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It began with only one team in mind. Nottinghamshire, needing 12 points for a promotion to Division One that should have been wrapped up with a bow on it by now. Sussex? Well, Sussex were just fulfilling their last fixture of the season. One that promised much: a tilt at promotion or a cup run of sorts with a blend of old, young and new. A neat run of results got them back on track but, ultimately, it has been a summer of four different first-class captains and little else of note.When play did get underway at 1pm, overnight rain and morning mizzle preventing an earlier start, Nottinghamshire did as Nottinghamshire have done. Even with key men missing – only Chris Read (playing in his last professional match) Samit Patel, Jake Libby and Riki Wessels played in the demolition of Sussex at Trent Bridge earlier this year – their alternates stepped up, as they have done all season.In Luke Wood and Brett Hutton, they have two bowlers who, were they not so wedded to Nottinghamshire, would be ever-presents in other attacks. As it happens, they make do as back-ups: waiting in the wings to come in when international call-ups and whatever else take their toll, as they have done this season, with just 13 Championship matches between them coming into this final round. Today, they shared the new ball.Inside 15 overs, Sussex were two down: Wood getting Harry Finch to edge behind from his left-arm approach, Hutton drawing an airy drive from Philip Salt to Cheteshwar Pujara at cover. Not long after, Steven Mullaney took over and Laurie Evans’ struggles against the red ball continued as he played across the line to be trapped in front to leave Sussex 52 for 3. And, more importantly, a first bowling point for Nottinghamshire. Just 11 more to go…For a moment, it looked like Mullaney was on a mission to accrue all the points himself. A spell from the Sea End of 15 overs, 3 for 24 cut through the middle order, as Chris Nash played to point and captain Luke Wells caught on the crease for a smartly crafted 46. Sussex were 107 for 5 in the 34th over. Never mind that a second bowling point was one away – victory was already in sight.By stumps, however, Nottinghamshire were still waiting for that second point and the win was a bit blurrier, thanks to a thrilling sixth-wicket partnership between Delray Rawlins and Michael Burgess that was uninterrupted on 123 at the close.Thrilling is probably the right word for it. The 20- and 23-year-old, respectively, went about their business with an attitude that only youth brings. They weren’t concerned that Notts had more to play for, nor were they coloured by the collapse of more experienced heads before them. That’ll be why Rawlins, on nought, walked down to Mullaney, third ball, and pulled straight to Pujara at catching midwicket, who put down a firmly struck chance. It would have been 107 for 6.It took a while for Rawlins to shake the skittishness. Every drive he attempted early on either plinked over the fielders down the ground or skewed off an inside edge, just past his stumps and away to fine leg. His wagon wheel for the beginning of his innings resembled an umbrella in the wind. Slowly but surely, he got his groove back – the sort of groove that Sussex tried to utilise at No.3 when the season began.Now in the middle order, with an older ball to deal with, he caressed through the off-side and began hooking with ease. When Patel was brought on for something different at the Sea End, Rawlins used his feet to thump him down the ground for the first six of the innings. Eventually, after 115 balls and seven fours, he had his first half-century of a testing summer that, while not a success, can be chalked up as “character building” for a very highly rated England U-19 player.By that point, Burgess already had his fifty to his name – his third in the Championship in his first season with Sussex. Much of Burgress’ career has been character building: a nomadic trail that started out at Surrey, where he is still spoke of in glowing terms, before three years spent at Loughborough, studying Sports and Exercise Science. It was for the university that he made his first class debut in 2014, against Sussex.Loughborough’s proximity to Leicestershire saw him taken on by the county from 2015, but despite scoring an accomplished 98 against the touring Sri Lankans at the beginning of 2016, no contract of note was forthcoming. When an opportunity arose at Sussex this summer, he was quick to take his chance, scoring runs in Second XI cricket and impressing when first-choice wicketkeeper Ben Brown fractured a finger during the Royal London Cup. Now, with Brown out for the season with a sore back, a steady run has seen Burgess build on his first-team cricket. Last week, he signed a deal with the club to keep him on until the end of the 2018 season.Surrey and Leicestershire’s loss looks to be Sussex’s gain. A slog sweep for six took Burgess to his half-century from 71 balls, but most of his scoring shots came through the covers. His judgement of length stood out most and, while he clubbed a few fours with full-blooded drives, he was able to show some finesse to pick gaps when Nottinghamshire reinforced the off-side.Sussex may have less to play for but Rawlins and Burgess have given them two knocks to give them some warmth over the winter. For Nottinghamshire – 11 more points.

