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ScorecardThe Tamil Nadu team and support staff pose with the Deodhar Trophy•Andhra Cricket Association

Tamil Nadu clinched the 2016-17 Deodhar Trophy after Dinesh Karthik struck a 91-ball 126 to rescue his side, who were initially struggling at 39 for 3. Rahil Shah’s three crucial wickets – Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey and Gurkeerat Singh Mann – eventually helped them beat India B comprehensively by 42 runs in Visakhapatnam.Karthik, who recently scored a match-winning 112 in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy to help TN qualify for the Deodhar Trophy, carried a rich vein of form entering the three-team tournament. After knocks of 88 against Kerala, 81 against Tripura, 77 against Baroda and 112 in the Vijay Hazare final against Bengal, Karthik struck 93 crucial runs against India A two days ago before completing his tenth List A century on Wednesday.He came in at No. 5, after Dhawal Kulkarni ran through TN’s top three, and partnered N Jagadeesan in what would seem like a rebuilding process. But Karthik had other ideas, taking the challenge to the opposition, hitting 14 fours and three sixes to set up a strong platform for TN. Jagadeesan gave scored a patient 55 as the two built a 136-run fourth-wicket partnership. India B’s Axar Patel, who went for over six runs per over, finally removed Karthik in the 39th over, but by then the wicketkeeper-batsman had taken their run rate past the six-run mark. TN scored another 62 runs off the last 11 overs to finish on 303 for 9 even as wickets tumbled towards the finish. Kulkarni took two late wickets to finish with 5 for 39.After India B captain Parthiv Patel fell in the fourth over of the chase, Dhawan (45 off 34 balls) and Pandey (32) took on the TN bowlers. They added 64 runs off 45 balls to give their team a solid start. But a flurry of wickets and an untimely injury to Pandey pegged India B back. Dhawan was the first to go, in the 11th over, followed by Ishank Jaggi six balls later, before Pandey retired hurt for 23 at the score of 93 for 3. Gurkeerat kept the chase ticking with a well-constructed half-century but with wickets falling at the other end, India B succumbed to the rising required run rate and were all out for 261 in 46.1 overs. Pandey did return to bat at 222 for 6 but was stumped for 32 off left-arm spinner Shah who finished with 3 for 40 from 10 overs.

Wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi has returned to New Zealand’s ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming series against South Africa after recovering from a groin injury. New Zealand named 14-man squads for the one-off T20I in Auckland on February 17 and the first two ODIs in Hamilton and Christchurch on February 19 and 22.Legspinner Ish Sodhi retained his place in the ODI squad, after having been included in the group for the final game of the Chappell-Hadlee Series, while opener Martin Guptill, who missed the last two games against Australia with a hamstring injury, was also named in both squads.Batsman Colin Munro was dropped from the ODI squad after making 3 and 2 in the Chappell-Hadlee Series against Australia.”Colin hasn’t quite shown the consistency he would like in the middle order and we feel Jimmy [Neesham] is deserved of an opportunity with the bat at six,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. “Having two frontline spinners in the side gives us flexibility and Ish is an aggressive bowler who in the right conditions can be a real threat for us.”It will be great to have Luke back in the mix. He’s the number one white-ball wicketkeeper in the country and brings considerable experience to the group.” Ronchi’s return meant there was no place for reserve wicketkeeper Tom Blundell.Fast bowler Adam Milne was picked in a New Zealand XI to play a practice game against the South Africans on February 14. It will be Milne’s first competitive game since his one-match appearance for Royal Challengers Bangalore in April 2016. Milne has been on the sidelines since then because of a hamstring tear and then an elbow injury.T20I squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ben Wheeler
In: Tim Southee. Out: Tom Blundell, Matt Henry, George Worker, Neil BroomODI squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor
In: Luke Ronchi. Out: Tom Blundell, Colin MunroNew Zealand XI squad: Glenn Phillips, Neil Broom, Henry Nicholls, Tom Bruce, Ross Taylor, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Todd Astle, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Henry Shipley, Zak Gibson

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSunil Narine picked up two wickets in the 19th over and set up a dramatic finish•Getty Images

