The PCB announced that Mohammad Wasim Jnr has been named as Naseem Shah's replacement.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2tiQ7G8
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma welcomed the new year 2020 with Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Varun Dhawan in Switzerland.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/36gq2pw
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Sourav Ganguly's reaction came after reports emerged that the ICC, in order to free up the crowded calendar, is planning to make four-day Tests mandatory from 2023.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2F2Q0kD
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Ravichandran Ashwin, who mankaded Jos Buttler in IPL 2019, said he is ready to dismiss anyone who goes out of the crease in similar fashion.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2rEMcmn
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Anil Kumble feels the Indian team's focus should be on exploring wicket-taking options even if that means playing more fast bowlers than all-rounders.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2ZCl2ZX
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
MS Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket on this day in 2014, after the Melbourne Test against Australia ended in a draw.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2MIxzFU
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
The IPL 2020 is set to kick-off on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, according to a Delhi Capitals official.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2ZD4aCq
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
BBL: Glenn Maxwell used a fire extinguisher to stop the bushfire from spreading ahead of his team Melbourne Stars' match against Hobart Hurricanes.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2F3dLJe
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Faf du Plessis was unimpressed with the idea of four-nation tournament as he thinks the "big three" nations are already playing a lot of cricket.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2F4Tfb5
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Sachin Tendulkar took to Instagram to share a picture from his vacation in Thailand.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Qaow2X
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
The DDCA general secretary made it clear that Gautam Gambhir will not be eligible to contest for president's post as per Lodha recommendations.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2F28zp5
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Virat Kohli, with 928 rating points, finished above Australia's Steve Smith who occupied the second spot with 911 points.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2ZDvSid
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Rohit Sharma posted a special message for his daughter Samaira on Twitter and Instagram along with some pictures from her birthday celebration.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Q7qmS6
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
To free up the crowded calendar, ICC could make four-day Tests mandatory from 2023 as part of the World Test Championship.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2MCFg0o
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
D'Arcy Short will replace injured pacer Sean Abbott in Australia's ODI squad for the upcoming tour of India.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/39p5Cgk
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Virat Kohli praised Amitabh Bachchan's immense "contribution to Indian cinema" and thanked him for being an inspiration to many people.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2ZCiviu
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Ricky Ponting faced criticism from fans on Twitter after he named his Test team of the decade.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2svs06Q
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Nathan Lyon didn't take too kindly to Shane Warne's suggestion that he be rested for the dead rubber against New Zealand so that a different bowler could get a Test debut.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2MF2Idu
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are the only two Indian players in Wisden's T20I team of the decade.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Q65k6i
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
A DDCA official said that Gautam Gambhir could be the perfect person to take over the reins of Delhi's cricket body at this point in time.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2ZAPXG1
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Anushka Sharma took to Instagram to share the picture and and put the location as Gstaad, Switzerland.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/39t88SP
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
An old video of Shahid Afridi has emerged where he can be seen saying that he smashed a TV at his house after he saw his daughter imitating an 'aarti' scene while watching an Indian show.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/368vdYR
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Ranji Trophy: Ishant Sharma picked up eight wickets in the match as Delhi registered their first win of the season after beating Hyderabad by seven wickets.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2t9L9vj
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) spokesperson said that trimming down Test match's duration by one day could help ease the strain on players' busy schedules.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Qe93P2
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Cape Town: Opening batsman Dom Sibley is likely to be available for the second cricket Test after he became the latest England player to fall ill on the tour of South Africa.
The England team say Sibley is feeling better and is expected to train with the team on Wednesday ahead of the start of the second Test in Cape Town on Friday.
England lost the first Test of the four-match series by 107 runs and the team was hampered by a flu-like illness that's spread through the squad. At least 11 players have fallen ill at some point on the tour, as well as six members of the support staff.
Captain Joe Root, vice captain Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Joe Denly all played in the first Test but were ill before or during the match.
Batsman Ollie Pope was ruled out of the game and Chris Woakes, Jack Leach and Mark Wood were also sick.
Many of the players had to be put in quarantine in an attempt to stop the spread of the illness. Root and Buttler were quarantined at the SuperSport Park stadium for a period of time during the third day of the first Test in Centurion.
England say there has been progress with the treatment of players and there were no new outbreaks on Tuesday.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
New Delhi: South Africa pacer Dale Steyn has hit back hard at an Indian fan who mocked the Proteas' recent 107-run win over England in the first Test of the four-match series.
The 36-year-old pacer, a veteran of 93 Tests and 125 ODIs, took to Twitter to congratulate South Africa captain Faf du Plessis and newly-appointed coach Mark Boucher after the Proteas took a 1-0 lead in the series.
Well done to the Proteas!
Mark and Faf seem to have put together a team that looks hungry, has fight, but above all look menacing with real intent towards their skill.
All characteristics that I grew up with when I played under Smith and co.
Gr8 to see the boys back! #proteas— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) December 30, 2019
But an Indian fan tried to mock the win, replying on Steyn's post that it was just a win on home turf to which, the pacer replied: "I guess India in India also doesn''t count then either... And just by the way, God has nothing to do with this. Idiot."
Playing at home! Chill out for god sakes..
— Siddharth Mishra (@Mirror_ur_self) December 30, 2019
I guess India in India also doesn’t count then either...
And just by the way, God has nothing to do with this. Idiot— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) December 30, 2019
The win enabled South Africa to open its account in the ICC World Test Championship after a forgettable year, when they went down 0-3 against India in October.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
Dale Steyn clean bowled a troll who was trying to play down South Africa's win over England in the first Test at Centurion.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/357m9St
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Thisara Perera accepted the invitation of Army Commander Lieutenant general Shavendra Silva to join the army.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/355gqg8
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
India U-19 clinched the Youth ODI series 2-1 after South Africa registered a consolatory win in the third and final match.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2MInDMB
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
New Delhi: India speedster Jasprit Bumrah on Tuesday described 2019 as a year of "accomplishments, learning and memories" on and off the field and said he was eagerly looking forward to another successful year in 2020.
"2019 has been a year of accomplishments, learning, hard work and making memories, on the field and off it too. And on the last day of the year, I'm looking forward to everything that 2020 has to offer," Bumrah tweeted along with a few pictures of his achievements in the year gone by.
2019 has been a year of accomplishments, learning, hard work and making memories, on the field and off it too. And on the last day of the year, I’m looking forward to everything that 2020 has to offer! 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/YishbcuYWO
— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) December 31, 2019
In 2019, Bumrah not only emerged as India's pace spearhead in all three formats of the game, but also became one of the best bowlers in the world.
Bumrah, 26, finished 2019 as the numero uno bowler in one-day cricket while occupying the sixth spot in the ICC Test bowlers rankings.
In the year gone by, he also achieved a rare feat, becoming only the third Indian to scalp a hat-trick in Tests after Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan.
Bumrah picked up 62, 103 and 51 wickets respectively from 12 Tests, 58 ODIs and 42 T20Is that he played for India so far.
But the right-arm pacer has been out of action since August after India's tour of the West Indies because of a stress fracture on his back.
Bumrah, however, has recovered from the injury and is set to make his return in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting in Guwahati on 5 January.
He has also been picked in the squad for the three-match ODI series against Australia which will begin on 14 January in Mumbai after the Sri Lanka rubber.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
England coach Chris Silverwood has hinted that either of veterans James Anderson or Stuart Broad might be dropped for the second Test against South Africa to make room for a spinner.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/39lZKo1
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Jasprit Bumrah emerged as India's go-to bowler in all the three formats of the game in 2019.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/37rUE82
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
East London: Skipper Priyam Garg's fifty went in vain as India Under-19 team suffered a five-wicket loss to South Africa in an inconsequential third Youth ODI at the Buffalo Park.
South Africa U-19 player Jonathan Bird celebrates after scoring 50 against India. Image Courtesy: Twitter @OfficialCSA
Before this match, India Under-19 had already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead after winning the first two matches of the series.
Sent into bat on Monday, India lost three wickets before crossing the fifty-run mark with Achille Cloete striking twice for the hosts.
Garg and N Tilak Varma (25) then steadied the ship as the two added 58 runs together.
The partnership was broken when Garg, who scored 52, got out soon after India reached hundred. N Tilak Varma got out soon after as South Africa restricted India Under-19 to 192 for 8 on the board.
For South Africa Under-19, Pheku Moletsane (2/36) picked up two wickets and was involved in two run-outs.
