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Charlotte Edwards, the former England women’s captain, has made her first movement into cricket administration by being appointed as Hampshire’s director of women’s cricket.Edwards, who will continue to captain Hampshire Women for a second season this summer, will head up the management of both Hampshire Women’s first-team and player pathway sides, as well as the Southern Vipers – the team she led to the inaugural Kia Super League title in 2016.She takes over the role filled by former Hampshire wicketkeeper Bob Parks, who has announced his retirement after more than 45 years involved in the game.”I’m extremely excited about my new role as director of women’s cricket,” Edwards said. “Having played for Hampshire and Southern Vipers for the past two seasons, I see an ambitious organisation that will complement my passion for domestic cricket. I look forward to working with players, coaches and staff to help Hampshire become one of the leading domestic clubs in the country for women’s cricket.”Edwards, who captained the England Women’s side for more than a decade before retiring in 2015, scored more than 10,000 international runs during her 20-year career.Her career spanned four Ashes series victories, a World T20 title and the 2009 World Cup victory as England captain. In 2014, she was awarded a CBE for her services to cricket.”We’re delighted that Charlotte has agreed to take up the role,” Hampshire’s chief executive officer, David Mann, said. “She’s a legend in the women’s game and has been a superb ambassador for the Vipers both on and off the pitch over the past two seasons.”Her wealth of experience and knowledge of the game will be invaluable assets for our management group and we’re excited by the qualities she brings to the role.”Our thanks must go to Bob Parks who has been an integral part of what the Southern Vipers and Hampshire Women have been able to achieve over the past two seasons and we all wish him well in his retirement.”

Sri Lanka will have two of their senior players Angelo Mathews and Suranga Lakmal fit and available for the Test series in West Indies in June.Both players had been named in the travelling squad, but the selectors were concerned with their match fitness. However, following an eight-day training camp, SLC now believe both players will be ready for the first Test in Port of Spain from June 6.Mathews last played for Sri Lanka in an ODI against Zimbabwe in Dhaka in January, where he aggravated a recurring hamstring problem. That resulted in him missing the remainder of the Bangladesh tour as well the Nidahas Trophy in March, before returning to domestic action last month.Lakmal, meanwhile, has been in and out of the side in recent times, either through injuries or due to selectors managing his workload. The 31 year-old fast bowlerwas rested for most of the Nidahas Trophy, after which a side strain ruled him out of last month’s Super Provincial four-day tournament. He has since returned for the Super Provincial Limited Overs matches.Lakmal’s return strengthens a depleted Sri Lankan fast bowling line-up, with Lahiru Gamage, Lahiru Kumara, and the uncapped pair of Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha the only other quicks on tour.Mathews may have been expected to share in the workload but SLC confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that 30 year-old will only be used in his capacity as a batsman, while Lakmal’s workload too will be managed on a game by game basis.”Mathews will not be bowling, while Lakmal’s inclusion [in the third Test] will depend on how much he bowls in the first two games,” said Chief selector Graeme Labrooy. “That however depends on the selection committee on tour, and how much of a workload he undertakes.”

Welcome to our live blog for the opening matches in the Women’s T20 Triangular between England, South Africa and New Zealand. We will be bringing you updates, stats and colour from the first two games at Taunton, starting with New Zealand v South Africa at 1pm, and continuing with England v South Africa at 5.40pm