Nine deliveries, 16 runs and three wickets featured in one of the most bizarre final overs in BBL history. But the Melbourne Renegades kept their finals hopes alive with a nail-biting one-run win over the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba.The equation was simple at the beginning of the final over. The Heat needed 18 runs to secure a home semi-final. Nathan Rimmington needed to defend 16 or less to keep the Renegades alive.Rimmington did his job, but only . He bowled four wides, conceded two sixes, took the wicket of Joe Burns and completed two run-outs in roller-coaster ride that would have left the most adventurous of thrill-seekers feeling nauseous.It had been a night for the batsmen. The Renegades had set a big total of 199 on the back of a stunning opening stand from Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris. They scored 106 runs in just nine overs before Harris fell.The Heat then trumped that start with the second-highest score in the Powerplay in BBL history. Brendon McCullum and Sam Heazlett took 84 from the first five overs of the chase. The Renegades, though, pulled Heat back courtesy outstanding spells from Thisara Perera and Brad Hogg. Extraordinary hitting from Ben Cutting and Joe Burns and some rain then added to the drama of the final overs but the Renegades somehow held their nerve. 1wd 6 6 W 1wd W 1wd 0 W(1wd)
The final over of the match from Rimmington had to be seen to be believed. The Renegades had lost three final-over thrillers this season with Finch, Perera and James Pattinson all entrusted with the final six balls and all conceding the winning runs. Finch turned to Rimmington for this over instead of Pattinson after Perera, one of their best bowlers on the night, had bowled out. Rimmington had bowled an excellent 18th over, conceding just eight runs and removing Cutting, who had scored a rampaging 35 from 18 balls and was threatening to end the Renegades’ season. Burns was 23 from 19 balls and had only found the boundary once, so the Renegades were favourites.But Rimmington bowled a wide first ball, attempting a yorker. 17 off 6 balls. Burns then nailed two short balls over the long boundary at midwicket for sixes. 5 off 4. He got a third in the slot but mis-hit it to long-off and Perera held on to keep things interesting. 5 off 3. Rimmington bowled another wide. 4 off 3. Buchanan nailed the next – a full wide ball – to cover where Finch gathered and fired at the non-striker’s end. Rimmington’s collect to break the stumps was superb as Buchanan was run-out. 4 off 2. Rimmington bowled another wide to Mark Steketee. 3 off 2. He tried the wide yorker for a sixth time in the over and finally got it inside the guideline beating Steketee, who strangely backed away to leg, for a dot ball. 3 off 1. Rimmington went wide again for the final ball. Swepson got a running start at the non-striker’s end, hoping to run two for a super over if Steketee made contact, but he instead left alone another wide only to look up and see his team-mate charging at him. Debutant wicketkeeper Andrew Harriott threw the ball to Rimmington and the run-out ended the game. Although not everyone on the ground was certain of the result, with Finch admitting later he thought it was only the eighth wicket.Aaron Finch gave the Renegades a blazing start with 71 off 35 balls•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Finch’s fireworks
Finch has responded to his axing from the Australian one-day side in the finest possible fashion with three half-centuries in his last four BBL innings. This was the most destructive. He clubbed 71 from 35 balls with six fours and four sixes. He started in the first over with a mammoth hit over cover that landed in the second tier. Incredibly, he played second fiddle to Harris for the next three overs. At the end of the fourth over Harris was 30 from 15 balls while Finch had scored just 18 from nine balls. But he took charge in the eighth over. He was gifted a life, and six runs, from Burns in the deep during a hat-trick of bombs off Marnus Labuschagne. Callum Ferguson also played a vital hand scoring 31 not out from 15 balls to help get the total up to 199.Now the waiting begins
The result puts the Renegades into the top four on the table for now. The Heat’s loss means a home semi-final is in jeopardy. Everything now hangs on Saturday’s matches. If the Scorchers beat the Hurricanes and the Stars account for the Sixers, the Renegades will play in the finals. But if the Sixers beat the Stars, then the Renegades will likely be squeezed out due to an inferior net run-rate. The Hurricanes are now likely to miss out on the finals after the Heat’s loss even if they beat the Scorchers due to a very poor net run-rate. Peter Nevill might be available for a potential final after being cleared of a facial fracture. He could come back in for Harriott who did a fine job having been plucked from NSW premier cricket to make his T20 debut at the Gabba. He took two catches and kept well throughout.Brendon McCullum shellacked a fifty off 18 balls – the second fastest in BBL history – but it was not enough for the Heat to secure a home semi-final•Getty Images

Hogg, the unsung hero
While Finch was named Man of the Match, his 71 was just one of a number of blistering knocks on a night where the batsmen were very productive. McCullum also set the Gabba alight with a fifty off 18 balls, but, arguably, it was Hogg who turned the game. McCullum was a runaway freight train in the first five overs before Perera arrived and bowled a brilliant sixth over, conceding just a single. Hogg then spun his web. His first three overs cost only eight runs, all singles, although there were five leg byes. McCullum scored just six runs from his next 17 balls after reaching fifty. Overall, Hogg bowled nine balls to McCullum and conceded only two runs. He also removed the dangerous Alex Ross to apply additional pressure on the Heat.