South Africa Under-19 then returned to overhaul the target with 10 balls to spare, riding on Jonathan Bird's 121-ball 88.
Chasing 193 runs to win, South Africa Under-19 lost Bryce Parsons (15) in the ninth over after a first-wicket partnership of 35 runs.
Opener Andrew Louw (31) and Bird then shared a 49-run stand for the second wicket before the former and Levert Manje (0) departed in space of a run.
Luke Beaufort (14) then gave company to Bird as they shared a 48-run partnership to take South Africa Under-19 to 130.
Jack Lees (29) and Bird then added 67 runs before Yashasvi Jaiswal dismissed the former in the 48th over.
Bird then took South Africa home.
Brief scores:
South Africa Under-19 193/5 (Jonathan Bird 88 not out, Andrew Louw 31; Yashasvi Jaiswal 2/40) beat India Under-19 192/8 (Priyam Garg 52, N Tilak Varma 25; Pheku Moletsane 2/36) by five wickets.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
Sanjay Manjrekar said that 2019 has been the worst year for him as an analyst and as a commentator.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2rH5pnv
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Sanjay Manjrekar admitted that 2019 has been the "worst year" for him as an analyst and commentator, referring to his controversial "bits and pieces" remark aimed at Ravindra Jadeja and later, his on-air spat with Harsha Bhogle.
'It's been the worst year for me as analyst and commentator'
A candid @sanjaymanjrekar explains why it was a terrible 2019 for him 😉 pic.twitter.com/CAt3RRzX16
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 30, 2019
Opening up on his controversy with Jadeja for the first time, Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo that a lot of people have used the same words for Jadeja and his knock against the Kiwis in the World Cup was indeed special.
"The thing is I gave an interview to a random news channel and that line got picked up. The player was upset. Bits and pieces was something lot of people used. When I say it was a terrible year for me, I gave that comment and very next day Jadeja, in that semi-final, played an absolute blinder of an innings. The kind of innings we have never seen from him," Manjrekar said.
Taking on Manjrekar for his comment, Jadeja blasted the former cricketer on Twitter and said he deserves respect because he has played twice the number of matches than Manjrekar. Later, the all-rounder played a heroic knock of 77 in the World Cup semi-final match against New Zealand, which India lost by 18 runs.
After the Jadeja controversy was done and dusted, Manjrekar once again courted controversy when he had a spat with fellow commentator Harsha Bhogle during India's pink ball day-night Test against Bangladesh. While talking about the game, Bhogle spoke about the visibility of the pink ball and said that it needed to be discussed with the players. In reply, Manjrekar pointed towards his experience as a former cricketer and downplayed Bhogle's comments.
“You need to ask the players about visibility perhaps but for us, those who have played the game, we have a fair idea of what’s happening out there,” Manjrekar had said.
Regretting the incident, Manjrekar told to ESPNCricinfo that he was unprofessional at that moment and apologised for it.
“I want to get very serious about this. See, one thing I pride myself on is being professional and with that particular comment it was me losing control and I was unprofessional, I was wrong and something that I regret… it was wrong of me. That is what really bothers me that I let my emotions get the better of me. Mostly being unprofessional and to an extent indecent as well,” he said.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
St John's: Former India fielding coach Trevor Penney has been appointed as the assistant coach of West Indies cricket team for limited-overs formats.
Warwickshire stalwart Penney has been handed a two-year contract by Cricket West Indies.
Cricket West Indies stated in a statement that the 51-year-old Penney's area of expertise is fielding and he will work with the West Indies team in white-ball formats (One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals).
He will join the West Indies team on 2 January as they start preparations for the upcoming international home series against Ireland. The tour will feature three ODIs and as many T20s from 7 to 19 January.
"I'm thrilled and excited to be given this opportunity to work with this brilliant bunch of cricketers and staff led by Kieron Pollard and Phil Simmons," Penney said.
"I've been lucky enough over the last few years to work with several members of the squad and the Caribbean is like 'home away from home' for me being involved in the CPL.
"We have two big T20 World Cups coming up (in Australia 2020 and India 2021) and it's my aim to try and improve everybody and be as good as we can and hopefully win those two major ICC events for the great people of the West Indies."
Penney, who played 158 first-class and 291 List A matches for Warwickshire, has vast coaching experience, having worked with several international teams, including India, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and USA.
He has also served as assistant coach at King's XI Punjab, Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League as well as assistant coach with the St Lucia Zouks and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Most recently he was part of the Barbados Trident coaching staff during their successful campaign in the 2019 CPL.
Commenting on Penney's appointment, West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons said: "Trevor (Penney) is an excellent coach and has demonstrated this everywhere he has worked.
"He has huge experience with Sri Lanka and India at the highest international level, and in most T20 leagues around the world including the CPL. He brings enormous energy and is very well respected by all the players."
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
Ravi Shastri took to Instagram to post a picture with Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Raveena Tandon.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/35dcWIk
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Rashid Khan introduced a new bat design during a Big Bash League (BBL) match between Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Renegades on Sunday.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2F2tdFp
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
South Africa vs England: Needing 376 to win, South Africa bowled England out for 268 on the fourth day to register their first win in World Test Championship.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2SHywSZ
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
On-field umpire Greg Davidson spoiled Rashid Khan's celebration as he changed his decision midway in a BBL match.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2MFunuL
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Danish Kaneria said that he never sold the country for money but those who did are still welcomed in the team.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2MTfHsj
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Tim Paine pointed to teamwork on Sunday as the crucial factor in Australia winning all four home Tests so far this summer -- and all inside four days.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/369rV7x
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
New Zealand might have been handed one of its heaviest defeats in Test cricket, but captain Kane Williamson remained gracious as ever.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2F1uBbp
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Sourav Ganguly posted a picture of himself and captioned it, "Hate working on a Sunday". Soon enough, fans flooded the post with some hilarious responses.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/39mF5jK
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to be out for an indefinite period of time, doesn't want to blame the National Cricket Academy for allegedly bungling his rehabilitation.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2QrEjcA
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Kane Williamson urged his teammates to learn from mistakes and improve in all areas after a 247-run defeat in the second Test against Australia.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Q9vyVH
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Ricky Ponting faced criticism from fans on Twitter after he named his Test team of the decade.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2svs06Q
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Nathan Lyon didn't take too kindly to Shane Warne's suggestion that he be rested for the dead rubber against New Zealand so that a different bowler could get a Test debut.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2MF2Idu
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are the only two Indian players in Wisden's T20I team of the decade.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Q65k6i
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
London: India skipper Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah were the only two Indians who found a place in Wisden's T20 International team of the decade, which didn't feature Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Australia's limited overs captain Aaron Finch was named captain of the team, which has two more Australian in Shane Watson and Glenn Maxwell, two England cricketers — Jos Buttler and David Willey, two Afghanistan all-rounders — Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, and New Zealand's Colin Munro and Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga.
On Kohli, Wisden said: "While Kohli's record in domestic T20 cricket is patchy, the same cannot be said of T20Is. Kohli's average of 53 was the best in the decade, and while his consistency compromises his strike-rate slightly, he is still able to score at a good rate, even if not exceptional.
"Strong against pace and spin, and rapid between the wickets, Kohli is an ideal player at No.3, able to fight fires when an early wicket is lost and stabilise the innings, but also accelerate when a platform is set. Following a huge first-wicket partnership, Kohli will slide down the order in this XI," it said on its website.
Kohli, who ranks third in the list of leading run-scorers of all time with 21,444 runs, was also included in Wisden's Test and ODI teams of the decade, besides being named in Wisden's list of five cricketers of the decade which also features Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers and Ellyse Perry.
Kohli, who is currently ranked No.1 in both ICC Test and ODI rankings for batsmen, was also picked as the captain of Australian great Ricky Ponting's all-star Test team of the decade.
While Kohli was picked in Wisden's T20I team of the decade to strengthen the batting order, Bumrah found a place in the bowling unit due to his superb economy rate and reputation for being a reliable death bowler.
"Bumrah's overall economy rate of 6.71 is the second best in the world among quick bowlers, behind Dale Steyn," Wisden said about Bumrah, who has overall taken 216 wickets, including 51 in T20Is, in his international career so far.
"This statistic is more impressive when you consider he did the majority of his bowling in the death overs, where his economy rate of 7.27 was the seventh best in the world, and comfortably the best by a quick bowler. Bumrah is likely bowl three overs at the death for this side."
Dhoni, who led India to the 2007 World T20 title, was a notable omission from the all-star team.
