly, ways to revive ties between India and Pakistan were also examined; India and Pakistan have entered another phase of not playing each other, after the Mumbai terror attacks last year resulted in a cooling of political ties between the countries. It is an important rivalry for Pakistan. Butt said that the PCB lost US$40 million as a result of India cancelling a tour to Pakistan in January 2009. A large chunk of the Ten Sports deal, it is believed, was based on India playing Pakistan. There was, however, a general consensus at the meetings that India needs Pakistan as well, for it remains a financially lucrative contest. Butt said there were “no developments” on the possibility of playing India at neutral venues, only that all aspects of Pakistan’s current and future FTP were discussed.The task force, which comprises Ranjan Madugalle, Ramiz Raja, Mike Brearley, Dave Richardson and Giles Clarke, will now take the ideas further and make a list of recommendations to the ICC. “Our presentation and discussion has happened,” Butt said. “They asked us for information on our FTP and domestic cricket. Now future meetings can happen or they can discuss among themselves and make recommendations. The option of playing at a neutral venue is there, so I think we will be given due space in the FTP.”

ScorecardShanel Daley was one of seven West Indies batsmen to be dismissed in single figures•Getty Images

A disciplined bowling performance from the South Africa women followed by Cri-zelda Brits’ half-century gave the hosts an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series against West Indies women. South Africa bowled tight to dismiss the visitors for only 160 and they suffered no major setbacks in their chase, reaching the target with 56 balls to spare and seven wickets in hand.Opening batsman Stafanie Taylor top-scored for West Indies, making 66 off 73 balls, before she was superbly caught by Marcia Letsoalo off Charlize van der Westhuizen. The rest of the top order contributed virtually nothing and only three other batsmen got into double figures. Sixteen-year old Dane van Niekerk picked up 3 for 37, running through the middle order, while Shandre Fritz mopped up the tail with figures of 3 for 11.Unlike their West Indian counterparts, the South African top order got stuck in and made valuable contributions to the chase. Openers Trisha Chetty and Kristie Thomson made 42 and 27 respectively, adding 50 for the first wicket in only 8.3 overs. After Thomson was dismissed, Brits and Chetty added 86 runs for the second wicket, virtually shutting the West Indians out of the game. Brits remained undefeated and went past 1000 runs during her innings.”I have been looking forward to it (1000 runs) for some time and I’m relieved that it is over, now I can look forward to higher achievements,” Brits said. “It took me some time because I started my career at the bottom of the order so I’m looking to get to the 2000 mark much faster. I’m feeling good about my form after today’s knock hopefully the runs will keep flowing.”South Africa have now won two games on the trot and the West Indies need to win the final match on Friday in Newlands to level the series.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outJustin Ontong’s late fireworks took Cobras to a match-winning total•CCIL

