Rishabh Pant has come under criticism for the risks he has taken during this Border-Gavaskar Trophy, risks that have left him with scores of 37, 1, 21, 28, 9, 28, 30. Perception from both outside the Indian team, and inside it, is that he doesn’t rein in his natural game when he needs to. Pant showed he could bat differently in Sydney where Australia’s discipline on a pitch with seam…
Steven Smith is “100%” certain he got his hands under the ball when he attempted to catch Virat Kohli at slip on the first day of the SCG Test, a decision that was referred to the TV umpire and eventually ruled not out. “100%. No denying it whatsoever, 100%,” Smith told Fox Sports at the lunch break when asked if he got his hands under the ball. “But the umpire…
Peter Handscomb is a strong contender to be included in Australia’s squad for their Test tour of Sri Lanka later this month with the Victoria batter joining the team in Sydney for the final match against India as a substitute fielder. Handscomb does not hold BBL contract so is free to be with the squad throughout the final Test. He will be joined by spinners Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann…
Australia started the year by handing a debut to Tasmania allrounder Beau Webster for the final Test against India at the SCG. Although earmarked with significant potential at the youth level, it has been more than a decade-long journey. Here’s a look at his route to Test cricket. The early days Born in the small Tasmania town of Snug, Webster made his first-class debut in February 2014 at the age…
Jasprit Bumrah, who led India to victory in the first Test in Perth while Rohit was on paternity leave, will captain the team again in the series decider, while Shubman Gill takes Rohit’s place in the XI and will slot in at No. 3. Speculation around Rohit’s place in the team began after India lost the fourth Test in Melbourne, where he made scores of 3 and 9, as reports…
Justin Langer, the former Australia men’s head coach, has been appointed as Trevor Bayliss’s replacement at London Spirit. Langer, who played 105 Tests for Australia between 1993 and 2007, coached the squad from 2018 until 2022, including during a memorable 2-2 drawn Ashes series in 2019. Australia won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup under his guidance in 2021, before going on to win the Ashes 4-0 on home soil….
There’s a fine line between maximum preparation and cluelessness, and Pakistan are trying to make sure they tread the right side of it. With less than 24 hours to go before the second Test, Pakistan have not yet named a final XI, wanting to glean as much information as possible about what the Newlands surface will do. However, the later, they leave it, the harder it is to make the…
Najmul Hossain Shanto has quit as Bangladesh’s T20I captain. BCB president Faruque Ahmed told a local newspaper that Shanto had informed the board of his decision but will continue to lead in Tests and ODIs. “Shanto has finally informed us that he will not continue as the T20I captain. We have accepted his decision. There’s however no T20s coming up, so we will not think about a new captain just…
Taskin Ahmed became only the third bowler in history to take a seven-wicket haul in men’s T20s, claiming 7 for 19 in Durbar Rajshahi’s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match against Dhaka Capitals. It is also the best bowling figures in the BPL’s history, beating Mohammad Amir’s 6 for 17 for Khulna Tigers in 2020. Taskin continues to be consistent in all formats after he finished 2024 with 63 international wickets…
Big picture The attempt to give this Test series context may ironically have stripped some from this Test match, especially as far as South Africa are concerned. The hosts have already qualified for the World Test Championship final after beating Pakistan by two wickets in Centurion, and as such, don’t necessarily have a bigger picture to play for. However, they have won eight consecutive Test matches at home against Pakistan,…