Big picture: Can South Africa challenge upbeat India? It’s been a while but women’s cricket finally returns to Chennai. Both teams are unfamiliar with the conditions: India haven’t played here since a Quadrangular Series in 2007; South Africa have only played one match in Chennai, a T20 World Cup game in 2016. But India are coming into this match not only having played a Test against England and Australia last…
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt says playing Tests is a “challenge” given her team does not get to play domestic red-ball cricket. They should be given the chance to play more multi-day games or “just leave” the format alone, she said, given how tough it is to adapt to. “It’s obviously a challenge for most of us having any sort of preparation in the format,” Wolvaardt said on the eve…
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes playing in Chennai is a “great opportunity” for the side to get used to the conditions, given it could be one of the venues for the Women’s ODI World Cup next year. India’s women’s team last played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk in a Quadrangular series in 2007. They last played a women’s Test here in 1976, and the ground hasn’t hosted any…
Matches at LPL 2024 will feature two additional powerplay overs at the death. The two “power-blast overs”, which will be the 16th and 17th overs of each completed innings, will have a maximum of four fielders outside the 30-yard circle. This is in addition to the usual powerplay in the first six, where only two fielders are allowed outside the circle. The new feature is designed to create “a more…
India batter Ajinkya Rahane has signed to play the second half of the county season with Leicestershire. He will be available for the club’s One-Day Cup campaign as well as five County Championship matches. Rahane, 36, had agreed to join Leicestershire last summer before winning a recall to India’s Test team for the World Test Championship final. He then went on the Test tour of the West Indies and subsequently…
A big indicator of the scars South Africa’s men’s cricket teams carry is how the outpouring of emotion at making their first World Cup final came more from former cricketers who faced all those near-misses than the ones who have made it to the final. Perhaps it is because they have a final on hand in two days’ time. Perhaps it is because they are led by a fairly even-headed…
David Warner has passed the opening baton over to Jake Fraser-McGurk, believing the 22-year-old can fill his role in both of Australia’s white-ball sides and potentially has a future in the Test team as well. Warner has become a mentor to Fraser-McGurk with the pair spending a lot of time together in the IPL, where they played for Delhi Capitals, and recently at the T20 World Cup when Fraser-McGurk joined…
The first two balls of the chase summed up the conditions in which the first semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup was played. The first ball practically rolled along the ground, and the next one reared off a similar length. The pitch at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy came in for sharp criticism from observers, but participants in the match had to be careful not to come across as…
There is a sweet video on Instagram from inside Afghanistan’s travel from St Vincent to Trinidad and then from the Port-of-Spain airport to their hotel. Bleary-eyed, hoarse of voice, sleepless Afghan cricketers shared their joy with the world and spoke about how all the phone calls from back home kept them awake all night. This was a day after Afghanistan had secured their maiden semi-final spot in a men’s World…
Chris Silverwood has resigned from his position as head coach of Sri Lanka’s men’s team, effective immediately. Silverwood had been in the job since April 2022. SLC had extended his tenure in April until the end of the ongoing T20 World Cup. SLC CEO Ashley de Silva told ESPNcricinfo that Silverwood had conveyed his decision to resign before the board had had any internal discussions as to whether it would…