8:00 AM GMT New Zealand 2 for 44 trail Australia 467 (Head 114, Smith 85, Paine 79, Labuschagne 63, Wagner 4-83, Southee 3-103) by 423 runs The ball may be a different colour, and the playing hours back to normal, but the MCG Test was taking on alarmingly similar proportions to what happened in Perth for New Zealand as Australia exerted their control. First, it came through Travis Head, with…
10:28 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Four of England’s World Cup-winning men, as well as the coach, have been honoured for their services to cricket. Eoin Morgan (CBE), Ben Stokes (OBE), Joe Root (MBE) and Jos Buttler (MBE) are the players named on the New Year’s Honours list, while former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd is to receive a knighthood. Trevor Bayliss, who oversaw England’s first men’s World Cup victory, is…
7:23 PM GMT As England’s bowlers hit back in the final session, as the Barmy Army found their voice and South African batsmen were forced to jerk their heads out of the way of some hostile bouncers – and the odd non-bouncer – it was tempting to believe that England were right back in this match. And it’s true, England could still win this game. We have already seen this…
5:57 PM GMT Vernon Philander has called on the umpires to “stand your ground” and withdraw Jofra Archer from the attack in the first Test in Centurion. Archer, the England fast bowler, appeared to be called for a second no-ball by the square-leg umpire Paul Reiffel after ending his day with a pair of beamers. While there is no doubt both deliveries were unintentional – replays suggested Archer had attempted…
5:19 PM GMT “Stats don’t lie,” Vernon Philander said, 10 matches into his Test career, when he had already taken 63 wickets at an average of 15.96 and bowled South Africa to the Test mace at Lord’s. “Stats don’t lie,” someone might have said to Philander, after he managed a mere 15 sticks in six Tests this year at a relatively steep 25.80. Sure, his average was always going to…
Dec 26, 2019 South Africa 277 for 9 (de Kock 95, Curran 4-57) v England Peaky bowlers and some blind resistance, Sam Curran defied both to capture four wickets and lead England into a promising position at the close of play on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa at Centurion, despite the clear discomfort of several of his team-mates on and off the pitch. With Stuart…
3:44 PM GMT Graeme Smith has assured South Africans of all races that he is committed to transformation after he was criticised by the Black African Cricket Club (BACC), who held a meeting at the Wanderers on Friday. The group, which formed in 2011 after a racially charged split in the Central Gauteng Lions, aim to reposition and grow black African cricket and expressed their mistrust in the current administration’s…
Travis Head plays through the off side © Getty Images Between getting publicly roasted by Ricky Ponting for his first-innings dismissal in Perth after being set, widely discussed as a possible omission from the Boxing Day Test should Australia play a fifth bowler, and then corralled by New Zealand over the course of a grinding stand with Steven Smith that looked like it was digging a hole as much as…
2:49 AM GMT Sruthi Ravindranath December 27: Melbourne Stars v Adelaide Strikers Our XI: Jake Weatherald, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, Glenn Maxwell (capt), Alex Carey (wk), Jonathan Wells, Rashid Khan, Wes Agar, Adam Zampa, Dale Steyn, Harry Conway NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about a late injury (or other relevant) updates Captain: Glenn Maxwell An absolutely safe pick. The big hitter can also roll…
‘I enjoyed the red ball coming back’ – Smith (1:11) Steven Smith says the red ball reacts more consistently off the pitch than the pink one (1:11) 8:00 AM GMT Australia 4 for 257 (Smith 77*, Labuschagne 63, de Grandhomme 2-48) v New Zealand Steven Smith came through his personal battle against the short ball, to finish Boxing Day within sight of another MCG hundred, as Australia took the honours…