Month: December 2016

Brisbane Heat 3 for 174 (Lynn 84*, McCullum 72) beat Hobart Hurricanes 9 for 173 (Christian 33, Wildermuth 2-26, Steketee 2-29) by seven wicketsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Chris Lynn struck an unbeaten half-century and the winning runs for the second successive match © Getty Images Fireworks are common place on New Year’s Eve, but 24 hours out from year-end celebrations, Brendon McCullum and Chris Lynn put on a pyrotechnic display…

Faf du Plessis heaped praised on his trio of pace bowlers after the 206-run victory © AFP As much as South Africa succeeded in scoring the runs and taking the wickets they needed to beat Sri Lanka, they also managed to make use of home advantage by blunting the opposition’s biggest threat. Unusually, the most spinner-friendly surface in the country offered little turn and barely deteriorated despite a severe dry…

Angelo Mathews praised Kusal Mendis for taking on the bowlers and playing attacking cricket © AFP Angelo Mathews has blamed shot selection in both innings for Sri Lanka’s 206-run defeat in Port Elizabeth. Both South Africa’s totals were higher than Sri Lanka’s, and only two of the visiting batsmen mustered half-centuries. Both of those also came in improved batting conditions in the second innings. Three of the top four were…

Angelo Mathews praised Kusal Mendis for taking on the bowlers and playing attacking cricket © AFP Angelo Mathews has blamed shot selection in both innings for Sri Lanka’s 206-run defeat in Port Elizabeth. Both South Africa’s totals were higher than Sri Lanka’s, and only two of the visiting batsmen mustered half-centuries. Both of those also came in improved batting conditions in the second innings. Three of the top four were…

Wellington 179 for 1 (Papps 80*, Blundell 69*) beat Northern Districts 175 for 2 (Anderson 72*, Watling 58, Elliott 1-22) by nine wicketsScorecard File photo – Michael Papps’ career-best effort helped Wellington chase down a stiff target with ease © Getty Images Blistering half-centuries from Michael Papps and Tom Blundell helped Wellington chase down a 176-run target with an over and nine wickets to spare against Northern Districts in Hamilton….

Misbah-ul-Haq said that Pakistan gave the momentum back to Australia and, once that happened, they were in no position to attack © Getty Images Edgbaston, Dubai, Sharjah, Christchurch, Hamilton, and now Melbourne: Pakistan’s rise to the No. 1 Test spot and subsequent fall has been punctuated by a series of spectacular batting collapses. On the final day at the MCG, on a still-pristine pitch on which Australia had added 159…

Azhar Ali has had a tough time as captain since he took up the role in March 2015, soon after the World Cup © Getty Images Azhar Ali has been retained as Pakistan’s ODI captain for the five-match series against Australia starting January 13 in Brisbane. Fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, who missed the limited-overs as well as Test series against West Indies in the UAE, returns to the squad, while…

Steven Smith lauded Nathan Lyon’s efforts on the final day © Cricket Australia/Getty Images Nobody turns up to day five of a Test anymore. Well, hardly anybody. At the Gabba: 2593 showed up, with free entry all day. At the MCG: 6189 – though more flooded in after tea when Cricket Australia threw open the gates. And yet day five was when both Tests sprung dramatically and unexpectedly to life….

South Africa 286 (Duminy 63, Elgar 59, Lakmal 5-63) and 406 for 6 dec (Cook 117, de Kock 69, du Plessis 67*, Elgar 52) beat Sri Lanka 205 (Philander 5-45) and 281 (Mathews 59, Mendis 58, Rabada 3-77, Maharaj 3-86) by 206 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Kyle Abbott sent back Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva, Sri Lanka’s last two recognised batsmen © AFP South Africa made full use of…

South Africa 286 (Duminy 63, Elgar 59, Lakmal 5-63) and 406 for 6 dec (Cook 117, de Kock 69, du Plessis 67*, Elgar 52) beat Sri Lanka 205 (Philander 5-45) and 281 (Mathews 59, Mendis 58, Rabada 3-77, Maharaj 3-86) by 206 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Kyle Abbott sent back Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva, Sri Lanka’s last two recognised batsmen © AFP South Africa made full use of…