Month: June 2022

It was almost a year-and-a-half ago, but the memories – and scars – are fresh, of Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah being racially abused by spectators during the Sydney Test. “[We] insisted on getting the abusers out of the ground,” Ajinkya Rahane, India’s captain then in the absence of Virat Kohli, recalls telling the umpires, while R Ashwin feels Siraj, especially, showed courage in making people aware of what was…

Women’s domestic cricket in India has already benefited from franchise T20 cricket to the point that Indian “domestic players can walk into the South African side any day,” according to South Africa’s captain Sune Luus, who played for the Supernovas. Luus, who has featured in both the FairBreak Invitational tournament and Women’s T20 Challenge last month, said while the overall standard of women’s cricket has improved across nations, India have…

Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, understands that weather conditions during the ODI series against West Indies will be challenging but he is confident of his side acclimating to the heat. The temperature in Multan, the venue for the three ODIs, is expected to touch 45 degrees centigrade during the day, and despite the matches starting at 4pm, is unlikely to give players much respite. The three-match series, initially slated to…

Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s captain, insists that his troublesome left elbow will withstand the rigours of Test cricket as he prepares to lead his side for the first time in six months in the first Test against England at Lord’s on Thursday. Williamson has missed New Zealand’s last five Tests due to a tendon injury similar to that which afflicted Sachin Tendulkar in the middle years of his career, with…

Ben Stokes, England’s new Test captain, insists the first LV= Insurance Test against New Zealand at Lord’s is a “blank canvas” for his team, rather than the start of the much-vaunted “red-ball reset”, and hopes that his partnership with head coach, Brendon McCullum, will allow the players to feel they are “ten feet tall” when they walk out of the pavilion on Thursday morning. In a sign of their determination…

Big picture The champions are back. One year ago to the day, New Zealand arrived at Lord’s for the first of three seismic Tests: the first two – a draw in London followed by a convincing win in Edgbaston – gave them only their third-ever series win in England and their first since 1999; the third was their crowning moment, beating India at the Ageas Bowl to become the inaugural…

Pakistan women 170 for 2 (Ameen 76, Maroof 62*) beat Sri Lanka women 169 all out (Dilhari 49, Fatima 4-21) by eight wickets Half-centuries from Sidra Ameen and Bismah Maroof helped Pakistan seal a crushing eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first of three ODIs at Karachi. After Sri Lanka were bowled out for 169, thanks to a sensational spell from Ghulam Fatima, who took four wickets for 21,…

Durham have brought in Andrew Tye, the Australian seamer, for the rest of the Vitality Blast after Ashton Turner, their new T20 captain, suffered a shoulder injury. The club said in a statement that Turner has “begun a process of rehabilitation” with their medical staff and that he will be regularly assessed with the hope that he will be fit enough to play a part later in the group stages….

In a change from what has been the norm in the last couple of years, the BCCI has decided to do away with stringent biobubbles for India’s upcoming T20I series against South Africa starting June 9. ESPNcricinfo understands that players and their families will not be required to serve out a mandatory quarantine period upon arrival either. The Indian team is expected to link up in New Delhi, the venue…

Top-order batter Nuwanidu Fernando, and right-arm seamer Matheesha Pathirana have broken into Sri Lanka’s T20I squad, for the forthcoming series against Australia. Both have come into the side having impressed overseas – Nuwanidu (22) in England, and Pathirana (19) in the IPL. However, there are no places for allrounder Dhananajaya de Silva, fast bowler Lahiru Kumara, or wicketkeeper batters Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshand Dickwella. Kusal Mendis is likely to take…