Ollie Pope hits out en route to a century on day two of the three-day practice match agianst South Africa A © Getty Images Ollie Pope knows how suddenly opportunity can come knocking… then turn around and slam the door in your face. So, rather than panic when illness robbed him of a fifth Test appearance for England at Centurion last week, he just rolled with it. Pope has learned…
4:12 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff England are “cautiously” backing an ICC proposal to scrap five-day Tests from 2023. The ICC’s cricket committee are expected to formally consider a proposal in 2020 to make four-day Tests mandatory as part of the World Test Championship in a bid to ease pressure in an increasingly crowded international schedule. “We’re definite proponents of the four-day Test concept, but cautiously so, as we understand it’s…
11:31 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff England have finally received some encouraging news on the health front, with Dom Sibley feeling better after being struck down by the illness that has cut a swathe through the visitors’ camp. Opening batsman Sibley became the latest player to succumb to the virus which has hit 17 members of the touring party, including key players and backroom staff, over the past fortnight. Sibley was…
6:31 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Jess Duffin, the senior Australia cricketer, will become the first elite women’s player to be covered under Cricket Australia’s new policy on parental leave after announcing news of her pregnancy to the cricket board. The update also means that Duffin will not be in contention for a spot in the Australia team for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup, starting February 2020. Although 30-year-old Duffin…
3:54 AM GMT December 31: Adelaide Strikers v Sydney Thunder in Adelaide Our XI: Jake Weatherald, Alex Hales, Usman Khawaja, Callum Ferguson, Alex Carey, Jonathan Wells, Chris Morris, Rashid Khan, Peter Siddle, Arjun Nair, Daniel Sams NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about a late injury (or other relevant) updates Captain: Alex Carey Three out of the top five run-getters in the tournament so far…
3:30 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Trevor Penney has been named West Indies’ assistant coach in white-ball cricket for two years. He will work on the team’s fielding in this period, starting on January 2, 2020, when preparations begin for the home series against Ireland. Penney, 51, comes with the vast experience of having worked with several international teams, including India, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and USA. He has also worked with…
6:00 PM GMT Chris Silverwood has insisted England “will not be afraid” to take tough selection decisions if necessary. Silverwood, the England coach, will have to weigh up whether or not his side should pick a spinner for the second Test in Cape Town starting on January 3. If they do, it could leave him and Joe Root, the two men who will select the team for that Test, with…
10:57 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff A career-best fourth position for Marnus Labuschagne and a move up to No. 10 for Quinton de Kock were the headlines of the year-end ICC rankings for men’s batting in Test cricket. India captain Virat Kohli stayed on top of the list – for 274 days in 2019 – with second-placed Steven Smith, who was the No. 1 batsman for 91 days earlier in the…
Root refuses to blame illness for defeat in South Africa (1:09) Joe Root says the England squad have been dealing with a lot off the field after losing the first Test to South Africa. (1:09) 10:47 AM GMT Spare a thought for holiday-makers catching a flight to Cape Town from Johannesburg on New Year’s Eve. For there is a fair chance some of them will be sharing a plane with…
© Getty Images D’Arcy Short has been called up for Australia’s short ODI series in India from January 14-19 after Sean Abbott, the fast-bowling allrounder, was diagnosed with a “moderate side-strain”, according to a Cricket Australia (CA) release. Abbott picked up the injury during Saturday’s Sydney derby at the SCG between Sydney Sixers, the team he represents, and Sydney Thunder. He impressed in that outing, picking up 2 for 28…