London: New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and key batsman Ross Taylor are set for an earlier than anticipated arrival in England after being granted early release by their Indian Premier League sides. The pair was not expected to arrive on the tour of England until after the completion of this weekend's inaugural three-day warm-up match against Derbyshire. But McCullum and Taylor will now have more time to get used to...
09:07 AM, May 03, 2013
London: Former England captain Mike Gatting, who has been named the new president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), will oversee the ambitious 200-million pound makeover plan of the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground. MCC, which retains responsibility for the game's laws and is the owner of the Lord's, is also set to celebrate the bicentenary of the 'Mecca of cricket' in 2014. "Lord's is a fantastic, iconic ground, the envy...
03:40 PM, May 02, 2013
London: New Zealand have arrived in London with coach Mike Hesson insisting the Black Caps are determined to be more than just a warm-up act for the Ashes series later in the English season. Such is the interest in the Ashes, which pits England against arch-rivals Australia in the latest edition of cricket's oldest Test rivalry, that many fans in the sport's birthplace could be forgiven for not noticing New...
01:45 AM, May 02, 2013
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson warned England on Wednesday not to treat his side as the starter before they tuck into the main course of the Ashes series against Australia. England host New Zealand for two Tests, the first at Lord's starting on May 16 and the second in Leeds on May 24, before playing back-to-back Ashes series later this year. "These are two hugely important Test matches for us,"...
11:38 PM, May 01, 2013
New Delhi: India will begin their campaign in the the last edition of the ICC Champions Trophy with their Group B match against South Africa at Cardiff on June 6. The biennial tournament is being wound up as the ICC is unable to slot it in the crowded cricketing calendar. India play their second group game against the West Indies at the Oval on June 11 before running into neighbours...
12:28 PM, May 01, 2013
Wellington: A galvanised New Zealand head to Britain on Monday determined to finish off a job they came so close to completing in a thrilling climax to their drawn Test series against Alastair Cook's England at home last month. Brendon McCullum's underdogs had the entire Eden Park crowd on the edge of their seats as they got to within one wicket distance of achieving a remarkable 1-0 series victory over...
02:57 PM, Apr 29, 2013
London: Former Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria has lost his appeal against a lifetime ban by the England and Wales Cricket Board for his role in a corruption scandal. Kaneria was banned by the ECB last year for pressuring former Essex teammate Mervyn Westfield into spot-fixing in an English county one-day game in 2009. The ECB released a statement on Friday saying an appeals panel of the Cricket Discipline Commission dismissed...
10:52 PM, Apr 26, 2013
Karachi: The independent panel holding the hearing of Pakistani Test leg-spinner Danish Kaneria's appeal against the life ban imposed on him by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is expected to give its verdict on the case on Friday in London. Sources aware of the case said the four-day proceedings of the hearing had nearly been completed with Kaneria also having recorded his statement after his former Essex teammate,...
10:42 PM, Apr 25, 2013
Sydney: The recall of two 35-year-old veterans for the Ashes shows the lack of quality coming through the Australian ranks, with the squad the "best of a bad lot", country's media said on Thursday. Selectors picked Brad Haddin and Chris Rogers, with five openers among seven specialist batsmen alongside just one spinner, Nathan Lyon, for the five-match series starting in Nottingham on July 10. Given the sorry state of Australian...
11:14 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Sydney: Skipper Michael Clarke says Australia will prove their critics wrong and bring the urn home from England despite his team being panned as the "worst Ashes squad". Clarke has backed his 16-man party named on Wednesday to do the job in five Tests against England, starting at Nottingham's Trent Bridge ground on July 10. Sections of the British press have slammed Clarke's touring party with The Daily Mail declaring:"...
08:54 AM, Apr 25, 2013
London: Lancashire's Jordan Clark has become only the fifth batsman to hit six sixes in one over during a professional cricket match. The English County said in a statement on Wednesday that the 22-year-old had achieved the feat in a Championship Second XI game against Yorkshire to join an illustrious list of names. Former West Indies all-rounder Garfield Sobers was the first man to do it, in 1968, and Indian...
03:11 AM, Apr 25, 2013
London: England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy in June after a slower-than-expected recovery from a knee injury. However, England expects Pietersen to be back in full training by the "middle of June," making him available for the Ashes series against Australia that starts on July 10. The England and Wales Cricket Board says a repeat MRI scan on Pietersen's injured right knee "has shown...
10:41 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Sydney: Veteran wicketkeeper batsman Brad Haddin said on Wednesday he never doubted he would play Test cricket again and vowed to help instil the team spirit needed for Australia to win the Ashes series against arch-rivals England. The 35-year-old has played only one Test since January 2012 but now finds himself vice-captain to Michael Clarke and the preferred wicketkeeper in a team humbled by India 4-0 in March. Selectors hope...
01:17 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Sydney: Veteran wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was recalled to the Australian squad on Wednesday and made vice-captain for their upcoming Ashes tour to England with Chris Rogers and Ryan Harris also making the grade. Haddin, who has only played one Test in the past 14 months and turns 35 next week, replaces Shane Watson as Michael Clarke's deputy in a 16-man squad for the five-Test series starting in England in July....
08:39 AM, Apr 24, 2013
London: Wimbledon is increasing prize money by 40 percent this year and plans to build a retractable roof over Court No. 1. Total prize money for the Grand Slam event will be 22.6 million pounds ($34.4 million), an increase of 6.5 million pounds ($9.9 million) from last year, the All England Club said on Tuesday. The club called it the largest single increase and biggest total prize fund in the...
06:07 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Paris: World champion Viswanathan Anand made a disappointing start as he suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Englishman Michael Adams in the first round of Alekhine Memorial Chess Tournament here at the Louvre. On what turned out to be a day of big upsets, Chinese champion Ding Liren caused another big flutter crushing world number three Levon Aronian of Armenia. The 10-player round-robin super tournament, however, saw Vladimir...
01:12 PM, Apr 22, 2013
Dubai: The International Cricket Council on Saturday paid tribute to former England captain and ex-ICC match referee Mike Denness, who passed away at the age of 72. "We are sad to hear the news of Mike's passing and our thoughts go out to the members of his family and friends," said ICC Chief Executive David Richardson. Mike was a fine cricketer, a successful administrator at the Kent County Cricket Club...
01:33 PM, Apr 20, 2013
London: Mike Denness, the only Scotsman to captain England, has died of cancer at the age of 72, the BBC reported on Friday. Denness, a stylish right-hander who led England in 19 of his 28 Tests, dropped himself for the fourth Test at Sydney on the 1974-75 tour of Australia after he was unable to cope with the pace and fury of quick bowlers Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. He...
10:46 PM, Apr 19, 2013
England batsman Kevin Pietersen may consider quitting Test cricket after this year's back-to-back Ashes series against Australia, his former team-mate Andrew Flintoff said on Thursday. Pietersen, 32, has been ruled out of next month's two-match Test series at home to New Zealand because of a knee injury he sustained during fielding practice in the away series against the same side last month. "I wouldn't read too much into his not...
07:22 PM, Apr 18, 2013
London: Britain's most successful Olympian Chris Hoy is to retire from track cycling having exhausted "every last ounce of effort and energy", the six-time Games gold medal winner said on Thursday. Hoy, 37, has decided against competing in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in his native Scotland. "I am officially announcing my retirement. It was not a decision I took easily or lightly, but I know it's the right...
04:49 PM, Apr 18, 2013
