Australia

Aaron Finch insists there should be no reason why Steven Smith or David Warner can’t replace him as Australia’s ODI skipper, adamant the scars of sandpaper-gate have long healed. Finch’s announcement of his retirement from the 50-over format has again put leadership back on the agenda, with Cricket Australia on the search for another captain

Aaron Finch has announced he will retire from one-day internationals after the final match of the series against New Zealand in Cairns on Sunday. He will continue to captain the T20 side into their defence of the World Cup title next month. “It has been a fantastic ride with some incredible memories,” Finch said. “I

Adam Zampa shifted all the praise onto Australia’s pace bowlers for the pressure they applied in the second ODI, labelling his delivery to remove Kane Williamson “c***”, with the New Zealand captain left to lament his team’s “soft” cricket as they saw another strong position slip away. Australia were 117 for 8 before the last

Hosts and defending champions Australia will take on India in their only warm-up fixture ahead of the T20 World Cup on October 17 in Brisbane. India will play their second warm-up against New Zealand two days later at the same venue. In addition to the big teams getting a feel for each other ahead of

It feels like there is something significant stirring in Australia’s middle order. On Tuesday in Cairns, they combined to turn what appeared a likely defeat into a gripping victory, putting on 158 for the sixth wicket after Australia had been in a mess at 44 for 5. They have now batted together twice in ODIs

Rizwan has claimed the top position for the first time and he is only the third Pakistan batter to top the T20I batting rankings after Babar, who has been at the top of the table for 1155 days in all, and Misbah-ul-Haq, who was at the top for 313 days, from April 20 , 2008

Marnus Labuschagne has committed to Glamorgan for the next two seasons after extending his deal with the county at least until the end of 2024. Labuschagne, currently the ICC’s No.2-ranked Test batter, made 377 runs at 41.88 in five early-season Championship matches for Glamorgan this season, including a best of 130 against Derbyshire, before travelling

As they closed in on a target of 233, either side of a brief rain delay, it looked like Green could seize up any second. With runners no longer permitted in international cricket, the boundary swatted by Zampa off Mitchell Santner in the 45th over and the wide that sealed the game were welcome assists.

50 overs New Zealand 232 for 9 vs Australia Glenn Maxwell had a significant impact on the first half of the opening Chappell-Hadlee ODI in Cairns with a stunning catch followed by four wickets as New Zealand could only post 232 for 9 having been promisingly placed with 10 overs to go. Quite what that

Big Picture This series has been a long time coming. Australia and New Zealand started a Chappell-Hadlee contest just days before the world was shut down by the pandemic, the opening game played behind closed doors at the SCG, before New Zealand had to make a hasty journey home with borders shutting. Matches were then

Australia 141 (Warner 94, Burl 5-10) vs Zimbabwe Ryan Burl took an astonishing career-best 5 for 10 as Zimbabwe gave themselves a fantastic opportunity to beat Australia by skittling the home side for 141 in 31 overs during the third ODI. Only David Warner, with 94, managed anything substantial as Zimbabwe’s seamers firstly impressed then

It felt appropriate that Tim David reflected on being called up to the Australia squad from the UK, where he has played the T20 Blast and the Hundred over recent months, on his way to the CPL in the West Indies where he will have a handful of games before heading to India and a

Tim David has been included in Australia’s squad for their T20 World Cup title defence next month in a move that could represent a significant shift for the game. David will also tour India for the three T20Is in mid-September which will provide preparation for the tournament and give him his first opportunity with Australia.

