Rahmanullah Gurbaz posted his sixth one-day international century as Afghanistan eased to a 35-run win over Ireland in the opening one-day international in Sharjah on Thursday. Put into bat, Afghanistan posted 310-5 in their 50 overs with Ibrahim Zadran making 60 in an opening partnership of 150 with Gurbaz who made 121. Ireland slipped to 34-3 before
Month: March 2024
Australia won the toss and decided to bowl against New Zealand Ben Sears will make his debut, while spinner Mitchell Santner has again been overlooked for New Zealand as Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bowl on a green-tinged Hagley Oval surface in the second Test. An unchanged Australia are hoping
Tim Southee cut a lonely figure out in the middle of Hagley Oval on Wednesday. It is rare that in the middle of the afternoon two days out from a Test match there is no one on the playing surface. But while New Zealand’s players trained in the nets out the back, and the ground
This is Tariq’s first season at the PSL, where he has risen to prominence as one of the most unorthodox spin bowlers. The right arm spinner comes to a near-complete halt as he approaches his delivery stride, before sending down offspinners with a slinging, side-arm action. He has achieved moderate success at the tournament, particularly
Ireland are contemplating postponing their first ever men’s bilateral series against Australia due to financial and logistical pressures. Under the Future Tours Programme, Australia are scheduled to tour Ireland for three ODIs and a one-off T20I in August and September before journeying to England for further white-ball series. But the likely strains of a hectic
Erasmus has had a storied career, officiating in four men’s Cricket World Cups (2011, 2015, 2019, 2023), seven men’s T20 World Cups (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021 and 2022) and three women’s T20 World Cups (2010, 2012, 2014) aside from two men’s Champions Trophy tournaments in 2013 and 2017. He was one of the
India 135 for 1 (Jaiswal 57, Rohit 52*, Gill 26*) trail England 218 (Crawley 79, Kuldeep 5-72, Ashwin 4-51) by 83 runs If, in a nutshell, England’s batting approach on this India tour has been to rack up their runs before they get a ball with their name on it, then in Kuldeep Yadav, they
Big Picture New Zealand’s home season will be defined by what happens over the next few days in Christchurch. If they can bounce back from the heavy defeat in Wellington to take a rare Test off Australia the summer will be considered a success and their position near the top of WTC table will be
CA Green 355 for 3 dec (Voll 200*, Piparo 66, Darke 57) and 259 (King 81, Voll 56, Piparo 55, Sutcliffe 3-28) drew with CA Gold 350 for 4 dec (de Broughe 115, Faltum 112, Mack 56) and 173 for 7 (de Broughe 86*, King 4-52, Graham 3-38) Alana King and Heather Graham nearly bowled
India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is set to play his final IPL season this year when he appears for Royal Challengers Bangalore over the next two months. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Karthik, who turns 39 in June, will also make a final decision soon on his international future. Karthik, who started his IPL career at Delhi
The second T20I between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh triggered a big debate in the cricketing fraternity after a controversial decision was taken by the third umpire on Wednesday. While the on-field umpire’s decision over a caught-behind call went in the favour of the bowling side, the batter decided to use a DRS referral. After a
Tim Southee, who will play his 100th Test in Christchurch, did not confirm New Zealand’s final XI with the last call to be made between pace bowler Scott Kuggeleijn and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner. Kuggeleijn, playing his second Test, was underwhelming in Wellington where he claimed two wickets and made scores of 0 and 26.
England have opted against reinforcing their seam-bowling contingent for the fifth Test against India in Dharamsala, and have named an XI featuring just one change – Mark Wood for Ollie Robinson – from the side that lost by five wickets in Ranchi last month. The talk in the lead-up to the Test had centred around
Big picture: Bowing out on a high One way or another, England will be ending their tour of India on a high, as they head to the foothills of the Himalayas for the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala – the first of the Bazball era in which Ben Stokes’ men are not in the
Karachi Kings 121 for 3 (Seifert 49, Malik 27*) beat Quetta Gladiators 118 (Shakeel 33, Hasan 4-15) by seven wickets Fast bowler Hasan Ali grabbed 4 for 15 as Karachi Kings kept alive their slim hopes of a playoff spot in the Pakistan Super League with a thumping seven-wicket win over Quetta Gladiators on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka were indignant in the second T20I following the controversial overturning of an on-field decision, by third umpire Masudur Rahman. Early in the fourth over of Bangladesh’s chase, opener Soumya Sarkar had been given out by on-field umpire Sharfuddoula, who ruled that he had edged behind a short delivery from left-arm seamer Binura Fernando.
