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Four years and a month ago, Brendan Taylor played what would have been the last Test match of his career. He had retired two months after that Test. A year later, he was sanctioned for not reporting a corrupt approach in time. As if that wasn’t enough, he was also found to be addicted to alcohol and drug use. Even one of the things above is enough to end the most celebrated of careers. Taylor, however, has received a second chance to represent his country in whites once again. In an emotional interview ahead of the second Test match versus…

There isn’t a consensus among cricket fans about this. Some have already written off cricket as a dying sport. The rest insist it has never been more alive. But whether cricket needs defibrillation or just a little push is a debate for another time. One thing everyone agrees on is that the sport is in desperate need of expansion. It’s ironic and maybe even unfathomable to some extent. Walk down a bustling New York street and ask someone what they know about cricket. Watch them stare back at you confusedly, as if you just asked them to explain rocket science.…

“Hindsight is a beautiful thing,” Harry Brook said after his team lost the Test match and the chance to win the series by just six runs. Six runs aren’t that big a deal. Take a single each ball of the over, and you’ll have them. Dispatch a loose ball to the pavilion, and bingo. But the chances of all of that happening when there is one (and a half, with due respect to Chris Woakes) wicket left become increasingly slim. Which is why Brook rues ending his innings with a shot that, if it had gone well, would have ended…

There is a popular cricketing adage that goes, ‘catches win matches’. Mohammad Siraj, like many of us, believed in this too, which is why he thought the game was over when he lost the chance to get rid of Harry Brook by stepping on the boundary cushion on the fourth day of the final Test. Brook, who went on to score a quick century, ensured that thought weighed down on Siraj as he went back at the close of play. However, the Indian pacer revealed he woke up the next day believing that he could turn the game around. “I…

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a ban on Pakistan’s inclusion in the World Champions League (WCL) moving forward. The decision, which was taken during the Board of Governors (BoG) meeting on Sunday, comes in response to the Indian team opting out of two tournament games, including the semi-final, citing tense relations between the two countries. Despite walking over, Indian Champions, featuring retired players, were handed one point in the group stage game. PCB expressed its disappointment at the tournament organisers’ response to India forfeiting both games, which the board said was ‘tainted with hypocrisy and bias’. “The Pakistan…

A fan was removed from Old Trafford on the final day of the Test between England and India after refusing to cover a replica of Pakistan’s limited-overs shirt. This has since prompted an investigation into the matter, followed by an apology from Lancashire County Cricket Club, which manages the venue in question. The man, who was named Farooq Nazar, was approached by a security staff member who identified himself as an employee of Lancashire and requested that he cover his shirt with his coat. Following Nazar’s refusal to do so, he was escorted out of the stadium, though he managed…

English pacer Chris Woakes will undergo overnight scans after landing awkwardly on his left shoulder while fielding in the fifth Test match against India. Woakes ran after a ball from mid-off and failed to steady himself outside the boundary line, apparently due to his hand slipping on the wet outfield. He instantly clutched his shoulder, grimacing with his face down. England’s medical team quickly tended to him, and within minutes, he was off the ground with his shoulder wrapped in his sweater. Although England did not reveal the details about his injury, he appeared to have dislocated his left shoulder.…

The last time Pakistan played a T20I in Lauderhill, Florida, they were still nursing their bruises of an early T20 World Cup exit. A year on, when they gear up to play at the venue again, the view is frustratingly similar. Fresh off a 2-1 series loss to Bangladesh, Pakistan have only managed eight wins in 21 games since that last Lauderhill appearance. If the numbers dont already terrorize you, toss in the fact that Pakistan have endured defeats against – in addition to Bangladesh – Ireland and Zimbabwe. For all of Pakistan’s worries, they still look mildly redeemable next…

Indian captain Shubman Gill thinks it will be quite “significant” if he is able to draw the series after having weathered the challenges for the past one and a half month. He had a younger side to lead. He had a cap to utilize India’s numero uno bowler. And most of all, he had a relentless English side to face. His predecessor Rohit Sharma managed to get the same results the last time they were here, with far better men at his command. But could Gill even get to a draw? England, though weakened by injuries and replacements, have played…

England captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the fifth Test with a torn shoulder muscle, and his deputy Ollie Pope will stand in for him against India at the Oval. Stokes has bowled 140 overs across four Tests, the most he has in a single series in his entire career. He was fairly confident he would turn up for the final game, despite showing signs of discomfort while bowling on the last day of the fourth Test, and despite scans revealing a significant tear in his muscle. Even if Stokes had played, he was expected to bat only.…