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Jason Kerr says playing two spinners unlikely but open to helping Bashir continue his development

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-20241:37

Harmison: England have a hugely-talented proposition in Bashir

Somerset’s head coach has responded to the challenge laid down by Brendon McCullum, calling for game time for England’s young spinners, by suggesting that Shoaib Bashir could be allowed to go out on loan.Bashir and Tom Hartley have thrived out in India despite limited grounding in the county game and McCullum said earlier this week that it would “slightly mad” if they did not get increased opportunities during the coming season.While McCullum suggested he would like to see Bashir and Jack Leach bowling in tandem at Somerset, Jason Kerr said that situation was unlikely for the start of the County Championship in spring conditions that tend to encourage seam bowling.Related

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“It’s certainly not easy but I always try and put myself in the player’s shoes and what they want is to play cricket,” Kerr told the Press Association. “We start the season on April 5 and I’d be surprised if too many teams are playing two specialist spinners. So I understand there will be some questions about it.”Bash will be on cloud nine right now and riding that. He would have seen the world very differently at the start of the winter than he does now that he’s had international opportunities and done very well. So it’s important to have really honest, transparent conversations.”Bashir was only signed by Somerset at the start of last summer, after impressing for the 2nd XI, and played six times in the Championship, taking 10 wickets at 67.00. He has since exceeded that number in two Tests for England but will likely find himself back down the pecking order behind Leach, England’s senior spinner, who returned home from the tour of India with a knee injury.”There’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge, but what I’m not going to do is stand in the way of anyone’s opportunity,” Kerr said.Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir will likely vie for one spinner’s spot back at Somerset•Getty Images

“We will always do what is best for the player and we’ve done it time and time again. We’ve allowed people to go on loan and get some cricket because it can benefit them and us in the future, and we’ve said no to players because they’re next in line and we might need them.”We will look at each case as it arises but, historically, we’ve been open to it.”A similar situation arose at Somerset a few years ago, when Dom Bess emerged to briefly replace Leach as England spinner – Bess went on loan to Yorkshire before making a permanent move in 2021.With Leach currently recovering from knee surgery, there may be a chance for Bashir to stake his claim at the start of the county season. But Kerr indicated that Leach would be at the forefront of his planning once fit.”It’s important we see both of the guys bowling first but we also look at what Leachy has done for club and country over the years,” he said. “We always want competition for places and we want it to be healthy. Nobody has the right to start but Jack has got a lot of experience and, from my side, that counts for a lot.”Bash has so much time to grow and to become a world-class spinner who can bowl on all surfaces and know when to defend and attack. He’ll be coming back from India to very different conditions in the UK.”We’re an incredibly ambitious club and we want to inspire players to represent England. We want to help them fulfil those aspirations and that doesn’t change whether it’s Shoaib or Jack.”

The hosts fell 12 runs short in Chennai and now trail the three-match T20I series 1-0

Shashank Kishore05-Jul-2024After defeats in the ODI series and the one-off Test, South Africa began their run to the women’s T20 World Cup with a morale-boosting victory over India in the first T20I in Chennai.Starring in the win were Tazmin Brits, whose 81 – an innings of contrasts – set South Africa up along with Marizanne Kapp. The pair added 96 in just 9.2 overs; Kapp’s own contribution was a robust 33-ball 57 as the visitors posted 189 for 4.India’s chase began well with Smriti Mandhana’s 30-ball 46, but her wicket slowed things down considerably, until they found their ammunition through Jemimah Rodrigues’ punchy 29-ball half-century.Related

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Eventually, the target proved steep as South Africa’s spinners used the slow pitch and the absence of dew to their advantage. In the end, India fell 12 runs short after flirting with the possibility of a heist when Rodrigues brought the equation down from 47 off 18 to 21 off six.

Wolvaardt flies, Brits stutters

Laura Wolvaardt came out all guns blazing and took Renuka Singh for 16 runs in the third over. But South Africa weren’t able to build on that with Brits, at this point, struggling to hit the ball off the square.Brits took 10 deliveries to get off the mark and the piling up of dots made Wolvaardt take more risks than she would’ve liked. One such stroke – walking across to expose all three stumps in a bid to sweep left-arm spinner Radha Yadav into acres of open space – led to her downfall in the eighth over to leave South Africa 50 for 1.

Kapp finds her gears straightaway

Kapp began with two fours off her first three balls, the first one, an inside-out drive over extra cover, particularly attractive. But she was also massively lucky to be reprieved twice in the 10th over.First, Richa Ghosh failed to hang on to a catch behind the stumps when Kapp was on 11 and then Mandhana put down a tough chance running in from long-off with the South African allrounder on 11. This helped unleash Kapp, which reduced the pressure on Brits after she had limped to a run-a-ball 25 at the 10-over mark.Jemimah Rodrigues made a half-century•BCCI

Fighting a back injury, Kapp had shelved her sweeps for large periods during the Test match between these two teams a few days ago. But in perhaps a sign that she was feeling heaps better, Kapp displayed different variations of her sweeps as her innings progressed – the full-blooded ones, the paddles, the scoops and even the reverse – during a 30-ball half-century that injected momentum into South Africa’s innings.

Brits makes the most of her luck

Brits broke the shackles in the 11th over when she heaved legspinner S Asha over the long-on boundary, even as Kapp went berserk at the other end in their near-century stand.Brits should’ve been out on 50 when she top-edged a slog, only for Ghosh to grass the opportunity. It would prove game-changing in a sense as Ghosh, who was hit on the chin by the ball rebounding off her gloves, while tumbling to the floor was ruled out of the rest of the game due to concussion.It took Brits until the 17th over of the innings to hit top gear, when she launched Radha for back-to-back sixes to offset any pressure from Kapp’s wicket in the same over. South Africa ransacked 58 runs off the last five to head into the break with momentum firmly with them.

India go off rails despite Mandhana, Rodrigues knocks

Mandhana’s cameo helped India raise their half-century in the fifth over, before Ayabonga Khaka pulled the game back by nicking off Shafali Verma. That wicket slowed things down considerably as India’s No. 3, D Hemalatha, struggled to cope with the pressure of the asking rate. She limped to 14 off 16 at the halfway mark.This may have resulted in Mandhana’s downfall as she left her crease against Chloe Tryon and got caught behind. When Hemalatha was bowled off the very next ball, looking to clip Nadine de Klerk, South Africa sensed an opportunity with India 87 for 3 in the 11th.Rodrigues kept punching, using the crease superbly to manipulate the bowlers and pick up runs behind square against spin. Her enterprise offset Harmanpreet’s struggle against cramps, which appeared to limit her hitting range. Yet, when she played a full-blooded slog for a boundary to bring the equation down to 17 off 5, India believed. However, it wasn’t to be on the night as South Africa held their nerve to close out the game and seal their first win on tour.

West Indies broke a 13-match losing streak and topped Group B to set up a semi-final against New Zealand

Firdose Moonda15-Oct-2024West Indies pulled off the biggest heist of this T20 World Cup and qualified for the semi-finals, against all expectation, and knocked one of the favourites, England.Having last beaten England in 2018, West Indies broke a 13-match losing streak and topped Group B to set up a semi-final against New Zealand in Sharjah. That year was also the last time West Indies played in a semi-final of the T20 World Cup.This is only the second time England have missed out on the knockouts of a T20 World Cup after being eliminated in the group stage in 2010. After wins in their first three matches, they were confident of making the final four this time. Instead, it is South Africa who join West Indies, with England’s net run-rate leaving them third in the group.West Indies win was made all the more remarkable because they were without former captain and veteran batter Stafanie Taylor, who is struggling with a knee injury. In her absence, Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph, found form and wiped away the bulk of the 142-run target. Matthews, playing in her 100th T20I, scored her 14th half-century in the format while Joseph, who had a career-best of 34 before this game, scored a 38-run 52. The pair shared an opening stand of 102 inside 13 overs and West Indies were on their way. This is the sixth time West Indies have successfully chased a total of 140-plus, and the second time since their record chase of 213 against Australia last December.England may have thought they had enough after Nat Sciver-Brunt’s half-century but lacked contributions from the rest of the order. To add to their worries, Heather Knight retired with a calf-injury on 21, with the score on 80 for 3, which halted the momentum England regained after they slipped to 34 for 3 in the seventh over. Afy Fletcher and Deandra Dottin, bowling for the first time in the tournament, took four wickets between them and conceded 37 runs in seven overs, which gave West Indies an advantage they carried through the game.