Wisden's T20I team of the decade: Aaron Finch (c), Colin Munro, Virat Kohli, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, Jos Buttler, Mohammad Nabi, David Willey, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
A DDCA official said that Gautam Gambhir could be the perfect person to take over the reins of Delhi's cricket body at this point in time.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2ZAPXG1
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Melbourne: Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Monday picked India skipper Virat Kohli to lead his all-star Test team of the decade, which featured four English players.
Ponting's Test team of the 2010s doesn't feature any other Indian apart from Kohli, who is currently ranked No.1 in both ICC Test and ODI rankings for batsmen.
The Englishmen in his team include all-rounder Ben Stokes, batsman Alastair Cook, and the pace duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson. Among the Australians he has opted for Steve Smith and David Warner along with spinner Nathan Lyon.
"Everyone's picking teams of the decade so I thought I'd join in the fun," Ponting wrote on his twitter handle.
"This would be my Test team of the 2010's: David Warner, Alastair Cook, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli (c), Kumar Sangakkarra (wk), Ben Stokes, Dale Steyn, Nathan Lyon, Stuart Broad, James Anderson."
Kohli has already amassed 70 international hundreds and is only behind Ponting (71) and Sachin Tendulkar (100).
The 31-year-old from Delhi, who averages more than 50 in all formats, is also third in the list of leading run-scorers of all time with 21,444 runs, behind Ponting (27,483) and Tendulkar (34,357).
Everyone's picking teams of the decade so I thought I'd join in the fun. This would be my Test team of the 2010's:
David Warner
Alastair Cook
Kane Williamson
Steve Smith
Virat Kohli (c)
Kumar Sangakkarra (wk)
Ben Stokes
Dale Steyn
Nathan Lyon
Stuart Broad
James Anderson— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) December 30, 2019
The India skipper, who has scored runs all around the world, ended 2019 as the leading run-getter. Kohli holds the number one position in both the ICC Test and ODI batting charts.
Kohli was also named captain of the Test XI of the decade by Cricket Australia's official news website.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
Anushka Sharma took to Instagram to share the picture and and put the location as Gstaad, Switzerland.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/39t88SP
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
An old video of Shahid Afridi has emerged where he can be seen saying that he smashed a TV at his house after he saw his daughter imitating an 'aarti' scene while watching an Indian show.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/368vdYR
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Wearing a white beaded chocker necklace, zinc creamed smeared on his bottom lip and a 25 meter run-up, Peter Siddle had all the characteristics of a menacing pace bowler. The year was 2008. Siddle was making his debut for Australia against India in Mohali. His first ball was a sharp bouncer that thudded into Gautam Gambhir's helmet.
Eleven years later, the once firebrand, woodchopper, meat loving country boy has decided to retire from Test cricket as a smiling vegan with 221 Test wickets in 67 Tests. Siddle’s quite retirement was perhaps a perfect reflection of his vital but unglamorous role in the Australian bowling artillery.
In the past decade, Siddle was never a leader of the attack, but he would often be referred as the man that was bound the bowling unit. He started as a raw quick that could touch speeds of 150km/h and ended as a wily pacer that could choke a batsmen with his sublime line and length.
In those early days, Siddle broke through the ranks due to his pace. Like many cricketers, his career was in phases. The initial four years, he relied on his ability to hit the deck hard and lure the batsmen into false strokes. He was always the workhorse of the attack and a player that was prepared to put the team ahead of personal milestones. He never had to be told to be the nightwatchmen — he would volunteer to be one.
In his first 22 Tests, Siddle had 74 wickets at an average of 33. The figures were fine, but to take the next leap, Siddle needed to add another string to his bow. The appointment of Craig McDermott as the bowling coach in May 2011 allowed Siddle to work closely with the former Australian quick and by the end of 2012, Siddle had become the No.2 bowler in the world.
One of the key aspects McDermott drilled into Siddle was to ensure he bowled a fuller length. Siddle also adopted a slight change of grip on the ball, a technical tweak that enabled him to swing the ball, a trait that was missing from his bowling in the early stages of his career. May 2011 to September 2013 was arguably the peak of Siddle’s career. The raw bustling quick was now a craftsman and in 24 Tests, he picked up 93 wickets at 26.74 with a strike-rate of 55.3.
Coincidentally, it was his off-field diet plans during this successful phase that generated most of the attention. The Victorian became a vegan in 2012 and famously adopted a diet that involved him eating as many as 20 bananas a day.
JUST IN: Aussie champion Peter Siddle has just informed his teammates of his retirement from international cricket.
What a career pic.twitter.com/TToiVkjfZ0
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 28, 2019
Criticised by many including Dennis Lillee for his non-meat diet Siddle said at the time “It has got me into a more professional body than I was previously. I was carrying a bit too much. I didn’t have as much muscle and I wasn’t as strong. I’ve converted that and turned it all around to be a lot more of a fine-tuned athlete.”
Under the coaching regime of Darren Lehmann, Siddle was told he needed to add 'that' yard of pace to be in reckoning for Australia again. So for six months, he went away, fine-tuned his body and started touching speeds of 140km/h again. The raw pace mentality of Lehmann probably cost him a few Tests, but he never complained. Instead, he spent season after season in English county cricket sharpening his skills with the Dukes ball.
To ensure he mastered the English conditions he spoke in lengths with Alistair Cook and Stuart Broad. As Justin Langer said before the Ashes campaign earlier, “Sidds is such a professional, even at 35, he wants to get better with each outing”.
When Siddle was picked as part of the Ashes squad this year, he became the only Australian fast bowler to be part of four Ashes tours to England. Importantly, he played a vital role in regaining the Ashes. Neither was he the leading wicket-taker, nor did he lead the strike-rates, but as Paine said, “Sidds is just the type of guy you always want around the dressing room”.
Even Siddle preferred to keep the retirement simple: "I'm very happy but a bit sad".
Siddle will always be remembered as a fighter, someone who kept plugging away and probably didn’t get the accolades in the media like his fellow peers. But if you ask any of the four captains (Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Steve Smith or Tim Paine) he played under — who would run through a brick wall for the team? The unanimous choice would be Peter Siddle.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
India U-19 on Saturday beat South Africa U-19 by eight wickets to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2MCR9DE
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
South Africa vs England: Chasing a tricky target of 376, England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley added 92 runs for the opening wicket, helping the visitors reach 121/1 at stumps on Day 3.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2swChzR
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma are enjoying some downtime at a snow-covered mountain and the India captain shared some glimpses of it.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2SBtKpU
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly feels beating Australia on their home soil will be a bigger challenge for India next year compared to the one in 2018-19.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2te6bsp
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Hanuma Vihari has been named skipper of India A side that will tour New Zealand for two four day-games ahead of the important series.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/354J3dt
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Ranji Trophy: Ishant Sharma picked up eight wickets in the match as Delhi registered their first win of the season after beating Hyderabad by seven wickets.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2t9L9vj
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Ishant Sharma said that fast bowlers were rotated a lot under MS Dhoni's captaincy and that kept them from achieving consistency.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Zw2Elq
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is confident that MS Dhoni has communicated about his future plans to India captain Virat Kohli and the selectors.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/351iqWM
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Cheteshwar Pujara, playing for Saurashtra, turned bowler and picked up a wicket on his second ball but Shikhar Dhawan decided to take a dig at his running between wickets and trolled him.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/365YuDt
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said Danish Kaneria played the most under him and he is not ready to accept the claims made by the spinner.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Zw1Vk6
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty had a priceless reaction to daughter Athiya's picture with Team India opener KL Rahul on Instagram.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/37l9zAv
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
South Africa vs England: Cricket South Africa said that Aiden Markram's injury will require a surgery, meaning he will be out of action for at least six weeks.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/354sPRe
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Uttar Pradesh thrashed Saurashtra by an innings and 72 runs after grabbing a massive 192-run first innings lead.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/37glLT9
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
New Zealand were dismissed for 148 in Melbourne on Saturday, with Australia batting again to rub salt in the wounds and extend their lead.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2SyBk4L
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Australia beat New Zealand by 247 runs to win the second Test and the series on Sunday with a battling century from opener Tom Blundell proving futile.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2QrCNqN
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Toggle between the tabs above to switch between quick scorecard, full scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
Day 3 report: England made a fighting start to a daunting task when it reached 121-1 at the close of day three of the first Test in South Africa on Saturday.
