Latest news with #T20
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Sports News for 16 July 2025
Black Caps T20 captain Mitchell Santner says he'd probably never support Australia, but he and his team-mates did follow with interest the third test against the West Indies in Jamaica yesterday. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Olympic cricket at LA 2028 set for 9am start times
LA 2028 organisers have slated matches at the Olympic cricket tournament to start at 09:00 in the morning to cater for lucrative television audiences in of the major factors behind cricket's return to the Games after a 128-year hiatus is the desire of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to tap into a lucrative South Asian media rights and sponsorship market. The six-team T20 tournament, featuring both men's and women's teams, will begin on Wednesday, 12 July - two days before the opening ceremony - with all matches staged at a venue which will be constructed at the Fairgrounds in will be two games played daily at Pomona - located 30 miles from the athletes' village in Los Angeles - starting at 09:00 and 18:30 Pacific Daylight matches will be shown at 21:30 and 07:00 India Standard Time (17:00 and 02:30 British Summer Time).The evening fixtures at the ground in Pomona will be played under floodlights. Kit McConnell, who oversaw cricket's return to the Games after a 128-year hiatus as the IOC's sports director, told BBC Sport organisers considered "core cricket markets in the subcontinent" when planning the tournament. "The vision the International Cricket Council (ICC) has outlined for us is aimed at providing the best players and the best teams on the Olympic stage," McConnell said."There's three years to go but now we're very excited about where cricket is, what it will bring to the Games and equally what the Olympics can offer to cricket and its global expansion as well." How will the Olympic cricket tournament work? BBC Sport understands the competition structure for cricket at the Olympics has now been agreed following meetings between the ICC, IOC and LA 2028 six participating teams will be divided into two groups of three with each team playing each other will then play two sides from the other pool, apart from those who were ranked in the same corresponding example, the winners of Group A will play the second and third-placed teams in Group B and from all four matches will then be used to determine final rankings with the top two sides playing in a final to decide the gold and silver medals. The teams who finish third and fourth will play off for matches will be played on 20 and 29 July with the women's and men's tournament set to run in separate slots rather than being played ICC is set to discuss how teams will qualify for LA 2028 at their Annual General Meeting in Singapore, starting on 17 members want T20 rankings to determine which teams go to Los Angeles but others have expressed a preference for qualifying England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland have held talks to form a new entity called GB Cricket to oversee a team for LA. No repeat of New York pitch issues The IOC have given assurances there will not be a repeat of the pitch controversy which blighted showpiece games at last year's T20 World Cup in New York, which the USA 34,000-seat temporary stadium in Eisenhower Park looked impressive, but the drop-in pitches used for matches during the initial group stage, including the high-profile fixture between India and Pakistan, were subject to the venue in New York, which returned to use as a public park, the ground in Pomona is set to remain a cricket facility for permanent usage by Indian Premier League and Major League Cricket franchise owners Knight reported by The Cricketer,, external the IOC and ICC are in negotiations with the Knight Riders over installing a square as opposed to using drop-in surfaces."We're very conscious about the importance of the field of play and in the case of cricket, the pitch," McConnell added."Now that we have finalised the venue, we can move forward with all of those plannings in a more concrete sense."I don't think it's only the T20 World Cup. I think every cricket match has commentary about the pitch and what type of play it suits."
CNA
16 hours ago
- Sport
- CNA
Anderson and Rocky Flintoff picked as wildcards for The Hundred
Former England fast bowler James Anderson and Rocky Flintoff, son of former England all-rounder Andrew, have been selected as wildcard picks for The Hundred 2025, the league announced on Tuesday. Anderson, 42, who retired from international duty in July last year, was initially overlooked in The Hundred draft but secured his place with Manchester Originals during the wildcard selections. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Rocky will join Northern Superchargers under the coaching of his father, Andrew Flintoff. Both were among the 32 players drafted in the wildcard selections for the fifth season, which begins on August 5. Anderson returned to T20 cricket this year after an 11-year hiatus, claiming 14 wickets in eight matches for Lancashire in the T20 Blast. "I'm really looking forward to The Hundred, and I'm really happy to be part of the Manchester Originals squad. I've loved my time with Lancashire this season, so I'm excited to have the opportunity to add value in The Hundred," Anderson said. "It's a competition I've really enjoyed watching. When you're at the games you can really see that it does attract a slightly different crowd, a lot of younger people and families, and you can't underestimate how important that is for our game. "I can't wait to get out there." If Anderson plays this season, he will become the second-oldest player in the competition's history, trailing only Imran Tahir, who played at 43 years and 149 days in 2022. Anderson joins a Manchester Originals squad that includes Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, as well as overseas players Heinrich Klaasen, Noor Ahmad, and Rachin Ravindra.
