CWI announces pay cuts and suspends Super50; South Africa beat Australia; MI hire Luke Williams — cricket digest 25 Sep 2026

· Cricombo Editorial

CWI cuts player retainers by 25% and suspends Super50 and Women’s T20 Blaze in restructuring drive

Cricket West Indies has announced a 25% reduction in retainer fees as part of a broader financial restructuring, with international players staying on 12-month contracts but domestic retainers reduced to seven months. CWI said the measures were aimed at addressing financial, developmental and competitive pressures, and noted the operational burden of funding domestic tournaments across the region.

This year’s men’s Super50 and the Women’s T20 Blaze have been suspended, with CWI citing the cost of travel, accommodation and staging. The board said an ICC loan facility of US$16m, approved in July and released in three tranches, comes with conditions that require CWI to hit key metrics to access funds. With the Super50 paused, CWI said it will look to prepare ODI players for the 2027 World Cup qualifiers via white-ball matches against a visiting England A side in November followed by an ODI camp, while also outlining replacement qualification tournaments for the 2028 LA Olympics, to be funded by individual national boards.

South Africa start ODI season with win over Australia as Breetzke and Maharaj lead the way in Durban

South Africa opened their home international summer by beating Australia by 67 runs in the first ODI at Kingsmead. Matthew Breetzke’s 112 anchored South Africa’s 297 for 8, with Marco Jansen adding 75, before Australia were bowled out for 230 despite 60 from Mitchell Marsh.

Keshav Maharaj’s 4 for 20 drove the squeeze as Australia slipped against spin, and South Africa’s attack held firm despite missing several frontline quicks. Earlier, Australia had chosen to bowl at the toss, handed Jack Edwards his ODI debut, and brought back Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, while South Africa welcomed Gerald Coetzee back to ODI cricket and fielded both left-arm spinners.

Mumbai Indians appoint Luke Williams as WPL head coach, replacing Lisa Keightley

Mumbai Indians have named Luke Williams as their new head coach in the WPL, with Lisa Keightley departing after taking up a role as Cricket Australia’s national development lead. Williams previously coached Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the WPL title in 2024 and has also led Adelaide Strikers to back-to-back WBBL championships in 2022 and 2023.

The appointment is MI’s second coaching change in as many seasons, after Keightley arrived ahead of WPL 2026 following Charlotte Edwards’ move to the England head coach role. Williams’ immediate focus is on finalising MI’s retention list ahead of the September 28 deadline, with the WPL 2027 mini-auction scheduled for October 28 in Kochi and the season set to run from January 14 to February 7.

Sammy frames India ODIs as key West Indies checkpoint ahead of World Cup qualifying push

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy says the upcoming three-match ODI series against India is a chance to measure the team’s progress in the format, with the first match set for Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. Sammy also pointed to West Indies’ 24-year wait for a bilateral ODI series win in India as an added motivation.

With West Indies set to go through World Cup qualifiers again after missing automatic qualification for the 2027 tournament, Sammy said the series forms part of the build-up to February’s qualifying campaign. He highlighted the spread of match-winning contributions in recent times and namechecked Shai Hope, Amir Jangoo, Sherfane Rutherford, Alzarri Joseph and 19-year-old wristspinner Vitel Lawes, who debuted against New Zealand in July and took eight wickets in five games.

Pakistan’s Farhan backs Asian Games squad to adapt after spin-focused camp ahead of quarter-final start

Sahibzada Farhan says Pakistan’s Asian Games men’s T20 squad is ready for conditions in Aichi-Nagoya after a four-day camp in Karachi designed to mirror the surfaces expected in Japan. Farhan, captaining Pakistan for the first time, said he had worked on expanding his options against spin, including sweeps and reverse-sweeps, with scenario matches used to sharpen preparation before departure.

Pakistan’s 15 includes four uncapped players — Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood — while Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan and Farhan were part of Pakistan’s squad at this year’s T20 World Cup. Pakistan, one of the seeded sides, will begin in the quarter-finals on September 28 against the team finishing second in Group B (Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman).

In brief

  • Sri Lanka kept their ODI series alive in Leeds, defending 321 for 6 to beat England by 16 runs at Headingley, with Kusal Mendis’ 121 and Dunith Wellalage’s 3 for 49 central to the result.
  • Hayley Matthews struck 182 off 156 as West Indies Women made 299 for 6 and then beat Zimbabwe by 99 runs in the first women’s ODI in Harare.
  • India A went 1-0 up on Australia A in Puducherry, winning the first unofficial Test by 162 runs after Shams Mulani took seven wickets in the match.
  • Todd Murphy reflected on a heavy workload in India after finishing with match figures of 7 for 125 for Australia A in Puducherry.
  • Hong Kong picked up their first points at the Asian Games men’s competition by beating Oman by 41 runs in Nisshin after posting 121 for 8 and then restricting Oman to 80 for 6.
  • Warwickshire seized early control against Leicestershire on day one of the County Championship Division One finale, bowling them out for 125 before reaching 130 for 4 to lead by five.
  • Dan Lawrence made 105 not out as Surrey closed day one on 327 for 4 against Somerset at Taunton, with Dom Sibley (72) and Ben Foakes (64*) also among the runs.
  • Yorkshire kept Nottinghamshire to 242 for 9 at Trent Bridge, with Ben Cliff taking 4 for 39 after a 108-run stand between Haseeb Hameed (71) and Jack Haynes (48).
  • Jack Leaning’s 78 helped Sussex recover to 244 against Hampshire, who then slipped to 55 for 4 in reply with Jaydev Unadkat taking 2 for 17.
  • Glamorgan dominated day one against Essex with centuries from Kiran Carlson (107) and Asa Tribe (135*), reaching 318 for 3.
  • Ryan Higgins starred with 115 and 4 for 30 as Middlesex took charge against Northamptonshire, leading by 152 after day one.
  • A 20-wicket opening day at New Road left Worcestershire on top against Derbyshire, with Ben Allison’s 5 for 22 helping bowl Derbyshire out for 88.
  • Emilio Gay hit 141 as Division Two champions Durham piled on 355 for 5 against Lancashire at Old Trafford.
  • Devdutt Padikkal’s 59 helped India A set Australia A 363 in Puducherry, but Australia A lost two early in the chase to reach 55 for 2 by stumps on day three.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo