Play 02:18 Will Cook find his perfect partner in Bangladesh? Ben Duckett is set to become Alastair Cook’s ninth opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss when the Test series against Bangladesh begins in Chittagong on Thursday. Duckett, who has recorded four half-centuries from his most recent five innings on the tour, has been favoured over Haseeb Hameed, with Gary Ballance expected to retain his place in the middle-order…
Dodd, Bermingham help New Zealand seal series
New Zealand Women 208 for 8 (Dodd 52, Satterthwaite 42, Curtis 42) beat South Africa Women 113 (du Preez 62, Bates 3-17) by 95 runsScorecard Legspinner Erin Bermingham disrupted South Africa’s chase with figures of 3 for 28 © ICC/Getty Images A patient fifty from opener Natalie Dodd and handy middle-order contributions from Amy Satterthwaite (42), Katie Perkins (34) and Sam Curtis helped New Zealand Women recover from 10 for…
Ishant returns to cricket after illness
File photo – Ishant Sharma is set to play his first competitive match for two months © Getty Images Ishant, Gambhir boost for Delhi Delhi are set to welcome Ishant Sharma back into their line-up for the Ranji Trophy game against Karnataka at Eden Gardens on Thursday. It would be his first competitive match after a bout of chickengunya, which sidelined him for over two months. Gautam Gambhir, who was…
India in festive mood, NZ in recovery mode
Match facts Thursday, October 20, 2016Start time 1330 local (0800 GMT) Play 02:33 Kumble backs Rahane to open Big picture In a normal Indian season, this ODI would have been played on Wednesday and not Thursday, but it has been postponed to accommodate the festival of Karva Chauth. This is festival season in India; the Kolkata Test was advanced to avoid a clash with Durga Puja and Diwali, one of…
NZ aim to spoil India's festive mood
Match facts Thursday, October 20, 2016Start time 1330 local (0800 GMT) Play 02:33 Kumble backs Rahane to open Big picture In a normal Indian season, this ODI would have been played on Wednesday and not Thursday, but it has been postponed to accommodate the festival of Karva Chauth. This is festival season in India; the Kolkata Test was advanced to avoid a clash with Durga Puja and Diwali, one of…
Won't burden Pandya with specific plans – Kumble
Anil Kumble has said India have told Hardik Pandya ‘to bowl with freedom and not worry about getting hit’ © AFP India coach Anil Kumble has said he was heartened by Hardik Pandya‘s performance with the new ball on his ODI debut, and that the team management would give the allrounder the freedom to bat and bowl without specific instructions. Pandya opened the bowling along with Umesh Yadav in Dharamsala…
Anderson to miss first Test in India due to shoulder injury
Play 02:06 Anderson defends fitness record England will be without their leading wicket-taker, James Anderson, for the first Test against India next month. Anderson has already been ruled out of the tour to Bangladesh due to a stress fracture in his left shoulder and now England captain, Alastair Cook, has revealed he will not be ready for the opening match in Rajkot which starts on November 9. “He won’t be…
Council agrees to Durham rescue plan
Financially-stricken Durham have secured a financial rescue package from Durham County Council which will further help to secure the future of professional cricket in England’s most northerly outpost. Durham County Council has agreed to convert loans of £3.74m into shares, so freeing the county from interest payments on long-standing debts. Under the ECB-brokered settlement, Durham County Council has agreed to convert its debts into redeemable preference shares. The ECB has…
Vala ton sets up PNG's first home I-Cup win
Papua New Guinea 311 (Vala 144*, B Scholtz 5-105) and 189 (Morea 61, B Scholtz 6-65) beat Namibia 146 (Burger 52*, Siaka 3-16, Vanua 3-39) and 155 (Kotze 36, Siaka 4-38) by 199 runsScorecard File photo: Assad Vala struck his second successive I-cup century © IDI/Getty Stand-in captain Assad Vala scored an unbeaten 144 in the first innings to set up Papua New Guinea’s 199-run win over Namibia at Port…
Wright sets the trend in return as specialist T20 coach
John Wright in his New Zealand days in 2012 © Getty Images Derbyshire have become the first English county to employ a specialist T20 head coach. Contemporary thinking, though, has rarely seemed more of a throwback as they have turned to John Wright, the former New Zealand Test batsman, who first set foot in Derbyshire nearly 40 years ago. Wright, 62, is steeped in experience with coaching spells for India…