Page 40 - Icc World Test Championship

Khawaja to challenge ICC reprimand, says armband was for a bereavement

Bewildered by the ICC's decision to reprimand him for wearing a black armband during the first Test against Pakistan, Australia's Usman Khawaja on Friday said he will contest the charge as he had told the governing body it was for a "personal bereavement". Khawaja had worn a black armband during Australia's 360-run win over Pakistan in Perth last week. He had arrived for a training session on December 13 with "all lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right" inscribed on his batting spikes and had reportedly planned to wear them during the inaugural Test. "The ICC asked me day two (of the Perth Test) what (the black armband) was for, I told them it was for a personal bereavement. I never ever stated it was for anything else," Khawaja told reporters "I respect the ICC and all the regulations they have, I will be asking them and contesting them From my point of view, that consistency hasn't been done yet." "The shoes were for a different matter, I'm happy to say that, but the ...

AUS vs PAK 1st Test: Australia crush Pakistan, Lyon reaches 500 wickets

Australia skittled Pakistan on a treacherous Perth pitch to record a thumping 360-run victory in the first test inside four days with Nathan Lyon achieving the elusive landmark of 500 test wickets on Sunday. Pakistan was blown away for 89 all out in the final session on Day 4 for its 15th consecutive test defeat in Australia after the home team setup a daunting 450-run target when it declared its second innings at 233-5 around half an hour after lunch. Pakistan's top-order batters crumbled against the relentless pace of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and captain Pat Cummins on a wicket that had variable bounce with plenty of batters taking body blows. Hazlewood and Starc snared six wickets between them, while Cummins nicely setup former Pakistan captain Babar Azam (14) before finding the outside edge of his bat as the visitors had no answer to Australia's nippy fast bowling. Lyon reached the 500-wicket landmark when he successfully went for a leg before wicket referral against Fahe

AUS vs PAK Test: Bowlers keep Australia in control, extend lead on Day 3

Australia stayed in control of the opening Test against Pakistan despite an early stutter in the second innings after it didn't enforce the follow-on Saturday. Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja carried Australia to a watchful 84 for two in the last session on Day 3 for an overall lead of 300 after Pakistan collapsed to 271 all out at the stroke of tea and conceded a 216-run lead. Smith was unbeaten on 43 and needed a brief on-field treatment after he was struck on the shoulder by a sharp Shaheen Shah Afridi's ball late in the day with Khawaja not out on 34. Nathan Lyon grabbed three for 66 and was just a wicket away from the elusive landmark of 500 Test wickets as Pakistan's resistance faded in the first couple of sessions. Australia's pacers bowled at a disciplined line and length and Lyon also squeezed the batters on a wicket which gave him some assistance. All-rounder Mitchell Marsh took the prized wicket of Babar Azam in the first session to go along with his spirited knock of 90

India vs South Africa: Chahar withdrawn from ODIs, Shami ruled out of Tests

Deepak Chahar was unavailable for selection due to a family emergency while Mohammed Shami could not recover in time for the Test series

AUS vs PAK 1st Test: Pakistan trail by 355 in first innings, Jamal takes 6

Australia hit back with two late wickets as Pakistan clawed to 132 for two and trailed by 355 runs in the first Test on Friday. Pakistan fast bowler Aamer Jamal grabbed six for 111 in his debut test, claiming the last four of the five wickets before Australia was bowled out for 487 after it resumed Day 2 at 346 for five. Opening pair Abdullah Shafique (42) and Imam-ul-Haq (38 not out) thwarted the pace trio of captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc before offspinner Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc struck in the last session. Lyon had Shafique caught at leg slip for 42 off 121 balls as the Pakistan right-hander fell in the trap and attempted an aggressive shot while walking out of his crease. Lyon moved closer to the 500-wicket mark as he took his tally in Test cricket to 497 by finishing the day at one for 40. Captain Shan Masood nearly chopped Lyon's delivery back onto his stumps off the first ball he faced before showing plenty of aggression, hitting five boundarie

AUS vs PAK Test: Warner's powerful 164 takes Australia to 346-5 on Day 1

David Warner hit a scintillating century in his farewell Test series as Australia reached 346 for five against Pakistan's inexperienced bowlers on the opening day Thursday of the three-match series. Warner's commanding 164 off 211 balls his first test century in a year vindicated captain Pat Cummins' decision to bat first on a hard bouncy pitch. The 37-year-old Warner, who will be retiring after the last test in his Sydney hometown, made Pakistan toil in the first couple of sessions before he holed out at deep square leg in the last hour. He hit 16 fours and four sixes. Mitchell Marsh was unbeaten on 15 on his home ground and Alex Carey was 14 not out after reaching the end of a great first day for Australia. Pakistan went into the test match without a specialist spinner and handed debuts to fast bowlers Aamer Jamal (2 for 63) and Khurram Shahzad (1 for 62). More importantly, they twice missed opportunities to dismiss Warner. Shahzad missed an overhead catch at mid-on after Warn

