Livecricket.is

Without a flicker of doubt, Pakistan cricket is going through its worst right now. Fresh off a red-ball series sweep against Bangladesh on home turf, the team knows that it has a lot to fix. But this mending has been under process since their dismal outings during the T20 World Cup, as a part of, what the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief famously calls, a major surgery. One of the first big steps taken for the surgery in question was the introduction of a domestic tournament, the Champions Cup. PCB has been dropping details of the mentioned tournament occasionally, and…

The English Test Summer comes to an end and without any embarrassment for the home team this time. They have won five out of five games played on home soil, and another victory in the closing Test match can make them do what they have not done since 2004. But the Oval has previously shown PDA, much to England’s trauma, to Sri Lanka on their last tour to the historic ground when the Islanders bagged the game by 10 wickets. As both teams prepare to cross swords one last time this season, a warm feeling of nostalgia would be third-wheeling…

The third day of the second Test match between England and Sri Lanka spared the drama and excitement for the next day. The next day was a Sunday. Would fans not love to watch the decisive day of the Test match at the Home of Cricket on a Sunday? Yeah, they would but only around 9000 fans. Thats how many people showed up to see the contest, which by all means had excitement (though one-sided) filled within, in a stadium that can seat around 30,000 people.  What could be the reason behind this no-show from fans? Have the fans suddenly…

Runs which, once, came so easily for Babar Azam have been evading him for a little while now. Bad form is inevitable in a player’s career. Regardless of the skills you possess, the hours you spend practicing, or the mental strength you have, one of these days you ought to be humbled by a trough in your form. Similar is the case with Babar. However, his persistent bad run is getting frustrating now. By the looks of it, you can not spot a significant issue with his technique. His dismissals are random, without any pattern, which is a good thing…

While Ben Stokes is out tending to his injury, the England players have not forgotten their Bazballian Mantra, as is evident from their two in two wins. For some technical reasons, though, many people believe the stand-in captain Ollie Pope is not a great choice for the long run. Although we are not sure why this debate has been sparked in the first place as Stokes is likely to get back into his role as soon as he is declared fit, the sentiment regarding the issue is somewhat understandable. No one receives hate more than an out-of-form captain. You would…

Dwayne Bravo, who will be donning the Trinbago Knight Riders’ jersey this edition, has called time on his Caribbean Premier League (CPL) career. The West Indian player who has taken 630 T20 wickets, the highest by anyone, will appear for the last time in a professional tournament on his home soil. He already has five CPL titles to his name but the Instagram video he posted to announce the big decision showed him hoping for another and ending his career with ‘the last dance’ in front of his people, on his home ground. Bravo said in the video, “I just…

The current Chief of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), Jay Shah, is set to assume the role of the Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on the 1st of December this year. This means that his role as the Chair of ACC will have to be fulfilled by someone else, to avoid conflict of interest as well as to manage the workload. That someone else, reportedly, will be none other than the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) incumbent Chairperson, Mohsin Naqvi. Although it has not been announced officially, the reports claim that the ACC members will confirm the news during…

Think about all of the batting giants you can in Test cricket. A list full of players like Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, and Alastair Cook will appear in your mind. All retired now. Heroes of the past. But then there is one from them, who is rising through the ranks, day by day, swiftly and very steadily. He still has not hung his boot and by the sounds of it, does not intend to do so anytime soon. Besides having scored a slew of runs in his career so far, he plays the longest format more frequently than others.  It’s…

For the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief, his brainchild, the Champions Cup, holds the key to many of Pakistan Cricket’s current problems. Mohsin Naqvi, who assumed the role of the PCB chairman last year, has not shied away from admitting that the country is suffering from a talent deficiency. But it’s not the kind of talent deficiency that tolls bells of damnation for cricket in the country, it’s basically the lack of knowledge of the talent within the domestic circuit. Champions Cup, as per the PCB chair, can help Pakistan overcome this knowledge gap.  “We had a lot of…

At a dead end. With challenges pushing them more into the wall. The Pakistan team is cornered right now from everywhere. And thats exactly where they tend to turn the situation around. They like having few options left. They thrive under such conditions. But cricket, at large, is not a game of luck. Especially Test cricket. Unlike the younger formats, Test cricket is not intimidated by juju and unpredictability. If you need applause from the purest format of the game, you need to make intelligent decisions.  Intelligent decisions are where the men in green have been lacking. Apparently, they don’t…