Month: March 2019

7:09 AM ET It says a lot about cricket that more noise has been made around the spirit of cricket than the actual legality of R Ashwin‘s run-out of Jos Buttler, despite this being a rare instance where such a run-out could be questioned under the laws of the game. The decision after deliberation should still be out, but this was a case where the law provides a bigger defence…

Smith and Warner’s year in cricket wilderness (4:42) A look at the year gone by since Smith and Warner were banned following the ball tampering controversy (4:42) 3:34 AM ET Kevin Roberts, the Cricket Australia chief executive, has called for anyone with evidence of the national team tampering with the ball prior to the Newlands Test to come forward. Roberts also conceded that further revelations about the scandal 12 months…

2:52 AM ET Alex Malcolm Australia fast bowler Jhye Richardson may still be fit for the World Cup after scans on his dislocated bowling shoulder cleared him of serious damage. Richardson dislocated his right shoulder diving in the field in Australia’s second ODI against Pakistan in Sharjah on March 24. Richardson was immediately flown home to Perth to have scans on Tuesday. Australia team doctor Richard Saw, who is in…

7:20 PM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Phil Simmons, who was unceremoniously sacked in as West Indies coach in 2016, has reached an “amicable resolution” with Cricket West Indies, including accepting financial settlement of an undisclosed sum. A former Windies opening batsman, Simmons, who is currently the Afghanistan head coach, had lodged a case against CWI for constructive dismissal. Both parties came to a settlement at the end of a hearing in…

Play 03:32 ‘Plan was to get Varun bowling at Lynn’ – Hesson Kings XI Punjab and the ‘line’ seems to go hand-in-hand at the 2019 IPL. First, it was the Jos Buttler run-out on Monday, and after their 28-run loss to Kolkata Knight Riders, the head coach Mike Hesson spoke of the ‘fine lines’ they missed at Eden Gardens. The lapse in concentration that led to Andre Russell‘s reprieve in…

12:33 PM ET Imran Khan, the Pakistan prime minister and patron of the PCB, has rejected the board’s new proposed domestic cricket model, insisting that departments should have no role in the game. The PCB put together a model in which department teams such as HBL, WAPDA and PIA would remain relevant stakeholders alongside regional sides – although initially even the PCB had decided to strip departments of their playing…

11:21 AM ET Varun Chakravarthy, the Kings XI Punjab ‘mystery’ spinner who was bought for INR 8.4 crore – 42 times his base price – had one of the worst starts for an IPL debutant, against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Sharing the new ball with Mohammed Shami, Chakravarthy conceded 25 runs in his first over, courtesy three sixes and a four from Knight Riders pinch-hitting opener…