Sports

Pat Cummins shaped up as the frontrunner Saturday to take over from disgraced former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine, with the likes of Mark Taylor, Dennis Lillie, and Steve Waugh all singing his praises. The 28-year-old, who has served as vice-captain in both Test and white-ball formats since 2019, is widely seen as being in a two-way race with Steve …

RANCHI: India cruised to a second straight victory over World Cup runners-up New Zealand on Friday, giving new coach Rahul Dravid and new T20 captain Rohit Sharma their first series win. Set 154 in front of a packed crowd in Ranchi, India crossed the line in the 18th over having lost only three wickets, avenging their eight-wicket hammering by the …

Distraught and in tears, Tim Paine stepped down as Australia’s Test cricket captain on Friday after revelations he had been investigated and cleared over sexually explicit text messages sent to a female former colleague four years ago. The development has plunged Australia’s Ashes preparations into disarray three weeks before the first Test in Brisbane starts on Dec 8. Breaking down …

LONDON: The “drinking culture” in county teams was partly responsible for Asian and Black players not getting enough opportunities in English cricket, former West Indies international Tino Best has said. Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq’s testimony to a British parliamentary committee on Tuesday has thrown a spotlight on racism in the sport in England, as well as its drinking culture. Rafiq, a …

MELBOURNE: The Australian Open tennis Grand Slam and Australia’s Boxing Day cricket Test against arch-rivals England in Melbourne will be able to welcome capacity crowds as COVID-19 restrictions ease in Victoria state, officials said on Thursday. Victoria Premier Dan Andrews said that the state was about to hit 90 percent vaccination, allowing long-standing restrictions to be swept aside, including capacity …

LAHORE: The Pakistan Super League has received a major boost from Habib Bank Limited which has reacquired the title sponsorship of Pakistan Cricket Board’s pinnacle tournament for another four-year cycle (2022-2025). The bank has been title sponsors of the PSL since its start in 2016. “HBL not only exceeded the reserve price in reacquiring the rights but sealed it with …

DHAKA: Pakistan aim to keep up momentum from their strong T20 World Cup showing with a largely unchanged squad for this week’s tour of Bangladesh, skipper Babar Azam said on Thursday. Babar’s side stormed through the Super-12 phase of the Dubai tournament with five straight victories before a shock five-wicket loss to eventual winners Australia in the semi-final. Pakistan fielded the same …

Less than 10 days after their World Cup 2021 campaign came to an end, Pakistan are in Dhaka to take on Bangladesh in the 1st T20I. Traditionally, no one has quaked when facing Bangladesh, but here are five reasons why the current crop of the Tigers, in their own den, should not be taken lightly. 1- Wounded Tigers While Pakistan’s World …

DUBLIN: Graham Ford is stepping down as Ireland coach in December, citing the “challenges and handicaps” of the role, cricket chiefs announced on Wednesday. The former South Africa and Sri Lanka coach, who oversaw Ireland’s first-ever Test match, against Pakistan, recently took his side to the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Cricket Ireland said in …

JAIPUR: Suryakumar Yadav struck a blistering half-century as India held on to beat New Zealand by five wickets in the first of three Twenty20s in Jaipur on Wednesday and get Rahul Dravid’s reign as head coach off to a winning start. Chasing 165, India clinched victory with two balls to spare thanks to a career-best 62 from Yadav, who played …