New Zealand

8:00 AM GMT Toss India opt to bowl v New Zealand India captain Virat Kohli asked New Zealand to bat in the first of the five-match T20I series, at Eden Park. The visitors left out Rishabh Pant and handed the keeping gloves to KL Rahul, who pulled off the double duty in India’s previous two

12:08 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Kane Williamson is open to the possibility of playing under another captain if it results in the betterment of New Zealand cricket. However, he also said he has been enjoying the captaincy across formats. “For me it’s always been about what’s best for the team,” Williamson said. “If those discussions

10:36 AM GMT Vishal Dikshit Merely five days after an ODI ended late on January 19 in Bengaluru, India will be playing a T20 international all the way across in New Zealand as part of a five-match series to kick-off a full tour that features 10 games across formats. And it’s the same set of

11:04 AM GMT Deivarayan Muthu New Zealand have had a chaotic build-up to the home series against India. They were shellacked 3-0 on the other side of the Tasman Sea in the Tests and are now without several of their first-choice seamers – including Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry – for the five-match

8:00 AM GMT Two weeks ago, New Zealand’s Kristian Clarke needed to defend eight off the final over against Zimbabwe’s lower order to secure victory in a third-place playoff match at the Quadrangular tournament in South Africa. But Zimbabwe’s No. 9 Luke Oldknow struck a six off him to crush New Zealand’s hopes. On Wednesday,

2:52 PM GMT Deivarayan Muthu Hamish Bennett had made his Test debut along with Kane Williamson in 2010. He bolted into New Zealand’s World Cup squad the next year and later, in 2014, he gave Virat Kohli a proper workout in that tied ODI with his searing pace. Bennett nailed the hard lengths and stopped

6:25 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff New Zealand’s depth will be tested in the T20I series against India, but Ross Taylor sees it as a good chance for fringe players to stake a claim for spots in the World Cup squad later this year. The five-match series, part of a full tour by India, which also

4:09 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff UAE Under-19s 232 for 2 (John 102*, Lakra 66) beat Canada Under-19s 231 for 8 (Patel 90, Sharma 2-42, Lakra 2-39) by eight wicketsScorecard UAE opener Figy John scored this Under-19 World Cup’s first century, a thoroughly smooth, 101-ball 102 that helped his side beat Canada by eight wickets in

3:56 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Allrounder Sophie Devine is set to lead New Zealand at the Women’s T20 World Cup, having been named captain on Thursday. Devine takes over indefinitely from Amy Satterthwaite, who recently gave birth to her first child. Devine’s first assignment as full-time New Zealand captain will be the three ODIs and

6:16 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Hamish Bennett, who last played for New Zealand in 2017, has been called up to the T20I squad for the five-match series against India that starts on January 24. Bennett has played one Test and 16 ODIs, with his last match for New Zealand being an ODI against Bangladesh in

9:31 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff The man who racially abused Jofra Archer during the first Test against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui in November has been banned from attending international and domestic matches in the country for two years. Following a police investigation, a 28-year-old man from Auckland admitted the abuse, and has been issued

1:41 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Tom Latham has been sidelined for a month after sustaining a fractured finger during the third Test against Australia at the SCG. The injury to his right little finger occurred when Latham, who was standing in as captain for Kane Williamson, took the catch to remove Marnus Labuschagne in Australia’s

Despair after Todd Astle drops a return catch © Getty Images New Zealand are “hurting a lot” after being whitewashed in Australia, with coach Gary Stead admitting confidence among some key players will need to be resorted ahead of the next Test series against India in February. Defeats by 296 runs, 247 runs and 279

4:23 AM GMT Ross Taylor was overcome by emotion after becoming New Zealand’s highest Test run-scorer as he recalled a conversation at the start of his career with mentor Martin Crowe. Taylor moved to the top of the New Zealand list, overtaking Stephen Fleming’s tally of 7172, when he lofted Nathan Lyon down the ground

5:06 AM GMT Ross Taylor became New Zealand’s leading Test run-scorer on the fourth day at the SCG overtaking Stephen Fleming’s tally of 7172. ESPNcricinfo Ltd He began the second innings needing 21 runs and shortly after tea lofted Nathan Lyon down the ground for three, the landmark greeted by a standing ovation when it

