Month: February 2017

Ben Stokes has issued a Valentine’s Day message of love © Associated Press Ben Stokes hopes England’s positive style of Test cricket can persuade spectators to “fall in love with it again.” Stokes believes that, with Joe Root as captain, England will wholeheartedly embrace an entertaining approach that can not only produce victories but inspire a new audience. While accepting that England – currently fourth in the ICC Test rankings…

Sri Lankan XI 170 for 5 (Dickwella 47, Tharanga 47, Short 2-19) beat Prime Minister’s XI (Heazlett 58, Voges 54*, Sanjaya 3-26) by five wicketsScorecard Lasith Malinga struck in his first over on his return from injury © Cricket Australia/Getty Images Adam Voges, the captain of Prime Minister’s XI, struck an unbeaten 54 off 31 balls in his final match against an international team, but Sri Lankan XI crashed his…

After falling short of the hype at the 2015 World Cup, Solomon Mire’s return has made for an interesting subplot © AFP Australia are gearing up for Tests against a team that has not lost at home in over four years – India; England are undergoing generational change as Joe Root takes over from Alastair Cook; South Africa’s preparations for the Champions Trophy have seen them reach No.1 on the…

‘There’s been a lot of work in the nets, how to clean up my action, and try to change my thinking about how I am going to bowl’ – Chris Morris © Gallo Images/Getty Images South Africa allrounder Chris Morris has never played in New Zealand before but one of the first things he saw there made his eyes light up. “I have never seen a boundary that small and…

Wellington 249 for 5 (Papps 80, Woodcock 41*, Tickner 2-39) beat Central Districts 247 (Worker 85, Young 57, Verma 4-49) by five wicketsScorecard Michael Papps put behind a string of low scores to score a half-century and take Wellington into the final © Getty Images After falling short by 27 runs against Canterbury in the first preliminary final, Wellington did not squander their second chance as they toppled Central Districts…

Carl Mumba debuted in Test cricket against Sri Lanka last year © AFP Richard Ngarava, the uncapped left-arm pacer, and Carl Mumba have been added to Zimbabwe’s squad for the home ODI series against Afghanistan in Harare, beginning on Thursday. Ngarava first impressed in the Under-19 World Cup early last year when he took five wickets in as many matches, including 4 for 10 in nine overs against South Africa….

Steven Smith, with Meg Lanning, called for an end to direct communication with the players with regards to their pay © Cricket Australia Australia’s captains Steven Smith and Meg Lanning jointly contacted Cricket Australia to ask that the board respect the Australian Cricketers Association as the players’ collective bargaining agent, and stated that further attempts to the deal directly with the players would be a distraction from the performances of…

While AB de Villiers has been retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore, Wayne Parnell is one of the 13 South African players enlisted in the auction © AFP South African players are likely to leave IPL 2017 after May 7 while the England players are scheduled to depart the tournament in two batches – a few after May 1 and the rest after May 14. Making players available and ready for…

File photo – 17-year old Afif Hossain struck a ton on his first-class debut en route to collecting his maiden man-of-the-match award © BCB Hundreds from Afif Hossain and Yasir Ali for East Zone and from Naeem Islam for North Zone saw both teams settle for a draw in Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Both teams batted over 150 overs in their respective first innings as East Zone took three…

Nasir Jamshed has not played for Pakistan since 2015 © Getty Images Nasir Jamshed, the former Pakistan opener, and one other man have have been arrested* in the UK in relation to the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The National Crime Agency (NCA) released a statement on Tuesday saying that it was “working closely” with PCB and ICC anti-corruption units and that both men…