The tourists still need 255 more runs to win but have one of the most improbable come-from-behind wins in Test history — from the Ashes series earlier this year — fresh in their memory.
South Africa are still the favourites after setting England 376 to win but not as overwhelmingly so when England's second innings started just before tea at SuperSport Park.
Rory Burns led England's valiant resistance with 77 not out at the close. Joe Denly was 10 not out with Dom Sibley the only casualty so far, caught and bowled for 29 by left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj.
England made major progress after being all but written off. England need the third-highest fourth-innings score ever made in South Africa to win the series opener. It would be the highest winning chase ever in South Africa after the other two innings were made in draws.
It would also replace the forever tarnished 251-8 England made at this same ground in 2000 as the team's highest score to win a Test in South Africa. That game is always remembered not for England's chase but for South Africa captain Hansie Cronje instigating declarations by both teams to set up a result. At the time, it was received as a sporting move to make a game out of a weather-affected Test. It's been under a cloud ever since Cronje was later banned for life from cricket for involvement in match-fixing.
South Africa had a clear advantage at Centurion earlier on Saturday when its middle and lower order batting fired in its second innings — and England's fast bowlers tired.
Rassie van der Dussen made 51 on his Test debut to go with the half-centuries he made for his country on his one-day and T20 debuts. Vernon Philander added 46 and Quinton de Kock cracked a quickfire 34. Anrich Nortje perhaps frustrated the English bowlers most when he hung around for a career-best 40 after coming in the evening before as a nightwatchman tasked only with not getting out.
De Kock's first two scoring shots were sixes over square leg off fast bowler Jofra Archer to make clear his intention to ram home South Africa's supremacy.
The upshot was that South Africa, 72-4 overnight in its second innings, made 272 all out to move into a dominant position.
Archer finished with 5-102 but the damage was already done by the time he completed his third Test five-wicket haul.
At that point, England was worn down by illness as well as the opposition.
Captain Joe Root and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler were the latest players to be affected by a flu-like bug that's hit at least nine of England's squad members and two of its backroom staff over the last week.
Buttler didn't take any part in the day's play and was replaced behind the stumps by batsman Jonny Bairstow, who is also an experienced wicketkeeper. Root was on and off the field for treatment and was in quarantine with Buttler at the ground at one point.
There were also outward signs of frustration in the England camp when vice-captain Ben Stokes and veteran fast bowler Stuart Broad exchanged words in what appeared to be a heated disagreement in a team huddle after a South African wicket fell. Stokes walked away from the huddle but the two later made up with a fist pump.
And yet England made a brave stand at the end of the day.
Burns survived an lbw dismissal right at the beginning of his innings by successfully reviewing. He was also dropped early and then edged just out of South Africa captain Faf du Plessis' reach on the second-last ball of the day.
But Burns rode his luck brilliantly with gritty application in defence and a good dose of flowing shots for his 11 fours.
England will be harking back to five months ago and Leeds, when Stokes' 135 not out carried it past a target of 359 and to a scarcely believable victory against Australia.
South Africa will avoid thinking about how it failed to defend 304 against Sri Lanka this year on the way to losing a series at home for the first time in three years.
With inputs from The Associated Press
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
BCCI ethics officer D K Jain has rendered the conflict of interest complaint against CAC members Shantha Rangaswamy and Anshuman Gaekwad as "infructuous" but the case involving Kapil Dev has still not been decided.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/37liKRs
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
David Warner completed a sharp catch at leg-slip to break the 72-run stand between BJ Watling and Tom Blundell.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2u14QWy
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Melbourne: A stylish century from Tom Blundell could not prevent Australia from overpowering New Zealand to claim a series-clinching, 247-run win with a day to spare in the second cricket Test.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon took 4-81 and claimed the last catch to dismiss Blundell late Sunday, and paceman James Pattinson returned 3-35 on home soil.
Resuming on day four on 137-4, Australia declared its second innings closed at 168-5, an overall lead of 487.
New Zealand lost three wickets for three runs in a top-order collapse as Pattinson struck three times in two overs, leaving Kane Williamson’s lineup in a desperate position at 38-3 at lunch.
Introduced to the attack in the ninth over, Pattinson had Tom Latham (8) caught behind to make the total 32-1. In his next over, Pattinson trapped Williamson lbw for a duck, before Ross Taylor (2) chopped a short ball onto his stumps four deliveries later.
Williamson, ranked among the top three batsmen in Test cricket, has scored 34, 14, nine and a duck in the series. His captaincy has also been questioned by ex-Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum, who described some of his tactics as “staggering”.
Blundell, 29, posted the second century of his three-Test career, in his first Test since 2017. Having played two Tests batting at No 8 in 2017, reserve wicketkeeper Blundell was recalled for the Melbourne Test and given the opening role, replacing Jeet Raval.
Blundell shared half-century partnerships with Henry Nicholls (33) and BJ Watling (22) to steady the innings.
Lyon had Nicholls neatly stumped by Tim Paine at 89-4 and then had Watling caught at leg slip at 161-5, ending an entertaining 72-run stand.
Colin de Grandhomme started aggressively and scored nine off 12 deliveries, before offering a catch to backward square as Lyon picked up a third wicket of the innings. Mitch Santner (27) hit five boundaries before he was outsmarted by Lyon and departed, caught behind at 212-7.
Tailender Tim Southee was run out and Blundell was caught by Lyon low to the ground at mid-on after a late surge of boundaries in his 210-ball innings which included 15 fours. Injured pace bowler Trent Boult did not bat because of a fractured hand.
Boult has been ruled out of the third in Sydney starting Friday. Australia has added uncapped leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson to its squad.
The Australian attack dominated in Melbourne, with Pat Cummins (5-28), Pattinson (3-34) and Mitchell Starc (2-20) ripping through New Zealand for 148 in its first innings on Saturday. That bowling performance followed Australia’s imposing first-innings total of 467 including man-of-the-match Travis Head’s 114.
The Boxing Day Test, New Zealand’s first at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) since 1987, attracted a crowd of 203,472 in four days of play.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
New Delhi: BCCI ethics officer DK Jain has rendered the conflict of interest complaint against former cricketers and CAC members Shantha Rangaswamy and Anshuman Gaekwad as "infructuous" but the case involving Kapil Dev has still not been decided.
Jain had called Rangaswamy, Gaekwad and Kapil for a personal hearing on 27 and 28 December even though all three had stepped down from the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) in September and October, following the complaint filed by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) life member Sanjeev Gupta.
Representational image of BCCI. AFP
Gupta had claimed that all three don multiple cricketing roles when as per the BCCI constitution, no person can occupy more than one post at the same time.
"Since they (Gaekwad, Rangaswamy) have resigned from their respective posts, the complaint has been disposed of. In Kapil's case, the complainant needed more time to file an application, I have given him that," Jain told PTI on Sunday.
Rangaswamy, who like Gaekwad is on the BCCI apex council, is no more involved with Indian Cricketers Association (ICA) as its director.
Gaekwad was a working group member which was set up for ICA's formation and is also no more part of BCCI's affiliation committee.
While Kapil and Rangaswamy were unavailable, Gaekwad deposed before Jain. The case concerning BCCI employee Mayank Parikh, who also faces a conflict of interest charge, is not settled yet.
The Kapil-led CAC, when it was existent, had appointed the senior men's and women's head coach.
Being part of CAC is an honorary job and World Cup-winning captain Kapil had earlier made it clear that conflict of interest should not be applicable to those who are not being paid for their services.
Conflict of interest is a serious issue facing Indian cricket and the BCCI has sought Supreme Court's directions on the matter.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
Day 3 report: Australia marched toward a dominant series victory over New Zealand on Saturday after dismissing the visitors cheaply and building a mammoth 456-run lead on day three of the Boxing Day Test.
New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Australia's Tim Paine pose with the trophy. Image: Twitter @cricketcomau
Leading 1-0 after thrashing the Black Caps in the Perth opener, Tim Paine’s Australia pushed to 137 for four in their second innings at stumps after routing the tourists for 148 in a firestorm of pace bowling at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Replying to Australia’s first innings 467, New Zealand were bowled out 120 runs short of forcing the hosts to bat again, but Paine sent his batsmen back out to pile on the agony.
At the close, Matthew Wade was 15 not out, with Travis Head, the first innings centurion, on 12.
The equation is bleak for Kane Williamson’s men, who had hoped for a result in Melbourne to keep the series alive to the third and final match in Sydney next week.
