Big picture While not yet certain, it feels as though this group is becoming a race for the second semi-final spot after New Zealand made a further statement with their big win over Sri Lanka. If that is indeed the case, then Australia and Ireland are firmly in that tussle. It may have felt unlikely that these two sides would have been equal on points ahead of this meeting but…
Sydney Sixers 3 for 188 (Healy 78, Bates 66) beat Melbourne Renegades 9 for 151 (Leeson 52, Brown 3-18, Cheatle 3-28) by 37 runs A rejuvenated Alyssa Healy blasted the Sydney Sixers to a comprehensive 37-run victory over the Melbourne Renegades in Ballarat and to the top of the WBBL points table. Healy thumped three sixes in her 78 off 54 balls while fellow opener Suzie Bates crunched 66 off…
Tasmania 2 for 187 (Ward 76*, Jewell 53) trail Victoria 7 for 351 dec (Chandrasinghe 119*, Handscomb 95) by 164 runs Tasmania built a strong reply on day two against Victoria, leaving the Sheffield Shield clash at Blundstone Arena delicately poised at the halfway mark, after Ashley Chandrasinghe completed a century on debut Opener Tim Ward‘s unbeaten 76 helped trim the deficit to 164 after Victoria declared early in the…
Bangladesh were celebrating, the players had left the field, Blessing Muzarabani had taken his pads off. This T20 World Cup threw up another extraordinary finish as the players were called back onto the field at the Gabba to re-bowl the final delivery after TV replays had shown that wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan had taken the last ball in front of the stumps. Amid the chaos, it meant that Muzarabani had one…
Aaron Finch has pondered whether removing double-header match days at a single venue would be a worthwhile option to avoid rain scuppering consecutive games as happened in Melbourne although conceded the logistical challenges of staging a World Cup were vast. The Australia-England contest at the MCG was abandoned, a decision that had felt inevitable for much of the day as the outfield became unplayable with the first match, Ireland against…
Toss Netherlands chose to bat vs Pakistan After seven weeks of being sidelined with a knee injury, Fakhar Zaman has returned to the Pakistan XI in their must-win game against Netherlands in Perth. He replaces Haider Ali in the middle order, with Pakistan being asked to chase by Netherlands captain Scott Edwards. While Fakhar has usually batted as opener or, most recently, at No. 3 for Pakistan, he is carded…
Toss Bangladesh chose to bat vs Zimbabwe Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan decided to bat first against Zimbabwe in Brisbane, hoping the team would take advantage of a dry pitch. His opposite number Craig Ervine said Zimbabwe would have preferred to bat first, too. The two teams made one change each, both giving an idea of what they were looking to do. Zimbabwe went for another out-and-out fast bowler in…
Perth Scorchers 7 for 140 (Edgar 36*, Jonassen 3-22) beat Brisbane Heat 7 for 137 (Wyatt 34) by three runs Perth Scorchers became the third team to occupy top spot on the ladder on an eventful day in the WBBL, after a thrilling three-run win over Brisbane Heat at Allan Border Field. Chasing 141 for victory in front of a capacity crowd in Brisbane on Saturday, the home side needed…
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka has backed his young team to again show their fighting qualities and push for a semi-final place at the T20 World Cup despite the heavy defeat against New Zealand at the SCG. Shanaka admitted that their fielding effort had been a deciding factor – Glenn Phillips was dropped twice, including once by the captain himself – although added that the top order had not adjusted…
Wasim Akram has opened up on his struggle with a cocaine addiction after his playing career ended, in his upcoming autobiography Sultan: A Memoir. Akram, Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in both Test and ODI cricket, retired in 2003 after an 18-year international career, but continued to travel the world on commentary and coaching assignments. The cocaine habit, he says, began after he retired, when he started to crave a “a substitute…