9:25 AM ET Thus far in the Test, Sri Lanka’s spinners have possibly been outperformed by England’s. That is suggested by the statistics – England’s spinners have taken their wickets at 18.5 apiece, while Sri Lanka’s average 42.25 in the Test. But it is also the opinion of Sri Lanka’s own spin bowling coach, Piyal Wijetunge. The reason, he feels, is that Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers did not adapt well…
3:00 AM ET Big Picture Pakistan exhibit characteristics of a person with dual-personality disorder when they switch between the two shorter formats. Give them 20 overs to play, and they are unstoppable. They can defend low scores, chase tricky targets, go ballistic at the top, and inflict collapses. Ask them to go a little longer, for 50 overs, and all of a sudden, their batsmen are scratching around. Straightforward targets…
3:00 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Rajshahi Division were crowned National Cricket League champions following their six-wicket win over Barisal Division in the last round fixture. Dhaka Division, meanwhile, earned a promotion to the top tier. Here’s a round-up of the last four matches of the first-class competition: Tale of the title Rajshahi last won the NCL in 2011-12. It was their fourth title on the trot, and their fifth overall….
Keaton Jennings is congratulated by Jos Buttler after reaching his second Test hundred 7:10 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff A proud Keaton Jennings admitted that his performances in the English summer “had not been up to scratch” but hoped that his second-innings century at Galle would mark the the start of greater things, both personally and for the England team. Jennings, who finished unbeaten on 146 as England declared with a…
7:00 AM ET Mohammad IsamESPN Tamim Iqbal hopes to mark his return to competitive cricket when West Indies tour Bangladesh later this month for a full series. He’d originally targeted the second Test against Zimbabwe in Mirpur. Tamim has only begun batting against the cricket ball this week, after undergoing rehabilitation for a wrist fracture. Tamim injured himself while batting during the Asia Cup opener in September, a game remembered…
4:58 AM ET Sreshth Shah 20.4.2 Either umpire shall call and signal Dead ball when The cricketing world may have been denied future glimpses of a unique bowling action – the bowler rotating 360 degrees in his run-up, just prior to delivery – after a signal of dead ball from the umpire. The incident occurred on the third day of a CK Nayudu Trophy (four-day domestic tournament for India’s Under-23…
3:39 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff It’s only been two weeks since a four-member cricket committee came into being to oversee Pakistan’s cricket affairs, and though they may not have begun their work properly just yet, they’ve been in the news every single day. That is almost entirely down to Mohsin Khan, the head of committee, who’s made a number of public statements that have put the PCB in an awkward…
3:00 AM ET Alex MalcolmESPN Close Alex Malcolm is a Melbourne-based sports journalist and broadcaster. He has been a long-time contributor to ESPNcricinfo and reported for the AFL website for four seasons. He has also worked as a television commentator calling Australian Rules Football, Athletics and Tennis for a number of networks. New South Wales 9 for 442 dec (Hughes 78, Patterson 56, Sangha 117, Edwards 101) and 1 for…
3:00 AM ET Big picture Australia’s public – at least those with a match-day ticket or a Foxtel subscription – will turn their lonely eyes towards Adelaide Oval on Friday, hopeful that the national team will put on a better show than the one in Perth on Sunday. Against a well organised and confident South Africa, Aaron Finch’s team looked cloudy in mind and slow of feet, whether in terms…
2:01 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff James Anderson has been given a second demerit point in as many Tests after being found to have shown dissent in Galle. Anderson was seen to throw the ball into the ground after a disagreement with umpire Chris Gaffaney following a warning for running on the pitch. He was subsequently found to have violated Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and…