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R Samarth’s maiden first-class double-century was the highlight of Karnataka’s dominant batting performance against Jharkhand in Greater Noida. Karnataka had gone into stumps on the opening day on 248 for 3, with Samarth on 118 and Kaunain Abbas on 28. On Friday, Samarth scored 235 and Abbas made 55, while every batsman who followed came good as Karnataka piled on 577 for 6 before declaring. Jharkhand ended the day on 9 for no loss, trailing by 568 runs.After the Samarth-Abbas stand ended, having realised 115, Samarth and Stuart Binny (97) added 185 for the fifth wicket. Samarth added another 46 with CM Gautam, the wicketkeeper, before being dismissed. Gautam remained unbeaten on 36, and Shreyas Gopal was 21 not out when the declaration was made.Rajasthan came up with a strong reply to Assam’s first-innings total of 195 to gain a 13-run lead in Visakhapatnam. Rajasthan had bowled Assam out for 195 after Pankaj Singh’s 24th five-wicket haul on the opening day.Starting their innings afresh on the second day, Rajasthan ended on 208 for 3, with Mahipal Lomror unbeaten on 84. Rajasthan lost Manender Singh with just 8 on the board. Lomror and Vineet Saxena then joined hands for a 76-run second-wicket stand. Lomror added 75 more for the third wicket with Ashok Menaria (44), before taking the side to stumps in the company of Rajat Bhatia (28 not out). Arup Das, Abu Nechim and Pallavkumar Das took a wicket apiece.At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, Odisha’s bowlers combined to give them the first-innings lead, bowling Saurashtra out for 186. Odisha had been bowled out for 228, despite opener Sandeep Pattnaik’s century, after which Saurashtra had gone into stumps on the first day at 4 for no loss.New-ball bowlers Basant Mohanty and Suryakant Pradhan and left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh took all 10 wickets to keep Saurashtra to 186. Mohanty took 4 for 58, while Pradhan and Dhiraj took three each. Jaydev Shah, the Saurashtra captain, top-scored with 64, and Chirag Jani scored 45, but there was no other contribution of note. Although Dharmendrasinh Jadeja resisted with an unbeaten 28 at No. 10, it wasn’t enough to give them the lead.Odisha lost first-innings centurion Pattnaik and their captain Govinda Poddar early in the second innings, and went into stumps on 62 for 2, leading by 104 runs.

John Gleeson, the former Australia spinner, has died at the age of 78 in Tamworth, New South Wales.Gleeson was Australia’s 242nd Test cricketer and played 29 matches between 1967 and 1972. He took 93 wickets at an average of 36 with three five-wicket hauls. Gleeson also claimed 430 first-class wickets in a 116-match career between 1966 and 1975, predominantly for New South Wales.”He’s sadly passed away in the Tamworth hospital, aged 78,” the former Australia captain Ian Chappell relayed to viewers during Channel Nine’s coverage of a Matador Cup game.Gleeson was one of the early unorthodox spinners, delivering with an unusual action like Australia’s Jack Iverson before him and Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis decades later. “The folded finger-spinner they called him,” Chappell said. “He came from Tamworth, started out his cricket life as a wicketkeeper and he fiddled around flicking these balls … I think he started with a table tennis ball, and developed into a very fine finger spinner.”I spoke to him the other day, he’d come to grips with his situation and his last words were to me, ‘Don’t fret, mate, I’m in good shape’.”A late starter to first-class cricket at 27, Gleeson had honed his method for years prior, experimenting with various grips in backyard cricket ater being partly inspired by fellow “mystery” spinner Iverson. “The first time I saw it was a photograph in a 1951 Sporting Life magazine,” he said of Iverson’s grip in a 2008 interview. “I would bowl with the same grip with a tennis ball in backyard cricket, with a jacaranda tree as the wicket. It was quite natural for me to bowl a legspinner even if it looked like an offspinner – it was basically a reverse wrong’un: looks like an offspinner but is a legspinner.”Gleeson worked his way into the New South Wales state side and ultimately the Australian Test team after impressing Richie Benaud in a net session in the summer of 1966-67. He always remained somewhat miffed by the hype that surrounded his bowling style, which was a forerunner to other more lateral methods of spinning the ball that would follow in later years around the cricket world. His path to the Test side was to be smoothed by another net session, in Adelaide where he bowled to the then selection chairman Sir Donald Bradman.”He stood there, in his suit, at the batting crease, without a bat. I ran up and bowled. To get the ball to turn a fair bit I had to bowl a lot slower than I normally did,” Gleeson said. “I bowled him that ball [an off break] and he tried to let it hit the net, but it went the other way, flew up, and hit him on the hip. His eyes lit up and he just picked the ball up and threw it back to me. Next ball, I bowled him the wrong’un and then he wasn’t quite sure which way to go as he wasn’t reading from the hand.”James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said: “John captured the imagination of cricket fans everywhere as he bamboozled batsmen with his odd bowling grip, borrowed from another mystery Australian spinner, Jack Iverson.””We were deeply saddened to hear of John’s passing and are truly appreciative of his contribution to the game, which, beyond his distinguished playing career, included time as an administrator with World Series Cricket. As a cricketer, he will be remembered as someone who played for his country at the highest level and, with his unique skills, had the ability to regularly dumbfound the best batsmen in any team.”

