Month: March 2020

2:15 PM GMT Cricket South Africa will advertise the positions of convener of selectors, national women’s coach and support staff, men’s under-19 coach and support staff, South Africa A coach and chief medical officer imminently – with current contracts coming to an end on April 30. All the incumbents will be able to apply to continue in their positions. That means Linda Zondi, currently the independent selector but previously the…

2:15 PM GMT With number of infected cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the rise in India, Manoj Badale, majority owner at Rajasthan Royals, feels the prospect of a “shortened” tournament is increasing, but even that would be subject to collaboration between the BCCI and other cricket boards. Badale also said that he would prefer some form of IPL this year, including a version that is played just between…

11:36 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Fitness, fielding and finding two or three good fast bowlers are India’s focus areas looking ahead to next year’s 50-over Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. This is the assessment of Harmanpreet Kaur, who also insists T20I captaincy isn’t a burden despite her lean returns with the bat recently. “Now the players are getting more aware about being fit and following the right daily routines,”…

10:04 AM GMT Cricket has come to an indefinite halt, globally, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, and no one knows when the game will resume. What is a player to do in this unfamiliar and frankly scary situation? Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s coach and chief selector, has one bit of advice for his players: think of this break as a “chance to to reinvigorate yourself.” The break, Misbah feels, will help players…

9:47 AM GMT Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s head coach and chief selector, has high expectations from Shadab Khan the batsman while saying his bowling still needed “improvement and consistency”. In addition to legspin, his primary skill, Shadab was in excellent form for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, scoring three-half-centuries in his 263 runs at a strike rate of 159. “Shadab as an allrounder was a plus for us, especially in…

8:57 AM GMT Matt Roller Close Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets at @mroller98 The ECB has tightened up its anti-corruption guidelines by banning players from wearing smartwatches on the field of play in all fixtures. Previously, the governing body had allowed players to wear smartwatches on the field of play, under the proviso that communication or data transmission facilities would be switched off in televised…

4:10 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Devon Conway, the South Africa-born batsman who plays for Wellington, will be eligible to represent New Zealand from August 28, the ICC has confirmed. Conway left Johannesburg in September 2017, at the age of 26, to try and forge a cricket career in New Zealand. He had played extensively at provincial level, the second tier of South African domestic cricket, but had struggled to make…

3:43 AM GMT Australia’s captain Tim Paine says the nation’s cricketers are aware the delay to their central contracting for next season may well lead to pay cuts, and they accept that such a move would be part of the need to “do our bit” to preserve the game amid the coronavirus pandemic. He has also conceded that the scheduled Test tour of Bangladesh is looking unlikely, with the ICC…

Suspension provides an opportunity to improve – Joe Root (1:29) Joe Root speaks about helping others during the coronavirus outbreak and the opportunity to improve as a team. (1:29) 5:00 PM GMT Joe Root, England’s Test captain, has admitted that he is prepared for the possibility that there is no cricket played at all during the 2020 summer, with the UK currently under lockdown as it battles the coronavirus outbreak….