2:47 AM GMT Fielding at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium can be tricky in the evening because of the floodlights, which are lower than at most other grounds. In the IPL, this venue, home of Sunrisers Hyderabad, has seen a catch conversion rate of only 70%. India’s fielders also found it difficult in the T20I
Month: December 2019
6:00 PM GMT It is “by no means certain” that Moeen Ali will be available for England’s tour of Sri Lanka, according to Ed Smith. Smith, the national selector, admitted there was “no time frame” for Moeen’s return to Test cricket after he was, once again, absent from England’s squad for the tour of South
3:27 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff December 8: India v West Indies, 2nd T20I in Thiruvananthapuram NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates Captain: Rohit Sharma Rohit rarely fails to perform through an entire T20I series. He had an off day in Hyderabad, and is
Jacques Faul has become the acting CEO of CSA once again © Getty Images CSA have appointed Dr Jacques Faul as acting CEO. Faul replaces Thabang Moroe, who was suspended on Friday on allegations of misconduct. Faul is currently CEO of the Titans, the franchise based at SuperSport Park and has acted as CSA head
10:10 AM GMT Fawad Alam is back in Pakistan’s Test squad after more than a decade out of the red-ball team. The left-hand middle-order batsman is part of the 16-member squad that will face Sri Lanka in two Tests in Rawalpindi and Karachi later this month. Azhar Ali (capt), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam,
The Vidarbha players pose with the trophy © PTI Into its 86th year, the biggest first-class competition in the world – the Ranji Trophy – gets bigger with a 38th team, Chandigarh, added to the roster for the 2019-20 season. Like every year, it gives around 800 hopefuls a platform to establish themselves. Players aside,
Jonny Bairstow flays a drive through the covers © Getty Images James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood have all been included in a 17-man squad for England’s Test tour of South Africa. Anderson and Wood missed the New Zealand tour due to injury, while Bairstow was dropped to allow him time to work on
7:15 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Mental health has become a major talking point in cricket of late, with more and more prominent players opening up on the subject. Brian Lara, still the holder of the highest individual score in Test and first-class cricket, is among many to welcome the discussions on the subject, calling mental-health
10:02 AM GMT South Africa’s men’s team will lose their major sponsor, Standard Bank, who have opted not to renew their deal when it expires on April 30, 2020. This ends an association with cricket that dates back to 1998. Standard Bank sponsored South African cricket between 1998 and 2011, when it ended its sports
4:51 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Following the five-hour-long Pakistan Super League 2020 draft at Lahore’s National Cricket Academy, here’s what the six 18-man squads – including two supplementary players – look like. Quetta Gladiators Platinum: Mohammad Nawaz, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Jason Roy Diamond: Shane Watson (mentor), Ahmed Shehzad, Ben Cutting Gold: Umar Akmal (ambassador), Mohammad Hasnain,
8:00 AM GMT Adelaide Strikers 2 for 130 (Devine 65*, McGrath 36) beat Perth Scorchers 7 for 126 (Redmayne 51, Barsby 31, Schutt 2-14, Devine 2-23) by eight wickets Sophie Devine marched the Adelaide Strikers all over Perth Scorchers and into Sunday’s WBBL final, and in doing so closed to within 14 runs of surpassing
8:17 AM GMT “Ball dekho, maaro.” (See ball, hit ball) Speaking to Chahal TV for the BCCI website, this was how KL Rahul summed up his approach and mindset after getting to a start in India’s pursuit of 208 against West Indies in the T20I series opener in Hyderabad. In stark contrast to his captain
5:23 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Will India play two day-night Tests when they tour Australia next year? Cricket Australia would like them to, but BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has indicated that two pink-ball Tests in a four-Test series might be “a bit too much”. Ganguly was one of the driving forces behind India playing their
9:11 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff December 6: India v West Indies, 1st T20I in Hyderabad NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates Captain: KL Rahul Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have not played T20s for a while but Rahul has, scoring 313 runs from
8:00 AM GMT Nelson Mandela Bay Giants 173 for 6 (Dunk 75, Breetzke 64, Wahab 3-19) beat Cape Town Blitz 162 for 8 (Malan 60, de Kock 40, Tahir 2-22) by 11 runs Nelson Mandela Bay Giants pulled away from Paarl Rocks at the top of the Mzansi Super League points table. The Giants are
