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Left-hand batter Ben Curran and left-arm seamer Newman Nyamhuri have received their maiden call-ups to the Zimbabwe squad for their home T20I and ODI series against Afghanistan starting December 11.The 28-year-old Curran is the England-born middle brother of England internationals Sam and Tom Curran, and the son of former Zimbabwe international and coach Kevin Curran. Ben represented Northamptonshire until 2022 before moving to play cricket in Zimbabwe, where he spent much of his childhood.This season, he is the leading run-scorer in both the Pro50 List A competition and the first-class Logan Cup competition, and had recently made himself available for Zimbabwe selection. He has been called up only for the ODI series.

ZIM vs AFG in Harare

T20I series: December 11, 13, 14.
ODI series: December 17, 19, 21.

Nyamhuri, the 18-year-old quick, was Zimbabwe’s highest wicket-taker in the 2024 men’s U-19 World Cup. His two List-A outings for Southern Rocks include a 4 for 43 last week. He is in both the T20I and ODI squads.The selection committee left out Faraz Akram, Brandon Mavuta and Clive Madande from their last assignment against Pakistan. Victor Nyauchi makes a return to the ODI squad as well, while opener Takudzwanashe Kaitano is in line to make a T20I debut. Akram is part of the T20I squad.Zimbabwe’s three-match T20I series against Afghanistan gets underway on December 11 with the second and third T20I scheduled for December 13 and 14 respectively. The ODI leg will be played on December 17, 19 and 21. All white-ball matches will be staged in Harare. The two teams will then play a two-match Test series in Bulawayo from December 26.

Zimbabwe squads for white-ball series vs Afghanistan

T20I squad: Sikandar Raza (capt), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Trevor Gwandu, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Newman NyamhuriODI squad: Craig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Joylord Gumbie, Trevor Gwandu, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams

Usman Khawaja has brushed aside the perceived need for quick top-order Test runs as a “myth” in endorsing new Australian opening partner Nathan McSweeney.The 25-year-old will debut against India in Perth’s first Test from next Friday. McSweeney, the South Australian skipper and former Queensland team-mate of Khawaja’s, will be in unfamiliar territory, given he bats at No. 3 for his state. Steven Smith will shift back to his preferred No. 4 after a short-lived audition to replace the retired David Warner last summer.Related

• Neser hamstrung as Test back-up but Richardson comeback gains speed

• The tough runs that propelled McSweeney to new world of opening

• McSweeney to open in first Test, Inglis handed call-up

• Mature McSweeney making his mark in South Australia

Warner struck at 70.76 in 143 first-class games, while the more measured McSweeney’s strike rate is 41.92 in 34 first-class matches. Khawaja scores slightly quicker than McSweeney but laughed off the suggestion Australia’s Test fortunes would be scuppered by a lower scoring rate against the new ball.”I don’t know where this myth started that you need someone to score really fast to do well,” Khawaja said on Wednesday. “You’ve got five days to do it…I don’t know why you need to score fast.”Opening’s as much about scoring runs as it is about being able to absorb. Davey was special; he could score runs while absorbing but he didn’t do it [score fast] every time. He was consistent; out there and setting a platform, and Nathan does that very well.”Usman Khawaja has been in solid form this season•Getty Images

McSweeney, once an offspinning No.6, was yet to cement his place at Queensland when he left for Adelaide seeking what he figured would be greater opportunities in 2021. He’s flourished since and relished the responsibility of captaincy, Khawaja joking a haircut to remove the “boofy curls” had also helped his cause.Commentary has centred around McSweeney’s task of adapting to the new role at the top of the order. But Khawaja, himself a former No. 3, said he shouldn’t overthink it.”There’s no guarantees in cricket…but he doesn’t have to do anything different,” Khawaja said. “Just repeat the process. He’s been able to handle the pressure at Shield level. When you look at his demeanour, the way he plays, you do kind of feel over a longer period of time he’ll be able to handle the scrutiny, the pressure of Test cricket.”Khawaja on Wednesday detailed plans to link his Usman Khawaja Foundation annually with the Gabba Test, which will this year be the third in the series from December 14. It’s purpose is to assist youth from refugee, immigrant, Indigenous, rural, remote and low-socio economic backgrounds through cricket and educational programs.The fundraiser will include a pre-Test lunch, with proceeds from the gate and an auction including Pakistan star Babar Azam’s Test shirt going to the charity.”We’ve got the pink Test in Sydney,” Khawaja said of the high-profile McGrath Foundation fundraiser. “We’re trying to make the Usman Khawaja Foundation a part of the Gabba Test. I didn’t speak English [when arriving in Australia from Pakistan as a child]…cricket broke down the barriers for me.I never felt isolated when I played sport.”

