7:54 PM IST Matt Roller Close Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets at @mroller98 England captain Joe Root has said that no cricket should be played this summer if “the game itself, how it’s played and the intensity it’s played at” is compromised in any way. The ECB have drawn up extensive contingency plans to play cricket behind closed doors in a ‘bio-secure’ environment, with the…
6:06 PM IST Solo Nqweni, the South African allrounder who has been battling Guillan-Barré syndrome since last July, has now tested positive for Covid-19. Nqweni revealed the news on Twitter. ESPNcricinfo understands that Nqweni is able to communicate and his agent Rob Humphries is positive he will make a full recovery. Nqweni is the third cricketer known to have contracted the disease after Pakistan’s Zafar Sarfraz and Scotland’s Majid Haq….
6:02 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff The ECB have taken further measures to shore up grassroots cricket in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic by introducing an emergency loan scheme to help finance cash-strapped leagues during the lockdown. In addition to their initial round of emergency support funding, which Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, last week said had been successfully taken up by 92 percent of applicants, the ECB are…
5:03 PM IST Keshav Maharaj has put himself forward as a wildcard candidate to take over as South Africa’s Test captain. The position remains unfilled following Faf du Plessis stepping down in February, even though South Africa have appointed Quinton de Kock as their white-ball captain. Maharaj has not been among those named as likely future Test leaders – a status reserved for Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar…
Old Trafford could be turned into a ‘bio-secure environment’ to host behind-closed-doors internationals 4:31 PM IST England’s Test players are preparing themselves for the potential of a “long stint” away from their families as part of plans to try and salvage planned series against West Indies and Pakistan this summer. Reports have suggested that the ECB is hoping to stage six Tests in bio-secure environments during July and August, with…
2:16 PM IST Australia opener Joe Burns has conceded he didn’t capitalise on his good form last season as he returned to the Test team and is determined to put it right against India should the series be able to take place later this year. Burns’ stop-start international career resumed last summer as he partnered David Warner through Australia’s unbeaten campaign against Pakistan and New Zealand. He made 97 at…
1:39 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Sanjeev Chawla, the alleged bookie who was extradited to India from the UK in February, has been cleared for bail by Delhi High Court. Chawla was granted bail by a trial court last week, before Delhi Police challenged that order, saying Chawla would flee should he be let out of judicial custody. The case was heard by Justice Asha Menon on Wednesday, and, as per…
Jhye Richardson gets back to his run up © Getty Images Jhye Richardson, the Australia fast bowler, has undergone further surgery to stabilise the shoulder he dislocated last year which led to him missing the World Cup and Ashes tour. Richardson suffered the original injury in the second ODI against Pakistan in Sharjah last March when he dived in the outfield. It would end up keeping him sidelined for six…
May 6, 2020 ESPNcricinfo staff West Indies’ current T20I team is better than the one that won the World T20 four years ago in India. So says Dwayne Bravo, who overturned his international T20 retirement in December to strengthen West Indies’ bid to defend their title. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo’s Alexis Nunes, Bravo was thrilled at the depth of batting resources available to the West Indies side – riches that have…
10:41 PM IST Valkerie Baynes Women’s cricket risks being sidelined amid the clamour to schedule matches at the small number of bio-secure venues in England and Wales, should the sport get underway this summer in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Clare Connor, the ECB’s managing director of women’s cricket, made the frank admission on Wednesday that while representatives of the women’s game were involved in discussions about staging international…