Bangladesh opt to bowl vs Sri Lanka Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto put Sri Lanka in to bat in the second T20I in Sylhet. The hosts are unchanged from the first T20I which they lost by three runs in a thrilling finish. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have brought in left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka in place of
India have picked two seamers in each Test of this series against England so far. In the first two Tests in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, they picked two seamers even though England picked just one. It’s possible that India could play the extra fast bowler compared to England in the fifth Test in Dharamsala too. While
Joe Root has moved up to No. 2 in the ICC’s Test batting rankings, behind New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, after Steven Smith’s fallow run of scores caused him to slip below 800 points for the first time since 2014. Root, who himself returned to form with a century against India in Ranchi last month, is
Responding to a question on ESPN’s television show Around The Wicket about Wagner’s finger-on-the-mouth celebration after dismissing Zubayr Hamza in his final Test appearance, against South Africa in Hamilton, and a visual of him showing someone the middle finger as the team got in a huddle to celebrate another wicket, Taylor said, “I think it
New South Wales 465 for 8 (Davies 116, Hughes 114, Gilkes 54) lead South Australia 287 by 178 runs Daniel Hughes and Oliver Davies struck fighting centuries to give New South Wales a chance to secure victory in their Sheffield Shield encounter with South Australia in Sydney. NSW went to stumps on day three with
Former New Zealand batter Ross Taylor has said that the retirement of pacer Neil Wagner was a “forced” one. Ahead of the first Test between Australia and New Zealand, Kiwi fast bowler Wagner had announced his retirement from international cricket. The 37-year-old pacer took the emotional choice after a difficult chat with coach Gary Stead
Pakistan’s cricketers are set to team up with another iconic institution of the country, the Pakistan Army, from March 25 to April 8 in a ten-day training camp. The announcement was made by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday at a hotel in Islamabad while addressing several players. The camp will start roughly one week
Mitchell Starc has the strong words of former Australia coach Tim Nielsen still ringing in his ears as he stands on the brink of a remarkable achievement. As impressive as that is, Starc is arguably prouder of the fact he is set to play his seventh straight Test of a southern hemisphere summer. It is
South African quick Shabnim Ismail has breached the 130kph barrier for the first time in women’s cricket since speeds have been recorded. Ismail bowled a delivery that the speed-gun on broadcast recorded at 132.1kph in the WPL game between her side Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals on Tuesday in Delhi. It was the second delivery
“I’m proud. You know what I’m like, an emotional guy, so yeah – get the tissues ready.” “It’s absolutely stunning here,” Bairstow said of the setting, where he also reached 100 ODI caps during last year’s World Cup. “I don’t think there’s a more picturesque ground in the world. Cape Town is one of my
For the first time under Ben Stokes‘ captaincy, England will be playing for pride in a Test match. India hold the spoils, and all England have is the carrot of leaving with a 3-2 scoreline by becoming the first team since 2012 to win two matches in a series against the hosts. Though that is
New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner announced his retirement after learning that he would not be part of the ongoing Test series against Australia and his former team-mate Ross Taylor feels the decision was “forced”. Responding to a question on ESPN’s Around The Wicket podcast about Wagner’s finger-on-the-mouth celebration after dismissing Zubayr Hamza in his
Pat Cummins is adamant that Marnus Labuschagne is under no pressure for his place despite a lean run of form, but Australia’s batting order is facing increasing scrutiny after letting an opportunity slip to bury New Zealand at the Basin Reserve. Australia started their second innings 204 runs in front and even with the double
Why is batting against R Ashwin such a challenge? There are few people better qualified to answer that question than Joe Root, an accomplished player of spin. He’s faced 693 balls from Ashwin in Test cricket and, despite scoring 418 runs at an average of 59, he admits he’s not always comfortable against the offspinner.