No team has ever scored more than 417 runs in a fourth innings at the MCG, and none has ever chased down more than 332 to win at the venue.
Dominated by Australia’s batsmen in the opening two days, New Zealand crumbled in the face of formidable fast bowling.
Pat Cummins was chief tormentor, underlining his claim as the format’s premier exponent with a blistering display of pace and precision.
He led Australia’s bowling with 5-28 to continue a brilliant year.
“I’ve had a pretty good run lately so I can’t see it getting too much better than what the last year’s been but hopefully I can maintain it at that level,” 26-year-old Cummins, the year’s leading wicket-taker, told reporters.
He was scarcely better than team mate James Pattinson, the fiery 29-year-old quick claiming 3-34 in his return to the side as replacement for the injured Josh Hazlewood.
Only opener Tom Latham scored more than 20 runs for New Zealand, but after raising a tough half-century, he promptly gave up his wicket for 50, one of Cummins’ four caught-behind victims.
Thousands of New Zealanders had flown across “the ditch” to watch their team’s first appearance at the MCG in 32 years, many with hope of a better show than the 296-run capitulation in Perth.
Instead, they have seen another disaster unfold in the wake of Williamson’s decision to send Australia in to bat after winning the toss.
Adding to the gloom, their pace spearhead Trent Boult suffered a fracture in his hand when struck by a Mitchell Starc ball while batting after lunch.
Having missed Perth with a rib injury, Boult will head home after Melbourne and miss the Sydney test.
“It’s obviously gutting news for Trent and also for our group to have someone like that ruled out with his injuries,” said Latham.
In a rare highlight for New Zealand, seamer Neil Wagner captured his 200th test wicket when he dismissed Steve Smith for seven, the fourth time he has scalped the master batsman in the series.
But Head and Wade stood firm in the final overs to ensure Australia will return on day four with victory all but assured.
“Fair play to Australia the way they bowled,” said Latham.
“They were relentless and didn’t really let us have anything, unfortunately.”
With inputs from Reuters
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
In a video that surfaced on Saturday, Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad can be seen having a heated argument during Day 3 of the South Africa vs England 1st Test.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Qvjblw
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Shoaib Akhtar said that 1-2 players in the team did pass racist comments on Danish Kaneria, but it was never encouraged by the team members and was nipped in the bud.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2SzIy8t
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Peter Siddle will continue to play at domestic level, including for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League and Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2SGw8ff
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Melbourne: Veteran pace bowler Peter Siddle is retiring from international after being left out of Australia's squad for the third cricket Test against New Zealand.
The 35-year-old Siddle, who played the last of his 67 Tests during the 2019 tour to England when Australia retained the Ashes, was called into the squad for the ongoing second Test in Melbourne as injury cover but was not selected in the starting XI.
He announced his international retirement on Sunday, with Australia in a comfortable position on day four of the Boxing Day Test. A consistent and reliable seamer who took 221 Test wickets at an average of 30.66, Siddle will continue to play domestic cricket with Victoria in Australia and Essex in England.
"It's always hard to know when the right time is," Siddle told Fox Cricket. “The Ashes was the main goal, to try and ... be a part of that series.”
Siddle said once he'd “ticked that off,” he spoke to Australia captain Tim Paine and coach Justin Langer about his selection prospects.
“The chance of getting maybe one last crack came up in Australia. To do it at home would have been nice, but I can be content with 67 Tests,” he said. "Just to play one (Test) is amazing. To play what I did, it’s truly special.”
A product of rural Victoria where he competed in junior wood-chopping events, Siddle converted to a vegan diet in 2012 and has become known for his fondness for eating over a dozen bananas during a day’s play.
His career highlights include taking a Test hat-trick against England in Brisbane on his 26th birthday on 10 November, 2010. Siddle also played a prominent role with a haul of 16 wickets in Australia’s 5-0 Ashes sweep on home soil in 2013-14.
Langer praised Siddle as the "heart and soul" of the team.
"He is the everything of what a team player is. He has given his heart and soul to the Australian team and the game of cricket," Langer said.
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan described Siddle on Sunday as someone who “just keeps running in for you”.
“He’s a captain’s dream,” Vaughan told Fox Cricket.
Siddle’s career tally of Test wickets is the 13th-highest for an Australian. While it was hard to pick a career highlight, he said the Ashes hat-trick was “pretty good.”
Australia picked uncapped legspinner Mitchell Swepson at Siddle's expense for the third Test against New Zealand, which starts 3 January in Sydney.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
Two Delhi U-23 players Kuldeep Yadav and Lakshay Thareja were on Friday sent home by the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) for allegedly misbehaving with a female employee of a Kolkata hotel.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2F0hMOs
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Former India women's captain Anjum Chopra is the co-recipient of the lifetime achievement award for the year 2019.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/363ufgr
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Mumbai collapsed to a 10-wicket loss to Railways on Friday in an early season shock at the ongoing third round of the Ranji Trophy.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2QnsCDE
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
South Africa were 72 for four at the close, an overall lead of 175, on a pitch which has proved difficult for batsmen throughout.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2F0dJ4V
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Shoaib Akhtar shared a leaked video of Wasim Akram on Twitter and wrote, "I support the Leaked Video of Wasim Akram, We need a change".
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2MvlJ1J
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Pakistan's banned Test leg-spinner Danish Kaneria said there were a "few players" who targeted him for being a Hindu during his time but he never made an issue of it.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2t5SwDR
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Australia captain Tim Paine blasted cricket's Decision Review System, saying it left him "disappointed and angry" after he was dismissed controversially in the second Test against New Zealand.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Q1NotB
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Travis Head came into the match under pressure after a lean spell, but silenced his critics with only his second Test century, reaching three figures off 222 balls.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2ZsQiKL
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Dale Steyn is seeing action in the Big Bash League in Australia for the first time and had a tumultuous welcome.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2Mz7f17
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts is impressed with the big decisions Sourav Ganguly has taken in a short time as BCCI president.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2EYHzXk
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
India begun its preparations for next month's U-19 World Cup on an emphatic note as they defeated South Africa by nine wickets.
from Latest Cricket News, Cricket Info, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com https://ift.tt/2MybFFp
Posted in Labels: Cricket Info, Latest Cricket News, Sports News Updates - NDTVSports.com
Day 3 report: Australia marched toward a dominant series victory over New Zealand on Saturday after dismissing the visitors cheaply and building a mammoth 456-run lead on day three of the Boxing Day Test.
Leading 1-0 after thrashing the Black Caps in the Perth opener, Tim Paine’s Australia pushed to 137 for four in their second innings at stumps after routing the tourists for 148 in a firestorm of pace bowling at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Replying to Australia’s first innings 467, New Zealand were bowled out 120 runs short of forcing the hosts to bat again, but Paine sent his batsmen back out to pile on the agony.
At the close, Matthew Wade was 15 not out, with Travis Head, the first innings centurion, on 12.
The equation is bleak for Kane Williamson’s men, who had hoped for a result in Melbourne to keep the series alive to the third and final match in Sydney next week.
No team has ever scored more than 417 runs in a fourth innings at the MCG, and none has ever chased down more than 332 to win at the venue.
Dominated by Australia’s batsmen in the opening two days, New Zealand crumbled in the face of formidable fast bowling.
Pat Cummins was chief tormentor, underlining his claim as the format’s premier exponent with a blistering display of pace and precision.
He led Australia’s bowling with 5-28 to continue a brilliant year.
“I’ve had a pretty good run lately so I can’t see it getting too much better than what the last year’s been but hopefully I can maintain it at that level,” 26-year-old Cummins, the year’s leading wicket-taker, told reporters.
He was scarcely better than team mate James Pattinson, the fiery 29-year-old quick claiming 3-34 in his return to the side as replacement for the injured Josh Hazlewood.
Only opener Tom Latham scored more than 20 runs for New Zealand, but after raising a tough half-century, he promptly gave up his wicket for 50, one of Cummins’ four caught-behind victims.
Thousands of New Zealanders had flown across “the ditch” to watch their team’s first appearance at the MCG in 32 years, many with hope of a better show than the 296-run capitulation in Perth.
Instead, they have seen another disaster unfold in the wake of Williamson’s decision to send Australia in to bat after winning the toss.
Adding to the gloom, their pace spearhead Trent Boult suffered a fracture in his hand when struck by a Mitchell Starc ball while batting after lunch.
Having missed Perth with a rib injury, Boult will head home after Melbourne and miss the Sydney test.
