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Pakistan and Afghanistan, two teams who are very familiar with the conditions in UAE, will be up against each other for the first time in the Asia Cup, on Wednesday, and only the third time in T20Is. Though Pakistan have a perfect record against Afghanistan – having won both the matches in 2013 and 2019 – it’s going to be anybody’s game in Sharjah.Having kicked off the Asia Cup with two impressive wins against higher-ranked Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the group stage, Afghanistan endured a defeat to Dasun Shanaka’s men after posting 175 for 6 in their first Super 4 match. But there were takeaways for them. First of all, it was a close game. And overall, they’ve shown they no longer just rely on the spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and captain Mohammad Nabi for wickets anymore. Their fast bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq have emerged as match-winners for them.In the batting department, the likes of Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have all stepped up to the challenge. They will need to keep to those levels if Afghanistan are to make the final.Pakistan, meanwhile, have been able to put up convincing victories despite injuries to key players and their captain being out of form. Mohammad Rizwan has done well to cover for Babar Azam, with 192 runs from three innings. The likes of Fakhar Zaman and Khushdil Shah have also chipped in, and in the previous match, against India, allrounder Mohammad Nawaz blazed away to 42 off 20 balls after being promoted to No.4.Bowling still remains their biggest strength, with spinners Shadab Khan and Nawaz sharing 13 wickets between them from three matches. Add the young Naseem Shah to the picture and the attack looks even more potent.While a victory will take Pakistan to the final after having beaten defending champions India in a last-over thriller, they will have to overcome a highly motivated opponent as Afghanistan themselves chase their first win in the Super 4s.

Form guide

Pakistan: WWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Afghanistan: LWWLW

In the spotlight

Filling in a Shaheen Shah Afridi-sized hole in Pakistan’s bowling line-up isn’t easy, but Naseem Shah, just three T20Is old, has proved he can come close. He burst on the scene in red-ball cricket with his searing pace and swing, and turns out, that combination works in the shorter formats too. The 19-year-old has picked up five wickets in three matches so far in the competition and will have a big role to play in restricting Afghanistan’s improved batting. Especially with the experienced Haris Rauf struggling a little bit.Naseem Shah has starred with five wickets from three matches•AFP/Getty Images

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is coming off an 84 off 45 balls against Sri Lanka – albeit in a losing cause. He also hit an 18-ball 40 in a low-key chase in the Asia Cup opener. With a strike rate of 166.66 in the Asia Cup, the hard-hitting opener presents a serious threat to the Pakistan bowlers. He is also among a key group of players Afghanistan will be relying on to lift them up from the bottom of the Super 4 table.

Pitch and conditions

The team batting first will be looking to score big, as has been the case in two out of three matches played in Sharjah. Pakistan posted 193 against Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka chased down Afghanistan’s 175.

Team news

Rizwan, who injured his knee on Sunday, has been cleared to play by the Pakistan medical team and will keep his place both at the top of the order, and behind the wicket.Pakistan (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Iftikhar Ahmed, 5 Khushdil Shah, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Asif Ali, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad HasnainAfghanistan are unlikely to make changes.Afghanistan: 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Karim Janat, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have won both their T20Is against Afghanistan in the past.
• Shadab Khan’s economy rate of 5.43 is the best among Pakistan players (with a minimum of five overs) at this Asia Cup.  
• Rashid Khan has dismissed Babar five times in T20s, conceding 58 runs off 48 balls

“Winning ugly” might be a fairly new facet of Australia’s game, but given that it worked in their Commonwealth Games semi-final, they won’t be afraid to go there again when they face India for the gold medal.Beth Mooney, who combined with Tahlia McGrath to lift the title favourites from another troubled start for the second match running, admitted New Zealand had got a little too close for comfort before Australia won their semi-final at Edgbaston by five wickets and three balls to spare.Related

