ADELAIDE: Marnus Labuschagne won man-of-the-match for scoring a century ans a fifty in Adelaide, but it was “exceptional” Mitchell Starc who was praised by stand-in Australia captain Steve Smith after England were beaten by 275 runs in the second Ashes Test. The left-arm seamer led from the front after his regular partners Pat Cummins and … Read more
ADELAIDE: Joe Root fell in the final over of the fourth day Sunday to leave England in deep trouble at 82 for four chasing a massive 468 to win the second Ashes Test and needing a history-making miracle to avoid slumping 2-0 down in the series. No team has ever posted such a big score … Read more
Lahore: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday launched its search for highly qualified and skilled coaches, who will be based at Lahore’s state of the art National High-Performance Centre (NHPC). PCB posted advertisements for the High-Performance Coach as well as batting, bowling, fielding and power-hitting coaches. Read More: PCB appoints Faisal Hussain as new chief … Read more
ADELAIDE: England were battling to stay in the second Ashes Test on Friday after Australia removed both openers in a fiery spell under lights on day two to leave the visitors reeling. The home team declared their first innings on a commanding 473 for nine in Adelaide, leaving England to face a trying 40 minutes … Read more
ADELAIDE: Ben Stokes told England fans that “we don’t believe we’re beaten” and said he felt ready for a big score with the bat, after another tough day at the Ashes on Friday. The visitors were forced to toil for 150 overs in the field over the past two days as Australia built an ominous … Read more
The first Test between England and Australia starts at Brisbane’s Gabba on Wednesday. Here, AFP Sport identifies the five players who could be match-winners in the Ashes. Steve Smith (Australia) The world’s number three ranked Test batsman — behind England skipper Joe Root and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson — was heroic during the last Ashes … Read more
Bowling great Jimmy Anderson was Tuesday left out of the England team for the first Ashes Test as Pat Cummins warned his Australian side boasting some of “the all-time greats” would be tough to beat. The home team head into the Ashes opener in Brisbane on Wednesday defending the hallowed urn and with their arch-rivals … Read more
Off-spinner Sajid Khan’s maiden five-wicket haul for Pakistan brought some life back to the rain-hit second Test in Dhaka on Tuesday. Sajid’s 6-35 held Bangladesh to 76 before bad light forced early stumps on the first day at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Shakib Al Hasan was unbeaten on 23 alongside Taijul Islam (0) at stumps, … Read more
India need another five wickets to win the second Test as New Zealand chase an improbable 540 despite the Kiwis’ Mumbai-born Ajaz Patel returning a record 14-225 on Sunday. New Zealand ended day three on 140-5 after the hosts declared their second innings, after left-arm spinner Ajaz, who took 10 wickets in an innings, put … Read more
Spinners Lasith Embuldeniya and Ramesh Mendis took all 10 wickets as Sri Lanka demolished the West Indies to win the second Test in Galle on Friday with a session to spare. Chasing an improbable target of 297 to secure their maiden Test win on the island, the visitors lost only two wickets in the first … Read more
Mayank Agarwal hit an unbeaten 120 to lead India’s fightback on the opening day of the second Test after Mumbai-born New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel took all four wickets to fall. India reached 221 for four at stumps with Agarwal and wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, on 25, in the middle after the hosts elected to bat … Read more
Pakistan pace bowler Shaheen Afridi said on Friday he enjoyed bowling with Hasan Ali as the latter helped him put opponents under pressure in Test matches. Afridi and Hasan have emerged as Pakistan’s new pace bowling pair in 2021, taking 83 wickets in Tests between them. “I enjoy bowling with him. This year he has … Read more
David Warner might be a polarising figure but the aggressive opening batsman is rarely boring and his heroics for Australia at the Twenty20 World Cup signalled he is back to his explosive best. Now 35, the larger-than-life Warner boasts an average just shy of 50 from his 86 Tests, with his swashbuckling presence able to … Read more
England paceman Chris Woakes called Thursday for the racism and sexting scandals that have overshadowed preparations for the opening Test against Australia not to be used for sledging during the series. Australia skipper Tim Paine quit over a text-message scandal while English cricket has been engulfed in claims of institutional racism. But Woakes said he was confident … Read more
Key Bangladesh bowlers Shakib Al Hasan and Taskin Ahmed return from injury as the hosts fight to prevent a clean-sweep at the hands of Pakistan in the second Test in Dhaka. Bangladesh trail the two-match Test series 1-0 after being beaten by eight wickets in Chittagong, where they badly missed a strike bowler. The hosts … Read more
Pakistan selectors Thursday rested some senior players, including former captains Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Ahmed, for their limited over home series against the West Indies to be played later this month. Besides Malik and Sarfaraz, fast bowler Hasan Ali and spinning allrounder Imad Wasim will also not be part of the Twenty20 and one-day international … Read more
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
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
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
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
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