Dwayne Bravo clears the ball for take off•CPL T20

Lauderhill continued to be a House of Horrors for Jamaica Tallawahs for the second straight night as Colin Munro teamed up with both Bravos in a pair of major stands to lift Trinbago Knight Riders to a last-ball four-wicket win at the Central Broward Regional Park. It’s the fifth loss in six matches at the venue for the Tallawahs since 2016.Tallawahs gave themselves a chance thanks to a 112-run stand between Glenn Phillips and David Miller to resuscitate the first innings after they were floundering midway through at 58 for 3. Half-centuries from both batsmen helped Tallawahs add 124 off the final 10 overs.But it still wasn’t enough as Munro and Darren Bravo responded in kind with a century partnership and matching half-centuries. With three needed to win off the final ball, Javon Searles walloped a length ball from Oshane Thomas over extra cover with enough meat in it to beat Kennar Lewis sweeping on the boundary for the winning runs.An All-American reunionHaving won the toss, Knight Riders opened the bowling with Ohio fast bowler Ali Khan, one of the finds of the season, with Sameer Bandekar, who stood in his lone ODI as an Indian umpire in 2002 before migrating to Dallas, Texas in 2010, officiating. After Kennar Lewis fell in the second over to Khary Pierre, Florida batsman Steven Taylor, playing his first match of the season for Tallawahs at No. 3, arrived in the middle.In the following over, Khan was bowling to Taylor with Bandekar standing watch. Three Americans in the middle for a major franchise T20 match on American soil showed the fruits of the CPL’s labor over the last four years. Their helping hand to the region began with player tryouts in 2015, which saw Taylor become the first player to gain a contract with Barbados Tridents, then progressed into matches on US soil and guaranteed draft picks and contracts for USA players in 2016, to a stage where players and officials are inching away from being token inclusions toward being meaningful contributors, thereby highlighting USA’s budding talent.The Miller’s TaleBoth the American Taylor and his New Zealand namesake Ross enjoyed less than fruitful innings. The latter, in particular, struggled to get the spin of Khary Pierre away, scratching for 14 balls for seven runs, before top-edging a sweep off Fawad Ahmed, taken spectacularly by Dwayne Bravo running in from slip to fine leg before diving.David Miller played some scintillating shots•CPL T20

At 47 for 3 in the ninth over, things looked bleak for Tallawahs when Miller joined Phillips to commence their century stand. After six overs without a boundary, Miller breathed life into the innings in the first ball after the midway drinks break, flicking Bravo down the leg side for four. The South African stepped into higher gear in the next over, smashing Sunil Narine for the first of two sixes in consecutive overs.That spurred Phillips to come out of his shell. After spending most of the first half of the innings patiently knocking singles and twos around the ground, Phillips pulled Narine over midwicket for six to bring up his fifty in the 16th over, and then brought out the switch hit two balls later for another six. Two balls into the 17th, he smashed Dwayne Bravo over his head for six, and then went the other way to ramp him over the keeper Denesh Ramdin for six more.He managed 80 off 55 balls, but his creativity finally got the best of him when another attempted switch hit resulted in a top-edge taken by Bravo. Miller carried on for the final 10 balls of the innings, ending it by squeezed out a yorker for four, and flicking down the ground for six off Ali Khan’s last two balls, but Tallawahs paid in the end for their conservative start.Bravo, BravoKnight Riders lost the opening combo of Narine and Chris Lynn cheaply in the first 13 balls of the chase. Brendon McCullum then fell on the final ball of the Powerplay to make it 28 for 3. But as Darren Bravo showed against St Lucia Stars on Thursday night, nothing is insurmountable when he’s out in the middle.The younger Bravo creamed five sixes in his 50 off 35 balls, and put on 107 runs with Munro for the fourth wicket. The New Zealander was no slouch either, blasting four fours and an equal number of sixes en route to notching up his third fifty in five innings and overtaking Kieron Pollard in the tournament scoring charts with 256 runs. But the black and red flags were waving furiously for Darren as he whipped the crowd into a frenzy.Darren was finally yorked by Imad Wasim at the end of the 17th over, and Knight Riders still needed 45 to win off 18 balls. Cue big brother Dwayne, who proceeded to smoke three straight balls in the 18th over, sent down by Krishmar Santokie, for six. Ragged fielding resulted in both Dwayne and Munro getting letoffs within the space of three balls, as Miller and Steven Taylor let chances fall rather than putting in dives.Russell eventually bowled Munro behind his legs as Knight Riders entered the final over with seven needed. Bravo was caught on the point boundary by Lewis off the third ball to leave six to get off three. A dot ball ensued, but that was followed by a crucial wide call from Bandekar after Searles flailed and missed outside off. A scampered two to long-off set up the dramatic final ball where Searles prevailed as Russell and co. sunk to their knees, wondering if they’ll ever shake off the bad vibes of Lauderhill.