The crowd at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium did not have a home team to support in the first part of the Saturday double-header but those who bothered to show up certainly got their money’s worth, thanks to a wonderful display of power hitting by the Champions League’s first centurion, Andrew Puttick, and later by Justin Ontong. After upstaging Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Cape Cobras booked themselves into the second round with a solid performance in the field to back their batsmen, who piled on 193. Otago barely dominated any passage of play during their chase and fell 54 short of the mark.Both teams went into the game with seven international players each. Otago looked the more formidable, but only on paper. As is turned out, Otago were caught woefully short on the batting department. The fortunes of both teams after 10.1 overs told the story – the Cobras were at 79 for 2; Otago made the same number of runs but lost, crucially, three more wickets. Save for a brief cameo from Nathan McCullum, a Cobras victory was inevitable.Perhaps the best formula to draw in the crowds to support teams with plenty of unknowns is to prepare a road of a pitch and allow the batsmen the license to whack. It was a pity in the context of the game that Otago failed to match that total, but Puttick certainly made it a game to remember, not just for himself. Punters would have placed bets on one of the national stars to notch up a century but Puttick grabbed the headlines instead.He relied more on power rather than timing to fetch his boundaries. He set the tone by slashing Neil Wagner past slip and flicking the same bowler off his pads in the opening over of the match. With the ball coming on to the bat, the pair of Puttick and JP Duminy willfully chipped down the track to unsettle the lengths of the seamers. Length deliveries were punched down the ground and Nathan McCullum’s was smothered and slogged, even as he tried to vary his length and flight.It didn’t take long for the Cobras to realise that hitting through the line was the order of the day. As the innings wore on, the Cobras brought out their paddle scoops and stylish flicks to toy with the inexperienced Otago attack. Otago could learn a thing or two from the England international Dimitri Mascarenhas, who managed a wicket-maiden and changed his pace cleverly to another, that of Herschelle Gibbs.It was just a matter of seeing off Mascarenhas before launching into the rest. Puttick favoured the wide long-on boundary for his big hits. Nathan, Craig Cumming and Ian Butler looked back only to see the ball sail over the ropes. A four down to deep midwicket brought up his fifty but little did Otago know that his job was only half done at that point.Puttick was particularly harsh on Butler, smacking 32 off 14 balls and then taking Neil Wagner for 27 off 16. Considering that they were the quickest of the lot, it was easy for Puttick to use the pace and launch the ball to all parts. When Puttick swooped Butler over midwicket, the smile on his face indicated just how much he enjoyed batting in the middle, possibly in the form of his life. It was a fortunate twist of fate since he wasn’t included in the original squad and came in after Graeme Smith’s pull-out. He was beaming again when he squeezed out a full delivery by Wagner to bring up a boundary to third man, and his century.After Duminy and Rory Kleinveldt holed out trying to clear the boundary, Ontong came out to biff four sixes in his 39 that entertained the crowd. Otago leaked 121 runs off the last ten overs – a stat which decided which way the match was headed.Otago invested probably two of their best local batsmen right at the top to get them off to a flier. Brendon McCullum and Aaron Redmond made an encouraging start with some power hitting through the off side but the joy was short-lived. Redmond fell slashing to third man and Brendon perished for 21, failing to make his ground while attempting a second run. Two further run-outs before the tenth over dented them further.Nathan McCullum gave Cobras a minor scare when he picked Ontong for three consecutive boundaries. However, he got a little too cheeky against Kleinveldt when a paddle scoop went straight to short fine leg. Kleinveldt picked up three wickets as Otago threw their bats around at everything and folded up with 17 balls to spare.The mismatch notwithstanding, Puttick’s performance was more than just an appetiser for the second game, between the home side Deccan Chargers and Somerset.

Match facts

Sunday, August 30, 2009
Start time 14.30 (13.30 GMT)Kent’s Joe Denly impressed on his ODI debut, and could make his first Twenty20 appearance against Australia on Sunday•Getty Images

Big Picture

Dirk Nannes’ debut Twenty20 international was for Netherlands, and it resulted in a remarkable win over England in the World Twenty20. Now, however, he has switched alliance to his birth-country Australia, who have their first opportunity for Ashes revenge when they take on England in the first of two Twenty20s at Old Trafford tomorrow, ahead of seven one-dayers.Both sides dispatched their Associate opponents in recent days – Australia beating Scotland and England just about avoiding a howler against Ireland – but neither team has yet to master the shortest of formats. Australia failed to reach the group stages of the World Twenty20 while England were beaten to the semi-finals post by West Indies. Also, Australia have lost their last five matches in a row; their last win came in February.Yet both teams have key one-day players of whom much is expected. For England, a lot was desired of Ravi Bopara in the World Twenty20; he gave encouraging performances of 46, 5, 2, 37 and 55. Now, though, he finds himself in a horrible rut which forced the selectors to opt for the debutant Jonathan Trott in the final Ashes Test, and though he bounced back with a double-hundred for Essex while England’s Ashes heroes were drowning in champagne, he fell for a duck in Belfast.Meanwhile Australia will have to do without Ricky Ponting, who flew home with the Test specialists, and he’s not expected to be back until the latter stages of the subsequent seven-match ODI series. And with England’s key player, Kevin Pietersen, also absent, these two Twenty20 internationals are an opportunity for someone else in both teams to stake their name.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
England – LWLWL
Australia – LLLLL

Watch out for…

David Hussey hasn’t quite hit it big internationally as well as he has for Victoria, but his powerful first ODI hundred against Scotland has at least put him in good shape for the Twenty20s, and for Victoria in the impending Champions Twenty20 League in India. England stifled his brother until the final Ashes Test. Their Twenty20 bowlers will need to produce a similarly nagging approach against the other Hussey.Ravi Bopara: A double hundred for Essex confirmed, were it needed, that a big score was just around the corner for Bopara. After his summer horibilis in the Ashes, there is enough pride at stake for him to bounce back strongly and prove to the doubters that he can cope with, and fight back from, a terrible slump in form.

