Team director Mohammad Hafeez has defended Pakistan’s decision to line up without spearhead fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi in the third Test, saying he had a duty of care to the Pakistan players that extended beyond individual games and series. He also said it was the team management – and not the player – that
Month: January 2024
Shan Masood‘s communication skills have garnered plenty of praise throughout his career, but this afternoon in Sydney, it seemed no one could quite understand him. After Australia were set 130 to win the final Test, Pakistan didn’t turn to the series’ joint-leading wicket-taker Aamer Jamal all morning. It was only after lunch that, with Australia
Lunch Australia 299 & 91 for 1 (Warner 52*, Labuschagne 34*, Sajid 1-39) need 39 runs to beat Pakistan 313 & 115 (Ayub 33, Hazlewood 4-16, Lyon 3-36) Retiring opener David Warner crushed Pakistan with audacious batting and he remained on track for a fairy-tale farewell as Australia raced towards a third Test victory at
Harper will be unable to play tomorrow night and Stars do not have a back-up wicketkeeper on their list. Former Stars player and Victoria limited-overs captain Peter Handscomb has been called in at short notice as he does not have a BBL contract and was set to play grade cricket in Melbourne tomorrow for his
Jonny Bairstow is yet to learn whether he will retain his role as England’s wicketkeeper in their five-Test series in India, with Ben Foakes recalled to the 16-man squad that will fly to the UAE next week ahead of the first Test in Hyderabad on January 25. Bairstow kept wicket in all six Tests that
Moreeng’s tenure is now in its 12th year and was set to end after last year’s T20 World Cup, where South Africa reached the final for the first time in their history – men’s or women’s. In August last year, ESPNcricinfo reported that senior members of the South African women’s team wrote a letter to
Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka has been ruled out of the ODI series against Zimbabwe, with a suspected case of dengue. If his illness does turn out to be dengue, he will likely be out of the three-match T20I series that follows the ODIs as well. A board release said that Nissanka has been admitted
India chose to bowl against Australia India won the toss and asked Australia to bat in the first women’s T20I at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The hosts opted to field four pacers and two spinners as they look to bounce back from a whitewash in the ODI series. Pooja Vastrakar replaces Saika
Before the latest update, both Australia and India had a rating of 118 each, but India were ahead on points. However, India lost one rating point after they drew their two-match series in South Africa 1-1, and are now placed second. Australia, meanwhile, beat Pakistan in the first two Tests to stay on 118 rating
Lunch Australia 199 for 4 (Labuschagne 60, Khawaja 47, Salman 2-27) trail Pakistan 313 by 114 runs Australia batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith overcame a short-ball barrage before falling late in the first session on the third day as Pakistan mounted a fightback in the third Test. Labuschagne and Smith had combined for a
David Warner‘s missing baggy green has been located four days after he announced it had been lost in transit between Melbourne and Sydney ahead of his final Test. Details of how and where it was found have yet to be confirmed, but Warner posted a video on social media on Friday morning holding his original
South Africa’s national team will have to “find a way to co-exist” with the SA20 and not fight against its primacy in the calendar, according to Test coach Shukri Conrad. His concession comes after South Africa announced a makeshift squad including an uncapped captain to play two Tests in New Zealand next month, sparking criticism,
Rohit Sharma has called out the ICC and the match referees for what he sees as double standards at rating pitches. After winning the shortest Test in the history of the game, thanks to a lottery pitch loaded too heavily in the favour of the seam bowlers, Rohit was scathing about the slander against pitches
India 153 (Kohli 46, Rohit 39, Ngidi 3-30, Rabada 3-38, Burger 3-42) and 80 for 3 (Jaiswal 28, Jansen 1-15) beat South Africa 55 (Verreynne 15, Siraj 6-15) and 176 (Markram 106, Bumrah 6-61) by seven wickets Jasprit Bumrah‘s 6 for 61 paved the way for India’s seven-wicket win on the second day of the
Nathan Smith, the 25-year-old New Zealand allrounder, has joined Worcestershire as an overseas player for the entirety of the 2024 season. Smith has yet to make his international debut, but has featured domestically for Otago Volts and Wellington Firebirds, claiming 105 first-class wickets at 27.65 and 1620 runs at 26.55, with on first-class century. His