ScorecardKent will need to mop up Northamptonshire’s seven remaining wickets on the final day at Canterbury to secure their eighth win of the Specsavers County Championship campaign having reduced the visitors to 54 for 3 by stumps on day three.Batting for the final time in the match and facing an improbable victory target of 320, Northamptonshire started their second innings as they had their first and were soon deep in trouble against the pace of Matt Henry, who has already taken nine wickets in the match – including a career-best seven-wicket haul.Left-hander Ben Curran followed one going across him to be caught behind then, five overs later, his opening partner Luke Procter went leg before to one that darted in off the seam to give Henry his ninth of the match.Kent’s first-change seamer Grant Stewart swung one through the gate of Ricardo Vasconcelos to peg back off stump, but Alex Wakely and Richard Levi dug in to bat out the remaining 10 overs through to the close. They require a further 266 on the fourth day for an unlikely win.Kent had started their second innings with a slender overall lead of 32 and extended their advantage to 55 when a double-wicket maiden from Ben Sanderson briefly altered the course of the morning session.He had Sean Dickson snaffled at second slip then, three balls later, Kent’s experiment to promote Grant Stewart backfired, when the allrounder glanced a catch to the keeper to depart without scoring.With licence to keep the game moving, Kent’s third-wicket partners Zak Crawley and Joe Denly continued to go for their strokes in adding 111 in 25 overs either side of lunch.But, after posting a 72-ball 50, Crawley became bogged down after the interval and departed leg before for 63 when an in-swinging Brett Hutton yorker hit him flush on the boot.The impressive Richard Gleeson then enjoyed the day’s second double-wicket maiden. After clipping Denly’s off stump with an excellent leg-cutter that sent him packing when only 19 runs short of his fourth championship ton of the summer, Gleeson extended Daniel Bell-Drummond’s batting woes by trapping him leg before when off balance for a third-ball duck.Heino Kuhn fell for a cameo 34 just before tea, leg before when working across the line against Gleeson, then, soon after tea and with Kent 287 ahead, the same bowler induced Darren Stevens to chop on.Harry Podmore followed suit to give Gleeson a deserved five-wicket haul in only his fourth appearance of the season, which became a career-best of 6 for 79 when Henry, in trying to drop his hands to a short one, gloved a catch through to the keeper.Amongst the carnage, Sam Billings, the Kent captain, scored his first half-century of the season in his fifth appearance from 63 balls and with seven fours, beating his paltry season’s best of 29 before becoming last man out for 56, after an extraordinary hook from well outside off stump that flew straight to first slip.Kent needed only 25 minutes at the start of the day to mop of Northamptonshire’s two remaining first innings wickets.Henry had Richard Gleeson caught by Ivan Thomas at square leg to end a ninth-wicket stand of 49 to give Henry career-best figures of 7 for 42. Thomas then polished off the innings in Henry’s next over, running out Hutton with a direct hit from square leg, allowing Henry to walk off with the match ball.

Former legspinner Mushtaq Ahmed has ended his stint as the head coach of Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy to take up a consultancy role with West Indies. He is set to become the assistant coach and is on a contract that will need him to commit 150 days in a year.He was to begin with the India tour, but couldn’t link up with the squad because of visa glitches – Pakistani nationals have found it hard to obtain work visas for India due to strained political ties. His first assignment will be West Indies’ upcoming tour of Bangladesh, where they are slated to play two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is.Mushtaq’s contract with the NCA was renewed for a year in April after weeks of uncertainty. At the time, he was also contemplating offers from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Indies but decided to stay back to put himself in the fray to become Pakistan’s spin bowling coach. However, he signed a month-long contract as spin consultant with Cricket West Indies before rejoining the NCA.Having previously worked with England, Mushtaq was Pakistan’s bowling coach for 18 months being replaced by Azhar Mahmood last year. Since then, he’s been an integral part of the NCA set up in Lahore.

The PCB has extended Ahmed Shehzad’s ban by six weeks after the batsman was found guilty of breaching the ruling on his four-month suspension. His original ban was supposed to end on November 10, but will now run until December 22. That forces him to miss the entirety of the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he was to play for Sui Southern Gas Cooperation after his contract was terminated by HBL.Shehzad was charged with two violations of the PCB’s anti-doping rules after he tested positive for a banned substance in July. He underwent a random dope test conducted during the Pakistan Cup domestic tournament earlier this year, and was handed a four-month ban. That barred him completely from playing any level of cricket during that period. It is that clause that he has been found in violation of on this occasion, after he played club cricket for PCB-accredited Muslim Gymkhana on multiple occasions, and even promoted his playing activity on social media.He was subsequently issued a show-cause notice, to which he responded with an apology, citing the whole affair an error of judgment. “This is due to my only having played these games at club level, but I can assure you I would never willfully breach the rule as prescribed,” he said. “Had I been aware that this was a violation, I would never have played cricket at any level.”The PCB dismissed his explanation, finding it unsatisfactory and called him for a personal hearing to explain himself. It was understood that he played nine games in breach of his ban, and though the games were friendlies, they were still officially played by two clubs affiliated with the PCB. They took into account that Shehzad was an experienced international cricketer, who had played over 150 international games for Pakistan, and had undergone several lectures on anti-corruption and anti-doping, and therefore should have been fully aware of what counted as a breach.”This instant decision [to extend his ban] will serve as a constructive lesson not only to Ahmad Shahzad but to other cricketers that strict adherence to applicable rules and regulations is mandatory. A new period of ineligibility of six weeks is imposed on Ahmed Shahzad which shall commence from November 11, 2018,” the PCB said in their verdict.Extending Shehzad’s ban, which was due to end later this week, also rules him out of any involvement in the ongoing series against New Zealand, should Pakistan have recalled him. Long viewed as one of Pakistan’s brightest batting prospects, the 26-year old has struggled to live up to his billing, and found himself drop down the pecking order in all three formats in recent years. He last played for Pakistan in the two T20Is against Scotland in July, but hasn’t played an ODI for over a year. His last Test came in the West Indies in May 2017.

