Tim Southee warned Thursday that the New Zealand bowlers will have to adapt quickly to Mumbai’s pitch after two days of rain hampered preparations for the second Test against India. The Black Caps, led by Kane Williamson, come into the second clash of the two-match series starting Friday after a hard-fought draw in Kanpur. But … Read more
Dhananjaya de Silva ended the West Indies’ hopes of a maiden win on Sri Lankan soil with a brilliant six-hour spell at the crease in Galle to finish day four with an unbeaten 153 on Thursday. The tourists went wicketless through the final session, with Lasith Embuldeniya rounding out a record 107-run partnership. Sri Lanka … Read more
Alex Carey looks poised to replace Tim Paine as Australia’s wicketkeeper for the Ashes against England and make his Test debut, as more bad weather Wednesday wrecked preparations for both teams. Paine quit as Test captain and then last week stepped away from cricket over a text-message scandal, leaving selectors seeking an alternative ahead of the December … Read more
England spinner Jack Leach admitted Wednesday that Australian counterpart Nathan Lyon was “impressive” and he had been studying how he deals with local conditions ahead of the first Ashes Test next week. Leach also spotlighted Ravindra Jadeja as an inspiration after the Indian’s exploits during a Test series in Australia last summer. “For years I’ve … Read more
Virat Kohli will return to lead India in the second Test against top-ranked New Zealand on Friday, posing a welcome selection dilemma for the hosts. The Mumbai clash will mark Kohli’s return after he stepped down as Twenty20 captain at the end of the World Cup last month and took a short break. Shreyas Iyer’s … Read more
Manchester United co-chairman Avram Glazer has acquired a franchise for a new T20 professional cricket league in the United Arab Emirates, organisers announced on Wednesday. Glazer, also an owner of NFL Super Bowl winners Tampa Bay Buccaneers, completed the purchase in his role as chairman of private equity firm Lancer Capital. The UAE T20 League is a … Read more
Ramesh Mendis led the Sri Lanka fightback at Galle with a six-wicket haul to bowl out the West Indies on day three of the second Test on Wednesday. The off-spinner belatedly found his line and length, dismissing Nkrumah Bonner to end a 75-run stand with West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite. It broke a two-session drought … Read more
Afghan cricket officials are looking for a new national team coach after deciding by mutual agreement not to extend incumbent Lance Klusener’s contract, the board said Wednesday. The move comes after Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers last month sacked interim board chairman Azizullah Fazli and appointed former player Mirwais Ashraf in his place. Management of the sport in … Read more
The South African government has pledged to “take all precautions necessary” and praised the “solidarity” of India’s cricketers ahead of a high-profile cricket tour to the republic in the next two months. India are due to play three Tests, three one-day internationals and four Twenty20 internationals between December 17 and January 26. A tour by India is easily … Read more
Joe Root is confident that England can do “something special” in the Ashes, despite rain again ruining their preparations Tuesday, and said they won’t be distracted by upheaval in the Australian camp. The tourists’ build-up to the five-Test series, which starts next week at Brisbane’s Gabba ground, has been wrecked by bad weather. A three-day … Read more
Perth’s hopes of hosting the fifth Ashes Test were in serious doubt Tuesday after Western Australia’s premier said players and broadcasters must quarantine for 14 days on entering the state. Cricket officials had been confident the potentially pivotal clash between Australia and England would go ahead in the city after suggestions that some of its tough … Read more
Abid Ali fell just shy of back-to-back centuries as Pakistan cruised to an eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first Test in Chittagong on Tuesday. Ali’s 151-run stand with fellow opener Abdullah Shafique helped bring play to an end before lunch on the final day, beating their first-innings partnership by five. The duo had already … Read more
Rachin Ravindra became an unlikely hero for New Zealand with solid defence and the ability to soak in the pressure in his debut Test, and has been hailed as an all-round package. The 22-year-old stood firm with the lower order and finished with Ajaz Patel in a final-wicket stand that survived the final session’s 52 … Read more
Shakib Al Hasan is fit and will return to the Bangladesh squad for the second Test against Pakistan in Dhaka next week, his side said Tuesday. A hamstring injury against the West Indies last month prematurely ended Shakib’s time at the T20 World Cup, and he missed November’s three-match short format series against Pakistan. He … Read more