Allrounder Hilton Cartwright will become Australia’s 450th Test cricketer after being confirmed as a debutant for the third Test against Pakistan in Sydney.Cartwright will bat at No.6 and his inclusion was one of two changes to the Australia XI that won in Melbourne, with left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe chosen as a second spinner alongside Nathan Lyon, and fast bowler Jackson Bird left out. O’Keefe comes in for the fourth Test of his career and will be hoping to impress ahead of selection for Australia’s Test squad to tour India next month.Cartwright’s inclusion marks a return to Australia’s preference for picking an allrounder at No. 6, a selection policy that was ditched after the first Test of the home summer, when Mitchell Marsh was dropped for Callum Ferguson, who was then axed for Nic Maddinson. Although Cartwright averages 44.50 as a first-class batsman, he has only 15 wickets from 16 matches, but captain Steven Smith believes Cartwright’s bowling has improved significantly.”I think he’s improved a lot over the last year or so,” Smith said in Sydney on Monday. “I remember facing him a little while ago and I think since then he’s probably gained 10ks and got a lot more consistent with his areas. I think he’s improved a lot. I guess it depends how much we’ll use him, how the game goes. But he’s certainly improved over the last year.”Bird and spinner Ashton Agar were the two members of the 13-man squad who were left out of the XI, although Agar’s presence in the group is a strong hint that he will be part of the squad to tour India.”It was to bring him into the mix and have those three spinners working together,” Smith said of Agar’s inclusion in the squad. “I think the selectors probably have an eye on India and the guys that are possible to be there. I think it was just a good opportunity for those three to come together and do a little bit of work together.”However, Smith said that while the Sydney pitch was expected to offer plenty of turn, it was important to note that it was a different kind of spin that Australia would encounter in India.”Traditionally out here it does take some spin,” Smith said. “There’s a little bit of grass on the wicket at the moment and it can generally spin off that grass. That’s why we’ve gone with the two spin option.”The change of balance in Australia’s attack meant Bird was squeezed out having played the past three Tests against South Africa and Pakistan. Bird has 34 wickets at 27.47 from his eight Tests and made some important breakthroughs to contribute to all three of Australia’s wins.”I thought he bowled particularly well in Melbourne,” Smith said. “But conditions sometimes change the team. We’ve gone with two spinners on this occasion, and it’s unlucky for Jackson. I thought he did bowl very well last week. He continues to improve.”

Kane Williamson said the fourth victory of his captaincy will go down as “one of the great” Test wins, after New Zealand claimed nine wickets in the final session to seal a 138-run win. A draw had appeared the most likely result for most of day five, and although New Zealand had gone wicketless with the first new ball, they claimed six scalps with the second – Pakistan losing the last four wickets for one run, in the space of 14 balls.Pakistan had also lost Sarfraz Ahmed to a run out shortly before the second new ball was due. “The wicket of Sarfraz was a big moment, but I guess when you take nine wickets in a session, they are all pretty big moments,” Williamson said. “It all happens pretty quickly. With the new ball around the corner, we thought if we could open up an end, and get a new batsman out to face the new ball, we would be in with a slim sniff. The feeling at tea time and now is pretty contrasting. This will go down as a great Test victory. For it to completely flip-turn was something pretty sudden, certainly.”Williamson suggested Pakistan’s collapse had not been spurred by any cataclysmic shifts on strategy on New Zealand’s part. With the visitors having batted the first four hours of the day without losing a wicket, it was assumed that the Hamilton pitch had lost its sting.”That surface was pretty good for batting,” Williamson said. “That certainly showed when first new ball didn’t do a huge amount. They batted very well and we weren’t able pick up those early wickets. Only thing we could do was stick with it and try and control the game. To get that breakthrough – which took a long time – we did have to stay patient.”New Zealand had given themselves 101 overs to bowl Pakistan out, after declaring late on the fourth day. With 369 needed for victory in the fourth innings, Pakistan had also had incentive to attempt the chase, as they were trailing in the series.”If you look back to yesterday and discussions around declaration in terms of giving the opposition an opportunity to track down the total and play a few shots – that perhaps worked in our favour,” Williamson said. “It was a big target. To chase it down, you have to play very well. They were getting themselves into a position – nowadays, with T20 cricket, you give yourselves 30 overs and think about what you can chase. That seemed to be how they were taking down the total.”Where we were really good in those first two sessions is keeping the run rate down below two. It kept pushing the required rate up a bit higher, and made them go hard a bit earlier. That presented us with a few opportunities. Pakistan are a very good side who know how to bat time, so perhaps we were fortunate to get nine in the last session.”The 2-0 victory means New Zealand will now move into the remainder of their seven-Test home summer with some confidence. They had suffered four consecutive Test losses before this series had begun.”It was going to be a big challenge coming home from India and a tough series against South Africa. The guys picked themselves up,” Williamson said. “I suppose we went back to the drawing board with how we’d like to play our cricket at home. Sometimes the baggage from previous results can be tough to get past, but the guys were fantastic. They had a couple of days off and they came back fresh, raring to go. They’re all looking forward to a big home summer.”