The end of an international season brings thoughts on what has been achieved and what challenges next lie ahead. For Andrew Strauss, the director of cricket who spent Friday and Saturday appraising all of England’s centrally and incrementally contracted players at Loughborough, there is plenty to ponder on both counts.At the forefront is the situation regarding the limited-overs captain, Eoin Morgan, and the likelihood that he will not tour Bangladesh for the one-day series. Unless Strauss’ powers of negotiation have worked unexpectedly in allaying Morgan’s concerns, there does not appear much chance of changing his mind. Final confirmation is expected Sunday evening.No Morgan, who turned 30 on Saturday, would mean a new one-day captain would be needed for the three matches in Bangladesh. Jos Buttler, as vice-captain, would head the list – he has led England once before, in a T20 against Pakistan – although, given his workload as wicketkeeper, longer-term Joe Root could be the likelier successor to Morgan when a permanent change is made.Players have been assured that pulling out of the tour will not be held against them, but Strauss could not guarantee an open door straight back if others take their chance. If the player given a place by Morgan’s absence – Jonny Bairstow or Ben Duckett, for example – enjoys a prolific series against Bangladesh there will be a challenging situation for Strauss and the England selectors, although it seems highly unlikely that Morgan will not be England’s captain at the Champions Trophy. That could be the time it is considered whether he is the man to lead England all the way to the 2019 World Cup.Beyond the difficulties presented by the Bangladesh tour, Strauss’ remit is also to keep thinking ahead. With that in mind, and the proximity of two major global one-day events in three years, there are likely to be some changes to England’s central contracts system when the new cohort are confirmed at the end of the September.Since Strauss was appointed last May his mantra has been the importance of treating limited-overs cricket seriously. Led by the coaching staff, Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace, plus Morgan’s captaincy, England’s white-ball cricket has often been spectacular in the last 18 months.That is likely to be reflected in the updated contracts system, which could give greater weighting to white-ball performances while an increased number of deals could be handed out in order to include one-day specialists ahead of the Champions Trophy; the likes of Jason Roy, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett and David Willey could benefit. Morgan holds one of the current 11 central contracts as does Buttler who has been a limited-overs specialist for much of the last 12 months.Ian Bell is also in the current batch but will lose his barring an unlikely recall for the winter tours. Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes, two of England’s major successes in Test cricket this season, will be in line for significant central contracts having only been on incremental deals for 2015-16.”I’ve spoken a lot about taking white-ball cricket more seriously and creating a balance between the formats,” Strauss said. “I don’t think our central contracts system as it stands does that and we’ve been working on a creating a system that reflects that better.”There is also a focus on the coaching staff as well as the players. There will be rotation among coaches this winter with Andy Hurry, the U-19 head coach, Paul Collingwood, Graham Thorpe and Steve Rhodes all having spells with the senior side.”We understand how demanding touring non-stop is and how important it is for the support staff to be fresh but it’s also a way of introucing people to the environment,” Strauss said. “What we are trying to do with our coaching staff is ensure they are working up and down the programme from U-19s up to the England team.”In terms of the selection process there will not be changes in the immediate future. There appeared to be tensions earlier this season when a majority of the selectors, led by medical advice, overruled Bayliss’ and Alastair Cook’s desire to have James Anderson available for the first Test against Pakistan after he had suffered a shoulder injury in the lead-up to the series.Strauss, who has attended most selection meetings this season but does not have a vote, said he remains happy with the panel headed by James Whitaker which includes Mick Newell and Angus Fraser as well as Bayliss. Strauss’ focus continues to be making the vast amount of information collected on players used more effectively in selection.”In terms of the personalities, I think it’s working well,” Strauss said. “The selection process has worked really well in the time I’ve been there. For me the real focus is the information we give the people making the decisions. Better use of technology, analysis, making it easier to tap into the huge amount of data we have on computers.”The final names those selectors come up with for Bangladesh and India, which will be announced on Friday, will no doubt provoke much debate.

