Marcus Harris, who recently missed out on a Test recall, has been signed as a replacement player by defending champions Perth Scorchers for the closing stages of the BBL. Scorchers have lost Zak Crawley to England Test duty and will also be without Laurie Evans for the finals as he has an ILT20 deal. Stephen Eskinazi returned to the line-up against Brisbane Heat but ESPNcricinfo understands Scorchers have bolstered their…
A reinvigorated Steven Smith has not considered what it would mean for his future if the move to Test opener does not pay off for Australia. Three days out from the first Test against the West Indies, Smith’s life at the top of the order began when he faced the new ball in the Adelaide Oval nets on Sunday. Related Persuasive Smith gets his new (and final?) challenge No waiting:…
Shaun Marsh has announced his retirement from professional cricket with Melbourne Renegades’ final game of the BBL season against Sydney Thunder to be the last of his career. After a late start to this BBL due to injury, Marsh’s form has been impressive with 181 runs at 45.25 and a strike-rate of 138.16. Despite playing only five games so far, he was made three of Renegades’ six half-centuries, including an…
After Scorchers’ top-order was ripped apart, No. 7 Hobson took over with an assault at the death to flay a flagging Heat attack in temperatures hovering around 40 degrees in the daytime fixture. Hobson finished unbeaten with a career best 48 off 30 balls to turn the match on its head as Scorchers eventually claimed a comfortable 35-run victory. Related Jhye Richardson out of BBL with injury, doubt for West…
Big picture: Virat Kohli returns to T20I action For Afghanistan, Rashid Khan has been ruled out of the entire three-match series, but they can still be a dangerous T20 team on their day. Six players in the XI that played on Thursday have IPL contracts and almost all their players feature in franchise T20 – and T10 – leagues around the world. Related Dube: Wanted to implement what I’ve learnt…
Melbourne Renegades 139 for 4 (Marsh 64*, Fraser-McGurk 42, Coulter-Nile 2-25) beat Melbourne Stars 137 for 8 (Cartwright 38, Richardson 2-17, Hosein 2-18) by six wickets Aaron Finch enjoyed a winning farewell despite a third-ball duck, as his Melbourne Renegades side dealt a massive blow to local rivals Melbourne Stars’ BBL finals hopes. A total of 41,205 people at Marvel Stadium witnessed an anti-climactic finale with the bat from former…
Sussex have named John Simpson as their captain for the start of the 2024 County Championship, with Tymal Mills set to take charge of the T20 Blast side. Both appointments are slightly provisional in nature, with Simpson inked in for the first seven games of the Championship season in order to get a feel for the demands of the job. And with the Blast set to coincide with the T20…
Perth Scorchers 163 for 6 (Hobson 48*, Connolly 35) beat Brisbane Heat 128 (Peirson 42, Tye 4-14, Morris 3-26) by 35 runs Nick Hobson and Cooper Connolly again tormented Brisbane Heat to ignite Perth Scorchers’ 35-run victory at an oppressive Optus Stadium as their hunt to finish second on the BBL ladder continues. Having recovered from 83 for 5 after batting first, two-time defending champions Scorchers mostly dominated from there…
Australia have a focus on their first bilateral tour of Bangladesh as a valuable intelligence-gathering mission ahead of the T20 World Cup later in the year amid what shapes as a squeeze for spin-bowling spots. They will face South Africa in a multi-format series starting at home in late January, with those T20Is also providing valuable preparation for the World Cup in September, but it’s the first-hand experience over in…
When he passed 265, he broke the Logan Cup first-class record for the highest individual score, which belonged to Cephas Zhuwao for his effort in the 2017-18 season. Ray Gripper‘s 279 not out, the highest individual score by a Zimbabwean player in first-class cricket, back in the 1967-68 Currie Cup in South Africa, was the next to be eclipsed. And finally, when he got to 300, he had bettered Brian…