Sophie Ecclestone will captain a side for the first time in her professional career this summer, following her appointment as Manchester Originals’ captain for the Hundred. Kate Cross led Originals women in the first two editions of the tournament but was signed by Northern Superchargers in March’s draft, and the team announced on Monday that

Big picture: Titans and CSK – similar yet different It is no coincidence that Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings, teams that have built their campaigns around continuity, consistency in selection and role clarity, have earned the right to a second chance by finishing in the top two. MS Dhoni‘s leadership traits are something Hardik

Josh Hazlewood, who has missed substantial Test cricket over the last couple of years through injury, flew home early from the IPL after reporting side soreness although scans in Australia did not show any damage. He has since returned to bowling ahead of the squad’s departure to the UK at the end of the week

Virat Kohli feels he is playing his “best T20 cricket again”, having scored back-to-back hundreds at the end of the league stage of IPL 2023, and helped Royal Challengers Bangalore to 197 for 5 in their must-win game against Gujarat Titans. Kohli’s unbeaten 101 off 61 balls steered RCB, especially in the last six overs

Mumbai Indians 201 for 2 (Green 100*, Rohit 56) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 200 for 5 (Agarwal 83, Vivrant 69, Madhwal 4-37) by eight wickets Mumbai Indians did what was asked of them quite emphatically, but will now face a nervous wait to see how the fixture between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans pans out

Big Picture: Make or break for RCB It all boils down to the final four hours. After 69 games across 52 days, the last league match will decide the identity of the players fourth team in the playoffs. The spotlight is on Royal Challengers Bangalore as they return home to the Chinnaswamy to host the

Birmingham Bears 200 for 6 (Hain 83) beat Yorkshire 166 (Brookes 4-32) by 34 runs The enduring excellence of Sam Hain sparkled yet again as Birmingham Bears began their Vitality Blast campaign with a comfortable 34-run victory over Yorkshire Vikings at Edgbaston. In the second half of the inaugural ‘Blast Off’ double header (Lancashire beat

Punjab Kings’ ouster means now six teams are in contention for the remaining three playoff spots, going into the final weekend of the league stage. Here is a look at how the fortunes of each team stack up. Played 14, Points 14, NRR 0.148 Rajasthan Royals have kept themselves in the hunt for a top-four

Brian Booth, the former Australia Test captain, has died at the age of 89. A middle-order batter and a part-time offspinner, Booth played a total of 29 Tests, scoring 1773 runs and taking three wickets. He also represented Australia in hockey at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics before he earned his Test cap on the 1961

Glamorgan 123 and 118 for 1 (Byrom 57) trail Sussex 481 (Coles 138, Smith 89, Haines 58) by 240 runs Come for the Australian great, stay for the local rising star. There was a Sussex centurion on day two at Hove but it was not, as had been expected, Steven Smith. Instead, 19-year-old James Coles