ScorecardTom Alsop made his highest first-class score as Hampshire took charge (file photo)•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire were facing a battle to avoid defeat in their Specsavers County Championship match against Hampshire at Trent Bridge. Left to score a nominal 468 to win, from a minimum of 118 overs, Notts reached stumps on 42 for 2 on the third day.Hampshire, who went into this round of matches four points behind Nottinghamshire at the bottom of the Division One table, had batted until after tea before declaring on 393 for 7. Jimmy Adams scored 99, Tom Alsop hit 93 and there were half-centuries also for Ryan McLaren and Liam Dawson.Andy Carter, the former Notts seamer who took four wickets in the first innings, then struck with his first delivery of the second, having Jake Libby taken at square leg for 9. Hampshire made another inroad in the final over of the day as Will Smith held a juggling slip catch off Mason Crane to send back Riki Wessels for 11.Mick Newell, Notts director of cricket, said: “We need the five points we’d get for securing a draw, so we need to show some application tomorrow. Somebody has got to bat a lot of balls and that is going to be crucial. We felt that they would bat for a long time and they did, so they’ve given us less time to bat. We hoped to survive that session one wicket down but to lose two is disappointing.”Earlier, Adams and Alsop had few alarms in extending their second-wicket partnership to 160 before being separated just before lunch. Adams, whose career-best score of 262 not out came at Trent Bridge in 2006, moved on to 99 but then feathered an attempted pull off Jake Ball through to Chris Read – giving the England seamer his 100th first-class wicket.Dawson led a charmed life as he arrived in the middle. He was bowled by the first ball he faced but was reprieved by a cry of “no-ball”, was then dropped at midwicket and almost chopped on to his stumps, all from the bowling of Imran Tahir.Alsop had brought up his 50 from 122 balls during his stand with Adams and advanced to his career-best score before falling in the first hour of the middle session.Tahir, who has played for both these sides during spells with five different English counties, picked up two wickets in quick succession. Alsop went lbw and then Adam Wheater drilled a caught-and-bowled straight back to the South Africa international.With Dawson and Ryan McLaren then adding 80 for the fifth wicket, Notts were delighted to make a further strike in the final over of the afternoon session. Dawson had brought up his second fifty of the match from 85 balls but was bowled by Samit Patel for 69. The spinner made it two wickets in two balls as Lewis McManus edged his first ball into the hands of Steven Mullaney at slip.Gareth Berg survived the hat-trick delivery and moved on to 17 before nicking Tahir behind. But McLaren launched three enormous sixes over the midwicket ropes and was unbeaten on 71 when the declaration came.A successful run chase would be Nottinghamshire’s highest of all-time, surpassing the 461 they achieved against Worcestershire in 2001. More realistically, with 426 still needed, they will have to bat well to secure a draw and avoid dropping below their opponents at the foot of the table.

The Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) is threatening legal action against the Masters Champions League (MCL), a T20 tournament for retired players, over non-payment of dues following its inaugural season earlier this year.The MCL was intended to be staged over the next two years as well, but with FICA now threatening litigation on behalf of up to 50 players over what they term “the systematic non-payment of players,” and questioning the integrity of the tournaments organisers, the MCL could turn out to be a one-off event.Confirming the players’ intention to sue the organisers, GM Sports whose parent company is chaired by Zafar Shah, for unpaid fees, Tony Irish, the executive chairman of FICA, also called for the formation of “an an international dispute resolution body and contract enforcement mechanism in cricket.””It’s pretty obvious the organisers of the MCL have lost credibility,” Irish told ESPNcricinfo. “The failure to honour contracts sends a strong message. It is not a straightforward process to bring legal action, but we ensured there were proper player contracts in place and we are looking to coordinate a class action on behalf of 40 or 50 players.”We have given the organisers several deadlines and these have not been met. If they want to hold an event next year, they have a lot of ground to make-up. I think players will look at what happened in the first year and draw their own conclusions.”Despite several undertakings from Mr Shah that outstanding player payments would be made, under a payment plan proposed by MCL, many players have still not received payments due to them several months after the event. Some players have received less than 25% of their fee for an event that finished in February.”It’s also extremely disappointing that the event organisers have now taken to simply ignoring attempts by FICA, players and player agents to address the situation.”The MCL was beset with issues from the start. Struggling to define what constituted “retired” to the satisfaction of some Full Members boards, some players were withdrawn from the event after playing the initial games without No Objection Certificates.The cricket boards of Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies, were especially upset as they suggested the league, taking place at the same time as their own domestic events, threated to weaken their competitions and was attracting players who had no intention of retiring.While broadcast audiences were not insignificant, the rights had – in the vast majority of territories and on the vast majority of platforms – been given away for between two and three years in order to develop interest in the tournament. For that reason, it raised little revenue in the first year and promises to raise little more if held again.Complaints from players about non-payment began as soon as they gathered in Dubai for the first matches. Having been promised payment on arrival, there were various threats made to pull out of games only for an agreement to be reached at the last minute. ESPNcricinfo understands that some players were paid little over 10% of what they were promised, with others paid 25% and many paid 50%.While ESPNcricinfo understands that at least three of the six teams involved in the inaugural event did not have a clear ownership structure – franchise papers had not been signed – there is little disputing who is responsible for the payments. The terms of the player contracts state that the organisers, GM Sports, guaranteed to underwrite all agreements.GM Sports, a subsidiary of Grand Midwest Hotels, is owned by Zafar Shah. He declined to comment when contacted by ESPNcricinfo though he has previously given assurances that all payments will be made and that he is waiting for payment from sponsors and team owners. It is understood there is also an on-going attempt to refinance the league ahead of a second season.”We want to see an opportunity for such leagues and we want to see more opportunities for players,” Irish continued. “And that’s why we helped draw-up these contracts and put in place the anti-corruption safeguards you would expect at major events. We wanted to see that everything was done properly. So we feel the set-up of the event was not a worry. The problems have occurred when it has come to payment and, under the terms of the contracts, GM are responsible.”Systematic breaches of professional player contracts in cricket, such as this, are unacceptable. The MCL was an approved cricket event, under the jurisdiction of the Emirates Cricket Board.”As part of the ongoing work on the global structure of the game, we will be proposing an international dispute resolution body, and contract enforcement mechanism in cricket. Players, boards, clubs and leagues would all benefit from such a mechanism.”Some suppliers complained the ICC also failed to conduct due diligence into the event before authorising it. While the ICC said that it was the responsibility of the Emirates Cricket Board to grant such authorisation, they appear to be at odds with their own criteria (Section 32 of the ICC operating manual) which suggests that: “The ICC will decide whether or not a match or event is approved where: the match or event is taking place in the territory of an Associate or Affiliate Member, and does not involve any team that is under the jurisdiction of a Full Member.”Clive Hitchcock, the ICC’s senior operation manager, also appeared to tacitly admit to having approved the tournament in an email sent to boards in January. In it, he stated: “Our decision not to issue a Disapproved Notice was based on the application from MCL which clearly stated that it was an event for retired players only.”

