Month: March 2019

3:00 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Alastair Cook has scored a century in his first innings since retiring from Test cricket, playing for Essex in a pre-season game against Cambridge University. It was 34-year-old former England captain Cook’s first outing since he received a knighthood in the Queen’s New Year Honours list and his 64th first-class ton. Cook took to the University attack with authority, bringing up his fifty before lunch…

3:00 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff MCC 265 and 221 for 1 (Sibley 102*) trail Surrey 520 (Pope 251) by 34 runs Ollie Pope laid down a timely reminder of the credentials that earned him a Test debut against India last summer, as he converted his overnight century into a career-best 251 to cement Surrey’s control of the Champion County fixture at Abu Dhabi. By the close of the third day,…

3:00 AM ET Toss Delhi Capitals chose to bat v Chennai Super Kings Delhi Capitals chose to bat in their first home game of the season at Feroz Shah Kotla, with legspinner Amit Mishra slotting in for New Zealand paceman Trent Boult. They, however, stuck with their six-strong bowling unit, with Keemo Paul still the preferred allrounder despite Chris Morris’ recent arrival. Both captains were happy with the result of…

3:00 AM ET Big Picture Following a meek, uninspired performance that saw Australia thump Pakistan in Sharjah – that could apply to either of the two ODIs, in all honesty – a seemingly throwaway comment from Shoaib Malik came in for sustained criticism. At the post-match presentation, Malik told Ramiz Raja that Pakistan were using this series to test their bench strength and “winning or losing doesn’t make a difference”….

8:57 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Mumbai Indians will have the services of Lasith Malinga for the remainder of IPL 2019 once he links up with the team, with Sri Lanka Cricket granting the paceman permission to skip the domestic Super Provincial One-Day Tournament, which he was earlier expected to take part in. In a statement on Tuesday, SLC said they decided to release Malinga because “he would get an opportunity…

Play 01:15 R Ashwin ran Jos Buttler out backing up at a crucial juncture in Rajasthan Royals’ chase against Kings XI Punjab on Monday evening. At that point, Royals needed a further 77 from 44 balls. Buttler was out for 69 off 43 balls, and his dismissal sparked a Royals collapse. They eventually ended up losing by 14 runs. Ashwin later called the run-out a “game-changer”. The run-out became an…

6:42 AM ET Liam Brickhill Zimbabwe’s cricketers have joined the response to the devastation of Cyclone Idai, which ravaged eastern Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi last week causing widespread damage. Hundreds have been killed, with an estimated 2.6 million affected by the cyclone across the region. Zimbabwe Cricket has been one of a huge number of organisations to donate to the rescue and relief effort. Batsman Brendan Taylor also had a…

6:21 AM ET Alex Malcolm The debate over whether a team of individuals would be more successful than a uniform team is age-old. But as Victoria set themselves to host the Sheffield Shield final, and potentially win a second title for the season, their formula of allowing individuals to prepare themselves and express themselves is holding sway in the debate. No two players embody that better than Marcus Harris and…

3:00 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff England women 109 for 2 (Jones 36, Wyatt 37) beat Sri Lanka women 108 for 6 (Brunt 2-31) by eight wickets England’s women made it five wins out of five on their tour of Sri Lanka, after easing to another untroubled eight-wicket win in the second T20I in Colombo. After their 3-0 clean sweep in the ODI leg of the tour, England ensured they wrapped…