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A key to this Australian team’s success – they are looking to add the inaugural women’s Commonwealth Games cricket title to their T20I and ODI world crowns – is their justifiable confidence that if one player or area of their game falls down, someone is there to step into the breach.”The belief in the dressing room is probably at an unprecedented level, to be honest, just because we seem to find a way to win and win ugly,” Mooney said.”It’s not always pretty, which perhaps in the past – probably five or six years ago – we were looking for that perfect game and trying to make it look as good as it could. We’ve sort of got an understanding now that it can look a bit ugly at times.”Tonight wasn’t the ugliest we’ve played, but there are certainly a few things we can touch up on before tomorrow.”On this occasion, Australia stumbled to 28 for 2 in pursuit of 145 for a place in the gold-medal match-up with India. But a 56-run partnership between Mooney and McGrath steadied the innings and kept Australia on top of the required run rate at most times.And, while the duo didn’t kick on to the heights of their century-plus stand from a similar situation in their last group game against Pakistan, a composed innings of 19 not out from Ashleigh Gardner as the common thread in stands of 26 with Rachael Haynes and an unbroken 16 with Grace Harris, meant Australia were always in touch and ultimately able to overhaul the target.”From my point of view, I was pretty disappointed to get out at the time I did just because the game was sort of in our hands a bit,” said Mooney. “I thought Rachael and I could get us home and hosed from that position, so that was disappointing, and probably something for me to reflect on.”But I think at the same time, Ash and Grace showed their maturity again and got us over the line. We can’t discount New Zealand. They’re a great side and really put us onto the pump tonight, as they have done over the last few years.”Tahlia McGrath made another significant contribution to take Australia towards victory•Getty Images

Just as Mooney and McGrath had rescued Australia against Pakistan, Gardner and Harris did the same with a 51-run stand for the sixth wicket against India, who defeated England by four runs in the other semi-final.”Ash is showing a different side of her game, which is really exciting for this group and for Ash herself. I think she’s absolutely going to be a player for our team for a long period of time that can win games for us off her own bat,” Mooney reflected.”I’m really excited to see that, and obviously the evolution of Grace has been pretty special. Seeing her back in the green and gold and being able to contribute like she has, and those guys will play for a long time, so for me, it’s always going to be nervous on the sideline until we get the winning runs, but today, they made it look a bit easier than it probably was.”At the T20 World Cup in 2020, Australia lost their opening match to India and then won their final clash. At this tournament, Australia won their first group game – also against India – with an over remaining and they are ready for the challenge India will pose again.”Semi-finals are tough,” Mooney added. “We do feel for England, it looked like a pretty tough game. But we also know the threat that India pose and we certainly didn’t take New Zealand lightly tonight either.”They really challenged us at times and I’m sure India will bring a similar game plan tomorrow against us, so hopefully we’re ready for that and can put on a show for it.”New Zealand were left to rue a rash of missed chances on the field against Australia. But Suzie Bates, New Zealand’s leading run-scorer and second behind Smriti Mandhana for the tournament, said all focus would now be on their bronze-medal play-off against hosts England, who beat them by seven wickets with 50 balls to spare in their last group match.”I always believe, and that’s one thing about this team is that we always fight and, especially against Australia, we fight right to the end,” Bates said just 12 hours before the start of their next game. “We know that we’ve got to give it our best and it’s disappointing, but I’m just really proud of the game that we put up after a really disappointing effort against England.”It just gives us confidence going into tomorrow, but tonight there’s going to be moments that are going to wake us up because there are some chances that we didn’t quite take. That’s cricket and you’ve got to be at your best against Australia.”It is quick, but you only get one chance to win a Commonwealth Games medal, so there’s going to be no problems for motivation. We can reflect on that [game against Australia] after the tournament. Right now it’s just about getting ourselves ready for tomorrow.”

