Zimbabwe have named a new-look squad for the three upcoming ODIs against Ireland, calling up seven players who weren’t part of the team that took part in the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in June and July, during their previous ODI series. Captain Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and Brad Evans were ruled out
The ICC has given an “unsatisfactory” rating to the pitch used for the second Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The venue as a result has incurred one demerit point. It is an interesting choice of word to describe the pitch; the ICC has previously used “very
New Zealand 365 for 4 (Bates 108, Bezuidenhout 86, Kerr 83, Devine 70, Sandhu 1-52) beat Pakistan 234 (Ameen 105, Muneeba 44, Kerr 3-44, Tahuhu 2-45) by 131 runs A powerful batting display from New Zealand’s top four set up a big win for them in the first ODI against Pakistan in Queenstown, as they
Zimbabwe will tour Sri Lanka for a series of three ODIs and three T20Is in January. It will be the first bilateral T20I series featuring the two teams in Sri Lanka, and also the first ODI series between them in the island since January 2022. Sri Lanka are currently No. 7 in the ICC ODI
It is the question underpinning every international squad: should selection be seen as an art, or a science? “You’re trying to balance the two out all the time,” Rob Key, England’s managing director, said after unveiling a 16-man Test squad to tour India in early 2024. “In this, it’s more of a feel.” ‘This’ referred
Ten millimetres of grass has been left on the Optus Stadium pitch two days ahead of the first Test between Australia and Pakistan, but more is expected to be shaven off with head curator Isaac McDonald tipping a “hard, fast and bouncy” surface. Pressure has been on the ground staff after a sedate pitch in
A fractured finger has ruled Diana Baig out of the entire ODI leg of Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand, while Nida Dar‘s participation in the second and third games of the Women’s Championship series is in doubt after she was hit in the face with the ball while bowling and had to be taken off
Asad Shafiq, the former Pakistan Test middle-order batter, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket and is expected to take up a position as a national selector. Shafiq, 37, was a core part of the Misbah-ul-Haq Test side in the 2010s, playing a vital role in their rise to the top of the
The ECB’s plans to take direct control of Jofra Archer’s rehabilitation from a long-term elbow injury hit a snag this week, when it transpired the fast bowler had turned out for his old school team in Barbados without the knowledge of the England management. Archer was recently handed a two-year ECB central contract despite having
Sydney Sixers 139 for 4 (Hughes 60*) beat Hobart Hurricanes 135 for 8 (Jewell 42, Curran 3-19) Injury-plagued Hobart Hurricanes quick Riley Meredith suffered an apparent side strain as his side went down by six wickets to a Daniel Hughes-led Sydney Sixers. Sixers, who are 2-0 to start the BBL season, chased down the Hurricanes’
Big picture – T20 World Cup countdown begins And now for something completely different. Or at least a slight change of pace after three months solid of ODI cricket. England have had their fill for 2023 and even if West Indies’ appetite for the 50-over format has been sharpened by a 2-1 series win, having
The schedule of the 2024 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League will clash, to varying extents, with those of five other T20 leagues in the January-February window. The BCB announced the schedule of the tournament – January 19 to March 1 – on Monday. The ILT20 in the UAE will be on from January 19
West Indies will face England in 1st of England’s tour of West Indies, 5 T20I Series, 2023 on Wednesday, December 13, at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies. The match is scheduled to begin at 3:30 AM IST. The Caribbean side will come into the T20I series on the back of their 2-1 win
Karachi Kings have appointed the former West Indies allrounder Phil Simmons as their head coach ahead of the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) season. Simmons takes over from the former South Africa allrounder Johan Botha, who coached Kings to a second-from-bottom finish, with three wins from 10 games, in PSL 2023. Simmons, who played 26
The next edition of the Men’s Under-19 World Cup, which was shifted from Sri Lanka to South Africa, will be held from January 19 to February 11 next year, with the final taking place in Benoni. The four groups are the same as they were announced earlier: India, Bangladesh, Ireland and USA are in Group
If Pant is cleared by the NCA by February next year, as the franchise expects, the IPL will be the first tournament he will play since featuring in the Bangladesh tour in late 2022. In Pant’s absence last season, Capitals had appointed David Warner as interim captain. They finished second from bottom, with five wins
Chris Woakes has said that he is “at ease” with being left out of England’s Test squad for India, with the all-rounder describing it as “a fair decision”. After spending a decade fighting the reputation of being a home specialist, Woakes has given in and joined the groupthink. Woakes at home, good. Woakes away, bad.
