Pakistan’s hopes of defending their Champions Trophy title have taken a significant dent with opener Fakhar Zaman ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with an oblique injury. Imam-ul-Haq has been approved by the ICC as Fakhar’s replacement. Fakhar picked up the injury off just the second ball of the tournament, when he hared off in pursuit of a cover drive from Will Young off Shaheen Shah Afridi. When…

Mohammed Shami feared that his career was over when a lengthy rehabilitation kept him out of cricket throughout 2024. Now leading India’s pace attack in the Champions Trophy, Shami compared his comeback to “a toddler learning how to walk”. “I always wondered when I would be able to put my feet on the ground again, as someone who is used to running on the field constantly was now in crutches,”…

Tasmania 101 and 164 for 3 (Radhakrishnan 53*) need 217 more runs to beat South Australia 93 and 388 (Sangha 75, Scott 69, McInerney 61) Precocious talent Nivethan Radhakrishnan posted a half-century as Tasmania faced a final-day fight for 217 more runs to defeat Sheffield Shield leaders South Australia. Set 381 runs to win, Tasmania were 164 for 3 at stumps on the third day at Adelaide Oval. Radhakrishnan, an…

New South Wales 238 (Davies 89, Boland 4-56) and 174 (Gilkes 49, Boland 6-46) beat Victoria 182 (Bird 3-24) and 154 (Murphy 40, Bird 5-68) by 76 runs Bird claimed 5 for 68 on the third day, making full use of a surface that was getting tougher to bat on, as Victoria were bowled out for 154 chasing 230, the margin only narrowed by a late dip from Todd Murphy…

Western Australia 312 (Fanning 95, Whiteman 67, Neser 4-34) beat Queensland 147 (Rocchiccioli 7-52) and 153 (Morris 3-35) by an innings and 12 runs Reigning champions Western Australia trounced Queensland by an innings and 12 runs to climb from last to third on the Sheffield Shield ladder. WA paceman Lance Morris claimed three wickets as Queensland were bowled out for 153 in their second innings on day three at the…

New Zealand seamer Molly Penfold has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury meaning she will miss the series against Sri Lanka and Australia. Penfold, 23, sustaining a torn meniscus to her left knee while playing in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield earlier this month and has undergone surgery with a recovery time of up to 12 weeks. “We’re all gutted for Molly,” Ben Sawyer,…

Since landing in Pakistan a couple of weeks ago, Glenn Phillips has played four ODIs, scored 215 runs off 162 balls, and been dismissed only once. That dismissal came today, in New Zealand’s Champions Trophy opener against the hosts, but not before Phillips has thumped 61 from 39 to take his side well past 300 on a tricky pitch where run-scoring was hard especially early on. What’s his secret? “I’m…

New Zealand 320 for 5 (Latham 118*, Young 107, Phillips 61, Naseem 2-63) beat Pakistan260 (Khushdil 69, Babar 64, O’Rourke 3-47, Santner 3-66) by 60 runs Pakistan had to wait for nearly three decades for a global tournament to return to their country, but New Zealand spoiled their party on the opening day of the Champions Trophy, handing the co-hosts a 60-run loss in Karachi. In a short, sharp tournament,…

So what if it’s overcast in Dubai? And so what if there’s dew, or a little spice in the deck, or some movement in the air? Whatever this venue throws at India, they have the bowling options to deal with it. So said captain Rohit Sharma, ahead of India’s first match of the Champions Trophy against Bangladesh. This is a venue to which India are well-accustomed, having played nine T20Is…

Cameron Bancroft expects to have fully recovered from his shoulder injury to captain Gloucestershire at the start of the 2025 County Championship season, and is targeting a return for Western Australia next month. Bancroft was involved in a sickening commission with Daniel Sams while fielding for Sydney Thunder in the BBL in December, and has revealed that he has suffered from a level of “trauma” since the injury. He has…