Perth Scorchers 136 for 4 (Turner 53, Wood 2-29) beat Melbourne Stars 135 (Cartwright 36, Richardson 4-25) by six wickets Quick Jhye Richardson bowled rapidly to overwhelm Melbourne Stars before skipper Ashton Turner again chased superbly under pressure as Perth Scorchers notched a six-wicket victory at PErth Stadium. After Stars elected to bat, Richardson was twice on a hat-trick and claimed four wickets to help restrict Stars to a modest…
Gambhir unsure if Kohli and Rahul fit in 2024 T20 World Cup plans
India are due to face Sri Lanka in three T20Is starting January 3. For now, all indications are that Kohli and Rahul have been rested for that series, while Rohit is believed to need a little more time to fully recover from a finger injury he sustained three weeks ago in Bangladesh. Senior fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar also finds himself out of favour. With so many people out, Hardik Pandya,…
Rashid Khan replaces Mohammad Nabi as Afghanistan T20I captain
Rashid Khan has been reappointed Afghanistan captain in T20Is, replacing Mohammed Nabi after the allrounder stepped down from the role following the 2022 T20 World Cup. Rashid isn’t new to the role, having captained Afghanistan across formats before. Mirwais Ashraf, the ACB chairman, said that Rashid’s experience of playing in different T20 leagues across the world would help “take the team to a new level”. Rashid’s first assignment will be…
Munro 98 in vain as Thunder hold nerve at the death
Sydney Thunder 182 for 6 (Rossouw 39, Sams 36*, Bazley 4-22) beat Brisbane Heat 171 for 9 (Munro 98, McAndrew 4-31) by 11 runs A magnificent batting performance from Brisbane Heat opener Colin Munro wasn’t quite enough to help the bottom-placed team avoid another BBL defeat to the Sydney Thunder. Two days after beating Heat by 10 wickets, Thunder saluted again at Metricon Stadium on Thursday, winning by 11 runs,…
Dean Elgar: South Africa learning in the 'most ruthless and brutal way'
In the aftermath of South Africa’s first series loss in Australia since 2005-06, Test captain Dean Elgar said he had to “bite his tongue” about the structure and schedule of South African cricket and the impact it is having on the Test team. The defeat is their second successive series loss, after a 1-2 result in England in August-September, and they have now lost four Tests in a row. Since…
Mitchell Starc could be in doubt for India tour after injuring finger
Mitchell Starc admits he could be touch and go for the early part of the four-Test tour of India starting in February, while Pat Cummins has declared injured allrounder Cameron Green as close to irreplaceable as Australia are hit with a rare injury crisis as they try to qualify for the World Test Championship final. Australia wrapped up their three-Test series win against South Africa 2-0 with a match to…
Sodhi, Williamson extend New Zealand's lead on fourth morning
Lunch New Zealand 519 for 6 (Williamson 137*, Sodhi 41*, Abrar 3-172) lead Pakistan 438 by 81 runs In a session that had the laziness of a winter morning, New Zealand’s overnight batters Kane Williamson and Ish Sodhi added 79 runs in 32 overs to extend their lead to 81 by lunch on day four. Their unbroken seventh-wicket partnership is now worth 83, which includes five penalty runs via the…
Starc on de Bruyn's backing up: 'Absolutely taking the mickey'
Mitchell Starc has conceded he could eventually be drawn into running out a batter backing up after he warned Theunis de Bruyn on the fourth day at the MCG. In the 17th over of South Africa’s second innings, Starc pulled out of his delivery stride when he saw de Bruyn was backing up well out of his crease. “Stay in the crease, it’s not that hard,” he was heard saying…
Australia strike in a cluster to bring victory closer as SA woes continue
South Africa 189 and 15 for 1 trail Australia 575 for 8 dec (Warner 200, Carey 111, Smith 85, Green 51*, Head 51) by 371 runs Alex Carey scored his maiden Test hundred as Australia piled on the runs at the MCG then removed South Africa captain Dean Elgar in the second over before rain brought an early end to the third day Australia piled on 189 runs in 54…
MCC and Victoria government inquire about hosting India-Pakistan Test at the MCG
The Melbourne Cricket Club, who manage the MCG, and the Victorian government have made informal inquiries to Cricket Australia about hosting a Test match between India and Pakistan in Melbourne after the success of the classic T20 World Cup encounter played between the two sides in October. While speaking on SEN radio on day four of the second Test between Australia and South Africa, MCC chief executive Stuart Fox revealed…