James Anderson has admitted he feels he “hasn’t quite cracked” the challenge of bowling with the Kookaburra ball.Despite recently overtaking Glenn McGrath to become the most prolific seam bowler in the history of Test cricket, Anderson accepts that his record at home – where he has claimed 368 Test wickets as a cost of 23.76 apiece – is far better than his record away (196 wickets at 32.62). One of the reasons for that home success is the use of the Duke’s ball, which swings for longer than the Kookaburra and other varieties, in England’s home Tests.Partly as a result of that, Anderson had no hesitation in declining the opportunity of skipping the tour of Sri Lanka. While he knows there may be some tough days ahead, he said he gains more satisfaction from “a good day here” than when “bowling on a green seamer in England in April”.There had been talk ahead of the tour that either Anderson or Stuart Broad, perhaps even both of them, could be rested in order to protect them in light of the challenges ahead – notably an Ashes series in England in 2019 – and to take a look at their possible successors.Anderson also acknowledged that, aged 36, he may not have many more opportunities for such tours and that with his white-ball career behind him – at international level, at least – the workload expected of him and Broad was far more manageable.”There was a question asked if I was keen to go on tour in the winter and I said, ‘Yes’,” Anderson said. “And that was pretty much the end of it.”The amount of cricket I play at the moment – and Stuart Broad would say the same for himself – means there’s no reason why we can’t be fit for all the Test cricket. We don’t play any white-ball cricket and there are plenty of gaps in between Test series for us to rest and recuperate and get fit for the next one.”It may be my last trip to Sri Lanka – or my penultimate one, anyway [England return in early 2020] – it’s a great place to tour and I’m going to enjoy it while I can.”It is a huge challenge for seam bowlers out here, but when you have a good day here you get more satisfaction than bowling on a green seamer in England in April. When you’re dripping with sweat, covered in mud, you know you’ve had a hard day, I think you get more out of that. You’ve put in the hard yards for the team.Stuart Broad and James Anderson could be rotated during the Test series•Getty Images

“The surfaces are very dry and the two we have played on this week have been really flat, too. So it’s a challenge. And the different challenges the Kookaburra ball brings are something I feel I haven’t quite cracked. That’s something for me to keep trying to work on.”Anderson also pointed out that he and Broad were the only two members of the England squad to have been part of a Test tour of Sri Lanka and suggested, with three spinners expected to play in Galle, the workloads for seamers should mitigate against any need to rotate them during the series. He did concede, however, that one or other of them may have to accept missing out in a Test or two.”You can’t go into a game thinking the spinners are going to do everything,” he said. “When we won in India [in 2012] the seamers still had a big role. We have to use that new ball – it will swing for the first 10 overs or so – so we have to make their batsmen play as much as possible.”Stuart and I are the only ones who have made a Test tour here before. So it’s down to us to pass on as much information as we can.”In terms of selection, you have to go with the conditions. On present history, we think it’s going to spin. There will probably be some tough decisions to make. Stuart and I are well aware of that. It’s international sport and you have to take it on the chin if you’re not selected.”But we want to keep improving as a team and to win. I don’t see the workloads being too much, so we’ll try and play our strongest XI every game.”It would be huge, a really big achievement to win here.”

