'I'm not sure how happy they are about the term, but they are playing really good cricket, let's be honest about it.'
Ben Stokes responded to former cricketer Steve Harmison's criticism of England's preparation for the upcoming Test series against India.
A fighting century by Brendon McCullum helped New Zealand put up a good fight and hang on after quick wickets in the final session looked to have handed the initiative back to India on the fourth day of the second Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal on Monday. At stumps (after 75 overs), the visitors had made 237 for four, for an overall lead of 115.
'If the ball's hitting the stumps, the ball's hitting the stumps. I think that should take away the umpire's call.'
Brendon McCullum hit an unbeaten 158 off 73 balls as Kolkata Knight Riders trounced Bangalore Royal Challengers by 140 runs in the opening match of the Indian Premier League at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Friday.
Photos of the IPL match being played between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The ICC on Saturday gave a clean chit to Kumar Sangakkara, who was involved in an unsavoury incident with New Zealand all-rounder Nathan McCullum during a tri-series match, saying the Sri Lanka captain was found not guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct.
India were without several frontline players and fielded five debutants in the series.
Captain Brendon McCullum's blistering double hundred and a record 297-run stand with centurion Kane Williamson put New Zealand firmly in control of the third and final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah on Saturday.
Moeen Ali said Chennai Super Kings will always have an edge over their opponents because of the unpredictable strategies of their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Brendon McCullum's unbeaten 94 and skipper Daniel Vettori's 77 helped pull New Zealand off the mat and take a 67 runs lead against Australia at end of fourth day play in Wellington's Basin Reserve.
World champions Australia will hope to round off one of the nation's most successful seasons in cricket with victory in a rare Test series in New Zealand starting at Wellington's Basin Reserve on Thursday.
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.
Prior to the tour, England had won only two Tests in Pakistan and it was their first series win in the country since 2000-2001.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum will skip tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa this year but will return to the side and be available until at least next year's World Twenty20 tournament in India, the country's cricket governing body said on Friday.
One of England's heaviest Test defeats could not shake Ben Stokes' conviction in their high-risk approach and the touring skipper believes they can still win the five-Test series in India.
Brendon McCullum's inspirational captaincy has lifted New Zealand and the flamboyant batsman should continue leading the side in all three formats at least until next year's World Twenty20, former captain Stephen Fleming said.
Captain Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum kept New Zealand's slim hopes of scoring 401 runs to beat South Africa in the first Test alive after they helped the hosts reach 137 for two at the close of the fourth day's play at University Oval in Dunedin on Saturday.
Captain Brendan McCullum smashed his fourth One-day International century off 79 balls as New Zealand completed a sweep of their three-match series against Zimbabwe with a 202-run victory at McLean Park in Napier on Thursday.
Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 71 after Mohit Sharma's heroics with the ball to guide Chennai Super Kings to a comfortable seven wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match in Dubai.
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum has revealed before a court in London that he felt shocked when his idol, Chris Cairns, approached him regarding fixing a match.
Heaving a sigh of relief after his team tasted their first victory in the second Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Brendon McCullum on Tuesday said no ground is big enough for Chris Gayle when he gets going. After the defeat against the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in their tournament opener, the Knight Riders took their match against Kings XI Punjab as an opportunity to shrug off the setback and bounce back.
Skipper Ben Stokes expressed pride in how England have fought toe to toe with India despite not having 'a chance in hell of competing' with the hosts.
Brendon McCullum smashed a century and Scott Styris picked up three wickets to lead New Zealand to a 64-run win over Pakistan in the second One-Day International on Friday. Powered on by opener McCullum's 131, New Zealand posted 303 for eight and then bowled out Pakistan for 239 runs in 47.2 overs to square the three-match series at 1-1.
Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel pulled off a nervy chase as India beat England by five wickets in the fourth Test on Monday to claim an unassailable 3-1 lead.
New Zealand Cricket have promised to support Brendon McCullum after former Test all-rounder Chris Cairns was acquitted of perjury in London despite evidence given against him by the Black Caps captain.
The two New Zealand players have been asked to explain their reactions after being dismissed in the second ODI against Australia.
Brendon McCullum said he can only marvel at Daniel Vettori's contribution to the game.
New Zealand started their World Twenty20 campaign on a positive note, beating England by nine runs via Duckworth-Lewis method in a Group 1 league match that was called off following heavy rain and thunder storm, at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, on Saturday.
His retirement will leave a hole at the top of New Zealand's batting order in limited-overs matches, while it could also change the way they approach games in future.
Brendon McCullum hoped his winning the Sportsman of the Year award would give his team mates a massive boost.
India A bowlers got a taste of the 'Bazball' approach as England Lions, led by opener Keaton Jennings, pulverised an attack full of seasoned domestic operators to score 382 for 3 in just 82 overs on the opening day of the four-day 'unofficial Test' in Ahmedabad.
Finn Allen equalled the world record for most sixes in a T20 International as he smashed 16 sixes to propel New Zealand to a thumping 45-run victory against Pakistan in the third T20 International.
Brendon McCullum blazed his way to the tournament's first century as Chennai Super Kings defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 45 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to register their second straight win.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum refused to blame third umpire Nigel Llong's controversial review decision for his team's loss in the third and final Test against Australia but said the "frustrating" ruling had a major bearing on the game.
Hosts New Zealand gave the World Cup a cracking start with a scintillating batting show as they crushed last edition losing finalists Sri Lanka by 98 runs in the opening match of the showpiece event in Christchurch on Saturday.
Mohammed Siraj believes England's much-hyped 'Bazball' strategy won't work in Indian conditions
New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum has inadvertently jeopardised England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff's future in the Indian Premier League.
A century from Brendon McCullum was not enough to prevent New Zealand from going down to Cricket Australia Chairman's XI in the opening match of their short tour of Australia on Friday. McCullum smashed 119 off 126 balls in New Zealand's total of 278 for nine off 50 overs, chasing Cricket Australia Chairman XI's 285 all out off 47 overs.
I don't think Rohit has been superior as captain, his bowlers did the trick: Graeme Swann
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