Big Picture: The game some didn’t want SA to play Group B of the Champions Trophy gets underway with a fixture between the dream side of the last two tournaments, Afghanistan, and the one which has nightmares about the number of times it has not got its hands on the trophy, South Africa. Afghanistan will … Read more
Gujarat 429 for 7 (Panchal 148, Jaymeet 74*, Saxena 4-135) trail Kerala 457 (Azharuddeen 177*, Nagwaswalla 3-81) by 28 runs Eight games into his maiden season, 22-year old Jaymeet Patel has already made massive contributions as a batting allrounder. Like his quarter-final century against Saurashtra or his twin half-centuries in a must-win against Himachal to … Read more
Australian allrounder Moises Henriques has joined Notts Outlaws for the 2025 Vitality Blast. Henriques, who has made 10 appearances in the competition for Surrey across two stints, the most recent coming in 2017, has been capped 44 times for his country, with the majority (24) coming in T20Is. The 38-year old brings a wealth of … Read more
“Between 2019 and now there’s too much difference and just recently we beat them [South Africa] in Sharjah – 2-1 – so we have that confidence with us and we are not under pressure anyway,” Shahidi said at his press conference on Thursday. “Because right now we are focusing what we can do in this … Read more
Mumbai 270 and 83 for 3 (Anand 27*, Dube 12*, Dubey 2-26) trail Vidarbha 383 and 292 (Rathod 151, Mulani 6-85) by 323 runs Yash Rathod struck a superb 151, his fifth hundred this season, as Vidarbha set Mumbai 406 for a place in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy final. Mumbai will be chasing history – … Read more
Anil Kumble, the former India captain and legspinner, believes the team must start setting transition plans in motion after the ongoing Champions Trophy, and build a new, younger team capable of challenging for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s Matchday show ahead of India’s opening game against Bangladesh, Kumble said that head coach … Read more
Pakistan’s hopes of defending their Champions Trophy title have taken a significant dent with opener Fakhar Zaman ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with an oblique injury. Imam-ul-Haq has been approved by the ICC as Fakhar’s replacement. Fakhar picked up the injury off just the second ball of the tournament, when he hared … Read more
Mohammed Shami feared that his career was over when a lengthy rehabilitation kept him out of cricket throughout 2024. Now leading India’s pace attack in the Champions Trophy, Shami compared his comeback to “a toddler learning how to walk”. “I always wondered when I would be able to put my feet on the ground again, … Read more
Tasmania 101 and 164 for 3 (Radhakrishnan 53*) need 217 more runs to beat South Australia 93 and 388 (Sangha 75, Scott 69, McInerney 61) Precocious talent Nivethan Radhakrishnan posted a half-century as Tasmania faced a final-day fight for 217 more runs to defeat Sheffield Shield leaders South Australia. Set 381 runs to win, Tasmania … Read more
New South Wales 238 (Davies 89, Boland 4-56) and 174 (Gilkes 49, Boland 6-46) beat Victoria 182 (Bird 3-24) and 154 (Murphy 40, Bird 5-68) by 76 runs Bird claimed 5 for 68 on the third day, making full use of a surface that was getting tougher to bat on, as Victoria were bowled out … Read more
Western Australia 312 (Fanning 95, Whiteman 67, Neser 4-34) beat Queensland 147 (Rocchiccioli 7-52) and 153 (Morris 3-35) by an innings and 12 runs Reigning champions Western Australia trounced Queensland by an innings and 12 runs to climb from last to third on the Sheffield Shield ladder. WA paceman Lance Morris claimed three wickets as … Read more
New Zealand seamer Molly Penfold has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury meaning she will miss the series against Sri Lanka and Australia. Penfold, 23, sustaining a torn meniscus to her left knee while playing in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield earlier this month and has undergone surgery with … Read more
Since landing in Pakistan a couple of weeks ago, Glenn Phillips has played four ODIs, scored 215 runs off 162 balls, and been dismissed only once. That dismissal came today, in New Zealand’s Champions Trophy opener against the hosts, but not before Phillips has thumped 61 from 39 to take his side well past 300 … Read more
New Zealand 320 for 5 (Latham 118*, Young 107, Phillips 61, Naseem 2-63) beat Pakistan260 (Khushdil 69, Babar 64, O’Rourke 3-47, Santner 3-66) by 60 runs Pakistan had to wait for nearly three decades for a global tournament to return to their country, but New Zealand spoiled their party on the opening day of the … Read more
So what if it’s overcast in Dubai? And so what if there’s dew, or a little spice in the deck, or some movement in the air? Whatever this venue throws at India, they have the bowling options to deal with it. So said captain Rohit Sharma, ahead of India’s first match of the Champions Trophy … Read more
