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ScorecardFile photo – Sharad Vesawkar struck 24 off 11 balls after taking four wickets•Kaushal Adhikari

Four wickets from Sharad Vesawkar – his best List A bowling effort – and half centuries from stand-in captain Gyanendra Malla and Dipendra Singh Airee took Nepal to a comfortable seven-wicket win against Kenya in the ICC World Cricket League match in Kirtipur. Nepal’s bowlers, led by Vesawkar’s four-for, choked Kenya’s batting with some economical bowling before the hosts overcame an early stutter – courtesy two early wickets from Elijah Otieno – to eventually canter home with 118 balls to spare.After being sent in to bat, Kenya lost opener Alex Obanda and Dhiren Gondaria in the fourth over before a 79-run third wicket-stand between Irfan Karim (38) and Collins Obuya (48) took them close to the 100-run mark. While the duo stemmed the fall of wickets, their partnership also took up 140 balls. Both batsmen fell in quick succession, following which tight bowling from Mahaboob Alam (7-5-11-2), Sagar Pun (7-0-19-1) and Vesawkar saw Kenya fall from 151 for 6 to 155 all out in the 47th over. Prior to Monday’s win, Vesawkar had bowled just two overs in 21 List A matches but helped to fill a void with both bat and ball created by the absence of captain Paras Khadka, who missed his second match of the series as he recovers from surgery for appendicitis.Otieno gave Kenya hope, removing Nepal opener Sunil Dhamala and Sagar Pun in his first spell. Malla was joined by Airee at 14 for 2 and stitched together a 111-run partnership to take Nepal to the brink of a win. Airee fell for 62 with Nepal needing another 31 runs to win, and Vesawkar then shone with the bat, scoring an 11-ball 24 and dispatching the last two balls for a four and a six to seal the match in the 31st over.

Titans overcame an uninterrupted spell from offspinning allrounder Prenelan Subrayen, which read 15.4 -6-35-5, and a batting collapse to scramble to a two-wicket win in a small chase of 91 against Dolphins in Pietermaritzburg. The result handed Titans 17.96 points and lifted them to the top of the points table.Subrayen struck in his second over, having opener Aiden Markram caught behind for 5. Grant Mokoena, Dean Elgar, captain Henry Davids and Jonathan Vandiar all departed in a space of six overs to leave Titans reeling at 35 for 5 in 15.5 overs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen followed his 195 in Titans’ first innings with 35 off 52 balls to briefly ease the nerves, before he was the seventh Titans batsman to be dismissed with the side 12 runs away from the target. Two overs later, Malusi Siboto became Subrayen’s fifth wicket, but Shaun von Berg and Junior Dala held on to complete a tense win.Klaasen stood out in Titans’ first innings too – scoring his seventh first-class hundred and nearly converting it into a double-hundred. He struck 23 fours and two sixes during his 195 off 353 balls. Von Berg pitched in with a half-century to help Titans to a 102-run first-innings lead after Dolphins, who had opted to bat, squandered a solid platform to be dismissed for 301 in the last over of the first day.The top three – Divan van Wyk, Senuran Muthusamy, Vaughn van Jaarsveld – all hit fifties, but 171 for 1, Dolphins crashed to 301 all out.In Dolphins’ second innings, it was the top order that collapsed. Davids accounted for the top three and when von Berg had Khaya Zondo lbw for a duck, Dolphins were 21 for 4 in 10.2 overs.Sibonelo Makhanya and Daryn Smit led the salvage job with a 94-run stand, but von Berg wrapped up the tail to finish with a match haul of six wickets. Dolphins were bowled out for 192 in 61.3 overs, setting Titans a target of 91.Von Berg then held his nerve with the bat – staying unbeaten on 1 along with Dala – to tip a thriller Titans’ way. Dolphins managed only 6.02 points and slipped from second to fourth.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said the quick fall of Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman – the set batsmen – cost the side in a chase of 196 in Mount Maunganui. Sarkar and Sabbir added 68 off 40 balls for the fourth wicket before both batsmen exited in a space of 10 balls. The double-strike triggered another Bangladesh collapse, this time they lost their last seven wickets for 44 runs and lurched to a 47-run defeat.”We were hopeful after they made 195,” Mashrafe said. “We were batting positively after losing three early wickets. We were on course to the target but lost the last seven wickets far too quickly.”They [New Zealand] made 15 extra runs at this ground where 180 is a par score. We had two set batsmen chasing well. So when they got out, the match got out of our reach. We did create chances with the ball by taking three early wickets but we didn’t attack with the wind and then defend when the batsmen were hitting down wind.”Although Sarkar’s wicket contributed to the slide, he briefly found form with 39 off 26 balls, including three fours and two sixes, after scores of 0 and 1 in his last two innings. In fact, it was Sarkar’s first 30-plus score in international cricket since March last year. Mashrafe termed Sarkar’s effort as a “positive sign” but rued the lost opportunity.”He [Sarkar] is back in runs after some time, so he must also be feeling better,” Mashrafe said. “But he lost an opportunity to make a big score. It would have helped us because he was playing their pace well.”While Bangladesh struggled to come to come to terms with the wind, Colin Munro used it an ally to hammer seven sixes during his 52-ball century.”Munro didn’t start off with his shots early because they had lost three early wickets,” Mashrafe said. “Munro was constantly targeting to hit down wind. We couldn’t stop him from doing that. We knew his style of batting. He got out off the first ball in the last game. We failed to take advantage of the opportunity we created ourselves. I don’t think it has anything to do with Munro or anyone. We have the ability to keep creating opportunities but we should capitalise on it.”