Jake Ball just kept Derbyshire at bay•Getty Images

England fast bowler Jake Ball showed his international class as the Nottinghamshire Outlaws boosted their NatWest Blast T20 hopes by sending North Group leaders Derbyshire Falcons to their first home defeat.Ball took 3 for 33 from his four overs, including the big wicket of Wayne Madsen to give the Outlaws an eight run victory which completed the double over their East Midlands rivals.Tom Moores top scored for the visitors with 57 from 34 balls before skipper Dan Christian with an unbeaten 30 and 29 not out from Samit Patel lifted the Outlaws to 189 for 4.Luis Reece marked his 27th birthday with 53 from 32 balls but Ball and Harry Gurney bowled superbly in the closing overs to close the game out and take the Outlaws to within a point of the Falcons.The Falcons had earlier shown why they have emerged as the surprise package in the competition by removing the destructive Alex Hales and Rikki Wessels in the first seven overs.Madsen’s off-spin has been a potent weapon and he struck in his second over when Hales drilled a head high catch to cover before Alex Hughes cleaned up Wessels.The Falcons had dropped Wessels on 16 when Matt Henry pushed a pull off Imran Tahir over the ropes for six so there was a sense of relief when Hughes shattered his stumps with the first ball of the seventh over.But Moores and Brendan Taylor responded by taking 17 from Hughes’s second over and Madsen’s figures were bruised when Moores drove and pulled him for two sixes in his final over.Moores completed an impressive 50 by flicking Hardus Viljoen to fine leg for his fifth four but when he tried to take on Tahir, he only skied a catch to extra cover which ended a stand of 72 in seven overs.Taylor had struggled to impose himself and went in the next over when he looped a catch to deep cover but Christian and Patel plundered 33 from the last two overs.Patel straight drove Ben Cotton into the crowd at the City End and Christian signed off by dispatching the final two balls from Henry for six to set a demanding target on a slow pitch.The Falcons chase started badly when Billy Godleman edged a cut at Patel’s second ball but Tom Wood and Reece lifted the home supporters by taking 17 from Ish Sodhi’s first over.Woods skied Ball to point but Reece made Billy Root pay for dropping him on 14 at deep cover by racing to a 26 ball 50 which included three sixes, all of them driven straight off Steven Mullaney.Christian replaced Mullaney and had Reece caught at cover and Gary Wilson went the same way in his next over but Madsen lifted the Falcons by drilling Sodhi over wide long off for six.Ball produced a slow bouncer to have Madsen caught at short third man and although Hughes swung Sodhi onto the pavilion roof, 28 off the last two overs proved too much against quality pace bowling from Ball and Gurney.

Negotiations between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association are continuing at a snail’s pace but the damage has already been done, the former Test paceman Mitchell Johnson has said.Talks between the two warring parties – including the chief executives James Sutherland and Alistair Nicholson – resumed in Melbourne on Wednesday with time fast running out to avoid major dislocation to the game, both in terms of commercial deals with sponsors and broadcasters, and also the Bangladesh tour in August.While discussions are now taking place on the sort of level that should lead to an eventual resolution, little movement is discernible from CA’s strong desire to end the fixed revenue percentage models at the core of past collective agreements, and likewise the ACA’s intent to keep the model in place. Johnson, who retired from the international game in 2015, said relationships would take a long time to heal whatever the outcome.”It’s been pretty disappointing and once it’s all dealt with, the player and CA relationship is going to be a struggle … it’s going to be very ordinary,” Johnson said in Sydney. “Even if it gets sorted, the damage has already been done. There’s been personal insults about the players being greedy. That’s not the case.”The relationship is going to have to build again. The last time I felt this way – not to this extent – was the Argus Review [in 2011]. That was the last time we had a little bit of trouble between the players and CA.””If we lose this battle as players, does then the ACA start getting their legs chopped from underneath them and the players lose the ACA?” – Mitchell Johnson•Getty Images

