South Africa captain AB de Villiers became the fastest man to score 9,000 one-day international runs as he led his side to a 159-run victory over New Zealand in the third one-day international on Saturday.
Former New Zealand fast bowler Shane bond reckons all teams will now identify Jasprit Bumrah, who went wicket-less in the just-concluded T20I series, 'as a risk and attack others'.
Brendon McCullum had possibly the easiest day of his Test captaincy on Friday but still agonised over asking West Indies to follow-on in the wake of criticism of his decision to do so last week in the drawn first Test.
Kane Williamson completed his second half-century of the match to take New Zealand to an eight-wicket victory in the third and final Test against West Indies and seal the series 2-0 after lunch on the fourth day on Sunday in Hamilton.
The 24-year-old wicketkeeper injured the index finger on his right hand while fielding in South Africa's eight-wicket win in the second Test in Wellington and underwent scans earlier this week.
India and New Zealand will fight it out for the inaugural title at Southampton's Ageas Bowl
Heavy overnight rain ended New Zealand's hopes of winning the third Test against South Africa and levelling the series at 1-1 on Wednesday when the final day in Hamilton was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
The Pune outfit is presently languishing at the sixth spot in the eight-team standings with just four points.
The squad will then be trimmed to 15 for the ICC World Test Championship final against India at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton starting on June 18, as per ICC regulations.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Dean Elgar made the most of being dropped early in his innings to score his seventh Test century and anchor South Africa's 229 for four at the close of play on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand in Dunedin on Wednesday.
Stung by an improved New Zealand the other night, a wary India would like to quickly get their house in order when they square off with Kane Williamson's boys in the third ODI in Mohali on Sunday. While the six-run defeat in Delhi has given India plenty to ponder about, it has also renewed interest in the contest which had been dominated by the home team prior to Thursday, stretching from the one-sided Test series to the first ODI in Dharamsala. From the New Zealand point of view, a victory was all that they needed after a string of deflating defeats. As a result of their first win on Indian soil in 13 years, one can expect a certain spring in the stride of the visitors when they take the field at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Denesh Ramdin rebuilt West Indies' first innings with a 200-run partnership to guide their side to 289 for six at the close of play on the first day of the third and final Test against New Zealand on Thursday.
England may have been utterly humiliated in their second World Cup pool match against co-hosts New Zealand but Sunday's nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka was much more damaging, according to former England captain Mike Atherton.
Daryl Mitchell's superb unbeaten half-century fired New Zealand into their first ever ICC men's T20 World Cup final at England's expense following a thrilling semi-final in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
A rejuvenated Mitchell Johnson needs only one victim to become Australia's third-highest Test wicket-taker but will hope for a bigger haul at his home ground in Perth, where New Zealand will be fighting to keep the three-match series alive.
Opener David Warner put New Zealand's bowlers to the sword with a masterful 163 and Usman Khawaja scored his maiden Test century as Australia dominated the opening day of the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, on Thursday.
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has told his fast bowlers to welcome the Indian batsmen with aggression when they clash in the five-match ODI series, starting in Napier on Sunday.
Pace bowler Jackson Bird has been recalled by Australia for the first Test against New Zealand after James Pattinson was deemed not quite ready to stand up to the rigours of a full workload, captain Steve Smith said on Thursday.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan believes the Lahore Lions' successful participation in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 will open the Indian Premier League doors for the country's players.
England trail New Zealand's first innings by 69 runs but need to survive the remaining 31 overs in the final session to stop the hosts from taking a 1-0 lead in the two match series.
Premier New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson showed his prowess in shortest format as his smashing innings powered Northern Knights to a convincing seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka's Southern Express in a rain-curtailed opening game of the Champions League T20 in Raipur.
Swing and seam friendly conditions, a lack of truly scary Australian bowlers and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's retirement are all themes that will resonate when the first Test gets underway in Wellington on Friday.
What went wrong for India in the World Test Championship Final against New Zealand?
Alastair Cook was always destined to break batting records and it was no surprise that he became England's Test run-scorer on Saturday, beating the record of his mentor and great friend Graham Gooch.
Australia returned to the top of the Test world rankings on Wednesday after Steve Smith and Adam Voges steered the tourists to victory in the second Test against New Zealand to seal a comprehensive 2-0 series win.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson would have liked to have had more Test cricket this season after series victories over West Indies and England in the four red-ball matches they were able to host.
Luke Ronchi and Grant Elliott put on a world record 267-run partnership as New Zealand recovered from 93-5 to thump Sri Lanka by 108 runs in the fifth One-Day International in Dunedin on Friday.
New Zealand's pacemen struck back with two late wickets under the floodlights at Adelaide Oval but Australia's bowlers basked in the sun as the inaugural day-night Test opened on Friday.
Colin Munro blasted a quickfire half-century as New Zealand pipped India by four runs in a high-scoring thriller to win the three-match T20 International 2-1, in Hamilton, on Sunday.
Deepak Chahar is the first Indian bowler ever to hold the record of best bowling figures in any format of international cricket (Test/ODI/T20I), points out Rajneesh Gupta.
Vibrant New Zealand deserve all the plaudits.
The focus will be on K L Rahul and Vijay Shankar, contenders for the number four slot, in the World Cup warm up match against New Zealand, in London, on Saturday.
Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma struck scintillating half-centuries during a record 158-run partnership and powered India to a formidable 202 for three.
Some of their bowling and fielding frailties exposed in the series-opener, India will aim for quick course correction when they take on a resurgent New Zealand in a must-win second ODI, in Auckland, on Saturday. India find themselves in a familiar situation after the loss in Hamilton. But the visitors have come from behind against the West Indies and Australia to win their last two ODI series and Virat Kohli's men will aim to do the same against the Kiwis.
In a tight season for India, the first T20 comes only five days after their last ODI against Australia at home.
India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of ICC's ODI Team of the Year, but none of the Indian players found berth in governing body's Test Team of the Year, led by Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews.
Mumbai Indians' hopes of starting Indian Premier League's season 10 well got a boost with information received that West Indies T20 specialists, Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons, would reach in time for their lung-opener against Rising Pune Giant on April 6.
India are yet to finalise their middle-order ahead of the World Cup but are unlikely to tinker much with the playing eleven for Friday's second ODI in Mount Maunganui.
The auction ahead of the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League had in store something on expected lines and some surprises. Here's a look at the top buys after the first round.
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