ScorecardAneurin Donald made runs during a dreary final day•Getty Images

Callum Jackson, who was released by Sussex last year because of financial cutbacks, answered Kent’s emergency call for a wicketkeeper in Cardiff. He travelled from Kent on Tuesday night to deputise for Adam Rouse who has a broken finger which needs an operation.There was little prospect of a result to the game once 104.1 overs had been lost during the first two days, with both teams content with bonus points, although Glamorgan, despite their 12 points, remain at the bottom of Division 2.Had the weather not intervened, there could have been an interesting final day, with Kent chasing a target on a pitch that favoured the seamers.Callum Jackson•ECB

Glamorgan resumed on 22 for 0 on the final morning, but added only seven runs before Jacques Rudolph again failed, pulling a short delivery from Mitchell Claydon to the fielder stationed on the long leg boundary. Mark Wallace, another senior batsman in need of runs, mixed caution with aggression to add 52 with Will Bragg- before Bragg was bowled by Matt Coles for 22. Wallace went on to score 52 with seven fours, until he touched one to Jackson.Callum Jackson•ECB

Chris Cooke quickly followed, leg before playing across a delivery from Claydon, who then dismissed David Lloyd three balls later with the combined efforts of three fielders; the batsman edged the ball to fourth slip who diverted to third slip and eventually to Tom Latham at second slip who held on to spare his colleagues’ blushes.Aneurin Donald and Graham Wagg then averted a total collapse by adding 80 for the sixth wicket, with Donald, scoring an attractive 67- his third championship fifty of the season- from 68 balls with nine boundaries. Wagg went on to score his second fifty of the game, exceed 500 runs for the third successive season, being particularly severe on James Tredwell’s off spin whom he struck for 22 in one over.He was undefeated on 64, and now needs only 42 more runs to become Glamorgan’s leading run scorer in the championship this season .Both teams shook hands at 4.55pm when Glamorgan declared at 279 for 6- a lead of 348.Rudolph was pleased by his team’s overall performance- especially the two seamers Michael Hogan and Timm Van Der Gugten- and felt that” had we not lost so much time because of the weather, we could have won the game. But we are on an upward curve, and we are not far away from that championship win.”Kent captain Sam Northeast said that “after two weeks of white ball cricket, we found it tough to adjust, and we were not clinical enough after reducing them to 137 for 6 in the first innings but I was happy as they progressed from then on”.

ScorecardAdam Rossington cut loose to rapidly build Northamptonshire’s lead•Getty Images

A career-best 138 not out from Adam Rossington has put Northamptonshire in a position to push for their first win of the season in the Specsavers County Championship.Rossington, who was playing as a specialist batsman because of an injury to his left hand, hit five sixes and 16 fours in an impressive display to help his side establish a first innings lead of 300 against Sussex at Arundel.They declared on 478 for 5 but Sussex openers Ed Joyce and Chris Nash successfully negotiated 24 hours before stumps to reach 70 without loss, still 230 behind with a day to go.The experienced pair adopted a risk-free approach against attacking fields with Nash unbeaten on 36 and Joyce 28 not out.Rossington had earlier helped Northants speed towards their declaration 25 minutes after tea on the third day in an unbroken stand of 199 in 39 overs with wicketkeeper David Murphy, a sixth wicket county record against Sussex, beating the 178 by Rob Bailey and David Ripley at Northampton in 1990.The former Middlesex batsman was particularly savage on legspinner Luke Wells, hitting him for four sixes before swiping Ajmal Shahzad over the long-on rope. Murphy gave him good support with an unbeaten 60 as batting conditions eased on a pitch lacking pace.Sussex had a glimmer of hope just after lunch when they reduced Northants to 279 for 5, but on a wicket offering their seam attack little margin for error they failed to make the most of the second new ball as Rossington grew in confidence.The day had started well for Sussex. Ollie Robinson drew Alex Wakely with his first ball of the second day and had the Northants’ skipper caught behind, but the visitors regained the initiative in a punishing fourth-wicket alliance of 119 in 27.3 overs between Rob Keogh and debutant Sean Terry.Former Hampshire batsman Terry, who is on non-contract terms, improved his chances of a permanent deal by scoring 54 only to give it away just before lunch when he hit Harry Finch to deep midwicket.Keogh batted well for his 75, compiled in just under three hours with 11 fours, only to lose concentration just after lunch when he tamely prodded forward to Shahzad and was caught behind.Northamptonshire’s lead was 101 at that point but Rossington and Murphy extended it impressively during the afternoon session.

