Author: Mishaal Mubarak

The United Kingdom government has promised £1.5 million in funding for the construction of two cricket domes in Luton and Lancashire, which will enable local residents to play cricket without weather disruption, all year long. While the figure is well short of the £35 million commitment made by Rishi Sunak’s government, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is pleased not to pay for another cricket dome entirely out of its own pocket after constructing the one in Bradford, which opened in 2023. A big chunk of Sunak’s promised funds, announced in April last year, was due to be used…

New Zealand pacer Will O’Rourke is set to miss at least three months of competitive cricket after developing a stress fracture in his lower back. He joins a growing list of New Zealand’s injured players, including Finn Allen, Glenn Phillips, and white-ball captain Mitchell Santner. O’Rourke reported stiffness in his lower back on the third day of the opening Test against Zimbabwe, following which he was sent home for further scans. A three-month recovery period means he will sit out the white-ball series against Australia, England, and West Indies in October and November at the very least. His hiatus could…

Rashid Khan is set to lead the Afghanistan team in the T20I-format Asia Cup in the UAE, the side’s de facto home venue. A spin-heavy bowling attack, including – besides Rashid – Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, and Mohammad Nabi, forms a strong lineup that should be exceedingly potent in the UAE’s conditions. Ghazanfar, who is yet to play a T20I, was rewarded with a call-up for his incredible stint in the Vitality Blast for Derbyshire, where he bagged 16 wickets at an average of 24. However, it was hardly his first show of brilliance, having already proved…

Temba Bavuma doesn’t have faith in “fake it till you make it”. He would much rather the whole world knew his team is a work in progress. Despite winning the fifth consecutive bilateral series against Australia, which was also away from home, Bavuma believes South Africa are nowhere near the perfect team he envisions for the 2027 World Cup. The Proteas wrapped up the series with one game to spare, but had to suffer a huge defeat in the dead rubber. The 276-run margin tainted the series win for the visitors, but even without that, Temba wouldn’t have dropped the…

Bangladesh have announced a 16-man squad for the upcoming Asia Cup and a three-match T20I series against the Netherlands as a lead-up to the tournament. Litton Das, who led the side to a series victory over Sri Lanka and followed it up with another against Pakistan last month, will captain the side in what will be his first multi-national assignment in the role. Bangladesh selectors have left out all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz and batter Mohammad Naim, both of whom were part of the squad that faced Pakistan in Bangladesh’s most recent T20I assignment. Naim was selected for the first time…

The Indian government has allowed its teams to participate in multi-national tournaments involving Pakistan, but only within the country or at a neutral venue. The two teams will continue not to play each other in bilateral matches under the guidelines shared by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. This means the Asia Cup fixture between the two sides, set to be played on September 14 in the UAE, will proceed as scheduled. The guidelines largely formalize what the two countries have already tacitly practiced for more than a decade. The two teams have not played a bilateral game since…

South Africa are 1-0 up in the series, but they are already two men down. One of them, Kagiso Rabada, was excluded from the squad owing to injury, while the other, Prenelan Subrayen, was omitted after suspicions were raised about his bowling action. Off-field troubles knocked at Australia’s door as well, though not as severely. Adam Zampa was handed a demerit point for using inappropriate language during the game. But that should worry the hosts less than the more immediate danger, losing the series for the fifth time in a row if they do not pull themselves together in Mackay.…

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided against awarding any player a Category A central contract for the 2025–26 season. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, both of whom were the only players in Pakistan’s highest central contracts category last time, have been demoted to Category B. The duo have been struggling through a rough patch which earlier saw them lose their spots in the T20I team. While the board hasn’t revealed the reason behind not assigning Category A contracts to anyone, it is reported that the side’s dismal form over the past year has had a big say in the…

Beau Webster got his first Test cap nearly a month after he turned 31. The 30s are not very kind to you if you are a cricketer, especially in a country like Australia. Webster does not seem unaware of this. He knows if he wants to stay in contention for Ashes selection, he will have to earn that opportunity. Not that he has not already created a stir with his performances, having scored three half-centuries and taken eight wickets at an average of 23.25 in the seven Test matches he has played thus far, most of these contributions coming when…

The last time South Africa and Australia played an ODI game was in the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final. The latter triumphed, both in that game and, eventually, in the final. It is interesting that ODI encounters now are either part of a multi-national tournament or used to pave the way for one. The 2027 World Cup edition still has almost the same amount of time left as has passed since the previous, but teams know better than to waste any of the already scarce opportunities they get with the format. The bigger question for the two teams would be…