Sports

Sometimes scorecards really do tell the story of a game, and in this case, a cursory glance makes what happened obvious. A Kane Williamson masterclass – his 14th ODI hundred and first since 2019, made light work of a South African total not too far removed from the one that saw Pakistan fall well short … Read more

Surrey have confirmed that they will be retaining their majority stake in Oval Invincibles, as they begin their period of exclusive negotiations with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the owners of Mumbai Indians, in the wake of last month’s Hundred equity sale. RIL secured a 49% stake in Invincibles, the reigning Men’s Hundred champions and the … Read more

Sri Lanka have named a squad largely unchanged from the one that toured New Zealand in January this year for the two ODIs against Australia at home later this week. The one change is that seam-bowling allrounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe is out as the squad has been trimmed from 17 for that New Zealand series to … Read more

India are set to take a final decision on Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in the Champions Trophy on February 11, the deadline for submission of the final squad to the ICC, as uncertainty lingers over his fitness. ESPNcricinfo has learned Bumrah has had a scan on his back at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru in … Read more

Ireland 260 (McBrine 90*, Adair 78, Muzarabani 7-58, Ngarava 2-65) and 298 (Balbirnie 66 Tucker 58, Ngarava 4-55, Gwandu 2-28, Madhevere 2-48) beat Zimbabwe 267 (Welch 90, Muzarabani 47, McCarthy 4-75, McBrine 3-59) and 228 (Madhevere 84, Bennett 45, Humphreys 6-57, McCarthy 2-22) by 63 runs Rain was the biggest threat Ireland faced, when they … Read more

New South Wales 259 (Edwards 108, Gilkes 66, Bartlett 4-54) and 11 for 1 need 407 more runs to beat Queensland 387 and 289 for 3 dec (Renshaw 125*, Clayton 76 ret hurt) Queensland will hunt a vital Sheffield Shield win at the Gabba after Matt Renshaw’s unbeaten century kept them in the box seat … Read more

Bangladesh are cramming extra training sessions into their schedule in a bid to shift their mindset from T20Is to ODIs ahead of the Champions Trophy. Head coach Phil Simmons is confident that the players can get themselves accustomed to the format despite not playing an ODI since December. The BPL ended on February 7, and … Read more

Victoria 258 and 55 for 2 need 215 more runs to beat Tasmania 236 and 291 (Weatherald 155, O’Neill 3-63) Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield pacesetter Jake Weatherald blazed another big century to put the heat on Victoria ahead of a final-day run chase in Hobart. The hosts began their second innings 22 runs behind Victoria, but … Read more

Selectors will wait to make a call on Marnus Labuschagne’s Test future as Australia brace for a batting squeeze in the World Test Championship final and beyond. It comes as in-form Steven Smith urged selectors to keep the faith in Labuschagne, saying it was not long ago he was in a similar predicament to the … Read more

Following the crushing first Test loss to India in Perth in November, there was a moment when Australia’s Test team looked as though they may have reached a cliff much sooner than predicted. Ten weeks, five Test wins and two significant series victories later, that seismic defeat in Perth feels like nothing but a bump … Read more

SA name four debutants in the only day game in the tri-series in Pakistan

Dubai Capitals 191 for 6 (Powell 63, Hope 43, Raza 34*, Payne 2-28) beat Desert Vipers 189 for 5 (Holden 76, Curran 62*, McCoy 2-44) by four wickets Rovman Powell made the most of a second life gifted to him by Azam Khan to power Dubai Capitals to their maiden ILT20 title as they beat … Read more

Ravindra Jadeja has credited the domestic cricket he played for his rhythm in ODIs, the first he has played since the World Cup final in 2023. In two matches, against an explosive England side, Jadeja has conceded just two boundaries in 19 overs while also picking up six wickets. He has played a key role … Read more

Rohit Sharma hasn’t been in great form in Test cricket. But in ODIs, a format India haven’t played a lot of over the past year, he remains one of the best in the business. A seven-ball 2 in the first ODI against England might have raised fears ahead of the Champions Trophy, but the 90-ball … Read more

Zimbabwe 267 and 183 for 7 (Madhevere 61*, Bennett 45, Humphreys 4-41, McCarthy 2-22) need another 109 runs to beat Ireland 260 and 298 Ireland were made to feel at home in Bulawayo, albeit in a slightly devious sense as rain washed out large chunks before bad light ended day four. But by taking four … Read more

Big picture: Ravindra out after opening-night injury New Zealand’s start to what they hope will be a full month in and around Pakistan couldn’t have gone much better. The squad they picked for the tri-series as well as the upcoming Champions Trophy appears to be especially well-suited to these conditions at this early stage. They … Read more