West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo will need surgery to repair damage to his left hamstring, meaning he will play no further part in the Melbourne Renegades’ Big Bash League (BBL) campaign. He was stretchered off during the Renegades’ match against the Perth Scorchers on Thursday night, and subsequent scans revealed the injury would sideline him for an extended period.”I’ll now have surgery and the rehabilitation to get me fit and playing at my best again,” Bravo said, according to the BBL site.Bravo was stationed on the off-side boundary, and picked up the injury when he ran across and lowered himself to field a ball. He clutched at his hamstring as soon as he went down, and had to be taken off on a MediCab. This is Bravo’s fourth season with the Renegades. No replacement has been named as yet.The injury puts Bravo in doubt for the Pakistan Super League, where he was retained by Lahore Qalandars. That T20 tournament begins from February 9.The Renegades’ captain, Aaron Finch, said Bravo’s exit would have a big impact on his team: “It’s a huge blow, he’s one of the best allrounders in the world. It’s an unbelievably damaging blow for us, but also for him because we know how much he loves coming out here.”The Adelaide Strikers also suffered an injury blow, with fast bowler Kane Richardson ruled out for up to a month with a back injury. Left-arm spinner Tom Andrews was called into the Strikers’ squad in his place.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren Sammy’s 18-ball 44, along with Umar Akmal saw them add 70 runs in the last 37 balls•BCB

Rajshahi Kings’ bowlers latched on to the momentum of Darren Sammy’s late assault to defend 162 and beat Rangpur Riders by 12 runs. Rajshahi rose from 94 for 5 to post 162 thanks to a 70-run partnership between Sammy and Umar Akmal for the sixth wicket, which came off only 37 deliveries. That was sufficient to put Rangpur under pressure, given their most successful chase in this season was 126.Losing Mohammad Shahzad in the seventh over was a blow for Rangpur but Mohammad Mithun and Nasir Jamshed led a brief recovery, adding 40 runs for the second wicket. Mithun waged a lone battle after Jamshed fell, and then watched as Soumya Sarkar, Anwar Ali and Liam Dawson were dismissed, leaving the score at 119 for 5 in the 17th over. With a six over long-on, Mithun reached his fifty in the 18th over, and Rangpur went into the last two overs needing 28.Mohammad Sami, however, bowled a tight penultimate over, giving away just three singles. Mithun slammed his fourth six in the final over but his unbeaten 64 off 36 balls was not enough to take Rangpur over the line.Earlier, Rajshahi’s innings got off to a rollicking start as Sabbir Rahman struck four boundaries and a six before falling in the seventh over for a 24-ball 31. Rangpur fought back in the next seven overs to reduce Rajshahi to 94 for 5.Sammy and Akmal hit a flurry of boundaries, taking 17, 15 and 23 off the last three overs. Sammy struck three fours and four sixes – over long-off, square-leg and midwicket – in his unbeaten 44 off 18 balls, while Akmal hammered two fours and a six in his 33 not out

