5:51 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff When Chris Gayle returned to the West Indies squad in September 2017, it was just in time, with the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in sight. Since then, with qualification sealed, he’s had a sensational year of ODI batting, the peak coming during the home performances against England – two hundreds

3:00 AM ET Nottinghamshire 187 and 90 for 6 (Duckett 37, Harmer 4-32) lead Essex 241 (Browne 67, Fletcher 5-50) by 36 runs When it came to losing things, the Chelmsford crowd took some beating. Public address announcements periodically crackled across the ground about mislaid wallets, members’ cards and even a hearing aid. An announcement

3:00 AM ET Lancashire 276 for 6 (Jennings 97, Jones 67) lead Northamptonshire 230 by 46 runs Nearly thirty years ago that fine writer Neville Scott collaborated with Geoff Cook on a book entitled The Narrow Line. Subtitled “An Anatomy of Professional Cricket” it examined, among other things, the tests a player had to survive

7:22 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff England, 2-0 up in the five-match ODI series against Pakistan after three games, will be without Eoin Morgan when they take the field at Trent Bridge to try and wrap up the series, after their captain was suspended for one match for the team’s slow over-rate in the third ODI

11:10 PM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Former batsman Peter Fulton will replace Craig McMillan as New Zealand’s batting coach after the World Cup ends in England in July. McMillan is stepping down after holding the role for nearly five years. “We’re delighted to have Pete come on board after the World Cup and are confident he

3:00 AM ET Lancashire29 for 1 trail Northamptonshire 230 (Wood 66, Gleeson 5-63, Onions 4-45) by 201 runs There was the unmistakable smack of modernity about the cricket at Old Trafford on the first day of this game – yet there was also a pleasing air of timelessness. For all that Northamptonshire’s side contained two

7:03 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff GS Lakshmi has become the first woman to be part of the ICC’s panel of international match referees, and is eligible to officiate in international matches with immediate effect. Lakshmi, who turns 51 on May 23, was a right-hand batsman and right-arm outswing bowler. She played from 1986 to 2004,

10:58 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Kagiso Rabada is likely to be fit in time for the World Cup. South African fans would welcome that piece of good news, delivered by Cricket South Africa doctor Mohammed Moosajee over the weekend. A recovery is “anticipated” in the next two to three weeks. Concerns over Rabada’s availability for

3:00 AM ET Toss West Indies chose to bat v Bangladesh West Indies captain Jason Holder has chosen to bat first against Bangladesh at Malahide. Holder said he would like to see a better fielding performance from his team, after what he felt were poor displays in that aspect in the previous games. West Indies

6:49 AM ET An untimely bout of what is thought to be chickenpox has left Mohammad Amir‘s World Cup hopes hanging on by the thinnest of threads. Amir missed the second ODI against England in Southampton because of what team officials said was a viral infection and he is set to miss the third game