Commercial pressure is mounting in terms of players looking at signing deals with sponsors competing against CA’s major corporate partners. It has been reported that both Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith are close to signing deals with Mercedes to follow on from Mitchell Starc’s newly unveiled contract with an Audi dealership in western Sydney. The ACA’s commercial manager, Tim Cruickshank, is currently in India for talks about the collective intellectual property passed on from CA to the players’ commercial arm, the Cricketers’ Brand, when the most recent MoU expired on July 1.”The players have fought so hard, the ACA, for the last 19 years, and got this model that we have in a really good place, and other things as well,” Johnson said. “From the CA point of view, I know David Peever, ex-Rio Tinto … no unions. So that is the thing that concerns me a lot. If we lose this battle as players, does then the ACA start getting their legs chopped from underneath them and the players lose the ACA?”That is the scary thing from my point of view. Cricket will still go on but I don’t know what sort of input the players will have in the future. I saw Nathan Lyon this morning and I think he’s as disappointed as everyone. The way it has been dealt with in the media, it probably should have been more of a private matter … it could have been dealt with very differently.”Speaking at the launch of a new app called BowlFit for young fast bowlers, Johnson also said England’s recent loss to South Africa at Trent Bridge would place doubts in the minds of the team led by Joe Root ahead of a likely pace-based Australian assault in the forthcoming Ashes series.”They’ve got a few issues to sort out,” Johnson said. “It’s only one game but it’s the way they got beaten that you see the score line. Joe Root being a new captain; they’ll try and put a bit of pressure on him to see how he handles it. Australia are a huge chance. It’ll be a great series but there are some scars there as well.”You want to be consistent and they probably haven’t got that consistency at the moment. It’s going to be hard for them now because they have been beaten, there’s pressure on them. I don’t care too much about England to be honest. I don’t care what they bring as long as it’s a good contest.”Another area Johnson found intriguing was the selection of Gary Ballance at No. 3, though a finger fracture has ruled him out of the next Test against South Africa. “England have Gary Ballance at No.3 and when you’re at No.3, you’re meant to be one of the best players in the team, if not the best,” Johnson said. “I don’t think he is.”If you’re a bowler and you see Gary Ballance at No.3, then you actually get a lot of confidence from that. Australia would have a lot of confidence. They [England] have changed their team a little bit over the past. They’re trying to find the right squad. It’s getting close to an Ashes series, so you want to lock that in.”

We are into the second half of the Women’s World Cup and with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies needing a miracle to qualify to the semi-finals, the focus has shifted to the top five teams and three of them will be in action on Saturday.

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South Africa and India face off in Leicester in a rematch of the recent World Cup Qualifier final in Colombo. That game went down to a last-ball finish, with India hitting a six to seal victory, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if this one turns out to be equally thrilling.Five wins seems the bar for teams to feel confident of being in the final four in this Women’s World Cup. South Africa currently only have two, having endured a washout. While their batsmen have been quite reliable, recording the first instance of a team making 300 in a chase even if they couldn’t win it, the bowlers have been rather up and down. Last Sunday, West Indies were dismantled for 48, but three days later, England were allowed to make 373, helped by a stretch of 209 balls in the middle overs without a wicket. Considering South Africa are up against India, another batting powerhouse, Dane van Niekerk has some issues to sort out.Batsman Andrie Steyn, meanwhile, suffered an ankle injury at training and has been ruled out of the tournament. Medium-pacer Odine Kirsten, who picked up 4 for 10 in her last ODI in January, has been called up as replacement.India, with four wins in four games, already have one foot in the final four. Opener Deepti Sharma scored a crafty 78 against Sri Lanka, and the ever-dependent Mithali Raj has been hitting fifties for fun – she now stands on the cusp of history, 34 short of becoming the top-scorer in women’s ODIs. But India will still be wary that in the two games Smriti Mandhana has fallen early, they have not been able to score as quickly as they usually do.India’s spinners, led by their joint-leading wicket-taker Ekta Bisht, have done particularly well to defend whatever their batsmen have scored, be it 169 or 232. The contest between them and South Africa’s hard-hitting openers Laura Wolvaardt and Lizelle Lee will be fun to watch.In three matches, New Zealand’s top-scorer Suzie Bates has struck two fifty-plus scores and has been dismissed only once•ICC/Getty Images