Titans beat Knights by 10 runs in Kimberly to open up a 10-point lead at the top of the league standings. Their fifth win in six matches was orchestrated by Heino Kuhn (40) and Farhaan Behardien (37 not out), who helped post 168 for 5. Patrick Kruger nearly knocked off half the target by striking 10 fours and a six in his 60-ball 79, but his dismissal triggered a slide as Knights were restricted to 158 for 6.Kruger put together a 101-run stand for the second wicket with Theunis de Bruyn, who struck a 34-ball 47. David Wiese triggered the slide when he dismissed de Bruyn and David Miller in quick succession. Even at that stage Knights needed a manageable 62 off 43 balls.It boiled down to 37 off the last three overs, but some tight death bowling from Lungi Ngidi and Malusi Siboto turned the tide in Titans’ favour. Eventually, 19 off the final over proved too many. The loss meant Knights continued to scrape the bottom of the points table with one win in four matches.A rapid knock of 49 off 20 balls from Robbie Frylinck could not do the job for Dolphins as they fell six short of their 176-run target against Lions in Johannesburg. Frylinck batted till the last over, off which Dolphins needed 20, but fell on the fourth ball to make the task stiffer for them. Dolphins and Lions are placed third and fourth respectively on the table.Dolphins had stuttered their way to 108 for 6 in the 15th over as the Lions chipped away. No. 3 Cody Chetty made 35 off 28 to set things up. When Frylinck walked out, they needed 67 runs of five overs. He first struck Hardus Viljoen for two fours in the 16th over before clobbering paceman Matt McGillivray for four, six, four and six in the 18th. Dolphins lost two more wickets but Frylinck brought the equation down to 27 from 12. He collected eight runs off the first three balls of the last over but his wicket turned the match Lions’ way.When opted to bat, a second-wicket stand of 59 between Rassie van der Dussen (41) and Mangaliso Mosehle (45) helped them cross 100 in the 12th over. Once Imran Tahir dismissed both, quick contributions from their middle order scored 59 runs off the last seven overs.

South Africa have left for Australia with two rookie spinners in their squad, but Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj could end up being tourists on the three-Test tour. With five specialist seamers to choose from, and JP Duminy’s offspin, South Africa have plenty of other options, and an all-pace attack is not out of the question, especially in the first and third Tests.”The big decision will be whether to play four seamers or [three seamers and] a spinner,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, said. “We will have to assess how guys go in the warm-up games, what type of spinner we are looking for in those conditions, if we do play a spinner, and what the best four seamers will be in those conditions, if we play four seamers.”Although the WACA is not the pacemen’s paradise it once was, and South Africa will be wary not to repeat what they did in anticipation of a green mamba in Brisbane in 2012 when they picked four quicks and Duminy (who then got injured), it remains an option to give all of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and fit-again Morne Morkel a go, especially as it will be a rare opportunity for them to play together. Morkel sat out the New Zealand Tests with a back injury, but confirmed his return to fitness by turning out for the Titans against the Warriors last week. But with the new transformation targets, the return of Steyn and Philander, and the emergence of Rabada, he may not get into the team unless South Africa play four quicks. And that means Kyle Abbott will be lucky to be considered at all.The other venue where South Africa will consider an all-pace attack is Adelaide because that is where they play their first day-night Test. On the evidence of last summer’s match between Australia and New Zealand, and what Domingo saw of the ongoing Pakistan-West Indies match, he expects the fixture to be headlined by bowlers. “It definitely looked like it was swinging quite a bit in Dubai,” he said – South Africa’s departure press conference was done before legspinner Devendra Bishoo set about dismantling Pakistan.The feedback Domingo received from members of South Africa’s A squad, which included opening batsmen Stephen Cook and Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma, who used the pink ball during their unofficial Test series in Australia in August, also suggested there is an advantage for bowlers.”A lot of our players played with the pink ball on the South Africa A tour, and they have given us feedback. I don’t know if it’s going to last five days. I think they’ve got to leave some grass on the wicket because the pink ball has got a history of scuffing up, so they try and prolong the quality of the pink ball while leaving some grass on the wicket. We’ve also heard that it is very tough to bat under lights and the ball does nip around,” Domingo said. “I don’t know how many pink-ball Tests there are going to be, but I know most of the players are really excited by it, especially the bowlers. The bowlers are licking their lips. The batters might not be that excited, but the bowlers are looking forward to it.”South Africa have ample opportunity to see if the bowlers will benefit as much as has been hinted at in their warm-up matches. Their first practice game will take place under lights in Adelaide and they have a second in Melbourne ahead of the third Test. As an added bonus, they also have another two-day games ahead of the first Test to prepare themselves thoroughly.Among the things South will concentrate on in the regular red-ball game is which of their spinners to play, if they are to pick one. They have already noted that Australia struggled to pick Shamsi in the ODIs and may want his surprise factor. However, Maharaj is hot off a 13-wicket haul in the opening domestic first-class match of the season. South Africa have dispensed with the idea of an offspinner, given “Australia, generally, hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for offspinners”, according to Domingo. “The Australian line-up does have a lot of right-handers – Steven Smith, Joe Burns, Adam Voges, Peter Neville, so quite a lot.” And if South Africa want someone to turn the ball away from the left-handers, Duminy, who has made public his desire to contribute more with the ball, will be looked at.The spotlight on their own attack does not mean South Africa have forgotten about the opposition’s. Australia’s young seamers were the focus of the recently-completed ODI series, where they failed to trouble South Africa’s line-up and did not manage to bowl them out once. But they will be replaced by the big guns in the Tests. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will be back, and du Plessis indicated South Africa are ready for the challenge.”Starc is a huge bowler for them, but, statistically, he has been more an asset in one-day cricket than in the Test team. There will just be a little bit of preparation for us with left-arm quick again,” du Plessis said. “He is one of those guys who can crank it up and get it close to 150 and also reverse swing. Josh Hazlewood is a pretty standard bowler, he just hits good lengths all day, similar to someone like Dale and Vern.”South Africa know the difference players of the quality of Steyn and Philander can make to the team, after struggling through most of the previous summer without them, and so will know how much Starc and Hazlewood will buoy Australia. And, so, they also know how much they will have to do to get the better of Australia in their backyard.