Former England cricket captain Ray Illingworth has revealed he is receiving treatment for cancer. The 89-year-old, who led England to an Ashes series victory in Australia in 1970/71, is undergoing radiotherapy for oesophageal cancer. “They are just hoping to get rid of the last bit (of the tumour) with extra double doses. I will see how these … Read more
England captain Joe Root said Monday he stood by his statement that he could not recall witnessing any instances of racism at Yorkshire as English cricket grapples with the fallout from the scandal. The game in England has been rocked by damaging revelations from Pakistan-born former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq, who made a number of allegations against … Read more
Openers Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique each hit an unbeaten fifty to put Pakistan in a commanding position in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong on Monday. Set a target of 202, the visitors reached 109-0 at stumps and need only 93 runs on the final day on Tuesday. Ali was batting on 56 … Read more
Debutant Rachin Ravindra worked with New Zealand’s lower order to pull off a dramatic draw against India after they ended day five on 165-9 while chasing 284 in the first Test on Monday. New Zealand faltered after overnight batsman Tom Latham (52) and later skipper Kane Williamson (24) departed, but still denied India a win … Read more
Sri Lanka’s openers started strong against the West Indies after rain stopped play until after tea in the second Test at Galle on Monday. Match officials extended play after the hosts won the toss but stopped half an hour early with bad light after just 34.4 overs. Pathum Nissanka outscored skipper Dimuth Karunaratne to reach … Read more
India set New Zealand 284 runs to win after a lower order fightback from the Kiwi demolition of the hosts’ top batters on the fourth day of the first Test on Sunday. Ravichandran Ashwin then took the first Black Caps wicket in the day’s penultimate over when Will Young fell leg-before for 2 in unfortunate … Read more
Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam claimed his ninth five-wicket haul while Pakistan’s Abid Ali hit a century as the first Test remained delicately poised in Chittagong on Sunday. The hosts bowled out Pakistan for 286 at the stroke of tea on the third day to take a 44-run lead into the second innings thanks to the mesmerising … Read more
SYDNEY: Australia’s Tim Paine will quit all forms of cricket for the “foreseeable future”, Cricket Tasmania said Friday, after a sexting scandal led him to resign as Test captain. His decision put an abrupt end to the debate in Australia over whether he should take part in the Ashes, with the first Test against England opening in Brisbane on … Read more
Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque urged his team-mates to ignore criticism and concentrate on the job at hand ahead of the Test series at home against Pakistan beginning on Friday. The hosts kick off the new Test Championship cycle with the two-match series against Pakistan starting in Chittagong, having never beaten the visitors either at home … Read more
Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 75 on debut steadied India after an afternoon wobble to end the opening day of the first Test looking comfortable at 258-4. Iyer shared an unfinished 113-run partnership with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who made a busy 50 off 100 balls, in the heavily polluted industrial city of Kanpur. Iyer, the last specialist … Read more
The junior selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board has invited 21 high-performing cricketers born on or after 1 September 2002 for a training camp that will be held here to prepare the side for the upcoming U19 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates and the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in the … Read more
Pak vs Ban: Pakistan on Thursday announced their 12-player squad for the first Test against Bangladesh, which will be played at the Ch. Zahoor Ahmed Cricket Stadium, Chittagong from tomorrow, Friday. The match will start at 1000 local time. Squad (in alphabetical order): Babar Azam – Captain Mohammad Rizwan – Vice captain (wicketkeeper) Abdullah Shafique … Read more
Tennis star Sania Mirza left her fans puzzled when she shared the trailer of her new project with fans on social media. Interestingly, the post revealed that Sania’s cricketer husband Shoaib Malik is part of the project, as well. Read more: What is inside of Sania Mirza’s phone? Check out Mirza shared the first look … Read more
Michael Vaughan has been left out of the BBC commentary team for the upcoming Ashes series in Australia to avoid a “conflict of interest” amid an ongoing racism row. English cricket has been rocked by revelations of racism from Pakistan-born former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq. These have included an allegation that former England captain Vaughan told the … Read more
