England refresh Sri Lanka squads as Carse sidelined; Mandhana breaks records — cricket digest 05 Sep 2026

· Cricombo Editorial

England ring the changes for Sri Lanka as Donald and Crocombe earn call-ups; Carse left out amid ongoing probes

England have brought in two fresh faces for this month’s white-ball series against Sri Lanka, with Aneurin Donald named in the T20I squad and Sussex seamer Henry Crocombe added for the ODIs. Donald comes in with Phil Salt sidelined by a minor quadriceps issue, while Jacob Bethell (knee cartilage injury) and Sam Curran (groin, after surgery last month) also miss the series.

Tom Banton and Will Jacks are back available after recent absences, Jamie Overton returns, and Gus Atkinson and Ben Duckett have earned T20I recalls after strong Hundred form, with Rehan Ahmed and Luke Wood dropping out. Crocombe, who has taken hat-tricks in successive County Championship matches, is among the ODI additions along with Overton, Sonny Baker and Jordan Cox; Brydon Carse has been omitted despite being available, with the ECB saying he has been encouraged to “work through” off-field issues and take time for a “proper reset” while police and Cricket Regulator investigations linked to an incident in Derby continue.

Mandhana becomes women’s leading international run-scorer as India reach Asia Cup semis

Smriti Mandhana said “it’s just the start” after a record-breaking night in Dubai, where her 124 off 64 balls against Hong Kong took her past Mithali Raj to become the leading run-scorer in women’s internationals. The innings also helped seal India’s place in the Women’s Asia Cup semi-finals.

Mandhana now has 10,880 international runs and has moved to a record 18 international hundreds, going beyond Meg Lanning and Laura Wolvaardt (17 each). India won by 137 runs, though the match again highlighted their middle-order struggles; they next play Pakistan on Saturday ahead of the semi-finals on September 10 and 11.

Pretorius and Esterhuizen steer South Africa past Namibia to book tri-series final spot

South Africa held off Namibia by 11 runs after posting 228 for 4, with Lhuan-dre Pretorius making 101 and Connor Esterhuizen 88. Namibia replied with 217 for 3, led by Jan Frylinck’s 72 and Louren Steenkamp’s 61, but fell just short.

The result eliminates Namibia and sends South Africa into the tri-series final against Zimbabwe.

India to face Japan in first men’s T20I meeting as Suzuki Cup launches Sport 75 initiative

India will play a one-off men’s T20I against Japan on September 22 at the Sano International Cricket Ground for the Suzuki Cup, marking the first time the sides have met in the format. The fixture will kick off celebrations for the 75th anniversary of India-Japan diplomatic relations.

The match is part of Sport 75, an initiative aimed at deeper sporting cooperation, and comes with Japan ranked 41st in men’s T20Is. India will be the reigning world champions visiting what Japan’s cricket board called a landmark occasion for the sport in the country.

Bengal’s Rohit Yadav handed two-year ban for age discrepancy; CAB also bars 64 others

Legspinner Rohit Yadav, who toured Sri Lanka with India Under-19s in July, has been banned for two years after the Cricket Association of Bengal found an age discrepancy during a pre-season documentation drive. He has been withdrawn from the India Under-19 squad set to play Australia Under-19 later this month, and the ban has been circulated to all BCCI-affiliated state units with immediate effect.

The CAB also barred 64 others for similar issues, including former India Under-19 World Cup winner Ravi Kumar. CAB said Kumar’s age discrepancy is over 40 months and his age-group records from debut through the 2025-26 season will be deemed invalid.

In brief

  • Guyana Amazon Warriors made it five wins in a row in the CPL, chasing down Jamaica Kingsmen’s 159 for 7 to win by eight wickets after Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit 54 and Dwaine Pretorius took 2 for 20.
  • Josh Blake finished 43 not out as Surrey edged Yorkshire by one wicket at The Oval in a low-scoring County Championship thriller.
  • Nightwatcher Josh Hull struck a heroic 97 to frustrate Nottinghamshire as Leicestershire reached 250 for 7, still 201 behind after Notts declared on 451 for 8.
  • James Coles starred with 79 and 3 for 65 as Sussex moved to the brink against Essex, who will resume needing a further 131 to win.
  • Warwickshire hammered Hampshire by an innings and 129 runs, with Manav Suthar taking 4 for 52 in the second innings.
  • Somerset underlined their title push with an innings-and-64-run win over Glamorgan as Jack Leach, Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory took three wickets apiece.
  • Northamptonshire clawed their way back against Durham as Luke Procter struck twice in two balls, including Ben Stokes’ wicket, with Durham leading by 188 with three down in their second innings.
  • Ollie Price claimed a career-best 6 for 45 to put Gloucestershire on top against Derbyshire, with the visitors leading by 108 at 149 for 3 in their second innings.
  • Sam Northeast’s 132 left Worcestershire needing 296 more to beat Kent after they slipped to 84 for 3 in the chase.
  • Tom Helm took 4 for 36 as Middlesex wrapped up a three-day win over Lancashire by 160 runs.
  • UAE kept their Women’s T20 Asia Cup semi-final hopes alive by beating Indonesia by six wickets, after bowling them out for 73.
  • Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj have been included in South Zone’s squad for the Duleep Trophy final against East Zone starting September 6 in Chennai.
  • Pakistan’s overall Test win-loss ratio has dropped below 1.00 for the first time in nearly 40 years after their defeat to England at Lord’s.
  • The expanded Women’s Caribbean Premier League begins its fifth season, with Jamaica Empress joining the tournament and Meg Lanning among the overseas names in the mix.
  • South Africa’s tri-series run has showcased the next wave of white-ball batters, with Dewald Brevis, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Connor Esterhuizen in focus ahead of the final.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo