New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum expected to wake up on Thursday feeling "a bit dusty", hopefully with his cricket gear still intact rather than ceremonially burnt to a cinder and looking ahead to not doing a lot.
Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja reduced Australia's victory target to 131 runs with nine wickets in hand at the end of the fourth day of the second Test against New Zealand at Hagley Oval on Tuesday.
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Australia's Ryan Harris has moved up two places to second following his six wickets against India in the fourth Test at MCG.
'Ramadan is a time when people join forces in pursuit of hope, tolerance and peace. It is in this spirit that we come together tonight for Iftaar, the traditional Ramadan meal that breaks the daily fast,'
Rajneesh Gupta gives all the numbers in another record breaking day in the skipper's career.
Pakistan has slipped from second to fourth position in the ICC Test Team Rankings after its 2-0 loss to New Zealand in their two-match series which culminated with a 138-run verdict in Hamilton on Tuesday. Pakistan, which went into the series with 109 points in the team rankings led by India (115), is now on 102 points and tied with South Africa but ahead on decimal points. England and Australia are both on 105 points with England ahead on decimal points.
Hanuma Vihari said he won't mind taking up the opener's role if the team management asks after India's inexperienced opening options were technically exposed by a second-string New Zealand XI attack on the opening day of the warm-up game in Hamilton, on Friday. Coming in at No. 6, Vihari scored a hundred but Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill were dismissed early, undone by the extra bounce and seam movement during the match against New Zealand XI.
Shubman Gill's stellar show for India A in the recently-concluded two-match unofficial Test series against New Zealand is an indicator that he is ready for Test debut, believes senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Shubman had scores of 83 and 204 not out batting in middle-order in the first unofficial Test for India A and then scored a hundred while opening the batting in the second game, showing his versatility at different slots. Prithvi Shaw, back in the Test squad after 16 months, is also a contender in the playing XI with his equally dazzling repertoire of strokes.
'I think as a nation we all aged a year in that super over. I feel nothing but pride. What a team'
Persistent rain forced the abandonment of the first day's play of the first cricket Test between New Zealand and Pakistan at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday. Play had been expected to begin at 1100 (2200 GMT), but heavy rain overnight ensured it did not begin as scheduled. While groundstaff, who had said earlier they would need two hours to prepare the venue once rain stopped, worked to prepare the ground during brief interludes of fine weather throughout the day, umpires decided at their second pitch inspection at 1600 there was no chance of any play.
Earlier this month, ECB managing director Ashley Giles had said that cricketers will be provided "mental health screening" before they commit to any further tours.
Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle faces a "significant" stint on the sidelines after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back, the country's cricket board said on Thursday. The 31-year-old played in the first test against New Zealand in Wellington but was ruled out of the second match in Christchurch due to back problems. Siddle, who has played 61 tests for Australia and taken 208 wickets, returned to Melbourne on Monday for scans. "Unfortunately those scans have indicated a stress fracture in his lower back," Cricket Australia physio David Beakley said in a statement. "He will now require a significant amount of time away from the game with a lengthy rehabilitation process.
India captain Virat Kohli shot up 10 slots to reach a career-high fourth position in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen after producing a man of the match performance in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam.
West Indies batsman Darren Bravo will be sent home from the World Cup after failing to recover from a hamstring injury sustained in the second match of the campaign, a team spokesman said on Friday.
Australia captain Steven Smith and his team have been warned about risks associated with the Zika virus ahead of their tour of the West Indies next month.
Former ESPN Star Sports MD Sawhney has already been working alongside outgoing Chief Executive Richardson for the last six weeks to ensure a smooth transition.
K N Prabhu, the doyen of cricket writers, salutes Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, who appeared for the first time in Test cricket 50 years ago today, March 6, 1971.
England's batsmen must try and emulate Moeen Ali's carefree approach if the team are to have any chance of lifting the World Cup, according to former captain Nasser Hussain.
Brendon McCullum gave the cricket World Cup an explosive opening, scoring a blazing 65, as New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 98 runs on Saturday.
Chief selector Moin Khan, recalled from the World Cup for visiting a casino, returned to Pakistan to a hostile reception as cricket fans staged angry demonstrations on Thursday.
Brendon McCullum, who led New Zealand through an exhilarating two years of success, will retire from international cricket in February after the two-Test series against Australia, the 34-year-old batsman said on Tuesday.
India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said criticism that the team does not play the short-ball well does not hold merit.
New Zealand pacers Tim Southee and Neil Wagner wrecked havoc to leave Pakistan reeling at the end of Day Two of the second Test here at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on Saturday. Both Southee and Wagner ripped through Pakistan's batting line-up to leave the visitors in tatters at 76 for 5 at stumps, still 195 runs short of hosts' first innings total of 271.
As we wave goodbye to 2019, we look back at the highlights of the year, in the numbers that made it memorable.
Fast bowler Adam Milne won the battle for the final pace bowling spot in New Zealand's cricket World Cup squad named on Thursday.
New Zealand opening batsman Martin Guptill has been dropped for the Test series against Pakistan and the uncapped Jeet Raval is poised to make his debut.
Jasprit Bumrah doesn't want to indulge in a 'blame game' which he believes is an exercise in futility. He had copped a bit of criticism for his dry spell in the ODI series as well as the first Test but Bumrah said that he doesn't bother as long as he knows that he is bowling well.
James Pattinson has been recalled to Australia' starting side for the second Test against New Zealand on Saturday, replacing his injured Victorian team mate Peter Siddle.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Wednesday declared a national state of emergency confirming the death toll at 75 following the devastating earthquake that led to massive buildings and property damage around the country's second-largest city of Christchurch.
A strong earthquake struck the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch on Tuesday, bringing down buildings, power and phone lines.
It is necessary manage the workload of bowlers considering the tight schedule of the ongoing Indian Premier League
New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has been ruled out of the three-match Test series in India with an ankle injury and will be replaced by paceman Matt Henry.
Prithvi Shaw, who last played for India in October 2018, returns to the side after Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the ODI and Test series due to a left calf muscle strain.
China's reported move to construct two more nuclear power plants in Pakistan was expected to be discussed at the 46-member Nuclear Supplies Group's five-day meeting at Christchurch, New Zealand last month.
Rescuers pulled out more bodies from the debris in their grim search for the missing in a quake-devastated Christchurch where death toll mounted to 113, and incidents of theft and looting were also reported.
Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar's willow fetched the highest bid of Rs 42 lakh at a glittering sports auction in Mumbai that saw personal items donated by 25 top sportspersons from the country and overseas go under the hammer.
Chris Jordan's all-around brilliance could not prevent New Zealand from securing a series-levelling 21-run victory over England in the second Twenty20 International of the five-match series on Sunday.
In a career of cross-roads, the 29-year-old feared he had reached a dead end some 20 months ago, when he suffered a fourth back stress fracture that ruled him out of the 2017/18 series on home soil.
The implication of this stiff stance by China towards Pakistan could have far reaching consequences for the gains achieved in India-China relations including from last year's Copenhagen dividend and the high-level visits between the two, writes Srikanth Kondapalli.
