Shannon Gabriel (left) and Jason Holder (right) lead the West Indies players off the field after play 3:00 AM ET Big picture After the first Test in Antigua ended a couple of hours before the Brazil-Belgium World Cup quarterfinal last week, there was some mock appreciation from Bangladeshi fans; at least their cricket team didn’t clash with the football. Some even suggested that if the second Test ends by the…
11:34 AM ET George Dobell Joe Root remains confident he can carve out a future as a T20 player despite being dropped from the England side. Root, England’s Test captain, was the man to make way from the England T20I team in Bristol on Sunday once the return of Ben Stokes was confirmed, but insists he has no fears that his career in that format could be over. “I’m fully…
ESPN Shorts: Eoin Morgan (1:28) Can party-starter Morgan face India’s music during the ODIs? (1:28) 11:13 AM ET George Dobell By the time Alex Hales left the pitch at Trent Bridge a couple of weeks ago, he could have been forgiven for thinking he had made his point. He had, after all, just made 147 from 92 balls. And, in doing so, he had helped his side to a second-successive…
3:00 AM ET Big picture If England’s long-term ODI project needed one last tryout ahead of next year’s World Cup, there can hardly be a better dress rehearsal than facing cricket’s other formidable ODI team at home. There’s a plethora of staggering batting and bowling numbers around both England and India, but the larger picture is that this is a contest between No. 1 and No. 2, with the possibility…
9:16 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Sri Lanka’s series in the Caribbean last month has prepared the batting order for the kind of pace they are likely to get from South Africa. That, at least, is what middle-order batsman Roshen Silva hopes. Sri Lanka only won one Test in the Caribbean, but had dominated the Test in St. Lucia (which ended in a draw) as well. They had they faced…
9:13 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Opening bowler Megan Schutt is setting the benchmark for bowlers around the world in limited-overs cricket, and that has reflected in the rankings, feels Australia coach Matthew Mott. Schutt is the No. 1 bowler in the ICC rankings for women’s T20Is, on 669 points and well clear of the second-placed Poonam Yadav of India, who has 611 points. In ODIs, Schutt’s compatriot Jess Jonassen is…
7:52 AM ET To get your mind around exactly how ridiculous South Africa’s pace gifts are at present, consider this: Dale Steyn, almost certainly the greatest fast bowler of his generation, has the worst average among the frontline quicks in his squad. His 419 wickets have come at 22.32; Vernon Philander averages 21.46, Kagiso Rabada, 21.59, and Lungi Ngidi, 16.42. What makes the presence of these riches more incredible, is…
3:00 AM ET Big picture At first glance, perhaps this is not the most enticing of match-ups. At first glance at recent history, it definitely isn’t. The last time South Africa played Sri Lanka – in the summer of 2016-17 in South Africa – they beat the visitors 3-0 on pitches that seamed and spat and rendered Sri Lanka’s batsmen no more than mannequins. But the last time South Africa…
4:40 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Zimbabwe have called up three uncapped players – Liam Roche, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe and Ryan Murray – for the five-match ODI series against Pakistan, which begins on Friday in Bulawayo. Injuries, meanwhile, have ruled out Solomon Mire and Kyle Jarvis. With a number of senior players unavailable in the backdrop of friction between the players and the board, the ODI squad has numerous changes from the…
3:58 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff The Tamil Nadu Premier League will progress as scheduled, but without any players from outside the state, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, the day the domestic T20 league will be starting. The Press Trust of India has reported that a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Mishra said the tournament could proceed as per the schedule originally drawn up, but players registered to associations…