Author: Tahir
Australia still have two games left in the current cycle – against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka later this month. But even a 0-2 loss there would not be enough for either of India or Sri Lanka to displace them in the top two on the WTC table. For the record, even if Sri Lanka win the two-Test series 2-0, they will finish on 53.85 percentage points while Australia, currently on 63.73%, will finish on 57.02%. India, who needed a win in Sydney to stay in contention, have ended the current cycle on 50%. The only way Australia can lose…
Big pictureThe attempt to give this Test series context may ironically have stripped some from this Test match, especially as far as South Africa are concerned. The hosts have already qualified for the World Test Championship final after beating Pakistan by two wickets in Centurion, and as such, don’t necessarily have a bigger picture to play for. However, they have won eight consecutive Test matches at home against Pakistan, and never not won a home series against them since the turn of the century, and in that bilateral context, there remains plenty to play for.In the days since South Africa…
Australia’s 3-1 series victory over India was comfortable in the end but there were moments when they were severely tested. Jasprit Bumrah was the major headache for Australia and the pitches overall were difficult for batting. There were some strong performances from some incumbents but others were not terribly influential. The bench strength was a major factor in the wins in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. Here are some of the key takeaways from the series with an eye towards the upcoming Sri Lanka tour, the World Test Championship final, a tour of the West Indies and the Ashes next summer.How…
India’s regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur and fast bowler Renuka Singh have been rested for the three ODIs against Ireland, set to begin on January 10 in Rajkot. Smriti Mandhana has been named captain in Harmanpreet’s absence, while Deepti Sharma is the vice-captain.Raghvi Bist and Sayali Satghare have been called up for the series, while the likes of Arundhati Reddy, Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav continue to miss out. Bist recently made her T20I debut in the T20I series against West Indies in Navi Mumbai in December last year, where she played two games and made scores of 5 and 31.…
Mitchell Marsh, who was dropped for the final Test against India, is in line to play his first BBL match for nearly three years after being added to Perth Scorchers’ squad to face Melbourne Renegades at Optus Stadium on Tuesday.Quick bowler Jhye Richardson has also been made available for a BBL return having been part of the Test squad for the final two matches of the Border-Gavaskar series.Availability of other Test players will be confirmed in the coming days, but Travis Head has effectively confirmed he won’t be featuring for Adelaide Strikers.”I’m wrecked,” Head told Fox Cricket at the SCG…
Afghanistan 157 (Rashid 25, Raza 3-30, Nyamhuri 3-42) and 363 (Rahmat 139, Alam 101, Muzarabani 6-95) beat Zimbabwe 243 (Ervine 75, Raza 61, Rashid 4-94) and 205 (Ervine 53, Rashid 7-66, Zia 2-44) by 72 runsIt had to be Rashid Khan. After starring in each of Afghanistan’s previous three Test wins – in Dehradun, Chattogram and Abu Dhabi – he wrapped Zimbabwe up with a match haul of 11 for 160 in Bulawayo. That included career-best figures of 7 for 66 in the second innings, with expectations of a thrilling finish being quashed only 15 deliveries into the final morning.…
Ben Stokes, England’s Test captain, has described himself as “the Bionic Man” after undergoing scheduled surgery on his torn left hamstring.Stokes, 33, suffered a recurrence of the injury while bowling during England’s third Test against New Zealand in December, having first torn his hamstring while batting for Northern Superchargers against Manchester Originals in the men’s Hundred in August.That initial injury kept him out of action for two months, meaning that he missed England’s home Test series against Sri Lanka. He later admitted that his race to get fit in time for the team’s winter assignments in Pakistan and New Zealand…
Australian T20 legend Dan Christian has come out of retirement and to the rescue of the BBL’s injury-hit Sydney Thunder.The 41-year-old allrounder last played professionally for Sydney Sixers two summers ago and has since served as an assistant coach at Thunder.Christian has not played a professional match of cricket since Sixers’ BBL12 semi-final loss to the Brisbane Heat but has been keeping fit with UNSW in the NSW Premier Cricket competition.He will join an elite club of players to feature in the BBL in their 40s that includes Brad Hogg, Brad Hodge, Peter Siddle, Fawad Ahmed and the late Shane…
Devajit Saikia and Prabhtej Singh Bhatia will be elected unopposed as BCCI secretary and treasurer, respectively, on January 12, as the only two names featuring in the final list of contesting candidates.The list of contesting candidates was prepared by the BCCI electoral officer and former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Achal Kumar Joti, on Tuesday.The window to file the nominations ended last week while the deadline to withdraw nominations ended at 2pm on Tuesday. Since there were no withdrawals, the electoral officer published the list of contesting candidates at 5pm on Tuesday.The election will be held on the sidelines of…
Brisbane Heat 174 for 5 (Bryant 72, Renshaw 48*, Ferguson 2-21) beat Sydney Thunder 173 for 8 (Warner 50, Christian 23*, Johnson 3-39, Neser 2-25) by five wicketsDan Christian rewound the clock in his first match since coming out of retirement, but Matt Renshaw and Max Bryant produced a blistering century partnership to lift Brisbane Heat over Sydney Thunder in a pivotal BBL result.Chasing 174 at the Gabba, Heat were in big trouble at 43 for 3 before Bryant and Renshaw combined for a belligerent 108-run partnership to turn the match on its head. Bryant smashed 72 off 35 balls,…