Cricket

For Afghanistan’s women cricketers, their first competitive match since escaping oppression in their home country represents a significant step in their sporting journey – although the path ahead may not be the one they envisaged before. Thursday’s T20 against Cricket Without Borders at Junction Oval falls on the same day as the start of the

The fixtures for the fifth season of the Hundred have been announced by the ECB, with the tournament set to open with a double-header between London rivals London Spirit and Oval Invincibles at Lord’s on August 5. Invincibles, the defending men’s champions, and Spirit, the defending women’s champions, are also expected to be the most

Cricket’s global player union has called for the introduction of “basic global protections” to ensure franchise leagues pay players on time. The World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) say that long-standing issues around late payments are “not getting better” but fear that cricket is incapable of “solving transnational issues” under its current structure. Late payments have become

Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva has described his team’s Test schedule this year as “really disappoining”. He believes it is a “big disadvantage” for a team such as Sri Lanka to play as few Tests as they have scheduled this year. Beyond this two-match Australia series, Sri Lanka only have two home Tests against

Geoff Allardice has resigned as chief executive of the ICC after four years in the role, citing a desire to “pursue new challenges”. Allardice was appointed chief executive in November 2021, having taken over on an interim basis eight months previously when his predecessor, Manu Sawhney, was suspended. He has worked at the ICC since

Scotland’s batters offered little resistance in the chase, folding for 58 to hand India a 150-run win. Left-arm spinner Aayushi Shukla ran through the line-up to finish with 4 for 8. Vaishnavi Sharma, another left-arm spinner, also grabbed 3 for 5 in her two-over spell. Trisha, with her legbreak, then cleaned up the tail to

Jason Behrendorff has become the first major free agent signing in the BBL’s new player movement window with Melbourne Renegades securing the left-arm seamer on a three-year deal after Perth Scorchers were not able to guarantee him a contract. Behrendorff, who turns 35 in April, has won four BBL titles with Scorchers over a 13-year

Will Sutherland, the Australia allrounder, has agreed to join Yorkshire as one of their overseas players for the Vitality Blast. The 25-year-old will also be available for two rounds of the County Championship in June/July. Anthony McGrath, Yorkshire’s new head coach, had previously tried to bring in Sutherland when in charge at Essex, only for

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said that batters had to be brave and trust their plans to succeed on the difficult pitches in Multan, after they won the second of two Tests to level the series and also create a little bit of history. This 120-run victory was their first in Pakistan for 34 years.

Matt Kuhnemann admitted he briefly feared his thumb injury could have ended his hopes of touring Sri Lanka but both he and Steven Smith completed full training sessions on the squad’s arrival in Galle for the Test series. Australia’s premier left-arm spinner Kuhnemann is now pain-free after wearing a ball on his non-bowling hand playing

Durbar Rajshahi’s overseas players have refused to play their BPL game against Rangpur Riders in Dhaka on Sunday over the franchise’s non-payment of dues. When captain Taskin Ahmed was asked about changes in the playing XI by TV commentator Danny Morrison at the toss, he confirmed their absence. “We have few changes. Four or five.

Vidarbha complete stunning come-from-behind win Vidarbha overturned a 100-run deficit to clinch a stunning 221-run win over Rajasthan in Jaipur to assure themselves of a knockouts berth from Group B. Their fifth outright win in six games was set up by Akshay Wadkar, the captain, who struck a combative second-innings century after they’d been effectively

Lunch West Indies 163 and 129 for 5 (Greaves 5*, Noman 4-59) lead Pakistan 154 by 138 runs West Indies produced perhaps the best batting performance of the series, led by a half-century from their captain Kraigg Brathwaite, to take control of the second Test, taking lunch at 129 for 5. A 50-run opening partnership

India 166 for 8 (Tilak 72*, Washington 26, Carse 3-29) beat England 165 for 9 (Buttler 45, Carse 31, Axar 2-32, Varun 2-38) by two wickets India are used to their No. 3 sealing tense chases in limited-overs cricket. With the legendary one retired from T20Is, the new one shepherded India to a 2-0 lead

In their quest to spin oppositions out, Pakistan ended up with a pitch that produced 20 wickets on day one. Against West Indies in the second Test in Multan, Noman Ali bagged 6 for 41 and on the way became the first Pakistan spinner to bag a Test hat-trick. West Indies were bowled out for

Australia win toss, bat vs England Australia have won the toss and chosen to bat first in the third and final T20I of the Women’s Ashes at Adelaide Oval. The home side is poised to enter next week’s day-night Test at the MCG with a white-ball whitewash if they can win this game, having swept

Harry Brook, England’s vice-captain, says that his team’s hopes of combatting India’s spin bowlers in the first T20I were hampered by an unusual but familiar foe to English touring sides – a thick layer of smog hanging over the ground in Kolkata. Brook made 17 from 14 balls before being bowled by a wrong’un from

Hasan Ali, the Pakistan fast bowler, has agreed a return to Warwickshire to play all formats for the club in 2025. He is expected to be available from the start of the T20 Blast in May through to the end of September. Hasan, 30, has not played since suffering an elbow injury during his stint