India Under-19 51 for 1 trail England Under-19 309 (Ekansh 117, Pushpak 4-76) by 258 runsEkansh Singh completed a superb hundred on a second day of England’s Youth Test against India that was severely truncated by rain.Only 28-and-a-half overs were possible between the cloudbursts but that was long enough for Kent right-hander Singh to compile 117 sprinkled with three sixes and 14 fours. Singh was last out, as England’s youngsters totalled 309, having shared an eighth-wicket stand of exactly 100 with James Minto who made 46.Naman Pushpak finished with 4 for 76 for India who lost teenage starlet Vaibhav Suryavanshi for 20 in reaching 51 for 1 before a thunderstorm ended play shortly after 5pmOvernight and morning rain delayed the start until 12.30pm and the showers returned 22 minutes later to drive the players off again. The intervening period was long enough for Ekansh to treat the smattering of spectators to four boundaries, including two sumptuous cover drives.It was 2.15pm before the game resumed but Ekansh had lost none of his rhythm, twice driving the ball back past the stumps for four as he continued to deal exclusively in boundaries on the day until he moved into the 90s. His battle with strike bowler Aditya Rawat was an engaging one, the seamer producing two excellent yorkers both superbly dug out by the batter. There would be no nervous 90s, Ekansh raising his 100 in the grand manner with a huge six over long-on.Minto provided great support, an uppercut over the slips for six resulting in a lost ball, necessitating the third change of the cherry in the short afternoon session.The 100-stand was raised before Minto chipped one straight back to Pushpak after which the end came swiftly. Alex Green became Pushpak’s fourth victim, before Singh holed out on the long-on boundary.India’s reply began in explosive fashion with Suryavanshi and his skipper Ayush Mhatre playing almost a shot a ball. The latter top-edged one over the slips before being given a life by Ralphie Albert when he spilt him at cover, Alex French the unlucky bowler.Suryavanshi meanwhile took a heavy toll of Green, nonchalantly driving him over mid-off for six before slashing one backward of square for another maximum. However, youthful impetuosity got the better of him when he pulled Green’s next delivery down the throat of fine leg – something of a waste, especially given three balls later the rain returned, forcing an early tea.Only 15 minutes more play was possible – just long enough for India to raise their 50.

San Francisco Unicorns became the first team to advance to the playoffs of the MLC 2025, beating Seattle Orcas by 32 runs in Dallas on Wednesday night. They remain unbeaten in this competition, having won all six matches so far and also strengthened their position at the top of the points table. Orcas suffered their fifth straight defeat this season and continue to sit at the bottom.Captain Matthew Short and Romario Shepherd’s all-round heroics along with Haris Rauf’s four-wicket haul were the highlights for Unicorns on a day when they had to win mini-battles.Asked to bat first, Unicorns lost Finn Allen in the second over. But Jake Fraser-McGurk and Short put on a 68-run second-wicket stand that not only steadied the innings but also provided them momentum. McGurk fell for a well-made 21-ball 34 in the eighth over to left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh and this triggered a collapse as Unicorns slipped from 86 for 1 to 103 for 6. Short, who smashed seven fours and two sixes in his 29-ball stay, departed for 52 when Harmeet dismissed him and Hassan Khan in the same over.Shepherd then blasted four sixes and four fours in his 56 off 31 balls, lifting Unicorns to a competitive 176 for 8. Gerald Coetzee also chipped in with 3 for 34, including key middle-order wickets. However, this late onslaught proved more than enough with the Orcas once again denied a maiden win despite a bright start to the chase.Orcas picked up 29 runs in the first two overs, thanks to Shayan Jahangir, who looked impressive throughout his knock. He played a range of eye-catching shots to score 40 off just 22 balls. However, Shepherd provided the breakthrough by dismissing Jahangir in the seventh over.In the following over, Short struck twice, removing both David Warner and Kyle Mayers. Orcas never recovered from these early setbacks and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Shimron Hetmyer and Sujit Nayak attempted to rebuild the innings, but only briefly. Rauf, who had earlier dismissed Heinrich Klaasen, wrapped up the innings by removing Coetzee and Hetmyer in the 16th over and Cameron Gannon in the 18th, finishing with figures of 4 for 32.

