Author: Staff Reporter

Mitchell Starc, who is in breathtaking form in the ongoing Ashes, achieved his career best second spot in the ICC Test bowler’s ranking. Starc shares the second position with Pakistan’s Noman Ali with 843 rating points. India’s Jasprit Bumrah continues to lead the chart with 879 ratings. Australian captain Pat Cummins has just two rating points less than Starc and stands at the fourth spot. Matt Henry is fifth in the list with 836 ratings. England’s hero in the first innings of the Boxing day Test Josh Tongue, who took the first Test fifer by an English cricketer at the…

Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that the real test for the English side will come in Sydney in the fifth Test of the ongoing Ashes series 2025/26. Like many experts, Vaughan also feels that the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was a lottery. “I think it’s a massive game for England [in Sydney]. It’s nice to win a game of cricket, but let’s be honest, it was a complete lottery in Melbourne. It wasn’t a proper game of Test match cricket. For the future and for this management in particular, they need to win a strong game…

Delhi Capitals (DC) have now shifted into preparation mode ahead of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026, as they began an intense pre-season training camp in Goa. According to a mefia statement, the head coach Jonathan Batty highlighted the importance of bringing the squad together. Speaking about the preparations, Batty said, “It’s been great to get the squad together and start working on our plans for the season. We have some fresh faces in the team, so it will be exciting to see them blend with our philosophy.” The first players to report to the camp were experienced overseas stars…

Naveen-ul-Haq and Gulbadin Naib have been recalled by the Afghanistan selectors for the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka. The 15-player squad will be led by the experienced spinner Rashid Khan, with Ibrahim Zadran as his deputy. Naveen, the pace bowler, has recovered from his shoulder problem. Incidentally, he last played for Afghanistan in a T20I in December 2024. Meanwhile, left-arm pacer, Fazalhaq Farooqi, has also been recalled. On the other hand, mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s inclusion will be adding experience to the set-up. Young fast bowler Abdullah Ahmadzai has also earned…

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke believes the upcoming Sydney Test could mark the end of Usman Khawaja’s Test career. Clarke tipped that Khawaja should retire after the final match of the Ashes 2025–26 series. Speaking to Code Sports on Tuesday, December 30, Clarke said, “I think this will be Usman’s farewell Test match. I don’tthink it’s a token selection; they obviously picked him for Melbourne, so if they’ve gone that way, you pick him for Sydney as well,” Clarke said, adding that the selection for Melbourne showed the team’s continued faith in him. Clarke also explained why he feels Khawaja’s…

Former Australian opener-turned-commentator Matthew Hayden slammed Australia’s batting collapse in the Melbourne Ashes Test. The collapse resulted in the match ending inside two days, with England winning by four wickets, their first Test victory in Australia in 14 years. Speaking on the All Over Bar The Cricket podcast, Hayden made his frustration clear. “That’s an unacceptable scorecard. I don’t care if it was 50 millimetres of grass. You need to be better than that,” Hayden said. He also questioned the technical standards of Australia’s top and middle order. “Head, Weatherald, Labuschagne, Khawaja, Carey, Green; they’re all at sea with their…

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur led from the front, producing a superb knock to guide her team to a 15-run victory over the Sri Lanka Women’s team in the final T20I of the five-match series at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, completing a 5–0 clean sweep. In the post-match presentation, she said: “Well, as a batter, it’s my responsibility to provide strength to our batting order, and I always want to contribute in whatever way my team needs. As a captain, I’m really happy with the way we played throughout this series. As we mentioned earlier, after ODI cricket, shifting…

Team India capped off 2025 in fantastic style, whitewashing Sri Lanka 5-0 in the home T20I series. A 15-run win in Thiruvananthapuram sealed the series, with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur winning the Player of the Match award. Opener Shafali Verma failed to score big in the final game but was adjudged Player of the Series after amassing 241 runs in five innings, including three successive high-impact knocks. Speaking during the post-match presentation, Shafali said her goal is to keep improving as a player. “My work throughout the year has paid off. I’m so happy that whatever I worked on I have…

Former England batter Geoffrey Boycott believes that the pitch offered for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the ongoing Ashes 2025/26 was not up to the standard required for a five-day Test match. In his column for The Telegraph, Boycott wrote that batting on the pitch was no different from taking part in a lottery. “The pitch had too much grass on it and failed the standard expected for a five-day Test. Batting became a lottery and all the seam bowlers had to do was get the ball straight, on a full length…

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has appointed Lasith Malinga as part of the national coaching setup ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The former pacer will take up a short-term consulting role, where he will mainly focus on strengthening Sri Lanka’s pace attack as they prepare for the upcoming World Cup. On December 30, SLC announced that Malinga will work with the squad from December 15 to January 25, 2026. Sri Lanka failed to reach the knockout rounds in the last three editions of the tournament. Malinga is expected to bring international experience and expertise in death bowling.…