“It’s obviously gutting news for Trent and also for our group to have someone like that ruled out with his injuries,” said Latham.
In a rare highlight for New Zealand, seamer Neil Wagner captured his 200th test wicket when he dismissed Steve Smith for seven, the fourth time he has scalped the master batsman in the series.
But Head and Wade stood firm in the final overs to ensure Australia will return on day four with victory all but assured.
“Fair play to Australia the way they bowled,” said Latham.
“They were relentless and didn’t really let us have anything, unfortunately.”
With inputs from Reuters
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
Toggle between the tabs above to switch between quick scorecard, full scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
Day 2 report: England and South Africa both revealed their brittle batting lineups in the first Test on Friday.
England's appear to be the more delicate, though, after the tourists collapsed from 142-3 to 181 all out in their first innings, and South Africa had a 175-run lead by the end of Day 2 on a tricky but not yet treacherous pitch at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
South Africa were 72-4 at stumps in their second innings to trudge ahead, but not in a convincing manner. Still, the Proteas' advantage is significant on a pitch that almost always favors fast bowlers.
Captain Joe Root (29), Joe Denly (50) and Ben Stokes (35) had showed signs of digging England out of the early hole of 15-2 in the tourists' first innings of the four-Test series. But their fightback was curtailed. Denly's exit soon after registering his half-century instigated the big collapse and England lost 7-39 in just under 16 overs.
South Africa fast bowlers Vernon Philander, who had superb figures of 4-16, and Kagiso Rabada (3-68) made early inroads and also wrapped up the tail. In between, South Africa were relieved that inexperienced change bowlers Dwaine Pretorius (1-23), who is on debut, and Anrich Nortje (2-47) were able to hold their own.
Arriving at 70-3, star all-rounder Stokes appeared ready to inspire England's fightback when he swatted spinner Keshav Maharaj for consecutive sixes over the midwicket boundary and into a group of England supporters.
Nortje made sure it didn't happen when he came round the wicket and forced an outside edge from Stokes to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. Stokes let out a cry of frustration as he headed to the dressing room.
Stokes fell after seemingly playing himself in — a trend of this Test — and England went on to concede a 103-run first innings lead. That came after England started the day in positive fashion by quickly taking the last South African wicket it needed to restrict the home team to 284 in their first innings.
The fast bowlers were dominant early, when Broad finished off the South Africans first time round. He and Sam Curran returned identical figures of 4-58, the 21-year-old Curran's best in Test cricket.
England's early advantage disappeared when it came to batting as Philander and Rabada zoned in on the English top order.
Rory Burns edged Philander behind to de Kock, who went on to equal the South African record of six catches for a keeper in an innings. That's one off the world record.
Rabada, having been hit for four through midwicket by Dom Sibley, responded aggressively with a fast, rearing delivery next up that nicked the edge of Sibley's bat and flew through to de Kock.
Rabada was bowling fast — he pinged Root square on the helmet with one bouncer — and Philander didn't concede a run off his first five overs. The South African new-ball pair displayed a mix of unnerving aggression and unerring accuracy.
Denly, after being dropped when he was on 0, was the best in combating that and stoked some pretty cover drives in his nine fours and third straight score of 50 or more on the tour.
When he inside-edged Pretorius for another catch for de Kock, England let it slip completely.
Denly, Jonny Bairstow (1) and Stokes went in the space of four overs and England's last four wickets also went down in a rapid four-over spell.
South Africa followed England's example with a shaky start to their second innings to make it 15 wickets falling on the day.
Aiden Markram was out lbw to James Anderson for 2, Zubayr Hamza went to Broad for 4 and Dean Elgar was out for 22 with an inside edge to Archer (2-37).
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis was a contender for the most careless dismissal of the day. Having already hit three fours and a six with his team under pressure, he went down on one knee and tried to hammer Archer's delivery over the square leg boundary. Instead, he was caught on the boundary by Curran and South Africa had to send in nightwatchman Nortje to slow things down.
He made it to the close with Rassie van der Dussen, another South African on debut, who was 17 not out.
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
If someone told you at the start of 2019 that the year to come would provide the spectacle of a tied World Cup final, you would have set your clock straight to 14 July 2019 (although, if you’re reading this, odds are you probably had the period from 30 May to 14 July earmarked from well in advance). If someone told you that the same World Cup final would end that way, that’s when you would’ve immediately wanted to snap back to reality — because that just couldn’t be real.
Well, what do we know! 14 July 2019 now rests in its own palatial suite in the galaxy of the cricketing impossible — surely we will never see anything quite like it, ever again (as a matter of fact we won’t, at least not until the correction to the laws made after the events of that Lord’s evening are rewritten).
The World Cup, of course, was the main course of the sumptuous feast that was another riveting year of international cricket; the entrees and dessert didn’t particularly disappoint either.
So, as the curtain comes down on 365 days of further intrigue in this storied sport, let’s take a look back at just how the caravan of men’s cricket unfolded through 2019. In a World Cup year, where else to begin but the ODIs — whoever thought the 50-over game was under threat!
ODIs: One Mad Evening at the Home of Cricket
Well, even the most sceptic of naysayers wouldn’t have found cricket, and especially its 50-over version, ‘boring’ if they tuned to the final of the 12th edition of the sport’s showpiece event. The events of that evening, of course, have been devoured and debated alike, in abundance.
The small matter of a World Cup final aside, a total of 150 ODIs played in 2019 continued recent trends of the format; bat continues to dominate ball more often than not, and 350, in several cases and at least several places, is the new 300.
Runs were scored at 5.42 per over through this calendar, the third-highest figure for any year in ODIs; wickets, too, were at a premium, with 2019’s average of 33.36 being the highest for any year in the 50-over game barring 1974 — a year where only six ODIs were played.
England, having ended the longest wait in this game in the most dramatic circumstances seen by it yet, were crowned world champions; they would also be the most successful ODI side overall in the year, with 14 wins from 22 games. India and Australia — both semi-finalists at the World Cup — were the only other teams to register more than double the number of wins to losses.
At the other end of the spectrum, among the ‘established’ teams, were Sri Lanka, who won only seven games while losing 14. New Zealand and South Africa also finishing the year with win-loss ratios in excess of 1.5, while no other side outside of this top-five could manage a rate above 0.66, continuing the top-heaviness that this format remains affected by.
As fortunate as the culmination of their dream may have been, you make your own luck, and England did boss the game like no one else. Eoin Morgan’s World Cup winners ended 2019 with a scoring rate of 6.49 - that’s 51 more runs per game than the average ODI score for the year; no other side was able to touch a run rate of 6.
Best Batsmen: Make merry from the top
It’s been a great decade to be a top-order batsman in the ODI game, and 2019 ensured that the theme of the decade stayed put. 13 out of the 15 leading run-scorers this year were batsmen who regularly plied their trade at the top of the order.
Rohit Sharma (1490 runs from 28 matches) topped the pile of the run-pilers, slightly clear of his captain Virat Kohli (1377 from 26). Kohli, by the celestial standards he’s set for himself, had a below-par year compared to recent ones, averaging below 75 for the first time in a year since 2015. He still averaged only a shade under 60.
Rohit’s year featured seven hundreds — only Sachin Tendulkar in 1998 has ever hit more in a single year in ODIs — and that five of those came at the World Cup (a first in the competition’s history) reflects the scale of his performances.
With a minimum qualification of 500 runs in the year, only four batsmen averaged above 70, and only five struck at a rate in excess of 110. Jason Roy was the only man to make both these top-grade groups.
The consistency of Shai Hope (1345 runs @ 61.13) also stood out, as did the sparkling flame of Babar Azam’s blade (1092 runs in 20 games, average 60.66), and the devastating impact of Jos Buttler’s (667 runs in 16 innings, strike rate 135.56).
Best Bowlers: Pacers can still exist
Of the 29 bowlers that closed out 2019 with 20 or more wickets in ODIs, only five were spinners; this was a year where fast bowlers roared back into contention with the white-ball, aiding the renewed claims of their relevance in this age of 350+ totals.
The top five wicket-takers of the year, in fact, were all out-and-out pacers: Mohammed Shami, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Mustafizur Rahman and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Shami’s sensational returns around the globe brought him 42 wickets, four ahead of the second-placed Boult. But for sheer striking ability, Mitchell Starc furthered his credentials as today’s fiercest strike bowler; each of his 27 wickets came out of 10 games he played at the World Cup, with the Aussie left-arm quick needing barely 20 deliveries per dismissal.
