The Supreme Court is likely to hear on Thursday the BCCI’s plea requesting for several amendments to its constitution, which could roll back some of the most significant reforms that were recommended by RM Lodha Committee and approved by the court in 2018. The case will be heard by a three-judge bench led by the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana. Thursday’s hearing will be the first time in more…
Toss Ireland opt to bowl vs New Zealand Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie won the toss in the second T20I against New Zealand, and like the opening encounter, opted to bowl first. Unlike the first game that was played in the midst of a heatwave under sunny, scorching conditions, the teams were welcomed by grey, cloudy skies in Belfast for the second game. Both teams were unchanged from the first T20I…
Pakistan captain Babar Azam believes Abdullah Shafique is capable of becoming “one of the best” players in the world. Babar praised the opener for showing his “class and temperament” in “difficult conditions” during the Galle Test. Babar also rated his own hundred in the first innings as “one of the best” because it came on a difficult surface. Shafique, playing just in his sixth Test, scored an unbeaten 160 in…
Sophia Dunkley could be rewarded for her explosive form in the ODIs against South Africa with a role as England’s T20I opener, after Heather Knight indicated that “ultra-aggression” in the powerplay was the means by which her team intended to target Gold in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games campaign in Birmingham. Dunkley, 24, thrived after being handed a promotion to No.3 for the ODI series, scoring 180 runs from 170 balls…
If India were playing their first T20 World Cup match – against Pakistan – next week, Ricky Ponting would play Virat Kohli at his usual No. 3 position despite his current form. Ponting, the former Australia captain and current Delhi Capitals coach, told The ICC Review that any opposition will be relived if India decide to drop Kohli. “I think if I was an opposition captain or an opposition player,…
Another batter who gained significantly in the rankings was Rishabh Pant, who scored an unbeaten 125 against England in the final ODI. The wicketkeeper-batter moved 25 slots to be placed 52nd. His team-mate Hardik Pandya, who hit a 55-ball 71 in the same match and picked up six wickets in the series, gained eight spots to occupy 42nd place in the batters’ list and 13 spots to move to eighth…
Virat Kohli is desperately searching for big runs, and has developed an “anxiety to play at every delivery” as a result, Sunil Gavaskar feels. Kohli ended the white-ball leg of the England tour without a half-century. In the two ODIs, Kohli was out nicking behind off left-arm fast bowler Reece Topley for 16 and 17. In the two T20Is, he scored 1 and 11. In the Test match at Edgbaston…
South Africa’s new franchise T20 league is likely to allow four international players in an eleven, with no other requirements – such as transformation targets – imposed on the teams. Indian players are not expected to be available for the league, but Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) ambition is to make it the second best in the world, with a player salary cap of US$1.5 million. While player names will only…
Pakistan 218 and 298 for 5 (Shafique 139*, Jayasuriya 4-113) need another 44 runs to beat Sri Lanka 222 and 337 Abdullah Shafique, who batted through all but four overs on day four, remained not out on 139 at lunch on day five, inching Pakistan closer to what would be a monumental Test win chasing 342. Sri Lanka managed to wangle out two wickets in the second half of the…
South Africa “were a bit more up for it” in the opening match of their all-format tour, according to Rassie van der Dussen, as they outplayed an overworked England on a scorching day in Durham. With international schedules in the spotlight, not least because of Ben Stokes’ ODI retirement, it did not go unnoticed that the two teams’ journeys to this series were vastly different. South Africa have played only…