Team news

All change from the Tests, Australia pack a punch at the top of the order with Shane Watson, Dave Warner, Michael Clarke and David Hussey occupying the top four. Brett Lee managed two wickets against Scotland in his first proper international outing of his tour, and must be hell bent on proving both his fitness and class after a frustrating summer on the sidelines. Tim Paine will take the gloves to replace the injured Brad Haddin, and he got had an encouraging debut with the bat in the Scotland ODI with 29 from 38.Australia squad Shane Watson, David Warner, Michael Clarke (capt), David Hussey, Callum Ferguson, Adam Voges, James Hopes, Cameron White, Tim Paine (wk), Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nathan Bracken, Dirk Nannes.Joe Denly might have booked himself in for these Twenty20s following a mature, cornerstone knock 67 against Ireland, an innings without which England’s Ashes bubble might have exploded fantastically. Paul Collingwood, the captain, continues to bat without conviction, and much rests on the shoulders of England’s latest pin-up megastar, Stuart Broad. How often are we going to be saying that about him in the next few years?England (possible) 1 Ravi Bopara, 2 Joe Denly, 3 Owais Shah, 4 Jonathan Trott, 5 Paul Collingwood (capt), 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Tim Bresnan, 11 Ryan Sidebottom.

Pitch and conditions

Well, it’ll be warmer than Edinburgh. That much is certain, though only a touch warmer: the BBC predict a chilly 17°c for Manchester on Sunday with showery “light rain” forecast throughout the day, which could force the involvement of the rain gods themselves, Duckworth and Lewis.

Stats and trivia

• This is only the second Twenty20 international staged at Old Trafford. The last match was in 2008 against New Zealand, which England won by nine wickets.
• And this is the fourth Twenty20 between the two countries. Australia have won the last two – played in January and September of 2007 – by 77 runs and eight wickets respectively.
• England have won eight out of 20 Twenty20s, all of which involved Kevin Pietersen, who is absent in this series through injury.
• Australia have a better record, winning 11 out of 23, and they score quicker, too: 8.48 runs-per-over to England’s 8.10.
• Michael Clarke has twice led Australia, in December 2007 and February 2008, winning them both.
• August is traditionally the wettest month for Manchester, averaging 79mm of rain and fighting off strong competition from November and December (78mm). It is also the warmest, with a mean temperature (in every respect) of 20c.

Quotes

“I’m just glad it’s out of the way.”
“The Holland one was a World Cup so that was a pretty big full house at Lord’s. This one here, playing in Edinburgh, a beautiful spot, it’s my first game playing for Australia, where I’ve been brought up. It’s a pretty big deal.”

