Month: January 2020

4:24 PM GMT Senior Bangladesh players Mashrafe Mortaza and Mahmudullah have lauded the BCB for increasing Test match fees as well as the restructuring of player contracts, which would be split into red and white-ball contracts. Mashrafe welcomed the move, also suggesting that all-format players and those who play more Test cricket should be paid more than the rest. Bangladesh will become the latest to adopt this system of central…

Keshav Maharaj became the second fastest South African spinner to 100 Test wickets  3:45 PM GMT There is someone in the South Africa set-up who needs the team to produce big first-innings runs and it is not who you might immediately think. It’s not the trio of experienced batsmen, Dean Elgar, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock, who all played reckless shots at Newlands, and it’s not the younger…

3:21 PM GMT The Mashrafe Mortaza Retirement Speculation Circus™ has rolled into its 13th month. The end of his side Dhaka Platoon’s BPL campaign on Monday became the latest occasion on which to pitch the uncomfortably large tent. The press conference, which at times veered into terse and tense exchanges, ended with Mashrafe clearly stating that he has “no interest” in receiving a prepared send-off from Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)….

2:40 PM GMT He might be the oldest member in West Indies’ T20 squad for the Ireland series, but Dwayne Bravo feels like a “kid” after getting the national call-up that will mark his return to international cricket after a nearly four-year long hiatus. According to Bravo, the three Ireland T20Is, which begin on January 15, were on his mind when he came out of retirement in December. So when…

1:58 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff South Africa’s players received a rousing send off to the Women’s World T20 next month with their coach Hilton Moreeng claiming that “the players we have at our disposal are some of the best” in the world. Dane van Niekerk, who has not played a T20I since February 2019, leads a full-strength squad, 11 of whom were part of the last edition of the tournament….

1:41 PM GMT Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai When Ashton Turner turned up at the pre-match press conference on Monday, the first question was about his last India tour, highlighted by the Mohali ODI in which he clobbered an unbeaten 84 of 43 balls to help Australia chase down 359. Each time he recalled that innings on Monday, he let out a beaming smile. What would Mitchell Starc say if he…

8:00 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Chattogram Challengers 147 for 3 (Gayle 38, Mahmudullah 34*) beat Dhaka Platoon 144 for 8 (Shadab 64*, Emrit 3-23) by seven wickets Chattogram Challengers ensured themselves a second crack at the BPL final, after they beat Dhaka Platoon by seven wickets, in the Eliminator match. Rayad Emrit, Rubel Hossain and Nasum Ahmed set up their win, picking up seven wickets in the first 12.4 overs,…

Play 00:38 Star Sports Game Plan: Gambhir and Dean Jones predict series outcome Big Picture For the first time since being pumped by England in the World Cup semi-finals, Australia return to ODI cricket as they begin plotting their path for the next three-and-a-half years. India are both the hosts in 2023 and where Australia’s rejuvenation as a one-day side kicked into gear last year as they made a late…

9:32 AM GMT Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan are both in form in the lead-up to India’s ODI series against Australia starting Tuesday, and India captain Virat Kohli revealed that playing both of them, along with Rohit Sharma, in the XI could be a possibility. Rahul and Dhawan opened together and made useful contributions in the recent T20Is against Sri Lanka, and with the return of…