shares Mashrafe Mortaza is pumped after getting a wicket © AFP At the end of the 49th over of West Indies’ innings, Mashrafe Mortaza walked towards the bowling crease, teasing keen observers into believing he might hand over his cap to the umpire to bowl the last over – perhaps his last over for
Cricket
7:10 AM ET Daniel Brettig in Perth Ricky Ponting‘s hard-earned lessons from a series of epic jousts with Ishant Sharma a decade ago have helped Aaron Finch to make headway in his battle to prove himself as a Test match opening batsman in Australian conditions. Few have forgotten Ishant’s famous nine-over spell at the WACA
3:00 AM ET Big Picture This is a Test between a team ranked No. 6 that has just been walloped 3-0 at home, and a No. 4 side that has just returned from a 2-1 triumph overseas. That the series takes place in the the higher-ranked outfit’s own conditions further underlines who the favourites here
1:12 PM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Sharmeen Khan, who is widely credited for having women’s cricket in Pakistan officially recognised, has died aged 46. News outlets in Pakistan reported that she died of pneumonia. Sharmeen played two Tests – Pakistan’s women’s team has only ever played three – and 26 ODIs between 1997 and 2002, opening
1:54 AM ET Sidharth Monga in Perth The role of the host broadcaster has come into sharp focus in the aftermath of the Adelaide Test. Ishant Sharma is now a marked man, and he spent a major part of the nets session a day before the Perth Test trying to get his rhythm right when
shares R Ashwin high fives Virat Kohli © Getty Images Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin have been ruled out of the second Test against Australia in Perth with back and side injuries respectively. Rohit jarred his lower back while fielding in Adelaide and Ashwin suffered a left-sided abdominal strain. Rohit made 37 and 1
3:00 AM ET Paarl Rocks 130 for 4 (Delport 84, Magala 2-15) beat Nelson Mandela Bay Giants 129 for 8 (Second 37, Bravo 3-22) by six wickets Cameron Delport‘s first fifty of the Mzansi Super League and an incisive spell from Dwayne Bravo guided Paarl Rocks to a six-wicket win over Nelson Mandela Bay Giants
4:55 AM ET Liam Brickhill Former Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer has set his sights on helping his domestic side Rhinos win some silverware this season after he marked his return from an injury layoff with two wickets in their victory over Mountaineers in the opening Pro50 Championship match at Kwekwe Sports Club on Saturday. The
3:00 AM ET Liam Brickhill .Jozi Stars 239 for 3 (van der Dussen 97*, Christian 52*) beat Tshwane Spartans 138 (Cloete 50, Pongolo 6-20) by 101 runs Nono Pongolo starred with a pitch-perfect career-best 6 for 20, the best figures ever recorded in a T20 at the Wanderers, to bowl Tshwane Spartans out for 138
1:38 PM ET The controversial chapter in Indian cricket concerning Anil Kumble stepping down last year as the head coach has been reopened with Diana Edulji, one half of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), revealing the BCCI had “broken rules” while appointing Ravi Shastri as a replacement. Edulji said that Virat Kohli, the