ScorecardIn the 33 overs permitted by Jupiter Pluvius on the second day of the Roses match, Lancashire consolidated their position against Yorkshire, mainly due to Mal Loye’s aggressive half-century, his third of the season. The weather must be causing the Red Rose more concern than the opposition, though, as they may well be robbed of a victory they deserve if the famous Old Trafford weather prevails.After overnight rain, the start of play was scheduled for 11.30 and the times of the interval altered, the latter being akin to rescheduling the ports of call of the Titanic. The good ship did set sail at the amended time, but did not get much further. Lancashire began at 106 without loss, and in the first over Yorkshire struck their first blow, as Tom Smith, forgetting his admirable discretion of the previous evening, wafted his bat at a ball from Matthew Hoggard that moved away outside the off stump, and edged to the keeper. Much to his chagrin, he found himself returning to the pavilion for his overnight 40, his part in the day’s play already over.Yorkshire missed another chance soon afterwards, as Paul Horton, on 64, miscued a cut against the accurate Tim Bresnan and was dropped off a hard overhead chance by third slip. Horton celebrated his escape by settling into a fluent groove and looked quite in control of some pretty useful bowling when the rain came, after fifty minutes. There was a brief remission of rain, but it lasted only five minutes, and the major interruption came with Lancashire on 151 for 1. By then Horton had 84, and Loye, who had shown aggressive spirit, had 21.Rain on and off for several hours prevented a resumption until 5.20, by which time the sun was shining weakly and intermittently. Loye quickly showed aggressive intent, but was a little fortunate to miscue a pull off Amjad Shahzad clear of the field; later on he was to top-edge another pull of the same bowler which carried over the keeper for six. Horton, however, did not add to his 84, as he chased a rare leg-side ball from Bresnan and was very reluctant to leave the field on being given out caught down the leg side. He faced 161 balls and hit 11 fours.Loye and VVS Laxman saw out the day safely; the Yorkshire bowling worked hard and was quite accurate, but lacked the inspiration necessary to swing the balance of the match. Loye was strongest on the pull, and two men out for the shot was often insufficient. His 50, coming off 73 balls, contained eight fours and a six, a high proportion of boundaries. Laxman, on the other hand, favoured the delicate cut past the slips, and this pair took Lancashire into the lead with only two wickets down. They are now well placed to take a large lead and gain a much-needed victory, if only the rain would leave the soggy British Isles in peace.

Indian batsman Rohit Sharma will miss the inaugural Corporate Cup due to a shoulder injury he picked up during the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai. Playing for Mumbai Cricket Association XI against Vidharbha, Rohit hurt his left shoulder while attempting a catch off his own bowling.Aijaz Asahi, the Mumbai physio confirmed to Cricinfo that there was an inflammation in Rohit’s left shoulder which will take at least a couple of weeks to heal. Rohit also reported to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for a check-up.The injury is the latest setback for Rohit, who was dropped from India’s one-day squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy in South Africa. He was in indifferent form during the one-day series in the West Indies in June-July, scoring just 15 runs in four matches. He will not be able to turn out for Indian Oil in the Corporate Cup which runs from September 1 to 8.

Match facts

Thursday, July 16 – Monday, July 20 2009
Start time 11.00 (10.00 GMT)
Graham Onions is in line for a recall as England try to find a way of taking 20 wickets…with or without Andrew Flintoff•AFP

The Big Picture

The series resumes after a nail-biting final hour in Cardiff in which England clung to the mightiest of draws after being dominated for most of the match. Since then time wasting and Andrew Flintoff’s retirement have become the big issues, but the teams will not be focussing on the pre-match hype when the first ball is delivered.They will be more intent on a brisk start and continuing their on-field battles in a contest that has already provided more heat than the St John’s Wood tube station in summer. Australia enter the match disappointed they are not leading 1-0, while England are buoyant to be level. The visiting batsmen fired at Sophia Gardens, roaring to 674 for 6 before declaring, and their bowlers fell one wicket short of victory. The bowlers on both sides will be more excited by the conditions on offer in this game.Nothing gets an Australian’s neck prickling like the sight of Lord’s and the players’ baggy greens gain extra power whenever they bob through the Long Room. England’s leaders can’t understand why their team hasn’t beaten their Ashes rivals in 75 years here. Another chapter will be added to the dusty pages of history this week.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
England – DWWDD
Australia – DLWWW

Watch out for …

Lord’s is a place for the captains to star. Andrew Strauss missed out twice in the first Test, scoring 30 and 17, and needs to inspire his batting team-mates after they all gave away reasonable starts last week. The home of cricket is also Strauss’s county ground for Middlesex, so he knows everything about the revered address. He has not scored a century here since 2006, but has reached triple figures three times on the way to averaging 58.17 in 11 matches.Ricky Ponting, who has made 27 runs in three Test innings at Lord’s, must stand up if his side is to maintain its intimidating batting intensity. In Cardiff Ponting breezed to 150, becoming one of four Australian century-makers, but the second Test will be played in different conditions and against a team that now remembers the last hour of batting, not the 181 overs of bowling.

