Author: Mishaal Mubarak

South Africa did not just have West Indies to face in Guyana, bad weather and their diminishing World Test Championship (WTC) final chances were cause of equal worry for the Proteas. But everything fell right where the Temba Bavuma-led team wanted it to in the second Test match against West Indies, where Keshav Maharaj made his magic run again, bringing his series wickets tally up to 13. The 40-run victory over West Indies is South Africa’s second in six Test matches of the ongoing WTC cycle. With the first Test match ending in a stalemate, this victory means the South…

Pakistan team has released the mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed from the squad for the first Test match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. The decision, which was confirmed by a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Press Release on Saturday, was made to allow the rookie spinner to feature in Pakistan Shaheen’s team for the second four-day game against Bangladesh A. In addition to Abrar, the uncapped batter, Kamran Ghulam was let go from the senior team squad as well. “Wrist spinner Abrar Ahmed has been released from the Pakistan Test side and he will now represent Pakistan Shaheens in the second four-day match…

Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batter, Niroshan Dickwella, has been suspended from playing all forms of cricket for an indefinite period after he failed to comply with World Anti-Doping guidelines, failing a doping test. The news was confirmed by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and further investigation will take place while the Islander batter will serve his time out of cricket. As stated by SLC, the test was conducted during the recently concluded season of the Lankan Premier League (LPL).  Reportedly, Dickwella has been found to have used cocaine during the tournament in which he captained the runner-up team, Galle Marvels who lost…

David Warner bade adieu to Test cricket earlier this year in Sydney against Pakistan. That meant Australia needed to recruit someone to fill his opening position. However, to everyone’s surprise, Australia’s number four batter, Steve Smith, seized the opportunity to open for the Kangaroos. That sounds more outrageous when one thinks that Smith was averaging just slightly shy of 62 at number four. But given his brilliance as a batter, no one had any doubts about the right-handed dominating every position he chose to bat at.  Things, however, have been far from ideal for the Sydney-born since he moved up…

Pakistan will put on their white jersey after nearly eight months when they will face the Bangladesh team at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. This will also be the first International fixture for the men in green ever since their shambolic T20 World Cup campaign in June. On top of all, this series is crucial for Pakistan to bag if they don’t want their hopes of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final to get quashed.  Pakistan’s new way to approach a new way Although there has been a curfew-esque silence in Pakistan, reports have been sneaking out of the Pakistan Cricket…

While the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been trying to deal with the matter away from the public eye, many reports suggest that the Women’s T20 World Cup will most definitely be moved out of Bangladesh. An ICC representative mentioned earlier that the best interest and safety of all members will be prioritized amidst this unfortunate situation. “The ICC is closely monitoring developments in coordination with the Bangladesh Cricket Board [BCB], their security agencies, and our own independent security consultants. Our priority is the safety and well-being of all participants.” Although the protests have ended with Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s resignation…

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced the list of cricketers who were offered central contracts last month, with a few notable absentees including Kane Williamson and Lockie Ferguson, both of whom opted out of the contract. Everyone knows the reason behind this refusal to sign the contract with the Board for the upcoming season. But for some reason, no one wants to say it out loud, lest the grave consequences associated with it become true. Many knew it was about time that players would start shifting their focus to more lucrative franchise opportunities, but no one wanted this transition to begin…

On the field, all has been quiet at Pakistan’s end ever since they crashed out of the T20 World Cup. Behind the scenes, however, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as a whole has since been mulling over the path forward. Within a week, the team will move on from the thinking stage it has been in for the past couple of months and start putting whatever strategy it has devised into action. What’s funny is that the issues that are deeply rooted can’t be resolved with a few months of contemplation. What’s even more funny is that cricket fans, especially…

England’s Test captain, Ben Stokes, sustained a hamstring injury while playing for the Norther Superchargers in the Hundred. While the results of the scans are awaited, hamstring injuries are known to take at least a few weeks to heal. However, England do not have such an ample amount of time on their hands. The team is expected to make a trip to Sri Lanka for a three-match red-ball series in just a little more than a week. This means that Stokes’ return for the Sri Lankan tour can be scratched out as a possibility, as Michael Atherton also believes. While…

If you are not a batter (or, by extension, part of the batting team), the best sound that you will hear is of the leather of the ball clacking with the timber of the willows. But as a batter in this day and age, this sound is not the only ominous sound that you would fancy avoiding. You need to be careful that the ball does not hit your pads or arms or even the slightest edge of your bat. The safest detour you can opt for is to try and get the ball on your bat so that you…