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New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert is set for his maiden MLC (Major League Cricket) stint in the US after having been signed by San Francisco Unicorns for the 2025 season. Seifert, 30, will reunite with his New Zealand opening partner Finn Allen and former Northern Districts team-mate Corey Anderson at Unicorns.Under Anderson’s captaincy, Unicorns finished runners-up in MLC 2024.Both Seifert and Allen are not contracted to the NZC but have committed to making themselves available for all of New Zealand’s T20I series in the lead-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup. Seifert and Allen were recently reintroduced into the New Zealand T20I team for the home series against Pakistan and were talked up as “New Zealand’s bash brothers” after forging explosive partnerships at the top.Related

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“I’ve been following MLC from afar over the last couple of seasons, particularly keeping a close eye on some of the Kiwi contingent,” Seifert said. “I can’t wait to get started this summer and add some more firepower with a team that is already stacked with talent and in a great position to take things one step further than last year.””We look for both quality cricketers and quality personalities when bringing players into the Unicorns fold, and Tim definitely checks both those boxes,” Unicorns head coach Shane Watson said. “His skills with the gloves will also be a major asset this year, especially with the new wickets in Oakland and Fort Lauderdale offering something of an unknown for spin bowling. He’s also coming in with impressive form with the bat, adding to an already dominant top order alongside Finn [Allen], Shorty [Matt Short], and Jake [Fraser-McGurk].”Both Seifert and Allen are currently in action in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).Ross Taylor has been named Seattle Orcas ambassador for MLC 2025•Getty Images

New Zealanders have been in demand among other MLC franchises as well. Offspin-bowling allrounder Michael Bracewell, who was central to New Zealand’s run to the Champions Trophy final in March, has been signed by MI New York (MINY). Bracewell will join Trent Boult at MINY; Boult is currently part of MI’s teams in the MLC, SA20 (MI Cape Town) and IPL (MI Indians).Daryl Mitchell, who had missed MLC 2024 for Texas Super Kings with injury, has re-signed with the franchise for the upcoming season. In Mitchell’s absence last year, TSK had brought in Afghanistan wristspinner Noor Ahmad, who has now been retained for MLC 2025 along with Devon Conway.Tearaway Adam Milne will link up with Mitchell and Conway at TSK. Milne was part of Washington Freedom in the inaugural MLC in 2023 and has worked with TSK head coach Stephen Fleming at CSK in the IPL.Daryl Mitchell will reunite with Stephen Fleming at Texas Super Kings•Associated Press

TSK have also snapped up the South Africa pair of Nandre Burger and Donovan Ferreira, who both play for Joburg Super Kings (JSK) in the SA20.Former New Zealand stalwart Ross Taylor has been named Seattle Orcas ambassador for MLC 2025. He had previously worked as a batting coach at Orcas during the first two seasons of the tournament. Former England batter Ian Bell will take over from Taylor as Orcas’ batting coach.New Zealand Cricket recently became the first national governing body to invest directly in an overseas T20 league after joining forces with MLC to launch one of the competition’s new teams in 2027, when the league expands.The 2025 edition of MLC will be played from June 13 to July 14 with Oakland’s Coliseum to host matches for the first time.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) games will not be previewed or reviewed on R Ashwin’s YouTube channel for the remainder of IPL 2025.”Given the nature of the discussions on this forum over the last week, we want to be mindful of how things can be interpreted and have chosen to step away from covering CSK games, both previews and reviews, for the rest of this season,” read a note from the admin of Ashwin’s channel. “We value the diversity of perspectives that come through on our shows and remain committed to ensuring the conversation stays true to the integrity and purpose of the platform we’ve established. The views expressed by our guests do not reflect Ashwin’s personal opinions.”A controversy arose last week when Prasanna Agoram, a former data analyst for South Africa and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and a regular on the channel, criticised CSK’s decision to pick Afghanistan wristspinner Noor Ahmad despite having Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the squad. Ashwin himself does not take part in these discussions.The video was taken down after sharp reaction on social media. After CSK’s chase against DC petered out on Saturday, coach Stephen Fleming was asked if such chatter about the team on a player’s YouTube channel might make things awkward. “I have no idea,” Fleming said. “I didn’t even know he [Ashwin] had a channel, so I don’t follow that stuff. That’s irrelevant.”

