Month: February 2023

Opportunities to earn a living from playing international cricket as a woman have grown by 75% since 2020, with a total of 207 central contracts spread among 11 national sides. That was the major finding from FICA’s third women’s professional cricket global employment report, which also forecast a 30% increase in T20 league contracts for 2023, thanks largely to the launch of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and Women’s PSL…

Asif Afridi has been banned for two years for two separate breaches of the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code. The ban will come into effect on the date the left-arm spinner was provisionally suspended – September 12, 2022, meaning his period of ineligibility ends two years after that date. The offences are understood to have occurred in the 2022 Pakistan Cup, where Afridi, 36, played for eventual runners-up Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The more…

A total of 409 players will go under the hammer at the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL auction) auction on February 13 in Mumbai. The BCCI said it had received a whopping 1525 registrations, out of which 246 Indians and 163 overseas players have made the final list. As many as 24 players – 13 overseas and 11 Indians – have listed themselves at the highest base price of INR…

Ian Chappell, the former Australia captain, believes India will begin the Border-Gavaskar series as favorites, but that doesn’t mean Pat Cummins’ team should be written off. Australia are touring India for a Test series for the first time in six years. That series in 2016-17 ended 2-1 in India’s favour despite Steven Smith’s brilliant second-innings century on a Pune turner set up a series-opening 333-run win for Australia. For the…

Hamilton is hardly a city known for its vibes, least of all on a Tuesday after the Waitangi Bank Holiday. But the Novotel Hotel situated just off the main strip is its own little hub of activity, threatening to make enough noise to stir this sleepy town, if only for this week in February. It is here where both the England men’s Test side and a New Zealand XI will…

Yorkshire has admitted to four ECB charges relating to allegations of institutional racism at the club, and will not now be required to attend next month’s Cricket Discipline Commission hearings in London. However, a fifth former player has now withdrawn his co-operation from the process. Richard Pyrah, the club’s former player and bowling coach, has joined Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan and John Blain in pulling out of the hearings, following…

Cameron Green is very unlikely to play in the first Test against India, to be played in Nagpur from Thursday, with the fractured finger he suffered during the Boxing Day Test requiring more time to heal. Green did not bat during Australia’s first training session at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. He did do some fitness work and light centre-wicket bowling, but Australia have opted for a cautious approach…

Aaron Finch has announced his retirement from T20Is, bringing an end to his Australia career, meaning there will be a new captain when the team next take the field later this year. The move had been expected following Finch’s decision to quit ODIs late last year and a significant gap until Australia’s next T20Is following the home World Cup where they failed to make the semi-finals. After that tournament, where…

New Zealand have included Kyle Jamieson and Will Young in the NZ XI squad to face England in a two-day pink-ball warm-up match at Seddon Park later this week. Jamieson has not played international cricket since suffering a back injury on the tour of England last year, and will provide an opportunity to build match fitness ahead of an expected Test return. The squad includes Tom Bruce, who has played…

Zimbabwe 114 for 3 (Kaia 59*, Brathwaite 1-5, Motie 1-25) trail West Indies 447 for 6 dec (Chanderpaul 207*, Brathwaite 182, Mavuta 5-140) by 333 runs The name Chanderpaul has a rich presence in West Indies cricket history, and Tagenarine Chanderpaul carried the legacy forward by becoming just the tenth player from the region to convert his maiden Test hundred into a double ton. The opener was a study of…