Suzie Bates, the former New Zealand captain, doesn’t think the side’s 3-0 defeat in Australia before the Women’s T20 World Cup will have any bearing on Tuesday’s fixture between the Trans-Tasman rivals. Both sides are coming off emphatic wins in their opening game with New Zealand defeating India by 58 runs and Australia brushing Sri Lanka side by six wickets. “I think we were still sort of figuring out our…
When the going got tough, three of England’s most senior players stepped up to preserve their unbeaten start to the T20 World Cup. Sophie Ecclestone – the spearhead of England’s four-woman spin attack – contained a threatening South Africa with her 2 for 15 from four overs, despite their 124 for 6 making them the first side to pass 120 in Sharjah’s run-scoring desert. Then came Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Nat…
An emotional Abdullah Shafique said he was relieved to put the “challenges of failure” behind him after just his second hundred in two years. Having been through a prolonged slump after a blistering start to Test cricket that once put him on the cusp of becoming the fastest cricketer ever to reach 1000 Test runs, Shafique put together a 253-run stand with captain Shan Masood, managing a stirring century of…
Australia vs New Zealand Sharjah, 6pm local time Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Isabella Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly…
England’s final-session fightback on the first day of back-to-back Tests in Multan was “a hell of an effort” which owed to their “high-end toil”. That was according to Jeetan Patel, one of their assistant coaches, who said that England were “pretty happy” with their position as Pakistan reached 328 for 4 at the close of play. Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood added 253 for the second wicket after Saim Ayub’s…
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and chose to bat on what she expected to be a slow track in Sharjah. England captain Heather Knight said she’d have batted as well. Both sides are coming off victories in their opening matches, with South Africa having comfortably defeated West Indies on Friday, and England having eased past Bangladesh on Saturday. As such, neither team has seen reason to make…
Surrey have shored up their bowling stocks in anticipation of a heavy international workload for their seamers in 2025, by signing Matthew Fisher from Yorkshire on a one-year deal. Fisher, 27 next month, has played one Test to date, on England’s tour of the Caribbean in 2022, after which he was awarded an ECB pace bowling development contract for the following season. He confirmed his enduring qualities by claiming 18…
Toss Ireland chose to bat against South Africa Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss for the first time in the three-match series and opted to bat as they look for a consolation win against South Africa in Abu Dhabi. Ireland made three changes to the side that played the first two ODIs. Left-arm spinner Matthew Humphreys will play his third match in the format, while experienced wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker…
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi is confident that the Champions Trophy 2025 will be held in Pakistan and all teams, including India, will participate in the tournament. The Champions Trophy is scheduled to start on February 19, with the final set for March 9, and Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi earmarked as the venues. India haven’t sent their team to Pakistan since July 2008 due to political tensions between…
Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed head coach of Sri Lanka’s men’s team until the end of the 2026 T20 World Cup. He had been their coach since early July, but had been functioning in an interim capacity. But having now impressed in the role, Sri Lanka Cricket has given him the full-time job. Under Jayasuriya over the past few months, Sri Lanka won their first bilateral ODI series against India…