Test Cricket

The final moments of the fourth day produced riveting Ashes theatre. The bandana-draped Stuart Broad, all gliding limbs and giggling smiles, made the ball and script bend to his will. Steve Smith gasped and blew his cheeks in dismay. Jonny Bairstow leapt into the skies and punched the turf. Marnus Labuschagne hurled a volley of abuse at himself as he walked back to the dressing room. The final moments of the fourth day produced riveting Ashes theatre. The bandana-draped Stuart Broad, all gliding

Australia speedster Mitchell Starc, one of the finest pacers of the current generation, consciously avoids participating in franchise cricket, including lucrative tournaments like the IPL, as he wants to be at his "best" playing for Australia. For Starc, playing Test cricket for Australia is paramount, a path he hopes many youngsters will follow in future. Several colleagues of Starc have appeared in various T20 leagues across the globe such as Indian Premier League (IPL), Big Bash, but the left-arm pacer has managed to

From start to finish, Australia have led this Test and are rightly crowned the best red ball team in the world. They have dfeated India by 209 runs to win the World Test Championship. Australia becomes the first team in the history of the game to win all the major ICC events. This is the ninth time Australia have taken an ICC Trophy. India lost their last seven wickets for 55 runs. There weren’t any demons in the pitch and India looked untroubled

India and Australia are currently locking horns against each other in the final of the World Test Championship. The match is being played at the Kennington Oval Cricket Ground in London. As players from both sides walked out on the field for the national anthems of their respective countries, they were seen sporting black armbands. Players and match officials have won the armbands as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives in the tragic train accident in Odisha last week.

Australia Test captain Pat Cummins will rush home from India mid-Test series due to a ''serious family illness'', Cricket Australia has said in a statement. “Pat Cummins has flown home for personal reasons due to a serious family illness,” the Cricket Australia statement confirmed. “He will return to India later this week to rejoin preparations for the third Test in Indore. We ask the media to respect his privacy,” read the statement. Given the second Test ended on Day 3, there is a

MELBOURNE (Australia): Former Australia captain Ian Chappell labelled Pat Cummins as the most inspirational leader and he termed Joe Root the leader as "poor". Pat Cummins replaced Tim Paine as Australia Test skipper earlier this month. Paine had stepped down following a sexting scandal and then he took some time off to look after his mental health. "He is also by far the most inspirational player in the Australia side, and even when he was replaced as captain this week, the team still

Brett Lee's comments come two weeks after Virat Kohli stepped down as India's Test skipper. Last year, Kohli stepped down as the T20I captain and then he was removed as ODI captain as the selectors wanted just one white-ball captain. Former Australia pacer Brett Lee has said that there are four-five players in the current Indian setup that can potentially lead the senior Test side. Brett Lee's comments come two weeks after Virat Kohli stepped down as India's Test skipper. Last year, Kohli

REUTERS India's cricket board chief Sourav Ganguly said their players refused to play the fifth and final test against England due to COVID-19 concerns and denied that the upcoming Indian Premier League had played any part in the decision. The Old Trafford test was cancelled last Friday barely two hours before its scheduled start as the tourists, who were leading the series 2-1, failed to field a side after their physiotherapist tested positive for COVID-19. "The players refused to play but you can't

Tammy Beaumont crashed a sensational 97 as England romped to a 46-run victory over New Zealand in the first Twenty20 at Chelmsford. Beaumont - who was dropped on 26 and 64 by Kiwis captain Sophie Devine - hit 13 fours and one six from 65 balls, as she brutally attacked a rusty New Zealand, who had not played any competitive cricket since April. She was ably assisted by Amy Jones, who made a 15-ball 31, and Sophia Dunkley, who made an unbeaten 23,

England v India: Brilliant hosts dominate first day of third Test England produced a stunning all-round display to take complete control of the third Test against India on the first day at Headingley. In a complete turnaround from their miserable defeat in the second Test at Lord's, the home side dismissed India for only 78 and then serenely moved to 120-0, a lead of 42. They were led by the peerless James Anderson, who claimed 3-6, including India captain Virat Kohli, as England exploited the

England bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out of the third Test against India because of a shoulder injury. The 31-year-old jarred his right shoulder while fielding on the fourth day of the second Test at Lord's. No replacement has been called up for the Test at Headingley, with Saqib Mahmood and Craig Overton already in the squad as back-up seamers. "It is frustrating for Mark and for us as a side - he gives us a real point of difference," captain Joe

Yorkshire batsman Dawid Malan has been recalled to the England squad for the third Test against India, with Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley both dropped from the 15-man squad. Malan, 33, played the last of his 15 Tests in August 2018. Seamer Saqib Mahmood is included, while spinner Jack Leach misses out but will be on standby as back-up to Moeen Ali. England fell to a 151-run defeat in the second Test, having drawn the first match in the five-Test series. The third

India captain Virat Kohli said criticism from commentators motivated his tailenders in the 151-run win over England in the second Test at Lord's. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah shared an unbroken stand of 89 for the ninth wicket to effectively end England's hopes of victory. Set 272 to win or bat 60 overs to draw, the hosts were bowled out for 120. "Someone told our tailenders that the commentary teams didn't rate them. They proved them wrong," said Kohli. "They made a point.

The second Test is set for a grandstand finale after England made late inroads into the India batting on the fourth day at Lord's. England took three wickets for 20 runs to leave India 181-6, 154 ahead, with all four results possible on the final day. A see-saw Test continued to fluctuate on a compelling Sunday at Lord's, with England reducing India to 55-3, only for the tourists to grind it out through a partnership of 100 between Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly announced on Monday that the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand will be held at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton from June 18 to 22 this year. India will play their inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand at Southampton's Ageas Bowl Stadium from June 18-22, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed on Monday. Initially, the final was supposed to be held at the Lord's but Southampton, with a five-star facility inside the stadium, will make

India vs England: Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel picked up five wickets apiece as India crushed England by an innings and 25 runs in fourth Test to win the series 3-1 and qualify for the World Test Championship final. India defeated England by an innings and 25 runs in the fourth and final Test to win the four-match series 3-1 and seal a place in the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship on Saturday. Rishabh Pant (101) and Washington

India's Rishabh Pant is going to be one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batsmen there has ever been if he carries on at this level. The 23-year-old hit what certainly feels like a series-winning century on day two of the final Test in Ahmedabad, helping India, who lead 2-1, close 89 runs ahead of England, with three first-innings wicket left. He is an incredibly fearless young player who doesn't seem to worry at all about the situation - India were 146-6 in reply to England's

As one England batsman after the other walked back to the pavilion in an innings that lasted just 59.5 overs and yielded a total of 134 on Day 2 of the second Test, there was a hue and cry, particularly from a few former England cricketers and a section of the British media, about the poor nature of the pitch. “The pitch is a shocker. It is akin to a Chennai beach,” former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted. While there is no doubt

India recorded their biggest win (by runs) against England after beating them by 317 runs in the second Test in Chennai and levelled the four-match series 1-1. With the victory, India ended their four-Test match losing streak under Virat Kohli's Captaincy. Ravichandran Ashwin aggregated 119 runs in the match and picked up a total of eight wickets.

It will take some extreme weather blowing in from the Bay of Bengal for England to leave Chennai with their 1-0 lead still intact following a second day of the second Test during which they registered their lowest first‑innings total in India. By stumps India’s second innings was well under way with their score 54 for one and a lead that had swollen to 249 runs. This vice-like grip was achieved by the wizardry of Ravichandran Ashwin, whose 29th five-wicket haul had earlier