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Matt Henry, who had been included in New Zealand’s squads for the fourth and fifth T20Is against Pakistan despite an injured shoulder, has been officially ruled out, and will continue “his injury rehabilitation programme,” New Zealand Cricket said on Saturday.Zakary Foulkes, who had been selected only for the first three games of the series, has been retained for the last two games as Henry’s replacement. Foulkes was persisted with after returns of 1 for 11 (three overs) in the first game and none for 32 (three overs) in the second game, both of which New Zealand won.In another tweak to the squad, Kyle Jamieson, who was Player of the Match in the first T20I for his returns of 3 for 8 but was expensive (none for 54) in the third game, which Pakistan won, has been left out for the last two games. Will O’Rourke, who had originally been picked only for the first three games, has been added to the squad in Jamieson’s place.Henry had injured his right shoulder while diving in the outfield during the Champions Trophy semi-final win over South Africa earlier this month, which put him out of the final against India, and has also been managing an ongoing left-knee issue.Of the New Zealand quicks, Jacob Duffy has played all three matches of the series, and leads the wicket-takers’ list with seven strikes, while James Neesham and Ben Sears have played two games each. Ish Sodhi and captain Michael Bracewell, the two spinners, have also played all three games.New Zealand lead the series 2-1, with the fourth and fifth games to be played on Sunday (in Mount Maunganui) and on Wednesday (in Wellington).

New Zealand squad for last two T20Is vs Pakistan

Michael Bracewell (capt), Finn Allen, Mitchell Hay (wk), Tim Robinson, Tim Seifert (wk), Mark Chapman, Zakary Foulkes, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Jacob Duffy, Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi

Big picture: New Zealand primed for semi-finals

New Zealand are in their element. They came into the Champions Trophy after an unbeaten run to the tri-series title against South Africa and Pakistan, whom they beat convincingly once again in the tournament opener.Will Young and Tom Latham struck centuries to set up a 300-plus score before Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke stifled Pakistan in the powerplay. Their three spinners tightened the grip with impactful spells and the contest fizzled out early in the chase. It was a near-perfect performance from a well-drilled unit.Another win against familiar opponents Bangladesh in Rawalpindi will confirm their place (and India’s as well) in the semi-final, an admirable achievement after losing several frontline bowlers to injuries pre-tournament.Bangladesh’s ODI side has lost its mojo in the last couple of years. Their top order includes Soumya Sarkar and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, both of whom bagged ducks as they slumped to 35 for 5 against India. They may have not got anywhere near 228 had Jaker Ali, who made 68, not been dropped first ball by Rohit Sharma.Related

• Simmons wants top order 'to put things together' in the powerplay

• After lengthy layoff, Jamieson climbs back from 'bottom of the cliff'

• Hridoy: 'I had to fight and find a way' after the early wickets

• Latham, Young hit hundreds on Champions Trophy debut

Towhid Hridoy made his maiden ODI century but suffered from cramps at the end of his innings. Fortunately for him, Rawalpindi will be cooler than Dubai. Bangladesh will also be buoyed by the news that their senior batter Mahmudullah is likely to play against New Zealand after missing out against India with a hamstring niggle.Bangladesh’s bowling was steady against India but they need more from the likes of Taskin Ahmed, Rishad Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. They could also do with more firepower in Nahid Rana, their fastest bowler. New Zealand have never faced him before, so the surprise factor could be to Bangladesh’s advantage in a game they must win to keep their Champions Trophy campaign alive.Towhid Hridoy battled cramps during his hundred against India•Associated Press

Form guide

Bangladesh: LLLLL (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
New Zealand: WWWWL

In the spotlight: Towhid Hridoy and Glenn Phillips

A century was a long time coming for the impressive Towhid Hridoy. It has taken him more than two years, and 34 matches, to score one. He was tested by a potent Indian attack but showed off his shots. With a hundred in the bag, he has the platform to push on, but Bangladesh will hope he displays more durability after coming down with cramps and struggling for impact towards the end of his innings in Dubai.Glenn Phillips is an electric cricketer. His catch to dismiss Mohammad Rizwan in Karachi, leaping high and to his left at backward point, is one of the moments of the tournament – an effort that would make the best goalkeepers feel envy. His fielding aside, Phillips’ attacking batting down the order gives New Zealand acceleration towards the end of their innings. He is also a capable offspinner and he can keep wickets too. Is there anything Phillips can’t do?

Team news: What if Mahmudullah and Ravindra are fit?

