Tim Southee is preparing to make his fifth appearance at Lord’s, a ground where his name is already etched on the visiting dressing room honours board twice. When he first played in St John’s Wood, in only his second Test back in 2008, Brendon McCullum led the way for New Zealand by thrashing 97 off 97 balls; five years later, McCullum was captain and Southee took a ten-for, only for…
David Payne and Luke Wood are in line to make their England debuts against the Netherlands in Amstelveen next month after being included in a 14-man ODI squad which features five left-arm seamers. The three-match series, which runs from June 17-22, takes place between England’s second and third Tests against New Zealand, meaning players involved in the Test squad were unavailable for selection. Sam Billings is the most notable omission…
Essex have fallen “significantly short” of diversity targets for their board introduced by the ECB and have been told that they could face sanctions. The ECB’s action plan to tackle racism and all forms of discrimination, published in November after what outgoing chief executive Tom Harrison described as an “earthquake” of revelations around institutional racism, included a target for county boards to feature 30% female representation and “locally representative ethnicity”…
South Africa will tap into the confidence of IPL champion David Miller when they kick off a busy 2022-23 season with five T20Is in India next week. Miller, who was the sixth-highest run-scorer in IPL 2022, had his best IPL showing in 10 years and was particularly successful against spin, which has often been a weak spot in South Africa’s batting. “It’s always nice to see guys in form. A…
Incidentally, Shakib’s future in Test cricket has been a topic of discussion in recent months, with the allrounder going back-and-forth on his commitment to red-ball cricket. In February, Shakib had reportedly asked the BCB for some time off from Test cricket, but was nonetheless selected in the squad for the tour of South Africa. Shakib, though, suggested that he was “jaded”, and requested a break from international cricket, which the…
Pakistan have announced a 15-woman squad for the tri-series in Ireland and the upcoming Commonwealth Games, with Bismah Maroof to captain the side through both assignments. The squad is unchanged from the one that achieved a clean sweep against Sri Lanka in a T20 series last week, with Player of the Series Tuba Hassan rewarded with a retention. Three reserve players – Ghulam Fatima, Sadaf Shamas and Umme Hani –…
Former South African Under-19 bowler Mondli Khumalo is an induced coma in Bristol after being assaulted outside a pub in Bridgwater on Saturday night. Khumalo has suffered bleeding on the brain and has had two operations thus far. He remains in a serious condition. A 27-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the incident. Khumalo, 20, is contracted to Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland in South Africa, and is on his…
Seamer Graham Hume and allrounder Fionn Hand have been offered Ireland retainer contracts after batting allrounder Luke Georgeson withdrew from his contract last month. Conor Olphert, meanwhile, was handed an educational contract as Ireland aim to strengthen their fast-bowling pool ahead of their home season, which begins with a two-match T20I series against India in June. Georgeson, who was born in Wellington and represents them in New Zealand domestic cricket,…
The Kinrara Academy Oval, Malaysia’s premier cricket ground, will host its last games this June as Malaysia Cricket (MC)’s agreement with the landowners runs down after 18 years. Over the past few years, the two parties had disputes over tariffs and the matter went to court, with the ruling earlier this year in favour of the landowners. Cricket Malaysia said in a statement that the outstanding payments had been made,…
Ellyse Perry is up for the challenge of proving she still belongs in Australia’s best T20I team ahead of a packed short-form schedule. Once one of Australia’s T20 stars, Perry has had battles with injuries and form in recent years and she was dropped from the Ashes opener in January. A lengthy recovery from a previous serious hamstring injury, the difficulties of Covid-19 restrictions and more recently a back stress…