MELBOURNE: Joe Root has backed himself to “bang out a hundred” as England face a must-win Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and says he expects a response from his team after successive Ashes defeats. The England captain has never reached three figures in Australia but he went close in the nine wicket-defeat in the first … Read more
The International Cricket Council has released the rankings of Test and T20I players in which Babar Azam has once again grabbed the number one spot in the ICC MRF Batsman ranking in the T20. Babar has moved up a notch in the ICC T20I Players Rankings, after which he has again become the number one … Read more
PARIS: The coronavirus is once again disrupting global sport, forcing the cancellation of English Premier League matches and the scrapping of a one-day cricket series. AFP Sport looks at the state of play around the world as authorities scramble to cope with the surging pandemic. Football Five of the 10 Premier League matches scheduled for … Read more
ADELAIDE: Steve Smith says he always felt that he had the support of the Australian public after slipping back into the captaincy of the Test team this week, capping a remarkable career revival. In March 2018, Smith was enemy number one in the wake of a ball-tampering scandal that shook cricket. It was a long road … 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
ADELAIDE: Bowling great Jimmy Anderson said Wednesday he wants to play all four remaining Ashes Tests after being included in England’s 12-man squad for the second Test against Australia this week. Test cricket’s most prolific quick with 632 wickets was controversially left out of the visitors’ team for the series opener at Brisbane, where they crashed … Read more
ADELAIDE: Dynamic opener David Warner will play through the pain in the second Ashes Test against England, Australia captain Pat Cummins said Wednesday, as Jhye Richardson got the nod to replace Josh Hazlewood. Warner scored 94 in the first innings at the opening Test in Brisbane but didn’t field or bat in Australia’s second innings … Read more
BRISBANE: Australia’s Nathan Lyon said reaching the milestone of 400 Test wickets in Saturday’s big Ashes win and joining cricket’s greats had not yet sunk in. A classical off-spinner, the 34-year-old removed Dawid Malan for 82 on the fourth day of the first Test against England to write his name in Australian sporting history. Speaking immediately … Read more
BRISBANE: England captain Joe Root said Saturday his team must fix their fielding and batting to get back into the Ashes series, while defending the decision to leave Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad out of the first Test. A dominant Australia humbled England by nine wickets to win the opener convincingly at Brisbane inside four … Read more
BRISBANE: Australia overwhelmed England by nine wickets to win the first Ashes Test at Brisbane on Saturday. Read more: Ruthless Australia crush England in first Ashes Test AFP Sport looks at what we learned from the opening match in a five-Test clash: Tactical blunder England’s decision to go into the opening Test without their two … Read more
BRISBANE: A ruthless Australia crushed England by nine wickets to win the first Ashes Test in style just after lunch on day four at the Gabba on Saturday. Needing just 20 runs after bowling England out for 297 in their second innings — with Nathan Lyon taking his 400th Test scalp — Australia cruised to … Read more
BRISBANE: Joe Root and Dawid Malan dug in to give England some badly needed cheer at tea on the third day of the opening Ashes Test against Australia at the Gabba on Friday. England were 107-2 at the break with skipper Root on 26 and Malan 35, still 171 runs behind. They lost both openers … Read more
BRISBANE: Travis Head said before the opening Ashes Test against England that he was in “a great space” to finally cement his place in the Australian side — his magnificent 152 will help do just that, and then some. The amiable 27-year-old has been in and out of the Test side since his debut in … Read more
Pat Cummins took five wickets in a scintillating start to his captaincy as Australia routed England for 147 on the opening day of the Ashes at the Gabba on Wednesday. After England skipper Joe Root won the toss and opted to bat, the Australian pace bowling trio of Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood ran … Read more
BRISBANE: It was not only the Australian bowlers who tore into England’s cricket team on the first day of the Ashes on Wednesday — the local police also got in on the act. Queensland Police did not pass up the chance to poke fun at the demoralised England team, tweeting: “Queensland Police are launching an investigation into … Read more
BRISBANE: England made a disastrous start to the Ashes Wednesday, all out for 147 on the stroke of tea after losing opener Rory Burns to the first ball of the series in Brisbane. Mitchell Starc sensationally bowled Burns around his legs as Australia’s pacemen ripped through England’s top order with Pat Cummins taking 5-38 on … Read more
BRISBANE: Pat Cummins warned Tuesday an Australian side boasting some of “the all-time greats” will be tough to beat as England’s task became harder with Jimmy Anderson set to miss the first Test. The home team head into the Ashes opener in Brisbane on Wednesday defending the hallowed urn and with their arch-rivals having a dismal record … Read more
BRISBANE: After a build-up overshadowed by controversies and Covid, Australia and England’s hotly-anticipated five-Test Ashes showdown gets underway Wednesday in Brisbane with Joe Root’s men confident of defying recent history to cause an upset. Few series between the old rivals have witnessed such troubled preparations, with the tour threatened early on over Australia’s tough Covid-19 … Read more
BRISBANE: Australia confirmed their line-up for the first Ashes Test three days early on Sunday, recalling Travis Head for the hotly contested number five spot while retaining Mitchell Starc in the bowling attack. Head was dropped after the Boxing Day Test against India last year, and new Australia captain Pat Cummins said the way he … Read more
SYDNEY: Pat Cummins is widely regarded as an all-round nice guy with an excellent cricketing brain, doggedly overcoming early-career injuries to reach the pinnacle of the game. A decade after making his international debut, he is not only the world’s premier bowler but Australia’s 47th Test skipper, elevated to one of the nation’s highest-profile roles … Read more
SYDNEY: Australia named paceman Pat Cummins as their Test cricket captain and Steve Smith as vice-captain Friday after a sexting scandal led Tim Paine to resign last week, just ahead of the Ashes. “Pat is an outstanding player and leader — he has earned enormous respect from his teammates and from all corners of the game for … Read more
BRISBANE: Australia’s bowlers want Tim Paine behind the stumps for the first Ashes Test against England because he is “the best keeper in the world”, spin king Nathan Lyon said Thursday. Paine quit as Test captain in disgrace last week over a historical text message scandal but is keen to keep playing. Read more: Tim … Read more
BRISBANE: Tim Paine has the full support of the Australian team and deserves to keep his place for the first Ashes Test against England, opener Marcus Harris said Wednesday. Paine suddenly quit as Test captain last week over a series of lewd text messages with a female colleague in 2017 that were about to be … Read more
SYDNEY: Pat Cummins shaped up as the frontrunner Saturday to take over from disgraced former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine, with the likes of Mark Taylor, Dennis Lillie, and Steve Waugh all singing his praises. The 28-year-old, who has served as vice-captain in both Test and white-ball formats since 2019, is widely seen as being … Read more
DUBAI: Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 71 and inspired bowling by Chris Woakes powered England to an eight-wicket over Australia and close in on a semi-final spot at the Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday. Buttler put on an opening stand of 66 with Jason Roy, who made 22, as England romped home to their victory target of … Read more
Cricket Australia has announced the final ICC T20 World Cup squad 2021. Aron Finch, who had a knee injury, along with Steve Smith, who had an elbow injury, are now back in the squad with Finch leading the team. Some of the other big stars including David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins, and … Read more
