9:36 PM IST Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has insisted he inherited a T20 squad on the decline last year, despite the side being ranked No.1 at the time. He pointed to losses in form for several players who had helped Pakistan achieve that ranking, stressing he needed to make significant changes to keep them competitive. “Pakistan were No.1 but if you recall the time I took over…

7:02 PM IST Matt Roller Close Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets at @mroller98 Two players representing Lightning in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy are self-isolating after breaching Covid-19 guidelines. The ECB has confirmed a report on the CricketHER website that both players were made unavailable for selection for Lightning’s last game against Northern Diamonds, which they lost by two wickets. The players have been told…

6:43 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff A junior coach in Afghanistan has been banned for five years for attempting to spot-fix in the Shpageeza Cricket League, Afghanistan’s primary domestic T20 league. Noor Mohammad, who is an assistant coach at domestic level in Afghanistan, approached an unnamed player to try to arrange certain outcomes via spot-fixing in the 2019 edition of the league. The player reported the approach to authorities, who opened…

6:21 PM IST Matt Roller Close Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets at @mroller98 Fifteen games into his T20I career, Dawid Malan‘s England record is absurd. He has piled on 661 runs, passed 50 in more innings that he has not, and has the highest average in the format ever (min. 500 runs) while maintaining a strike rate of 147.87. And yet, as things stand, Malan…

Faf du Plessis said he respected AB de Villiers’ decision to retire and left it at that  6:19 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff AB de Villiers might yet make an international comeback, at least in the T20 format, but when he retired from the game in May 2018, it left his captain Faf du Plessis wondering “how do we move forward” even as he said he respected his friend’s decision and…

5:56 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff England v Australia, 3rd T20I NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about a late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please wait for the toss before finalising your XIs. Our XI: Tom Banton, David Warner, Dawid Malan, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid Substitutes: Sam Billings, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Philippe,…

Fantasy Pick: Go with Russell and Pollard as your captain and vice-captain (7:16) Daren Ganga’s makes his Fantasy XI for the first semi-final of CPL 2020, between Trinbago Knight Riders and Jamaica Tallawahs (7:16) 5:32 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Trinbago Knight Riders v Jamaica Tallawahs, Tarouba Our XI: Sunil Narine, Glenn Phillips, Jermaine Blackwood, Andre Russell, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sandeep Lamichhane, Jayden Seales, Khary…

5:25 PM IST The middle-order of Australia’s T20I side is under the microscope, but Ashton Agar believes he is making “small steps” in learning the art of finishing an innings having been given a pivotal position. The make-up of Australia’s XI with Agar as one of five frontline bowlers sees him in the No. 7 spot and he has walked to the crease in two contrasting, but common, situations in…