Big picture: Those boring middle overs It can feel like the middle phase of an ODI don’t matter all that much. Mahela Jayawardene came in to bat at exactly this point in the final of an ODI World Cup and made a hundred. But that is not that match, or even he, is remembered for. Often enough, the overs between 11 and 40 are like the unwanted filling in a…

Toss Delhi Capitals chose to bowl vs UP Warriorz Delhi Capitals continued the trend of captains winning the toss and opting to bowl in WPL 2025. Captain Meg Lanning said they made one change to their XI, bringing in Niki Prasad, Player of the Match from their first game, in place of left-arm spinner Radha Yadav. UP Warriorz would have “obviously bowled first” too, captain Deepti Sharma said. She wants…

The Hundred’s incoming investors are already wielding their influence on the tournament, with several teams using a revamped recruitment system to sign players who represent their new partners’ other overseas franchises. The new ‘direct signing’ model allows each team to sign two players – one men’s, one women’s – among their retentions before next month’s draft. New joint-venture agreements are still being thrashed out but ESPNcricinfo has learned that several…

Gujarat 222 for 1 (Panchal 117*, Desai 73) trail Kerala 457 (Azharuddeen 177*, Baby 69, Nizar 52, Nagwaswalla 3-81, Gaja 2-75) by 235 runs At 34, Priyank Panchal is no longer on the fringes of the national team like he once was. He’s also now just a one-format player for Gujarat. Up until the semi-finals, he had just one century and a half-century in what was an underwhelming 2024-25 Ranji…

Vidarbha 393 and 147 for 4 (Rathod 59*, Wadkar 31*) lead Mumbai 270 (Anand 106, Rekhade 4-55) by 260 runs An unbroken 91-run stand for the fifth wicket between Yash Rathod and Akshay Wadkar helped Vidarbha overcome a top-order collapse in the second innings, as they ended Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Mumbai on 147 for 4, which effectively is a lead of 260. Rathod was unbeaten…

South Africa’s bowlers are looking forward to the chance to test themselves on batter-friendly surfaces in Pakistan, where high scores are expected to define the Champions Trophy. Since 2021, Pakistan has been home to the highest batting average in ODIs – 35.53 – and the mini tri-series which preceded the Champions Trophy saw five out of eight scores in excess of 300, including Pakistan’s highest successful ODI chase. South Africa’s…

New Zealand opener Will Young drove Shaheen Afridi through the covers to beat the infield, with Zaman setting off in pursuit. He cut it off before palming it over to Babar Azam to throw it back to the keeper, but immediately appeared to feel discomfort in his lower back. He signalled he needed to be replaced and treated, and went off the field with the physio, walking unaided back to…

Matthew Kuhnemann is expected to learn his fate by the end of next week, after being put through intensive tests on his bowling action in Brisbane over the weekend. Just a week after being reported during Australia’s 2-0 Test series win in Sri Lanka, Kuhnemann has now completed tests on his suspect action. “Matthew has completed the assessment which was performed at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane,” CA said…

Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Angus Lovell, 7.2 ov), 2-23 (Matt Renshaw, 11.5 ov), 3-28 (Hugo Burdon, 13.6 ov), 4-44 (Lachlan Hearne, 19.5 ov), 5-83 (Jimmy Peirson, 37.3 ov), 6-95 (Michael Neser, 41.2 ov), 7-104 (Ben McDermott, 45.1 ov), 8-108 (Mark Steketee, 45.4 ov), 9-136 (Xavier Bartlett, 50.4 ov), 10-147 (Tom Whitney, 53.4 ov) Source: ESPN Crickinfo

South Australia 93 and 272 for 6 (Sangha 75, McInerney 61, Nielsen 49) lead Tasmania 101 by 264 runs Jason Sangha and Conor McInerney struck half-centuries to give the Sheffield Shield leaders the upper hand over Tasmania in their fast-moving fixture. SA were 272 for 6 in their second innings at stumps on day two at Adelaide Oval, 264 runs ahead of Tasmania. The hosts made just 93 in their…