The day’s second match features a potential mismatch. New Zealand‘s captain Suzie Bates began her campaign with a century and their wicketkeeper Rachel Priest smashed the fastest fifty in Women’s World Cup history and finished with 90 off 55 balls. By contrast, Pakistan‘s batsmen are barely maintaining a strike-rate of 50.New Zealand enter their fifth group match at fourth place after they thumped West Indies emphatically on Thursday. That meant they jumped above their other rivals from the Southern Hemisphere into the final qualifying spot, despite South Africa’s destruction of the same opponents only a few days earlier.Lea Tahuhu’s swing bowling at the top has troubled unsure batsmen and Pakistan’s top-order features such wobbliness. Tahuhu, who passed 50 ODI wickets on Thursday, will be featuring in her 50th ODI on Saturday. “When I started off, I was in and out of the team a little bit and in the last two years I have been really able to cement a place in the team and look to lead this bowling attack,” she said. “I take great pride in it and it will be a special thing to play my 50th game. It was nice to get to 50 wickets [against West Indies] but at the same time it was nice to get a good team win.”Combine Tahuhu’s pace with the wily spin of Amelia Kerr and the returning Leigh Kasperek and you have a well-rounded bowling unit. Their batting has been slow to start off at times, like in the game against Australia, but if Thursday’s win was any indication New Zealand’s batting has gone up another gear. Rachel Priest played like she was in a hurry to get to her team hotel while Suzie Bates once again oozed class with her batting. The two set up a sturdy middle order that has yet to come to the party in this tournament. With the group stages winding down, their strategy will have to ensure their net-run rate continues to remain better than South Africa at the very least.Pakistan have fallen away after their spirited, nail-biting opening display. Over their next three games, Pakistan have lost by over 90 runs every time. A high dot-ball percentage has hurt their scoring. Their top scorer of the tournament, Nahida Khan, has only 105 runs in four innings. Their highest total in their last three matches has been 131. They need their batting to click if they are to have any chance of arresting their losing streak.Their bowling has been far better, but has been let down by poor fielding. Sana Mir continues to break crucial partnerships, and how she uses herself and the other spinners will hold the key in their search for their first win. What has been most disappointing, though, has been Pakistan’s seeming lack of intent in searching for the win. Against Australia, chasing 291, it appeared that Pakistan simply looked to bat out their 50 overs; they eventually lost by 159 runs.

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is asking its members to resolve a long-running disagreement over the future development of Lord’s.The club, which owns the ground, has contacted all 18,000 members seeking a clear, unequivocal solution to a saga that has dragged on for the best part of a decade and persuaded former Prime Minister, John Major, to resign from the MCC committee in 2012.There are two choices.The first, named the Updated Masterplan, was put together by MCC and suggests utilising the club’s own funds to improve the Compton and Edrich stands (capacity would increase by 2,000) and a new East Gate Building, which would effectively replace the hospitality facility on the Nursery Ground. This, the club states, could be completed by 2027. It would cost £89 million, which could come from the club’s own funds, leaving them with £33 million remaining in the bank. The Masterplan would subsequently be completed (by 2032) with the redevelopment of the Tavern and Allen stands at the Pavilion End, and the North Gate at the Nursery End. To fund this, the club would require short-term borrowings, peaking at £28m in 2031, but cash reserves would be restored to £21m by 2035.The second, named the Morley Plan after the architect behind the idea, proposes building two ten-storey apartment blocks either side of a new Nursery Pavilion which would be leased to the MCC. That residential development (it would contain 97 apartments and ground floor commercial space) would fund the redevelopment of the Compton and Edrich stands (by 2034; it would take longer as capital would only be released after the residential accommodation is completed) and would leave the club with £111 million of cash in the bank by 2027. The developers have also offered a sweetener of £15 million to members to cover two years of their subs in acknowledgement of the disruption the building operation will cause.The proposed redevelopment at Lord’s Nursery End, under the Morley Plan•MCC

