Babar Azam, Bismah Maroof awarded Pakistan's civilian honours

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the third-highest civilian honour in Pakistan. It was conferred onto him at a ceremony in Lahore on Pakistan Day, which is a national holiday in the country. Babar, 28, becomes the youngest person to ever receive the honour, beating out another cricketer, Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. Sarfaraz was awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz in Karachi in 2018, when he was 31. Former Pakistan women’s…

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World Cup hopes on the line for Sri Lanka against IPL-weakened New Zealand

Big picture: Test thrills augur well Despite the eventual 2-0 scoreline in favour of the hosts, it’s safe to say Sri Lanka might have surprised a fair few folks that tuned into the Tests in Christchurch and Wellington – okay, maybe not so much the latter, but certainly over the course of that epic first Test. In that game, the visitors, in pursuit of an unlikely World Test Championship berth,…

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2023 Asia Cup likely in Pakistan and one other overseas venue for India games

The 2023 Asia Cup is likely to be played in Pakistan with another overseas venue to host India games. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that both BCCI and PCB, after an initial standoff, are moving swiftly towards brokering a resolution which could have both teams playing their tournament matches against each other outside Pakistan. The overseas venue is not confirmed but the UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka and even England are potential contenders…

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MLC start under threat after dispute between organisers and USA Cricket

Days after Major League Cricket’s (MLC) landmark player draft, a sanctioning dispute between USA Cricket and league organisers threatens to disrupt the start of the tournament this July. The dispute has reached the ICC, who has told its members to not issue NOCs to their players until the issue is resolved. In this latest manifestation of the age-old tradition of administrative strife on US soil, it has emerged that USA…

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Nottinghamshire's snow-hit photocall wins Wisden Cricket Photograph of the Year 2022

When snow hit large swathes of southern England on March 8 this year, a flurry of quips followed: it must almost be time for the county cricket season to begin. Those dry-witted weather predictions came true one year ago, on March 31, as photographer Matthew Lewis lined up to snap Nottinghamshire’s players and coaching staff at Trent Bridge ahead of the 2022 Championship season when something of a spring “blizzard”…

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Mumbai bank on experience against Warriorz's middle-order might

Big picture: Warriorz and Mumbai, a tale of contrasts In this inaugural season of the WPL, UP Warriorz have specialised in dping the impossible. They announced their arrival with a blockbuster win, which Grace Harris delivered from what seemed like a point of no return. They lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore, who had lost their first five games on the trot, and halted Mumbai Indians’ five-game winning streak. Warriorz have…

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Amelia Kerr, Daryl Mitchell win top NZC awards

Kerr also won the women’s T20I Player of the Year award, alongside the Hockley Medal. She was New Zealand’s second-highest T20I scorer in the season, behind Suzie Bates, with a tally of 423 runs at an average of 32.53 and strike rate of 112.20. She was also the joint second-highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps, along with Eden Carson, and an economy rate of 5.52. Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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'Nice to blow the cobwebs out', says Lance Morris after fired-up show on day one of Shield final

Introduced in the eighth over, a fired-up Morris started with a nasty bouncer aimed at the body of dogged opener Ashley Chandrasinghe who wisely swayed out of the way. Even though the renowned pace-friendly WACA surface, which has been a minefield for most of this season, was somewhat subdued, Morris made his presence felt with sharp bowling that appeared too hot to handle for 21-year-old Chandrasinghe. He then engaged in…

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Chandrasinghe bats the day for an unbeaten 46 against disciplined WA

Victoria 8 for 194 (Chandrasinghe 46*, Short 36, Hardie 2-29, Paris 2-34) against Western Australia Dogged Victoria opener Ashley Chandrasinghe defied Western Australia’s disciplined attack and scorn from the WACA faithful to bat through the opening day of the Sheffield Shield final. It wasn’t pretty, but Chandrasinghe’s unbeaten 46 off 266 balls held Victoria’s first innings together as they reached stumps at 8 for 194. The 21-year-old Chandrasinghe was set…

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