Overseas spinners coming to Indian shores might fantasise of the ball turning square, but not New Zealand’s Mark Craig.”The one that goes straight is probably just as invaluable as the ball that turns. I think over here, at times it can probably do too much, so the key is trying and find a way for the ball to slide on straight,” he said a week out from the first of three Tests in Kanpur.Craig is yet to play a first-class match in the country and has not played Test cricket in seven months after a beamer struck his hand while playing for his state side Otago. He has used his time away from the game to make technical changes, he said. All of them pertained to his bowling action, which a spinner relies on quite heavily.”I was getting pretty flat with the shoulders, trying to get my shoulders back to 45 [degrees, to be taller at the crease] when I load up,” Craig said. “Not getting too long in my delivery stride and just closing off with the feet. So just three things that I can always go back and look on now. And yeah, happy with the changes I’ve made.”His tweaks have come in the wake of two dismal series against Australia last season – seven innings, 137.2 overs and only 10 wickets.Craig said New Zealand have observed India’s spinners to gain insight on how to bowl in subcontinent conditions. R Ashwin was recently called the best in the world by his coach Anil Kumble, and Ravindra Jadeja picked up 10 wickets in a match in the final of the Duleep Trophy – the first-class tournament that kicked off India’s domestic calendar in 2016-17.”They’re probably different spinners to our boys, but they’re world class,” Craig said. “They tend to play around a little bit with, I suppose, undercutting the ball slightly so they get that ball to skid and one to grab. We’ve done a bit of work at watching how they bowl and at the same time we’ve got to do what we do.”New Zealand have three spinners in their squad. Craig bowls offspin, Ish Sodhi, legspin, and Mitchell Santner, left-arm spin. Craig understood that there would be a lot expected of them but was mindful of not allowing that pressure to push them into trying too much.”There’s a lot of expectation that falls on you [when] you go into spinning conditions, I think it’s key to not try and reinvent the wheel. Just keep doing what our boys have been doing and let the wicket do it for us.”Those boys have played [in India] a bit more than I have. So [I am] sitting next to them on the bus and talking shop so to speak, just about the paces to bowl and how the wickets generally are like and things like that. We’re always talking, pretty tight unit. The chance that a New Zealand side might play three spinners in a Test, if it goes ahead, is pretty exciting.”Craig hasn’t ignored his batting. He has three Test fifties and is known for an ability to hang around and frustrate bowlers. “Just trying to nurdle it,” he joked in response to a question on whether he’s tried to hit his team-mates for sixes. “Keep it on the ground mate, bat longer.”The New Zealanders play their first match of the tour, a three-day game against a Mumbai XI in Delhi, on Friday.

