Match facts June 08, 2017Start time 1030 local (0930 GMT) Angelo Mathews is likely to play as a specialist batsman © AFP Big picture Truth be told, Sri Lanka have often had the knack of winding up in the “easy group” in world tournaments. In years gone by, this has meant being clubbed with perhaps England and Bangladesh. They used to skip casually through the group stages, and would generally…
Toss South Africa chose to bat v PakistanLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details Play 01:31 ‘No pressure against Pakistan’ – AB de Villiers South Africa won the toss and elected to bat at Edgbaston, where they fielded a XI unchanged from the one that beat Sri Lanka in their opening game of the Champions Trophy. “The pitch might get slow but I don’t think it’s going to get much turn,” de…
CA’s decision to do away with the label was driven by the women’s national team wondering for several years why they needed a nickname © Getty Images What’s in a name? Quite a lot when you’re striving for equality. The Australia women’s team will no longer be officially known as the Southern Stars and will instead be referred to as the Australian women’s cricket team in Cricket Australia communication henceforth,…
CA’s decision to do away with the label was driven by the women’s national team wondering for several years why they needed a nickname © Getty Images What’s in a name? Quite a lot when you’re striving for equality. The Australia women’s team will no longer be officially known as the Southern Stars and will instead be referred to as the Australian women’s cricket team in Cricket Australia communication henceforth,…
Play 02:04 ‘We respond well to must-win games’ – Starc Mitchell Starc returned to stump-rattling form at The Oval on Monday afternoon and, although rain deprived Australia of victory over Bangladesh, he was quick to switch focus to what is effectively a quarter-final against England in their final Group A match at the weekend. Two no-results have left Australia on two points, still second in the group but set to…
Angelo Mathews warmed up for the Champions Trophy with a brisk 95 against the Australians, but then picked up calf trouble © Getty Images Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews will play the match against India on Thursday, having recovered sufficiently from his calf injury to bat. In the event he bowls at all, however, it is unlikely he will deliver his full complement of overs. Though Mathews’ batting is his…
England 310 (Root 64, Buttler 61*, Hales 56) beat New Zealand 223 (Williamson 87, Plunkett 4-59) by 87 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Jos Buttler brought out his scoops and ramps during an unbeaten 61 © Getty Images This was not quite the contest which brought the Champions Trophy alive, alas, but England will not lose sleep over that. They became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals with a…
Play 01:31 ‘Our plans for Pakistan are set’ – de Villiers South Africa have produced their fair share of world-class fast bowlers over the years, but AB de Villiers reckons no one matches up to Pakistan great Wasim Akram. He called Akram a one of a kind bowler whose swing skills are unmatched on the current global stage. De Villiers, who was watching coverage of the Australia-Bangladesh game on Monday,…
Match facts June 07, 2017Start time 13.30 local (12.30 GMT) Play 03:14 Tait: Without Wahab, Amir needs to show authority Big Picture South Africa and Pakistan are cricketing opposites in every conceivable way at the moment. South Africa are the highest-ranked team in the Champions Trophy, Pakistan the lowest. South Africa hammered Sri Lanka to kick off their tournament, while Pakistan were at the end of a pasting – against…
The side injury which ended Chris Woakes’ Champions Trophy will also impact his Test availability © Getty Images Chris Woakes could miss the first two Tests against South Africa due to the side strain which ruled him out of the Champions Trophy. The recovery timeframe is four to six weeks, with Woakes admitting it is likely to be the longer end of that scale before he returns to the field….