Month: April 2024

The Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) have told counties that they must “practise what they preach” after the ECB allocate ‘Tier 1’ teams in England’s revamped women’s domestic structure. But some players are concerned that counties will not live up to the promises they have made, and registered concerns with the PCA – who are the players’ trade union in England and Wales – during their annual pre-season meetings in recent…

Mumbai Indians 199 for 3 (Kishan 69, Suryakumar 52, Rohit 38, Jacks 1-24) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 196 for 8 (Du Plessis 61, Karthik 53*, Patidar 50, Bumrah 5-21) by seven wickets The bash-through-the-line Wankhede pitch and dewy conditions contributed to five 50-plus scores, including a 17-ball half-century from Suryakumar Yadav, but it was Jasprit Bumrah who produced the most decisive performance on the night to set up Mumbai Indians’…

It didn’t end perfectly for Jasprit Bumrah against RCB. His final ball, the last of the 19th over, went sailing over extra cover for six off Dinesh Karthik‘s bat. What was 5 for 15 off 3.5 overs became 5 for 21 off four. Anyone would take those figures in a total of 196, but not Bumrah, who went out of his way to say he was “still a little disappointed”…

Jason Roy has revealed he opted out of the ongoing IPL season with Kolkata Knight Riders to put his “mindset and body” first. Roy had joined KKR in 2023 for NR 2.8 crore (USD 341,000 approx.) as an injury replacement. After scoring 285 runs at an average of 35.62, he was due to return this season until he pulled out at the start of March, citing personal reasons. He was…

Big picture – Spin to win again? Lucknow Super Giants started the season with a defeat, but have won three on the bounce since. Their most recent victory came against Gujarat Titans on a spin-friendly pitch at home. LSG’s spinners were central to that result – Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi and M Siddharth combined for figures of 10-0-48-4 to help defend 163 – and they could consider laying out a…

Mayank Yadav is unlikely to play Lucknow Super Giants’ next two games, head coach Justin Langer said on the eve of LSG’s next fixture, against Delhi Capitals, adding that he expects the fast bowler to be “back bowling again soon”. Mayank had walked off the field after bowling just one over in LSG’s previous match, against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, and the update from the team’s chief executive the following…

Joe Root is set to make his first red-ball appearance for Yorkshire in almost two years as he prepares to line up against Gloucestershire this week in the second round of the County Championship. Root, whose only domestic cricket last year came in the Hundred for Trent Rockets following the Ashes, was announced in Yorkshire’s 13-man squad for the trip to Bristol. After missing the opening fixture against Leicestershire following…

Steven Smith has been confirmed as a signing for Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise Washington Freedom ahead of the second season of the tournament which begins on July 4. The move had been widely tipped, with Smith having signed as a brand ambassador for Freedom last year, and with Australia’s international schedule allowing a clear window for him to participate through July. In 2023, NSW players Moises Henriques, Tanveer Sangha…

Nathan Lyon‘s first Test captain Michael Clarke has questioned Cricket Australia’s decision to cap his County Championship stint with Lancashire at just seven games saying it “doesn’t make sense” if he is just going to return to home to do a pre-season given Australia do not play their next Test match until November 22. Lyon, 36, had initially signed with Lancashire to play the entire 2024 season across all three…

Adam Zampa opted out of IPL 2024 due to being “completely drained” from the previous 12 months while the uncertainty of how much cricket he would have played was also a factor as he switches his focus to June’s T20 World Cup. Zampa had been due to join Rajasthan Royals but withdrew on the eve of the season having been involved through Royals’ previous campaign. He was a key figure…