Cricket

2:11 AM IST ECB Reporters Network Roddy Estwick, West Indies assistant coach, has admitted he is slightly troubled by the top-order’s form ahead of the Test series against England but insists there is no concern over captain Jason Holder‘s form. While many have made scores of substance in the two intra-squad matches at Emirates Old

11:25 PM IST ECB Reporters Network Team Stokes 233 (Crawley 43, Robinson 2-7) lead Team Buttler 287 for 5 dec by 54 runs England allrounder Sam Curran is awaiting the results of a Covid-19 test after being placed in self-isolation at the Ageas Bowl, casting a shadow over the second day of the intra-squad clash.

5:11 PM IST England and West Indies will be presented with red caps and wear specially-designed playing shirts on the second day of the third Test at Emirates Old Trafford to raise awareness for the Ruth Strauss Foundation. The charity, which was launched last year, is named after Sir Andrew Strauss’ late wife Ruth, who

11:06 AM IST Madushka Balasuriya Sri Lanka Cricket is hopeful the Lanka Premier League will go ahead as scheduled in August, despite the Sri Lankan government pushing back the August 1 reopening of the country’s main airport in Katunayake. Sri Lanka’s sports ministry last week gave a go-ahead for the tournament, which has been scheduled

3:06 AM IST West Indies cricket are “blessed” to have Phil Simmons as coach, according to Cricket West Indies (CWI) president, Ricky Skerritt. In an unstinting demonstration of support, Skerritt made it clear that Simmons’ role as head coach remains “not in any way threatened” despite demands from one CWI board member, Conde Riley, for

6:20 PM IST Imran Khwaja will be the interim chairman of ICC until the elections are held for the post. The decision was taken by the ICC Board on Wednesday after incumbent Shashank Manohar stepped down following two terms in the role. Khwaja, who is a former president of the Singapore Cricket Association, was elected

12:08 AM IST ECB Reporters Network Holder XI 120 for 5 (Da Silva 60*) v Brathwaite XI West Indies captain Jason Holder had another short stay at the crease as the tourists’ second and final intra-squad match before next week’s first Test against England finally got under way at Emirates Old Trafford. Holder has been

10:29 PM IST Jos Buttler is set to retain his place in England’s Test team for the start of the series against West Indies. While Buttler has endured a lean run of form with the bat in recent Tests – he has averaged 23.32 in 13 Tests since the start of 2019 and 17.55 in

6:18 PM IST Leicestershire’s players are to resume training on Wednesday despite a second lockdown in the city of Leicester. While most of the UK is slowly beginning to enjoy greater freedom, Leicester’s period in lockdown has been extended by at least two-weeks after a surge of Covid-19 cases in the area. Health Secretary Matt

6:20 AM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Zimbabwe’s three-match ODI tour of Australia in early August has been postponed due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19. Although the series, which was set to be played in northern Australia, had been included in the schedule put out last month it was always unlikely it would take place. A

11:25 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Jermaine Blackwood believes he has something to prove against the world’s leading bowlers, should he find himself back in West Indies’ line-up for the upcoming Test series against England. A measured 112 not out against England in April 2015, in just his sixth Test, remains Blackwood’s only international three-figure score.

6:50 PM IST MCC have launched a review into their extensive art collection – the largest cricket-related collection in the world – after removing artwork relating to Ben Aislabie, the first secretary, from public view. Until recent days, there were two paintings of Aislabie hanging in the pavilion at Lord’s with the club also owning

10:13 AM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has raised the prospect of the Australia-India Boxing Day Test being moved away from the MCG if other venues are able to host larger crowds. Although still six months away, the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in Victoria – 75 were recorded on Monday –

10:53 PM IST England seamer Stuart Broad has admitted to concerns that international cricket will offer “more of a mental test” than usual this summer due to the absence of fans from grounds. All six of England’s Test matches this summer will be played behind closed doors, with the ECB confirming on Friday that the

5:38 PM IST Pakistan have England’s “fragile top order” in their sights as captain Azhar Ali said that the hosts’ batsmen haven’t looked confident since Alastair Cook retired in 2018. He called England’s bowling line-up “brilliant” but played down any sense of pressure handling an experienced attack. England have struggled to nail down a regular

11:34 PM IST Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali has said he and his team-mates made a pact during lockdown to keep their fitness intact so that the moment cricket could resume they would all be ready. The Pakistanis haven’t played any competitive cricket since the Pakistan Super League was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic

9:50 PM IST Alzarri Joseph has downplayed the significance of the news that West Indies head coach Phil Simmons is self-isolating in his Old Trafford hotel room as a health precaution. Simmons left the West Indies’ bubble to attend a funeral on Friday, and has been self-isolating since then in his room on-site. He will

5:12 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Six of the ten Pakistani cricketers who had earlier tested positive for Covid-19 – Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Hasnain – have returned negative results when tested again, Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, announced today, adding that Kashif Bhatti, Haris Rauf, Haider