Australia women’s squad

Meg Lanning (capt), Alex Blackwell (vice-capt), Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani
Schedule:
1st ODI, November 18, Canberra
2nd ODI, November 20, Canberra
3rd ODI, November 23, North Sydney
4th ODI, November 27, Coffs Harbour
5th ODI, November 29, Coffs Harbour

Australia women have named a 13-player squad for the first three ODIs of their upcoming home series against South Africa, beginning on November 18. There are no additions to the 14-member squad that toured Sri Lanka in September, but offspinner Erin Osborne has been left out from the reduced squad.National selector Shawn Flegler said the selection panel was happy with the recent form shown by players like Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy, and Alex Blackwell, who have all scored centuries in the Women’s National Cricket League, Australia’s domestic one-day tournament.”The [selectors have] been pleased with the form shown by the players in the early rounds of the WNCL, with all players amongst the runs and wickets for their state sides,” Flegler said.”We have left the door open for other players to continue to press for selection in the final two games with strong performances in the third round of the WNCL.”The teams will play five day-night ODIs, of which the first three will be part of the ICC Women’s Championship fixtures. Australia have already won the Championship and sealed automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup. They will be presented with the Championship trophy after the third ODI on November 23.South Africa, on the other hand, will have to win all three fixtures and depend on other results to finish in the top four and secure automatic qualification. The top four teams from the Championship automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the bottom four have to play a qualification tournament.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored in the second innings with an unbeaten 39 to see Sri Lanka A through•Getty Images

First-innings centurion Dimuth Karunaratne scored an unbeaten 39 to guide Sri Lanka A to a seven-wicket win over West Indies A in the first match of West Indies A’s tour of Sri Lanka. After taking the last wicket to bowl out West Indies A for 175, Sri Lanka A knocked off the 66-run target in 20.3 overs.The day began with West Indies A on an overnight score of 165-9 and a lead of 55. They added only ten more runs before Lakshan Sandakan picked up his fourth wicket, getting No. 11 Reynard Leveridge stumped. Keon Joseph, who had resisted with Gudakesh Moti-Kanhai in a ninth-wicket stand the previous evening, remained unbeaten on 12 off 73 balls.Lahiru Thirimanne, who had played his last Test in June, was promoted to open with Karunaratne. He scored 21 in a 43-run opening stand, before Rahkeem Cornwall trapped in him in front.Fast-bowler Joseph removed Roshen Silva in the following over and Charith Asalanka shortly after. But Sri Lanka A were never in any danger as Niroshan Dickwella joined Karunaratne to see them through.