Orange Cap leaderboard

Nicholas Pooran, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) No. 3, is still on top of the run-scorers’ table, with 201 runs from four innings, but other batters are catching up with him.Like MI’s Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar has been one of the brightest spots in an otherwise bleak MI set-up, and his sequence of 29, 48, 27*, 67 and 28 has taken him to No. 2, knocking Mitchell Marsh out of the top three.GT opener B Sai Sudharsan has moved down to third spot after Monday’s game. He has scores of 5, 49, 63 and 74 – 191 runs from four innings.Hardik Pandya has been among the wickets for MI•Associated Press

Purple Cap leaderboardNoor Ahmad, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left-arm wristspinner, has been joined by MI captain Hardik Pandya at the top, both returning ten wickets so far, from four games each. Noor has a better economy rate, though – 7.86 – compared to Hardik’s 8.57.There’s a tie just below them, too.Mitchell Starc is at third place, since his nine wickets have come from one fewer bowling innings, three, as compared to Mohammed Siraj’s nine from four.Starc has been one of the standout strike bowlers in the tournament so far, returning 3 for 42, 5 for 35 and 1 for 27, while Siraj has got a move on after a poor start. After figures of none for 54 in his first appearance of the season, Siraj has picked up 2 for 34, 3 for 19 and 4 for 17 to move up the ladder quickly.

“Sir, basically the ball goes inside, outside and goes straight. So, you can keep it that way but there are minute changes that you can do with that also.”Right at the end of a press conference, a journalist understandably asks Varun Chakravarthy how many variations he has. The man ain’t having it. You can go left, you can go right, you can go straight is the reply of a person that doesn’t really want you to get to your destination.From a mystery spinner, you can understand the secrecy. In fact, it’s kind of a boss move.Related

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Varun, by his own reckoning, did not consider cricket a serious professional endeavour until he was 26. “Before that, my dreams were all being an architect and making movies. So, I’ve had different career paths.”And yet here the guy is, at 33, taking 5 for 42 in the second ODI he has ever played, making a very serious case for his inclusion in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy, which is also likely to be played on a used surface that is likely to favour him. Varun is an IPL graduate, having played only a single first-class match.He is as hyper-modern as cricket gets – a guy who thinks about a sport that billions obsess over as merely a “career path”. But his excellence in this field is also down to his logic in breaking it down and understanding what he brings to the game.He explained how he figured out how to bowl in 50-over cricket, having initially come from the T20 world.”In T20, my sequencing of balls – as in how I construct an over – is totally different compared to the 50-over format,” Varun said. “And that I was able to figure out when I played the last two years in Vijay Hazare Trophy [India’s main domestic one-day tournament]. And it really helped me to understand when I can bowl my incoming delivery or outgoing delivery or the straighter one or the top spin – whatever it is. But that gave me a sense of awareness of when to bowl what. It is completely different from what I do in the T20.”Varun Chakravarthy has offered himself as another spin option•Associated Press

In this match against New Zealand, Varun said he didn’t feel a ton of pressure, because of the presence of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.But there is also the pressure not to reveal what he has in store for teams about to face him in the rest of the tournament. Or even for teams that will face him in the IPL to follow. Varun is not giving out trade secrets to any of these fellows, even if they happen to be in his own team.In the very earliest stages of the Champions Trophy, India captain Rohit Sharma said this about Varun: “He doesn’t bowl too many variations to us in the nets. He bowls just one type of delivery. Maybe, he doesn’t want to show his variations to us, even. But that is a good thing. He has got certain weapons which he wants to just put out there when it actually matters. I am more than happy if he wants to do that.”But he has got something different which is why he is here with us. He has been impressive in the last eight to nine months. That is why we wanted to bring him here and see what he has and what he can do for India on the big stage.”What he has done for India on the big stage is suggest he should have more ODI appearances, particularly on used pitches. The surface for the semi-final against Australia will likely be on the same pitch they had played Pakistan on.Varun, who didn’t play in India’s first two Champions Trophy matches, has now made himself very difficult to drop.

