Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Two players say they heard slur from former England captain
Vaughan has denied allegations that he made the comments
Michael Vaughan has been stood down by the BBC from Radio 5 live’s Tuffers and Vaughan Show on Monday after two cricketers said they heard the former England captain make racist comments while playing for Yorkshire in 2009.
The decision came after Vaughan, who has worked as an expert summariser and analyst on Test Match Special for 12 years, was accused of telling three players of Asian descent that there were “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it” before a county match in Nottingham.
Cloud of uncertainty hangs over result of Test series
ECB staring at a £30m financial black hole after decision
England’s summer of Test cricket has ended in dramatic fashion after their series finale against India at Old Trafford was cancelled on the first morning of the match following the recent Covid-19 outbreak among the touring party.
The England and Wales Cricket Board believed the fifth Test would go ahead on Thursday evening after India’s players cleared a full round of emergency PCR tests in response to a fourth member of their backroom staff contracting the virus.
Former Test captain warns of potentially farcical series
Calls on Australian government to issue travel exemptions
Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has warned that the upcoming Ashes series in Australia could descend into farce if the families of England players are not allowed into the country.
With the visiting team facing a gruelling months-long schedule likely to be subject to a host of pandemic-related restrictions, Vaughan said some players may choose not to make the trip if they cannot see their loved ones for such a long time.
Researchers create bat with similar performance from what they say is cheap and sustainable material
Cricket has been bowled a googly by scientists who have suggested the traditional willow used to make bats could be replaced by bamboo to increase their sustainability and boost the sport’s reach.
“Willow has been the principal material for cricket bats for centuries,” said Dr Darshil Shah at the University of Cambridge, who co-authored the study.
Chief executive sends email stating ‘you are safe in bubble’
Eleven England players still remain in Covid-crisis country
Cricketers at the ongoing Indian Premier League have been told they are playing for “humanity” and remain “totally safe” within the confines of the tournament’s bio-secure bubble as organisers look to stave off further departures.
The IPL’s continuation during India’s huge second wave of Covid-19 cases – one that has seen daily recorded cases top 350,000 in the past week – is coming under scrutiny after Ravichandran Ashwin and three Australians, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson and Andrew Tye, opted to leave their franchises.
Chennai player hits 28-ball 62 in Super Kings’ win over RCB
Final over scorecard reads: 6,6,6 (off no-ball) 6,2,6,4
Ravindra Jadeja smashed a record-equalling 37 runs off the final over before claiming 3-13 to lead Chennai Super Kings to a 69-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match in Mumbai.
Chris Gayle, while playing for Bangalore, had also hit 37 runs in a single over against Kochi Tuskers’ Prasanth Parameswaran during the 2011 edition of the IPL – but Jadeja’s Sunday best was one of the most astonishing all-round tours de force the competition has seen.
Allegations against Wasim Jaffer of favouritism raise fears that anti-Muslim sentiment is infecting the game
It is often described as India’s greatest unifier, a sport that – at least on the field – has been insulated from the religious schisms that have long divided the country.
But in recent weeks cricket’s position as one of the final bastions of a secular India has come under attack, as the anti-Muslim sentiment that has been on the rise in India under the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) reared its head in an ugly cricketing scandal.
High priority groups will begin receiving the vaccine earlier than anticipated; NSW south coast holiday locations on high alert; cricket crowd flocks to Sydney Test. Follow all the latest news and updates
Murphy says that over the second quarter of 2021, Australia will have vaccinated “a significant portion” of the population. That’s still mainly focusing on those first two priority groups.
He says:
The very last group that we might consider [vaccinating] is children. We know that children are at very low risk of getting Covid and transmitting Covid and the vaccine has not yet been thoroughly tested against children.
There will be vaccine hubs set up around Australia which only deliver one type of vaccine. That is to prevent confusion about which type of vaccine a person has been given, Murphy says, to ensure that people get two doses of the same vaccine.
A dose each of different vaccines will not cover you.
Underarm ads for deodorant believed to be a world first
Umpires to wear the ads during Big Bash League games
Cricket advertising is set for areas never before reached, with umpires in Australia’s Big Bash League to advertise a new sponsor in their underarms.
In a groundbreaking “armpit advertising” campaign revealed on Thursday, Cricket Australia announced a commercial partnership with the Australian deodorant and antiperspirant brand Rexona.
Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien scores direct hit in T20 game
Self-inflicted damage comes from one of eight sixes
“O, O, Ooooo… O’Brien,” goes the annoyingly catchy advert for Australia’s best-known car windscreen replacement company. But it was a case of “Oh, oh, no” for Kevin O’Brien after the Irish cricket star smashed the back window of his own car with a trademark six.
Under-19 team members use ‘inappropriate language’
Cricket Australia investigate players’ social media posts
Some members of Australia’s Under-19 World Cup squad face sanctions for comments on social media that have been branded as casual racism. Cricket Australia’s head of integrity and security Sean Carroll has spoken with those players who recently posted broken-English responses to an Instagram post.
“We are extremely disappointed that some of the Australian Under-19 squad members have used inappropriate language in posts on social media, which we reported to the ICC as soon as it came to our attention,” Carroll said in a statement. “Some of that language could be interpreted as ridiculing non-native English language speakers.”
