Boult back at optimum, says Mascarenhas

Trent Boult was at his incisive best in the first T20 against Sri Lanka © Getty Images Trent Boult’s bowling is once again “pretty special”, with the bowler having recovered from the back complaints that plagued him during the Australia tour, New Zealand bowling coach Dimitri Mascarenhas has said. Boult had been rested for much of the ODI series against Sri Lanka, but took 3 for 43 in the fifth…

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Sixers mull Christmas Eve BBL games

This season, the Sixers hosted a pre-Christmas crowd of 20,072 at the SCG, and as many as 3,000 fans stayed behind to sing Christmas carols © Getty Images The Sydney Sixers and Cricket Australia are eager to play a Big Bash League match on Christmas Eve, as soon as the competition’s sixth edition later this year. This season, the Sixers hosted a record pre-Christmas crowd of 20,072 at the SCG…

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Barbados, T & T head to front of Group A

Play 02:29 Bishop: One of Lewis’ best knocks Opener Evin Lewis struck a run-a-ball 73 as Trinidad & Tobago defeated Jamaica by 84 runs at Queen’s Park Oval. Lewis propelled his side to a speedy start after electing to bat first before a middle-order collapse saw the hosts fall to 119 for 6 before the halfway point of the innings. A lower-order revival was led by Rayad Emrit and Marlon…

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Bayliss expects catching to improve

Head Coach Trevor Bayliss is confident England’s catching will return to its high standards in Johannesburg after several costly chances went begging during the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town. The Australian has worked hard on improving England’s fielding and fitness since his appointment last May, aspects of the game that were at the forefront of a four-day pre-Ashes training camp in Spain. Improvements were certainly evident during…

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Bayliss is 'all for' Buttler joining IPL

Play 00:44 South Africa will back themselves to come back’ – Butcher Trevor Bayliss is “all for” Jos Buttler appearing in this year’s IPL, now that Jonny Bairstow has earned a prolonged run in England’s Test side. Bairstow’s maiden Test century in Cape Town, a fine innings of 150 not out that, in partnership with Ben Stokes, led England from a precarious to a dominant position, underlined his status as…

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Henry joins Worcs for first half of season

Matt Henry has been in fine form for New Zealand’s ODI side © Associated Press Worcestershire have signed Matt Henry, the New Zealand fast bowler, for the first half of the 2016 season. Henry will fill the overseas role from April until the end of June, when South Africa’s Kyle Abbott is due to arrive. Henry’s combination of pace and swing ought to be potent in English conditions, as Worcestershire…

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'Not fully comfortable with pink ball yet' – Azhar Ali

File photo: Misbah-ul-Haq has said, “lining up for high catches for fielders was a challenge as the visibility of the pink ball wasn’t all that great” © Getty Images and Cricket Australia The recent experiment with pink ball in Pakistan domestic cricket saw the players complain about the visibility of the ball under floodlights. The major concern, they said, was the quality of the ball once it got older, as…

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BCB mulls holding Mustafizur back from PSL

The BCB is considering holding back Mustafizur Rahman from playing in the PSL, primarily with his workload in mind © AFP The BCB could hold back Mustafizur Rahman from playing in the forthcoming PSL. While the board has mentioned Mustafizur’s workload as the major worry, ESPNcricinfo has learned there is also concern within the Bangladesh team management of overexposing the left-arm pace bowler too soon. Mustafizur was picked up by…

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Virender Sehwag Comes Down Hard on Inefficient Selectors, State Associations

Virender Sehwag said he could not become a selector as he runs a cricket academy, which would lead to conflict of interest. © AFP Former India player Virender Sehwag, who retired from international cricket on October 20, 2015, has lashed out at selectors who picked players under the influence of ‘people in power’ and at the inefficient running of state associations. (I Have Done What I Wanted To Do —…

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Bancroft, Agar fifties guide Scorchers to easy win

Perth Scorchers 5 for 175 (Bancroft 72, Agar 68, Russell 2-31) beat Sydney Thunder 9 for 145 (Russell 42, Tye 3-22, Behrendorff 3-26) by 30 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Cameron Bancroft was awarded the Man of the Match for his counterattacking 72 © Getty Images Despite their dominance of the BBL over the years, Perth Scorchers have repeatedly been written off. After they slumped to 2 for 1 in the…

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