Australia opened their Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup with a dominant nine-wicket win over Scotland in the Group D game in Bangi.Fast bowler Caoimhe Bray starred with figures of 3 for 1 in 3.2 overs, while left-arm quick Eleanor Larosa and left-arm wristspinner Hasrat Gill shared five wickets among them to help Australia skittle Scotland for a mere 48 in 15.1 overs. Australia chased down the target in 6.4 overs with opener Katy Pelle remaining unbeaten on 29 off 18 balls.In Kuching, rain played spoilsport with the match between Samoa and Nigeria abandoned without a single ball bowled. The Pakistan–USA fixture also ended similarly in Johor, with the match abandoned without a ball being bowled.Meanwhile, in the England vs Ireland match in Johor, England rode wicketkeeper-batter Jemima Spence’s 37 not out off 27 balls and Charlotte Lambert’s 14-ball 25 to post a competitive 144 for 7. Ireland were put under pressure when they lost two early wickets inside four overs, however, rain forced the game to end without a result.Rain had a say in the New Zealand vs South Africa game as well, but not enough to prevent a result. Asked to bat first in Kuching, South Africa scored 91 for 7 in the 11 overs they got, with the opening pair of Jemma Botha (32 in 24 balls) and Simone Lourens (21 in 14) and international wicketkeeper Karabo Meso (25 in 14) doing most of the scoring. New Zealand could only manage 69 for 5 in reply despite opener Emma McLeod’s 34 in 25.Bangladesh, meanwhile, bowled Nepal out for 52 in 18.2 overs after inserting them in Bangi, and then knocked off the runs in 13.2 overs.

Scott Borthwick has stepped as Durham captain but will remain an integral figure at the club after signing a two-year player-coach contract.Borthwick, 34, came through the Durham academy and played a key role in their 2013 County Championship title win. He left for Surrey in 2016, winning another Championship down south, before returning to Chester-le-Street as captain in 2021 and overseeing the club’s return to Division One.Borthwick averaged 19.77 in the Championship last season, with two fifties, but scored a maiden one-day hundred. He will continue to be available to play across formats, while taking on coaching responsibilities with the academy, pathway teams and both men’s and women’s professional squads.”I’m delighted to be taking on this new role as player-coach,” Borthwick said. “I’ve been fortunate to achieve so much as a player with this club, from an 11-year-old in the academy to being club captain – so there is nowhere I would rather start my coaching journey than with Durham.”I’m grateful to Marcus [North], Ryan [Campbell] and the coaching staff for providing me with this opportunity and I’m looking forward to learning from the talented coaches and staff we have across our teams, whilst training hard and remaining available to play and be the best possible player still.”Durham has given me so much in my career so far and I can’t wait to get started on this new chapter.”Marcus North, Durham’s director of cricket, said: “Scott has been an integral part of Durham Cricket for many years and his love for the club remains as high as it ever has been. After conversations following the 2024 season, and looking ahead to the future, Scott will now move into the next stage of his career with a player-coach role, something which we see as the perfect fit as a club and for Scott.”His leadership qualities and knowledge of the game will benefit the wider club which is exciting for the players he will be working with, albeit he will remain available to play for the first team.”Scott will add real value to our support staff throughout our professional teams and pathways for both the men and women alongside his playing contributions. We look forward to playing a part in his coaching career over the next few years.”Scott’s return to club as captain back in 2021 was a critical factor in us achieving promotion back to Division One. I would like to thank him on behalf of Durham Cricket for his tremendous contribution during his four years as captain.”

Only twice in eight previous editions of the women’s T20 World Cup has a side lost out on a semi-final berth because of an inferior net run-rate. Sophie Devine has been part of both those heartbreaks, in 2014 and 2023. As luck would have it, New Zealand are faced with yet another net run-rate scenario this time around as well.By Sunday evening, New Zealand would have a fair idea of what they should do to progress. An Indian win against Australia will mean they will have to beat Pakistan by a certain margin to qualify. India losing will mean they can beat Pakistan by any margin and qualify.This may seem like a potentially sticky scenario to face, but Devine, the New Zealand captain, doesn’t see it that way. “We’re really pleased with the position we’re in,” she said ahead of the Pakistan match in Dubai. “I think if you asked us at the start of the tournament that we’d have fate in our hands in terms of the semi-finals race going into our last game, we would’ve taken it.Related