West Indies’ whirlwind start

West Indies’ youngsters Zaida James and Ashmini Munisar spoke to ESPNcricinfo a few days ago about their commitment to building a new legacy for West Indies cricket and almost combined to start that today. James, recovered from a blow to the chin, tossed her second ball up to Maia Bouchier, who tossed it up to Munisar at cover point but she shelled a straightforward chance. Bouchier went on to hit the first boundary of the innings and England were up and away until Matthews brought herself on to bowl. Danni Wyatt-Hodge hit her behind point for four but when she tried that a second time, Dottin lunged forward to take a low catch and West Indies had a breakthrough. In the next over, Alice Capsey was run out for one, chancing Dottin’s arm at her peril, and immediately after the powerplay, Bouchier skied Afy Fletcher to Qiana Joseph at extra cover. England were 34 for 3 in the seventh over and stunned.Nat Sciver-Brunt’s fifty was in vain for England•ICC/Getty Images

Knight and Nat: steady then surge

Sciver-Brunt survived an lbw review when she was on 2 when Fletcher pitched it outside leg, and went on to open her boundary count with lap over Shemaime Campbelle and that got England going. Knight bisected the extra cover and mid-off fielder for two overs in succession to take England to fifty and beyond. The pair then brought out the sweeps and England were running away with it at 79 for 3 after 12 overs when injury struck. Knight had treatment during that over but then left the field with a calf concern. At the time, the partnership was worth 46 off 36 balls, which was the only stand of more than 30 in the innings. Sciver-Brunt watched Amy Jones hand Dotting a catch at backward point and Charlie Dean pick out Matthews at mid-off as the 17th over started. She played an almost lone hand in scoring 14 runs off the 18th over and 13 off the 20th to register her 14th T20I half-century and taking England over 140.

Most runs in an over and the highest powerplay score

It took until the final group stage match to see some proper aggression upfront and it came from the team with the reputation to hit big, but not always the results. Matthews, who has registered scores of 10, 8 and 34 in the tournament so far and has not been as much of a presence with the bat, hit Lauren Bell over long leg for six off the second ball. She went on to score fours through fine leg and mid-off and the first over cost Bell – the most expensive of the tournament so far. Matthew owned opening over and her and Joseph rode their luck to take charge of the rest of the powerplay but not without some nerves.Joseph got off the mark with a thick outside edge between backward point and short third that went for four, then hit Sciver-Brunt to deep mid-wicket, where the ball went through Sophia Dunkley’s hands for four more. She settled in the next over and hit Charlie Dean for six before taking on England’s trump card Sophie Ecclestone for back to back boundaries. West Indies were 67 without loss in the powerplay, the highest of the tournament so far.

England’s drops add up

Dunkley’s drop was the start of one of England’s worst fielding performances recently as they put down five catches. In the fifth over, Joseph was on 31 when she skied Sciver-Brunt into the night sky and though Alice Capsey settled herself underneath it at point, she tried to catch it reverse-cup and dropped it. Then, on 35 in the eighth over, Joseph hit Sarah Glenn to mid-wicket, where Bouchier ran to her left but let it slip through her fingers. The ball followed Bouchier for a little while after that, and she did not collect cleanly at mid-wicket when Campbelle called Dottin through for a run. Bouchier berated herself and England were falling apart. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, there have been 75 dropped catches in the group stage of the tournament, and England have been responsible for nine, the third most of any side.

But Hurricanes are yet to re-sign Tim David; Melbourne Stars, meanwhile, bag Liam Hatcher

Alex Malcolm31-Jan-2025Australia Test allrounder Beau Webster has returned to BBL champions Hobart Hurricanes on a three-year deal, having not played for his home state’s team since 2017.Webster, 31, played five matches for Hurricanes in 2016-17, but has spent the past eight seasons in Melbourne: he was there for four seasons with Renegades, before another four with Stars.But having played his entire domestic career for his home state Tasmania, Webster will return to play for Hurricanes in the BBL over the next three seasons.Related

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“I am pumped to return to Hobart next summer for the BBL, and get the opportunity to play on a packed Ninja Stadium in front of our fans, my friends and family,” Webster said.”Vaughany [Jeff Vaughan] and Nelly [Nathan Ellis] have got the group playing a really good brand of cricket, and to see them win a championship makes me hungry to bring another one to ‘Canes fans next season.”Webster signing is an interesting move by Hurricanes given they already have seam-bowling allrounders in Mitchell Owen and Chris Jordan in the top seven of their title-winning team. Despite Webster’s outstanding first-class record, he hasn’t been as dominant in T20 cricket.He has failed to strike at more than 132 in any of his last seven BBL seasons, and it will be interesting to see how he slips into Hurricanes’ high-tempo batting unit. But Hurricanes general manager Salliann Beams was pleased to bring Webster back to Hobart.”We have seen over the past 18 months just how special of a player Beau is, and to have him re-join the Hurricanes is something that will make all Tasmanians proud to hear,” Beams said. “Beau’s skill set in the short form of the game is up there with some of the best in the country, and he can take the game away from the opposition with the bat while also providing another wicket-taking option with the ball.”His leadership will also be a vital aspect of his role at the Hurricanes, and he is great mates with the players we already have on our list, which means he will fit into what we are trying to build seamlessly.”

