The pointy end of the 14th edition of the Big Bash League is upon us and the finals schedule is just about locked in.
Exclusive: Big-hitter set to join BBL rival… and the Aussie captain that could join him
Australian T20 gun Tim David is set to join the Melbourne Stars next Big Bash season, with the franchise’s interest also extending very hard to star Perth all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
Smith ‘cleared’ after specialist review as stand-in skipper rejoins Test squad despite injury scare
Cricket Australia have confirmed Steve Smith has been cleared to re-join the Test squad and travel to Dubai, having passed a special medical review.
Maxy goes berserk as Stars smash their way to finals against frustrated Hurricanes
The Melbourne Stars have clinched the fourth and final spot in the play-offs after a 40-run victory over the Hobart Hurricanes in the last game of the regular season Sunday night.
Relax, Australia: confected outrage about Sam Konstas hides the real issue | Barney Ronay
The energy expended on my ‘Ashes war of words’ would be better directed at the fight for the future of Test cricket
Australia: an apology. Earlier this week I wrote an article that compared one of that nation’s brightest sporting stars to a comedic figure with a short-lived pop celebrity lifespan, causing outrage among Australia’s media and elite cricketers. It was cheap, disrespectful and unfair. It is now time to make amends. Raygun, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I compared you to Sam Konstas.
Joke! Just a joke. It was all just a joke. In fact, it was a single line buried 1,400 words into a 1,700-word article about the future of Test cricket. Referring to the fevered public reaction to Konstas scoring an unorthodox half-century on his Test debut, I wrote: “There was a sense during the India series of Konstas being installed as a cricketing version of Raygun the Olympic breakdancer, a fun, gimmicky approximation of the real thing.”
Continue reading...‘It sucks’: Exiled Test star opens up on Sri Lanka snubbing shock
Snubbed from the Aussie Test side to tour Sri Lanka, Peter Handscomb has revealed he was pretty confident selectors would find a space for him.
Sports quiz of the week: Alexander Isak, Australian Open, Tyson Fury and WSL
Have you been following the big (and small) stories in football, tennis, boxing, cricket, snooker and ice hockey?
Continue reading...Saqib Mahmood belatedly given India visa to fly out with England squad
- Bowler is of Pakistani heritage and faced long visa delay
- Eight-match white-ball series begins next Wednesday
England will begin their intended white-ball reboot under Brendon McCullum with a full complement of fast bowlers after Saqib Mahmood was belatedly granted a visa to join the squad that departs on Friday evening for the tour of India.
Mahmood was forced to miss a training camp for the quicks in Abu Dhabi this past week after a delay in receiving the necessary paperwork for the eight-match white-ball series in India that starts on Wednesday. As well as the start of McCullum’s expanded role as head coach, it serves as a precursor to the Champions Trophy.
Continue reading...Sydney Smashed! SCG carnage as wild weather lashes ground, roof falls apart in chaotic BBL scenes
Wild weather has seen the Sydney Smash fizzle without a whimper as the Sydney Sixers shared the points with cross-town rivals the Sydney Thunder in a washout at the SCG.
Kiss your entourage goodbye: India’s 10 ruthless changes to team touring rules after Aussie horrors
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has made sweeping changes to how their national sides tour in the wake of back-to-back Test series losses.
Poms’ Ashes hanging by thread as outrageous catch, Aussie’s stunner seals ODI sweep
Australia has completed a clean sweep of England in the ODI series within the Women’s Ashes, leaving the visitors on life support for the rest of the series after an 86-run win in Hobart.
The Konstas Effect: Starstruck cricket fan finally reaps reward after car crash blunder
- Sam Konstas promises signed merchandise as photo goes wrong
- BBL side Sydney Thunder release video of incident at Cricket Central
Cricket sensation Sam Konstas has promised signed merchandise for the fan who accidentally crashed his car trying to meet him. Konstas’ Big Bash League club the Sydney Thunder uploaded a now-viral security video titled “The Konstas Effect” of the teen Test opener arriving at Cricket Central for training on Wednesday morning.
Moments after Konstas walks across camera, a four-wheel drive pulls into the car park, its driver emerging and running after Konstas – only to sprint back to his car on realising he had forgotten to engage the hand brake. The man slips over in his haste and does not arrive at the car before it crashes into another vehicle.
Continue reading...Cricket fan’s costly blunder as Sam Konstas photo opportunity goes wrong
An opportunistic fan has botched his chance with Australian Test opener Sam Konstas in sspectacular fashion.
England World Cup winner quits first-class cricket, flees country after attacks on family home
World Cup winner James Vince is to stand down as captain of Hampshire after a decade in charge and move to Dubai following attacks on his family home, the English cricket county announced Wednesday.
’So many great characteristics’: Marnus lauds Konstas amid Poms’ attack
Marnus Labuschagne has leapt to the defence of his Australian teammate Sam Konstas, whose exploits in the recent Test series against India have been ridiculed by sections of the English media, who described the young opener as a “cricketing version of Raygun”.