Cricket

England start well in run chase

Chasing 378 for victory, England got off to a flying start before the loss of three quick wickets forced them on to the back foot.

Root, batting on 76, combined with Bairstow in a 150-run stand for the unbroken fourth wicket to put England's chase back on track.

England were 259-3 at stumps needing 119 for a series-levelling victory.

England's highest successful run chase came in 2019 when they reached a 359-run target in an Ashes test against Australia on the back of Stokes's brilliant unbeaten century.

England romp home in third test to complete series sweep

Bairstow, whose batting heroics was key to ensuring England won the second test, picked up where he left off from Trent Bridge as he brought up his half century in 30 balls and then took England to victory on the last day with an unbeaten 71, finishing it off with a six.

A 111-run partnership with Joe Root, who was 86 not out, saw England reach the competitive victory target of 296 as they completed their first clean sweep of a home series in over a decade.

Windies beat struggling England

Chasing a token target of 28 in their second innings, West Indies reached it without loss, captain Kraigg Brathwaite hitting the winning runs to seal a 1-0 series triumph.

It was a stunning result for the home team after being outplayed in the first two drawn tests, and ensured another barren England trip to the Caribbean.

England have only one series win in the West Indies in the past half-century, a 3-0 victory in 2003-04.

With the ecstatic home fans dancing in the stands, the England players shook hands with Brathwaite and John Campbell.

India sneak home in opening T20

New Zealand made 164 for six in Jaipur, which India reached with two balls to spare.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field first and had immediate success with Daryl Mitchell dismissed for a golden duck.

However Martin Guptil scored 70 and Mark Chapman 63 as they put on 109 for the second wicket.

"We were probably ten runs short at the end, we didn't quite get there in the end but that can happen in cricket and the way we pulled it back with the ball was a fantastic effort," said Guptil.

ICC to bid for sport's inclusion in Los Angeles 2028

  The ICC says its "primary target" is being added to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

It would end a 128-year wait for the sport to be included, following its only previous appearance in the 1900 Games in Paris.

The sport will feature as a women's event in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

ICC chair Greg Barclay says the "sport is united behind this bid" and that the Olympics are part of cricket's "long-term future".

"We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 per cent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics," said Barclay.

The world's largest cricket stadium to host India-England Test

The teams are set to play the third Test match in the ongoing series at the stadium on Wednesday.

The venue, also known as Sardar Patel stadium, in Ahmedabad city of India's western state of Gujarat has been recently rebuilt.

Both teams have won a Test each in the four-match series.

Players from both teams have been training at the newly-built stadium, which can seat 110,000 spectators. But only 55,000 fans will be allowed in the two Tests to be played at the venue due to Covid restrictions.

Captain Kohli, PM Modi lead tributes to Indian cricketers

Kohli had returned home to attend the birth of his daughter after the opening test loss, leaving behind a deflated side who were skittled out for 36 in Adelaide - their lowest innings score in 88 years of test cricket.

Under stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, India levelled the series in Melbourne and drew in Sydney before triumphing in Brisbane to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

"WHAT A WIN!!! Yessssss. To everyone who doubted us after Adelaide, stand up and take notice," Kohli tweeted after India's three-wicket victory at the Gabba.

Pakistan cricket great Shoaib Akhtar reacts to possible cancellation of New Zealand tour

New Zealand's Ministry of Health has given the entire touring party a final warning after some of them breached isolation conditions at their quarantine hotel in Christchurch.

Six of the team have now tested positive for Covid-19.

Shoaib was upset by the inference that New Zealand Cricket is considering the tour could be called off.

No saliva to shine the ball in cricket

Several other interim measures designed to ensure the safety of players and match officials have been ratified by the ICC Chief Executives Committee -- including allowing home umpires in international series.

International cricket will resume next month when West Indies face England in a three-match test series.

The tourists arived in Manchester today and will go into quarantine before the first game scheduled for July 8th.

Smith captaincy ban over

That is a question that took on new relevance on Sunday after Smith's two-year leadership ban ended.

Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were suspended from cricket after a ball-tampering scandal on the 2018 tour of South Africa.

A scheme was cooked up to use sandpaper to doctor the ball, with Smith being aware of the plan but doing nothing to prevent it going ahead.

Disgraced by the incident, Smith was served with a one-year playing ban that began on March 29, 2018, with a further 12-month suspension from leading Australia in any format of the game.