Stars hopeful about David, and sign Hatcher

Hurricanes are still yet to re-sign title-winning power hitter Tim David, but they are hopeful of keeping him after a successful season. But Stars are still hoping of landing him as a free agent.Meanwhile, Stars have signed New South Wales fast bowler Liam Hatcher on a two-year deal after he spent the past two seasons with Sydney Thunder. Hatcher began his BBL at Stars in 2020, playing 17 matches over two seasons before moving to Thunder in 2023. But he played just four games in his first season in 2023-24, and did not feature at all in Thunder’s run to the final in 2024-25.

Pakistan still has “deep concerns” about security; no decision yet on whether they will play India in Ahmedabad

Danyal Rasool06-Aug-2023Pakistan will send their cricket team to India for the 2023 men’s ODI World Cup in October-November this year, ending months of uncertainty over the country’s participation.”Pakistan has consistently maintained that sports should not be mixed with politics,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “It has, therefore, decided to send its cricket team to India to participate in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Pakistan believes that the state of bilateral relations with India should not stand in the way of fulfilling its international sports-related obligations.Related

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“Pakistan’s decision shows its constructive and responsible approach vis-à-vis India’s intransigent attitude, as the latter had refused to send its cricket team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup.While the statement effectively guarantees Pakistan will participate in the World Cup, it also suggested significant areas of divergence remain. ESPNcricinfo understands Pakistan has not yet taken a decision on whether they will agree to participate in the group stage game against India in Ahmedabad, or demand to have it moved elsewhere. The statement, however, does not mention a desire for a change of venue.The statement also signalled a lack of complete confidence in the security arrangements for Pakistan at the World Cup. “Pakistan, however, has deep concerns about the security of its cricket team,” the statement said further. “We are conveying these concerns to the International Cricket Council and the Indian authorities. We expect that full safety and security of Pakistan cricket team will be ensured during its visit to India.”ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB will reach out to the ICC for security guarantees once there is more clarity on arrangements.The World Cup schedule has been hit by several delays and tweaks. Pakistan’s fixture against India was brought forward by a day to avoid a clash with the Hindu festival of Navaratri. That created a knock-on effect, with Pakistan’s earlier game against Sri Lanka on October 12 moved to October 10 to give them enough time to prepare, arrangements that the PCB agreed to. The PCB accepted those date changes to their fixtures.On Saturday, ESPNcricinfo reported that the Cricket Association of Bengal had requested the BCCI to have Pakistan’s game against England moved from November 12 to November 11, to avoid a clash with another Hindu festival, Kali Puja.The PCB has privately expressed frustration at the potential change of date for the England fixture, and the constant rejigging of fixtures affecting Pakistan. It is understood there has been no communication between the PCB and the BCCI about the fixture change, and no clarity on when a decision will be reached or how it will be communicated to the PCB.The World Cup is scheduled to begin with reigning champions England taking on New Zealand On October 5, and end on November 19, but there is still no update on when the tickets will go on sale.

“Performances, I didn’t really focus on that much,” the East Zone captain said, as he returned to top-flight cricket for the first time since IPL

Ashish Pant31-Aug-2025East Zone captain Riyan Parag’s focus at the season-opening 2025-26 Duleep Trophy was on easing himself back into the grind of competitive cricket and getting some game-time after he had spent most of last season managing a shoulder injury.Parag last turned out for India in a T20I against Bangladesh in October 2024. He had to undergo surgery for his shoulder injury, after which he played in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 for Assam in January. Before the Duleep Trophy, Parag had last played competitive cricket in IPL 2025 for Rajasthan Royals (RR). He was their second-highest run-scorer during the season, but was “managing a lot of stress” due to the shoulder injury.”It was good,” Parag said after the final day of the Duleep Trophy game against North Zone. “I mean, that was the main goal when I came here to play the game. Performances, I didn’t really focus on that much. I just wanted to have some fun.”I haven’t played competitive cricket in a long time. Since the IPL, I haven’t really played. [In the] IPL also, I was managing a lot of stress and stuff like that. But it was nice, was a good outing. Not in a good way with the amount of overs we fielded. But then still, rolled my arm for a few overs, batted for a while. Could have converted it for a bigger score, but then I’m happy. The shoulder feels much better now.”Related