Two months after sprinter Julien Alfred delivered St Lucia’s first Olympic medal, St Lucia’s very own Daren Sammy and his Kings gave the region its maiden CPL title, silencing a packed crowd at the Providence.The crowd had been at its loudest when Guyana Amazon Warriors reduced Kings to 51 for 4 in their chase of 139 on a slow, two-paced surface. Kings went nine overs without a single boundary. Roston Chase was battling illness. Aaron Jones was struggling so much that Sammy contemplated retiring him out. Amazon Warriors’ four-pronged spin attack had their side dreaming of back-to-back titles.Jones, however, turned the tables on them and crushed their dream. After being on 10 off 19 balls, Jones zoomed to 38 off his next 12 balls, forging an unbroken 88-run partnership with Chase, who has been with Kings for five seasons.Chase played the Marlon Samuels role, something he’s been doing for West Indies for a while, and capped a stellar week for him, in which he had also earned a CWI central contract.

Amazon Warriors slow off the blocks

After being asked to bat first on a sluggish pitch, Amazon Warriors could only manage 27 runs in the powerplay for the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0) who had picked out mid-on in the very first over. This was the second fewest Amazon Warriors had scored in the first six overs in 13 games this season.Khary Pierre, who had spent much of his time at Trinbago Knight Riders in the shadows of Sunil Narine and Akeal Hosein, came away with 2-0-6-1 during this phase. As for Alzarri Joseph, he handcuffed Moeen Ali with wide lines before Afghanistan left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad had him miscuing a slog-sweep to midwicket for 14 off 20 balls. Then, in his next over, Noor also claimed the prized scalp of Shimron Hetmyer when he had him carving his stock ball to sweeper cover for 11 off nine balls.Shai Hope contributed 22 off 24 balls before Chase knocked him over with an offbreak that kept low. By the time, Noor finished his spell with figures of 4-0-19-3, Amazon Warriors were 102 for 7 in 18 overs.Noor ended the season with 22 wickets; only CPL legend Dwayne Bravo has bagged more wickets in a season (2015) in the league.Aaron Jones played a vital innings under pressure for St Lucia Kings•CPL T20 via Getty Images

Shepherd, Pretorius turn up the tempo

That Amazon Warriors eventually had a fairly competitive total on the board was down to the big-hitting of their finisher Romario Shepherd and Dwaine Pretorius, who was the Player of the Match in the CPL 2023 final. They combined for three sixes and two fours in the last two overs, which overall yielded 36 runs for Amazon Warriors.

Amazon Warriors roar back

Shepherd then struck with the new ball when he had Johnson Charles, one of the heroes for Kings this season, chopping on for seven off ten balls. After bowling that wicket-taking delivery, Shepherd walked off the field with some discomfort.Amazon Warriors’ slower bowlers then tightened the screws on Kings as Faf du Plessis, Ackeem Auguste and their New Zealand recruit Tim Seifert all fell in a space of three overs. Chase and Jones then got together but they couldn’t get the boundaries away.

Chase and Jones finish it off for Kings

After the calm, came the storm. The pair lined Moeen’s offspin up for a sequence of 6,6,4,6,4 in a 27-run 16th over. Just like that, they snatched the game from Amazon Warriors’ grasp.Jones also went after Pretorius in the next over, taking 20 runs off the 17th over. Shepherd returned to bowl, but by then the game was over for Amazon Warriors.Jones provided a throwback to his unbeaten 94 off 40 balls in the opening game of the 2024 T20 World Cup with his six-hitting and celebrated those maximums with animated fist pumps. That world tournament paved the way for Jones’ return to the CPL (as a local player through his Barbados passport) and he made it a memorable night for himself and Kings. Coach Sammy wrapping Jones up in a bear hug will be one of the most lasting images for Kings in this triumphant campaign.