Cooped up in a bio-bubble while a new Covid-19 variant causes panic, the India A team will take on South Africa A in the second unofficial Test from Tuesday in Bloemfontein with some senior side aspirants hoping to make an impression.The first four-day game ended in a draw due to inclement weather on Friday last week even as the detection of the B.1.1.529 Covid-19 variant, which was named Omicron by the WHO, forced many countries to impose international travel restrictions on South Africa.The uncertain situation also led to the Netherlands abandoning their last two ODIs against South Africa which were scheduled in Johannesburg.However, India A have stayed put in Bloemfontein inside a bio-bubble. The matches are being played without spectators and the India senior team is also due to arrive in the country by December 9 for a nearly seven-week assignment starting December 17.If the situation deteriorates, it can jeopardise the tour which involves three Tests, three ODIs and four T20Is across four venues — Johannesburg, Centurion, Paarl, and Cape Town.However, the India A players will need to keep the thoughts of the new variant at bay and focus on the task at hand as they revive their battle with South Africa A here.In the first game, India A batters produced a good show with Abhimanyu Easwaran hitting a solid hundred and captain Priyank Panchal scoring 96 to take them to 308 for 4 in response to South Africa’s 509 for 7 declared when rain washed out the final day.Opener Prithvi Shaw also scored a fine 48 and he would look to make the most of the good batting conditions.Hanuma Vihari, who was not picked for the two home Tests against New Zealand, could manage just 25 at No. 4 and would be eager to make up for it in the second game.However, the visiting team’s bowling is an area of concern as it allowed the hosts to pile up a mountain of runs at the Mangaung Oval.While Navdeep Saini, who has lost his place in the Indian team, and his pace partner Arzan Nagwaswalla took two wickets each, Umran Malik, who was picked in the A squad after impressing with his extra pace in the IPL, also snapped one.Among the three spinners, Rahul Chahar, who was part of the recent home T20I series against New Zealand, conceded 125 runs for his one wicket, while K Gowtham and Baba Aparajith failed to cause any damage.For the hosts, Pieter Malan (163) and Tony de Zorzi (117) shone bright with respective tons, while three other batters – Jason Smith, Sinethemba Qeshile and George Linde – further piled on the agony on the Indian bowlers with half-centuries.In the bowling department, fast bowler Lutho Sipamla and left-arm spinner Linde scalped a couple of wickets each but the others were not very effective.India A: Priyank Panchal (capt), Prithvi Shaw, Hanuma Vihari, Arzan Nagwaswalla, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, K Gowtham, Baba Aparajith, Rahul Chahar, Ishan Porel, Saurabh Kumar, Umran Malik, Upendra Yadav (wk).South Africa A: Peter Malan (capt), Dominic Hendricks, Raynard van Tonder, Jason Smith, Tony de Zorzi, Sarel Erwee, Senuran Muthusamy, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Migael Pretorius, Sinethemba Qeshile (wk), Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman.

A 117-run stand between KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma topped off a superb team effort with the ball in dewy conditions as India wrapped up victory in the T20I series against New Zealand with one match still remaining. Both openers made half-centuries during which their calculated risks came off at just the right times to ensure that a potentially tricky chase proved more or less straightforward, even if there was a minor blip towards the end with three wickets falling for the addition of 20 runs.

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Live coverage of the India vs New Zealand series is available in the USA on ESPN+. You can subscribe to ESPN+, and also watch the match highlights in English and in Hindi.