The developers behind the Morley Plan are the Rifkind Levy Partnership (RLP). Charles Rifkind, an investor and cousin of former Conservative minister Malcolm Rifkind, outbid MCC in 1999 to buy (for £2.35 million) a long-term lease on a 38-metre strip of land running the length of Lord’s at the Nursery End. It means that, while MCC own the lease for the top 18 inches of land, Rifkind owns the disused train tunnels that lie under the surface. RLP are offering £100 million in return for MCC relinquishing its lease to enable building work to progress, as well as £35 million to excavate the tunnels and create parking and storage space. With the sweetener included, the offer is worth £150 million.While MCC have not made any recommendation, there are some doubts expressed over details concerning the Morley Plan. The Review of Development Plans sent to members states “significant issues are unresolved concerning… the effect of residential accommodation within the Ground on security and operations, and whether the plans provide adequate space for the cricket needs of Lord’s”. They also point out that their hospitality facility will be direct neighbours with residential developments and that gaining planning permission for the project could prove difficult given the location’s proximity to St John’s Wood Church Gardens.A key point of difference centres on the redevelopment of the Compton and Edrich stands. While the Masterplan suggests it would be necessary to extend the stands on to the area currently occupied by the Nursery Ground playing surface (and to ensure less congestion on major match days), it also suggests retaining the specifications of the playing area by extending it on to the land currently occupied by the temporary Nursery Pavilion and ensuring the retention of 42 net facilities. The Morley Plan suggests the stands need not stretch further back and there will not be any reduction of the Nursery Ground playing area.An aerial view of the proposed redevelopments at Lord’s•MCC

Neither plan suggests starting work ahead of the 2019 World Cup final, which is scheduled to be held at Lord’s. The ground will continue to host cricket throughout the development period.Members have been sent a mountain of information providing details of the two options. They have also been invited to fill out a survey and attend meetings at venues around the country (in Bristol, Manchester and Nottingham, as well as at Lord’s) at which they can learn more and give their own views.The MCC committee will meet at the end of July to review the feedback and make a recommendation. The membership will then vote on that recommendation at a Special General Meeting at the end of September. If they back the committee’s proposal, the issue can be considered resolved and development can begin. If they do not, the issue could well overshadow the next chief executive’s period at the helm as it has the current one.The club’s CEO, Derek Brewer, stands down a couple of days after the SGM and will be replaced by current Somerset CEO, Guy Lavender.

In the last few games, Sunrisers Hyderabad have not scored at the rate they have wanted to at the start of the innings. Consequently, the team’s strategy was tweaked slightly ahead of the match against Kings XI Punjab to ensure that the openers – David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan – went after the bowling in a combined assault.The ploy paid off handsomely after Sunrisers were asked to bat on a good batting surface in Mohali. Dhawan smashed a 48-ball 77, his second fifty in three games, and Warner cracked 51 runs off 27 balls. Dhawan described the approach to his partnership as “smart (and) aggressive”.”Usually when David attacks, I back off. In the last two games, David took his time so I attacked,” Dhawan told . “Today, we attacked from both sides. This was a good thing and it was a very good wicket. We both wanted to make it big and that’s what happened. I was feeling good about myself today and knew what plan I am going to go with.”We both were playing smart [yet] aggressive cricket, I would say. And, that was our plan because [in the] last few games we were playing well but our run rate was [a] bit low. So, we decided today that we were going to go out there and express ourselves more. I am used to playing with David Warner for two-three seasons now, so we know each other’s game and our running between the wickets is also very good.”On the relative merits and demerits of opening with two left-hand batsmen, Dhawan said it was not a factor so long as both the batsmen were good. “If they play well, they play well and it becomes hard for the bowlers,” Dhawan said. “For instance, they brought an offspinner (KC Cariappa) into the attack, but we were in such good nick that we were hitting the offspinner too. Of course, if it is a left-right combination, the bowler has to contend with altering his line and length. But, if batsmen are attacking from both ends, then there is no trouble.”Sunrisers also benefited from how Kane Williamson, at No. 3, furthered the momentum created by the openers. With an unbeaten of 54 at a strike rate of 200, Williamson was the key to Sunrisers smashing 52 runs in the last five overs. Williamson reflected on how they had to briefly play the waiting game before launching into another round of attack. Once Warner was dismissed in the 10th over, Dhawan and Williamson went 17 legal deliveries without a boundary.”There are times when you need to soak it up a little bit, but with the openers batting for about 10 overs with a run rate of over ten runs per over meant that we needed to see how many we could get and play the situation the best we could,” Williamson said. “After such a good start from the openers, it was important that we do that.”He (Dhawan) came out really aggressively as you need to do in this format; he was very dominant today and was batting so beautifully, which I suppose made my job easier when I was to come out and get myself in.”Dhawan revealed that Sunrisers had a 200-plus total in sights once they continued to score at a good clip going into the second half of the innings. “As a team goal, we always say that one of the top-four batsmen has to stay till the end. If one set batsman is playing at the end, it gives a huge advantage to the batting side, so that’s what we planned and we try to implement in each game,” Dhawan said.”Once we crossed 13 or 14 overs, we knew we had to reach 200 because we had a great start and continued to be in a good position. It paid off well because in the second innings there was a bit of dew on this ground, and their batsmen were playing good cricket, especially Shaun Marsh and [Martin] Guptill, at the start. Two hundred was a good score, that’s why we got the game.”

