Cricket News
New Zealand are in the box seat to claim a drought-busting Test win over their arch-rivals after Australia wilted on day three of the second Test.
Chasing 279 for victory, Matt Henry and debutant Ben Sears ripped through the Australian top order at Hagley Oval on Sunday, leaving Australia dazed at 34-4.
Continue reading...Australia skipper Pat Cummins bowled Kane Williamson in the final hour of play on the second day of the second Test in Christchurch on Saturday, just as the master batsman threatened an innings that would put New Zealand on top.
After 14 wickets fell on day one and seven more before tea, Williamson and Tom Latham had hit the pause button on a frenetic match with a partnership of 105 that erased Australia’s first-innings lead and put the home side 17 runs ahead.
Continue reading...Our special board of selectors announces the picks for the best men’s Test XI of the past 12 months
After 32 Tests, 33,408 runs, 1,016 wickets, it’s time at last for the Guardian’s tenth annual men’s Test XI of the year. This year’s selectors were Vic Marks, Ali Martin, Rob Smyth, Tanya Aldred, Taha Hashim, Geoff Lemon, Adam Collins, Emma John, Tim de Lisle, Daniel Gallan and Andy Bull. Depressingly, some teams (South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh) played so little this year that it was hard to pick any of their players, which feels like a worrying sign of the way the game is going, but for now …
Continue reading...Ben Duckett, Phil Salt and Zak Crawley all starred with the bat before torrential rain brought a premature end to play in Bristol
5th over: England 65-0 (Salt 42, Jacks 22) Time for a bowling change, Paul Stirling reckons. On comes Craig Young, who has one job: to stem the flow. And he does, cramping the batters for room and going for just a run a ball. Miserly stuff.
4th over: England 60-0 (Salt 39, Jacks 19) Does Jacks settle for playing second fiddle? He does not. He has a gleam in his eye and he flicks Little’s first ball for six, then pulls for six more. Just for a change, Salt plays a straight drive for four. Alas, poor Little – when he does induce a top edge, it lands safely at short fine, and then Salt adds another four. That’s 23 off the over! And the fastest 50 in England ODI history.
Continue reading...For England’s looming World Cup defence in India a gaggle of players will sit in reserve back home and it may just be that Ben Duckett is the best fit to jump on a plane should a batter go down injured during the tournament.
An option anywhere in the top seven and armed with an array of sweeps and reverse sweeps, the 28-year-old would offer Jos Buttler and the management excellent flexibility regardless of whether Jason Roy makes himself available. A pugnacious desire to get on with it – evidenced across all formats – is another thing to pop in the pros column.
Continue reading...A week ago, Ben Stokes had never met Josh Tongue. But as the England captain heads into the Ashes series with questions over his own fitness, he fancies an additional fast bowler has been found to augment his attack.
Tongue was already in the 16-man squad for the first two Tests against Australia before completing a maiden five-wicket haul on debut at Lord’s, with England, a team in a hurry, naming the group at lunch on the third and final day against Ireland.
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