Month: June 2023

Birmingham Bears have signed West Indies left-armer Dominic Drakes on a short-term contract until the end of the Vitality Blast. Drakes, whose father Vasbert played for Warwickshire in the 2000s, will replace Hasan Ali as one of Bears’ two overseas players, with the Pakistan seamer departing for international duty this weekend. Drakes, 25, has been capped 12 times in white-ball internationals and enjoyed had a spell in county cricket with…

England 278 for 4 (Duckett 98, Crawley 48, Brook 45*, Lyon 1-35) trail Australia 416 (Smith 110, Head 77, Warner 66, Tongue 3-98, Robinson 3-100) by 138 runs You cannot win a Test match in an hour’s play on day two. Nor can you lose it. But as observers at Lord’s on Thursday can now attest to, you can certainly loosen your grip on proceedings much to the relief of…

Australia suffered a potentially major injury blow when Nathan Lyon limped off the field with a right calf injury during the final session of the second day at Lord’s. Chasing a ball towards the boundary in the 37th over, Lyon pulled up and was immediately in pain. He hobbled to the edge of the field where the physio began to assess him then had to be helped around the rope…

Zimbabwe 332 for 7 (Williams 142, Jongwe 43*, Raza 42, Butt 4-79) beat Oman 318 for 9 (Prajapati 103, Ayaan 47, Ilyas 45, Muzarabani 3-57, Chatara 3-73) by 14 runs A valiant Oman fell achingly short of the finish line, as Sean Williams‘ 142 trumped Kashyap Prajapati‘s 103 – the first by an Oman batter against an ICC full member – to help Zimbabwe secure a narrow yet crucial 14-run…

Several England men’s assistant coaches have lined up jobs in the Hundred in August, which takes place between the end of the Ashes and the start of the white-ball team’s run-in to the 50-over World Cup. ESPNcricinfo understands that Richard Dawson is set to work alongside Michael Hussey at Welsh Fire, while Carl Hopkinson is due to link up with James Foster’s Northern Superchargers. The pair both act as assistants…

Sourav Ganguly cannot understand the process behind Ajinkya Rahane getting the Test vice-captaincy after spending nearly 18 months on the sidelines. The former India captain has called for “consistency and continuity” in the selection process. Rahane, 35, was out of favour for one-and-a-half years but was India’s best batter in the World Test Championship final against Australia earlier this month, with scores of 89 and 46 at The Oval. Related…

Avesh, Saurabh lead for Central Central Zone 64 for 0 (Vivek 34*, Mantri 25*) and 182 lead East Zone 122 (Parag 33, Avesh 3-34, Saurabh 3-46) by 124 runs Fast bowler Avesh Khan and left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar hit back against East Zone by helping secure a handy 60-run first-innings lead for Central Zone. With Central restricted to 182 on the first day, the two bowlers took three wickets each…

In an effort to reignite his India career, Hanuma Vihari is set to play for Madhya Pradesh in the 2023-24 domestic season. The 29-year old, who has played 16 Tests, will be one of two professionals in the mix, subject to a No-objection certificate from his previous employers, the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA). Vihari will join an already strong middle order comprising Rajat Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer and Shubham Sharma. Vihari…

Amol Muzumdar, Tushar Arothe and Jon Lewis are among at least five candidates understood to be part of BCCI’s shortlist for the position of head coach of the Indian women’s team. It couldn’t be confirmed if Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the current interim head coach, is part of the shortlist. The BCCI-appointed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) is expected to interview the candidates on July 1-2 in Mumbai. This committee, chaired by former…

Australia fast bowler Scott Boland will return to his original BBL club Melbourne Stars after signing a three-year deal having not played in the competition last season following two years with Hobart Hurricanes. Elsewhere, Matthew Kuhnemann, who played three Tests for Australia in the recent tour of India, has re-signed with Brisbane Heat on a three-year deal, turning his back on interest from other clubs. Boland became a cult-hero in…