Yorkshire put themselves into a commanding position heading into the last day of their County Championship relegation battle with Hampshire. The visitors reached stumps with a substantial lead and seven wickets in hand.

Surrey posted 421 in their first innings at the Oval before Hampshire replied with 78 for two on a rain-affected day two. Matt Fisher took two early wickets to restrict the hosts.

Hampshire trail by 299 runs and will need a significant effort on the final day to avoid defeat and ease their own relegation concerns.

George Bartlett scored 92 as Northamptonshire posted 284 on the second day of their County Championship match against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford. The 27-year-old's innings spanned 187 balls and included 14 boundaries.

Lancashire reached 28 for two in reply by stumps, still trailing by 256 runs. Keaton Jennings fell for 12 and night-watchman Tom Bailey survived seven deliveries before the close.

The result keeps Northamptonshire within touching distance of the promotion places with four matches remaining. Lancashire have now lost 12 wickets in the first innings of their last three home matches.

Rinku Singh walked in at number three for Meerut Mavericks on Friday and carved 54 off 22 balls at Green Park. Seven sixes, two fours. He pushed the total to 198 for six, and the bowlers held the opposition to 167.

The innings came straight after his IPL stint with Kolkata Knight Riders. Three fifties in five matches since he returned to domestic cricket.

Azan Awais went for a duck off the first ball of the series, bowled by Ollie Robinson. Imam-ul-Haq followed in the second innings, caught by Jofra Archer for another duck. Pakistan haven't put together a 50-run opening stand in England for 16 years. England wrapped the match inside three days with an innings victory, Robinson and Josh Tongue doing most of the damage.

Cameron Green made notes after scoring 136 for Western Australia earlier this year. He followed the same plan in Darwin against Bangladesh and ended a century drought with 136 in the first Test.

Bangladesh won by nine wickets — their first Test victory on Australian soil. Green's hundred came too late to change the result, and the margin stands as one of Australia's heaviest defeats in 149 years of Test cricket.

The second Test is next.

The BCCI has moved the Duleep Trophy 2026-27 final from the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The change allows spectators after earlier rounds were played behind closed doors. The five-day final is scheduled for 6-10 September.

Chennai can seat more than 20,000 spectators and has hosted the tournament before. The first four matches, including both semi-finals, remain at the CoE without crowds. No additional venues have been added.

The final decides the winner of India's traditional domestic curtain-raiser. The BCCI has not confirmed whether the same arrangement will apply next season.

Yashasvi Jaiswal dared Niroshan Dickwella to clear the ropes during the Galle Test. The Sri Lankan edged to slip in the same over. Jaiswal's three-ball duck in the second innings has raised questions about how he plays in red-ball cricket.

The incident came on India's tour of Sri Lanka. Jaiswal had joined an exclusive club in the first innings but lost his wicket to a mix-up with KL Rahul. His attacking style has produced a string of early dismissals in the series.

India will review his approach before the second Test. The team management hasn't said whether the three-ball duck was a one-off or the start of a pattern.

Keith Barker has called time on his career at 39. The all-rounder returned to Warwickshire this summer, but a knee complaint cut the comeback short.

He played 17 seasons across two counties, turning out for Hampshire before moving to Edgbaston. Warwickshire had counted on him for the rest of the campaign with bat and ball.

Barker leaves the domestic circuit as a steady presence in every format.

Kartik Tyagi bowled a 149kph delivery during a Meerut Mavericks match in the UPT20 League, signaling his return to form after injury setbacks. The pacer's speed allied with improved consistency has drawn attention from observers.

Tyagi has worked on maintaining his pace while adding control to his repertoire following previous injury concerns. His performance in the domestic competition marks a step forward in his rehabilitation and form recovery.

The 24-year-old remains in the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for IPL 2026 and will hope his domestic returns translate to opportunities in the upcoming season.

T Natarajan rolled out the slower bouncer he's spent three years shaping during iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans' match against Vida Kovai Kings. He worked on the variation with Sreenath Aravind, the former India and Karnataka bowler, and it kept the batters honest on a flat deck.

He's adjusted the release and seam position across several domestic seasons, giving him something extra in the death overs beyond the yorker. TNPL franchises have watched his slower-ball accuracy improve steadily.

Delhi Capitals will see the variation when he joins them for IPL 2027, with more work planned in the off-season.

India captain Shubman Gill dived to his left at short extra cover and clutched Kuldeep Yadav's delivery inches above the pitch to dismiss Kamindu Mendis in the 17th over at Galle. Mendis had stepped down the wicket, but Gill's one-handed grab ended the partnership that was threatening to slow India's day-three push.

India already held a substantial first-innings lead and were looking to press the advantage when the wicket fell.

Scotland and the Netherlands have called out the ICC for cutting the 2027 World Cup from 14 teams to 12. The main event now splits into two groups of six, while the three lowest-ranked qualifiers must first play a preliminary Super Series — only the winner advances.

Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association released a joint statement saying the change weakens the tournament's credibility and was pushed through without proper consultation. The boards met the ICC twice and asked for written clarification. They received nothing after the second meeting more than two weeks ago.

The decision was taken at the ICC's annual conference in Edinburgh in July. BBC Sport reported that almost every associate member was kept out of the loop, even though they attended.

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta says ODIs can thrive — but only if random bilateral series stop. He made the case while discussing the 50-over format's future, arguing that fewer, more intentional bilateral contests would preserve what makes the game matter.

Excessive bilaterals have diluted the format's value. The ICC has been working to restructure the international calendar, and Gupta's remarks signal where the thinking's headed: a streamlined schedule that lets major tournaments breathe. The governing body will consult with member boards on how to reshape the white-ball calendar, with calendar changes a priority for ICC leadership.

The tension here is real. Boards depend on bilateral revenue. But if every ODI feels fungible, none of them feels special — and that's the ICC's gamble.