TossAustralia chose to bowl vs Zimbabwe Australia have recalled left-arm spinner Ashton Agar in place of the injured Mitchell Marsh and Zimbabwe have been able to bring back the experienced Sean Williams after he missed the opening game in Townsville. Marsh was ruled out of the rest of the ODIs against Zimbabwe and New Zealand

Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the remaining ODIs against Zimbabwe and New Zealand with a minor ankle injury but will be available for the T20 tour of India next month ahead of the World Cup in Australia. Josh Inglis, the Western Australia wicketkeeper-batter, who has been with London Spirit in the Hundred where

Steven Smith feels the BBL’s priority should be to look after domestic Australian cricketers. The competition offered big sums of money to overseas players in the draft recently – in the end, five of the foreign platinum players, who will earn A$340,000 (US$234,180 approx.) regardless of how many matches they will be available for, were

Liam Livingstone and Trent Boult were big early signings in the inaugural BBL overseas draft, but five of the 12 platinum players went unselected, including Andre Russell and Faf du Plessis, as clubs put a strong emphasis on availability while working within their salary caps. As expected, Rashid Khan was retained by Adelaide Strikers when

Andrew Symonds‘ children were at the centre of tributes to him during the opening ODI between Australia and Zimbabwe in Townsville. The outfield was emblazoned with Roy 388 – Symonds’ nickname and Test cap number – in memory of the former allrounder who died in a car accident west of Townsville in May. Symonds’ children,

Australia chose to bowl against Zimbabwe Australia had the chance to exploit the early-morning conditions in Townsville after Aaron Finch won the toss to start a long home international season. Australia confirmed their XI yesterday with Marnus Labuschagne left out as they continued to field an allrounder-heavy side. Mitchell Starc will play his 100th ODI.

While the immediate aim for Zimbabwe is to spring a surprise on Australia over the next few days in Townsville, there are two bigger ambitions in the mind of stand-in captain Regis Chakabva – firstly the T20 World Cup back on these shores in October, then qualifying for the ODI World Cup in India next

Big Picture This series in Townsville marks the end of a lot of long stretches. It’s 634 days since Australia’s men played an ODI on home soil; 14 years since a winter series in northern Australia; seven years since Zimbabwe last visited the country and 18 since their last bilateral series here. These games were

There are six ODIs over the next couple of weeks, starting with the three against Zimbabwe in Townsville followed by three against New Zealand in Cairns, for Australia to further hone their plans in the format. Chance for AbbottFor a cricketer of the quality of Sean Abbott, 13 international appearances since a debut in 2014

For the first time, the overseas players in the BBL will be selected via a draft. ESPNcricinfo gives you the rundown on how it will work. First thing’s first. When does it take place?August 28, starting at 6.30pm AEST, shortly after the conclusion of Australia’s first ODI against Zimbabwe. In Australia it will be broadcast

Chris Lynn, the leading run-scorer in BBL history, has signed with Adelaide Strikers in a deal that will see him play 11 of the 14 group matches before heading to the UAE to take up his ILT20 stint with Gulf Giants. In what is a significant deal, a compromise has effectively been reached for Lynn

Australia’s immediate sights may be on back-to-back ODI series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand but wicketkeeper Alex Carey says this is where their preparation begins for the 2023 World Cup. Australia face Zimbabwe in three ODIs in Townsville from Sunday, before they meet world No.1 New Zealand for three matches in Cairns from September 6.

Marnus Labuschagne is a self-confessed tinkerer when it comes to his batting, sometimes changing things mid-innings, and he is focused on using the upcoming six ODIs against Zimbabwe and New Zealand in northern Australia to continue to adapt his middle-order game with little more than a year to go until the World Cup. Labuschagne now

Mitchell Swepson knows he will probably have to bide his time over the next few months for another chance at Test cricket, but admitted he has long had “one eye” on Australia’s tour to India in early 2023. Swepson, who had served a long period as a Covid-19 reserve and drinks carrier, played four of

Tim Paine could be back playing in Tasmania in six weeks as Australia’s former Test captain prepares for his cricket comeback. Paine is training with Tasmania’s state squad as an uncontracted player as he plots a return for the first time since losing the Test captaincy in a text message controversy. The 37-year-old took time

David Warner‘s return to the BBL for the first time since 2013 has been confirmed with a two-year deal for his original club Sydney Thunder. Late last month the Australian reported that Warner was going to request permission to play in the new ILT20 league in the UAE rather than the BBL after the cancellation

Even though as a CA centrally contracted player it’s difficult to see how he ever could have gone to the UAE’s ILT20, the mere link of him to the new league was enough to set alarm bells ringing. With the increase in T20 competitions, particularly in that January window, what is becoming clear – if