Despite developing interest in new franchises in the PSL, a signed agreement in 2021 between the PCB and franchises means no new teams can be added to the current six before the completion of the tenth season in 2025. Interest among potential new owners and within the current PCB for new franchises has been growing, understandably for the board given the revenues it generates from franchise fees. But there are…
Jofra Archer says he is “trying to put myself in the best position possible” to return to the Mumbai Indians team after missing their last four matches as a precaution following soreness in his right elbow. Archer, who made his return to international cricket earlier this year after a long lay-off, made his Mumbai debut in their defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 2….
Delhi Capitals 128 for 6 (Warner 57, Pandey 21, Varun 2-16, Rana 2-17, A Roy 2-19) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 127 (J Roy 43, Russell 38*, Axar 2-13, Kuldeep 2-15) by four wickets Delhi Capitals finally earned their first win of IPL 2023, breaking a five-game losing streak, but it did not come easy. Despite chasing only 128 after their best bowling performance of the season, their batters struggled with…
Nottinghamshire 252 for 5 (Duckett 119*, Hameed 55) vs Middlesex There is never a bad time to score your first century at Lord’s. But with a couple of big-ticket events here over the next couple of months, Ben Duckett chose wisely. The opener peeled off a crisp 119 not out on the opening day of Nottinghamshire’s Division One clash with Middlesex. Crisp for its execution rather than cleanliness, what with…
Somerset 311 for four (Abell 119*, Rew 114*; Anderson 2-56) vs Lancashire Those readers familiar with the oeuvre of Chris Sandford might recall that one of his early hits, “Not too Little, Not too Much” reached No 17 in the charts nearly 60 years ago. The song’s publicity was enhanced by it being included in an episode of Coronation Street the soap in which Sandford played the part of the…
Hampshire 287 for 4 (Gubbins 125, Vince 104*) vs Northamptonshire It is 50 years since Hampshire last won the Championship under the captaincy of Richard Gilliat, with the scorer famously having a few quid on odds of 66/1 after drawing the understandable conclusion that an opening pair of Barry Richards and Gordon Greenidge might be quite handy. Those romantically inclined fancy them to celebrate the anniversary in style, and these…
Worcestershire 118 for 7 (T Price 4-38) trail Gloucestershire 231 (T Price 109, Leach 4-49) by 113 runs Tom Price scored his maiden first-class century for Gloucestershire and then took a hat-trick to transform his side’s fortunes after they had plunged to 45 for 7 on the opening day of their LV=Insurance County Championship match at New Road. The 23-year-old reached three figures off 93 balls with four sixes and…
Durham 382 for 6 (Jones 69, Borthwick 59, Robinson 73, Carse 53*) vs Glamorgan Despite having picked a seam-heavy attack, there were two wickets for Marnus Labuschagne, bowling off-spin, as Glamorgan chipped away at the Durham batting line up on a surface where pace and movement were hard to come by. The pick of the Glamorgan seamers was Timm van der Gugten, who finished the day with 2 for 60…
Sussex 275 for 5 (Alsop 95, Carter 60*, Haines 48) vs Yorkshire There is a mood of sporting optimism down on this part of the south coast. Granted, that might be in large part due to Brighton’s impressive season under Roberto de Zerbi – they currently sit seventh in the Premier League and play an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday – but there are already…
Essex 164 for 1 (Westley 71*, Browne 54*) vs Kent Alastair Cook was here for a good time, not a long one. So too was the healthy gathering of supporters which by mid-afternoon had deserted The Spitfire Ground for cosier environs in Canterbury or further afield. In contrast, Tom Westley and Nick Browne, Essex captain and opener respectively, looked perfectly well-inclined to stick around despite the onset of some grim…