Cricket

Travis Head believes that opening the batting in Test cricket was a “specialist job” as he ruled himself out of contention to replace David Warner. Having powered Australia to an ODI World Cup triumph with spectacular batting at the top of the order, Head presented a potentially intriguing option to succeed Warner who is set

India 130 for 5 (Mandhana 48, Rodrigues 29, Kemp 2-24) beat England 126 (Knight 52, Patil 3-19, Ishaque 3-22) by five wickets India’s new spin pair of Shreyanka Patil and Saika Ishaque and an improved batting performance led them to a consolation victory in the third and final T20I against England at the Wankhede Stadium.

The second edition of the Women’s Premier League will take place in “one state” of India, starting from the “second or third week” of February. BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed as much on Saturday, talking to journalists after the WPL auction in Mumbai. “It is decided that we will have the tournament in February,” he

New Zealand allrounder Glenn Phillips said that he shared his batting mantra with Mitchell Santner before their crucial seventh-wicket partnership took shape in the Dhaka Test. The visitors had slumped to 69 for 6 chasing 137 runs on the fourth afternoon against Bangladesh before Santner and Phillips got together to rescue the side. The pair

A batting-friendly Wankhede surface. Shorter boundaries. At the pitch report, the broadcasters said it should be a “belter”. But a great display of control and adaptability from England’s bowlers – and misjudgements from India’s batters – took all of that out of equation. It was a case of India’s batters being indecisive on a pitch

The uncapped Indian pair of Kashvee Gautam and Vrinda Dinesh walked away with top honours at the WPL auction in Mumbai, attracting bids of INR 2 crore (Gujarat Giants) and INR 1.3 crore (UP Warriorz) respectively. Australia allrounder Annabel Sutherland was the most expensive overseas player, attracting the auction’s joint-highest bid at INR 2 crore,

Adam Zampa is still feeling the physical effects of Australia’s World Cup campaign but hopes a slightly more forgiving BBL schedule will help him get back into top shape. Zampa battled injuries and illness early in the World Cup before bouncing back in emphatic style with three consecutive four-wicket hauls and a tournament record-equaling tally

Big picture – Final throes for 50-overs in 2023 Ding and then dong. Punch and then counterpunch. The series set up for a decider in Bridgetown. England found their feet after being wobbled in the first game but West Indies can still come back off the ropes with the aim of landing a knockout blow

Defending 121, Strikers’ left-arm spinner picked up a hat-trick in the first over of the innings, dismissing Andries Gous, Dewald Brevis and Ibrahim Zadran, to leave Samp Army reeling at 1 for 3. In his second over, he removed the opposition captain Faf du Plessis and Najibullah Zadran in space of three balls to further

Alyssa Healy has declared herself a near-certain starter for Australia’s Test against India in Mumbai. The star wicketkeeper-batter missed all-but one match of the WBBL after badly hurting her finger while trying to break up a fight between her two dogs. Healy has returned to training and is preparing to face India at the famous

Zimbabwe chose to bowl against Ireland Zimbabwe asked Ireland to bat in the first T20I in Harare as they look to bounce back after failing to qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Middle-order batter Brian Bennett and fast bowler Trevor Gwandu, who earned maiden call-ups for the series, have been handed their debuts. Allrounder

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club have confirmed they are exploring the possibility of selling their historic home ground in Bristol, and moving to a bespoke stadium outside of the city. The Nevil Road Ground in central Bristol has been Gloucestershire’s base since 1889, when the land was gifted to the club by WG Grace, and has

Matthew Short, last season’s player of the tournament in the BBL, has been named Adelaide Strikers’ new captain. Short takes over permanently from Travis Head having stood in for him last season. He scored 458 runs and claimed 11 wickets in the 2022-23 edition of the tournament and has since made his T20I and ODIs

England 197 for 6 (Sciver-Brunt 77, Wyatt 75, Renuka 3-27) beat India 159 for 6 (Shafali 52, Ecclestone 3-15) by 38 runs Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt pulled England from the peril of 2 for 2 to give their side a 1-0 lead in the T20I series against India. Both scored rapid half-centuries in a

He was dismissed in the 41st over, after defending a delivery from Kyle Jamieson into the ground and then swatting the ball away with his right hand after it had bounced up wide outside off stump. New Zealand appealed immediately and it was upheld by the TV umpire Ahsan Raza. “A cricketer who has played

A new-look BBL will begin on Thursday with a reduced 40-game regular season although the squeeze on marquee talent continues to be a challenge. We run the rule over how each side could go. You can read part one here. Squads as of December 6 and subject to change Melbourne Stars Squad Scott Boland, Joe

Big picture – England in a rum spot (again) Talk about another bloody day in paradise. England arrived in Antigua looking to launch a new chapter for their one-day cricket, after the disappointment of the World Cup, but were instead given a reboot up the backside by a feisty West Indies batting display, led by

The ECB have consulted with owners of IPL franchises, private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds on the prospect of investment in the Hundred, and want counties to reach a decision on its future in the early months of the 2024 season. The Hundred’s existing model features eight clubs which field both men’s and women’s