Mandhana bats for Women's WTC, England's Beaumont says long way to go

India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana on Tuesday welcomed the idea of organising a World Test Championship in women's Test cricket, but England veteran Tammy Beaumont said it would be unfair to have such a competition when only three countries are playing regularly. In men's Test cricket, the ICC's World Test Championship began with 2019-2021 as the first two-year cycle. It is currently in its third edition. The women's game, however, does not have any such competition. There is a huge disparity among women's teams in terms of playing Test cricket as only England, Australia and India have played in the longest format regularly even though there is a long gap. "I would love to be a part of the World Test Championship but that is for the boards and the ICC to decide," Mandhana told the media ahead of India's training session here on Tuesday. "Having watched a lot of men's Test cricket and championships that would be really exciting to be a part of something of that sort. But as I said,

England call up uncapped spin duo of Hartley, Bashir for India Test series

England on Monday named four specialist spinners, including the uncapped duo of Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir, in the 16-member squad for next month's five-Test series in India. Off-spinners Hartley and Bashir were both part of the England Lions squad that trained in the United Arab Emirates last month. The 20-year-old Bashir, who plays for Somerset, has snapped 10 wickets in his six-match first-class career that began in June this year. The other two specialist spinners in the squad are Jack Leach, who has recovered from his back injury, and teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed. Ahmed returns to the Test squad after claiming a five-wicket haul on his Test debut in Pakistan last December. Surrey quick Gus Atkinson, who claimed 20 wickets in five County Championship matches last summer at an average of 20.20 helping Surrey claimed back-to-back titles, has also earned his maiden Test call. England skipper Ben Stokes, who underwent knee surgery after the World Cup, is also named in the s

IND vs ENG Tests: Bazball may get blown away and destroyed warns Vaughan

Former skipper Michael Vaughan has issued a warning to England ahead of the upcoming five-Test series in India, saying their Bazball approach may get "absolutely destroyed" against the lethal spin attack of the hosts. England's aggressive approach, termed as Bazball named after their head coach Brendon McCullum, has created a lot of buzz in the cricketing world in the last one and a half years with the team winning 13 of their last 18 red-ball games. But Vaughan pointed out how England struggled against Australian spinner Nathan Lyon during the Ashes and said the strategy may not work in India. "Ultimately the hardest place to play in the world is India and if you actually go back to the Ashes when Nathan Lyon was fit and bowling nicely, Australia were 2-0 up in the series," Vaughan told foxsports.com.au. "That was just one innings and a few overs in the first innings at Lords Nathan came out with a lovely line the other week where he said he's 2-nil up against Bazball. "Now that'

India vs South Africa full schedule, squads, match timings, live streaming

India's tour of South Africa 2023-24: Check the IND vs SA full schedule, match timings according to IST. How to watch India vs South Africa matches in India for free

BAN vs NZ Test: Taijul's 10-wicket haul helps Tigers beat Kiwis by 150 runs

Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam took his second 10-wicket haul in tests as Bangladesh secured a 150-run victory in the series-opening match against New Zealand on Saturday. Taijul followed his 4-109 with 6-75 in the second innings to wrap up New Zealand's innings for 181 in the first session of the final day, with the tourists chasing a target of 332 runs. Offspinner Nayeem Hasan complemented him with 2-40, while pacer Shoriful Islam (1-13) and offspinner Mehidy Hasan (1-44) contributed a wicket apiece. We are just thinking about the process, not the result, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said. We have so many test matches coming up. This win will give us a confidence to do well. "As I said earlier, we want to make winning a habit at home. Hopefully we will be able to continue the performance. Daryl Mitchell battled to top-score for the visitors with a patient 58 from 120 balls. Resuming at 113-7, Mitchell's presence gave New Zealand a slim hope of an unlikely victory and

