1:03 PM ET “He’s a madman.” That was the succinct verdict of Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, on Ben Stokes. It was said with a smile, of course. And meant as a compliment. For it was Stokes’ commitment to the team cause and extraordinary levels of fitness that provoked it. The specific moment that inspired

6:51 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Defending champions Surrey will host Essex, who lifted the Specsavers Championship in 2017, in their opening match of the 2019 season – a repeat of their encounter in the final round of last season, when Essex scraped a dramatic one-wicket win despite taking a 410-run lead on first innings. The

9:52 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Mithali Raj has accused India women head coach Ramesh Powar and former captain Diana Edulji – a member of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) supervising the BCCI’s operations – of leaving her “deflated, depressed and let down” with their actions during the recently concluded World T20 in the Caribbean. Raj,

9:03 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Jonny Bairstow has signed a short-term deal with T10 side Kerala Knights. Bairstow was named Man of the Match in this week’s third Test against Sri Lanka, after marking his return to the side with a matchwinning 110 in the first innings at Colombo. He will leave for the UAE

9:43 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Comilla Victorians have roped in Steven Smith for the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League, as Shoaib Malik’s replacement after he will depart for Pakistan’s series against New Zealand midway through the tournament. Smith, who has been serving a 12-month ban handed by Cricket Australia following the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, will be

9:17 AM ET Peter Della PennaCricket Close Peter Della Penna is an American cricket journalist who also writes for ESPNcricinfo.com and DreamCricket.com. Since 2010, he has penned the USA entry in the Cricket Round the World section of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.Follow Peter on Twitter @PeterDellaPenna USA Cricket is planning to start its own T20 professional domestic

Nov 26, 2018 India begin their only tour game before the Test series in Australia on Wednesday, but they do so in a manner similar to the one in England despite efforts to do it otherwise. They will play a non-first-class fixture against a weak side in a game that might not see more than

3:00 AM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Victoria 167 (Handscomb 81, Finch 50, Steketee 4-52) lead Queensland 2 for 120 (Burns 71*, Khawaja 41, Tremain 2-20) by 47 runs Queensland’s pacemen razed Sheffield Shield leaders Victoria on day one at the Gabba to put the Bulls in command at stumps and in position to establish a big

3:00 AM ET Lunch New Zealand 222 for 4 (Nicholls 31*, Watling 16*) and 90 trail Pakistan 418 for 5 dec. by 106 runs Perhaps the biggest surprise this session was that Yasir Shah was kept quiet throughout. Two New Zealand wickets did fall, bringing Pakistan closer to a series-levelling victory, but they went to

3:18 AM ET Australian cricket’s governing body and players union will enter the holiday season by being back on each other’s Christmas-card lists for the first time in several years, after a somewhat amorphous but fruitful meeting in Melbourne on Tuesday. Led by the interim chairman Earl Eddings, members of Cricket Australia’s board and senior