Pat Cummins expects to see a more proactive Marnus Labuschagne at the crease in Adelaide as Australia’s No. 3 searches for a revival of fortunes, but it appears less likely he will be used extensively as a medium-pace bowler despite question marks over how many overs Mitchell Marsh has in him. Labuschagne has come in for significant scrutiny after his first innings in Perth where he made 2 off 52…
Toss: South Africa opt to bat vs Sri Lanka Both Temba Bavuma and Dhananjaya de Silva got what they wanted after South Africa decided to bat first at a dry, windy St George’s Park. Sri Lanka would have put the hosts in if de Silva had called correctly, eyeing the significant grass on the pitch as their best chance to burrow into South Africa’s batting line-up. This was the first…
“He’ll be opening the batting; I’ll bat somewhere in the middle.” That was Rohit Sharma‘s short answer to the big question for India ahead of the pink-ball Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Adelaide, starting on Friday. That means Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul will open, as they did with so much success in the first Test in Perth. Whether Rohit will bat at No. 3 or, more likely, No. 5, remains…
This was also Abhishek’s fourth century in the tournament, making him No. 1 on that list, ahead of Unmukt Chand, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, who have three each. Opening the batting in Punjab’s chase of Meghalaya’s 142 for 7 in Rajkot, Abhishek finished with 106 not out off 29 balls. Punjab got to their target in just 9.3 overs thanks mainly to Abhishek’s swashbuckling innings. The win…
Baroda broke the record for the highest total in T20 cricket when they smashed 349 for 5 against Sikkim in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore on Thursday. They surpassed Zimbabwe’s 344 for 4 against Gambia in Nairobi in October. In all, Baroda hit 37 sixes in their innings, shattering another T20 record. Zimbabwe were the holders of the record for most sixes (27) in an innings – also…
Big picture: Huge test for Australia Was Perth a case of a very fine team having a bad few days and another playing as well as they possibly could, or the signs of a very fine team that has peaked and is now on the slide against one good enough to take advantage? Perhaps it’s somewhere between all that. The next few days in Adelaide should give us a clearer…
Meanwhile, Matt Short is unavailable for Victoria’s clash against Queensland at the MCG due to a family wedding, but Jake Fraser-McGurk is in line for a recall to South Australia’s Shield side after being named in the XII to face Tasmania in Hobart, having not been selected this season despite being available for three of the previous five games. But Spencer Johnson has been ruled out of playing back-to-back Shield…
India opt to bat vs Australia Titas Sadhu and Georgia Voll will make their ODI debuts as India captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat against Australia in the series-opener at Allan Border Field. India have made changes from their recent series victory against New Zealand with quick bowler Sadhu included, while Priya Punia will open with Smriti Mandhana. Shafali Verma has been dropped. Harleen Deol will…
Barcley’s tenure came to an end on December 1 when Jay Shah took over at the ICC and as part of a wide-ranging interview with the UK’s Daily Telegraph he took aim at boards who have suspended playing Afghanistan outside of global tournaments. “If you really want to make a political statement, don’t play them in a World Cup,” Barclay said. “Sure, it might cost you a semi-final place, but…
Plenty has been spoken about the last time New Zealand entertained England at Wellington ahead of Friday’s second Test. And it is fair to say the players are bored of it. “The only chats I’ve had about it are speaking to you guys [the media],” Ben Stokes said when 2023’s one-run thriller was brought up on Thursday. This time around, public entertainment is not a priority: “Any win, any way,…