2:11 AM IST Valkerie Baynes Close Valkerie Baynes is a general editor at ESPNcricinfo Ollie Pope has admitted to feeling a weight lift from his shoulders as he neared a possible second Test century at the end of the opening day of the deciding match against West Indies. Pope entered the match with a high

8:50 PM IST Ireland have flagged an unusual problem with playing behind closed doors ahead of their three-match ODI series against England next week, after their fielders struggled to pick up the white ball against the backdrop of empty cream-coloured seats in an intra-squad practice match. All three games in the series will be played

12:14 PM IST The 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) will most likely start on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the final slated on November 8. While the IPL Governing Council will meet next week to chalk out the final details and approve the schedule, it is understood that the BCCI has

2:29 AM IST The friendship and rivalry of Viv Richards and Ian Botham will be commemorated in a new series trophy when England next face West Indies in Test cricket, after the ECB and CWI agreed that the Wisden Trophy will be retired at the end of this week’s third Test. The new Richards-Botham Trophy

9:27 PM IST Jason Holder, West Indies’ captain, has thrown his “full support” behind Shai Hope as the tourists contemplate whether to make changes for the deciding Test of the series against England. Hope has scored 57 runs in four innings with Phil Simmons, the team’s head coach, admitting that he was concerned by the

12:11 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson‘s Test aspirations are still as strong as ever after a calf strain cut short his performance in his only Test, against Australia in Perth last December. Ferguson said he had time to reflect on a lot of things about his “whirlwind” career during the recent lockdown,

12:24 AM IST Sir Andrew Strauss, the former England captain, is confident that the cricket-loving public will get behind next week’s #RedForRuth day at Emirates Old Trafford and help raise awareness and funds for the Ruth Strauss Foundation, even though the Covid-19 pandemic means that no spectators will be present to emulate last year’s inaugural

6:20 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Bangladesh men’s pending three-Test series against hosts Sri Lanka could be rescheduled to October, if talks between the BCB and SLC come to fruition. The tour, Bangladesh’s first three-match red-ball series in six years, was originally scheduled for July-August but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. ESPNcricinfo

12:22 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain and Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman, is waiting for more details about the delayed season of the IPL to come his way, saying “it would be great to play” the tournament in the UAE, but a lot of planning and organising still needs to be done

11:55 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Middlesex have named Stephen Eskinazi as their captain for this summer’s Bob Willis Trophy, after confirming that Peter Handscomb, the Australia batsman who was set to lead them this summer, will defer his two-year contract until 2021-22. Eskinazi, 26, will take charge of Middlesex’s red-ball team in the competition that