Shashank Manohar has resigned from his post as ICC chairman after eight months in office, citing personal reasons.In a letter addressed to ICC chief executive David Richardson, Manohar said: “I have tried to do my best and have tried to be fair and impartial in deciding matters in the functioning of the Board and in matters related to Member Boards along with the able support of all Directors.”However, for personal reasons it is not possible for me to hold the august office of ICC Chairman and hence I am tendering my resignation as Chairman with immediate effect. I take this opportunity to thank all the Directors, the Management and staff of ICC for supporting me wholeheartedly. I wish ICC all the very best and hope it achieves greater heights in future.”Manohar was elected unopposed as the ICC’s first independent chairman – one not affiliated to any of its member boards – in May 2016 for a two-year term, and since then had become the driving force behind the ICC’s retreat from the governance structures created by the Big Three boards of BCCI, CA and ECB in 2014.In February this year, the ICC had passed in principle a new constitution that undid much of the imbalance in power and finances the BCCI, CA and ECB had sought to create in 2014, but a final decision was to be taken at the ICC Board’s next round of meetings in April. Manohar, however, will now not be the head of the ICC at those meetings and what impact – if any – his absence has on those proposals remains to be seen.The ICC confirmed receipt of Manohar’s resignation and said: “The ICC Board will assess the situation and next steps before making a further announcement.”When Manohar replaced N Srinivasan as BCCI president in November 2015, he also became the ICC chairman by virtue of being the head of the Indian board. Later that month, Manohar spoke out against the Big Three revamp of the ICC: “I don’t agree with the three major countries bullying the ICC,” Manohar has said. “That’s my personal view, because as I have always said, an institution is bigger than individuals.”In his dual role as BCCI president and ICC chairman, Manohar was the person behind the move to have an independent chairman head the ICC, the first step of the rollback that he would try to push through. On May 10, 2016, in the wake of the Lodha Committee’s report that recommended a severe shake up of the administrative structures of the BCCI, Mahohar quit as board president. Two days later, he was elected unopposed as the first independent chairman of the ICC.The next step for the ICC executive board will be to appoint an interim chairman, before holding elections to find a permanent candidate. They can decide to hold elections by the next round of board meetings in April, or even before that.According to the ICC constitution: “In the event that the Chairman shall, for any reason, be unable to fulfil or continue to fulfil his duties, then the Executive Board shall appoint an acting Chairman from within the Executive Board to assume such duties until the conclusion of the next Conference at which a new Chairman is elected or, if sooner, upon the existing Chairman being able to fulfil or continue to fulfil his duties.”All present and past ICC directors were eligible to contest the election at the time of Manohar’s election. Candidates could be nominated by fellow ICC directors, and only one nominee is allowed per director. Any nominee with the support of at least two Full Member directors is eligible to stand for election.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:20

