Anderson faces uncertain future, India reshuffle for NZ opener, Nortje injury scare — cricket digest 22 Oct 2026

· Cricombo Editorial

Lancashire decide against new contract as Anderson’s next move comes into focus

James Anderson’s playing future is in doubt after Lancashire chose not to offer their long-serving seamer a new contract. Now 44, Anderson has continued with his boyhood club since his final England Test in July 2024 and has captained Lancashire in the County Championship since midway through the 2025 season.

India bowl first in Christchurch and hand chances to Nitish Reddy and Mayank Yadav

Shreyas Iyer opted to field in the first T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch, with India arriving only two days earlier and coming off a packed schedule that included their recent home series against West Indies. Iyer said he had no concerns about jetlag or preparation time.

India made two changes from the washed-out Bengaluru match against West Indies: Nitish Kumar Reddy replaced Shivam Dube among the seam-bowling allrounders, and Mayank Yadav came in for Prince Yadav in the pace attack. New Zealand, without the injured Rachin Ravindra, listed Daryl Mitchell at No. 3 and brought Bevon Jacobs into the middle order, leaving Devon Conway and Josh Clarkson out; they went with four seamers in Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Adam Milne and Lockie Ferguson.

Nortje limps off with suspected groin injury as South Africa juggle workloads against Australia

South Africa’s second Test against Australia in Gqeberha took an unwelcome turn when Anrich Nortje walked off three balls into his fourth over with a suspected right groin injury. Cricket South Africa said he was undergoing further assessment, and he did not return to the day’s play, leaving South Africa facing the rest of the match potentially a bowler short.

The setback comes after Nortje’s heavy workload in Durban, his first Test and first-class match in more than three-and-a-half years, and adds to a growing list of pace injuries for South Africa. Kagiso Rabada has recently returned after a hamstring strain, while Lungi Ngidi is sidelined and Ottneil Baartman and Kwena Maphaka also have hamstring issues; Dane Paterson, Corbin Bosch and Gerald Coetzee are the reserve quicks in the current squad.

Schutt accepts two-match CA suspension over prescription medication guidelines

Australia seamer Megan Schutt has been suspended for two matches by Cricket Australia after failing to follow the sport’s requirements around prescription medication during an out-of-competition period. CA said the matter related to a single incident, was not performance-enhancing, and fell under its Sports Science and Sports Medicine guidelines.

Schutt accepted the penalty, which will be served in New Zealand’s third T20I against Australia and Adelaide Strikers’ opening WBBL match against Melbourne Stars on October 31. She played four matches while the investigation was ongoing, including a WNCL game for South Australia and three ODIs against Bangladesh.

In brief

  • Marco Jansen’s 5 for 33 helped South Africa bowl Australia out for 99 and enforce the follow-on in Gqeberha, with Australia’s second innings led by an unbeaten 87 from Travis Head as they trailed by 170 runs with six wickets in hand.
  • Marco Jansen said he is ready to “come back again and again” after contributing 85, a five-for and key moments in the field as South Africa responded strongly in the second Test against Australia.
  • Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in Sharjah after restricting them to 160, with Rashid Khan taking 4 for 31 and Rahmat Shah making 67 not out in a chase completed in 35.3 overs to set up a final against Zimbabwe.
  • Afghanistan go into the Sharjah ODI tri-series final as favourites against Zimbabwe, in what will be the venue’s first ODI tournament final since 2003.
  • Stand-in Bangladesh captain Towhid Hridoy said his side’s batting has been “consistently poor abroad” and pointed to mindset and handling collapses after they missed the UAE tri-series final, having lost to Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
  • In Bangladesh’s NCL, Khulna moved top after a ten-run win over Chattogram, Rajshahi beat Barishal by eight wickets powered by Nayeem Ahmed’s unbeaten 202, Sylhet defeated defending champions Rangpur by 37 runs, and Mymensingh and Dhaka drew again.
  • Ali Orr has joined Middlesex from Hampshire on a three-year deal, while Essex signed George Bell and Ben Mike completed a move to Glamorgan.
  • New Zealand Cricket has stepped back from its planned 2027 investment in Major League Cricket, saying it needs to focus resources on its high-performance programme.
  • Senior England Women players, including captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, will be allowed to miss a three-match T20I series in Sri Lanka if their WPL 2027 franchises reach the latter stages, with England also set to play three ODIs in Sri Lanka in March.
  • England and Sri Lanka meet in Rawalpindi looking for their first points of the Pakistan tri-series after both teams began with defeats to Pakistan.
  • Sam Konstas hit 151 not out as New South Wales set Western Australia 364 to win in the Sheffield Shield, with WA stumbling to 30 for 3 by stumps, still needing 334.
  • Tasmania were on top against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield after Gabe Bell’s 3 for 22 left Victoria 98 for 5 chasing 271.
  • Queensland beat South Australia by six wickets in the Sheffield Shield after Xavier Bartlett took 5 for 52 in the second innings and Jimmy Peirson steadied the chase with 48 not out.
  • Baroda left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt marked his 100th first-class match with a six-for against Bihar and said he still harbours ambitions of playing for India.
  • India allrounder Devika Vaidya says she is ready to return to the top level after stepping away from cricket to start a family and working back from maternity leave.
  • Hasan Nawaz’s shift towards greater restraint has been highlighted as a positive for Pakistan’s middle order as he looks to balance aggression with innings-building.
  • India began their New Zealand tour without Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, with Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy under the spotlight and home fans set for a rare look at Finn Allen in New Zealand colours on home soil.
  • Bangladesh chose to bat against Afghanistan in a must-win Sharjah tri-series match, handing a debut to fingerspinner Aliss Al Islam, before Afghanistan’s chase later sealed Bangladesh’s exit.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo