Cricket

Australia 123 for 4 (Labuschagne 41*, Jadeja 2-25) and 469 lead India 296 (Rahane 89, Shardul 51, Cummins 3-83) by 296 runs India hung in admirably on the third day of the WTC final through fighting runs from Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur and a better bowling effort than in the first innings, but by

Hazlewood was withdrawn from Australia’s World Test Championship (WTC) squad after it was decided he was not quite ready following his truncated IPL, from which he returned home with some side soreness although he was later cleared of any injury. He was said to be “very close” to being available and is on track for

Toss: UAE opted to bat vs West Indies UAE won the toss and opted to take first strike in the third ODI in Sharjah in their quest to avert a 3-0 sweep. Having already wrapped up the series, West Indies made a number of changes, including resting their designated captain Shai Hope. Allrounder Roston Chase

Learning to construct a 50-over innings was Tristan Stubbs‘ chief takeaway from South Africa A’s series victory over Sri Lanka A, which was completed with a five-wicket win in Kandy. Stubbs was South Africa A’s highest run-scorer, and the only one to record two half-centuries, and hopes the experience will put him in good stead

As Steven Smith struck his 31st Test hundred against India on day two of the World Test Championship final at The Oval, England vice-captain Ollie Pope could only but admire the Australian’s class. Ominous signs ahead of the Ashes? No doubt. But for a player with a Test average of 59.55 in these conditions –

New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne has been offered an NZC central contract for the first time in five years, as the board announced 20 names as part of the list for the 2023-24 period. The 31-year-old quick returned to the national side’s set-up last October after almost a year out, although he had represented

The PCB is weighing up options to postpone the home series against West Indies, slated for February and March in 2024, which is clashing with the next edition of PSL. The PCB has also requested the Emirates Cricket Board to pull back their ILT20 league by ten days to avoid overlapping Pakistan, according to ICC’s

This World Test Championship final is Australia’s 20th Test match in the two-year cycle. Four of their players have appeared in all the games. Travis Head has been part of 18 of them. One of his absences was due to Covid in Sydney during the 2021-22 Ashes, but the other was when he was dropped.

Did India fall into the trap of picking an attack that works only for the first innings at the WTC final? Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, certainly thinks so. Ponting said on television commentary that the dryness underneath the surface, which had more than just a sprinkling of live grass, would have brought him

Yorkshire 156 for 7 (Wiese 50*, Rehan 3-21) beat Leicestershire 126 (Mulder 46, Thompson 5-21) by 30 runs Beaten in their opening three North Group fixtures, Yorkshire Vikings extended the turnaround in their Vitality Blast campaign to four wins from four, defeating Leicestershire Foxes by 30 runs after the home side were bowled out for

Hampshire Hawks 164 for 6 (McDermott 47, Hollman 2-12) beat Middlesex 159 for 7 (Holden 53, Higgins 43, Turner 3-30) by five runs Hampshire seamer John Turner starred with three wickets on his Vitality Blast debut as the defending champions recorded their third straight win, holding off rock-bottom Middlesex at Radlett. The 22-year-old captured the

There were times when Pat Cummins thought playing one more Test was beyond him, but as he prepares for his 50th game, the Australia captain hopes he can double that tally before his career finishes and aims to feature in all six on this tour of England. In the World Test Championship final against India,

Moeen Ali is considering a return to Test cricket for the Ashes. The offspinning allrounder, who retired from the format at the end of the 2021 summer, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he has been approached by the England management to answer a mayday call after Jack Leach was ruled out of the five-match series with

“The hype not being there might be a good thing.” With that comment, India head coach Rahul Dravid ended his media conference on Monday. The relative absence of the hype, Dravid felt, could be an advantage for India as they get ready to contest their second World Test Championship final, starting on Wednesday, against Australia.

Fourteen out of the 15 India players who feature in the World Test Championship (WTC) final were active in the IPL, which coursed through April and May at high intensity. Only two of the Australians – David Warner and Cameron Green – featured in the IPL, while Michael Neser, Steven Smith, Marcus Harris and Marnus

The shock news that Jack Leach has been ruled out of the Ashes is a significant blow to England’s preparations, depriving them of a spinner who has flourished under Ben Stokes’ leadership, and who has bought into the so-called “Bazball” ethos with his willingness to bowl to attacking fields, and accept the risk of some

England spinner Jack Leach has been ruled out of the men’s Ashes after scans revealed he had suffered a lumbar stress fracture. Leach developed “low back symptoms” during the Test victory over Ireland at Lord’s and he will now miss the entire series against Australia. Leach was among in the 16-man squad for the first

Toss Sri Lanka chose to bat vs Afghanistan Sri Lanka made four changes as they won the toss and elected to bat first in a must-win second ODI against Afghanistan. Trailing 1-0 in the three-match series, the hosts brought in Sadeera Samarawickrama, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana and Dushmantha Chameera. Making way were Angelo Mathews, Dushan