MELBOURNE: Scott Boland wrote his name into Australian Ashes folklore with his magical 6-7 against England in Melbourne, but his fairytale debut could incredibly be his last Test. The 32-year-old was called up for his expertise on his home Melbourne Cricket Ground as cover with Jhye Richardson, Michael Neser and Josh Hazlewood either rested or not fit … 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
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
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
