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India batter Jemimah Rodrigues has been ruled out of the last two ODIs against Australia because of a viral fever. Tejal Hasabnis has been named her replacement. Providing the update on Wednesday shortly before the toss in the second ODI in New Chandigarh, the BCCI said its medical team is monitoring Rodrigues.Rodrigues was in India’s XI in the first ODI, which India lost by eight wickets. She scored 18 runs off 26 balls from No. 5 as India put up 281 for 7. Arundhati Reddy, the fast-bowling allrounder, replaced Rodrigues in India’s XI for the game on Wednesday.A 28-year-old middle-order batter, Hasabnis has been around the national team since last year, making her ODI debut – the only format she has played internationally – in October 2024 in Ahmedabad against New Zealand. She has 140 runs from six innings, going at an average of 46.66 and strike rate of 78.65 with a best of 53 not out.India would be keen to have Rodrigues, a key figure in their line-up, back fully fit in time for the ODI World Cup, which begins on September 30 with the co-hosts – India and Sri Lanka – taking each other on in Guwahati.

India squad for the last two ODIs against Australia

Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kranti Goud, Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Sneh Rana, Uma Chetry (wk), Tejal Hasabnis

Australia quick Lance Morris will miss the entire 2025-26 season, and is expected to be out of action for 12 months, after opting for the same surgery that Cameron Green underwent last year following another stress fracture in his lower back.Cricket Australia confirmed on Sunday that the centrally contracted Morris, 27, would undergo pars stabilisation surgery in Christchurch to address an ongoing lumbar bone stress injury after being ruled out of the ODI series against South Africa. He had also been due to feature in the four-day matches on Australia A’s tour of India.After lengthy discussions between Morris, CA medical staff and the surgeons, he will follow the same path that Green took last October. Fellow Australia quick Ben Dwarshuis, India star Jasprit Bumrah, New Zealand quicks Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson among many others have had the same procedure with screws and a titanium cable fused into their lower back to stabilise the stress fracture and prevent future occurrences.Related

• Vidler ruled out of Australia A tour of India with a partial stress fracture

• Australia's pace depth: Who's in the Ashes mix if Cummins and co run aground?

• Owen, Morris, Short ruled out of South Africa series

• Morris hopeful of early Shield return despite 'frustrating' injury issues

“I feel this is the most logical way to realise my full potential and return to my very best cricket for the Scorchers, Western Australia and Australia long into the future,” Morris said. “I also take great confidence in others who have undergone similar procedures and returned to their best. I plan to work hard through my recovery and return when the time is right.”The surgery is performed by New Zealand based surgeons Rowan Schouten and Grahame Inglis who have two decades of experience performing the surgery on fast bowlers with a staggering return to play success rate. Former Australia team physio and now full-time CA injury case manager Nick Jones has vast experience in the rehab following the surgery having worked through it with Green and another Australia quick Jason Behrendorff back in 2019.It is a significant step for Morris who has had an incredibly frustrating run with injury. Since bursting into Test calculations at the start of the 2022-23 summer when he took 26 wickets in four Sheffield Shield matches while bowling at speeds over 150kph, he has not managed to play more than three first-class games without interruption since.He has been carried as a Test squad member during the Australian home summers and went on the Test tour of India in 2023. He featured in three Shield matches at the start of the 2023-24 home summer and made his ODI debut in February 2024 following an uninterrupted BBL but strained his side in his second game in Canberra and played just one ODI last summer.Lance Morris has been around Australia squads with only limited appearances•Getty Images

