Bancroft’s 25th first-class hundred has put the reigning Shield champions in a strong position entering the last day. Bancroft absorbed 221 balls and struck eight fours in his century, and his team-mate Aaron Hardie narrowly missed a milestone when dismissed for 99. He was given out lbw to Harry Conway after striking 13 fours and
Keshav Maharaj was just having dinner around the time when Pakistan’s concussion substitute Usama Mir pinned Rassie van der Dussen lbw for 21. South Africa were 121 for 3 at that point, needing a further 150 runs off almost 30 overs. Given South Africa’s gun middle-order – Aiden Markram at No.4, Heinrich Klaasen No.5 and
Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach, said that his team’s failure to put together the “perfect game” was to blame for their struggles at this year’s World Cup, as he urged the PCB to steer clear of “witch-hunts” in the wake of their agonising one-wicket loss against South Africa. A last-wicket stand between Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz
Jos Buttler sat at a round table on the first floor of the Gujarat Cricket Association clubhouse, holding court with the travelling English press pack on the eve of the World Cup. He had just spent 40 minutes on stage at a captain’s event and was midway through a long afternoon of media duties before
The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is now building towards the final on November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you the insights from our reporters on the ground. — Top Story: South Africa rise to the top by the barest of margins in
Matthew Wade will captain Australia in the five-match T20I series against India after the 2023 ODI World Cup. The multiformat fast bowlers and allrounders have been left out ahead of the Test summer, but David Warner, Steven Smith and Travis Head are included. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will return home after the
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has unveiled Lanka T10, their first ten-over competition to be played from December 12-23. The tournament will be held in Colombo, with the player auction to be conducted on November 10. There are also plans to also host a women’s T10 league at the same time. While details about the women’s
South Africa are top of the World Cup standings, and firmly on course for a top-four finish, but their captain Temba Bavuma acknowledged that “conversations” would be had about their approach to run-chases, after they had an almighty scare in their one-wicket win over Pakistan in Chennai. South Africa have been a team of two
The victory was set up by their bowlers – Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen in particular – who dismissed Pakistan for 270 in 46.4 overs despite them having been well placed at 225 for 5 in the 40th over. And when Aiden Markram, who overtook Virat Kohli to become the second-highest run scorer of the
Matthew Mott accepts that his position as England’s white-ball coach will come under pressure with his side on the brink of an early World Cup exit, but said he is “fully determined” that he and captain Jos Buttler can turn things around in the future. Mott was appointed on a four-year contract in May 2022
Big Picture: World Cup 2023 comes to Kolkata The World Cup has arrived in Kolkata, where Bangladesh can expect a fair bit of support at Eden Gardens when they take on Netherlands. There are supposed to be at least 2000 fans on their way from Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh for this match, with
Australia are set to tour India in late December for a multi-format women’s series comprising a Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will play host to the one-off women’s Test and three ODIs while the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai will be host for the T20Is. The ODIs will
Pakistan and South African players during their Cricket World Cup 2023 clash© X (formerly Twitter) Pakistan cricket team’s fielding has been criticised heavily during the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2023 and they once again suffered a comedy of errors during the match against South Africa on Friday. Temba Bavuma played the ball softly towards mid-on
Big picture: Semi-final almost a lock for Trans-Tasman winner Attention in New Zealand might currently be focused on another World Cup, with their beloved All Blacks on the cusp of regaining the Webb Ellis Cup. Despite that, New Zealand can almost lock in a semi-final berth – defying predictions of many pundits – with a
Sri Lanka 160 for 2 (Nissanka 77*, Samarawickrama 65*) beat England 156 (Stokes 43, Kumara 3-35) by eight wickets England’s World Cup defence is not dead yet. And more’s the pity, to judge by this latest hollow-eyed display from Jos Buttler’s ex-worldbeaters. The humiliations are coming so thick and fast that they are losing their
England have had an abysmal World Cup 2023 so far, losing four out of five games, the last of these a thrashing at Sri Lanka’s hands, but thanks to the format of the tournament – where each of the 10 teams play the other nine before the semis – they still have a shot at
Permutations, combinations and mathematical equations aside, England are all but resigned to the fact that their World Cup defence is over. Their eight-wicket drubbing at the hands of Sri Lanka left them with more questions than answers, which does not auger well for a quest to win the next four remaining matches, which is the
The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is now past the halfway stage as it builds towards the final on November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you the insights from our reporters on the ground. — Top Story: England’s title defence suffers another crushing
In-form Queensland allrounder and fringe Australia Test seamer Michael Neser has withdrawn from Queensland’s Sheffield Shield clash with Tasmania after day one due to personal reasons, leaving the visitors with just 10 players for the remaining three days of the match in Hobart. Neser was 51 not out overnight batting at No.5 for the first
The light at the end of the tunnel was a train. England have spent the last four weeks travelling around India talking about responding to setbacks and awaiting the statement performance that has never arrived. If their defeats to New Zealand, Afghanistan and South Africa were bad, this might have been the worst of the
Big Picture – Can Pakistan get back on track? As one campaign unravels, another gathers full steam. It’s a familiar theme for Pakistan and South Africa across much of ICC tournament history. While South Africa have often looked among the most formidable sides in the early stages of these tournaments, Pakistan stutter and stall until
The IPL player auction ahead of the 2024 season is likely to be held on December 19 in Dubai; it is the first time the auction will be held overseas. The event will coincide with the second ODI of India’s tour of South Africa, which is scheduled for December 19 in Gqeberha. The ten IPL
Jos Buttler said that England’s performance at the World Cup has been “a huge disappointment” and “a shock to everyone” within their set-up, after an eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in Bengaluru left them on the brink of elimination with four group games remaining. Buttler captained England to the T20 World Cup in Australia last
Shakib Al Hasan returned to Bangladesh’s World Cup camp in Kolkata on Thursday evening, cutting short his three-day Dhaka trip to two days. Shakib had gone to Dhaka on October 25 to have a nets session with his childhood mentor Nazmul Abedeen Fahim. Bangladesh trained at Eden Gardens on Wednesday under lights, without Shakib of
South Australia 27 for 0 trail Western Australia 241 (Bancroft 57, Cartwright 56, Agar 6-42) by 214 runs Cameron Bancroft further enhanced his Test claims with another half-century on the opening day against South Australia but it was Wes Agar who took the honours with a career-best 6 for 42. On the same day that
As the cricketing universe turns up the heat on the Pakistan cricket team, skipper Babar Azam has been facing severe criticism. But, other players haven’t been immune either, with the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Rauf, etc. also coming in the line of fire. Amid this state of turmoil in the Pakistan team, Shoaib
Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s captain at the World Cup, has travelled to Dhaka to train with his mentor Nazmul Abedeen Faheem even as the rest of the team arrived in Kolkata ahead of their matches in the city against Netherlands on October 28 and Pakistan on October 31. Shakib arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon,
Victoria 182 for 8 (Handscomb 43, Dwarshuis 3-43) vs New South Wales New South Wales quick Ben Dwarshuis claimed three wickets as Victoria’s disastrous start to the Sheffield Shield season continued after suffering another collapse on a truncated opening day at the MCG. Play did not begin until 1pm with the opening session lost due
The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is now past the halfway stage as it builds towards the final on November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you the insights from our reporters on the ground. — Top Story: Warner, Maxwell one-two knocks Netherlands out
Glenn Maxwell admitted he is very aware of the fastest century records and sometimes chases them to his own detriment, after clubbing the quickest ODI World Cup hundred off just 40 balls in Australia’s thumping win over the Netherlands in Delhi. Maxwell obliterated the record set by South Africa’s Aiden Markram just a couple of