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“I guess we’re really fortunate as well that we play last in our pool. So, we know exactly where the situation will lie before we play [Pakistan]. For us it’s simple, we reflect, review, watch the Australia game – “go, Aussie girls” – with a lot of interest. Hopefully our Aussie mates do us a favour.”New Zealand could’ve overtaken India’s net run-rate had they achieved their target of 116 in 14.3 overs against Sri Lanka. Asked if that thought ever crossed their minds, Devine was clear they weren’t “too focused” on that.”I’ve seen it so many times in different competitions and different leagues where you start focusing on those little things like net run-rates, I’ve seen teams lose completely when they’re in a position to win,” she said. “Cricket has a funny way of biting you in the bum.”We wanted to make sure that we won the [Sri Lanka] game, and we still did it comprehensively with a couple of overs to spare and wickets in hand. So, we’re in a really good position where we know exactly where our ball is going to lie before our last game.”If we’ve got to go about things slightly differently, we’ve got the options to do that with a squad that’s really flexible, that we’ve got an order that can change and we’ve got a lot of spinners, a lot of bowlers that can come in and out of the side and do a job.”Devine was equally mindful of what Pakistan could do to them. Only last December, they beat New Zealand in New Zealand by a 2-1 margin in the T20Is. In the subsequent ODIs, Pakistan managed to tie the third game and take it into a Super Over before winning.Monday’s fixture could be an emotional one for Fatima Sana, who has returned to the UAE from Pakistan after attending her father’s funeral. And Devine doesn’t want to leave anything to chance against a team that can sting them.”I think we’d be more concerned if there weren’t issues to work on,” she said. “So you’re right, Pakistan, they’ve got a lot to play for in terms of pride, and obviously with Fatima Sana, you know, regards to her family for their loss, and them wanting to play for her.”In World Cup games, you don’t need any more motivation to get out of bed. So, we certainly know, maybe it’s going to be a big ask and I guess our focus will be on us and making sure that we’re focusing on how we’re going to play.”The tournament has been up and down for New Zealand on the performances front. They broke a 10-match losing streak to beat India at the start of their campaign but stumbled against Australia to cancel out the net run-rate boost.Against Sri Lanka, especially with Chamari Athapaththu going strong at the 10-over mark, it seemed as if New Zealand may have been staring at a 130-plus target, but they bounced back to restrict them to 115, which they chased down courtesy Georgia Plimmer’s brisk half-century.Asked about the wild fluctuations in fortunes, Devine underlined how they’d been trying to remain neutral through the highs and lows, rather than letting the emotions drain them in an already intense competition.”It’s a very Kiwi nature that we stay pretty placid, pretty calm,” she said. “You can sometimes exhaust yourself riding the roller-coaster, especially at World Cups. Living on the emotions day to day can be pretty draining. So we spoke a lot about being really calm and level in this group and everyone’s doing it slightly differently.”

Rohit Sharma has praised the maturity Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan showed against New Zealand in the first Test in Bengaluru, where their 177-run stand on the fourth day gave India hope of coming back despite a disastrous collapse in the first innings.India were bundled out for 46 on the second day – their lowest Test score at home – and eventually lost the game by eight wickets. But because of Sarfaraz’s 150 and Pant’s 99, they were able to overturn the deficit of 356.”When those two are batting, everyone’s on the edge of the seat because they like to play the game which has got them success,” Rohit told the broadcaster after the game. “You’ve seen it over time with Rishabh, the way he bats, obviously takes a bit of risk, but I thought it was a very mature innings. [He] defended good balls, left few balls as well, and then, again, backed himself to play those shots, and that is what he’s all about.Related

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“Not to forget Sarfaraz. Sarfaraz, as well, playing in only his third or fourth Test match [fourth], to show that kind of maturity [was great], and [he was] very clear in his mind what kind of shots he wants to play. When you’re clear in your mind, you find yourself in good seat.”Rohit was pleased with the determination India’s batters showed in their second innings, after New Zealand had posted 402.”When you are 350 runs behind, you can’t think too much about it. All you got to do is try and bat the ball, as simple as that. That was the plan,” Rohit said. “We wanted to bat and see where the game goes. A couple of big partnerships there, really was exciting to watch, and put us back in the game. Like I said, when you’re 350 behind, it could have been easily [a situation] where we could have [been] bowled out before even getting 350. It was a great effort with the bat, something as a team we’re very proud of.”India are trailing 0-1 in the three Test series but Rohit was confident of a comeback. Earlier this year, India lost the series opener to England in Hyderabad but fought back to finish win 4-1.”There are guys who have been in this place before, where we’ve lost a game. We lost a game against England in the first Test, and we won four games after that. These things happen. It’s still two Test matches to go, and we know exactly what is required from each one of us. So, we’ll try and put our best game forward.”The second Test of the series starts on October 24 in Pune.

