Livecricket.is

Sri Lanka bamboozled themselves more than anyone in the first ODI. But in all the ecstasy that the victory tie brought, there was an emptiness for the hosts. The hollow but sinking feeling that they struck the gold a little too late. By the time, a true Test of their ODI skills arrives (i.e. a multi-national tournament), this combination might not be relevant anymore. Although the 21-year-old rookie, Dunith Wellalage seems like an antidote to this feeling, the question about the relevancy of whatever the Islanders do in anticipation of the ODI World Cup 2027, will linger for quite some…

If you look at things this way, Sri Lanka was the runner-up when India lifted an ODI World Cup last time. Compare it to today. India are heading toward a Champions Trophy (Assuming they don’t pull out willingly) while Sri Lanka have to wait more than 30 months before they can even think about welcoming an ICC ODI event. There is a long list of what has gone wrong for the Islanders, especially in limited-overs cricket. And an even longer list of the things that are still going the polar opposite of how Sri Lanka would have wanted them. For…

England’s 3-0 win over West Indies on Sunday has earned them third-highest points in the World Test Championship 2023-25. However, despite having fewer points than only Australia and India, Ben Stokes’ men occupy the sixth position on the table, just below Pakistan. This owes to the penalty points they have accrued thanks to slow over rates. But it’s not about England at the moment. It’s about the other two red-ball cricket giants who, unperturbed by what’s happening with the remaining teams in the World Test Championship, are heading towards another potential WTC Final. India currently reside at the top of…

Bangladesh has been in the news quite a lot lately but not for any good reasons. The country has just sneaked out of a political turmoil that saw them going into an internet blackout for 11 days. The Government of Bangladesh also imposed a state of emergency to quell protests which led to the killing of at least 40 civilians. Where it has affected the country as a whole, the Women’s T20 World Cup preparations have received raised eyebrows from the outside world. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was awarded the hosting rights for the mega-event back in 2022. The Board…

England Cricket Board’s (ECB) Chief Executive Officer, Richard Gould, confirmed that the England cricket team and board are not only willing to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025 but also are committed to ensuring the mega-event is entirely played on the rightful hosts’ soil. In an interview with BBC Test Match Special during the Tea break of the recently concluded last Test match between England and West Indies, Gould voiced his strong support for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by saying, “There’s a great deal of determination to make sure it [Champions Trophy 2025] is [hosted in Pakistan…

All magic comes with a price whether it is spinning straw into gold or winning the final of the World Cup against the favorites. The price, although, needs not to be rendered immediately; a debt of like worth has to be cleared whenever. Jos Buttler had to pay off this debt with two shambolic World Cup defenses. Unlike fairytales, his story is expected not to end in a happily-ever-after. As the management sniffs around to find who is to blame for bottling not one, but two mega-events, many fingers point toward Buttler and his Jedi Matthew Mott.  For Buttler and,…

385 runs target. There are around 136 overs left of the game to be bowled in four sessions. The track has become flatter over the past few days. The task is daunting, yes. But it’s not entirely impossible for the West Indian team. Now that they have scored 61 runs without losing any wickets, they are onto just the start they need. Here comes the drinks break. If Captain Kraigg Braithwaite had even the slightest idea of the hell that was about to break loose, he would have requested poly juice potion to disguise himself and run as far from…

Sometimes, when one gets tired of hearing about the continuous movement of time which is forcing everything to move towards its doom, stumbling upon a picture of a newly-born star somewhere in the universe makes one think that maybe the end is not as near as it seems. The news of Test cricket growing weaker and hence nearer to death each day has been around for years now but when you think of it, this very news has equally been challenged by introducing new nations and strategies. The newly born Test nation Ireland is on its way to one day…

England’s white-ball team captain, Jos Buttler has picked a calf injury mere hours before the start of the fourth edition of the hundred-ball tournament, The Hundred. The 33-year-old was slated to lead Manchester Originals during the mentioned tournament, which, following his injury, has become a no-go area. This comes as a blow to not only Buttler but to his team and the tournament as well as the English wicket-keeper batter was the top-scorer during the previous season of the tournament. The injury news weakens Buttler’s position as a captain as he is likely to stay sidelined for at least 6…

The 4-day International Cricket Council Annual General Meeting concluded in Colombo on the 22nd of July with a few matters resolved. As per the ICC, the meeting was themed around the objective to capitalize on the Olympics 2024 which will begin in Paris this week. Besides this, many other matters were discussed in the meeting, which was attended by representatives from all 108 ICC members. The most pressing matter on the meeting agenda was the discussion about the budgetary overruns during the America leg of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The board members had earlier raised eyebrows regarding…