He played two Shield games at the start of last summer under careful management before playing eight BBL games out of 10 for Perth Scorchers. He played two more Shield matches at the end of the summer and took 5 for 26 in his last Shield game in March against New South Wales but has not played since.Morris’ management throughout the past two years since earning his first CA contract in 2023 has been a source of debate between CA, his state Western Australia and the fast bowler himself.There have been times when he has been feeling fully fit but regular MRI scans in his lower back have shown recurring areas of concern for CA medical staff which ruled him out of the 2023 Ashes and the 2024 white-ball tour of the UK.”It’s been a bit frustrating,” Morris told ESPNcricinfo in September last year. “I guess you call it a stress fracture, but when we scan it, it doesn’t have the natural characteristics of a usual stress fracture. So there was some confusion at first around exactly what it was.”The tricky one for me was I didn’t actually have any back pain when I was bowling.”He is also a bowler who has performed better, at first-class level especially, the more he has played but it has been difficulty to strike the balance of getting a string of games together without risking injury.There will be a hope that the surgery allows him to get some continuity as it has done for a number of fast bowlers globally. But with the exception of Henry recently, who does not bowl at the express speeds of others, many of the fast bowlers who have undergone the procedure have still had their red-ball loads capped with the recent management of Bumrah by India a prime example.Australia are very keen to have Morris fit and firing ahead of a brutal period of international cricket from October 2026 to November 2027, which includes three away Tests against South Africa, four home Tests against New Zealand, five away Tests against India, a home Test against England to mark the 150th anniversary of Test cricket a possible World Test Championship final, five away Tests against England and an ODI World Cup in South Africa.Fast bowling depth will be vitally important with Australia’s attack on the cusp of a significant transition. Mitchell Starc turns 36 in January while Josh Hazlewood turns 35 in the same month while skipper Pat Cummins turns 33 in May 2026.Morris and fellow injured West Australian CA contracted quick Jhye Richardson, who is 28, are in the ideal age bracket to come into the team when the big three finish up with Australia’s 2024 Under-19 World Cup winning quicks including Callum Vidler, Tom Straker, Charlie Anderson and Mahli Beardman just starting the transition from U-19 to first-class cricket.

Big picture: Zimbabwe eye first win against NZ

Welcome back to Test cricket, New Zealand. The last time they played a Test was in December 2024, against England in Hamilton. Given that this two-match series against Zimbabwe doesn’t count towards the World Test Championship, they can take their time to reacquaint themselves with the flow and rhythm of red-ball cricket.On the other hand, Zimbabwe have played seven Tests this year, the joint-most with Australia. But with six losses and just one win, they have the worst record for any team. Moreover, they are yet to beat New Zealand in Test cricket. Of the 17 Tests against New Zealand, they have lost 11 and drawn six.Having said that, this is a slightly weakened New Zealand side. They are without captain Tom Latham, former captain Kane Williamson and allrounders Glenn Phillips and Kyle Jamieson. Williamson is unavailable for the series, having signed a deal with Middlesex, which includes playing for London Spirit in the Hundred; Jamieson is at home, awaiting the birth of his first child; Latham is yet to recover from a shoulder injury he picked up during the Vitality Blast; and Phillips is sidelined with a groin injury he picked up during the MLC.Related

• From net bowler to 'X factor' – Fisher on cusp of potential debut

• Bracewell replaces Phillips for the first Test

• Latham out of first Test, Santner to lead

In Latham’s absence, Mitchell Santner will lead the side. He has plenty of experience captaining New Zealand in ODIs and T20Is, but this will be a first for him in first-class cricket, let alone Test cricket.Recently, an understrength South Africa proved to be too good for Zimbabwe. But for this series, they are bolstered by the returns of allrounder Sikandar Raza and opener Ben Curran. Raza lends the much-needed balance and experience, and Curran should add the solidity at the top. Brendan Taylor’s ban has also ended but he has not been named in the squad yet.

Form guide

Zimbabwe LLLLW (last five Tests, most recent first)
New Zealand WLLWW

In the spotlight: Williams and Henry

Sean Williams has been easily the best Zimbabwe batter this year. In seven Tests, he has scored 577 at an average of 52.45 and a strike rate of 76.83. Only Shubman Gill (755) and Rishabh Pant (580) have scored more Test runs than him in 2025. One thing he would like to improve, though, is his conversion rate. Of his five 50-plus scores this year, he converted only one into a hundred.Sean Williams averages 52.45 in Tests this year•Zimbabwe Cricket

Matt Henry’s overall Test record – 120 wickets at an average of 29.84 – does not scream elite. But scratch beneath that and you realise why Henry is rated so highly. When he opens the bowling, his record becomes 105 wickets at 24.11. Last year, he picked up 48 wickets in nine Tests at an average of 18.58 and a strike rate of 33.97. Among the top ten wicket-takers of 2024, only Jasprit Bumrah had a better average (14.92) and a strike rate (30.1). Don’t be surprised if Henry continues from where he left off.

