Dhananjaya de Silva, who opens the batting for his first-class side Tamil Union, is believed to have the technical proficiency to flourish in the top order © AFP Dhananjaya de Silva may eventually assume a top-order position, but selectors and team management are undecided on when the move should happen, head coach Graham Ford has said. De Silva has only played six Tests, but has made 615 runs at an…

Perth Scorchers 4 for 177 (Bell 45, Marsh 44*) beat Sydney Thunder 8 for 127 (Cummins 39, Willey 2-21) by 50 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Ian Bell top scored with 45 as Perth Scorchers put up 177 on the board © Getty Images Perth Scorchers moved to the top of the Big Bash League table with an emphatic win over Sydney Thunder at the WACA. This was the Scorchers well-worn…

Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis spent many hours batting together © AFP Newland’s favourite son, Jacques Kallis, didn’t say goodbye to the ground when he retired abruptly at the end of 2013 but almost three years later, he was there to say hello as the South Africans conducted their first training session of 2017. South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo asked Kallis to come in to consult at what became an…

Match facts January 2-6, 2017Start time 1030 local (0830 GMT) Dimuth Karunaratne will want to show the application he displayed in the second innings in Port Elizabeth while avoiding silly run-outs © AFP Big Picture Table Mountain looms over the Newlands ground, grand and forbidding, with sheer crags in its higher reaches, and rugged pine forests on its lower spines. It imposes itself upon the city. It leaves you daunted….

Gujarat 283 for 3 (Panchal 144*, Parthiv 62) v JharkhandScorecard Priyank Panchal is 151 runs shy of overtaking VVS Laxman’s record for most runs in a Ranji Trophy season © ESPNcricinfo On January 1, 2016, Priyank Panchal wrote in his diary – a habit he had inculcated at the age of 19 – “Need to learn to convert starts and not just be happy with 650-700 runs in a season.”…

Tamil Nadu 261 for 6 (Indrajith 64, Gandhi 50, Vijay Shankar 41*, Nayar 2-56) v MumbaiScorecard and ball-by-ball details File photo – Kaushik Gandhi scored 50 off 137 balls © PTI Tamil Nadu received their first gift of the new year after a favourable outcome at the toss allowed them to have first strike on a friendly surface. Mumbai’s seamers, though, stuffed a spring-loaded boxing glove inside the gift box…

Melbourne Renegades 4 for 171 (White 64*, Cooper 36, Faulkner 1-19) beat Melbourne Stars 9 for 151 (Wright 45, Hogg 3-22) by seven runs (Duckworth-Lewis method)Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Sunil Narine briefly outscored Aaron Finch at one stage of his innings © Getty Images It says plenty about the extent to which the Big Bash League has forced its way to the heart of the Australian summer that a crowd…

Ricky Ponting had said last year that he was open to a coaching or selection role with the Australia team © PA Photos Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been named an assistant coach for the team’s T20 series against Sri Lanka in February in an interim capacity, and will work alongside Justin Langer and Jason Gillespie. The trio have been brought in with the core of Australia’s support staff…

Peter Handscomb has mixed up his footwork while facing spin and that should come as an encouraging sign for Australia © Getty Images Peter Handscomb‘s Test career is only three matches old, but he has already achieved a feat matched by few Australians. By scoring 54 on debut in Adelaide, 105 at the Gabba and 54 at the MCG, Handscomb became one of only five men to make a 50-plus…

Ricky Ponting had said last year that he was open to a coaching or selection role with the Australia team © PA Photos Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been named an interim coach for the team’s T20 series against Sri Lanka in February, and will work alongside Justin Langer and Jason Gillespie. The trio have been brought in with the core of Australia’s support staff set to be in…