Canada’s professional T20 franchise tournament, NCL GT20 Canada, will relocate to the the West Indies for its 2026 season. The tournament is scheduled to take place in St. Vincent and the Grenadines during the October-November window, marking a significant shift from its traditional Canadian base. The move represents a one-year partnership between the league and the West Indies cricket community, with the tournament set to return to Canada in 2027.

NCL GT20 Canada brings together leading international, Canadian and emerging cricket talent in a competitive franchise format. The 2026 Caribbean edition has been arranged in collaboration with Cricket West Indies, which will take an ownership stake in the league and acquire a franchise within the competition. This partnership underscores the growing connection between Canadian and West Indian cricket development.

“NCL GT20 is fundamentally a Canadian tournament, and the Caribbean provides a special home for our 2026 edition. This is about much more than taking a tournament to another country for one season. It is about building a bridge between Canadian and West Indies cricket, connecting players, administrators, fans and commercial partners. We thank Cricket West Indies for their support in delivering this tournament in the Caribbean. When NCL GT20 returns to Canada next year, we want to bring those relationships with us and create a lasting pathway between the Caribbean and Canada,” Arvinder Khosa, President of Cricket Canada, said in a press release from Cricket West Indies.

Why the Caribbean for 2026?

Working collaboratively with Cricket Canada and Cricket West Indies (CWI), the 2026 tournament will bring together Canadian, Caribbean and international talent on one platform. It provides an opportunity to strengthen player pathways between Canada and the Caribbean while building relationships that can continue when the tournament returns to Canada next year.

“NCL GT20 Canada, together with the deep cricketing tradition of the West Indies, creates an exciting opportunity for collaboration. Hosting the 2026 tournament in the Caribbean before its return to Canada next year marks the beginning of a partnership that can facilitate the continued development of Canadian cricket while showcasing our region as one of the great cricketing regions of world cricket,” Chris Dehring, Chief Executive Officer of Cricket West Indies, said.

“As the only full member of the ICC in the hemisphere, we believe it is important to forge mutually beneficial relationships with ICC Associate Members across the region, for the health of the game and, indeed, for the continued development of West Indies cricket,” he added.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines welcomes the tournament

Under the collaborative framework, CWI will play an important role in governance, compliance, and regulatory coordination and will also hold a direct franchise investment.

“We welcome the opportunity to host the NCL GT20 League in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bringing world-class sporting events to our shores is a major part of my mandate, and I am delighted that we can respond favourably to the request to host this historic event in the Caribbean. We look forward to working with the NCL GT20 and all stakeholders to deliver an outstanding event and a memorable experience for players, fans and visitors alike,” Hon. Kaschaka Cupid, Minister of Youth, Sports, Culture and Creative Industries for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said.

Further details on the tournament schedule and participating teams are expected to be announced in due course. The 2026 edition will serve as a bridge year before NCL GT20 Canada resumes operations in its home country in 2027.

Jos Buttler has been ruled out of England’s third and deciding ODI against Sri Lanka at The Oval on September 27, 2026, after sustaining a left hamstring injury while running between wickets during the second ODI at Headingley on September 24. Dan Lawrence has been called up to the squad as cover, while Jordan Cox is expected to take the gloves in Buttler’s absence.

Buttler scored 69 in the Headingley match, his highest ODI score in three years, before pulling up with the injury. He received treatment from England physio Steve Haw, faced two more deliveries and briefly returned to the crease before holing out. England went on to lose that match by 16 runs, leaving the three-match series level at 1-1 ahead of Sunday’s decider.

England will have more information on the extent of Buttler’s injury early next week following an MRI scan. The 36-year-old has a history of soft-tissue problems in recent years, including a similar left hamstring issue during the 2024 IPL season.

Why has Dan Lawrence been added to the squad?

Lawrence, who is yet to win an international cap in either white-ball format, was withdrawn from Surrey’s County Championship match at Somerset after scoring his sixth hundred of the season on September 24. He is set to train with the ODI squad at The Oval on Saturday ahead of the decider.

Lawrence has been in strong red-ball form this year and made three half-centuries in four innings during England’s recent Test series win over Pakistan. He was previously called up to England’s ODI squad to face Pakistan in 2021 during a Covid isolation period but did not play. His List A experience is limited, with his most recent appearance in that format coming in May 2019 across 28 games in total.

What does Buttler’s absence mean for England’s wicketkeeping plans?

Cox is expected to step in behind the stumps at The Oval, with the match likely to be only his fourth ODI cap. He is preferred ahead of Tom Banton for the keeping role in this fixture. England captain Harry Brook’s side will be looking to seal the series against a Sri Lanka team led by Kusal Mendis.

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England’s new white-ball mentor Kevin Pietersen said that opportunities that arise after player injuries will give the Three Lions a chance to add depth to their squad heading into next year’s ODI World Cup.

