Australia recall Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon; Gaikwad to captain West Zone — cricket digest 21 Jul 2026
Australia bring back Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon for Bangladesh Tests as Boland battle looms
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon have all been named in Australia’s 13-man squad for the two-Test series against Bangladesh in Darwin and Mackay in August, after missing the Sydney Test in January through injury. Their returns squeeze out Michael Neser, with Neser, Todd Murphy and Brendan Doggett listed as standby options.
The selection also sharpens the call on Australia’s pace mix: with Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood and Scott Boland all in the squad, one of Hazlewood or Boland is likely to miss out if Australia go with a spinner at TIO Stadium, where Lyon is the only specialist option. Chair of selectors George Bailey said Boland is making a strong case to be seen as part of the first-choice quicks rather than a reserve, while Hazlewood has had adjustments made to his preparation after a run of early-season injuries.
Gaikwad handed West Zone captaincy for Duleep Trophy; Mulani deputy as Shaw and Musheer included
Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead West Zone in the season-opening Duleep Trophy, which starts on August 23 and runs to September 10 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. Shams Mulani has been named vice-captain, with West Zone coming off a semi-final loss to eventual champions Central Zone last season.
The squad includes six Mumbai players, among them Shardul Thakur and Sarfaraz Khan, while Prithvi Shaw is also picked after scoring 537 runs at 48.84 in his first Ranji season with Maharashtra, including a 156-ball 222 against Chandigarh. Musheer Khan earns a call-up after a 2025-26 Ranji season of 446 runs and 16 wickets; the spin group is led by Mulani and Tanush Kotian, with Siddharth Desai as another option. Harvik Desai is likely to be first-choice wicketkeeper with Urvil Patel as cover, while 19-year-old Aayush Mhatre was not considered as he continues rehab from hamstring and wrist injuries.
Hundred avoids front-of-shirt betting logos as ECB sets 2027 ban; Sciver-Brunt joins Rockets staff
All eight Hundred teams have secured non-gambling front-of-shirt sponsors ahead of Tuesday’s opening match, easing ECB concerns after franchises were allowed to use betting partners in 2026 only as a last resort. The ECB has committed to a blanket ban on visible betting sponsorship in the Hundred from 2027, though some teams may still carry gambling branding elsewhere on kits this season.
Trent Rockets also strengthened their women’s coaching set-up with Katherine Sciver-Brunt appointed assistant coach for the 2026 Women’s Hundred. It is her first cricket role since retiring in 2023 and will see her work alongside her wife Nat, with Chris Read as head coach and Graeme White joining as fielding coach.
One-Day Cup gets underway with Stokes set for Durham and counties leaning on rookies in Hundred window
The Metro Bank One-Day Cup begins with squads shaped by Hundred absences, creating opportunities for younger players across the 18 counties. One of the headline draws is Ben Stokes’ availability for Durham following his retirement from international cricket last month, with Durham opening away at Derbyshire.
Counties are also balancing overseas and England-player availability: Derbyshire will look to Wayne Madsen’s experience and have Shoaib Bashir earmarked as a key figure, while Durham list Duanne Olivier as their overseas option with David Bedingham unlikely to feature, and Emilio Gay available before next month’s Test series against Pakistan.
In brief
- Indian batting allrounder Ashutosh Sharma has signed for Hampshire for the 2026 One-Day Cup, joining a side aiming to improve on last season’s runners-up finish.
- Brendon McCullum says he will stay in England to follow the Hundred and keep an eye on emerging players after being stood down as Test coach eight days ago.
- Rohit Sharma dismissed retirement talk as “noise” after his 138 at Lord’s, with Shubman Gill saying there has been no such discussion within the India team.
- Several India stars, including Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh, are set to return to the Women’s Hundred after missing the 2025 season.
- England Under-19s drew a fluctuating Youth Test with South Africa Under-19s at Hove after replying with 320 and 100 for 2 to South Africa’s 460 and 209.
- Kushagra Ojha’s unbeaten century, backed by fifties from Yashbardhan Chauhan and Manal Chauhan, lifted India Under-19s to 253 for 3 after they slipped to 0 for 2 against Sri Lanka Under-19s in Colombo.
- A reader query revisited whether Garry Sobers’ 365 not out remains the record for the highest maiden Test hundred, alongside a question on the biggest successful chase in men’s T20s.
- Tributes continued for Sir Garfield Sobers, reflecting on his all-round brilliance and the humility that accompanied it.
- A retrospective traced how Garry Sobers constructed his 365 not out at Sabina Park in 1958, the innings that set a new world record at the time.
- Another remembrance piece highlighted Sobers’ impact as a mentor and teacher, alongside his standing among the game’s greatest.
- A column argued that India’s continued omission of Kuldeep Yadav in ODI selection points to a broader misunderstanding of balance and “bits-and-pieces” allrounders.
- A feature from Lord’s reflected on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s partnership and the sense that it could be their final appearance together in England.
- Ben Stokes’ decision to play One-Day Cup cricket for Durham as the Hundred begins was framed as a notable counterpoint to the ECB’s flagship competition.
Sources: ESPNcricinfo