Australia vs Sri Lanka

Sharjah, 2pm local timeAustralia squad: Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Tayla VlaeminckSri Lanka squad: Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilshari, Nilakshika Silva, Hasini Perera, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Sachini Nisansala, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoka Ranaweera, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana, Sugandika KumariRelated

• Healy: 'Not here to defend the title, here to win it'

• Wise beyond her years, Alice Capsey is forever learning

• England the heavyweights in Group B

Tournament form guide: After warming up with victories against Bangladesh and Scotland, Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka lost their tournament opener to Pakistan in Sharjah. Australia, not surprisingly, beat England and West Indies in the warm-ups, after batting first in both games.News brief: Sri Lanka are in a spot, having lost their opening match to lower-ranked Pakistan, that too by being restricted to 85 for 9 in a modest chase of 117. They will now play a day game against Australia in the heat of Sharjah – the same as their first game – so team changes may not be no the cards. Sri Lanka will have to pull up their socks on the field after putting down three catches, which cost them heavily on Thursday. Australia might go spin heavy too, like the teams did on the opening day, and they have enough allrounders to do that.Australia have never lost to Sri Lanka in T20Is, the last of which came in the 2023 T20 World Cup that saw Sri Lanka on the receiving end of a ten-wicket drubbing. Australia will, however, not want to be “Atha-ed”, what Alyssa Healy said is being smashed by Chamari Athapaththu.Player to watch: Player of the Tournament in the 2023 edition, Beth Mooney has had a few low scores in the lead up to the tournament, not managing to go past 15 in her five T20I innings. She did score 50 in the England warm-up, but she would want a big score in the main tournament too, along the lines of her unbeaten 99* off 54 balls in the Women’s Hundred not too long ago for Manchester Originals. A strong start with Healy at the top could flatten Sri Lanka early, batting first or second.Bangladesh put down four chances in their tournament opener against Scotland•ICC/Getty Images

Bangladesh vs England

Sharjah, 6pm local time Bangladesh squad: Nigar Sultana (capt, wk), Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Jahanara Alam, Dilara Akter, Taj Nehar, Shathi Rani, Disha Biswas England squad: Heather Knight (capt), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones (wk), Freya Kemp, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith, Danni WyattTournament form guide” In what is a ‘home’ World Cup for Bangladesh, they started things off on a positive note, with a 16-run win against Scotland, after they had also beaten Pakistan in the second warm-up. England started their warm-ups with a 33-run loss to Australia, before beating New Zealand by five wickets.News brief: Bangladesh now run into a much stronger side in England, who are more aggressive than their 2023 version, and are carrying spinners aplenty for this edition. England also have a fully fit team to choose from. Left-arm spinner Linsey Smith has returned, and also present are Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn and Alice Capsey, with her handy part-time offbreaks. England are likely to go with three frontline spinners for a pitch that aided turn and didn’t see much bounce.Bangladesh were restricted to 119 for 7 by Scotland in the opener, and scoring bigger or quicker against England will be a lot tougher. Bangladesh were the worst fielding side on the opening day, having put down four chances, and they will have to tighten that aspect if they want to think about beating England for the first time in women’s T20Is. This is an evening game, yet not as much dew is expected in Sharjah compared to Dubai, which might have been the reason why Pakistan opted to bat in the evening game here on Thursday.Player to watch: Ecclestone is, without doubt, England’s best spinner, but don’t take your eyes off legspinner Sarah Glenn. She has been England’s second-highest wicket-taker since the end of the 2023 T20 World Cup, with a tally of 26 just behind Ecclestone’s 29. But Glenn has gone for much fewer runs per over with an economy rate of 5.27, compared to Ecclestone’s 6.25. A handy bat down the order, this will be the third T20 World Cup for Glenn at the age of just 25.

Another Nat Sciver-Brunt batting masterclass allied a brilliant opening burst by left-arm seamer Alexa Stonehouse to ensure Trent Rockets are alive in this year’s Hundred with two huge games to come.For defending champions Southern Brave, however, with just a single victory all tournament, their difficult run shows no sign of abating.Skipper Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 60 from 37 balls – a seventh Hundred fifty for the England star – elevated the Rockets to a commanding 155 for 7 and took her past Danni Wyatt as the tournament’s all-time leading female run-scorer. With 933 tournament runs, she’s within sight of becoming the first woman to breach the 1000-run mark.She was given excellent support initially from Grace Scrivens (36 from 24) and then via cameos from Ash Gardner and Heather Graham. Only the death-bowling quality of Lauren Bell, who took three wickets in her final set of five, kept the Rockets in check.In reply, after Wyatt and Maia Bouchier fell to Stonehouse inside the first five balls, the latter via a beautiful inswinger that arced through the gate, the Brave were always up against it.Georgie Adams was punchy for her 27 before falling to a superb boundary throw from Katie George, and Smriti Mandhana was all touch and elegance for her 42 (27), but when she miscued a Graham off-break to backward point, the Brave were 82 for 4 after 69 balls and fading.Some lusty late-order blows by Chloe Tryon briefly threatened an upset – one six was launched 86 metres into the groundstaff’s shed – but the Rockets held their nerve to run out comfortable winners by 24 runs.MeerKat Match Hero Nat Sciver-Brunt acknowledged it was a team effort with contributions all the way through: “Their batters put us under the pump and made us go through a few plans with the ball but we found the right one in the end, and we held our nerve with our skill.”I had a good partnership with Grace Scrivens, we’d highlighted the need for that after the first few games so we were really pleased with how it went today.”After the first four games we felt pretty down – three close games and not coming out on the right side of it, so it takes some getting up for the next game, but we’ve come back really strongly and with two games to go who knows what can happen.”