Much of David Warner‘s aggressive behaviour at times before his one-year ban from international cricket for ball tampering came because he was following team instructions, according to his close friend and long-time team-mate Usman Khawaja. “For a long period of time, he was in people’s faces and doing stuff; but that wasn’t always Davey,” Khawaja
Sri Lanka’s chief Selector Upul Tharanga has confirmed that Dhananjaya de Silva will replace Dimuth Karunaratne as their Test captain, and thus become the 18th player from his country to lead in Tests. Karunaratne had held the post for 30 Tests, winning 12, losing 12 and drawing six games. Sri Lanka’s most notable wins under
CA will push for series in the World Test Championship (WTC) to be of a minimum of three matches each amid the increasing debate about the health of the format. CA chief executive Nick Hockley admitted the situation with South Africa sending a severely weakened team to New Zealand had been a “wake-up call” and
Ever since, Pakistan moved the cordon around, with Agha Salman taking a superb catch the same evening Shafique was shunted out in Melbourne. The following morning, Babar Azam was at first slip and pouched an equally sharp chance. However, on the second morning of the final Test in Sydney, debutant Saim Ayub found himself filling
Lunch Australia 78 for 1 (Khawaja 35*, Warner 34, Salman 1-4) trail Pakistan 313 by 235 runs Retiring Australia opener David Warner rode some luck before falling on 34 late in the first session on day two in a much-needed boost for Pakistan in the third Test at the SCG. Warner had looked set to
Former Australia allrounder Shane Watson believes Cameron Green has all the tools to be successful as a Test opener and says previous experience at the top of the order isn’t required as Australia’s selectors continue to mull over their options to replace the retiring David Warner for the West Indies series starting in mid-January. Coach
South Africa were surprised by the pace of the Newlands pitch on the first day of the New Year’s Test but both stand-in captain Dean Elgar and batting consultant Ashwell Prince stopped short of out-and-out criticism of the surface. “It (The pitch) generally plays a little bit slower and as a batter you can adjust
Dean Elgar was dismissed twice on the first day, in his last Test match. After opting to bat, he was bowled by Mohammed Siraj off an inside edge for 4 in the first innings, where South Africa folded in 23.2 overs. Siraj’s new-ball spell of 9-3-15-6 skittled South Africa for 55 – the lowest total
Sri Lanka’s new selection committee, in their first assignment since being appointed, have made eight changes to the side that finished second-last at the ODI World Cup, with Wanindu Hasaranga, Pramod Madushan, Janith Liyanage, Nuwanidu Fernando and Sahan Arachchige also coming into the squad. Making way are Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan
Mohammad Rizwan repelled Australia with adventurous batting until falling on the stroke of tea for 88, as Pakistan’s recovery from a top-order collapse suffered a major blow on the opening day of the third Test. Rizwan belted 76 off 72 balls in the second session on a benign SCG surface, but miscued a Pat Cummins
Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson have made successful recoveries from their respective injuries, while Kane Williamson and Devon Conway also return after periods of rest as New Zealand named a full-strength squad for the five-match T20I series against Pakistan at home. Allrounder Rachin Ravindra was rested after being on the road since August last year.
Wasim claimed the decision “had nothing to do with the management” and was “solely [Shaheen’s] decision”, warning players more broadly they had to decide “if you want to be a great of the game or do you want to be a millionaire” when it came to deciding which format to prioritise. “Straight after this there
Ravindra Jadeja is fit and available for selection, giving India more batting depth and options when it comes to bowling combinations. He is also the only left-hand batter outside opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. Jadeja had missed the first Test with spasms in the upper back on the morning of the match. While confirming Jadeja’s return to
Big picture: Bruised India out to salvage series This South Africa Test tour was billed as the final frontier for India, and it continues to be unbreachable. Despite rain interruptions and South Africa losing their designated captain Temba Bavuma to injury, India lost the Boxing Day Test inside three days to crash to an innings
Dean Elgar likened the emotions of a Test series victory to winning a World Cup, while recognising that he has never played in one of the latter. “I only play the game to win,” Elgar said on the eve of his final Test. “I don’t care about stats. I care about wins. I care about
