World T20 winner Irfan Pathan retires from professional cricket

11:37 AM GMT Shashank Kishore Seventeen years after he became a cult hero in India, Irfan Pathan has called time on his professional career. The left-arm swing bowling allrounder burst on the scene by dismissing Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist in a sensational spell of reverse swing bowling in Sydney in January 2004 and three years later went on to become a World T20 champion. Irfan hit the headlines in…

January 4, 2020
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'Four-day Tests? I don't endorse that at all' – Virat Kohli

10:33 AM GMT Four-day Test matches could become mandatory as part of the World Test Championship from 2023, but Virat Kohli isn’t in favour of the proposal. The India captain, who has recently been at the forefront of boosting the image of Test cricket in the country, reckoned that tinkering too much with Test cricket will have an adverse effect on the health of the format. “Four-day Tests? Look, I’m…

January 4, 2020
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England receive Jofra Archer, Mark Wood fitness boosts

10:14 AM GMT Jofra Archer is expected to be fit to play in the third Test in Port Elizabeth after scans on his right elbow showed no serious damage. England are also increasingly confident that Mark Wood will be available for that game, an encouraging boost for an England side who have enjoyed little luck on the tour to date Archer was deemed unfit for selection in Cape Town after…

January 4, 2020
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Marnus Labuschagne makes up for 'missed opportunities'

January 4, 2020

Memories of missed opportunities spurred on Marnus Labuschagne to his career-best 215 during the second day at the SCG.  Three times in 2019 he had passed 140 (185, 162, 143) before falling short of the double century, but this time there was no mistake although the tension grew – in the crowd at least – as Tim Paine kept stealing the strike before Labuschagne brought up the landmark with one…

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Cricket Australia open to staging charity match to raise funds for bushfire

January 4, 2020

Smoke from a grass fire at Belmont Park Racecourse, near the Optus Stadium © Getty Images Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts would be open to the idea of staging a charity match to raise funds for the bushfire appeal as the natural disaster continues to ravage large areas of the country. Australia is in the midst of one of its worst ever bushfire seasons which has led to fatalities,…

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To not have Glenn Maxwell as captain might hurt you

Richardson, Rauf could prove vital (7:06) Brad Hodge gives you some tips for picking you Fantasy team for the BBL match between Stars and Renegades (7:06) 4:32 AM GMT Saurabh Somani Close Saurabh Somani is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo January 4: Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades in Melbourne Our XI: Beau Webster, Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Sam Harper, Kane Richardson, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handsomb, Dale Steyn, Adam…

January 4, 2020
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Marnus Labuschagne eyes double-hundred as Australia extend advantage

8:00 AM GMT Lunch Australia 5 for 353 (Labuschagne 181*, Smith 63, de Grandhomme 2-68) v New Zealand Marnus Labuschagne passed 800 runs for the home Test summer as he continued to build Australia’s first innings against a New Zealand side that was reduced to dressing up assistant coach Peter Fulton as a substitute fielder as illness stretched further across the squad. Matthew Wade and Travis Head were tempted into…

January 4, 2020
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Matt Henry's broken thumb adds to New Zealand woe

11:49 PM GMT New Zealand’s injury and illness-ravaged tour of Australia gained another casualty at the SCG with x-rays confirming Matt Henry had suffered a broken left thumb on the opening day of the final Test. Henry was struck by a drive from Joe Burns in the opening session of the Test and left the field for treatment returning to bowl 21 wicketless overs. The injury has been splinted and…

January 3, 2020
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England squander advantage despite Ollie Pope efforts

8:00 AM GMT England 262 for 9 (Pope 56*) v South Africa There is no precise antonym for the word “ruthless”: like “nonplussed”, “disgruntled” and “underwhelmed”, it is considered by linguistics scholars to be an unpaired adjective due to the lack of a word with a perfectly opposite meaning. But if academics can find a way to condense England’s batting performance on the first day of the Newlands Test into…

January 3, 2020
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England ban football warm-ups after Rory Burns injury

The moment Burns injured himself in England training (0:41) England’s Rory Burns picked up an injury from playing football ahead of the second Test in South Africa (0:41) 9:03 AM GMT England have sounded the final whistle on football as a warm-up activity in training sessions. Ashley Giles, the director of England’s men’s teams, has never made any secret of his disapproval of his side playing football. And, after Rory…

January 3, 2020
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