10:07 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Pakistan have named at least four allrounders, including the 14-year-old Mohammad Shahzad, in their 15-man squad for the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa early next year. The in-form Rohail Nazir will continue to led the side, while 16-year-old quick Naseem Shah, who recently made his Test debut in Australia,
6:09 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Virat Kohli smashed his highest ever T20I score, making 94* off 50 balls as India chased a massive target of 208 against West Indies in the first T20I in Hyderabad. Kohli’s innings was played in two parts, both sharply contrasting with each other. Off the first 25 balls he faced,
8:00 AM GMT Toss India chose to bowl v West Indies Bhuvneshwar Kumar made his way back into international cricket since the West Indies tour in August; he was likely to enter the contest immediately as India elected to bowl first with dew expected to affect the game later. In the previous two home series,
11:05 AM GMT Thabang Moroe, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa, has been suspended with immediate effect, but with full pay, following allegations of misconduct. An investigation into his actions, which will include an independent forensic audit, is expected to be conducted soon. Chris Nenzani, the CSA president, has been tasked with appointing an
2:19 PM GMT The dismal tour of Australia has hurt the “pride of the nation” according to Test captain Azhar Ali. The Tests ended in innings defeats; the T20Is were not any better even though the perception was Pakistan, ranked No. 1 in the format going into the series, would compete better. “We are a
3:48 PM GMT Even as he waits for the Supreme Court to consider rolling back certain reforms, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has cautioned that without experienced people at the helm, even the richest and most powerful cricket board could fall swiftly. Ganguly said “continuity” was “a very important” yardstick in running a sport and so
1:25 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff The ECB remain confident that that the forthcoming Test tour of South Africa will go ahead as planned, despite another day of administrative chaos that culminated in the suspension of Cricket South Africa’s chief executive and the loss of the team’s title sponsor after a 30-year association. England are set
5:39 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Rachel Trenaman, the Sydney Thunder and New South Wales allrounder who has named in the Australia A squad to face India A, has taken time away from the game to focus on her mental health. Trenaman, 18, played twice for the Thunder during this season’s WBBL and was part of
3:33 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff New Zealand have had a major boost ahead of the first Test against Australia next week with Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme both making good progress in their recoveries from injury. NZC confirmed the pair would travel to Perth with the squad on Saturday having come through a training
1:44 PM GMT The BCCI will have to wait for the New Year to see if the Supreme Court will approve the amendments to the board’s constitution which would roll back some of the key reforms recommended by the RM Lodha Committee. On Wednesday, the court “tentatively” listed January 14 as the next date of
6:14 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Bob Willis, legendary England fast bowler, dies aged 70The former England captain and fast bowler, who will be forever synonymous with England’s 1981 Ashes victory, died on December 4. Icon, survivor, grandee: Farewell Bob Willis, the man with the longest runAndrew Miller, ESPNcricinfo’s UK editor, writes a moving tribute in
Jess Duffin carves one through the covers © Getty Images There is someone playing in the WBBL finals this weekend who has been player of the match in a World T20 final and a World Cup final. Someone who has reached the highest level of two sports and still plays both concurrently at the domestic
8:00 AM GMT Match abandoned Tshwane Spartans v Jozi Stars Tshwane Spartans had to settle for two points against Jozi Stars, which keeps them in third place on the MSL table, after their match was abandoned at SuperSport Park. This is the third time the Centurion-based side were unable to play at home, but the
11:10 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff The limited-overs series between India and West Indies, which begin from Friday with a T20I, will have front-foot no-balls exclusively monitored by the third umpires. Announcing the development on Thursday, the ICC said that the on-field umpires would be responsible for all other decisions “in the usual way” while the
5:55 PM GMT What, in all honesty, have England learnt from their two-Test stopover in New Zealand? In one sense, it was a trip that lived down to its pre-series expectations, as a superbly well-drilled home team handed out a succession of lessons to a side that has neglected the longer format for several years