Ben Stokes believes Marlon Samuels “lacks respect” following the pair’s various confrontations over the years.A feisty, often angry, rivalry which began with Samuels’ saluting Stokes after a dismissal in the Grenada Test in early 2015 further escalated during the World T20 final in Kolkata earlier this year went the pair went face-to-face in the middle.Samuels would end up finishing unbeaten on 85, and earn the Man-of-the Match-award, while Carlos Braithwaite clubbed Stokes for four consecutive sixes to seal the trophy.Samuels, who was later fined 30% of his match fee for abusive language, further raised the tension in the post-match press conference by saying: “Stokes is a nervous laddie…he doesn’t learn.”In his autobiography, , which is being serialised in the , Stokes makes clear that resentment remains strong.”Marlon Samuels lacks respect. You get that if you have spent any time with him on a cricket field. Marlon’s conduct after West Indies’ victory over us in this year’s World Twenty20 final showed a total disrespect for the game.”Without removing his batting pads, Marlon walked into a press conference, sat down and placed his feet on the desk. Totally lacking manners.”It didn’t require him to give me a character assassination — bizarrely claiming I am some sort of ‘nervous laddie’ — to help me form the opinion that I do not like him one bit. I believe in the saying ‘respect the game’. I don’t think he respects the game.”Yes, he played an unbelievable innings but, because of our personal history, it stops me short of saying he’s a good player. Team players are the good players in my eyes.”Recalling how the tensions rose early in West Indies’ run chase, after they had been reduced to 14 for 3, Stokes writes:”His mannerisms got me involved with Marlon. I was at mid-off and, in my enthusiasm, found myself creeping in from my position and I noticed that Samuels, at the non-striker’s end, was walking around like the big easy. I couldn’t resist. ‘You’ve got a bit of a swagger on here, Marlon, considering you’re 14 for three,’ I said. ‘Shut the f*** up, you little bitch,’ came the reply.”It appeared Stokes would be able to have the final say, however, when he had 19 to defend off the final over to earn England their second World T20 title. But he began with a poor leg-side delivery to Brathwaite, which was swung over deep square leg, and three balls later it was all over, leaving Stokes distraught, on his knees, in the middle of Eden Gardens.”It was a numb feeling. I felt hollow,” he writes. “My England team-mates were the ones I had affected most with those four deliveries. We had gone all the way to the tournament’s final over. But in a flash, all that hard graft had come to nothing.”I knew the cameras would be all over me to see how I was holding up. I may have looked OK. That was an act. I was gutted. Do not show it, keep your head up — Joe Root had said exactly that to me more than once as I crouched motionless on the square.”In the aftermath, it was natural to question my methods. I wondered whether things might have been different had I plumped for four slower balls. The answer was no. My regret was execution, not selection.”

Former teenage sensation Shebani Bhaskar headlines a USA Women development squad of 22 players invited to Philadelphia from September 9 to 11 for a training camp culminating in matches against a women’s Marylebone Cricket Club touring side.American-born Bhaskar, 21, was USA’s leading scorer at the 2011 Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh, top-scoring with 72 and pulling off the game-clinching run-out in a one-run win over Zimbabwe.A host of other USA representatives picked alongside Bhaskar included Candacy Atkins, Erica Rendler, Anahita Arora, Akshatha Rao, Melissa Sandy, Nadia Gruny, Samantha Ramautar, Sara Farooq, Shondell Ward and Zeenat Kauser. The other 11 players are yet to play for USA, though 14-year-old Mahika Kandanala from Dallas, Texas was in USA’s squad as a reserve player for the two T20s against Pakistan last year.Most of the uncapped players were identified through the recent ICC Combines conducted in the spring, with the bulk of players appearing in either New York or San Francisco. The squad of 22 will be divided into USA Red and USA Blue, and an intra-squad match will be held in Philadelphia on September 9. Each team will then play Twenty20s against the touring MCC side on September 10 before USA’s best XI will be picked to play against the MCC for another T20 on September 11. Those not making the cut for the MCC game will then play a friendly against a Haverford College XI.”We are keen to reward some of the women who were able to come to the Combines and show their commitment and ability,” USA chairman of selectors Ricardo Powell said in a press release announcing the squad. “However we understand not everyone was able to make the Combine so [we] have included some talented players who have plenty to contribute to the women’s game in the USA. This squad is a development squad, we know there are other women and young players across the country that the selectors would also like to see in the future.”The squad will be coached by former USA men’s player Anand Tummala. The 37-year-old was shortlisted as a finalist for the USA men’s coaching job in July along with former Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake. No decision has been made yet regarding the men’s job.USA Women development squad: Candacy Atkins, Anahita Arora, Shebani Bhaskar, Samikshya Aryal, Sugetha Chandhrasekar, Jyotsna Dixit, Sara Farooq, Nadia Gruny, Mahika Kandanala, Zeenat Kausar, Swati Mishra, Muneshri Persaud, Samantha Ramautar, Akshatha Rao, Erica Rendler, Sindhuja Reddy Salguti, Melissa Sandy, Vritti Sethi, Sindhu Sriharsha, Hannah Solomon, Onika Wallerson, Shondell Ward

Pacer Mustafizur Rahman’s arrival in the UK for the NatWest t20 Blast has been delayed due to visa issues. The delay was caused by the unusually long Eid vacation, which meant he had to wait till after the holidays to apply for the UK visa.Mustafizur couldn’t leave on July 13 as planned. That means he will miss his scheduled debut for Sussex on July 15 against Hampshire.The visa procedure is set to be completed “any day”, according to a BCB spokesman, upon which Mustafizur will immediately fly out. He will now have to target Sussex’s July 21 T20 fixture, in Essex.That leaves him with only seven possible appearances in the 2016 English season. He had already missed most of Sussex’s T20 and one-day campaign through multiple injuries on his right leg following IPL 2016 where he turned out for Sunrisers Hyderabad.