8:44 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Ramakant Achrekar, the coach who channeled Sachin Tendulkar’s cricketing pursuits by turning him from an aspiring fast bowler to a world-beating batsman, has died in Mumbai at the age of 87. Achrekar had been unwell for a while and had suffered from reduced mobility after a stroke in 2013. Achrekar’s academy in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park area churned out several others who played for India, including…
8:27 AM ET PSL franchises incurred losses ranging from PKR 200 million to 700 million (USD 1.4 million to USD 5 million approx) in the first two seasons of the league – losses that have led the teams to seek a financial restructuring of the league as well as tax exemptions from the Pakistan government. ESPNcricinfo has obtained a copy of a letter that was sent by the PCB to…
8:02 AM ET Saurabh Somani Close Saurabh Somani is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo With the penultimate round of the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 drawing to a close on Wednesday, the race for the knockout spots was still tight, especially in the combined Groups A & B. Meanwhile, Group C saw Rajasthan seal their spot, and a dramatic draw in Jamshedpur left Jharkhand’s chances hanging by a thread. Abhimanyu Easwaran celebrates…
7:50 AM ET Haris Sohail has been ruled out of the remainder of the South Africa tour with knee injury. The middle-order batsman had missed the Boxing Day Test in Centurion, where Shan Masood was named his replacement in the playing XI just 90 minutes ahead of the scheduled start. “Left-handed middle-order batsman Haris Sohail has been ruled out of the on-going tour of South Africa due to a right…
© Getty Images Sydney Thunder 6 for 142 (Buttler 55, Ferguson 42, Agar 2-27) beat Perth Scorchers 5 for 141 (Turner 60*, Fawad 2-22) by one run Sydney Thunder mastered the art of batting on a slow surface, but were made to sweat by a brilliant 36-ball unbeaten 60 from Ashton Turner, as they scraped through by one run in a nailbiting finish against Perth Scorchers. On a used surface…
3:00 AM ET Big Picture But for one mad, self-destructive session, Pakistan might have maintained their grip on the first Test, but instead they have conceded a series lead and the pressure is on to bounce back at Newlands. A similar second-innings meltdown cost them the Test match, and the series, against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi late last year, but the issues go further back than that for Pakistan…
2:56 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Lasith Malinga has one request from his team in the ODIs against New Zealand: a good start. A good start to his captaincy, because following a 2017 in which almost everyone on the island seemed to captain Sri Lanka in ODIs, and a 2018 in which Angelo Mathews was controversially dumped from the leadership – and Dinesh Chandimal unceremoniously deposed two months later –…
A direct hit from Trent Boult accounted for Kusal Mendis’ wicket © IDI/Getty Images Big Picture New Year, new beginnings, a fresh set of fortunes. That, at least, is what Sri Lanka are hoping, after two horrendous ODI years. Just imagine a house on fire, neighbourhood children throwing eggs at the front door, in the middle of an earthquake, while the residents stumble around drunk indoors, tripping over furniture and…
12:58 AM ET Daniel Brettig in Sydney Aaron Finch was set to be sacrificed at the selection table as Australia’s present and future needs wrestled for prominence between beating India at the SCG and preparing for an Ashes year that will also see the returns of Steven Smith and David Warner. Having been distracted in Melbourne by the hubbub around Smith and Cameron Bancroft speaking at length about their roles…
3:00 AM ET Big Picture Australia start the New Year trying to prevent India from creating history by winning a Test series in the country for the first time. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is secured after the victory in Melbourne, but it is the bigger prize that Virat Kohli has come for and India have to be favourites to close out the series in Sydney. There is a feeling somewhat similar…