Cheteshwar Pujara has scored his 17th double-century in first-class cricket, in the opening round of the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season, against Jharkhand. Batting overnight on 157, Pujara went past 200 in the first session of the third day and remained unbeaten on 243 after lunch, when Saurashtra declared on 578 for 4, with a massive lead of 436. Pujara is now level with Herbert Sutcliffe and Mark Ramprakash on 17…
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers is annoyed that India and South Africa played only a two-match Test series and blamed the rise in T20 leagues for the situation. De Villiers advocated for longer Test series and reckoned that “something has to change” if the best team in the world is to be identified. Related What is a bad pitch? ‘If SA20 doesn’t happen, we are not going to…
Cameron Bancroft has insisted there are no lingered issues with Australia’s bowlers who were part of the infamous Cape Town Test in 2018, which includes current captain Pat Cummins, and believes he owes it to the country to make a success of opening the batting. Bancroft, the leading Sheffield Shield run-scorer in the last two years, is one of the names in the mix to come in at the top…
Who replaces David Warner has been the hot topic around Australian cricket for a number of weeks. The latest twist is that Steven Smith has publicly been the keenest to do it, but the push is growing to get Cameron Green back in the team. It all has a couple more days to run before the selectors name the squad to face West Indies. Here’s a recap of what various…
Ellyse Perry is keeping an open mind about the rest of her outstanding international cricket career, saying playing 400 matches could be feasible. The allrounder will become the first Australian woman to make 300 international appearances when India host the second match in the teams’ T20I series in Mumbai on Sunday. Perry is an all-time great of Australian sport and key to the ongoing success of the national women’s team….
Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been picked in Afghanistan’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series in India. The 22-year-old mystery spinner wasn’t part of the national side for the T20I series in the UAE and was instead in action for Melbourne Renegades in the BBL. Mujeeb’s BBL stint, though, was cut short after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) revoked his No-Objection Certificate (NoC) for the remainder of the BBL. The…
Sydney Sixers 160 for 3 (Vince 79, Hughes 41, Boland 2-38) beat Melbourne Stars 156 for 4 (Lawrence 36, Stoinis 34*, Maxwell 31, Murphy 2-15) by seven wickets Opener James Vince and No. 3 Daniel Hughes were dominant, leading Sydney Sixers to an easy BBL win over Melbourne Stars. Chasing Stars’ 156 for 4 on Saturday night at the MCG, Sixers got past the target with 11 balls and seven…
Abhimanyu Easwaran will lead India A in the visiting England Lions’ first two fixtures in Ahmedabad later this month. The shadow tour to the five-Test series between India and England starts with a two-day warm-up game on January 12-13, followed by a four-day first-class fixture on January 17-20, both in Ahmedabad. Abhimanyu was reserve opener during India’s recent two-Test tour of South Africa, and is a strong favourite to don…
David Warner is hopeful that he will able to helicopter in for Sydney Thunder’s BBL derby against Sydney Sixers on Friday so that he can play after attending his brother’s wedding. Exact plans are still being worked through, but flying to the SCG will be Warner’s only option if he is to make the game with the wedding taking place in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney. “I’ve got a…
Australia have reached the top of the World Test Championship 2023-25 points table with their eight-wicket win over Pakistan in Sydney. They now have 56.25% points from eight Tests. Pakistan, who lost the series 3-0, are now sixth with 36.66% points. India were on the top after their seven-wicket win over South Africa in Cape Town, but their stay lasted just two days. They are now second with 54.16% points…