Cricket

The scorecard might not suggest too much reason for optimism, but Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali has always tried to look at the brighter side. And on a gloomy Boxing Day in Melbourne where Pakistan toiled hard for the reward of just three wickets in 66 overs despite prodigious swing and several passages of play

India 208 for 8 (Rahul 70*, Kohli 38, Rabada 5-44) vs South Africa South Africa were poor. India were unlucky. Kagiso Rabada was sublime. KL Rahul was bullish. Thirty-one boundaries were hit. Eight wickets were taken. The stadium was full(ish). The vibe was great. This was Boxing Day with a point to prove. After 59

Former Australia batter Michael Hussey has cautioned the Australian selectors on picking a makeshift opener as David Warner‘s replacement, saying he would prefer a specialist opener who has dominated Sheffield Shield cricket to be rewarded. Hussey, however, stopped short of naming a candidate. Hussey was speaking ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG

The Afghanistan Cricket Board has sanctioned Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen Ul Haq for “prioritizing their personal interests over playing for Afghanistan,” a board statement said on Monday. The board has therefore delayed their 2024 annual central contracts and also announced no NOCs (no-objection certificates) for the trio for the next two years,

Big picture: India chase history The final frontier. That’s what South Africa has proven to be for India. Since South Africa’s readmission to international cricket, India have made eight Test tours to the country. The closest they came to winning was in 2010-11 when the three-match series ended 1-1. Two years ago, players and experts

There’s been another change in the Pakistan coaching set-up, with Yasir Arafat joining the crew for the side’s five-match T20I series in New Zealand. Arafat has been appointed high-performance coach, and will replace the current man in the role, Simon Helmot. ESPNcricinfo understands it was a relatively late decision on the part of the PCB,

With the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, Gerald Coetzee, Mohammed Siraj, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi and Shardul Thakur – especially after his last series here – in the mix, you would expect the series between South Africa and India to be headlined by bowlers. But South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma has a different idea.

India 406 (Deepti 78, Mandhana 74, Gardner 4-100) and 75 for 2 (Mandhana 38*) beat Australia 219 (McGrath 50, Vastrakar 4-53, Rana 3-56) and 261 (McGrath 73, Rana 4-63) by eight wickets A drama-filled first 75 minutes on the fourth morning ended with Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad spinning Australia out of the only Test

Allrounder Aaron Hardie has been named Perth Scorchers’ stand-in captain for the remainder of the season after two-time title-winning skipper Ashton Turner was ruled out of the rest of the Big Bash League with a knee injury. Hardie, 25, has been appointed despite not being the official vice-captain, with the Scorchers hierarchy opting for the

South Africa 316 for 4 (Wolvaardt 126, Brits 118, Rabeya 2-49) beat Bangladesh 100 (Moni 33, de Klerk 3-10 Khaka 3-15, Kapp 2-2-21) by 216 runs South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits forged a record-breaking partnership to give their side a series victory in Benoni. After losing the first ODI by 119 runs,