Imran Tahir was the most economical bowler out of the non-Associate pack, conceding 4.44 an over, followed closely by Jasprit Bumrah (4.62) and Jofra Archer (4.63).
Best Knock: Ben Stokes, 84* off 98 vs NZ, CWC19 Final, Lord’s
It will best be remembered, unfortunately, or not, for the four runs no batsman in the world can imagine accruing to his tally. But nothing, and no one, can take away from the rest of the 80 runs scored by Ben Stokes during the World Cup final — or the eight runs he put on the board in the Super Over that ensued thereafter.
There can be no greater stage, and there, arguably, will never be quite as much of a pressure-cooker for a batsman to emerge out of. One way or the other, Stokes carried England over the line in the biggest game of the country’s centuries of cricketing existence.
Special mention to Ashton Turner’s own 84 not out at Mohali much earlier in the year, for had this not been a World Cup year, it would have been mighty difficult to top. Those 84 runs came off just 43 balls; playing only his second ODI, Turner had turned up with Australia four-down and needing 130 runs from 83 balls — they wrapped up the chase, of 359 no less, with 13 to spare.
Best Spell: Matt Henry 10-1-37-3 vs IND, CWC19 S/F, Manchester
India had topped the group stage. India were scoring runs for fun. India didn’t need a middle-order. India were chasing a mere 240. India, surely, were going to the World Cup final.
Except, New Zealand’s new-ball bowlers hadn’t been sent that script. Sure, they benefitted from the rain-break that took the first semi-final into a second day, as also from the cloud cover that persisted through the morning of the reserve day.
But Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul had scored a combined total of 1007 runs at the World Cup already, and India’s opening partnership had averaged 86 till the point. Yet, one ball into his second over, Matt Henry had sent both back to the pavillion, and India were 5/3 in 3.1 overs.
Henry added the wicket of Dinesh Karthik about half an hour later, and India had to go home.
Special mention, here, to another three-for, this time from the final that followed. Liam Plunkett’s 3/42 will perhaps read innocuously when people go back to the scorecard from the summit clash, but the journeyman’s three wickets were those of Kane Williamson, who was nearing 600 runs and was named Player of the Tournament, Henry Nicholls, who, with 55, was New Zealand’s only half-centurion of the final, and James Neesham, who was the Kiwis’ best hope for a death overs upward spiral.
Best Match: ENG vs NZ, CWC19 Final, Lord’s
Really? Do you need more?
Team of the Year
Rohit Sharma, Jason Roy, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, James Neesham, Mitchell Starc, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Imran Tahir (12th man: Shakib al Hasan)
Tests*: Two classics and a lot of gulf in class
Test cricket in 2019 witnessed two humdingers to match with the best of all-time — impossibly against the odds one-wicket victories, both miracles pulled off by left-handed counter-punching batsmen batting at number five with only a number 11 for support through the last 70+ runs of the chase.
At Durban in February, Sri Lanka were 226/9 chasing 304 against South Africa; at Leeds six months later, England, chasing 359, had 286 on the board when the ninth wicket fell. Then, Kusal Perera and Ben Stokes (yeah, him again), respectively, pulled elephant-sized rabbits out of their hats.
But those two jaw-dropping finishes aside, this would be a year of utterly one-sided Test-match action, across the globe. Of the 37 Tests played in 2019 (prior to the two Boxing Day Tests in South Africa and Australia), only four were drawn; take away the two one-wicket wins mentioned above, and the 31 remaining results were astonishingly one-way traffic. 10 matches were won by an innings, and the average victory margin in the other 21 cases were 240 runs or eight wickets.
It’s not the best reflection in a year where the oldest form of the game underwent a makeover - this, clearly, isn’t what world cricket bosses had in mind when conceptualising the World Test Championship.
World No 1 ranked India went unbeaten through the year — the only team to do so — and their seven games under the inaugural World Championship cycle so far have seen them register wins by 318 runs, 257 runs, 203 runs, an innings and 137 runs, an innings and 202 runs, an innings and 130 runs, and an innings and 46 runs. Virat Kohli’s side started the year with a draw at Sydney that helped them seal the country’s first-ever Test series win in Australia; India end the year as the first-ever team to have claimed four successive innings wins in Tests.
Australia thrived on the return of Steven Smith (and later the discovery of Marnus Labuschagne) to finish 2019 with only two defeats, both during a 2-2 Ashes series that was a rare riveting contest this calendar year.
The greatest shock, undeniably, came early on, when Sri Lanka rode the wave of Perera’s Durban delight to clinch a 2-0 series win in South Africa - a first Test series victory for any Asian side in the country.
Best Batsmen: Super Smith, and a sublime shadow
Steven Smith hadn’t played a Test until the start of August. He bids goodbye to 2019 with more runs to his name than all but one player this year — and that man only really came into the scene because Smith got concussed at Lord’s.
As much as the English might want to paint 2019’s battle with the oldest enemy as ‘Stokes’ Ashes’, it really was Smith’s Ashes and no one else’s. The former Australian captain announced his return — and his redemption song — to the format he bosses with 774 runs from seven innings during the summer in England, going past 50, six out of seven times.
Where Smith left, Labuschagne took off, stirringly enough to have crossed 1000 runs at an average exceeding 68 even before playing the last game of the year. Leave out these two Australian freaks, and no batsman had even touched 800 runs prior to Boxing Day.
Also worthy of praise is Mayank Agarwal, who marked his first full year in international cricket with consistent displays all along to amass 754 runs at an average of 68.54.
Best Bowlers: India, Australia rule the roost
As of before the Boxing Day Tests, the top-three wicket-takers in Test cricket this year were Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc. In terms of strike rates, the top-five read: Ishant Sharma, Starc, Mohammed Shami, Kemar Roach and Cummins.
Cummins and Starc proved to be devastating as ever for pretty much all comers in the line of Australia’s fire, with both the Aussie quicks averaging around the 20-mark.
India’s bowlers might not find themselves at the summit of the wickets table but bear in mind that the team only played eight Tests — and brace yourself for a sample of what transpired during the same.
Shami: 33 wickets at 16.67, a wicket every 35 balls. Ishant: 25 wickets at 15.56, a wicket every 32 balls. Umesh Yadav: 23 wickets at 13.65, a wicket every 23 balls. Jasprit Bumrah: 14 wickets at 13.14, a wicket every 30 balls.
The Indian pace quartet, collectively, picked up 95 wickets in 2019, averaging 15.16 and striking once every 31.1 balls — that’s the second-best average for any country’s fast bowlers in a calendar year, and the best-ever strike rate (with a minimum qualification of 50 wickets in a year).
Fittingly for this Indian revolution, the year concluded with the team winning a Test at home without a single wicket falling to spin for the first time.
Best Knock(s): The Perera and Stokes specials
Kusal Perera 153* vs SA, Durban. Ben Stokes 135* vs AUS, Leeds.
Leave alone this year, both these knocks already fit comfortably into any all-time collective of the greatest knocks in 142 years of Test cricket.
Even Smith — and even his twin 140s in the Ashes opener at Birmingham — will have to take the second spot on the podium.
Best Spell: Roston Chase 21.4-2-60-8 vs ENG, Bridgetown
The best individual bowling analysis of the year, and even considering that England had nothing at all in the game — chasing 628, and needing to bat out more than two days for a draw — Chase’s decimation of the English batting line was wondrous.
A fourth-innings eight-wicket haul for a spinner is typically looked upon as a gift of the track. But that, in this case, would mean forgetting that West Indies had piled on 415/6 in their own second innings, immediately before England came out to bat — and that England had failed to pick up a wicket in the last 68 overs they bowled while conceding 295 runs.
Special mention: Jasprit Bumrah 8-4-7-5 vs WI, North Sound. Just go check it out if you haven’t. Or even if you have. Multiple times.
Best Match: ENG vs AUS, 3rd Test, Leeds
The two one-wicket triumphs can be bracketed together, and probably will be in the years to come. There’s certainly no picking between the two epic knocks that clinched these two victories, but as far as the game - and entire game - was concerned, the Leeds encounter holds the slightest edge.
Because it was a game of supreme individual fireworks even before Stokes began his mission impossible on the fourth afternoon. Jofra Archer’s six-for on the opening day to roll over Australia; the subsequent submission by England as they got shot out for 67 to hand the visitors a 112-run lead; Labuschagne stroking two other-worldly half-centuries in each innings; and then, the conclusion.