Having won their second straight toss – Rohit has so far proven markedly better at this skill than his predecessor Virat Kohli – India didn’t get off to the best of starts, with Martin Guptill clattering 31 off 15 as New Zealand dominated their powerplay. But the bowlers, led by R Ashwin and the debutant Harshal Patel, pulled things back magnificently, and the openers laid the perfect platform for a chase that India eventually wrapped up with 16 balls to spare.Guptill tees off
Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a terrific first over by most measures, going full, finding swing, and causing Guptill all sorts of bother. But it ended with Bhuvneshwar wicketless and Guptill on 14 off 6, having hit three fours – none of which came off the true middle of the bat – and having been dropped once, by Rahul running back from mid-on.The swing dissipated, and the runs kept flowing, with the dew – which set in even before the match began – seemingly causing the ball to hurry onto the bat and allow both openers to hit fluently through the line. Guptill did the bulk of the hitting, and had already hit two vintage straight sixes before Deepak Chahar dismissed him with a well-directed short ball in the fifth over. For the second match in a row, he had dismissed Guptill immediately after being hit for six. New Zealand at that point were 48 for 1 in 4.2 overs.The slowdown
Mark Chapman found the boundary twice before the powerplay ended, and at 64 for 1, New Zealand looked on course for 180 or more. But a combination of superb bowling, a pitch that turned out to be less of a belter than it had initially seemed, and a batting line-up that couldn’t quite come to grips with either ensured they ended up well short.As he has been in every match since his comeback to India’s white-ball set-up, Ashwin was imperious, varying pace, trajectory, line and release expertly to ensure the ball never quite arrived where the batter wanted it, or in the way that he wanted it to. And once again, his range of angles and variations allowed him to make a mockery of theoretical match-ups. By the end of his four overs – which he ended with figures of 1 for 19 – he had bowled 71 balls to right-hand batters since his T20I comeback, while conceding just 51 runs and zero boundaries.Harshal’s slower ball, meanwhile, proved just as effective on international debut as it had done through his record-breaking 2021 IPL season, in conjunction with the long boundaries at the JSCA Stadium. He conceded just 25 in his four overs, and took the wickets of Mitchell and Glenn Phillips, both caught in the deep.Post-powerplay, New Zealand only scored 89 at 6.36 per over, with Mitchell, Chapman, Tim Seifert and James Neesham combining to score 36 off 51 after the fields spread out. That New Zealand ended up with 153 was largely down to the fast hands of Phillips, who hit three sixes in scoring 34 off 21.Harshal Patel picked up the key wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips•BCCI

The calm, the storm
The target didn’t demand that India explode off the blocks, and that allowed Rahul and Rohit to ease their way into their innings. Rahul took the bulk of the strike in the powerplay – 26 balls to Rohit’s 10 – and moved smoothly to 32 in that time, timing the ball quite exquisitely on occasion – a drive past mid-off and a flat six over extra-cover, both off Trent Boult, were particularly easy on the eye.At the 6-over mark, India were 45 for no loss, and the next three overs – bowled by Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner – brought no boundaries. In the first T20I, Suryakumar Yadav had taken control of his match-up against Todd Astle’s legspin, allowing Rohit to bat at a relaxed tempo against spin after a rollicking start against the quicks; now, with neither Rohit nor Rahul particularly renowned for going after spin in the middle overs, there was potential for anxiety to creep into India’s innings despite the required rate being under control.Rohit put any such anxiety to bed by taking on Santner in the 10th over. Premeditating for Santner’s stock ball – sliding in from back of a length with the angle from left-arm around – Rohit made a massive amount of hitting room and pulled his first ball for six.Then he cleared his front leg and hit another flat slider for a six over long-on. Santner nearly had his revenge next ball when he slowed down his pace, got the ball to turn and bounce a little more than usual, and got Rohit to miscue a slog-sweep, but Boult put down a difficult chance running in from long-on.Rahul and Rohit then took 26 off the next two overs, off Adam Milne and Boult, and India were 105 for no loss with the required rate down to nearly a run a ball.Southee triggers a wobble
Much like it did for Harshal, the slower ball into the pitch began to bring Tim Southee rewards. On 65, Rahul looked to whip him over the leg side boundary but failed to clear the boundary rider. In his next over, Southee got a slower ball to hold on the pitch and climb awkwardly at Rohit, who popped a catch to short cover. When Suryakumar bottom-edged another slower cutter into his stumps at the end of that over, India had two new batters at the crease with 17 required from 24.A vaguely similar situation had led to an unexpectedly close finish in Jaipur, but India didn’t let it go that deep here. Venkatesh Iyer – promoted to No. 3 after not being needed with the ball yet again – looked nervy but picked up a pair of edged fours, before Rishabh Pant completed the job, smacking Neesham for back-to-back sixes at the start of the 18th over, ending the game with a trademark one-handed hit.