Two changes are expected for Bangladesh as they look to include Mahmudullah and Nahid. Who will they replace though?Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 5 Tohwid Hridoy, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Jaker Ali, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Tanzim Hasan, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur RahmanNew Zealand rested Rachin Ravindra against Pakistan after he was struck on the forehead while fielding during the tri-series just before the Champions Trophy. Since then, Devon Conway has scored of 97, 48 and 10 as an opener while Young scored a hundred in the previous game. So if New Zealand want to bring Ravindra back, who do they leave out?New Zealand (probable): 1 Will Young, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner (capt), 9 Nathan Smith, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Will O’RourkeWill Rachin Ravindra play against Bangladesh?•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions: Rawalpindi could be cloudy

This time, there will be no industrial fans and outdoor heaters to dry the pitch, as was the case ahead of the last international match – a Test against England – at this venue. Rawalpindi is generally good for batting, with a bit of help for fast bowlers as long as the ball is new and shiny. The forecast for Monday is cloudy weather with the temperature expected to drop below 20C after sunset.

Stats and trivia: Bangladesh’s most frequent ODI opponents

• Bangladesh beat New Zealand in their previous Champions Trophy meeting, in Cardiff in 2017. The head-to-head record in the competition thus stands at 1-1.
• New Zealand have been Bangladesh’s most frequent opponents in ODIs since 2015. New Zealand have dominated the head-to-head with 17 wins and three defeats in 21 matches.
• Against Pakistan, Young and Latham became the second New Zealand pair to score centuries in the same match in an ICC ODI tournament. The first pair was Ravindra and Conway, who hit hundreds against England in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
• Jaker and Hridoy’s 154-run partnership for the sixth wicket against India was a record stand for Bangladesh. The previous highest partnership for that wicket also involved Jaker, who had added 150 with Mahmudullah in Bangladesh’s previous ODI, against West Indies in December 2024.

Quotes

“Yeah, we’ve got a few plans for Bangladesh, but I think we obviously – we have to wait and see what the wicket does. If it is pretty flat I think it is probably similar stuff to what we’ve been operating in in Karachi. It’s hitting that hard length for a long period of time and then we know they have some destructive players in their line-up as well.”
“(Preparation time) has to be enough. That’s what the tournament gives us. That’s what we are using. Yesterday was a good practice. The Islamabad Club ground has really good facilities. We had a good session. We will have a sharp session today, and we will be ready for tomorrow.”

Afghanistan offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has replaced his countryman AM Ghazanfar in Mumbai Indians’ (MI) squad for IPL 2025. Ghazanfar was ruled out of the Champions Trophy, which starts on Wednesday, and also the the IPL that follows, due to a back injury.The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had tweeted about Ghazanfar’s absence from the Champions Trophy earlier this week, mentioning that he had sustained “a fracture of the L4 vertebra” during Afghanistan’s tour of Zimbabwe last month. Ghazanfar, who had bagged his maiden IPL contract after a bright start to his ODI career, will be out of cricket for four months.Related

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Mujeeb was last seen at the IPL in 2021, when he played a solitary game for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He made his tournament debut as a 17-year-old for Punjab Kings and represented them in 18 games across three seasons from 2018. Mujeeb has 275 T20 wickets at an average of 23.67 and an economy rate of 6.75. Most recently, he was with Paarl Royals at at the SA20, where his side lost to finalists Sunrisers Eastern Cape in Qualifier 2. He was Royals’ highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 14 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 23.14.Until November last year, Mujeeb too was out injured for five months due to a right phalanx (hand) sprain. He returned to action at the Abu Dhabi T10 and then played all three T20Is for Afghanistan on their tour of Zimbabwe, before flying to South Africa for the SA20. He wasn’t picked by Afghanistan for the Champions Trophy, as according to Ahmad Suliman Khil, their interim chief selector, “he has been advised by his doctor to focus on T20s for a while to ensure his full recovery before returning to ODIs”.Mujeeb had gone unsold at the IPL 2025 auction, but now joined MI at a fee of INR 2 crore (approx. US $230,764).

Twelve years after he last featured in India’s premier domestic first-class tournament, Virat Kohli is set to return to the Ranji Trophy. Kohli confirmed his availability to play in Delhi’s last round of group-phase matches, against Railways, from January 30 to February 2. The development was confirmed to ESPNcricinfo by Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh.Kohli was a conspicuous absence in the squads for the penultimate round of group-phase matches, starting from January 23, when Delhi play Saurashtra in Rajkot. Both Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja confirmed they would play this match, but Kohli was ruled out after he informed the BCCI medical staff that he was still recovering from neck pain, for which he had taken an injection on January 8, three days after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in Sydney. Several other India players will also feature in the January 23 round of games, including Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal.Related

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• Kohli and Rohit's future in Tests? 'Up to them,' says Gambhir