Dinesh Karthik is set to become the first Indian player to feature in the SA20. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Karthik will join Paarl Royals as an overseas player ahead of the new season starting January 9.The SA20 will be the first tournament Karthik will play since announcing retirement from “representative cricket” in June on the day he turned 39. Karthik, who played 180 internationals for India, last featured in IPL 2024 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who have now signed him up as a mentor-cum-batting coach.On the T20 circuit, Karthik is rated by his peers among the sharpest pundits owing to his vast experience in the shortest format. Karthik, currently covering the Hundred for , has featured in 401 T20s and, in the IPL, played for six teams, which included leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Karthik also was among the fittest players in the IPL, having missed just two matches across 17 seasons.”I have so many fond memories of playing in and visiting South Africa,” Karthik said. “When this opportunity came about, I couldn’t say no because of how special it would be to come back to playing competitive cricket and win this incredible competition with the Royals.”Even though I didn’t have the chance to represent the Royals in the IPL, to me it was always a franchise setup and environment that was very attractive as a player. I am delighted to be joining the Paarl Royals team which oozes a lot of experience, quality and potential. I am certainly looking forward to joining the group and contributing to what should be an exciting season.”Only retired Indian players are allowed by BCCI to participate in overseas T20 leagues. Last year, Ambati Rayudu turned up to play for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the CPL and then in January 2024 with MI Emirates in the ILT20, while Robin Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan featured for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 too. Two years ago, Suresh Raina was part of Deccan Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10.Paarl Royals announced their retentions ahead of the new season last week, with captain David Miller, Lungi Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo making the cut. Royals made the Qualifiers in the last SA20 edition but suffered five straight losses, including a nine-wicket thumping in the Eliminator against Joburg Super Kings.”Dinesh has served as one of the modern day greats for India in white ball cricket, and his wealth of experience will contribute to the making of our side for Season 3,” Kumar Sangakkara, Royals’ director of cricket, said. “He has always proved to be a great asset for the teams he’s represented across leagues for the way he approaches the game and the impact he can make, so it’s an exciting signing for us and we look forward to having him with the group at Paarl.”Paarl Royals squad
David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Bjorn Fortuin, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dinesh Karthik, Mitchell van Buuren, Codi Yusuf, Keith Dudgeon, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dayyaan Galiem (traded in)

Not long after he was denied a US visa, Sandeep Lamichhane has landed in the West Indies to play Nepal’s last two league games in Kingstown, St Vincent. Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) told ESPNcricinfo on Monday that the board had requested the ICC to allow Lamichhane as a late addition to their World Cup squad, which the governing body has approved, and he does not require a visa for St Vincent.Lamichhane was not part of the original 15-man squad, which was also listed on the ICC website, announced last month and couldn’t fly with the contingent to the USA because he couldn’t get a US visa for that leg.All boards were allowed to make changes to their T20 World Cup 2024 squads by May 25, but when Lamichhane didn’t get a US visa even on second attempt, and Nepal were to play their first two games in the USA, CAN had said on May 30 that Lamichhane was going to miss the tournament. But CAN president Chatur Bahadur Chand told ESPNcricinfo on Monday that the board had originally submitted 14 names on May 24 to the ICC to allow for Lamichhane’s late addition. An ICC spokesperson also confirmed the allowance was given to Nepal since they had originally submitted only 14 names.Lamichhane, however, landed in the West Indies on June 9, local time, and tweeted that he was going to join the Nepal national team “for the last two matches,” which they are to play against South Africa on June 14 and Bangladesh on June 16.