Kent reduced Hampshire to 213 for 7 at stumps on a weather-affected first day in the Vitality County Championship at Canterbury.Matt Parkinson took 3 for 31 and George Garrett 3 for 60 as the hosts exploited the conditions at the Spitfire Ground. James Vince hit 88 for the visitors, but their next highest scorer was Liam Dawson, who made 31.No play was possible before lunch, but when Kent won the toss a home supporter was moved to say: “If we can’t bowl a side out in these conditions, we never will.” And while the bar is admittedly low, this was as good a day as the division’s basement side have enjoyed at the St Lawrence in red-ball cricket all season.It was damp, overcast and blustery and Fletcha Midleton was soon bowled by Garrett for 8, playing the wrong line. Joey Evison then removed Toby Albert with his second ball for 11, playing on, before Nick Gubbins joined Vince. They put on 83 for the third wicket before Gubbins was caught behind off Garrett for 24.When the light deteriorated, tea was taken at 3.10pm, with Hampshire on 135 for 3. Conditions improved significantly after the restart but Ben Brown tried to hook Garrett and was caught by Evison for 9.Vince was on 77 when he pulled Evison to midwicket and although Joe Denly couldn’t take the catch, the former England man atoned with a brilliant diving one-handed grab when Vince tried to drive Parkinson through cover.Parkinson then got Liam Dawson for 31, caught by Charlie Stobo at second slip, but Harry Finch missed a chance to stump James Fuller when he was on 1, but he’d only added six more when Finch took his chance at redemption, grabbing a violently turning ball from Parkinson.With darkness encroaching once again, play was eventually abandoned for the day at 5.47 pm, with 11 overs remaining.

Birmingham Phoenix will meet Southern Brave in The Hundred Eliminator at The Kia Oval on Saturday after a nine-wicket victory over Manchester Originals.Moeen Ali’s side came out on top in a 30-ball-per-side match at Edgbaston, earning themselves the point they needed after rain delayed the start.Phoenix chased down their target of 42 with ease, Jamie Smith depositing Fazalhaq Farooqi over the boundary twice in the first five balls to set the tone for the chase.After a quieter second five from Farooqi, Ben Duckett smashed Tom Aspinwall’s first ball for six and then hit three of his next four to the boundary as the rain teemed down in Birmingham, the umpires remaining unmoved, determined to see the game to a result.Smith (14) was caught on the cover boundary by Sikandar Raza off Scott Currie, but Duckett (22*) and Moeen (6*) knocked off the remaining seven runs required with eight balls to spare, the skipper securing the win with a six off Currie over fine-leg.Winning the toss and bowling first, Birmingham Phoenix struck early, Kiwi speedster Adam Milne removing Matthew Hurst from the second legal delivery of the match when the young Lancastrian skied a chance to Liam Livingstone at mid-on.Milne’s compatriot Tim Southee took the second set and was immediately smashed into the stands by Phil Salt. He was then sliced over short-third by Max Holden from the final ball of the powerplay as the Originals took their score to 15 for 1.At the halfway point of the innings, the Originals were 22 for 2, Salt (12) mistiming a cross-bat shot off Milne from the 15th ball of the innings to give Livingstone his second catch of the evening.Sean Abbott then accounted for Paul Walter (1), caught at deep cover, to make it 24 for 3. Holden (15) continued to swing hard, the left-hander top-edging Southee for another boundary, but his luck soon ran out when he failed to go over mid-off as Livingstone held onto a third catch.Chris Wood closed out the innings, conceding just three runs and taking the wicket of Raza, caught by Jacob Bethell at deep midwicket as Originals closed on 41 for 5, hitting just one six in their innings.Phoenix had just 42 to chase to earn a trip to South London and they did it with ease, ensuring Andrew Flintoff’s first year as Northern Superchargers Head Coach would end with a fourth-place finish.Meerkat Match Hero Milne, who took 2 for 8, said: “To come out of the shortened game and into The Hundred Eliminator is very good for us.”There was a little bit of swing and seam so it was nice to use that first up, but in these shortened games anything can happen, so [you] just mix it up.”Anytime it’s moving around off the straight it’s nice. There’s been lots said but as a bowler it’s nice to have a little bit going your way sometimes in these shorter formats, there can be flat wickets and not much movement, so it’s nice to see a bit of swing and seam occasionally.”