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Leading the side in the absence of Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was ruled out due to fever on the opening day, Parag was dismissed for 39 in the only innings East Zone batted. He didn’t bowl in the first innings, but bowled 22 overs in the second as North Zone made 658 for 4, building on their first-innings lead of 175.While the game ended in a draw, North Zone qualified for the semi-finals on the basis of their first-innings lead.”They played better cricket, I got to give credit to that,” Parag said on North Zone’s performance. “I feel we could have done better in the first innings while bowling but then we should have got at least close to like 350 and then try to restrict it.”But once we did not do that, they had the lead of around 200 runs. Then, just the batters batted really well and just took the game away from us and the last day was just formality, I think, for them to get their milestones.”East Zone were without Mukesh Kumar on day three and four after the fast bowler picked up a thigh strain on the opening day. Mohammed Shami also did not take the field on the final day after he cut his toe, which meant East Zone had to rely on their part-time options.”That was one of the tough things to manage,” Parag said. “Shami didn’t bowl today, Mukesh got injured in the first innings, I’m coming back from an injury so I had to bowl 20 overs. Utkarsh [Singh], our non-bowler, he had to bowl around 30 overs so that did play a part for us in fielding a lot of overs but then nothing we can do about it. We just take it as a loss.”Parag says it’s “back to basics” now as he readies himself for the upcoming season. He has been named as one of the stand-bys for the Asia Cup, and is hopeful to get a chance when India travel to Australia for a white-ball series in October-November.”I was in the T20 set-up, then took a break for the shoulder [injury], and stuff like that happened,” he said. “Ranji [Trophy] is coming in, then the Australia tour is coming in; if I get selected there, I do that. Otherwise, I go back to domestic and do what I’ve been doing for the last two to three years. Be top-scoring every single game. Have a good IPL and play for the country again.”

Ankit Kumar: ‘Everyone did their job’

North Zone captain Ankit Kumar was delighted by his team’s performance as they racked up the runs on the last two days. Ankit fell two short of his maiden first-class double-century in the second innings, but Ayush Badoni recorded an unbeaten 204, while Yash Dhull scored 133 on the third day.Ankit Kumar made 198 in the second innings•PTI

Ankit, who replaced Shubman Gill as North Zone captain after Gill pulled out due to illness, said there was “a little pressure” captaining in a big game but was glad he found a way to score runs and lead the team efficiently.”I am captaining at this level for the first time,” Ankit said. “There weren’t a lot of changes from the Ranji Trophy; we followed the same process: bowl well, bat well. That’s worked for us.”We had a well-rounded batting and bowling attack. No one could play a big innings in the first innings, but everyone contributed and that mattered. It was a proper teamwork, so we didn’t face many challenges. Everyone did their jobs.”The basic plan was to take a first-innings lead. When that happened, we knew we could qualify. We wanted our bowlers to stay fresh. Arshdeep [Singh] and Harshit [Rana] have to go and play for India, so we wanted them to go fresh [for the Asia Cup].”

Six-month experiment gets underway to increase the pace of play in men’s T20Is and ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2023The first T20I between West Indies and England on Wednesday will see a stop clock used for the first time in international cricket. Part of a six-month experiment announced last month by the ICC, the stop clock will aim to restrict the time taken between overs and quicken the pace of play.The bowling team will need to be ready to bowl the first ball of their next over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed. After two warnings, a third default by the bowling side will result in a five-run penalty imposed against them.The third umpire will start the clock at the completion of an over – the countdown would be displayed on the big screen at the ground, too. In case the batters have called for equipment change, drinks or if there is an injury break, and the 60 seconds are over the fielding time will not be penalised.In the scenario where the bowler is ready, but the batter is not ready, the match officials will deduct the time allowance from the batting team. For example if the batting team exceeded their allowances by two minutes, and are fielding second, then that additional time will be deducted from the overall time which could potentially lead them incurring both in-game and financial penalties if they fail to finish the overs before the cut-off time.As it stands, the stop clock will be used only in men’s ODIs and T20Is and goes one step further from the ICC’s change in playing conditions from 2022 where slow over-rates would force fielding sides to keep one fewer fielder outside the circle in the final over of a game. These in-game sanctions are in addition to any monetary fine that teams have to pay for slow over-rates under the ICC’s playing conditions.Stop clocks aimed at speeding up play are not new in sport. In major tennis tournaments, a player gets 25 seconds to get ready to serve between points. The idea of a stop clock in cricket was proposed in 2018 by the MCC’s World Cricket Committee that included Ricky Ponting, Saurav Ganguly and Kumar Sangakkara, among others, to reduce the ‘dead-time’ between overs in international games.The five-match T20I series between West Indies and England runs from December 13 to December 22, with the sides playing the series opener in Bridgetown, then moving to St George’s for two fixtures and finishing the series with two matches in Tarouba.