Team news: Fisher might debut

Blessing Muzarabani is the only fast bowler in the Zimbabwe squad to have played at least ten Tests. He will be supported by Tanaka Chivanga, with Newman Nyamhuri likely to be the third seamer.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Ben Curran, 3 Nick Welch, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Craig Ervine (captain), 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), 8 Wellington Masakadza, 9 Newman Nyamhuri, 10 Blessing Muzarabani, 11 Tanaka ChivangaWith Latham and Phillips out injured, Henry Nicholls and Michael Bracewell are expected to play. Matt Fisher, who can hit 140kph, could make his debut.New Zealand (probable): 1 Will Young, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner (capt), 9 Matt Henry, 10 Will O’Rourke, 11 Matt Fisher

Pitch and conditions

In the five Tests Bulawayo has hosted since December 2024, there have been three totals in excess of 580, including South Africa’s 625 for 6 declared that featured Wiaan Mulder’s unbeaten 367. Fast bowlers have done much better in those games, averaging 29.63 and striking every 50.5 balls, as compared to spinners, who average 38.62 with a strike rate of 62.9. The forecast is for cool and dry weather.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have won each of their last six Tests against Zimbabwe, four of them by an innings and another by 254 runs.
• Santner will become New Zealand’s 32nd Test captain.
• Three of Williams’ six Test hundreds have come at the Queens Sports Club.
• Williams is 125 away from 2000 Test runs, and Craig Ervine 159.
• Nicholls needs 27 runs to reach the 3000 mark in Test cricket.

Despite some spasmodic pyrotechnics on the final day, the Rothesay County Championship match between Kent and Lancashire ended in a draw, with the weather ruining what might have been a thrilling run chase.Ekansh Singh hit 60, his highest first-class score, as Kent posted 293 aided by a hugely entertaining cameo from Matt Quinn, whose 42 was his best score for Kent.Mitchell Stanley also had a career day, taking 6 for 100 to finish with match figures of 11 for 180.Lancashire needed 303 to win and were 138 for 3 when rain forced the players off, just after Marcus Harris had reached 50. Quinn took 2 for 21, but then limped off with an injury.Some 28 overs were lost due to rain but when play finally began both sides immediately went on the attack.Ekansh hit the second ball of the day from Tom Hartley for six, but Mo Rizvi was lbw to Stanley’s first delivery from the Nackington Road End, getting a pair on his first-class debut.When Stanley then bowled Matt Parkinson for a second-ball duck, in the same over, the lead was only 221, but Quinn joined Ekansh for a partnership worth 71 that steered Kent out of danger.He blazed 22 off Stanley’s next over (including four byes) and left Stanley kicking his crease in frustration. He even improvised a ramp shot off a full toss that somehow ended up at point and by lunch Kent were on for 276 for 7.The final three dismissals were all caught behind. Stanley finally got Quinn and George Balderson got Ekansh after a bouncer caught his raised bat. Ben Compton, playing despite a wrist injury, came in at 11 but only faced one ball before Michael Cohen was out to Stanley for four.This pattern continued in the Lancs’ reply when Keaton Jennings edged Quinn to Harry Finch for 4 and Wells then went to the same combination for 19, but Josh Bohannon and Harris took the heat out of the situation for the visitors with a partnership of 91.Harris reached 1000 runs for the season when he reached 23 and it was 73 for 2 at tea, but Quinn then pulled up injured during a run-up, stumbling at the crease and walking straight off, to be replaced by Rizvi.His first over went for 15 and he was immediately replaced by Evison, whose third ball bowled Bohannon’s off stump for 46. At 16.34 however, the rain returned and this time there was no chance of a resumption.