3:45 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff India coach Ravi Shastri believes cricket should look at keeping world events on hold and instead prioritise domestic and bilateral cricket to get players back in the groove once sport resumes. Looking at it from India’s perspective, he prefers the IPL and bilaterals to take precedence once the federal government deems it safe for sport to resume. “I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on world…
Can you pick an all-time Rajasthan Royals XI, based on player stats for the franchise? We’ve picked ours, now it’s your turn to participate in choosing the readers’ XI. The readers’ Rajasthan Royals X1 will consist of the 11 players with the most votes, with a minimum of five batsmen, including at least one wicketkeeper, and a minimum of five players from among allrounders and bowlers. If more than four…
11:53 AM IST Over the next week or so, professional cricketers around Australia will dig out their kit bags and embark on a lengthy pre-season, which will likely have a very different feel from the usual as sport adapts to the new normal following the Covid-19 pandemic. The centrally contracted Australia players come off annual leave on Monday, a period where like the majority of the population they have been…
2:05 AM IST Alex Hepburn, the former Worcestershire allrounder, has launched an appeal against his conviction for rape last year. The appeal is scheduled to be heard in London on June 4. Hepburn was sentenced to five years in prison in April 2019 after his conviction on one count of oral rape after a retrial at Worcestershire Crown Court. The jury heard that the victim, who was left with a…
Conway was the leading run scorer in the Plunket Shield, the Ford Trophy and the T20 Super Smash in 2019-20 11:01 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Devon Conway, the South Africa-born batsman, has been offered a New Zealand central contract for the first time, alongside seamer Kyle Jamieson and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel. Conway, 28, was cleared by the ICC to represent New Zealand in March and will be eligible for…
West Indies won the Wisden Trophy in 2019 © Getty Images West Indies’ cricketers will only tour England for their postponed Test series in July if they are “100% sure” they are not putting their health at risk, according to the CWI chief executive, Johnny Grave. Speaking on Sky Sports after it was confirmed that England’s players plan to begin their own phased return to training on Monday, Grave admitted…
9:30 PM IST England may be forced to choose whether its all-format stars such as Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler feature for the Test or limited-overs teams this summer, after Ashley Giles, the managing director, conceded that two separate squads might be the best means of ensuring the players’ safety as they attempt a return to action during the Covid-19 outbreak. Stokes produced two of the greatest England performances of…
9:24 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Ireland’s men will not play a full international fixture this home summer, after Pakistan and New Zealand’s scheduled tours were postponed at a virtual board meeting on Wednesday.Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland’s chief executive, remains hopeful that the three scheduled ODIs against England can go ahead in some form, but said that “numerous challenges [still] have to be resolved” which “will take a little while to…
8:28 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff When is the next time we’ll see a packed Eden Gardens?” Kolkata Knight Riders chief executive Venky Mysore is trying re-imagine the world of cricket for the near future, confronted by the immense challenge posed by the Covid-19 pandemic which continues to surge globally. Some of the innovative ideas Mysore believes are likely answers to make up for empty stadia in future include LED walls…
6:33 PM IST England’s men’s players will move one step closer to a return to international cricket next week, when they resume training in controlled environments at a range of venues across the country. The announcement comes in the wake of official government advice, published on Wednesday, which set out the safety protocols and social distancing measures necessary to safeguard the players and staff during the Covid-19 outbreak. And with…