While reviewing India’s recent run of defeats in Test cricket, against New Zealand followed by Australia, the BCCI in coordination with the team leadership group comprising head coach Gautam Gambhir, Test and ODI captain Rohit, and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar laid down various rules including making it mandatory for centrally contracted players to feature in domestic cricket. If not on duty elsewhere, a player can opt out only with prior permission of the selection panel head, the BCCI said.It could not be confirmed if Kohli has told the Indian team management and Agarkar yet about him playing the January 30 round of Ranji games. If that match goes the distance, finishing on February 2, it would be a mere three days between that and the start of the ODI series against England on February 6. Kohli is part of the India squads for the England series followed by the Champions Trophy, where India play their first match on February 20.

Marc Broom has been appointed as Middlesex’s first full-time Women’s Head Coach.Broom takes on the role having most recently worked as Assistant Head Coach for Sunrisers from 2022 to 2024, which ended with Sunrisers lifting the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in the final year of the Elite Women’s regionalised structure.Having represented Middlesex age-groups from Under-11 to Under-19, and as a second XI player for two seasons, Broom began his coaching career at Eastcote Cricket Club over two decades ago, where he remained actively involved over many years, in numerous coaching roles and as Director of Cricket between 2018 and 2022.He has previously coached the Hillingdon borough squad, was Lead Coach of Middlesex’s U12s County Age Group, was Middlesex’s South regional pathway lead, and was the fielding and wicket-keeping lead for the Middlesex Academy – working with the Club’s Elite Player Group.He began working with the Men’s professional squad in 2020 alongside Nic Pothas and then under Richard Johnson and Rory Coutts as the Club’s fielding and wicket-keeping Coach, before joining Sunrisers in 2022 as Assistant Head Coach.He has also worked with London Spirit Women as Assistant Coach and Fielding/Wicket-keeping lead, including during their successful Women’s Hundred campaign in 2024.”I am genuinely honoured, privileged and excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the new phase of Middlesex Women’s cricket as Head Coach,” Broom said.”It’s a fantastic time to be involved in Women’s cricket and the game is developing so quickly in all areas, and to have the responsibility of supporting the talented group of players through what is going to be a challenging but ultimately rewarding journey is one I’m going to relish!”The last three years with the Sunrisers have been unbelievable, and I’ve learned so much from both the coaching staff and players, especially Andy Tennant whose knowledge and experience as Head Coach have highlighted the processes needed to achieve the success possible.”I can’t wait to get going and seeing where this team can go and what they can achieve”.Alan Coleman, Middlesex’s Director of Cricket, added: “We are absolutely delighted that Mark has accepted our offer to become our new Women’s Head Coach. He stood out from an extremely high-quality list of candidates who applied for the role, and we are delighted to be working with him moving forwards.”This is an incredibly exciting time for the Women’s game, and whilst Middlesex begin the journey as a Tier Two side, we are already taking the first steps to securing Tier One status at the earliest opportunity, and Marc’s appointment is a significant step towards us getting there.”The experience Marc gained with Sunrisers, with whom he has been on the same journey that Middlesex Women are now embarking on, will prove invaluable to us, as we look to professionalise the Women’s set-up here at Middlesex.”He has a proven track record as a Coach at all levels and joins us fresh from having lifted two major trophies in the Women’s game in 2024. We are excited about what Marc will bring to the role and wish him every success with the Women’s playing group.”

Trevor Penney has been appointed Paarl Royals’ head coach for SA20 2025. He replaces Shane Bond, who will focus on Rajasthan Royals’ plans ahead of the next IPL auction.The owners of the Royals franchise, Royals Sports Group, took over the Barbados team in the CPL in 2021. Penney has been in charge of the team since 2022, with the runners-up finish that year their best result under him.”I’m honored to take on the head coach role at Paarl Royals,” Penney said in a statement. “The SA20 has become a major tournament on the global cricket calendar, and I’m excited to work with such a talented squad. Being part of the Royals family with Rajasthan Royals and Barbados Royals has been a wonderful journey, and I’m looking forward to continuing that experience in Paarl. I’m confident we can build on the successes of the last two seasons and make a strong push for the title in 2025.”Related

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Penney will work alongside David Miller, who has captained Royals in both the seasons of SA20 so far.Royals made a semi-final exit in the inaugural season of the SA20 (2023) and bowed out in the Eliminator earlier this year. In the auction ahead of the next edition of the SA20, Royals had just the one slot left to fill and did that by picking wicketkeeper Rubin Hermann. Before that, they had picked former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik as their wildcard player.Meanwhile, Bond, who is the bowling coach of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, will link up with new head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour to finalise the plans ahead of the auction later this year.”We’re delighted to have Trevor join as head coach of Paarl Royals,” Royals’ director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara said. “His track record with the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and with the Barbados Royals in the CPL, where he’s helped in transforming the team into consistent contenders, shows the quality of coach he is. We believe his experience, combined with the leadership of David Miller and a talented squad, will help Paarl Royals continue their rise in SA20.”Shane Bond, who has been fantastic with us in both the IPL and the SA20, will focus extensively on his continued role with the Rajasthan Royals and spend more time in India, overseeing the scouting and trial processes along with Rahul and Vikram.”