The allrounder is still recovering from the ACL injury sustained last year leaving the club needing a new captain

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2023Melbourne Renegades’ captain Sophie Molineux has been ruled out of the entire WBBL as she continues her recovery from the ACL injury suffered last season.Molineux, the left-arm spin-bowling allrounder, picked up the injury against Melbourne Stars in November and is now hoping to return to domestic cricket in the second half of this campaign following the WBBL.It was announced on Thursday that Molineux had signed a new two-year deal with Renegades.”I’m really disappointed that my ongoing recovery from an ACL reconstruction means that I won’t be fit and available in time for this season,” she said. “But I’m very much appreciative of the support the club has shown me during the process and I’m very keen to repay their support by helping the team in any way possible over the coming months.”Molineux’s absence means Renegades will need a new captain for the upcoming season, and it could be they look to one of their overseas signings having secured Harmanpreet Kaur and Hayley Matthews at the draft. Another option would be Australia allrounder Georgia Wareham.”While we’d love to have her on the field this year, it’s important Sophie returns to full fitness and her leadership around the group off the field will be just as important,” Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said.Renegades will also be without fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck for the whole WBBL after she underwent shoulder surgery following the Australia A tour of England earlier this year.

Welsh Fire humbled for 87 in front of home crowd on Jonny Bairstow’s return

ECB Reporters Network12-Aug-2023Southern Brave romped to a comfortable nine-wicket win over Welsh Fire, the bowlers setting the tone with Tymal Mills taking only the second hat-trick in the Men’s Hundred.That came off the final three balls of the Welsh Fire innings as they fell to 87 all out, the pattern started with returning England star Jonny Bairstow falling early for a four-ball duck.Craig Overton took two early wickets for Brave, including Bairstow, while George Garton took 3 for 8 off 15 balls through the middle of the innings to block any momentum for the home side, Mills finishing with four wickets in all.Stephen Eskinazi’s 38 was the only bright spot in a total easily chased down by Southern Brave. Finn Allen scored a quick 31 before Devon Conway, 35 not out, and Leus du Plooy, 17 not out, saw them through to victory with 41 balls spare.Welsh Fire could not have got off to a much worse start, losing Ashes hero Bairstow cheaply in his first game for them since 2021. He tried to hit Overton over mid-off, but was caught off the mistimed shot without scoring, with Overton getting bounce and movement to also dismiss captain Tom Abell, caught behind by Devon Conway.Joe Clarke also went for a duck, caught Conway off the bowling of Garton, and when Mills dismissed Glenn Phillips with his first ball, giving Conway a third catch, Welsh Fire were in deep trouble at 34 for 4 after 41 balls.David Willey’s cameo of 16 was also ended by Overton, this time with a sliding catch in the deep off the bowling of Garton.While everyone else was losing their wicket, the player keeping his at the other end was opener Stephen Eskinazi who plotted his way to 38 off 34 balls. However, when he was also out skying the ball off Garton, Welsh Fire were running out of options.In the first game between these two sides, Brave had been in even deeper trouble before Chris Jordan played a match-winning innings, but Fire had no equivalent as the lower order slipped away. It fell to Mills to take a hat-trick with the last three balls of the innings as Fire were dismissed for 87 – the lowest total in a completed 100-ball innings – and left needing their bowlers to produce something remarkable to save the game.The player with the best chance of doing that was Pakistan opening bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and he delivered an effective first set that did everything other than pick up a wicket for Fire. Willey’s first two balls then went for 10 as Brave opener Finn Allen started to find his range before he was caught on the long-on boundary by Willey off the bowling of David Payne for 31.Welsh Fire tried seven bowlers, but there was little pressure on Conway and du Plooy as they knocked off the winning runs with great ease.