11:36 AM GMT New Zealand arrived in Australia ranked No. 2 in the world and with genuine belief they could challenge the home side, but instead left whitewashed in their worst-ever defeat. They will head back across the Tasman needing to urgently regroup before facing India – which begins with the white-ball matches followed by

11:30 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Leo Carter has become the first New Zealander to hit six sixes in an over in T20 cricket. The 25-year-old left-hand batsman achieved the feat during the course of an unbeaten 29-ball 70 that helped Canterbury Kings chase down 220 against Northern Districts in the Super Smash tournament on Sunday.

9:12 AM GMT So rushed was Glenn Phillips‘ call-up to the New Zealand squad that he didn’t have a numbered shirt when he took the field on the opening day. Dragged off the beach, having almost missed the phone call from selector Gavin Larsen, and racing through traffic to catch a plane across the Tasman,

12:05 AM GMT New Zealand’s injury- and illness-ravaged tour of Australia gained another casualty at the SCG with X-rays confirming Matt Henry had suffered a broken left thumb on the opening day of the final Test. Henry was struck by a drive from Joe Burns in the first session of the Test and left the

8:00 AM GMT Australia chose to bat v New Zealand Australia’s captain Tim Paine won the toss and chose to bat first against a severely depleted New Zealand side on day one of the New Year’s Test at the SCG. Flu-like illness swept through the visiting team in the lead-up to the match, ruling out

8:00 AM GMT Big Picture For so long a match given focus and attention through its association with the McGrath Foundation and breast cancer research, this year’s SCG Test is being played against the literal backdrop of a mighty bushfire storm ravaging Australia’s south-east. There will be times when that backdrop will become very much

5:41 AM GMT New Zealand are crossing their fingers they can put together a healthy XI for the final Test in Sydney after illness struck the camp forcing Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls to sit out training for the second day running. Mitchell Santner, whose position in the side was under scrutiny after two poor

4:14 AM GMT Will Somerville has recalled being in tears in the SCG car park when he was awarded a New South Wales contract in 2014 as he prepares for the chance of making a Test appearance on the ground six years later. Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls sat out New Zealand’s training on New

3:37 AM GMT It has been a tough season for visiting captains to Australia against a dominant bowling attack. Between them, Kane Williamson and Azhar Ali have scored 119 runs in eight innings. It is not the only reason the home side are on the verge of a summer clean sweep, but it’s a big

3:56 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff New Zealand have called up offspinner Will Somerville to their squad for the third Test of their series against Australia as an injury replacement for Trent Boult. Boult fractured his hand while batting in the Boxing Day Test, and is set for four weeks of rehabilitation back home before he

8:00 AM GMT Lunch New Zealand 148 and 3 for 38 need 450 more runs to beat Australia 467 and 5 for 168 dec James Pattinson left New Zealand in tatters and heading for a crushing four-day defeat at the MCG after bursting through the top order including the key duo of Kane Williamson and

2:52 AM GMT New Zealand’s former captain Brendon McCullum has counselled his successor Kane Williamson one-on-one after he delivered stinging criticism of the visitors during his commentary stints on the second day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. McCullum had questioned Williamson’s tactics on the second day, notably his use of the very

7:52 AM GMT New Zealand’s sorry Australian tour took another turn for the worse as Trent Boult was ruled out of the third and final Test in Sydney with a finger fracture on his right hand, sustained while batting. Boult had been struck on the gloves by Mitchell Starc at the back-end of New Zealand’s

8:00 AM GMT Lunch Australia 5 for 336 v New Zealand For the third time in three innings Neil Wagner bounced out Steven Smith to bring the second morning at the MCG alive but Australia remained in control as Travis Head moved to a half century as they reached 5 for 336 at lunch. Smith

6:56 AM GMT New Zealand have not had the most conventional of build-ups to either of the Tests in this series, playing a day-nighter in Perth with just three days’ preparation and now having to navigate a brief Melbourne heatwave which left them with a single day of middle practice ahead of the Boxing Day