Having suffered the injury of a lost claim for damages from the BCCI, the PCB now has to face up to the added insult of paying the India board nearly USD 2 million in legal costs.Last month, the PCB’s attempt to claim USD 63 million from the BCCI for two bilateral series that did not take place in 2014 and 2015 was rejected by the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC).As is the norm in arbitration cases such as this, the winning party claims legal costs from the losing side, which the BCCI had done. Those claims were submitted a week after the decision.As with the final decision, there was a morsel of consolation for the PCB in that the panel decided they would not have to pay full costs. The Pakistan board had earlier spent close to USD 1 Million on the case alone.”The Dispute Panel,” an ICC statement said, “has determined that the PCB should pay 60 percent of: “(a) the [BCCI’s] Claimed Costs; and (b) the administrative costs and expenses of the Panel… (including, without limitation, the fees of the Tribunal members, and the costs and expenses they incurred in relation to this matter), the figure whereof is to be supplied to the PCB by the ICC.”Though neither party has made the total amount public, 60% is understood to come out to roughly USD 2 million. For a board that already does without playing India at bilateral cricket, or at home in Pakistan, that will be an especially unwelcome blow.”The PCB notes the ICC Dispute Panel’s decision on BCCI’s claims for their legal expense incurred on the PCB-BCCI dispute,” the board said. “The award of significantly lesser costs than claimed by BCCI reflects that PCB’s case had merits. The PCB, however, reiterates its disappointment in the original decision/award given against it.”

Jos Buttler admitted that England had been served a timely reality check after two torrid days in a row in Barbados – first with the bat and then with the ball – but believes that their long and unlikely challenge of batting out the final two days to save the first Test is an “opportunity to have a much better showing”.Buttler, who was one of five England batsmen to be blown away by Kemar Roach in their dismal first innings of 77, also dropped a key catch in the covers off Shimron Hetmyer in West Indies’ first innings. He had little involvement on a long and hot third day, however, as Jason Holder and Shane Dowrich put their bowlers to the sword in a remarkable unbeaten seventh-wicket stand of 295.”They’re both pretty tough days,” Buttler said. “Yesterday was a really poor reflection on us as a side. We can do much better than that.”Today was pretty thankless as well out there. As much as we could, we stuck together. The guys kept running in, [Ben] Stokes and [James] Anderson didn’t get any rewards for it but it showed their passion for playing for England.”Assuming England are unable to stave off defeat in the coming six sessions, they will come to the end a run of five Test victories in a row, dating back to the 4-1 series win over India last summer and including their 3-0 win in Sri Lanka before Christmas.And, given that England’s captain, Joe Root, had been openly targeting the No. 1 world ranking in the build-up to the series, Buttler admitted that the events in Barbados were not good enough for a team with such lofty ambitions.”It was tough to explain, I guess. Our bowlers having not had long to rest can make a bit of a difference. The guys trucked in all day and showed immense amount of determination and real fitness to keep going.”But with the bat we were well below, and with our aim of getting to the No.1 side in the world, that is nowhere near good enough. We’ve had a good run of games but we obviously played poorly adapting to conditions. We have to be better at coming through that tough situation.”It’s a good reality check, probably, as a side, for where we’re at in international cricket.”England’s troubles in the Caribbean may not be confined to this Test alone, however, if the workload that was forced on England’s senior bowlers, James Anderson and Ben Stokes, has knock-on effects for the second Test in Antigua, which gets underway next week.Both men were forced back into the attack late in England’s innings due to the imbalance elsewhere in a bowling attack that Buttler admitted had been misjudged. And Stokes in particular ended up bowling 50 overs across both innings, the second time in his career he has had such a heavy workload in a single Test.”It’s tough to get the ball out of his hand,” Buttler said. “He’s got such incredible skill and a massive heart, and he wants to be in the action all of the time. He’s an all-action cricketer. We have to manage his workload but it’s tough to do that when he just wants to keep going, he has an incredible level of fitness and desire to keep going.”I think watching him train, everything he does [is 100%]. He has to manage it but he’s good at doing that. He has an incredible amount of energy. Of course the management and captain want to look after the players, especially someone like that, but try telling him not to be involved or to take a rest.”For the remainder of the Test, however, it will be over to Stokes’ batting, and that of the rest of a chastened team, as they seek to build on the early efforts of Rory Burns and Keaton Jennings, and atone for their first-innings failings.”It’s an opportunity for everyone one to 11,” Buttler said. “After the first innings, everyone is determined to have a much better showing. The two guys at the top are no different to anyone else, we all want to give a much better account of ourselves.”We just have to take the 600 out of the thought process,” he added. “Hour by hour, session by session, playing as well as you can and seeing where that gets you. It could be a daunting task, so we just have to break it down as much as we can.”