Team news

Strauss wants to go with five bowlers – Ian Bell has been released from the squad – but his biggest worry is Flintoff’s injured knee. Flintoff is bowing out of Tests at the end of the series and will be desperate to play while Steve Harmison is acting as his cover. Graham Onions was in the squad in Cardiff but didn’t get a game, increasing his chances of appearing at Lord’s, where two spinners are not a viable option.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ravi Bopara, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Graham Onions.Stuart Clark will be talked about but don’t expect any changes to Australia’s XI. Ponting should confirm the side later on Wednesday and it would be a shock if any of the players who pushed England last week are omitted. Brett Lee remains out with a stomach problem.Australia (probable) 1 Simon Katich, 2 Phillip Hughes, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Marcus North, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.

Pitch and conditions

Draws have been common recently at Lord’s, but all the bowlers will feel this pitch is a raging seamer compared to the block of cement offered in Cardiff. There was an attractive green tinge on the surface on Tuesday and even though the grass was cut shorter on Wednesday, there is sure to be some life in it for the fast men. The same strip was used in 2005, although nobody is expecting a repeat of the 17 wickets that dropped on the opening day. The forecast is for sunny intervals on Thursday, rain on Friday and some showers over the weekend.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have lost only one Test at Lord’s, in 1934, since the 1896 tour
• In 33 matches at headquarters Australia have won 14, drawn 14, and lost five
• England have been successful in 43 of 116 Tests at the ground, but have drawn six of their past seven encounters
• Don Bradman’s 254 in 1930 is the highest score at Lord’s in an Ashes contest, ahead of Wally Hammond’s 240 eight years later
• Hedley Verity’s 15 wickets in 1934 are the best here by an Englishman in an Ashes game. Bob Massie’s 16 for 137 in 1972 leads the overall list
• Ponting needs 65 runs to overtake Allan Border’s Australian record of 11,174 Test runs

Quotes

“If you have gone for 670 runs and taken only six wickets then it is probably not a great option to reduce your bowling attack. We are pretty happy with the five bowlers.”
“I’ve got to start from scratch again, like we all have to do, after we didn’t quite get the result we were after last week. It’s up to me to lead the way with the bat.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentaryKatherine Brunt took two wickets in her first over as England dominated in clinical fashion•Getty Images

Women’s cricket has struggled for publicity and attention for years, but if England’s world champions continue to produce performances like today’s, they will have to get used to the limelight and subsequent accolades. Not even the absence of their inspirational captain Charlotte Edwards stuttered their stride at Chelmsford, as Sarah Taylor’s 74-ball 68 led them to the most clinical of wins against a shell-shocked Australia in the first of five ODIs.Impressive though Taylor was, it was England’s bowlers who set up such a convincing win, dismissing Australia for just 133 – an outstanding display following their humbling in the Twenty20 last week. Then, Shelley Nitschke produced a fine allround performance to beat an England side who looked jaded and a little hungover from their ICC World Twenty triumph. Today, however, Nitschke fell first ball to the returning Katherine Brunt, and England’s spearhead followed it up with the wicket of Lisa Sthalekar, edging a beautiful outswinger behind, and Taylor did the rest with a smart catch, low to her right. Right from the off, England were on the money.The two early blows left England exuberant, Australia shocked. All eyes were on Karen Rolton, the former captain, as she tried to rebuild, but Isa Guha – recalled for the Twenty20 last week, but who looked short of form – gained encouraging movement through the air, and had Rolton edging behind for just a single. Nicky Shaw, the stand-in captain, rotated her bowlers regularly, and she herself was in metronomic form, conceding a remarkably miserly four runs in her first four overs, removing her opposite number, Fields, for a combative 15.It was the introduction of Holly Colvin, however, which really turned the screw. A lovely flighted delivery to Poulton – shocked into submission today – had her caught at long-on, and when Ellyse Perry was brilliantly stumped by Taylor for a 16-ball single, Australia were in a desperate hole at 42 for 6, and in danger of recording their lowest-ever totals in ODIs.Alex Blackwell became the seventh victim – a horrid slog across the line – before a brief renaissance took place between Lauren Ebsary and Rene Farrell, the pair putting on a face-saving 30 for the eighth wicket. They avoided their lowest-ever total (77), and their worst against England (119 for 9), thanks to Farrell and the No.11, Andrews, who put on a record tenth-wicket partnership of 36 in just under 15 overs of dull but necessarily cautious cricket, occasionally pitted by a boundary.It was never going to be nearly enough, and Taylor and Caroline Atkins stroked England towards their target, barely offering a chance. Taylor began cautiously against the new ball before cutting Sarah Andrews powerfully for four. The pair’s running was urgent, purposeful and another loose delivery from Ellyse Perry was thrashed for four more past point. The shot of the day came five balls later when Taylor cracked Perry on the up, beating cover’s hopeful dive, and England’s 50 was up in the twelfth over. By comparison, at the same stage Australia were tottering on 34 for 4.Australia’s new captain, Jodie Fields, swapped her bowlers around regularly, but the spinners were comfortably milked by England’s openers. Leah Polton’s first legbreak was square-driven beautifully by Atkins, before Taylor swept her powerfully through midwicket to bring up England’s hundred, leaving them a further 27 to win from as many overs. Taylor was in a hurry, clobbering Erin Osborne over her head for the most authoritative of fours, though she did blot her copybook with a loose slog to fall with 15 still needed.This was a champion performance by a team who continue to play with style and panache, two adjectives not commonly associated with women’s cricket even two years ago, but which are now increasingly apt with this England side.

