The 2023 programme of domestic cricket in England will feature an expanded Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and regular T20 double-headers involving men’s and women’s teams in the Vitality Blast and Charlotte Edwards Cup. With discussions about the future of the county schedule ongoing, there will be no changes to the LV= Insurance Championship, which will begin on April 6 next year for a block of seven weeks. Five rounds of…
Afghanistan chose to bat v Sri Lanka Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat for the third time in this three-match ODI series, with the Pallekele pitch expected to be better for batting in the afternoon than in the evening. With this surface expected to offer more turn than the previous two pitches used in the series, both sides have strengthened their spin attacks at the expense of their…
England find themselves in disarray on the eve of their first Test in Pakistan, after 13 to 14 members of staff – including half the 16-man playing squad – were struck down by illness on Wednesday. The issue is thought to be a virus or bug rather than food poisoning, with England taking particular care over what they eat with the help of a chef, Omar Meziane, who has travelled…
Rishabh Pant has said that he would prefer to open in T20Is, while continuing to bat in the middle order in ODIs and Tests. Speaking before the start of the third ODI against New Zealand in Christchurch, Pant said that he is only 25 right now, and pitting white-ball and red-ball numbers against each other should be made only when he is around 30-32, because right now there was “no…
Former New Zealand men’s international Dean Brownlie has been named batting coach of the New Zealand women’s team. Joining him in the White Ferns set-up is spin-bowling coach Craig Howard. Brownie, who retired at the end of the 2019-20 season with a total of 14 Test caps and 21 white-ball caps, was New Zealand men’s interim batting coach in March 2022 when the side played Netherlands at home. More recently,…
Australia decided to bat against West Indies Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat on an expected fiery Optus Stadium pitch for the first Test between Australia and West Indies. Australia will have to combat West Indies’ dangerous pace attack on a surface with 10mm of grass left on it with high temperatures forecast on day one. Returning to Test cricket since their tour of Sri Lanka mid-year,…
Toss New Zealand chose to bowl vs India For a third time in the series, the coin landed in New Zealand captain Kane Williamson’s favour and he had no hesitation in opting to bowl under overcast skies and on what he called a surface with a “green tinge” in the final ODI against India in Christchurch. This was after the toss was delayed by 15 minutes due to a drizzle….
Liam Livingstone will make his England Test debut against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Thursday. Livingstone, 29, will be one of two new faces named by skipper Ben Stokes for the first Test from the team that ended the English summer. Ben Duckett will partner Zak Crawley at the top of the order, replacing Alex Lees who was dropped for this tour, adding to his four Test appearances from 2016-17, against…
If you’ve been paying even vague attention, you’ll have heard that James Anderson is the only member of this England touring party to have played international cricket in Pakistan prior to this winter. Back in the winter of 2005, a younger, sprightlier but no less downbeat Anderson was part of the squad that last played Test cricket in the country. He did not get on the park during the three-match…
Sindh 284 and 254 (Fawad 113, Musa 3-49, Jamal 3-63) lost to Northern 593 (Hurraira 221, Amin 114, Waheed 109, Rohail 94, Aaliyan 4-96, Umar 4-116) by an innings and 55 runs Northern fast bowlers Aamer Jamal and Muhammad Musa shared six wickets between them to wipe out the second Sindh innings inside two sessions on the fourth day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final to lift the trophy for the…