Sri Lanka have not played a Test in Galle in over a year, while one of their main spinners has not played long-format cricket for many months. Could this be why Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers were inaccurate on day two of their Test against New Zealand?Spin bowling coach Craig Howard wasn’t exactly trying to absolve the Sri Lanka spinners, but did suggest they needed a bit of time to get back into the groove in Galle. Still, they could have done better than they did, he said.”If we’d bowled the way we’d have liked to, we’d be in a much better position,” Howard said. “If we were able to hold our line and length for longer, it would have been much more difficult for the New Zealand batters to rotate the strike the way they did, and we’d have limited the boundary balls as well. We pay heavy attention to controlling the run rate, and we didn’t do that today.”Related

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On a Galle track taking plenty of turn, Sri Lanka’s primary spinners – Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya – took just a wicket apiece on Thursday. Jayasuriya gave away 99, in his 31 overs.”Prabath was fractionally off. He’s a very proud man,” Howard said. “You average 22 at Galle for a reason, so I’m sure he’ll come back, and I’m sure he’ll have a major impact on this Test.”Ramesh was more expensive than Jayasuriya, however, going at an economy rate of more than four in his 17 overs. Where Jayasuriya had played in two of Sri Lanka’s three Tests in England, Ramesh had been on the sidelines throughout.”Ramesh Mendis hasn’t played a red-ball game for probably a few months now,” Howard said. “He’s been on an England tour not playing, and the LPL (Lanka Premier League) prior to that. He was probably a fraction off from a length-and-line point of view.”The New Zealand batters’ shot-making did present a challenge, Howard said. But he had confidence that if Sri Lanka’s spinners bowled accurately, the match could turn in their favour.”Control of line and length is the first thing. If we do that there’s enough in this wicket. The game can speed up very quick in the back end. We could be on or two wickets away from having a first-innings lead. Ideally we can go through them in a hurry and end up with a lead, but if not have a small target to catch up.”

With 4.1 overs left and the light fading slowly, Prasidh Krishna beat India C’s defiance with three quick wickets to seal India A’s title triumph at the season-opening 2024-25 Duleep Trophy in Anantapur. Prasidh, playing his second straight first-class game after a long injury layoff, dismissed centurion B Sai Sudharsan, Baba Indrajith and Anshul Kamboj to secure victory.Sai Sudharsan, who had battled hard and defied the bowlers to make his fifth first-class century, fell for 111 when he was out attempting a scoop. In Prasidh’s next over, the 80th, he had the injured B Indrajith, who came out to bat only because a draw had seemed a possibility.But in trying to defend a short ball aimed at the ribs, Prasidh had Indrajith caught at leg slip, who had been specifically brought in for the short ball. And then, with a brand new ball taken at the first available opportunity in the 81st over, Prasidh bowled full and straight to dismiss Kamboj lbw to close out the game.Related

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While Prasidh did the late demolition job, it was young Uttar Pradesh seamer Aaqib Khan who did the early damage, nicking off Ruturaj Gaikwad with a superb outswinger, and then having Rajat Patidar bowled.Once those breakthroughs were achieved, Agarwal summoned his spinners on a final-day surface, which had begun to take turn, but not to the extent that made stroke-making impossible. Offspinner Tanush Kotian removed Ishan Kishan and first innings top-scorer Abhishek Porel, while his Mumbai team-mate Shams Mulani dismissed Manav Suthar to open up the possibility of victory.Until that point, it didn’t seem like India B would have the services of Indrajith, who had retired hurt on 34 in the first innings because of a hamstring injury. But with the possibility of a draw looming, he walked out to a packed close-in ring, but only lasted two deliveries. That strike turned a hopeful bunch boisterous as Prasidh and India A then picked up the final wicket after a tense few deliveries of playing and missing to seal the match.That India A were in a position to win outright was largely down to a superb back-to-the-wall century from Baroda’s Shashwat Rawat, who made 124 in the first innings to set up the game on the face of a batting collapse. Then in the second, he struck a half-century along with Riyan Parag to set up a declaration, which eventually helped them build scoreboard pressure on the final day.