World Cup winners Travis Head, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, all likely to attract big bucks, are among the first sets of players in their respective categories (capped batters, allrounders and bowlers, respectively) who will be up for bidding at the IPL 2024 auction that will be held in Dubai on December 19. Also among
The first T20I between West Indies and England on Wednesday will see a stop clock used for the first time in international cricket. Part of a six-month experiment announced last month by the ICC, the stop clock will aim to restrict the time taken between overs and quicken the pace of play. The bowling team
Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez has criticised the pitch and conditions laid out for Pakistan’s warm-up game in Canberra, saying he was “really surprised and disappointed by the arrangements.” Speaking to reporters at the WACA ground following Pakistan’s morning training session, Hafeez said Pakistan were excited by the challenge, but appeared particularly irked by the
Big picture: Is time running out for India, SA? With the series opener in Durban washed out, both India and South Africa have just five T20Is to nail down their combination for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. The second and third matches in the series will take place
Travis Head believes that opening the batting in Test cricket was a “specialist job” as he ruled himself out of contention to replace David Warner. Having powered Australia to an ODI World Cup triumph with spectacular batting at the top of the order, Head presented a potentially intriguing option to succeed Warner who is set
The second edition of the Women’s Premier League will take place in “one state” of India, starting from the “second or third week” of February. BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed as much on Saturday, talking to journalists after the WPL auction in Mumbai. “It is decided that we will have the tournament in February,” he
David Warner has opened up on Mitchell Johnson‘s criticism of his retirement plans, saying his former team-mate is entitled to his opinions, however scathing. Warner refusing to add fuel to the fire comes as Australian captain Pat Cummins said the Test team would be “fiercely protective” of the veteran opener in the face of external
Former West Indies skippers Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran and all-rounder Kyle Mayers turned down the central contracts from Cricket West Indies (CWI) for the 2023-24 season but confirmed their availability for the T20I series during the contract year. CWI released an official statement to announce the list of central contracts for 2023-2024 for both men
Ireland 141 for 4 (Tector 54*, Dockrell 49*) beat Zimbabwe 140 for 6 (Burl 36, Bennett 27, Delany 2-8, Little 2-21, Young 2-27) by six wickets An unbroken 104-run partnership between Harry Tector and George Dockrell helped Ireland turn a tricky situation into a comfortable chase against Zimbabwe in the third T20I in Harare to
Former captains Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran, and allrounder Kyle Mayers, have turned down West Indies central contracts for 2023-24. The trio will however be available for T20I series during the year, Cricket West Indies (CWI) said in a statement announcing 14 men’s contracts and 15 women’s contracts. In an age of increasing workloads and
Abrar, who has picked up 38 wickets in his six Tests so far, was shaping to be the lead spin bowler for Pakistan as they attempt to win their first-ever Test series in Australia. If he is to spend an extended period of time on the sidelines, that will put the onus on Noman Ali
The first T20I between South Africa and India – one of only six matches in the format for each side before next year’s T20 World Cup – was called off without even the toss taking place in Durban. Steady drizzle through the day meant that a capacity crowd was denied any action as the fixture
India 130 for 5 (Mandhana 48, Rodrigues 29, Kemp 2-24) beat England 126 (Knight 52, Patil 3-19, Ishaque 3-22) by five wickets India’s new spin pair of Shreyanka Patil and Saika Ishaque and an improved batting performance led them to a consolation victory in the third and final T20I against England at the Wankhede Stadium.