Month: February 2020

12:16 PM GMT South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first vs Australia Reeza Hendricks was recalled to South Africa’s T20I squad on Sunday morning and named to open the batting against Australia on a surface unlike any other Quinton de Kock has seen in Port Elizabeth. Described as subcontinental in appearance, the surface appeared fairly bare. Hendricks was initially not in the 15-man group but Temba Bavuma…

Feb 22, 2020 ESPNcricinfo staff England Lions 3 for 274 (Lawrence 125*, Sibley 108*) v Australia A Dom Sibley and Dan Lawrence made it back-to-back centuries as England Lions ended the opening day of the marquee match of their tour, against Australia A at the MCG, in a strong position on 3 for 274. Sibley, an incumbent England opener who will soon be heading off on the tour of Sri…

11:31 AM GMT At the end of 2016, R Ashwin had the batting record of a genuine allrounder: 1816 runs in 44 Tests at an average of 34.92, with four hundreds and ten fifties. Since then, however, his batting returns have plummeted. In the 27 Tests he’s played since the start of 2017, he averages 17.78, and he’s only scored one half-century in that time. Ashwin’s decline as a Test-match…

11:08 AM GMT Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim have been included in the Bangladesh ODI side for the first time as they take on Zimbabwe in a three-match series next week. Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Naim, Al Amin Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shafiul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman IN: Mashrafe Mortaza, Najmul Hossain Shanto,…

9:12 AM GMT Karachi Kings captain Imad Wasim won the toss and went against type for the early part of the PSL, choosing to bat first at the National Stadium in Karachi. The winner of today’s match will break the five-team gridlock to move two points clear of the rest of the field onto the top of the PSL points table. Alex Hales comes into the XI to make his…

Fantasy Pick: Punt on allrounders and bowlers in Lahore (5:47) PSL game between Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United (5:47) 2:11 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff February 23: Lahore Qalandars v Islamabad United, Lahore Our XI: Fakhar Zaman, Chris Lynn, Ben Dunk, Colin Ingram, Dawid Malan, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Shinwari, Seekkuge Prasanna, Hussain Talat, Haris Rauf Captain: Fakhar Zaman Zaman is a dasher who is difficult to stop when he…

Star Sports Match Point: Ishant gives India a lifeline (10:27) Sanjay Manjrekar and Scott Styris look back on day two of the first Test between New Zealand and India (10:27) 11:13 AM GMT Sidharth Monga New Zealand 216 for 5 (Williamson 89, Taylor 44, Sharma 3-31) lead India 165 (Rahane 46, Jamieson 4-39, Southee 4-49) by 51 runs Ishant Sharma’s persistence kept India in the contest but New Zealand remained…

Fantasy Pick: Experienced Marizanne Kapp, Nat Sciver could be key (4:59) Our fantasy picks for the Women’s T20 World Cup game between England and South Africa (4:59) 11:15 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff February 23: T20 World Cup – England v South Africa, Perth Our XI: Amy Jones, Lizelle Lee, Danielle Wyatt, Marizanne Kapp (capt), Dane van Niekerk, Natalie Sciver, Heather Knight, Sune Luus, Katherine Brunt, Shabnim Ismail, Anya Shrubsole Captain:…

Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida is the only ICC ODI accredited venue in the USA  5:39 PM GMT Peter Della PennaCricket Close Peter Della Penna is an American cricket journalist who also writes for ESPNcricinfo.com and DreamCricket.com. Since 2010, he has penned the USA entry in the Cricket Round the World section of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.Follow Peter on Twitter @PeterDellaPenna USA Cricket board chairman Paraag Marathe and chief executive…