Cameron Bancroft expects to have fully recovered from his shoulder injury to captain Gloucestershire at the start of the 2025 County Championship season, and is targeting a return for Western Australia next month. Bancroft was involved in a sickening commission with Daniel Sams while fielding for Sydney Thunder in the BBL in December, and has … Read more
Big picture: Those boring middle overs It can feel like the middle phase of an ODI don’t matter all that much. Mahela Jayawardene came in to bat at exactly this point in the final of an ODI World Cup and made a hundred. But that is not that match, or even he, is remembered for. … Read more
Toss Delhi Capitals chose to bowl vs UP Warriorz Delhi Capitals continued the trend of captains winning the toss and opting to bowl in WPL 2025. Captain Meg Lanning said they made one change to their XI, bringing in Niki Prasad, Player of the Match from their first game, in place of left-arm spinner Radha … Read more
The Hundred’s incoming investors are already wielding their influence on the tournament, with several teams using a revamped recruitment system to sign players who represent their new partners’ other overseas franchises. The new ‘direct signing’ model allows each team to sign two players – one men’s, one women’s – among their retentions before next month’s … Read more
Gujarat 222 for 1 (Panchal 117*, Desai 73) trail Kerala 457 (Azharuddeen 177*, Baby 69, Nizar 52, Nagwaswalla 3-81, Gaja 2-75) by 235 runs At 34, Priyank Panchal is no longer on the fringes of the national team like he once was. He’s also now just a one-format player for Gujarat. Up until the semi-finals, … Read more
Vidarbha 393 and 147 for 4 (Rathod 59*, Wadkar 31*) lead Mumbai 270 (Anand 106, Rekhade 4-55) by 260 runs An unbroken 91-run stand for the fifth wicket between Yash Rathod and Akshay Wadkar helped Vidarbha overcome a top-order collapse in the second innings, as they ended Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy semi-final against … Read more
South Africa’s bowlers are looking forward to the chance to test themselves on batter-friendly surfaces in Pakistan, where high scores are expected to define the Champions Trophy. Since 2021, Pakistan has been home to the highest batting average in ODIs – 35.53 – and the mini tri-series which preceded the Champions Trophy saw five out … Read more
New Zealand opener Will Young drove Shaheen Afridi through the covers to beat the infield, with Zaman setting off in pursuit. He cut it off before palming it over to Babar Azam to throw it back to the keeper, but immediately appeared to feel discomfort in his lower back. He signalled he needed to be … Read more
Matthew Kuhnemann is expected to learn his fate by the end of next week, after being put through intensive tests on his bowling action in Brisbane over the weekend. Just a week after being reported during Australia’s 2-0 Test series win in Sri Lanka, Kuhnemann has now completed tests on his suspect action. “Matthew has … Read more
Queensland 147 for 39 for 1 trail Western Australia 312 (Fanning 95, Whiteman 67, Neser 4-34) by 126 runs Opener Sam Fanning fell just short of a century but put Western Australia in a powerful position against Queensland on day two of their Sheffield Shield game. Fanning made 95 as WA posted 312 all out … Read more
South Australia 93 and 272 for 6 (Sangha 75, McInerney 61, Nielsen 49) lead Tasmania 101 by 264 runs Jason Sangha and Conor McInerney struck half-centuries to give the Sheffield Shield leaders the upper hand over Tasmania in their fast-moving fixture. SA were 272 for 6 in their second innings at stumps on day two … Read more
New South Wales 238 and 134 for 4 (Gilkes 43*, Phillipe 31, Boland 2-29) lead Victoria 182 (Bird 3-24, Jacobs 3-60) by 190 runs Sam Konstas put away the scoops, ramps and sweeps on the second day at the SCG but could only make 17 before falling to Scott Boland for the second time in … Read more
Shubman Gill and Maheesh Theekshana have become the new No. 1 men’s ODI batter and bowler respectively in the ICC rankings update released on the opening day of the Champions Trophy. Gill has gone past Babar Azam on his list, while Theekshana has gone past Rashid Khan on his. Gill had an excellent time of … Read more
Alyssa Healy leaves some big shoes to fill, but Chinelle Henry is ready to step in for UP Warriorz and make an unexpected WPL debut she hopes will be the start of something huge. Henry, the powerful West Indies middle-order batter and handy fast bowler, received a late call-up to the tournament as a replacement … Read more
Milind Rege, the former Mumbai captain, died of a heart attack on Wednesday, just days after turning 76. Rege took 126 wickets with his right-arm offbreaks in 52 first-class matches between 1966-67 and 1977-78. He also scored 1,532 runs at an average of 23.56. After his playing career, he was associated with Mumbai Cricket Association … Read more