10:32 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Jasprit Bumrah believes some provision should be made for an “alternative” to saliva for bowlers as a means to shine the ball, once cricket resumes. The ICC had agreed with its cricket committee and said no saliva should be applied to the ball as part of the new safety protocols in a post Covid-19 world, but Bumrah has suggested that, with conditions already loaded in…
10:17 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff The ECB has welcomed the UK Government’s go-ahead for the return of professional sport behind closed doors as it presses ahead with plans to host international cricket this summer, and stage a domestic season. In a further easing of lockdown restrictions imposed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden announced government health and safety guidance on…
Sri Lanka’s 13-man squad to start training in Colombo on Monday Ishara S Kodikara / © AFP/Getty Images Sri Lanka Cricket will go ahead with plans for a 13-man squad of players to begin training on Monday, despite a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 infections in the country over the past few weeks. The players will essentially put themselves and four support staff in a bubble, over the…
The relationship between Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni solidified over time © Associated Press Virat Kohli has credited MS Dhoni with playing a significant role in anointing him as his successor as India captain. Kohli took over as the full-time Test captain when Dhoni retired from the format midway through India’s tour of Australia in 2014-15, and later became captain across formats when Dhoni quit his limited-overs post in early…
May 29, 2020 ESPNcricinfo staff Kent and Mohammad Nabi have mutually agreed to cancel the Afghanistan allrounder’s contract for the 2020 Vitality Blast, due to uncertainty around the English summer caused by Covid-19. Nabi had been due to return for his second season at Canterbury, having made an impact with bat and ball in 2019. He scored 147 runs at a strike rate of 153.12 to go with eight wickets,…
7:33 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff The BCCI has nominated Rohit Sharma for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India’s highest sporting honour. The board has also nominated India fast bowler Ishant Sharma, opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and India woman allrounder Deepti Sharma for the Arjuna award. Rohit’s Khel Ratna nomination comes on the back of an outstanding 2019 with the bat: 556 runs at an average of 92.66 in five…
11:04 AM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Cricket West Indies has decided to temporarily slash salaries and funding across the entire regional cricket system by 50% starting July to deal with the “debilitating” impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has left the board facing a major loss of income in the absence of regular cricketing activities. According to a CWI statement, the board of directors have agreed to “a plan” where they…
Joe Root and Jason Holder have been involved in discussions about West Indies’ tour 9:47 AM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Cricket West Indies (CWI) has approved the scheduled tour of England in principle following a meeting via teleconference on Thursday. The Test series, part of the World Test Championship, was scheduled to start from June 4 but was pushed back because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The boards are now looking at…
Recreational cricketers in England are back in the nets, but furloughed county players have been advised to stay away 12:09 AM IST Matt Roller Close Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets at @mroller98 Furloughed county cricketers have been left frustrated by the specifics of the UK government’s job retention scheme, having been advised by their counties that they should not use net facilities at local clubs…
The ECB are hopeful that a Covid sub rule will be approved, similar to the protocols for concussion 10:29 PM IST English authorities hoping to stage the first “bio-secure” Test matches since cricket shut down in the face of the coronavirus outbreak remain hopeful that the ICC will alter playing regulations to allow Covid-19 substitutions, according to Steve Elworthy, the ECB’s director of special operations. Earlier this month, the ICC’s…