Cameron Bancroft has been ruled out of the Sheffield Shield final against Tasmania after suffering concussion when falling off his bike. The accident happened on Sunday and Bancroft won’t be able to take his place in the XI on Thursday at the WACA. His loss is a huge blow for Western Australia as they aim for a hat-trick of Shield titles after another impressive season where he is the second-highest…
IPL introduces Smart Replay System for quicker, more accurate reviews
To increase the accuracy and speed of decision making, the IPL will introduce the Smart Replay System this season. ESPNcricinfo has learned that under the Smart Replay System, the TV umpire will receive inputs directly from two Hawk-Eye operators who will be sitting in the same room as the umpire and provide him with images captured by eight of Hawk-Eye’s hi-speed cameras across the ground. The TV broadcast director, who…
DPL week 1: Abahani's flying start, Mahedi's last-over hat-trick, and Tamim gets stuck in traffic
Key takeaways Defending champions Abahani Limited are off to a flying start in this season’s Dhaka Premier League, crushing all three opponents in the first week. But they have got company. Prime Bank Cricket Club, Legends of Rupganj and Gazi Group Cricketers have all started with three wins. A top-heavy league also means that there are four teams without a single win. It already reflects the disparity of wealth among…
Hasaranga comes out of Test retirement for Bangladesh series
Wanindu Hasaranga has come out of Test retirement and been named in Sri Lanka’s 17-man squad for the two-Test series against Bangladesh, starting Friday. Sri Lanka have also recalled seamer Lahiru Kumara and included uncapped offspinner Nishan Peiris in the contingent. Making way are seamers Milan Rathnayake and Asitha Fernando, the latter still recovering from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the ODI leg of the tour. Hasaranga…
CA postpones T20I series against Afghanistan due to 'human rights' issues
Cricket Australia has chosen to postpone a scheduled three-match T20I series with Afghanistan due to “a marked deterioration in human rights for women and girls” in the country following consultation with the Australian government. Australia were scheduled to play three matches against Afghanistan at a neutral venue in August as part of the current men’s Future Tours Program. But CA opted to postpone the series due to human rights issues…
Knight leads from the front as England take opening T20I
England 160 for 4 (Knight 63, Bouchier 43) beat New Zealand 133 for 5 (Bates 65, Bell 2-29) by 27 runs In a game of two captains’ innings, it was Heather Knight who came out victorious as England took the opening T20I of the five-match series in Dunedin by 27 runs. Knight, who opted out of the WPL to lead England from the start of this tour, put together a…
Behrendorff's World Cup hopes dented after suffering broken leg in a freak training accident
Jason Behrendorff‘s hopes of sneaking into Australia’s T20 World Cup squad have suffered a major blow after he was ruled out of the IPL with a broken leg following a freakish training accident last week. Behrendorff was batting in the nets at the WACA ground last Thursday ahead of departing to India to play in the IPL with Mumbai Indians when he suffered a fractured left fibula after a ball…
Ibrahim, Omarzai and Naveen power Afghanistan to series win
Afghanistan 155 for 7 (Ibrahim 72*, Ishaq 27) beat Ireland 98 (Campher 28, Omarzai 4-9, Naveen 3-10) by 57 runs Ibrahim Zadran smashed an unbeaten 72, his highest T20I score, Azmatullah Omarzai took more wickets than the amount of runs he has scored in the entire series and Naveen-ul-Haq found himself in plenty of action on the field. As a result, Afghanistan won the third T20I against Ireland by 57…
Robin Hobbs, England and Essex legspinner, dies aged 81
Robin Hobbs, the former Essex and England legspinner, has died at the age of 81. Hobbs, who made his England debut against India at Headingley in 1967, claimed 12 wickets in seven Tests over the course of the next four years, and was the last specialist legspinner to play for England until Ian Salisbury’s debut against Pakistan in 1992. On the county scene, he became a key member of Essex’s…
Imad Wasim the hero as Islamabad scramble to two-wicket win in epic PSL final
Islamabad United 163 for 8 (Guptill 50) beat Multan Sultans 159 for 9 (Usman 57, Imad 5-23) by two wickets Multan Sultans might possess the formula for getting to PSL finals, but it’s Islamabad United who know how to win them. Déjà vu struck for the Sultans, who saw yet another PSL final snatched away from them off the final delivery in a low-scoring thriller of a final. Imad Wasim…