Jharkhand

Rajiv Kumar

Baroda

Kiran Powar, Rakesh Patel

Bengal

Shiv Sagar Singh, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Subhomoy Das, Sayed Akhlakh Ahamad, Rohan Gavaskar, Subhjit Paul, Deep Dasgupta

Mumbai

Robin Morris, Nikhil Mandale

Railways

Shreyas Khanolkar, Tejinder Pal Singh, P Vivek, J P Yadav, Baburao Yadav, Avinash Yadav

Maharashtra

Suyesh Burkul, Dheeraj Jadhav, Raviraj Patil, Pushkaraj Joshi, Anupam Sanklecha, Ranjeet Khirid

Delhi

Abhinav Bali, Kunal Lal

Jammu and Kashmir

Abid Nabi, Dhruv Mahajan

Madhya Pradesh

T Sudhindra, Mohnish Mishra, Abbas Ali, Sachin Dholpure, Shridhar Iyer, Abhishek Tamrakar, Bhima Rao

Assam

Syed Zakaria Zuffri, Parviz Aziz, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Sujay Tarafder, Pritam Das

Punjab

Dinesh Mongia, Reetinder Sodhi, Karanveer Singh, Harpreet Singh, Sumit Kalia, Love Ablish, Rajesh Sharma, Sarabjeet Singh, Ishan Malhotra, Bipul Sharma, Amit Uniyal

Karnataka

Stuart Binny

Hyderabad

Abdul Azeem Khan, Alfred Absolom, Ibrahim Khaleel, Indra Shekar Reddy, P S Niranjan, Anirudh Singh, Shashank Nag, Ambati Rayudu

Andhra Pradesh

Syed Shahbuddin

Tamil Nadu

Hemang Badani, V Devendran, G Vignesh, Syed Mohammed, R Jesuraj, S Sriram, R Sathish, K Martin Sanjeev, T Kumaran, S Vasanth Saravanan, J Hariesh, D Tamilkumaran, C Hemant Kumar

Haryana

Gaurav Gupta

Uttar Pradesh

Avinash Yadav, Shalabh Srivastava, Ali Murtaza, Ali Hamid Zaidi

Coaches and Mentors

Sandeep Patil, E A S Prasanna, Madan Lal, Rajesh Kamath, Karsan Ghavri, Pranab Roy, Ashok Malhotra, Rajesh Chauhan, Balwinder Sandhu, Bharath Reddy, Ajit Wadekar

Others

Kiran Padhiyar (Video Analyst), K Martin Sanjeev, A T Rajamani Prabhu, Dr Dinesh Vaghela (Umpire), Atul Wassan, A Burrows (Umpire), Suhas Pawar (Trainer), Rajesh Mundhva (Umpire), Chezhian (Umpire), V Satish (Umpire) and S Shyam Sundar