3:00 AM ET Big picture It is hot and dry, the pitches are flat and there will be lots of spin awaiting England. Add to this a huge Indian contingent that will be cheering their team at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. If there was any doubt before, there is none now – the main challenge of the summer has arrived. A game down, England know one thing already: scoring truckloads…
11:21 AM ET Liam Brickhill in Harare Andrew Tye is having a good year. He was the leading wicket-taker at this year’s IPL with 24, and he’s taken more T20I wickets than anyone else this year. He’s also the leading striker in the tri-series in Zimbabwe, with nine scalps from three matches. But after Australia’s 45-run defeat to Pakistan in the dress rehearsal for Sunday’s final, Tye admitted that his…
9:51 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva and Roshen Silva – all incumbents in the Sri Lanka Test top order – will play the two-day warm-up game against South Africa in Colombo. Essentially, this is an attempt to get the three batsmen into form, and perhaps give them a sighting of the South Africa attack before the Test series begins. Mathews had to leave last month’s…
9:41 AM ET Liam Brickhill in Harare Left-arm quick Shaheen Shah Afridi revelled in his first international wickets for Pakistan, braving winter temperatures that dipped as low as 13°C to take the wickets of Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and D’Arcy Short during his team’s 45-run win over Australia in Harare. “This is by far the coldest day of cricket I’ve ever played,” said Afridi, who found his way into Pakistan’s…
9:28 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Any restraint on player movement across lucrative domestic Twenty20 leagues globally will only hamper the growth of the international game, according to Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA). FICA was responding to discussions earlier this week at the ICC annual conference in Dublin, from where it emerged that Full Member boards raised the prospect of capping players to three domestic T20 leagues in a year….
8:45 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando The first two years, more than any other time in a player’s international career, is about proving you belong. This is true even if you have had a rocking start. In March, 23-year-old Aiden Markram faced down one of the best seam attacks in the world, on South African surfaces that amplified the bowlers’ threat, and emerged – incredibly – the highest run-scorer in…
8:32 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Dinesh Chandimal has been named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the series against South Africa, even though he is unlikely to play the whole series owing to the disciplinary charges and probable suspension hanging over his head. Chandimal, along with coach Chandika Hathurusingha, has pleaded guilty to a level three spirit of cricket offence, over their roles in delaying the start of play for…
Chris Wright has remained a valuable part of Warwickshire’s Championship attack 7:46 AM ET George Dobell Chris Wright is to join Leicestershire on a two-year deal from the end of this season. Wright, who will be 33 in a couple of weeks, was a key part of the Warwickshire side that won the County Championship in 2012 (he claimed 62 wickets in the campaign), the T20 Blast in 2014 and…
3:00 AM ET Toss Australia chose to bowl v Pakistan Shaheen Afridi in his delivery stride AFP Australia’s captain Aaron Finch won the toss and chose to send Pakistan in to bat in the fifth match of the triangular series at the Harare Sports Club. Both sides have already qualified for Sunday’s tournament final, making this game an effective dress rehearsal. Australia kept the same side that delivered comfortable wins over…
1:27 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff A searing string of 12 balls was all Kemar Roach required to make a light work of the Bangladesh batting line-up. He picked up five wickets, the opposition crumbled to 43 all out, and all this happened while the fast bowler was battling hamstring trouble. If his maiden over up front was a cue to what was to follow, his fifth gave a glimpse of…