When it works this way, Test match cricket is alive and well!
Team of the Year
Mayank Agarwal, Tom Latham, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Ben Stokes, BJ Watling, Jason Holder, Ravindra Jadeja, Pat Cummins, Neil Wagner, Mohammed Shami (12th man: Ishant Sharma)
*All Test match figures as of before the start of the Boxing Day Tests (Australia vs New Zealand, South Africa vs England)
T20Is: Counting down to the World Cup
The shortest format of cricket, statistically speaking, is now a different ball-game, with all matches among all 104 member countries of the ICC having been granted international status since the start of 2019. A whole host of T20I records have thus been ‘rewritten’, with matches among non-ODI playing teams often producing scorelines beyond the bizarre.
In one game between the Czech Republic and Turkey alone, four of the standout T20I records were either levelled or broken — the Czechs smashed 278/4, the joint-highest team total in men’s T20Is; Turkey were then bowled out for 21, comfortably the lowest team total in the format (Turkey have now been bowled out for scores less than Netherlands’ previous mark of 39 thrice this year); the victory margin of 257 runs eclipses the previous record (172, Sri Lanka vs Kenya, 2007) by 85 runs; in the same game, Czech Republic’s Sudesh Wickramasekara blasted a 35-ball hundred, tying Rohit Sharma and David Miller’s existing record for the fastest T20I ton.
The metrics for T20 cricket at the international level, thus, are rather redefined.
From a qualitative perspective, considering the ‘top’ teams alone, 2019 in terms of T20Is can be split in two contrasting halves - for the larger portion from the start of the year, with an ODI World Cup and an inaugural Test Championship cycle to contend with, the Full-Member nations had put T20Is on the back-burner; through the back end, however, the focus is back on the 20-over game, with a T20 World Cup to be played before the end of 2020 (and another less than a year later).
Among these major countries, Australia enjoyed their T20Is the most, not losing any of their eight matches; Pakistan may still be the top-ranked side in the format, but their year was rather disastrous - one win in 10 matches, easily the worst win-loss ratio among the top sides, and placing them at a lowly 60th out of all 71 countries to play a game in the format this year.
(Note: Analysis below considers major nations only, keeping parity of competition as a key marker)
Best Batsmen: Warner unbeaten, Kohli unchallenged
The way he took his role and place back on, David Warner could have probably erased all sorts of records had he not been banned for the first half of this year; the Aussie opener eventually played six games, and piled on 287 runs, while being dismissed only once.
At the top of the run-charts was Virat Kohli, with 466 runs at an average of 77.66, with five fifties in 10 innings, and a strike rate of 147.93; by the end of the year, it was clear that India were striving hard to change their T20I batting template, and any success of that attempt will always have the captain at its heart.
Babar Azam and KL Rahul were among the most enjoyable batsman to watch, both scoring above 350 runs apiece with strike rates in excess of 135, while Glenn Maxwell and Eoin Morgan led the dashers’ brigade with strike rates of 183.33 and 172.90, respectively.
Best Bowlers: Chahar’s strides, Jordan’s pluck, Rashid’s guile
Though he endured a difficult year in ODIs, Rashid Khan continued to assert his dominance as the premier spinner - and arguably bowler - in T20Is with yet another supreme year: 20 wickets from 10 matches (the most for any bowler from the top sides) at an average of 12.90, while conceding a mere 6.61 runs per over. He had another spinner for company at the top of the wicket-taking charts, as New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner also produced impressive returns (average 15.40, economy 7.33).
Among pacers, three men stood clear from the rest of the competition. Deepak Chahar and Lasith Malinga delivered the two most unbelievable bowling spells of the year, while Chris Jordan upped his stocks as one of the leading death bowlers in T20I cricket at the moment.
Best Knock: Glenn Maxwell 113* off 55 vs IND, Bengaluru, Feb
Glenn Maxwell finished with 231 runs despite batting only thrice in T20Is this year, crossing 50 each time he was out in the middle. His headline act, though, was what should rank among the best centuries in any T20 chase.
Australia were chasing a stiff if not daunting 191-run target at the batting-friendly M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to hand a rare series defeat at home to India - and Maxwell delivered that with a knockout punch. He had come in with trouble brewing at 22/2 in four overs, but once Maxwell got going, no other result looked a possibility.
Virat Kohli ended up on the losing side despite a 38-ball 72 not out, but the Indian skipper produced a close second-best to Maxwell’s 113* later in the year. India faced a tall order when West Indies had posted 207/5 in their series opener at Hyderabad, but Kohli’s innings of two phases concluded with the chase-master on an unbeaten 94 from 50 balls - and India were home with more than an over to spare.
Best Spell(s): Chahar & Malinga’s hat-trick heroics
Deepak Chahar 3.2-0-7-6 vs BAN, Nagpur. A decider against a side that India had never lost a T20I to before the start of the three-match series and Bangladesh were sniffing history halfway through their chase. Needing 175 to win, the Tigers had reached 110/2 in 12.5 overs. Chahar, who had struck twice in a two-over opening spell, was bowling his third over. 39 balls later, Bangladesh had been bowled out for 144 - and Chahar had in his name the best-ever bowling analysis in a men’s T20I.
Lasith Malinga 4-1-6-5 vs NZ, Pallekele. Sri Lanka’s bid to avoid a whitewash at home was on shaky ground after mustering 125/8. That allowed New Zealand to ease into their chase, which is what appeared to be happening for the first 14 balls of their innings. In the next four deliveries - in a straight recall to his storied heroics against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup - cleaned out Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Colin de Grandhomme and Ross Taylor. Yeah, four wickets in four balls. Again. New Zealand were bundled over for 88.
Team of the Year
David Warner, KL Rahul, Babar Azam, Virat Kohli, Eoin Morgan, Glenn Maxwell, Kieron Pollard, Rashid Khan, Deepak Chahar, Chris Jordan, Lasith Malinga (12th man: Mitchell Santner)
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
Toggle between the tabs above to switch between quick scorecard, full scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
Day 2 report: Australia’s pacemen struck twice to leave New Zealand vulnerable at 44 for two on day two of the Boxing Day Test after Travis Head scored a sparkling century to put the hosts firmly in command.
Tom Latham was nine not out with Ross Taylor on two, and New Zealand facing a mountain to climb to reel in Australia’s first innings total of 467.
New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Australia's Tim Paine pose with the trophy. Image: Twitter @cricketcomau
The tourists’ opening woes continued, with Jeet Raval’s replacement Tom Blundell out for 15 edging a Pat Cummins delivery to wicketkeeper-captain Tim Paine.
The huge contingent of New Zealand fans in a crowd of 60,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground were soon groaning again when captain Kane Williamson top-edged a pull-shot to be caught by Paine for nine.
Under pressure to cement his place in Australia’s middle order, South Australian scrapper Head completed his second Test ton after tea and celebrated with emotion on a sun-drenched afternoon.
He was eventually dismissed for 114, smashing spin-bowling all-rounder Mitchell Santner straight to cover when looking for quick runs late in Australia’s innings.
Head scored 56 in his first innings in the series-opener in Perth but was disappointed to give up his wicket with a loose drive off paceman Tim Southee.
“Last week I threw it away a little bit and then was really disappointed with that,” he said. “So it’s nice (to) get another opportunity.”
Head combined with captain Tim Paine in a 150-run partnership that all but crushed New Zealand’s hopes of forging a series-levelling victory after their 296-run loss in the pink ball test in Perth.
Their sixth-wicket stand ended soon after tea when the tireless Neil Wagner trapped Paine lbw for 79, denying the Tasmanian skipper a maiden Test hundred.
Kane Williamson’s bowlers mopped up the tail for the cost of only 34 runs but the damage was already done.
New Zealand managed only one wicket from the first two sessions on Friday, placing Williamson’s decision to send Australia in to bat upon winning the toss under an even harsher light.
After Australia resumed in the morning on 257 for four, paceman Wagner denied Steve Smith his first century of the home summer, dismissing the master batsman for 85 with a short ball for the third time in the series.
Smith was out parrying at a bouncer that pinged off the shoulder of his bat before being plucked out of the air with one hand by a leaping Henry Nicholls in the gully.
That was as good as it got for the Black Caps who were soon on the back foot as Head and Paine counter-attacked with vigour.
The pair marched off unbeaten at tea, having survived the whole middle session and pushed Australia to 431 for five.
With inputs from Reuters
Posted in Labels: Firstpost Firstcricketnews Latest News
