While Mitch Marsh cannot wait for the hostilities to resume against South Africa later this month, an ODI series against Zimbabwe beginning tomorrow night is crucial for an Australian team seeking to find its identity.
Ultimate Guide: Everything you need to know ahead of Australia’s ODI tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa
Australia’s 2027 World Cup preparations begin in earnest as the ODI squad heads to Zimbabwe and South Africa for a run of six ODIs.
History-making twins join Stars as BBL powerhouse locks in overseas trio
There will be no shortage of pace and power at the Melbourne Stars this summer.
Stephen Fleming inherits intriguing squad after England’s unsettling summer | Ali Martin
New Test head coach’s arrival and Root’s calming influence as captain add to promising signs in the post-Stokes era
As Joe Root calmly ran the rule over the Test summer and reeled off the ways in which it had been “chaos”, “unusual” and “unsettling” for England, it felt telling that first among them was Ben Stokes calling time on his international career during a match and a series that were both still live at the time.
Cricketers announcing their retirement mid-game is nothing new. Heather Knight went on to do the same during the women’s Test at Lord’s two weeks later. Root is also too loyal to Stokes to question openly whether that scene-stealing exit before New Zealand’s win at Trent Bridge was entirely in keeping with his call for “selfless cricketers” four years earlier.
Continue reading...They thrashed the ‘worst team in 50 years’… now ‘chaos’ Poms believe the Aussies are next
That may have been the worst Pakistan side in 50 years, but after trouncing them 3-0, England believe they have taken a big step towards winning back the Ashes next year.
Root return gets even better as Poms survive massive first over wobble in Test whitewash
England overcame a major wobble to beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the third Test at Edgbaston on Saturday, sealing a 3-0 series sweep.
England beat Pakistan after early scare: third men’s cricket Test, day four – as it happened
After an early scare, Joe Root and Jordan Cox usher England to victory and a 3-0 clean sweep of Pakistan
Razaullah’s agent is giving it some welly on X – apparently his phone is ringing red. Razaullah was due to play for Cleethorpes in the Yorkshire Southern Premier League before:
“@TheRealPCBMedia come calling - sort his Passport out, and wing him over for @Edgbaston. He’s now made his mark. Franchises already showing interest. Our phones have blown up. Watch this space!”
Continue reading...Debutant tailender goes ballistic as ‘astonishing’ blitz ‘restores some pride’ for Pakistan
Debutant Razaullah launched a remarkable late salvo as Pakistan finally showed some fight at Edgbaston on Friday, setting England a target of 130 to seal a clean sweep in their three-Test series.
Debutant tailender goes ballistic as ‘astonishing’ blitz ‘restores some pride’ for Pakistan
Debutant Razaullah launched a remarkable late salvo as Pakistan finally showed some fight at Edgbaston on Friday, setting England a target of 130 to seal a clean sweep in their three-Test series.
‘Peak of his powers’: Rain saves hapless tourists from two-day defeat as England seamer stars again
England moved inexorably towards a crushing series whitewash against Pakistan on Thursday with three days still remaining in a one-sided third Test at Edgbaston.
Is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a post-Test cricketer – or could he revolutionise the format? | Jonathan Liew
The 15-year-old is tailor-made for short-form cricket, but he may just have the power to reimagine red-ball batting
The ball is short outside off. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi goes to pull it, hoiks it high to deep midwicket, is out for 44 off 37 balls. Almost immediately, a portion of the 12,000 fans who have risen at dawn to queue outside the Chepauk Stadium for free tickets begin to vacate their seats. The Duleep Trophy final in Chennai between East Zone and South Zone is scheduled for five days and has been going for barely an hour. But for some, the show is already over.
Of course, Sooryavanshi is part of the reason the final is taking place in Chennai in the first place. It was originally slated for the national academy on the outskirts of Bengaluru, only to be moved in order to accommodate the thousands of fans desperate to glimpse the child prince of Indian cricket in the flesh. Sooryavanshi is the hottest player in the world right now, a 15-year-old left-handed jaw-dropping genius with records spilling out of his pockets. But when it comes to red-ball cricket, the classic form of the game, he’s still – by any objective measure – not very good.
Continue reading...Pakistan’s woes roll on as SEVEN-wicket session stuns visitors in England masterclass
Pakistan slumped to 100-7 at lunch on the opening day of the third Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday after yet another dramatic collapse during their sorry tour of England.
‘Once it’s gone, it’s gone’: Great’s big fear over ‘$1bn’ BBL shift as NSW drops heated reply
Former Australian cricket captain Greg Chappell has urged the national body to be particularly careful as it races towards privatising at least some of the BBL clubs, saying there are clear concerns to be addressed.
‘Niggly situation’: Aussie star’s record BBL team switch… and whack over import pay anger
Australian star Adam Zampa will switch to a fifth Big Bash League team for the 2026/27 season.
England seek calm end to chaotic Test summer against penitent Pakistan
Late-night drinking incidents and a post-Bazball reboot have given the hosts plenty to think about, while the tourists have their own problems to sort out
There are some chilly white-ball games still to come this month and with it the sight of Kevin Pietersen back in England training kit for the first time in 12 years. KP is down with the kids these days, 6/7 memes and the like, and starts a new life as the “specialist mentor” to Harry Brook’s young thrusters.
But the final Test of the summer that starts at Edgbaston on Wednesday does feel like an end of sorts, or at least one last push before a breather for the side that has undergone the more significant recalibration. And that is before we get on to Pakistan and a tour that has descended into a bonfire of players and a phone-snatching investigation into “discipline and conduct”.
Continue reading...