BAN vs NZ 1st Test: Taijul keeps Bangladesh ahead despite Williamson's ton

Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam claimed 4-89 as Bangladesh dominated the second day of the opening test against New Zealand on Wednesday despite a century from Kane Williamson on a spin-friendly pitch. Williamson hit a 104 for his 29th century amid a relentless spin attack as New Zealand reached 266-8 at stumps, trailing by 44 runs. Bangladesh folded on its overnight score of 310 when skipper Tim Southee had Shoriful Islam out leg before wicket with the first ball of the morning. The home side's spinners got into act immediately, turning the balls admirably to trouble the New Zealand batters. Still, Williamson defied them with solid defence to keep the visitors in the game. He got support from Glenn Phillips (42) and Daryl Mitchell (41) before the Bangladeshi bowlers made inroads in the last hour with the second new ball. It is one of those surfaces where it is hard to get a rhythm. You will get some good balls as well. I thought the application was good, Williamson said. It would

Kohli moves up in ICC rankings for batters after 85 against Australia

India batting mainstay Virat Kohli on Wednesday moved up two places to reach the seventh position in ICC rankings for batters, after hitting a terrific 85 in his team's six-wicket win over Australia in the World Cup in Chennai. Kohli walked out to bat with India placed in a precarious 2 for 2 which soon became 5 for 3 but he lifted his side with a gritty knock that thwarted Australia's progress while adding a match-winning 165 for the fourth wicket with KL Rahul. Rahul, who struck 97 not out against Australia, moved up 15 positions to reach the 19th spot while World Cup history's fastest century-maker, South Africa's Aiden Markram reached 21st, as he moved up 11 positions. The ICC issued the release on Wednesday which did not take into account Kohli's unbeaten 55 against Afghanistan, as India recorded their second straight win by 8 wickets and 15 overs to spare. "Ten centuries across the opening eight matches at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 have shaken up the top end of the

ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 tickets set to go on sale on Aug 25

Tickets for the World Cup which will see top-class entertainment featuring some of the global superstars of the game will go on sale at 20h00 IST on Friday 25 August

Sachin Tendulkar is EC's national icon; to encourage voter participation

As the Election Commission battles urban and youth apathy towards voting, cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar was on Wednesday appointed as a "national icon" of the poll panel to encourage greater voter participation in elections. Tendulkar was made the national icon as the EC gears up to hold assembly polls in five states sometime in October-November and Lok Sabha elections in 2024. A memorandum of understanding was signed between Tendulkar and the poll panel. As part of the three-year agreement, the cricketer will spread voter awareness. Addressing the gathering, Tendulkar said India is the biggest democracy in the world and it is our prime responsibility to exercise our voting rights. He reminded the gathering that he had said that in his second innings, he will continue to bat for India. Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey said the "pitch" on which EC plays to encourage voters to come out and exercise their franchise is "tough". But he expressed confidence that Tendulkar

Bazball: England's Zak Crawley looks to test India with new batting style

The swashbuckling opener Zak Crawley said England's upcoming tour to India in January -March 2024 presents them with an 'amazing opportunity' to showcase 'Bazball' but adapting to conditions will be the key. India will host England in a five-match Test series next year, and talks are already on about whether the latter would be able to follow their aggressive brand of cricket on Indian pitches. The series, for the Anthony de Mello Trophy, gets underway in Hyderabad with the first Test scheduled from January 25-29, the second Test is at Visakhapatnam (February 2-6), the third at Rajkot (February 15-19), the fourth at Ranchi (February 23-27) and the fifth and final Test at Dharamsala (March 7-11). "I don't really know much about their grounds," Crawley was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo after the conclusion of the Ashes series against Australia. Among the five venues, the last time Hyderabad and Rajkot hosted a Test was in 2018, while Ranchi and Visakhapatnam last played hosts in .

Slow over-rate in Ashes: Here's what Ponting and Hussain suggest to curb it

England and Australia were fined 19 and 10 points respectively for slow over rate during the recently concluded Ashes. Ricky Ponting and Nasser Hussain suggest ideas to curb such problems

WTC 2023-25 points table: England docked 19 points, Australia 10 in Ashes

For every over short, one point would be deducted from all points earned by the team. The decision would be conveyed to the teams after the end of the series

Stuart Broad retirement: Statistical review of the English legend's career

Stuart Broad wanted to retire while he was at the top of his game. Statistically, he has done that. In the last two years, he has played 17 matches and taken 76 wickets at an average of around 25

WTC points table: India slips to second spot, Pakistan reaches the top

Pakistan reached the top spot in the WTC points table as rain dashed the hopes for India in its second test with West Indies. Pakistan can solidify its lead against Sri Lanka in the second test