Usually it’s the visiting team from South Africa, England, Australia and New Zealand to the subcontinent that bemoans conditions and promises to do some soul searching at the end of the series. But Australia have completed their most dominant series victory over Sri Lanka on the island, and the tables have turned, the regular order … Read more

England batter Jacob Bethell has emerged as a major doubt for the ICC Champions Trophy after sustaining a left hamstring injury. The 21-year-old was ruled out of Sunday’s second ODI against India in Cuttack, and is expected to miss the series finale in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. With keeper-batter Jamie Smith still recovering from a calf … Read more

UP Warriorz have named Deepti Sharma as their captain for WPL 2025. The announcement comes after their regular captain Alyssa Healy was ruled out of the tournament due to a stress injury in her right foot. Deepti had a bumper WPL 2024 although Warriorz failed to make it to the playoffs. She scored 295 runs … Read more

New South Wales (Edwards 104*, Gilkes 66, Bartlett 3-54) trail Queensland 387 (Clayton 134, Hearne 63, Hatcher 4-85) by 150 runs A patient Sam Konstas was dismissed for just three before his New South Wales captain Jack Edwards launched a stirring fightback in the Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland at the Gabba. Queensland started day … Read more

South Australia 124 (Couch 4-33) & 66 for 4 (Sangha 24*) beat Western Australia 120 (Fanning 49) & 66 (Turner 30, McAndrew 7-11) by six wickets Paceman Nathan McAndrew took a remarkable 7 for 11 to lead South Australia to a crushing six-wicket Sheffield Shield win over defending champions Western Australia at the WACA Ground. … Read more

Bowling allrounder Corbin Bosch has been named as the replacement for the injured Anrich Nortje in South Africa’s 15-member squad for the Champions Trophy event in Pakistan later this month. The 30-year-old Bosch made his ODI debut against Pakistan in December, returning figures of 1 for 69 in nine overs, but was one of the … Read more

Tasmania 236 & 43 for 1 (Weatherald 26*, Ward 13*) lead Victoria 258 (Dixon 66, K. Elliott 4-55) by 21 runs First-class debutant Harry Dixon has blasted three huge sixes on his way to a brisk half-century that helped Victoria to a narrow first-innings lead over Tasmania in their Sheffield Shield clash. Dixon was the … Read more

England won the toss and chose to bat vs India England won the toss and will bat first on a black-soil surface in Cuttack, where they hope to bounce back from their heavy loss in Nagpur on Thursday, and square the ODI series against India. They will be taking on an India side with two … Read more

Australia 414 (Carey 156, Smith 131, Jayasuriya 5-151) and 75 for 1 (Khawaja 27*, Labuschagne 26*) beat Sri Lanka 257 (Kusal 85, Chandimal 74, Starc 3-37) & 231 (Mathews 76, Kusal 50, Kuhnemann 4-63, Lyon 4-84) by 9 wickets Steven Smith completed an outstanding series at the helm with his 200th Test catch, but he … Read more

After opting to bat, MICT felt at home – all of their top five play for Lions at the Wanderers – and sent the ball flying over the boundaries in the Highveld. The rarefied air suited their style of play: despite losing wickets, MICT kept attacking and posted 181 for 8 on the back of … Read more

Fielding at deep square leg in the 37th over, Ravindra steadied himself to take a catch as Khushdil Shah slog-swept Michael Bracewell towards the on side. But Ravindra seemed to lose the ball in the lights, and took no evasive action as it struck him square on the forehead. He was seen staring at the … Read more

Whatever happens on what is likely to be the final day of the series, it is clear that Australia’s spinners have been spectacular in Sri Lanka. So far, the hosts have lost 37 of the 40 wickets they can lose in two Tests. Of those, Australia’s two frontline spinners – Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann … Read more

Zimbabwe 267 and 38 for 3 (Bennett 15*, Humphreys 1-4, McCarthy 1-14) need another 254 runs to beat Ireland 260 and 298 (Balbirnie 66 Tucker 58, Ngarava 4-55, Gwandu 2-28, Madhevere 2-48) Ireland are well placed to complete a hat-trick of Test wins after setting Zimbabwe a target of 292 and reducing them to 38 … Read more

Big picture: Kohli fit again Cricketers. They’re just like us, from having kadhi chawal for lunch to cueing up Netflix with dinner. This deeply normal kind of life may be beckoning a first-choice Indian team member as they continue on their Champions Trophy fact-finding mission. Shreyas Iyer usually plays entertainer, and he did this on … Read more