Scotland pushed Australia hard at the T20 World Cup earlier this year – a victory would have dumped England out of the tournament – and have genuine belief they can go a step further in the three-match ODI series in Edinburgh.After Brandon McMullen’s 60 off 34 balls, the equation got down to Australia needing 87 off 39 deliveries and there was a realistic chance of an upset before Marcus Stoinis carried the game away from them. Having been 90 for 0 against England when the match was abandoned, it was an agonizing difference between the Super Eight and going home.Related

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Three games in four days with home advantage, and against an Australia side with some less experienced names, gives Scotland the chance to secure a first victory over them – and they aren’t just targeting one win.”I think we’re after a little bit of blood this week, and not just win a game but win the series”, left-arm spinner Mark Watt told the Cricket Scotland website. “We can definitely take inspiration from that game in St Lucia, but we also have a little bit of a point to prove, as we all believe we should have won that game and kicked on further in the World Cup. We can say we got close, but actually in the back of our heads we’re disappointed that we didn’t win.”All 15 players who were at the T20 World Cup are part of the squad for this series, but one new name for the Australians who were there will be pace bowler Charlie Cassell who burst onto the international scene with the best figures on ODI debut when he took 7 for 21 against Oman.”It’s a great opportunity for them to share the field with world-class players,” Scotland head coach Doug Watson said when the squad was announced. “They’re wanting to put in some huge performances and compete, and really push this Australia team. The goal for us is to win this series. The first game is really important – if we can win that, it’ll set up the next two matches.”Scotland have been the beneficiary of Ireland being unable to host Australia as originally scheduled due to financial constraints. Australia last played a bilateral match against them in 2013 when Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh combined for a first-wicket stand of 246. Current captain Richie Berrington was part of the Scotland side.In 2018, Scotland had one of their most famous days when they beat England by six runs at Edinburgh but opportunities against the leading nations outside of global events are few and far between and they are desperate for more.”It is frustrating we don’t get the opportunities to play the big boys, so to speak,” Michael Leask told . “Even the likes of Bangladesh and West Indies, we don’t get opportunities to play against them. And we would take any opportunity, because the more high quality cricket we get, the better we get.”We would love them to come and play us more often but we understand sometimes it is not feasible. We want any fixture we can get against the big boys, but they have got a heavy schedule. This is our opportunity. It would be nice if the higher associates got more exposure. We punch above our weight a lot of the time and that is down to the quality of the group we’ve got.”

England will hand debuts to the Surrey duo of Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith for the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s, which begins on Wednesday.Chris Woakes also returns to the XI, his first Test appearance since being named player of the series in last summer’s Ashes, while offspinner Shoaib Bashir makes his home debut after three Tests in India at the start of the year.Atkinson, who has made 12 appearances for England in white-ball cricket, was unused on the tour of India but has been earmarked as a long-term pace option, registering in the late 80s and early 90s mph at his most fluent. A breakthrough 2023 summer saw him earn selection for the ODI World Cup, though he was omitted for this summer’s T20 World Cup. This season, he has taken 14 County Championship wickets at 29.78 for Surrey, who lead Division One.England XI to play West Indies•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Smith, meanwhile, will assume the gloves as England move beyond Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow. The 23-year-old has been in fine form across all formats and marked his maiden call-up with his second first-class century of the season. He is currently Surrey’s top-scorer with 677 Championship runs at 56.41 with a strike rate of 76.67. He earned two ODI caps against Ireland at the end of last summer and will slot in at No. 7 with Harry Brook returning to the No. 5 position having missed the India series following the death of his grandmother.Ben Stokes slots between the pair at six, and is back to fulfilling his allrounder duties, which has allowed for the selection of Bashir. After impressing with 17 wickets in India, England underlined their faith in the spinner by selecting him in the squad ahead of Jack Leach, despite the fact Bashir had to move on loan to Worcestershire for first-team opportunities with Leach the No. 1 spinner at Somerset.Related

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Woakes adds to that balance as an option with the bat, and will likely be an ever-present this summer in what is set to be a transitional period for England with the impending retirement of James Anderson.England XI: 1⁠ ⁠Zak Crawley, 2⁠ ⁠Ben Duckett, 3 ⁠Ollie Pope, 4⁠ ⁠Joe Root, 5 ⁠Harry Brook, 6⁠ ⁠Ben Stokes (capt) 7⁠ ⁠Jamie Smith (wk), 8⁠ ⁠Chris Woakes, 9⁠ ⁠Gus Atkinson, 10⁠ ⁠Shoaib Bashir, 11 ⁠James Anderson