Eliminated Southern Punjab (SP) closed out their campaign with a win over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) thanks to a 48-ball 78 from Tayyab Tahir, and several high-impact cameos lower down the order.After being put in to bat, Tahir got SP off to a brisk start at his end, but with Sharoon Siraj and Agha Salman struggling to get going, KP kept the innings in check through to the midway period. But then a combined 49 off 26 balls from Azam Khan and Aamer Yamin helped lift SP, racking up 98 in the last 51 balls. Niaz Khan and Maaz Khan came in for particular punishment, going for a combined 74 in seven overs.KP got off to a wretched start in the chase, losing three quick wickets and managing just 29 in the powerplay. It left them with nearly two runs a ball to fetch from the last 14 overs, and they might have crumbled completely if it wasn’t for a 79-run stand between Kamran Ghulam and Nabi Gul, who scored 46 and 54 respectively.Needing 63 off the last five, the required rate was just about manageable, with Iftikhar Ahmed giving it a good go towards the end by whacking an unbeaten 33 in 21. But with the crucial wicket of Gul at the hands of Mohammad Ilyas, SP were a bit too far ahead in the game and saw off KP with 11 runs to spare.Wahab Riaz looks to scoop over short fine leg•Getty Images

A late cameo from Wahab Riaz broke Balochistan hearts to eliminate them from the tournament, with Central Punjab going top of the table after a thrilling three-wicket win.Wahab’s side, who opted to field first, looked to have the game effectively wrapped up in the first ten overs, with Sameen Gul and Mohammad Faizan ripping through the Balochistan top order. Five of the top six failed to reach double figures but opener Abdullah Shafique hung on, his key sixth wicket partnership with Amad Butt, who smacked an unbeaten 43 off 27 balls, ensuring Balochistan would have at least something to defend. Shafique top scored with 60, while Umaid Asif added late fireworks with a five-ball 15. General sloppiness hampered Central Punjab’s cause, 11 wides allowing Balochistan to finish with 162.Balochistan kept chipping away at Central Punjab, picking up regular wickets and ensuring they remained behind the asking rate slightly. Muhammad Akhlaq, Hussain Talat and Faheem Ashraf all contributed cameos, but with each of them falling just as Central Punjab established control, there were worries they’d run out of batsmen. But with Central Punjab needed 29 off 18, a spectacular 18th over which saw Butt belted for four sixes – three at Wahab’s hands – broke Balochistan spirits and hearts. Central Punjab cruised to victory with 11 deliveries to spare, and, alongside Southern Punjab, Balochistan, too saw their campaign come to an end.

Paul Walter hit his fourth LV= Insurance Championship half-century of the season as Essex eked out a painstaking 74-run lead on a sun-baked Chelmsford day when 15 wickets fell.The tall left-hander was the only batsmen to get to grips with a worn pitch on which Gloucestershire were bowled out for a paltry 76 in 28 overs before lunch. Gloucestershire were undone in double-quick time as seamer Jamie Porter marked his 100th first-class appearance with 4 for 32, supported in a blistering opening spell by Sam Cook, who claimed 3 for 27.Division Two leaders Essex started in similar downbeat mode until Walter stepped in. By the close of the first day he had reached 71 not out from 189 balls.Gloucestershire, put in, were soon in trouble. Porter had Miles Hammond and Ben Charlesworth pinned lbw in successive overs. Cook then removed James Beacey and Tom Lace with consecutive balls, Bracey edging an outswinger and Lace misjudging one and losing his off stump.A third wicket in nine balls fell without addition when Chris Dent edged to second slip. He was soon followed by Graeme van Buuren, who left one from Cook that jagged back and removed his off stump.Ryan Higgins adopted an aggressive approach, but lost seventh-wicket partner Ollie Price, who slashed wildly to fourth slip for Porter’s fourth scalp. Simon Harmer took just three overs to wrap up the Gloucestershire innings taking the final three wickets for just two runs. Zafar Khan swept to square leg, Higgins was snaffled at short leg to end a 60-ball 25, and David Payne was bowled pushing forward.The procession of wickets continued at the start of Essex’s reply: it took 30 overs to post their first 50, by which time they were four wickets down.Nick Browne wafted at Payne in the third over while Alastair Cook went seven overs later when trapped in front by Higgins for 15. Tom Westley departed lbw for a 38-ball 2 and Michael Pepper tickled a lifter from Payne.Walter and Josh Rymell steadied the ship for 16 overs before tea, but four balls after the break Zafar turned one sharply and found the edge of Rymell’s bat.Walter had taken 20 balls to get off the mark, but quietly eased Essex into the lead He was joined by Adam Wheater (30 not out) in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 75 that threatened to take the game away from the visitors.

