Pakistan head coach Aaqib Javed has launched an impassioned defence for the recent spin-friendly pitches for Test matches in the country. Ahead of the second Test against West Indies in Multan, Aaqib said that if the decision to prepare such wickets been taken sooner, Pakistan may have been closer to making the World Test Championship … Read more
It is not difficult to know what’s coming this Test match. It is an easy one to analyse, a straightforward one to predict. West Indies will have prepared studiously for the challenge Pakistan will pose, and Pakistan, themselves, have made no secret they will double down on the nature of the surfaces they prepare. The … Read more
Masekesa, 27, has played 15 first-class matches and taken 49 wickets, while Welch, nearly 27, has played 26 first-class games and scored 1216 runs at an average of 31. Allrounder Sikandar Raza was also not selected because he is playing for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20, which ends on February 9. “He had already committed … Read more
India spinner Varun Chakravarthy has given a ringing endorsement of the country’s domestic system, more specifically the 20-overs Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, saying it is “almost on par” with the IPL and international cricket. “The level of cricket in the domestic [circuit] is extremely high,” Varun said on the eve of the second T20I against … Read more
Hasan Ali, the Pakistan fast bowler, has agreed a return to Warwickshire to play all formats for the club in 2025. He is expected to be available from the start of the T20 Blast in May through to the end of September. Hasan, 30, has not played since suffering an elbow injury during his stint … Read more
Jon Lewis, England Women’s head coach, has issued a robust defence of his team’s fitness levels, after they slumped to their fifth consecutive defeat of a troubled Ashes tour, but believes that cultural issues may be at the heart of Australia’s perceived edge in athleticism. Despite their best performance of the tour, England’s rain-affected loss … Read more
Highlights from day two of the sixth round of matches Thakur Lords over J&K after Rohit misses out again Rohit Sharma briefly caused bursts of excitement among early-morning office-goers in Mumbai’s financial district with a typically attractive start. He hit three sixes and two fours as Mumbai began their second innings against Jammu & Kashmir … Read more
Harry Brook, England’s vice-captain, says that his team’s hopes of combatting India’s spin bowlers in the first T20I were hampered by an unusual but familiar foe to English touring sides – a thick layer of smog hanging over the ground in Kolkata. Brook made 17 from 14 balls before being bowled by a wrong’un from … Read more
Australia previously played in Sri Lanka in 2022 and last toured the subcontinent in early 2023, when they visited India. There are echoes of that tour coming up in Sri Lanka with captain Pat Cummins unavailable and Steven Smith standing in again. Australia’s selectors showed a willingness to pick an unconventional XI in India in … Read more
Bangladesh missed direct qualification for the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup after their eight-wicket defeat against West Indies in Basseterre on Friday. They finished on 21 points in the Women’s Championship table, level with New Zealand who had more wins – nine opposed to Bangladesh’s eight – and secured the sixth and final direct spot. … Read more
In unpacking how Sydney Thunder transformed from BBL laughing stock to finals force, it is impossible to overstate the influence of the “ball of energy” that is David Warner. Thunder didn’t just collect the wooden spoon in the previous season, they snatched it with eagle-like precision in a miserable one-win campaign. On Monday night, they … Read more
Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques has called for the club to take a hard look at why they have stumbled in finals over recent seasons after falling to crosstown rivals Sydney Thunder in the Challenger on Friday, but he refused to blame the absence of key players on Australia Test duty. Sixers had given themselves … Read more
New Zealand captain and allrounder Sophie Devine is set to miss the WPL 2025, where she is part of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, to “prioritise her well-being” after receiving professional advice. She will also miss the remainder of the ongoing domestic season and return home. An NZC release also said the decision on Devine’s playing future … Read more
Australia 162 for 5 (Mooney 94*) beat England 90 (Knight 40, Wareham 3-11) by 72 runs Beth Mooney stood a class above with the bat before Australia’s bowlers ground a hapless England line-up further into the dust with a thumping 72-run win in the third and final T20I for a 12-0 lead in the Women’s … Read more
Australia registered a seven-wicket win over West Indies in Bangi in the morning fixture. After opting to bowl, Australia struck immediately and reduced West Indies to 7 for 3. West Indies never recovered from the early blow and kept losing wickets regularly. Fast bowlers Eleanor Larosa, Caoimhe Bray, and legspinner Tegan Williamson each picked up … Read more
