Alex Hales’ sensational form in the one-day international series against South Africa has elevated him to the top of the England ODI MVP Rankings. The opening batsman cracked a century and four fifties in the five 50-over matches, which the Proteas edged 3-2. Hales has struck 554 runs at a strike rate of 88 per 100 balls in nine ODI knocks this winter, passing fifty on six occasions and contributing…
Suryakumar, Tare tons set MP 571 target
Madhya Pradesh 227 (Naman Ojha 79, Dane 44, Sandhu 5-43) and 99 for 2 (Shrivastava 53*) need another 472 runs to beat Mumbai 371 (Iyer 90, Tare 68, Sakure 5-137) and 426 (Suryakumar 115, Tare 109, Nayar 73*)Scorecard File photo – Suryakumar Yadav top-scored for Mumbai with 115 © PTI Centuries by Suryakumar Yadav and Aditya Tare helped Mumbai set Madhya Pradesh a mammoth target of 571 on day four…
Handscomb's century sets up Victoria's victory push
South Australia 224 and 4 for 126 (Head 35*, Fawad 2-10) need 282 to beat Victoria 325 and 5 for 306 dec (Handscomb 102, Maxwell 63, Zampa 2-54, Valente 2-90)Scorecard and ball-by-ball details File photo – Peter Handscomb hit 17 fours during his 102 © Cricket Australia/Getty Images Victoria closed in on an outright victory over their nearest challenger South Australia on the penultimate night of the floodlit Sheffield Shield…
Bowlers, Hartley put Queensland on top
Tasmania 300 and 7 for 179 (Triffitt 39*, Silk 33) lead Queensland 374 (Hopes 94, Hartley 68, Webster 3-49) by 105 runsScorecard Chris Hartley’s patient 68 guided Queensland to a 74-run lead © Getty Images Chris Hartley guided Queensland to a handy first innings lead over Tasmania before claiming his 500th catch as the Bulls put themselves in a strong position to claim outright points on the final day of…
Prolific Hales switches focus to T20s
Alex Hales churned out the runs in the 50-over format and now has his eyes set on the same in T20 © Getty Images Whether Alex Hales remains England’s opener for all formats will not be decided until May when the next Test team is selected, but he has given himself every chance of a second crack after his prolific one-day series against South Africa. For now, though, the focus…
Balcombe calls it a day
Surrey seamer David Balcombe has retired from professional cricket in order to pursue a career away from the game. The 31-year-old, who also had a loan spell at Kent, took 196 wickets in 67 first-class matches during an 11-season career that also included 17 limited-overs appearances. A product of the Surrey Academy, he rejoined the Kia Oval outfit on a two-year deal from Hampshire in 2014 but did not make a first-team appearance. …
Allrounders could give SA some T20 bite
David Wiese will have an important role to play in the South Africa T20 side © Getty Images The South African squad have overcome being thrown to the wolves after they came back from 2-0 down in their ODI series against England to win 3-2, so now, they are diving with the sharks. The T20 squad are camping in Hermanus, the whale-watching town about 100 kilometres from Cape Town, in…
Balcombe retires to work for KP Foundation
David Balcombe enjoyed two productive seasons in 2011 and 2012 © PA Photos David Balcombe, the Surrey and former Hampshire pace bowler, has retired from professional cricket to take up a full-time role with the Kevin Pietersen Foundation. Balcombe, 31, joined Surrey from Hampshire in 2015 and although he did not make a first-team appearance during the season was preparing for the new summer before making his decision. “To play…
Can't perceive any potential conflict situation – Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly admitted he had a stake in the football franchise, Atletico de Kolkata, but denied any links to the owners of the Rising Pune Supergiants © AFP Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has denied conflict of interest with regard to his position on the IPL governing council. Ganguly was facing an allegation of a commercial tie-up with the RP Sanjiv Goenka group, which has a stake in the Atletico…
Ireland collapse in T20 defeat
Ireland suffered a major collapse as they succumbed to a five-run defeat in the second Twenty20 international against United Arab Emirates to draw the two-match series in Abu Dhabi. The tourists were coasting at 91 for one but they lost eight wickets for just 37 runs as they finished on 128 for nine. Warwickshire seamer Boyd Rankin, with 3-17, and Max Sorensen, who took 2-16, helped restrict UAE, who won the…