In the aftermath of South Africa’s first series loss in Australia since 2005-06, Test captain Dean Elgar said he had to “bite his tongue” about the structure and schedule of South African cricket and the impact it is having on the Test team. The defeat is their second successive series loss, after a 1-2 result in England in August-September, and they have now lost four Tests in a row. Since…
Mitchell Starc admits he could be touch and go for the early part of the four-Test tour of India starting in February, while Pat Cummins has declared injured allrounder Cameron Green as close to irreplaceable as Australia are hit with a rare injury crisis as they try to qualify for the World Test Championship final. Australia wrapped up their three-Test series win against South Africa 2-0 with a match to…
Lunch New Zealand 519 for 6 (Williamson 137*, Sodhi 41*, Abrar 3-172) lead Pakistan 438 by 81 runs In a session that had the laziness of a winter morning, New Zealand’s overnight batters Kane Williamson and Ish Sodhi added 79 runs in 32 overs to extend their lead to 81 by lunch on day four. Their unbroken seventh-wicket partnership is now worth 83, which includes five penalty runs via the…
Mitchell Starc has conceded he could eventually be drawn into running out a batter backing up after he warned Theunis de Bruyn on the fourth day at the MCG. In the 17th over of South Africa’s second innings, Starc pulled out of his delivery stride when he saw de Bruyn was backing up well out of his crease. “Stay in the crease, it’s not that hard,” he was heard saying…
South Africa 189 and 15 for 1 trail Australia 575 for 8 dec (Warner 200, Carey 111, Smith 85, Green 51*, Head 51) by 371 runs Alex Carey scored his maiden Test hundred as Australia piled on the runs at the MCG then removed South Africa captain Dean Elgar in the second over before rain brought an early end to the third day Australia piled on 189 runs in 54…
The Melbourne Cricket Club, who manage the MCG, and the Victorian government have made informal inquiries to Cricket Australia about hosting a Test match between India and Pakistan in Melbourne after the success of the classic T20 World Cup encounter played between the two sides in October. While speaking on SEN radio on day four of the second Test between Australia and South Africa, MCC chief executive Stuart Fox revealed…
Pakistan have recalled hard-hitting batter Sharjeel Khan into the ODI fold after five years, with the team’s new chief selector Shahid Afridi naming as many as six uncapped players in the 21-man probable list for the upcoming series against New Zealand. While the final squad will be trimmed to 16 players next week, there will be no place for both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Fakhar Zaman, due to their ongoing…
Allrounder Shikha Pandey has made a comeback to India’s T20I squad for the tri-series as well as the World Cup in South Africa early next year, while Pooja Vastrakar has been included “subject to fitness”. Pandey last played for India on the tour of Australia in October 2021, but has forced her way back through strong performances in domestic cricket. She will lead a seam attack that includes Renuka Singh,…
Sri Lanka have announced a 20-man squad for their limited-overs tour of India next month, where they will square off in three T20Is and three ODIs. Of those players, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Nuwan Thushara will play only in the T20Is, while Jeffrey Vandersay and Nuwanidu Fernando – in line to make his debut – will take part in just the ODI leg of the series. Dasun Shanaka will captain both…
Sydney Sixers 149 for 8 (Philippe 55, Vince 26, Mujeeb 3-29) beat Melbourne Renegades 115 (Finch 36, Marsh 28, Dwarshuis 4-17, Abbott 2-17) by 34 runs Quick Ben Dwarshuis made a superb return to thwart Melbourne Renegades’ experienced batters and lead Sydney Sixers to a 34-run victory at their favoured SCG. With Sixers defending a modest 150, left-armer Dwarshuis claimed four key wickets on a surface playing tricks as the…