Author: Staff Reporter

Usman Khawaja’s Test future remains a major talking point as Australian selectors prepare to make a call on the senior batter. Khawaja himself has not indicated any plans to retire, and the selectors are also cautious, especially with his recent form in mind. The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) holds special significance for Khawaja, as he made his Test debut there against England 15 years ago. Despite the emotional connection, Australian head coach Andrew McDonald made it clear that there are no immediate retirement plans. “We’re always having conversations about where players are at and speaking directly with players. There’s no…

Australia are set to include Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewoodand Tim David in their provisional squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, despite all three players dealing with fitness concerns. Cummins is still under close monitoring after suffering a lumbar stress injury earlier this year. After returning for the Adelaide Test against England, Cummins has played only one international match since July before being rested again. Australia are not rushing their captain and will wait for further medical updates before making a final decision. Cummins last played a T20I against India in June 2024. Australia head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed that…

India legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that England should have played more first-class matches before touring Australia for the Ashes series 2025/26. Writing in his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar said: “England’s win, even though it came in the fourth Test with the series already lost, does prove once again that the more you play, the better you will get, especially in unfamiliar overseas conditions… The point, therefore, is should England have played a few more First-Class games before the first Test? The ‘ares’ do not agree with the ‘has-beens’ here.” England won the fourth Test against Australia by four wickets at…

India’s star batter Smriti Mandhana praised her opening partner Shafali Verma and thanked her for allowing her time to settle at the start of the first innings against Sri Lanka in the fourth T20I of the ongoing five-match series in Thiruvananthapuram. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Mandhana said: “Batting with Shafali is always a treat for the eyes. The way she started made my job a lot easier. I could take my time, rotate the strike and get into a rhythm while she did most of the heavy hitting early on. We complement each other really well — we…

India Women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur gave credit to her openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma for helping India post a big total, which eventually led to a 30-run victory against Sri Lanka in the fourth T20I of the five-match series at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. In the post-match presentation, Harmanpreet said: “We should give credit to Smriti and Shafali, the way they started and they made things very easy for us. And later on, myself and Richa were there to finish the game.” Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first. Mandhana and Shafali opened the…

Former England batter Geoffrey Boycott praised the England team for their win in the fourth Test against Australia in the ongoing Ashes series 2025/26. Boycott wrote in his column for the Telegraph that England “played better” than the Aussies. “England won the Boxing Day Test because they played better cricket than Australia. It was no fluke. Winning the toss was a bit of good luck, but England’s bowling in the second innings was excellent. They were fuller, straighter and the Australian batting succumbed to the pressure of consistently facing more balls on a full length.” Despite being down 3-0 in…

Former England spinner Monty Panesar believes that two-day Test matches are not healthy for Test cricket. The fourth Test between Australia and England finished in two days, which has sparked a widespread debate around the pitches dished out during the Ashes, especially the one at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the penultimate Test. “What I’m trying to say is, if cricket is to survive, then you shouldn’t have two-day Test matches,” Panesar told Hindustan Times. “This is not good for the Ashes brand, nor is it good for Test cricket. And then the other argument is, well, if the ball…

England’s star batter Joe Root was pleased with the way his team mounted a comeback by winning the fourth Test after being 3–0 down in the ongoing five-match Ashes series. “Yeah, well, obviously losing the series is very disappointing, but I think it was really important that we showed a lot of character for the rest of the series. There’s been a lot thrown at this team, and the way we’ve responded over these two days has been excellent,” Root said in a video shared by BBC’s Test Match Special. England won the low-scoring match inside two days by four…

Australia all-rounder Kim Garth has opened up about the painful semi-final loss against India in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, admitting that the defeat still lingers in her mind. Speaking on a podcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Garth shared her emotions surrounding the loss and acknowledged India’s quality as a side. “Definitely, I think that one still hurts a bit. That semi-final loss, India are obviously a very good team. So look, I think every time we play India, it’s always a good game,” she said. India secured a memorable win in the semi-final with a historic…

Australia captain Steve Smith pointed out that Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett’s opening partnership in the second innings of the fourth Test of the ongoing Ashes series 2025/26 made the difference between the two teams. In the post-match press conference, Smith said: “We’d love to win every game and keep every streak going. But, England played really well today. We probably controlled the first half of the game or yesterday, and then they came back in to play today and took the game away from us. Particularly the way (Zak) Crawley and (Ben) Duckett started, they got them off to…