40th over: New Zealand 130-4 (Nicholls 16, Watling 2) Just a smear by Watling and a single off Leach’s over.
39th over: New Zealand 128-4 (Nicholls 15, Watling 1) Golden arm Curran strikes again with his variations and unexpected fizz. Enthusiastic as a puppy but tenacious and wise as a, um, police dog? Williamson’s wicket totally against the run of play, and just after he’d reached fifty with a four down to the third man boundary. England now on top.
England take 1-0 series lead after seven-wicket victory
Vince hits 59 from 38 deliveries at Hagley Oval
England’s five-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand began with a relative stroll in Hagley Park as a typically stylish hand from James Vince helped set up a seven-wicket victory with nine balls to spare.
When Eoin Morgan launched his opposite number, Tim Southee, over deep mid-wicket for six, it completed a chase of 154 that rarely felt in doubt after Vince had finessed 38-ball 59 from No 3. In such a picture-postcard setting, perhaps it was fitting that England’s most aesthetically-pleasing batsmen should prove the difference.
‘I cannot believe he’s being received by the Queen,’ says French judge
The French judge who convicted Geoffrey Boycott of assaulting his girlfriend has criticised the former England cricketer after he was knighted and says she stands by her decision to find him guilty.
Charities and opposition parties highlight ex-cricketer’s conviction for domestic abuse
Boris Johnson is being urged to withdraw Geoffrey Boycott’s knighthood over his conviction for domestic violence and the former England cricketer’s response to criticism.
Women’s charities and opposition parties made the call after Boycott said he did not “give a toss” about condemnation of his knighthood from a leading domestic violence charity.
New Zealand cricket fans suffered through the night as their team fell excruciatingly short of victory at Lord’s
They emerged tired and emotional in the predawn light. They shuffled from living room couches or from the New Zealand bars lucky enough to organise short-notice liquor licences. Then, they went back to their Monday mornings.
No teacher or manager in the whole country would be naive enough to believe them if they said they had come down with the flu. They would have to wear their decision to stay up all night and watch the most thrilling cricket World Cup final ever played.
This was the most astonishing, fortuitous, preposterous climax to any cricket match I’ve witnessed, let alone a World Cup final. Only the Kiwis could have coped so graciously with the manner of their defeat in the most riveting final this tournament has ever witnessed. At the end of it England emerged as World Cup winners for the first time. It is hard to believe how they managed it. We had better start at the end.
The game had been gripping throughout. But in the final over it had more twists and turns than a Hitchcock thriller. England needed 15 runs to win from the last over, which was bowled by Trent Boult. Ben Stokes was on strike with two wickets remaining.
England have beaten Australia by eight wickets to go into the Cricket World Cup final where they will play New Zealand on Sunday at Lord’s.
The defending champions had teetered to 14 for three after deciding to bat first, with England exploiting the early seam movement on offer at Edgbaston, before Jofra Archer bloodied Alex Carey’s jaw with a vicious bumper.
5th over: India 19-0 (Rohit 7, Dhawan 10) Dhawan survives the first jaffa of the day and it’s again from that length on the very outer margin of good from Pat Cummins. Pitching on middle it seams and bounces towards the cordon just skimming beyond the outside edge. If anything Clive, it was too good. Is Dhawan phased? No chance. He responds by stroking the first boundary of the day with the minimum of fuss through the covers. No need to move his feet, just swing the bat and get the hands through the ball. There are plenty of runs on offer for any batsman who gets his eye in today.
4th over: India 11-0 (Rohit 7, Dhawan 3) Starc looks to be nearing his rhythm, sending down a classic one-two combination to Dhawan, first the bumper then the yorker, but the Indian left-hander navigates both well. The sucker punch is a length delivery outside off that Dhawan attacks on the up and drives unconvincingly but safely into the ring. No fireworks from either side to report yet.
John Starbuck has joined the conversation about the physical danger we put ourselves in when we take the field - or a net session. “Another nets danger is when you’re on a large practice ground and, while your nets are taking place at one end, an actual match can be happening elsewhere. This means that over-enthusiastic net batters can disturb the match by hitting high and long, with a possibly dangerous result for fielders. I’ve been ticked off for this sometimes, but curiously did not feel especially apologetic.”
11th over: England 68-1 (Roy 29, Root 38) Rabada isn’t bothering Root at all here, the England No3 meeting a full ball with a glorious straight blade, his on-drive crashing into the advertising boards in front of the photographers. Shot of the day so far. He backs it up with a couple to midwicket before giving Roy a go. Gosh, he’s nearly chopped on a full toss! The England opener would normally put one of those on the Moon but instead, the inside edge nearly floors him off his pad.
I kid you not, between overs there is a guy under the Bedser Stand playing an electric guitar shaped as a cricket bat. The ICC love having a frolic with this stuff at their global events. If this fella is a feature throughout the touranment across the country, he’ll be a cult hero in six weeks time. I’ll make damn sure of it.
10th over: England 60-1 (Roy 28, Root 31) Pretorious got the nod as the all-rounder in this South African XI today and he’s on for the final over of the power play. The set England pair take five from it, all in 1s and 2s. Roy tries to load up at one stage but can’t make contact. After losing YJB first ball, they’d be happy with an even 60 from 60 out of the first ten. Now to see if they can keep the tempo up through the middle overs with the field back, something they’ve made a habit of late.