Watch – Rossouw, Sarfraz fifties flatten Karachi

In a nutshellA 130-run partnership between Rilee Rossouw and Sarfraz Ahmed – the second highest in PSL history – saw Quetta Gladiators beat the Karachi Kings by seven wickets. The pair came together with the Gladiators tottering at 30 for 3 in the fifth over but they combined power hitting with composure, not to mention superb running between the wickets. It was a chanceless stand, a masterclass in how to deal with pressure and gradually take control of a game.On Friday, Mohammad Amir was the Kings’ most impressive opening bowler. This time his opening partner Sohail Khan took up the mantle, bowling a consistently good length on the off stump line, seaming the ball away from the right-hander. It wouldn’t have been out of place on the first morning of a Test match. He got his rewards, dismissing Ahmed Shehzad, Kevin Pietersen and Asad Shafiq in the space of four balls only for momentum to be stolen back by Rossouw and Sarfraz.Karachi had earlier started off quite cautiously. Chris Gayle scratched out an unconvincing 11 and Kumar Sangakkara searching for form holed out to extra cover for 25. By the end of the fourteenth over, they were 87 for 3. From there, they were never going to get a par score, and only poor death bowling by last year’s finalists – Tymal Mills excepted – took Karachi to their final total of 159. But Rossouw and Sarfraz saw to it that it wouldn’t be enough.Where the match was wonWhile the Gladiators fourth wicket partnership was impressive enough, it only really began to pose a threat after a moment Karachi only had themselves to blame. Five balls into the ninth over of the Quetta innings, a no-ball was called because the Kings’ didn’t have enough fielders inside the circle. That bit of self-inflicted harm was punished severely, Rossouw launching the free hit for six over midwicket. The final ball met the same fate as a good over suddenly went for 19. The asking rate came under eight and the batsmen had all the answers.The men that won itRossouw, who was so impressive against Lahore on Friday in holding Quetta’s innings together, was the main architect again, albeit in a more destructive manner. Forty runs came off his first 21 balls before the former South African international slowed down as Quetta’s captain Sarfraz began to find his timing.The pair’s running between the wickets is especially worth pointing out. Pressure was regularly placed on Karachi’s fielders and several ones were converted into twos. At no stage did it look like a wicket was about to fall, from the moment the pair got together right to the last delivery, a full toss which Rossouw dispatched to the extra cover boundary.1:23

WATCH – Rossouw’s match-winning 76*

Tidy Tymal MillsThe only phase where Quetta looked like being outplayed was between overs 14 and 19 of the Karachi innings. From 87 in 14, Sangakkara’s men plundered 64 runs off the next five overs, taking advantage of wayward – and frankly bizarre – lines and lengths from Quetta’s bowlers.At one point, it looked like they might even get to 170. They might have done were it not for Mills, who more than justified his T20 reputation with a superb spell by varying his pace and line regularly to finish with 2 for 21 in four overs. That included a disciplined final over which yielded just eight runs and ensured Karachi’s total didn’t get out of hand.Moment of the matchIt is often said Quetta do not have superstars in their lineup, relying instead on team performances. There is one glaring exception to that of course in the form of Pietersen. However, when he came in today at 23 for 1, he edged the first ball from Sohail to the wicketkeeper. It was a poor shot first up against the seaming ball and it left him with three runs in two matches. Other teams might struggle in the absence of a contribution from such an instrumental player, but Quetta have still managed to win both their games, showing there might be something in their reputation of being a team rather than just a collection of individuals.Where they standQuetta are the only team to still boast a 100 percent record and sit at the top of the table on four points. Karachi, conversely, are the only side to lose both their games and sit at the bottom of the league. This defeat means Karachi Kings have lost 9 of their 11 PSL matches with their only wins coming against Lahore Qalandars.

Lions leapfrogged Warriors at the foot of the table after winning a tight game at Buffalo Park by 14 runs. Set 258 to win on the last day after an overnight declaration by Lions, Warriors slipped to 44 for 2 before staging a series of fightbacks. First came a 112-run fifth-wicket partnership between Colin Ingram (46) and Lesiba Ngoepe (77 off 104 balls, 9×4), before both fell in the space of 16 balls. It was 183 for 8 following two more quick wickets, and Warriors seemed on the brink of a comfortable win, when Simon Harmer (45) and Anrich Nortje (26 off 24 balls) jolted them with a 54-run ninth-wicket stand. It wasn’t quite enough, though, as Warriors dismissed both of them in the space of nine balls. Beuran Hendricks, Ayavuya Myoli and Bjorn Fortuin took three wickets each.Only 30.3 overs were possible on the first day’s play after Warriors chose to bowl first. Starting day two on 107 for 3, Lions were bowled out for 307. Opener Stephen Cook (50) and No. 5 Rassie van der Dussen (82 off 175 balls, 10×4) were their top scorers while the fast bowler Nortje picked up four wickets.Then, with both teams looking to make up for time lost on day one, came a pair of declarations. Warriors were 104 behind when they closed their first innings, after an unbroken 80-run seventh-wicket stand between Somila Seyibokwe (52*) and Harmer (31*) had rescued them from 123 for 6. Then Lions lost two early wickets to Basheeru-Dean Walters before Dominic Hendricks (76*) and Temba Bavuma (52*) added a brisk, unbroken 113 to set up a second-innings declaration at 153 for 2.

