It’s ending how it began, with a match between defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) and highly-rated but underachieving Mumbai Indians Cape Town (MICT). And this time it’s in the final. There will be either a new winner or the same one crowned in front of a full house at South Africa’s premier cricket venue: the Wanderers, where no rain is forecast. What more could anyone want? A close game,…
Ireland 260 and 83 for 1 (Balbirnie 32*, Moor 30, Ngarava 1-25) lead Zimbabwe 267 (Welch 90, Muzarabani 47, McCarthy 4-75, McBrine 3-59) by 76 runs Ireland and Zimbabwe continued to zigzag with the flow yet again in Bulawayo but it was the visitors who were better placed at the end of the day. Barry McCarthy‘s toil and versatility combined with Andy McBrine‘s consistency provided them with the hope of…
Essex have confirmed the appointment of Dan Feist as chief executive. Feist, who had been serving as general manager, succeeds John Stephenson after he stepped down from the role during a round of cost-cutting last summer. Feist has been working at Essex since 2012, initially as head of community and cricket operations. He was promoted to deputy chief executive before Stephenson’s departure, then named general manager during a restructure of…
The Ranji Trophy 2024-25 knockouts start on Saturday with the four quarter-finals. Here’s a quick primer. Fixtures Jammu & Kashmir vs Kerala in Pune, from 9.30am ISTVidarbha vs Tamil Nadu in Nagpur, from 9.30am ISTHaryana vs Mumbai in Kolkata, from 9am ISTSaurashtra vs Gujarat in Rajkot, from 9.30am IST The J&K vs Kerala quarter-final was shifted out of Jammu because of concerns over ground conditions following a harsh winter, while…
Big picture: Opportunity for precious game time in Pakistan A triangular ODI series is something of a curiosity that belongs in a museum more than it does in 2025. Pakistan last hosted one in 2004, and there have been none in the ODI format anywhere since 2008. When this particular series was announced not long ago, it stood out – it is the only ODI tri series in the current…
Pakistan opening batter Saim Ayub has been confirmed out for at least another five weeks owing to injury; he continues his rehabilitation from the ankle injury he sustained in South Africa in January. It is the first official confirmation that Ayub will not be available to Pakistan for the entirety of the Champions Trophy, which runs until March 9, and the extent of his involvement in Pakistan’s white-ball series in…
Australia 85 for 2 (Khawaja 34*, Smith 23*) trail Sri Lanka 257 (Kusal 85, Chandimal 74, Starc 3-37, Kuhnemann 3-63, Lyon 3-96) by 172 runs Marnus Labuschagne‘s woes continued as Australia’s top-order faced sustained pressure early on day two against a Sri Lanka spin attack relishing a deteriorating Galle surface. But despite the wickets of opener Travis Head and Labuschagne in consecutive overs, Australia will be satisfied to reach lunch…
When is Champions Trophy 2025 starting? It has been a while since we had a Champions Trophy, right? Why has there been such a long gap? Since its inception in 1998, the tournament was played every two years till 2009. After that, it was moved to a four-year cycle. India were supposed to host the 2021 edition but it was replaced with the T20 World Cup, which was ultimately played…
Following a hiatus for the BBL, Sheffield Shield cricket returns on Saturday for the final four rounds of the regular season to see who will make it into the final at the end of March amid what is a very tight table after six rounds. Here’s a reminder of how things stand. 1. South Australia Leading the table, South Australia can dream of playing in their first Sheffield Shield final…
Sunrisers Eastern Cape 177 for 2 (de Zorzi 78, J Hermann 69*) beat Paarl Royals 175 for 4 (R Hermann 81*, Pretorius 59) by eight wickets Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) will play in a third successive final after winning two matches in two days. They will take on first-time finalists MI Cape Town on Saturday, with memories of their wins over Pretoria Capitals (2023) and Durban’s Super Giants (2024) fresh…