Morne Morkel has been included in South Africa’s Test squad to tour New Zealand in March after recovering from a career-threatening back injury, which had kept him out of the national team since June. Morkel forms part of a six-strong fast-bowling pack that includes a fully fit Vernon Philander, who has recovered from an ankle impingement, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, and allrounders Wayne Parnell and Chris Morris. In the absence…
Anna Peterson claimed a hat-trick in the second T20I in Geelong © Cricket Australia/Getty Images Batting allrounder Maddy Green has become the third New Zealand women player sidelined due to an injured hand this season. Australia, too, saw an injury in their team as vice-captain Alex Blackwell suffered a minor hamstring strain during Wednesday’s loss in the third T20I in Adelaide. Although she was not ruled out of the forthcoming…
Australia 260 and 143 for 4 (Smith 59*, Ashwin 3-68) lead India 105 (Rahul 64, O’Keefe 6-35) by 298 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Play 01:57 Kalra: O’Keefe not the first unheralded spinner to succeed in India It could have been worse for India, though it’s hard to imagine how. Virat Kohli might have spontaneously combusted, or R Ashwin could have suffered a freak shaving accident in the morning and sliced…
‘It was not that he was not interested in cricket, he used to play in the paddy fields a lot, but he never pushed himself to attain goals’ © AFP Sri Lanka batsman Asela Gunaratne has been described by his school-cricket coach Aubrey Kuruppu as a “confident” but “reluctant cricketer” in his youth. Kuruppu, a Sri Lanka cricketer of their pre-Test era, who coached Gunaratne in the basics of the…
End of innings India 105 (Rahul 64, O’Keefe 6-35) trail Australia 260 (Renshaw 68, Starc 61, Umesh 4-32, Ashwin 3-63) by 155 runsLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details Play 04:18 Ugra: Kohli dismissal a demonstration of Starc’s smarts Steve O’Keefe precipitated a remarkable collapse from India on the second afternoon in Pune, where the hosts capitulated to be all out for 105. O’Keefe captured 6 for 35, his analysis made all…
Lunch India 70 for 3 (Rahul 47*, Rahane 6*) trail Australia 260 (Renshaw 68, Starc 61, Umesh 4-32, Ashwin 3-63) by 190 runsLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details Mitchell Starc struck two important breakthroughs © AFP Australia might have considered playing three spinners in this Test, but it was the pace and bounce of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood that caused trouble for India on the second morning in Pune. Starc…
Shikhar Dhawan does not have runs under the belt, and the Vijay Hazare Trophy will provide a good opportunity to rectify that © ESPNcricinfo Ltd There are less than 100 days to go for the Champions Trophy, and the build-up has already started with the tournament cup setting off on tour to all eight competing nations. India, the defending champions, are currently playing a four-Test series at home against Australia,…
Kagiso Rabada adds another dimension to South Africa’s attack but may need to be handled with care © AFP South Africa face a dilemma over the workload on Kagiso Rabada early in a year crammed with commitments for the young fast bowler. Rabada, who took 2 for 31 in Hamilton, missed the match in Christchurch due to a slight problem with his left knee, but had an extensive bowl at…
Scott Kuggeleijn has been found not guilty of rape by a jury at the Hamilton District Court. Kuggeleijn, 25, an allrounder, plays for Northern Districts in New Zealand’s domestic circuit and is the son of former New Zealand Test cricketer Chris Kuggeleijn. The case dates back to an incident that occurred on May 17, 2015. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before coming back with the not-guilty verdict….
Match Facts February 25, 2017Start time 2.00pm local (0100GMT) Tim Southee and Trent Boult helped seal an important victory in Christchurch © AFP Big Picture South Africa are back to zero, but they didn’t let their winning streak go without a fight. New Zealand have only beaten them twice in nine previous bilateral series and it would have been very difficult to see them coming back from 2-0 down. Now,…