“[We need to] have certain players in certain positions, in order for us to know that if something like this happens to Jos in, say, the final round of whatever game in South Africa, and you’ve got to go and play a quarter-final, that somebody can step up into Jos’s boots – like we’re going to need to have on Sunday,” Kevin Pietersen was quoted as saying by ESPN.

South Africa defeated Australia by 67 runs in the first ODI of the Australia in South Africa 2026-27 series at Kingsmead, Durban. The hosts, playing without Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman and Kwena Maphaka, produced a complete team performance to open their home international summer with a commanding victory.

Matthew Breetzke, who became the leading run-scorer in ODI cricket after 14 innings, struck the second century of his career to anchor the South Africa innings. Marco Jansen equalled his career-best score of 75 and took four catches, including a spectacular one-handed effort on the boundary. Left-arm spinners Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin shared six wickets between them as Australia fell 67 runs short, losing their last nine wickets for 101.

How did South Africa build their total?

Australia chose to bowl first and had the measure of South Africa for the first two-thirds of the innings. Josh Hazlewood bowled a fuller length and proved difficult to get away, Nathan Ellis used wobble seam and slower balls effectively, and Adam Zampa took two wickets in his first four overs to keep the middle overs quiet.

The home side shuffled their batting order due to the absence of Aiden Markram for personal reasons, with Tony de Zorzi opening alongside Quinton de Kock. De Zorzi was dismissed for a seven-ball duck, and de Kock was caught behind off Ellis to leave South Africa at 29 for 2 in the eighth over. Temba Bavuma worked hard for a 48-ball 30 before being caught behind off a Zampa leg-break. Ryan Rickelton, batting at No. 5, the lowest position in his ODI career, showed promise before being caught by Matt Renshaw off Zampa.

David Miller struggled, managing only 9 off 24 balls before a leading-edge off Ellis ended his innings. South Africa were placed at 168 for 5 in the 34th over when Jansen arrived at the crease and joined Breetzke.

Jansen played aggressively from the start, hitting Mitchell Starc through midwicket and sending Zampa over long-on with a no-look six. He raced to 41 off 31 balls before eventually reaching his fifty. Breetzke, who was on 76 from 79 balls when Jansen came in, entered the 90s with a punch over point in the 43rd over and reached his hundred with a single in the next over.

Jansen reached fifty when he hit Starc to long-on, where Cooper Connolly attempted a sliding catch but could not hold on. South Africa entered the last five overs on 243 for 5, plundered 30 runs off the next two overs and also benefitted from Australia’s slow over-rate, which meant the visitors had to bowl the last two overs with a fielding penalty. The pair added 107 runs together to help South Africa get to 297/8.

How did South Africa dismiss Australia in the chase?

Set the second-highest successful chase at Kingsmead, Australia started at a rapid pace. Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head put on 90 inside 10 overs. Marsh was particularly severe on Jansen’s third over, which went for 17 runs, and reached his fifty off just 31 balls, bringing it up with a 104-metre six over the leg side. Head had less strike early, scoring 7 off 11 balls in that period, but accelerated when Corbin Bosch came on.

Keshav Maharaj was brought on to slow the chase and his first spell of four overs yielded 1 for 13. He dismissed Marsh, who drove to Breetzke at cover. Jansen returned in the 15th over and dismissed Head, who top-edged to deep third attempting to turn the ball to leg. Josh Inglis gloved a reverse-sweep to slip to give Fortuin his first wicket. Connolly then slog-swept Fortuin high to long-on, where David Miller took a sliding catch, and South Africa had clawed their way back into the contest.

Maharaj then had Cameron Green caught at long-on and Jack Edwards caught at slip. At that point, Australia were 188 for 6 and still needed 110 runs off 20.3 overs. Renshaw, on 31, and Starc took 14 runs off Jansen’s sixth over to bring the target into double figures. South Africa tightened their grip as Maharaj bowled a maiden, Jansen and Fortuin conceded just two runs in two overs, and Gerald Coetzee delivered another maiden filled with yorkers.

Also Read: ‘While he is not playing, I am pretty happy to captain Australia in ODIs’ – Mitchell Marsh on Pat Cummins’ absence in 1st ODI vs South Africa

The decisive moment came when Coetzee dropped short, Renshaw pulled, and Jansen took a one-handed catch on the rope with his right arm at full stretch and his fingers gripping the ball inches off the ground. Australia were 215 for 7 at that stage and needed 83 runs in 82 balls. Bosch picked up two wickets late in the innings, and Maharaj claimed the final wicket when Zampa slog-swept to Breetzke.

Maharaj was the pick of the bowlers for the Proteas, as he finished with remarkable figures of 4/20 in 9.2 overs, including two maidens.