ScorecardSean Ervine pulls as he revives Hampshire•Getty Images

A century from Sean Ervine, well supported by Ryan McLaren who made 61, enabled Hampshire to reach 281 for 6 on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton.Ervine walked out to the middle when his side lost their first wicket in the fourth over of the morning. By the time he departed for 103 more than 80 overs later he had seen Hampshire to within sight of posting a competitive total.McLaren helped add 112 for the fifth wicket. Jack Leach was the pick of the home attack with 3 for 77 off 30 overs while fellow left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe ended with 2 for 81 off 25.Hampshire opted to bat first on a wicket with green tinges, a decision they might have doubted when Somerset opening bowler Lewis Gregory made an early breakthrough. Jimmy Adams played inside a good length ball with the score on 16.Somerset introduced spin well before noon, with their leading wicket taker Leach and van der Merwe coming into the attack. The latter was rewarded with his fifth ball when he bowled Will Smith for 16 with a delivery that clipped leg stump.James Vince, returning from England duty, did not resume the Hampshire captaincy – Will Smith continuing that role – and was bowled without scoring by Leach with a ball that pitched on leg, but took middle stump.Van der Merwe claimed a second wicket just before lunch when he accounted for Adam Wheater, lbw playing back to a full ball, for 21, which made the total 92 for 4.If the morning belonged to the home side then Hampshire spent the second session playing themselves back into the game.Ervine, unbeaten on 39 at the break went to his half-century when he turned Gregory off his legs to square leg, his runs coming off 98 balls with five fours.McLaren kept Ervine company and together the pair resisted the considerable pressure from the Somerset attack. McLaren went to his half-century with a boundary through the covers off Jim Allenby, having faced 139 balls.The stand ended when McLaren was well caught by Tom Abell off the full face of the bat at short-leg off Leach, with the total on 210.Ervine continued to move closer to his century, which he reached when he clipped Gregory behind square leg for two, his runs coming off 200 balls with 10 fours.The new ball was only five overs old when Leach was brought back on and with his fourth delivery had Ervine leg before to end a fine innings.Hampshire wicketkeeper Lewis McManus and Gareth Berg then remained together to see their side through to the close, by which time McManus was unbeaten on 41 and Berg was on 12.

ScorecardJimmy Neesham ensured Lancashire could not build on a strong start•Getty Images

The Derbyshire Falcons kept their slim hopes of reaching the T20 Blast quarter-finals alive with a six wicket victory at Derby that dealt a severe blow to Lancashire Lightning’s chances of making the last eight.A superb 79 from 49 balls by Alviro Petersen should have taken Lancashire to a formidable total but they lost five wickets in the last two overs to end on 167 for 9 with Jimmy Neesham taking a T20 career-best 4 for 35.Hamish Rutherford smashed 47 from 27 balls as 75 came from the first six overs and skipper Wes Durston plundered 51 including four sixes from 34 balls as the Falcons reached 170 for 4 with eight balls to spare.Durston described the game as “do or die” for his side but Petersen and Luis Reece gave Lancashire an excellent start by taking 63 from the Powerplay.Reece pulled and cut Andy Carter for three fours from the second over before Petersen pulled Wayne Madsen over the midwicket boundary and drove Neesham for six.Reece scooped Carter over fine leg for another maximum but the Falcons regained some control through the legspin of Matt Critchley who had Reece lbw sweeping for 32 off 22 balls and trapped Karl Brown in front in his second over.Petersen launched him over wide long on for six and Liam Livingstone pulled Alex Hughes over the square leg boundary but was caught behind trying to do the same to Neesham.The South African was the danger man and he used his feet well to twice drive Carter for four but the fast bowler took an athletic diving catch at backward square leg to remove him and his departure saw Lancashire implode.The lower order disintegrated in the last two overs with only eight runs scored as Neesham preyed on mounting panic to take three wickets and drag Derbyshire back into a game that was running away from them.Derbyshire had fallen agonisingly short chasing an almost identical target on Sunday but after Durston top-edged a square cut for six over backward point off Jordan Clark, Rutherford unleashed some crunching drives as Derbyshire raced to 50 in four overs.Durston hammered George Edwards over long on for another six and at the end of the Powerplay, Derbyshire were in control but Rutherford sliced a drive at Stephen Parry’s second ball and was caught at backward point.Lancashire’s hopes of building on that were dashed in the ninth over which cost 16 as Parry was twice driven for six by Durston and Chesney Hughes and Derbyshire had the game in their grasp at the halfway stage with only 65 needed.Durston completed his 50 by driving Croft over long-on and although Croft struck with consecutive balls and Neil Broom went cheaply in the 18th over, Lancashire were left to rue those last two madcap overs.