Cricket

11:01 PM IST Babar Azam, Pakistan’s new ODI captain, has likened the challenge of facing down Covid-19 to the decade-long absence of international cricket in his country. Until last year, Pakistan were forced to play home internationals overseas as a result of the 2009 terrorist attack and, with the prospect of matches being staged behind

9:08 PM IST An audit into the financial problems affecting West Indies cricket has found a “massive hole” in its coffers and, according to board president, Ricky Skerritt, sounded “an alarm bell” for its future. The report, compiled by external and independent auditors PKF, suggests Cricket West Indies (CWI) has suffered from overly optimistic revenue

1:10 PM IST Bangladesh bowling coach Ottis Gibson has urged Mashrafe Mortaza to retire from international cricket as he doesn’t see the bowler in head coach Russell Domingo’s plans for the 2023 World Cup. Mortaza, who stepped down from captaincy during Bangladesh’s last home series, against Zimbabwe in February, hasn’t made any announcements about retirement

11:20 PM IST On Sunday, the Indian government relaxed restrictions on sporting events, allowing them to resume behind closed doors in the country, and as far as cricket is concerned, it means the IPL could take place in 2020. The BCCI welcomed the government’s decision, but said it was premature to think about the IPL

4:22 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff The PCB is “very optimistic” about the operational plans being put into place for this summer’s tour of England by Pakistan and has reached an agreement in principle after ECB assurances, as elite-level cricket plots a re-start after months of worldwide lockdown. The two boards held a meeting on Friday

10:36 AM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Chris Gayle has avoided sanction for his public criticism of Ramnaresh Sarwan and other Jamaica Tallawahs personnel, after the CPL Tournament Committee (CTC) said in a media release on Friday that it was satisfied with the batsman’s statement, even though he stood by his comments – calling Sarwan a “snake”

The closed net facilities in Victoria Park, London © Andrew Miller Club cricketers in England will be permitted to return to the nets for outdoor practice under strictly limited conditions, according to new guidance from the ECB, issued in the wake of the UK government’s partial lifting of the Covid-19 lockdown. The new measures apply

3:45 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff India coach Ravi Shastri believes cricket should look at keeping world events on hold and instead prioritise domestic and bilateral cricket to get players back in the groove once sport resumes. Looking at it from India’s perspective, he prefers the IPL and bilaterals to take precedence once the federal government

May 15, 2020 ESPNcricinfo staff The COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic has led to the start of the English season being put back until at least July 1, and left many counties facing a potentially damaging shortfall in finances. Most are expected to take advantage of the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme. How has your club

11:53 AM IST Over the next week or so, professional cricketers around Australia will dig out their kit bags and embark on a lengthy pre-season, which will likely have a very different feel from the usual as sport adapts to the new normal following the Covid-19 pandemic. The centrally contracted Australia players come off annual

2:05 AM IST Alex Hepburn, the former Worcestershire allrounder, has launched an appeal against his conviction for rape last year. The appeal is scheduled to be heard in London on June 4. Hepburn was sentenced to five years in prison in April 2019 after his conviction on one count of oral rape after a retrial

11:01 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Devon Conway, the South Africa-born batsman, has been offered a New Zealand central contract for the first time, alongside seamer Kyle Jamieson and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel. Conway, 28, was cleared by the ICC to represent New Zealand in March and will be eligible for selection from August onwards. He

6:33 PM IST England’s men’s players will move one step closer to a return to international cricket next week, when they resume training in controlled environments at a range of venues across the country. The announcement comes in the wake of official government advice, published on Wednesday, which set out the safety protocols and social

9:03 AM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Alyssa Healy is concerned at the prospect of a reduction in Women’s Big Bash and National Cricket League matches, saying it could widen the divide between international and domestic players. Amid Cricket Australia’s financial battles due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all domestic cricket is set to come under pressure and

Play 01:53 Buttler: Sport, in the grand scheme of things, has not been important for a while The return of international cricket came a step closer on Wednesday, as the UK government outlined its plans for a resumption of training as the nation comes to terms with its ‘new normal’. In the hope of both

7:47 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Yuvraj Singh believes Hardik Pandya has the potential to become a “massive asset” for India by the 2023 World Cup, subject to the latter working on his temperament. Yuvraj said Hardik was a “phenomenal” talent and only one of the two current batsmen, along with his Indian teammate KL Rahul,

Play 01:50 Zampa: Spin is being taken out of the game Adam Zampa believes that Australia holding the No.1-ranking in T20Is for the first time is the reward for giving the format the attention it needs. Although Australia’s climb to the top was in part due to the ICC’s annual update of their rankings –

7:37 PM IST Chris Gayle‘s disparaging remarks against his former franchise Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is likely to earn him some sort of sanction. Such a sanction, Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt hinted, would be in order because Gayle probably brought “disrepute” to the league, which a contracted player cannot