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In Leeds, India lost a match that definitely wasn’t there to do so. They had stayed ahead of England almost the entire game but still managed to lose the momentum. As much as it is true that you win and lose as a team, it is justified to sometimes tilt the onus towards one side. India were 430 for 3 in one innings and 340 for 4 in the other. On both occasions, what followed was a sudden free fall. The lower order fell without putting anything significant on the board. But for Indian captain Shubman Gill, the rot did…

Jofra Archer would need to wait longer for his comeback as England have decided to stick with the same playing XI that defeated India at Headingley for the second Test. Archer, who last played a red-ball game in April 2021, was in line for a comeback, having played in Sussex’s away game against Durham, where he bowled 18 overs and grabbed a scalp for 32 runs. A prolonged run of elbow and back injuries kept him away from any form of cricket for a major part of the last four years. But now that he is fit to play, England…

The thing about being in your late teens is that you are constantly oscillating between acting like a teenager and acting like an adult. Sam Konstas came face-to-face with this reality after the Barbados Test, where he scored 3 and 5 in two innings. It was a tricky pitch. He was playing only his third Test. But this is an Ashes year, which means he will not get more time on the teenage quota – that is, unless he pays the selectors for their trust in him in the remaining series. In a sense, both Australia and Konstas are similarly…

Steven Smith’s return to the team is starting to look like a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. It’s hardly been over a week since he was knocking balls in New York with a tennis ball and an incrediball, but the kind of character he is, he’d want to hit the ground running as soon as he can. Smith suffered a compound dislocation in his little finger during the World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord’s while attempting a catch off Temba Bavuma in the slips. He opted out of surgery to ensure he doesn’t lose much time off the…

West Indies’ coach Daren Sammy has been handed a fine after criticising third Umpire Adrian Holdstock during the opening Test against Australia in Barbados. Sammy, after the second day’s play, met with match referee Javagal Srinath and expressed his concerns about what he believed were umpiring misjudgements, which disadvantaged his side immensely. Sammy’s concerns were rooted in two instances on day two, one of which was a controversial LBW decision, which was given out by Holdstock despite UltraEdge showing some spikes, indicating an inside edge. The second was a catch taken by Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey, which seemed to have…

Nepal’s journey to the upcoming T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year will now take an important stop in Australia’s Northern Territory. The side has been named as the first participant of the Top End Series, which will be played in Darwin between August 14 and 24. Nepal, who must battle eight other sides in the Asian Regional Finals in October to secure one of three spots in the World Cup next year, were given a bye to the Asia/EAP Regional Final because they participated in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup. Currently, they, along…

Najmul Hossain Shanto has decided to step down from his position as Bangladesh’s red-ball captain after the team lost the series 1-0 against Sri Lanka on Saturday. The loss marks their first defeat of the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Shanto announced his decision during the post-match conference after the second Test in Colombo and said he had already informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) before going public. “I have an announcement to make,” Shanto told reporters. “I am stepping down from the Bangladesh Test captaincy. I don’t want to continue as captain in this format, and I want…

Zimbabwe’s cricket calendar is anything but light this year. In the latest addition, they are set to host Sri Lanka in Harare for a white-ball tour in late August. This will be the first time since 2016 that Sri Lanka will play a bilateral in Zimbabwe. The series, which was squeezed to fit in Zimbabwe’s already demanding schedule, will see both teams play two ODIs, instead of three games as part of the Future Tours Programme (FTP), and three T20Is between August 29 and September 7. The tour in its entirety will be played at the Harare Sports Club. Zimbabwe’s…

Jofra Archer might make his long-awaited comeback in whites next week, following England’s announcement of a 15-man squad, which features him, for the second Test game against India, set to be played at Edgbaston. Archer, if he plays, would return to the red-ball format after a four-year-long enforced hiatus owing to his injuries. He last played a Test in April 2021 during England’s tour of India. Since that tour, the English pacer has come face-to-face with a series of frustrating injuries that have kept delaying his return. His injury run began with a strain in his right elbow, of which…

New Zealand will play a T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe involving South Africa, themselves, and the hosts. The series, which is set to begin next month, will feature Adam Milne and uncapped Bevon Jacobs joining the side. Jacobs was a part of New Zealand’s Sri Lanka-bound squad in December last year but remained on the bench. However, following his signing by Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he didn’t get any game time either, he is likely to get his debut cap during the tour, as confirmed by the newly hired Kiwi coach Rob Walter. “Bevon’s been an…