Tag: headlines

Phoebe Litchfield can do it all. She takes gravity-defying flying catches as a habit. In fact, India batter Jemimah Rodrigues, her team-mate at Northern Superchargers in the women's Hundred, joked that she doesn't want to be Litchfield's friend anymore after one such blinder resulted in her dismissal. But Litchfield also bats stylishly and plays a mean reverse-sweep. It's a shot that the bowlers still don't expect her to play, despite it being one of her strengths. She displayed that stroke multiple times in her maiden women's Hundred season last year as well as the WBBL in the past few seasons. Those exploits led Gujarat Giants to splurge INR 1 crore (USD 120,000 approx) on her for WPL 2024.Litchfield attempted the reverse sweep against Sneh Rana in the one-off Test in India last month b...

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised Usman Khawaja's courage in fighting to show solidarity with victims of warfare during the Test series with Pakistan.Since the days before last month's series opener, Khawaja has been lobbying to voice his support for those affected by ongoing conflict in the Middle East, first by writing "all lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right" on his shoes.The International Cricket Council (ICC) barred Khawaja from displaying the phrases during the Perth Test on the grounds that international players are prohibited from wearing personal messages on their uniforms.The veteran opening batter eventually taped over the messages, but the ICC charged him for breaching clothing and equipment regulations with the black armband he wore instead.Khaw...

There is cautious hope in the Pakistan camp that legspinner Abrar Ahmed may be fit in time for the third Test in Sydney. Abrar, who was ruled out of the first two Test matches with a right leg injury, bowled for a significant period in the nets during Pakistan's training session on Monday without obvious discomfort.While that represents reason for optimism, the nature of Abrar's injury means it does not guarantee his participation in the third Test. While he was initially ruled out after complaining of "discomfort in his right leg" during Pakistan's tour game against Prime Minister's XI in Canberra, Abrar's history of injury issues makes any degree of certainty elusive.ESPNcricinfo understands part of the issue afflicting Abrar involves a pinched nerve in his right leg and a weakness in h...

Naveen and Farooqi have since approached the ACB and, as per the board, "demonstrated a strong desire to represent their country again". The pair were subsequently named in Afghanistan's 18-member squad for the ongoing T20I series against UAE, but there was no place for Mujeeb.

Gill endured back-to-back failures in Centurion in the first Test against South Africa. He was caught down leg when he looked to glance a wide delivery from Nandre Burger that reared up on a spicy opening-day pitch in the first innings, and got knocked over by Marco Jansen when he tried to play across the line in the second. His scores were 2 and 26, from No. 3.

Is the Bangladesh dressing room a better place without some of the senior - even iconic - players around? At the end of what he called a "successful tour" of New Zealand, Chandika Hathurusinghe, the coach, stopped short of saying that, but did say that "the environment in the dressing room is much better".Bangladesh went to New Zealand after a 1-1 Test series at home to play three ODIs and three T20Is. New Zealand won the ODIs 2-1, but Bangladesh's win in the third ODI was their first over the hosts in New Zealand in the format. The T20I series was shared 1-1.Shoriful Islam, the left-arm seamer, was perhaps the most consistently impressive performer for Bangladesh in the white-ball games, while Najmul Hossain Shanto, Bangladesh's new captain across formats in the absence of Shakib Al Hasa...

India allrounder Sneh Rana was taken for scans after "complaining of headache" post her collision with Pooja Vastrakar in the field during the second ODI against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium, the BCCI said. Former India captain Anjum Chopra, a commentator at the match, said Rana also complained of nausea.Rana will take no further part in the match. Harleen Deol has been named as her concussion replacement."She [Rana] had a little bit of headache post the first innings," India's head coach Amol Muzumdar said after the match*. "We felt it was appropriate for her to do the scan. The reports have been fine and she is back in the dressing room. She is still having a little bit of a headache, but that's normal. She is available for the third match."The incident happened in the 25th over of...

India allrounder Shardul Thakur suffered a blow on his shoulder on Saturday in Centurion, while batting at the nets. How serious the hit was is yet to be ascertained, and scans will be carried out if required. As of now, there's no confirmation that scans are needed - while Thakur seemed in considerable discomfort when hit and later did not bowl at the nets, he continued batting after the hit.The second Test between South Africa and India, which the visitors need to win if they are to square the series, begins on January 3 in Cape Town.Thakur, who was the first player to enter the throwdown nets, was hit on the left shoulder while facing throwdowns from a member of the team's support staff. It happened about 15 minutes into the session. The ball kicked up from a length, had Thakur in a ta...

Everything will be considered as far as David Warner's replacement to open the batting for the West Indies series in January with Cameron Green still a serious contender to be recalled as part of a batting order reshuffle.Australia's side has remained settled throughout the Test summer with no injury issues or form concerns to speak of and looks likely to be unchanged for the third match in a row at the SCG which will mark Warner's retirement from the format. Australia's selectors are meeting on Saturday to confirm the squad but it is unlikely they will make a decision on Warner's replacement until after the third Test against Pakistan."All options will be considered," McDonald said. "And I said we're not going to make the decision until the deadline which will be the West Indies game."Th...

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had said then that the players were being pulled up for "prioritising their personal interests over playing for Afghanistan", with the fallout including no no-objection certificates (NOCs) being issued to the trio to play in overseas T20 leagues for the next two years, and a revoking of any NOCs they currently possess. The ACB also said it "would assess and determine the involvement of these players in [international] events as necessary".Now, the board said, they had "approached the ACB and demonstrated a strong desire to represent their country again". In a statement announcing the squad, the ACB said it "acknowledged and praised their eagerness to collaborate closely with the [board]", but the investigation into the matter that the board had ordered ...