Shivam Dube and Ramandeep Singh have been added to India’s T20I squad for the series against England in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh. Reddy is out of the five-match series with a side strain, while Rinku experienced lower-back spasms while fielding during the first T20I against England and is out for at … Read more
West Indies 163 (Motie 55, Warrican 36*, Noman 6-41) lead Pakistan 154 (Rizwan 49, Warrican 4-43, Motie 3-49) by nine runs Head coach Aaqib Javed promised that Pakistan could prepare a spin-friendly wicket anywhere in the country, and the first day of the second Test against West Indies in Multan demonstrated he had kept his … Read more
Australia captain Alyssa Healy is making a bold bid to play in the historic day-night Ashes Test at the MCG starting on Thursday after completing a full training session two days out despite battling a stress injury in her foot that saw her miss the entire T20I series while wearing a moon boot. Healy participated … Read more
Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane has showered praise on the Jammu & Kashmir fast bowlers who scripted a five-wicket win for the visiting team against the defending champions in Mumbai. Rahane also suggested he had misread the conditions and expected the pitch at the Sharad Pawar Ground to turn from day two, and so stacked his … Read more
Big Picture: The Warne-Muralidaran trophy is back Australia’s Test series in Sri Lanka often seem to have a touch of the dramatic about them. Last time Australia were in Galle, Sri Lanka saw the greatest mass protests in the country’s history, while the teams battled out a 1-1 series. In 2016, Australia had nosedived spectacularly … Read more
A game that was fought on an even keel in the first innings turned decisively in Haryana’s favour thanks to a massive second-innings batting effort, led by half-centuries from Himanshu Rana and Nishant Sindhu as they opened up a 32-run lead into a 369-run target. Bengal, sans the injured Abhimanyu Easwaran, were bowled out for … Read more
England Lions 316 (Flintoff 108, Davies 76, Whitney 4-72) and 276 for 9 (Coles 67, Hurst 53, Elliott 3-38) drew with Cricket Australia XI 214 (Hicks 64, Brown 5-21) and 442 for 9 dec (Ward 120, Clayton 84, Hackney 70*, Radhakrishnan 58, Cook 4-47) England Lions held out for a battling draw after last pair … Read more
In their quest to spin oppositions out, Pakistan ended up with a pitch that produced 20 wickets on day one. Against West Indies in the second Test in Multan, Noman Ali bagged 6 for 41 and on the way became the first Pakistan spinner to bag a Test hat-trick. West Indies were bowled out for … Read more
The BCB has put its constitution reform committee on ice in the face of an ongoing boycott by the Dhaka clubs. The city’s second-tier competition, the Dhaka First Division Cricket League, has been suspended since January 14 with the clubs refusing to play. Their protests stem from reports that the BCB’s constitution reform committee submitted … Read more
Paarl Royals have become the first team to qualify for the SA20 2025 playoffs with an 11-run win over Pretoria Capitals by “just doing the simple things well”, according to local hero Bjorn Fortuin. The left-arm spinner, who is from the Boland, has played all his franchise T20 cricket for teams based at this venue, … Read more
Beth Mooney wants Australia to “show off our skills” during the day-night Ashes Test at the MCG as they aim to complete a miserable tour for England by claiming a 16-0 whitewash. Mooney, who was masterful in the third T20I with an unbeaten 94 off 63 balls, conceded there was an element of disappointment in … Read more
India 166 for 8 (Tilak 72*, Washington 26, Carse 3-29) beat England 165 for 9 (Buttler 45, Carse 31, Axar 2-32, Varun 2-38) by two wickets India are used to their No. 3 sealing tense chases in limited-overs cricket. With the legendary one retired from T20Is, the new one shepherded India to a 2-0 lead … Read more
Big Picture: England vs spin England would have felt a sense of deja vu when they were skittled for 132 in the T20I series opener in Kolkata on Wednesday. In June 2024, in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Providence, they watched Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel return combined figures of 11-0-58-6. At … Read more
Big picture: A first for Hurricanes, or Thunder’s great revival? Whoever prevails in the BBL final, the first to be hosted in Tasmania, it will be a terrific story. Hobart Hurricanes have never won the title, while Sydney Thunder, under the captaincy of David Warner, have gone from the wooden spoon last year to their … Read more
The picturesque Bellerive Oval, renamed Ninja Stadium these days and nestled on the eastern shore of the Derwent River, has probably never experienced this type of bedlam before. After more than 13,000 fans were whipped into a frenzy by ferocious 150kph bowling from speedster Riley Meredith, Hobart Hurricanes staved off a fightback from competition power … Read more