Big picture

The series was of significant importance for both teams in their preparations ahead of the T20 World Cup but so far rain has ruled the headlines, ditching all the promises for the series. With two of three games washed out and one game slashed before the series began, Pakistan come into the final match against West Indies 1-0 ahead.Pakistan’s run-scoring has revolved around Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. They have rejigged their line-up to break the two up, playing Sharjeel Khan as an opener, but the washouts mean they haven’t gathered enough evidence to vindicate the tweak. The middle-order conundrum is deeper than ever with Mohammad Hafeez’s silent bat, misfiring Sohaib Maqsood and inexperienced Azam Khan out with an injury.For a while now, Hafeez has been in the side mainly because of his batting with his bowling being used on an as-and-when-needed basis. However, his four-over spell – at an economy of 1.50 – in the only completed game, earned him the Player-of-the-Match award and has been a big positive for Pakistan. More of that in the final T20I will give Pakistan wider options for the World Cup to be played in the UAE, where pitches are more conducive to spin.

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The West Indies vs Pakistan series is available in the US on ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the match.

West Indies, under Kieron Pollard, were hoping to know most of their first-choice picks by the end of this series but have not learnt much either. Despite restricting Pakistan to 157 in the second T20I, their dangerous batting order failed to display the firepower they are synonymous with. Only Nicholas Pooran made any impression, scoring an unbeaten 62 runs off 33 balls.On Tuesday, Pakistan will be eyeing an away series win, and while winning remains paramount, what they would seek is batters apart from Rizwan and Azam to raise their hands. Before the series, Azam had promised to check the bench strength. In that sense, this game gives both sides yet another opportunity to finetune their respective team combinations.

Form guide

West Indies LWLWW (last five completed T20I, most recent first)
Australia WLLWW

In the spotlight

Chris Gayle scored a match-winning 67 against Australia but against Pakistan, has scored 7, 16 and 1*. In the last 12 months, he is averaging 16.53 with a strike rate of 114.97 with just one half-century in 15 T20Is. His T20 numbers aren’t great either; this year he has played 25 innings and averaged 22.72 at a strike rate of 130.20. The last calendar year where he averaged less than 25 in T20s was in 2010. West Indies will have to see whether he’s strengthening the batting unit or weakening it.Gayle showed he still has the hands for international cricket against Australia, can he repeat it against Pakistan?•AFP

Pakistan’s middle and lower order will be under scrutiny. In the last completed game, they were well set to go past 180 but finished with a middling 157, including just 23 runs in the last four overs despite a fairly long batting line-up. Maqsood’s success has largely been built batting in the top order, but being sent in at No. 7 is reducing his effectiveness. Fakhar Zaman and Hafeez’s numbers keep fluctuating, and the pinch-hitting stocks of Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali dip when transitioning from T20s to T20Is. Can they come together to the best of their potential this time around?

Team news

With their two-first choice openers nursing injuries – Lendl Simmons was injured in the first match and Evin Lewis retired hurt in the second – Gayle could open alongside Andre Fletcher.West Indies (probable): 1 Andre Fletcher, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Shimron Hetmyer 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk) 5 Kieron Pollard (capt), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Dwayne Bravo, 10 Hayden Walsh, 11 Akeal HoseinIt’s likely that Haris Rauf remains in the XI after he replaced Shaheen Shah Afridi for the washed-out third match. Azam Khan, however, could make it to the XI if he is cleared by the medical team.Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Babar Azam, (capt) 4 Fakhar Zaman, 5 Mohammad Hafeez, 6 Sohaib Maqsood/Azam Khan, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Hasan Ali, 9 Mohammad Wasim, 10 Usman Qadir, 11 Haris Rauf

Pitch and conditions

With rain predicted for the week as a whole, there is a chance that the contest may be a shortened one. However, there is a clear window in the day but conditions are expected to be overcast. Win toss, bowl first may be the best bet.

Stats and trivia

• During the second T20I, Rizwan became the most-prolific run-getter in a single calendar year in the format.

