Pakistan vice-captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has been rested for the third and final Test against Australia at the SCG to manage his workload. Saim Ayub will make his Test debut in place of opener Imam-ul-Haq, who struggled in the second Test at the MCG despite scoring a half-century in Perth. The decision that has been
Month: January 2024
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
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
Maxwell, the first player to reach 100 games for Stars, won the toss and everything flowed for him from there. He managed the bowlers superbly, claimed 1 for 8 from his three overs, and took two catches. Maxwell then combined with opening batter Thomas Rogers, who top-scored with 42 not out, to close out the
Big picture: Series gone, but Pakistan have WTC points to play for It’s David Warner week at the SCG, but there might be a competitive Test match in store in Sydney if the pitch and the weather play ball. Pakistan gave Australia a true scare in Melbourne and save for a handful of unforced errors
Pat Cummins doesn’t believe the decline in the popularity of Test cricket is “as dramatic as it sometimes gets spoken about”, but admits he does get worried about the future of the five-day game at times. His team-mate Usman Khawaja pointed to the lack of pay parity across the cricket world and said international cricket
Michael Clarke has said that David Warner‘s talents, and ability to do things other players couldn’t, helped him avoid having his central contract ripped up earlier in his career when he had brushes with authority. Clarke was Warner’s first captain in Test cricket when he made his debut in 2011 and went on to play
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised Usman Khawaja‘s courage in fighting to show solidarity with victims of warfare during the Test series with Pakistan. Since the days before last month’s series opener, Khawaja has been lobbying to voice his support for those affected by ongoing conflict in the Middle East, first by writing “all
Former Australia opening batter Justin Langer will start his the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 following his appointment as head coach of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Langer will replace Andy Flower who has joined Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as head coach for the upcoming season. Under Flower, LSG reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons
There is cautious hope in the Pakistan camp that legspinner Abrar Ahmed may be fit in time for the third Test in Sydney. Abrar, who was ruled out of the first two Test matches with a right leg injury, bowled for a significant period in the nets during Pakistan’s training session on Monday without obvious
Craig Ervine has returned to lead Zimbabwe in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, but veteran allrounder Sean Williams will miss the tour that also includes three T20Is. Williams picked up a side injury in the second T20I in Harare last month. Ervine, who had missed the home series against Ireland due to a
David Warner has revealed he was prepared to walk away from Test cricket after the second match of last year’s Ashes series at Lord’s if he had not scored runs. At the beginning of the England tour, ahead of the World Test Championship final against India, Warner had laid out his ambition to retire in
David Warner has announced his retirement from ODI cricket alongside the end of his Test career although kept the door ajar to play the 2025 Champions Trophy if Australia felt they needed him. “I’m definitely retiring from one-day cricket as well,” he said at the SCG on Monday. “That was something that I had said