Livecricket.is

What is there this series hasn’t had so far? There have been on-field altercations, sledging, war of words off the field, and whatnot. But nothing more out of the blue than a spat between the groundsman and the visitors. Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and the Oval groundsman Lee Fortis had a run-in two days before the fifth and final Test. Fortis was concerned about the presence of training gear and Indian team members on the main square. When he voiced his concerns, it led to a squabble between them. Indian captain Shubman Gill, however, sided with his coach, calling…

Tom Latham has been ruled out of the first Test against Zimbabwe, starting on July 30 in Bulawayo, owing to a shoulder injury. Latham picked up the injury while playing for Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast and couldn’t recover in time for the opening Test of the series. He is likely to return for the second Test, which begins on August 7. In his place, New Zealand’s white-ball captain Mitchell Santner will lead the side, marking his first red-ball Test captaincy assignment. “It’s hugely disappointing for Tom to be missing the first Test, as captain but also as an…

The security staff at Old Trafford was seen asking a fan, reportedly named Farooq Nazar, to cover his jersey by “putting a coat on” during the fourth Test match between England and India. Nazar, who was wearing a copy of the Pakistan team’s limited-overs jersey, was able to tape the encounter between him and the security staff, who identified himself as an employee of the Lancashire County Cricket Club. Old Trafford is the home ground of the club, and it played host to the penultimate Test of the series. “I’ve been asked by control [Lancashire] if you can cover that…

England have added pacer Jamie Overton to the squad for the fifth Test against India. The inclusion comes in the wake of a short turnaround between the fourth and the fifth Test, which is scheduled to be played at The Oval on July 31. Overton, who was playing for Surrey last week in the County Championship, has only played one Test for England, his debut against New Zealand at Headingley in 2022. After the toil the England pacers took during the fourth Test, having bowled 257 overs across the match, Ben Stokes said that England could “make a few decisions…

Following the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) Annual General Meeting, the venues and dates for the Asia Cup have been finalised. The tournament, which will be played in the T20 format, in view of the upcoming T20 World Cup next year, will run from September 9 to September 28. The ACC chair, Mohsin Naqvi, revealed that the group-stage game between Pakistan and India, both of whom are placed in Group A, will be played on September 14. However, no details about the remaining fixtures were shared. “I am delighted to confirm the dates for the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 in…

Pakistan have announced their squads for the white-ball tour against West Indies, starting August 1. Both sides will play three T20Is and as many ODIs across two venues. Pakistan have decided to stick with Mohammad Rizwan as the ODI captain for the series, with several main players including Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Naseem Shah. All the mentioned players, barring Shaheen, last played for the side in the New Zealand tour following the Champions Trophy. Only Shaheen from these players has made it to the T20I squad. Opening batter Fakhar Zaman is part of the squad, which will be…

It sounds too unrealistic to be true, but Australia have never defeated West Indies in a T20I series at their home. However, this could change in St. Kitts, as the visitors are already 2-0 up in the series, and another win will secure the series in their favour. Sabina Park didn’t have many good memories in store for the Windies. It can be argued that the venue has a soft spot for teams batting second, which, incidentally, in both games were Australia. But that doesn’t change the fact that the hosts have largely been dismal in their play. In the…

South Africa have announced their squads for the white-ball tours of Australia next month. The series will see Aiden Markaram and Temba Bavuma return to lead the T20I and ODI sides, respectively, after staying away from the side for their respective reasons. Markaram last captained in a T20I in November last year against India, after which he sat out the recent series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan. Bavuma, on the other hand, didn’t miss any ODI games for South Africa, but he returns from the hamstring injury he picked up during the World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord’s. Along with…

Bangladesh have clinched their first series win against Pakistan since 2015, and if you count the series where more than one game was played, this is the first time they have done so. There was a combined mix of things that made it possible. Of course, Dhaka’s pitch took the visitors by surprise, and before they could get their heads around it, they were already 2-0 down. But saying it was the only reason Bangladesh wrote history would be unfair. On a surface that PDA-ed its love for bowlers, Bangladesh’s middle-order batters, Mahedi Hasan and Jaker Ali, kept their calm…

Bangladesh have never won a T20I series with more than one game against Pakistan. But that was true only till Tuesday, when the hosts wrapped up the series in their favour, with one game to spare. This means the last T20I is of virtually no importance, that is, unless Bangladesh go on to shake a few more record books with a clean sweep. In which case, things will become even glummer for Pakistan. This isn’t an isolated predicament for Pakistan. Neither are the pitches fully behind their dismal way of playing. The format lately hasn’t been too kind to them.…