Maia Bouchier and Charlie Dean have earned maiden call-ups to the England Women’s squad for next month’s three-match T20I series against New Zealand.The Southern Vipers duo, who played for Southern Brave and London Spirit respectively in the Hundred, are the only additions to the group which defeated India 2-1 in their T20I series in July.Related

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Bouchier, a middle-order batter, scored an unbeaten half-century in her last outing of the Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 competition before scoring 92 runs in seven innings during the Hundred at an average of 30.66 and with a strike rate of 143.75.Allrounder Dean claimed a wicket and scored 22 as part of an England A team which beat New Zealand by four wickets in a 50-over match on Monday, the visitors’ first warm-up match of their tour.Sophia Dunkley continues her breakthrough season, retaining her place in the T20I squad after finishing as the Hundred’s third-highest run-scorer and making Test and ODI fifties during India’s recent tour of England. Danni Wyatt, who scored a series-sealing 89 not out in the final T20I of that tour after being overlooked for the other two legs, was also included in the squad to face New Zealand.Lauren Winfield-Hill and Kate Cross both miss out again, while England have not been tempted to pick 17-year-old allrounder Alice Capsey despite her exploits for Oval Invincibles in their late charge to the Hundred title.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Lisa Keightley, England Women’s head coach, praised the revamped domestic structure in England and Wales for creating a deeper talent pool from which to select international players, beyond those on central contracts with the ECB.”We’re looking at more players than ever before, which is so exciting,” Keightley said. “The fact that so many other players are sticking their hand up and pushing for selection is testament to the progress the domestic structure is allowing the women’s game to make.”We’re seeing improvements across the board, and there were a number of young English players who also shone in The Hundred, which bodes really well for the future. This is another big series for us, and I want the team to continue from where they left off in the series win over India.”The T20I series against New Zealand begins on September 1 at Chelmsford, followed by fixtures at Hove and Taunton with five ODIs after that, for which England are yet to name a squad.Elsewhere, the ECB have confirmed the venues for the remaining women’s domestic finals. The Ageas Bowl will host the play-off and final of the Charlotte Edwards Cup on September 5, with the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final staged at Wantage Road in Northampton on September 25.Fixtures:Wednesday, September 1: 1st T20I, Chelmsford
Saturday, September 4: 2nd T20I, Hove
Thursday, September 9: 3rd T20I, Taunton

Big Picture

“You could say it’s David and Goliath, but David beat Goliath and hopefully that can work for us.”Andy Balbirnie has probably rehearsed that line hundreds of times and knows he will need to bring it out hundreds more but showed no sign of being worn down by the inevitable question of whether the match-up between Ireland and South Africa is a foregone conclusion. One of the intentions of the World Cup Super League is that there aren’t supposed to be any dead-rubbers because teams are always playing for points. And in South Africa’s case, they need plenty.South Africa lie in last place on the league table but, along with Zimbabwe, have played the fewest number of games. That is set to change over the next few months. After these Ireland matches, South Africa are due to make up postponed fixtures against Sri Lanka later in the year and hope to have both India and England in the calendar, after matches have been pushed back. For them, Ireland is a chance to start climbing the points’ ladder and setting on combinations under a relatively new captain in Temba Bavuma.Since taking over as white-ball captain in March, Bavuma has only led in one ODI series, against Pakistan, which came almost a year after South Africa last played the format, against Australia in March 2020. South Africa swept that series 3-0 and until their recent tour of the Caribbean, it was the format where they had enjoyed the most success under Mark Boucher and arguably, the format on which they are placing the most importance. Boucher and Bavuma have both been appointed until the 2023 World Cup.Ireland also put a lot of emphasis on the fifty-over game but did themselves no favours when they were beaten by Netherlands. They know they have much more in the tank though, and began their World Cup Super League campaign by taking points off England. They will have to summon that spirit to avoid falling into the stereotype of being the weaker team against South Africa. At least, they will have a small home crowd to cheer them on. Cricket Ireland have approved a limited number of fans – 560 – to be in attendance in Malahide.

