Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat against Australia Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk will open the batting with Cooper Connolly listed at No. 3 as a weakened Australia start their preparation for the Champions Trophy in the first ODI. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat on a dry surface in the first of two ODIs in Colombo, with the series starting just three days…
Left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann has been reported for a suspect action following Australia’s Test series in Sri Lanka. Kuhnemann, who claimed 16 wickets in the two matches in Galle, will now have to undergo testing at an ICC-approved centre with Brisbane the likely location. Related Spin cycle: the day Australia’s tweakers wrung 23 wickets out Lyon ‘extremely proud’ of Kuhnemann’s courage Australia emerge from Test season with flying colours and…
Mitchell Starc has withdrawn from the Champions Trophy for personal reasons with Australia confirming a much-changed 15-player squad that will be captained by Steven Smith. Australia had already been forced into a number of changes due to the injuries to Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh alongside the retirement of Marcus Stoinis. Starc’s absence means they are without their entire frontline pace attack for the tournament in Pakistan and…
In what is a significant jolt to India, Jasprit Bumrah, their premier fast bowler, is set to miss the 2025 Champions Trophy. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Bumrah is yet to completely recover from the discomfort in his back, an injury he picked up during the Sydney Test in January that also ruled him out of the white-ball series against England. While the latest scan, which Bumrah underwent in Bengaluru over…
Continuing his splendid form in domestic cricket this season, Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane struck a match-winning 108 in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Haryana to set up his side’s comfortable entry into the semi-finals. His returns in first-ball cricket have come as a solid follow-up to his performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) T20 competition, where he was the highest run-getter in the tournament. But Rahane, 36, brushed…
Two seasons, two top-of-the-table finishes. Two finals, but no trophies. Delhi Capitals (DC) came close to title wins in WPL 2023 and 2024, before falling short in the final against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, respectively. But for captain Meg Lanning, continuing to do what they’ve done the last two seasons along with a “few little changes” is all the team needs to go one step ahead and clinch…
Vidarbha 353 (Nair 122, Malewar 75, Dubey 69, Vijay 3-75) and 272 (Rathod 112, Dubey 64, Sai Kishore 5-78) beat Tamil Nadu 225 (Siddarth 65, Paul 48, Thakare 5-34) and 202 (Sonu Yadav 57, Paul 53, Bhute 3-19, Dubey 3-40) by 198 runs Harsh Dubey starred with bat and ball, while Karun Nair continued his glorious run from the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy as Vidarbha beat Tamil Nadu by 198…
The ICC has banned Bangladesh cricketer Shohely Akhter from all cricket for five years. Akhter, who has played two ODIs 13 T20Is, “admitted to breaching five provisions of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code”, an ICC statement said. The charges against her “relate to corrupt approaches made in relation to matches in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 held in South Africa.” Akhter, 36, was not part of the Bangladesh playing…
Sri Lanka Cricket will conduct an inquiry over allegations that Dasun Shanaka left a first-class match in Colombo hours early, in order to play for the Dubai Capitals in the UAE that same evening, on February 2. The board’s chargesheet to Shanaka includes the allegation that first-class match referee Wendell Labrooy had been led to believe Shanaka had a concussion, in order to approve a substitute. This is according to…
The Todd Boehly-backed Cain International have succeeded in securing a stake in Hundred side Trent Rockets. The group, led by Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein and backed by the football club’s joint-owner Boehly, put in the winning bid for a 49% stake in Rockets, valuing 100% of the team at what ESPNcricinfo understands to be around £80 million. The two parties will now finalise their agreement over an eight-week period that…