“If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.” On Tuesday, Ben Stokes announced Liam Livingstone will be making his Test debut against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. Just 24 hours later, with the start of the first Test up in the air as a virus coursing through the England squad threatened to leave them shy of 11 fit cricketers, Livingstone remained at ease when asked if he was prepared to wait a little…
Ben Stokes has left the door open for a possible U-turn on his ODI retirement for England’s defence of the 50-over World Cup next winter. The allrounder, currently in Pakistan captaining the Test side on their first tour of the country in 17 years, retired from one-day cricket in the summer to focus on the other two international formats. In doing so, he said managing his workload in a convoluted…
England might be preparing a longer-term project with their Test side, but for Babar Azam and Pakistan, the goal is more immediate: qualification for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Pakistan remain firmly in the hunt for the top-two finish, but find their margins for error dwindling rapidly – they will need to win four of their remaining five Test matches this cycle to remain in realistic contention. Their place…
A decision as to whether England’s first Test in Pakistan for 17 years can get underway on time will be taken on Thursday morning, prior to the scheduled start, after a sickness bug swept through their camp on the eve of the match to cause upheaval in Rawalpindi. Having named their XI a full 48 hours ahead of the match, England’s plans were thrown into disarray on their final day…
Bangladesh’s qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup has caught Tamim Iqbal by surprise ahead of the three-match home series against India that begins on Sunday. Bangladesh were one of seven teams to secure direct qualification for the World Cup after the second ODI between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan ended in a no-result in Pallekele. “I was taken by surprise when I saw that we had completed qualification,” Tamim told…
Opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad carried on his hot streak of form, his century helping Maharashtra beat Assam by 12 runs in a high-scoring contest to reach their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy final. In the summit clash, they will take on Saurashtra, who scored a comfortable five-wicket win over Karnataka in the other semi-final. Gaikwad, Bawne power Maharashtra to finalRuturaj Gaikwad, who had hit a world-record seven sixes in an over…
West Indies coach Phil Simmons has defended his bowlers and believed luck didn’t go their way on a grassy Optus Stadium surface after an increasingly ragged attack claimed just two Australian wickets on the opening day of the first Test. “We bowled well, especially in the first two sessions, but the luck didn’t go our way,” Simmons said. “It was just one of those days. We bowled well in spurts.”…
Stumps Bangladesh A 112 trail India A 404 for 5 (Jaiswal 145, Abhimanyu 142, Taijul 3-148, Khaled 2-71) by 292 runs The Indian openers put together 283 runs, the second-highest opening stand ever for India A, against a bowling line-up that had four internationals – Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Mosaddek Hossain and Nayeem Hasan – and Rejaur Rahman Raja, who has been knocking on the door of the national team….
It’s rare for a Queenslander to love Perth as much as Marnus Labuschagne does. But he continued his adoring relationship with Western Australia’s capital and its newest cricket stadium, compiling a masterful 154 not out on day one of the opening Test against West Indies with promises of more to come. “I love this venue,” Labuschagne said. “I love playing in Perth because the conditions are so similar to Brisbane….
Defending champions Perth Scorchers have signed Faf du Plessis as a replacement overseas player for the first part of the BBL to replace Laurie Evans whose deal was terminated after his positive dope test earlier this month. Du Plessis did not get picked up in the original draft where he was a platinum player. Scorchers expect him to be available for the first seven matches of the tournament before he…