South Africa’s openers put on 64, a middle order led by Marizanne Kapp crashed 70 off the last eight overs, and South Africa motored to 166 for 5, the highest total of the tournament.Scotland’s reply was in tatters in the first seven overs. They lost both openers for single figures, captain Kathryn Bryce was out inside the powerplay, before Alisa Lister and Priyanaz Chaterji departed soon after. They were soon 45 for 6 at the start of the ninth over, and continued to collapse, sliding eventually to 86 all out in the 18th.South Africa’s left-arm spinners were the prime destroyers. Chloe Tryon was the first to strike, dismissing the Bryce sisters – Katherine and Sarah – caught-and-bowled in successive overs. Nonkululeko Mlaba was a menace through the middle overs, as she has been all tournament, and collected the game’s best figures of 3 for 12 from her four overs, with Nadine de Klerk also getting two wickets in addition to Tryon. Thus, the 80-run victory pushed South Africa to the top of Group B, their net run rate rising to 1.317.

Wolvaardt, Brits start strong

For the second time in three matches, South Africa’s openers were outstanding in the early going (they’d also put on an unbeaten 119 together against West Indies). Laura Wolvaardt had given an early chance, slapping a full toss straight to Katherine Fraser at mid-off, only to be dropped on 2.She took full toll of the mistake, hitting three fours and a six off the next 13 balls she faced. With Tazmin Brits also joining the boundary-frenzy in the sixth over, South Africa sped to 60 for no loss by the end of the powerplay.Tazmin Brits scored quickly at the top•ICC/Getty Images

Kapp marshals the middle order

Kapp arrived at the start of the 12th over, and quickly began to dominate. Her first two boundaries came from drives through cover, and then long-off against legspinner Abtaha Maqsood. Then she settled into a rhythm of singles to the leg side, with the occasional lapped sweep with the short fine leg inside the circle. Kapp holed out against the bowling of Kathryn Bryce in the 18th over, but she had cracked 43 off 24 balls – the best knock of the game.

Scotland’s top order fails

While a target of 167 was always going to be incredibly challenging, Scotland will be displeased with how meekly their top order fell. The Bryce sisters both provided leading edges to the bowler, and Saskia Horley gave a simple catch to extra cover. That exposed the middle order to South Africa’s in-form bowler Mlaba, whose first wicket came from a beautifully-flighted delivery to Alisa Lister, who was beaten in the air and walked past the ball.Scotland were 34 for 3 by the end of the powerplay, and had soon sunk to 39 for 5 and 56 for 7, with a big defeat all but assured.

South Africa’s players top the charts

Only South Africa and Scotland have played three matches so far, but key players seem to be finding form for South Africa, as they head towards the bigger matches to come. Lead among these is Mlaba, who even bowled Darcey Carter around the legs for her second wicket, and bowled 19 dot balls from her 24 deliveries. She has a tournament-high eight wickets, with an economy rate of 5.25.Wolvaardt, meanwhile, is the tournament’s highest run-scorer, with 141 runs at an average of 70.50, and a strike rate of 116.52.