Form guide

Ireland LWLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa LWLWWCurtis Campher leaps into his delivery stride•Getty Images

In the spotlight

South Africa run into former countrymen against several countries but this will be their first meeting with Curtis Campher, who is also among their most recent leavers. Campher played for the South African under-19 team as recently as 2018 and made his debut for Ireland two years later. In eight ODIs, he has scored three half-centuries, batting at No.7, bowled a full quota of 10 overs twice and is playing the role of a lower-order allrounder that South Africa currently lacks. But there’s unlikely to be any time or inclinations for what could have been from Campher’s side. He will be concentrating on making the best comeback he can, after undergoing ankle surgery in May and missing the series against Netherlands as a result.Temba Bavuma made his ODI debut against Ireland five years ago and scored a century to defy perceptions that he was a long-format specialist. He had to wait almost a year to play a second match and then two-and-half more years before getting a regular in the team and has since had two scores in the 90s in seven innings, as well as been named permanent captain. Bavuma has yet to make a definitive score as skipper after a middling tour of the Caribbean and may see an opportunity to do so in this Ireland series.

Team news

Ireland will make at least one change from their last outing, with Balbirnie confirming that William Porterfield will return to open the batting after being dropped for the third ODI in the Netherlands for Kevin O’Brien, who has since retired from 50-over cricket. Porterfield sustained an injury to his finger on match eve, prompting the selectors to add Jeremy Lawlor to the squad, but late in the evening, the veteran was deemed fit enough to take the field on the morrow. Conditions may demand an extra seamer but offspinning allrounders Simi Singh and Andy McBrine have been successful throughout the year bowling in the middle overs, meaning Mark Adair may start the series on the bench. Campher is expected to replace George Dockrell as the batting allrounder in the middle order.Ireland: (possible) 1 Paul Stirling, 2 William Porterfield, 3 Andy Balbirnie (capt), 4 Harry Tector, 5 Curtis Campher, 6 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 7 Simi Singh, 8 Andy McBrine, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Josh Little, 11 Craig YoungThe XI that last won an ODI for South Africa are all in the squad and if they play, that will mean a first appearance for Andile Phehlukwayo on this tour. He did not feature in the T20Is in the Caribbean as South Africa dispensed with the seam-bowling allrounder in favour of a spin-bowling one, but are likely to return to more pace-friendly conditions. South Africa may also want to start strongly by returning to their first-choice pack back in action after Anrich Nortje missed the final T20I in Grenada as a precaution after being hit on the knee.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 David Miller, 6 Heinrich Klaasen, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi

Pitch and conditions

South Africa are expecting run-scoring to be more free-flowing than it was in the Caribbean, although they will be wary of the moving ball in the early stages of their innings. There is some grass on the surface which should aid seam movement, but if the top-order batters can negotiate that and get in, there’s every chance of a score in excess of 300 on a ground with small boundaries. That’s if they get much opportunity to bat at all. There’s a more than 70% chance of rain expected throughout the day on Sunday.

Stats and trivia

• Ireland and South Africa have played five ODIs against each other, three at World Cups, and South Africa have won all five.
• Paul Stirling is Ireland’s highest-ranked ODI batter, at No.20 on the ICC’s ODI rankings. Only two South Africans, Faf du Plessis (8), and Quinton de Kock (11) are ranked above him and of those, only de Kock will be playing in this series.

Quotes

“The ODIs are hugely important, more so maybe than the T20Is because of what the points carry, as opposed to the T20Is. But all games you play for Ireland are important but certainly a lot of our focus for the last two or three weeks – albeit we’ve had those festivals – has been on one-day cricket and how we can get the best out of these three games and the three following. The T20s are a good chance to express ourselves and go out all guns blazing against them, and try to produce results.””There are similarities. The style, the philosophy and the thinking is generally quite the same. We would like to continue that same type language and feel throughout both formats. We are quite fortunate that we have a majority of guys that play fifty-over as well as T20 so when you talk about a culture, it becomes easier to allow that to flow. It allows us to speak the same type of language through the different formats.”Temba Bavuma hopes for continuity in the white-ball formats for South Africa. *This preview was amended at 4.30pm GMT to reflect that William Porterfield was back with the squad despite his finger injury.