Cricket

Australia 318 and 262 (Marsh 96, Carey 53, Smith 50, Hamza 4-32, Afridi 4-76) lead Pakistan 264 by 316 runs Under pressure Alex Carey made a half-century as Australia’s lower-order wagged early on day four before being bowled out for 262 in their second innings with a lead of 316 runs in the Boxing Day

India’s Test series in South Africa was being billed as the “final frontier”, but when a team loses the match in 210 overs, questions are bound to be around the preparation. India’s preference for an intra-squad game over a proper first-class match or practice match came into question after their defeat in the first Test

David Warner is expected to miss the white-ball portion of West Indies’ tour of Australia in February as he looks to start maximising his T20 league availability following Test retirement in Sydney next week. Warner is set to play in the BBL for Sydney Thunder after his last Test against Pakistan, although there remains some

Tea Australia 318 and 107 for 4 (Marsh 57*, Smith 26*, Hamza 2-13, Shaheen 2-40) lead Pakistan 264 (Shafique 62, Masood 54, Cummins 5-48, Lyon 4-73) by 161 runs Abdullah Shafique reprieved in-form Mitchell Marsh at first slip to dent Pakistan’s charge on the third day as Australia recovered from a calamitous top-order collapse in

South Africa 256 for 5 (Elgar 140*, Bedingham 56, Bumrah 2-48) lead India 245 (Rahul 101, Rabada 5-59) by 11 runs If there is one shot a batter must master, its Dean Elgar‘s play and miss. More so if they harbour dreams of opening the batting. It really is a life-saver and as it turns

Brisbane Heat 172 (McSweeney 73, Sams 5-30) beat Sydney Thunder 157 for 9 (Bancroft 46, Bartlett 3-29) by 15 runs Brisbane Heat defied a horror collapse and a historic Daniel Sams spell to beat the Sydney Thunder by 15 runs and stay unbeaten in the Big Bash League. The hosts were flying on Wednesday at

Tea Pakistan 68 for 1 trail Australia 318 (Labuschagne 63, Jamal 3-64) by 250 runs Opener Abdullah Shafique defied sustained pressure from Australia’s attack on a tricky MCG surface to bat through the middle session on day two as Pakistan continued their fightback in the Boxing Day Test. After bowling Australia out for 318 by

India 208 for 8 (Rahul 70*, Kohli 38, Rabada 5-44) vs South Africa South Africa were poor. India were unlucky. Kagiso Rabada was sublime. KL Rahul was bullish. Thirty-one boundaries were hit. Eight wickets were taken. The stadium was full(ish). The vibe was great. This was Boxing Day with a point to prove. After 59

Temba Bavuma suffered a strain to his left hamstring in the first session of the Boxing Day Test against India, putting his participation in the match in doubt. Bavuma left the field in the 20th over and was sent for a scan soon after. A Cricket South Africa statement said he will “undergo daily medical

Former Australia batter Michael Hussey has cautioned the Australian selectors on picking a makeshift opener as David Warner‘s replacement, saying he would prefer a specialist opener who has dominated Sheffield Shield cricket to be rewarded. Hussey, however, stopped short of naming a candidate. Hussey was speaking ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG

The Afghanistan Cricket Board has sanctioned Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen Ul Haq for “prioritizing their personal interests over playing for Afghanistan,” a board statement said on Monday. The board has therefore delayed their 2024 annual central contracts and also announced no NOCs (no-objection certificates) for the trio for the next two years,

Big picture: India chase history The final frontier. That’s what South Africa has proven to be for India. Since South Africa’s readmission to international cricket, India have made eight Test tours to the country. The closest they came to winning was in 2010-11 when the three-match series ended 1-1. Two years ago, players and experts

It follows a difficult Perth Test for Sarfaraz, particularly with the bat, after he scored seven runs across both innings, struggling particularly against Mitchell Starc’s pace. It’s one of at least three changes Pakistan will make for the second Test at the MCG after they named a 12-man squad, which will be cut to 11

With the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, Gerald Coetzee, Mohammed Siraj, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi and Shardul Thakur – especially after his last series here – in the mix, you would expect the series between South Africa and India to be headlined by bowlers. But South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma has a different idea.

India 406 (Deepti 78, Mandhana 74, Gardner 4-100) and 75 for 2 (Mandhana 38*) beat Australia 219 (McGrath 50, Vastrakar 4-53, Rana 3-56) and 261 (McGrath 73, Rana 4-63) by eight wickets A drama-filled first 75 minutes on the fourth morning ended with Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad spinning Australia out of the only Test

Waqar Younis has voiced his alarm at the lack of pace in Pakistan’s Test attack as they search for a way back into their Test series against Australia. Pakistan were comprehensively beaten by 360 runs, bowled out for 89 in their second innings, and to compound their woes have lost Shahzad, who impressed on debut,

South Africa 316 for 4 (Wolvaardt 126, Brits 118, Rabeya 2-49) beat Bangladesh 100 (Moni 33, de Klerk 3-10 Khaka 3-15, Kapp 2-2-21) by 216 runs South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits forged a record-breaking partnership to give their side a series victory in Benoni. After losing the first ODI by 119 runs,

Pakistan’s bowling absentee list continues to swell, with Noman Ali the latest to be ruled out of the series. He was diagnosed with acute appendicitis after complaining of “sudden and severe” abdominal pain, according to a statement put out by the PCB. Scans confirmed the diagnosis, and he spent Friday night in hospital. Noman underwent