AB de Villiers has made himself unavailable for selection for the upcoming Test series in New Zealand in March though he has recovered from his elbow injury, but said that he was not retiring from Test cricket.However, while squashing recent speculation that he was going to give up the longest format, AB de Villiers indicated that his priority was going to be limited-overs cricket in order to play the 2019 World Cup.”That’s a good question. Not yet. I’m not there yet,” de Villiers said in Johannesburg on Tuesday, when asked when he would return to the Test side. “The reason being that I just need to settle things in my head. Over the last few years something has come to mind, which is the fact that we haven’t won a World Cup yet. And for me to make it to the 2019 World Cup, I can’t really be serious in every format.”So I’ve made myself unavailable for the New Zealand Test series. I will be there for the ODIs, and I’m definitely not retiring from Test cricket because I have plans to come back at some stage. For me, for now the most important thing is the 2019 World Cup. I want to make sure we get there. I want to make sure we lift that trophy. Obviously there are other factors that play a role like family and time away from home, but the main reason for me is that World Cup and I feel that if I play all formats all the time, then mentally and physically I won’t be at my best.”Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief executive, said de Villiers’ comments were not a surprise because he had been involved in discussions with the batsman. “We’ve given him the latitude of taking time off, of setting himself for the 2019 World Cup. It is very much part of our planning.”We know it’s challenging schedules that all of the players have. What I think is, he is not going to get another opportunity like he currently has with time off. To put it in this fashion – the most he must make of it now [], once he gets back on the treadmill it is all the way through to 2019.”Lorgat said he was confident de Villiers would be available for the Test series in England this summer. “What we’re doing is taking it a series at a time. I am confident that by the time we get towards looking at England and the Champions Trophy, he’ll be fully fit and raring to go. His appetite would have returned because then it would be a fair amount of time he has had. I’m confident England is kind of a series that he would want to be available for.”Earlier on Tuesday, de Villiers told South African radio station that he was “not retiring out of Test cricket.” However, he said he would have to manage his workload in order to be fit for the 2019 World Cup.”My main aim is to get to that 2019 World Cup and I am going to do everything possible to get there. It’s important to play the other formats but mentally and physically I need to be in a good space come the 2019 World Cup and that’s what I am aiming for. I know its still a long way away and it’s all about managing that really well in order for me to get there.”I am going to have to make certain choices. It’s not easy for me. I have always been the go-ahead guy, the team man, who never wants to miss a game for South Africa. But [with] the schedules these days, it’s really tough to play all formats, especially at the age of 32, when most cricketers don’t go past the age of 35. If you do the math, it takes to me to 2019, 2020 at the most. Hopefully by then I will still be fit and be there to lift the trophy with the boys.”AB de Villiers said he would play the T20I against Sri Lanka on January 25•Getty Images

De Villiers said he had recovered from the elbow injury that kept him out of cricket since August last year and hoped to make a comeback in the third T20I against Sri Lanka on January 25.”I’ve had this elbow injury for a while now but I am fully fit again and I am playing in that last T20 in Cape Town on the 25th and then in the ODIs,” de Villiers said. “I am really excited to get going.”The recent speculation over de Villiers’ Test future arose after comments from South Africa’s Test captain Faf du Plesiss and coach Russell Domingo indicated uncertainty over de Villiers’ return to the side.De Villiers, 32, has not played a Test since January 2016, when he was the stand-in captain for Hashim Amla. He took over in the middle of a four-Test series against England, which South Africa lost 2-1 in the midst of discussions over his own workload. De Villiers had spent the early part of the series explaining the need to “keep myself fresh” and “maybe not play all kinds of cricket.”At the end of the series, de Villiers was named permanent Test captain and he accepted the job while fully committing to South Africa. However, he was sidelined with an elbow injury after the Caribbean Premier League in July and, at first, opted for a conservative approach to treatment, which involved rest and rehabilitation rather than surgery. That ruled him out of a two-Test series against New Zealand in August. By October, he had still not recovered and was forced to have surgery, which ruled him out of the home ODIs and an away Test series against Australia. Du Plessis was captain in his absence and led South Africa to series wins in both assignments.De Villiers had still not recovered by December, ahead of the Tests against Sri Lanka at home, and stepped down as Test captain early in the month. Du Plessis was confirmed as his successor and led South Africa to another series victory.