Smith injures finger as Cox keeps at Edgbaston; India Women eye Asia Cup final — cricket digest 11 Sep 2026
Smith injures finger at Edgbaston; Cox takes the gloves for Pakistan’s second innings
Jamie Smith did not take the field for Pakistan’s second innings in the third Test at Edgbaston after injuring his left ring finger while keeping on day one, with Jordan Cox stepping in as England’s wicketkeeper for the rest of the match. Smith was struck attempting to take a leg-side ball from Ollie Robinson soon after lunch and needed treatment and extra strapping.
Smith still batted at No. 7 and made 69 off 84 as England piled up 453 and a 320-run lead, but Cox kept after tea and England reshuffled their slip cordon, with Ben Duckett moving to gully and Joe Root starting Pakistan’s second innings at first slip. England said Smith will be assessed further after the Test.
Deepti shrugs off final opponent talk as India set up Women’s Asia Cup title shot
Deepti Sharma said it “doesn’t matter” whether India face Pakistan or Sri Lanka in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final, with the team planning to watch the other semi-final together before settling on their approach. India reached the final by beating Bangladesh by 40 runs despite another ragged day in the field that included four dropped chances.
Deepti continued her strong tournament with 3 for 26 against Bangladesh and now leads the wicket charts with 11, adding a late 13 not out from six balls. India have won every match in the competition so far, including a group-stage meeting where they bowled Pakistan out for 55.
Namibia bowl first in Windhoek as Subrayen captains South Africa with Fortuin rested
Namibia chose to bowl in the second ODI against South Africa in Windhoek, sticking with Gerhard Erasmus’ preference to chase after a rain-affected opening defeat by 99 runs on DLS. The hosts brought back Michael van Lingen at the top of the order, left out Alex Busing-Volschenck, moved Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton to No. 6 for extra hitting and handed 18-year-old seamer Waldo Smith an ODI debut, with JJ Smit and Max Heingo missing out.
South Africa rested captain Bjorn Fortuin and put offspinner Prenelan Subrayen in charge, with Subrayen also set to lead the spin. They swapped the Bosch brothers by bringing in Eathan for Corbin, added Nqobani Mokoena to the attack, and reshaped the batting with Matthew Breetzke in for Rubin Hermann, Dewald Brevis at No. 5 and Jason Smith again at No. 6.
Nkomo returns to lead Zimbabwe Women for first time as South Africa visit for five T20Is
Josephine Nkomo is back in Zimbabwe’s squad for the home T20I series against South Africa after missing the tour of Pakistan in May through injury, and is set to captain the side for the first time. Experienced batter Sharne Mayers also returns after a two-year absence, while Nomvelo Sibanda—who led in Pakistan—remains in the group.
The five-match series begins on September 11 at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and will be Zimbabwe’s first home fixtures since October 2025. It is also South Africa Women’s first tour of Zimbabwe, with the teams having met only twice before, in a 2017 quadrangular ODI series.
In brief
- Somerset stayed top of County Championship Division One after crushing Leicestershire by 377 runs inside three days, with Henry Nicholls making his first Championship hundred and Craig Overton and Jack Leach sharing the wickets.
- Half-centuries from Ryan Patel, Ben Foakes and Mahipal Lomror helped Surrey reach 294 for 7 at Hove, still 99 behind Sussex’s 393 as the match drifted towards a draw.
- Nottinghamshire hit back at Trent Bridge after being skittled for 104, leaving Hampshire 61 for 6 in a chase of 178 after Manny Lumsden’s five-for and then early strikes from Olly Stone and Dillon Pennington.
- Ben McKinney’s 184 put Durham in control against Middlesex, who need 369 more runs and have eight wickets left as Durham close in on a promotion-clinching win.
- Derbyshire set Kent a target of 434 at Derby, leaving Kent needing to bat out the final day to protect their Division Two promotion position.
- Yuzvendra Chahal took 4 for 46 as Northamptonshire beat Worcestershire by six wickets at New Road to keep their promotion push alive.
- Rocky Flintoff’s maiden first-class fifty kept Lancashire in the game against Gloucestershire, but they still need 128 more runs with four wickets in hand after Kamran Dhariwal’s first fifty and key contributions from James Langridge.
- Ollie Robinson struck twice in four balls as Pakistan slipped to 52 for 2 in their second innings at Edgbaston, still 268 behind England after conceding a 320-run first-innings deficit.
- Mohammed Siraj said a rare two-month break disrupted his run-up and pace, before he found his rhythm again in the second innings of the Duleep Trophy final.
- Mohammed Shami, reflecting after playing his 100th first-class match in East Zone’s Duleep Trophy win, said his motivation remains high and that players “play for the badge”.
- A drawn Duleep Trophy final reignited criticism of the first-innings lead rule after East Zone’s 708—built around Ishan Kishan’s 270—left little incentive for a meaningful chase on the last day.
- Chris Green’s 4 for 20 helped Barbados Tridents beat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by four wickets in the CPL, with Quinton de Kock finishing 44 not out in the chase.
- In the Women’s CPL, Yastika Bhatia’s unbeaten 57 and Karishma Ramharack’s 3 for 11 powered Trinbago Knight Riders to a nine-wicket win over Jamaica Empress.
- Punjab allrounder Akshita Bhagat, 19, has pushed her way into India A contention after emerging from the WPL’s Speed Queen talent hunt focused on identifying fast bowlers.
Sources: ESPNcricinfo