The National
a day ago
- Sport
- The National
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan can come back into Pakistan's T20 team - here's how
For close to five years, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been the faces of Pakistan cricket. The pair have played a significant role in numerous victories, none more memorable than their unbeaten partnership of 152 runs that handed Pakistan their first win against India in the ICC men's World Cup of any format in Dubai in 2021. Yet, for the third consecutive T20 International series this year, including a tour to New Zealand, a home series against Bangladesh, and the upcoming Bangladesh tour, neither player has been selected for the T20 squad. The omission comes despite them being the top two run-scorers in the world in T20Is over the past five years. Rizwan has amassed 3,229 runs while Babar has 2,752, but they have done so at strike rates hovering just below 130, a figure which is seen as outdated in modern T20 cricket. Starting from the tour of New Zealand earlier this year, Pakistan's selection strategy for T20 cricket has had a noticeable shift. The focus has moved away from runs accumulation to intent, impact and strike rate. As a result, the quickest two centuries in Pakistan's T20I history happened this year: Hasan Nawaz's 44-ball ton in Auckland and Mohammad Haris' 45-ball century in Lahore. In the recent series against Bangladesh, Pakistan also scored back-to-back 200s for the first time in seven years. This new approach is also reflected in the recently selected squad for the Bangladesh series, which features five of the top seven T20 batters by strike rate since the start of 2024: Hasan Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris and Khushdil Shah. The two from the top seven missing out are Azam Khan, largely due to fitness concerns, and Haider Ali, who appears to have been ignored after being given multiple opportunities in recent years. Though it can be argued perhaps Haider deserved another go as a late-order hitter, potentially in place of Hussain Talat. The presence of Salman Agha and Talat, batters whose strike rates are relatively modest, suggests that Pakistan haven't entirely abandoned the idea of including anchors. Among Pakistani batters with at least 500 T20 runs since 2024, Talat ranks 14th in strike rate (136.72), Agha sits 18th (133.44) and Babar, just a step behind, ranks 19th (132.20). Agha might not be an explosive batter, but his leadership has been a driving force behind Pakistan 's move to high-intent batting and for that reason he does not occupy a specific spot in the batting order. During the recent Bangladesh series, he had three 50s in four innings. Even so, he demoted himself to number five to provide a better combination to the team. That is something which Pakistan's erstwhile captains were reluctant to do. Agha's value as an off-spinning option only strengthens his place in the squad. That said, it does not mean it is the end of the road for Babar and Rizwan in T20s. Both have been a part of Pakistan's training camp in Karachi where Mike Hesson, the team's white-ball coach, threw some weight behind Babar. 'Babar is competing with one of the opening positions at the moment. We have Fakhar and Saim in those roles at the moment, so he is competing for that,' Hesson said. Another factor that could go in favour of Babar is the next two important events: the T20 Asia Cup, for which UAE is the likely venue, and the T20 World Cup, where Pakistan will play all matches in Sri Lanka under the hybrid-model agreed with India. Both tournaments might produce a few games where totals close to 160 are par. The scoring rates in UAE (8.03) and Sri Lanka (7.87) in T20s since the start of 2024 are modest compared to the other major host nations. Plus, the pressure of high-octane games in the global events might occasionally require a batting style where you need to occupy the crease. In such environments, where power-hitting can be neutralised by a sticky pitch and scoreboard pressure, you might need more than one anchor in the team. Recent history backs this: three of the past six matches in the knockout stages of T20 World Cup – the final in Melbourne in 2022 and the semi-finals in Guyana and Trinidad in 2024 – didn't demand extraordinary strike-rates. All eight T20 World Cup clashes between India and Pakistan have produced low to moderate totals, the highest being India's 160 in Melbourne in 2022. Hesson's remarks also hint that despite Sahibzada Farhan's stellar form in 2025, in which he has most sixes (67) by a batter from Pakistan and four centuries, he may not be in the first choice XI. With Haris and Hasan Nawaz now at number three and four positions, Agha fluctuating in the middle-order and Fakhar and Saim preferred as openers, Farhan might find himself on the fringes despite his stunning record. And if that happens, Babar and Rizwan might not just be competing with Saim and Fakhar but also Farhan. Looking ahead, Pakistan have enough fixtures to optimise their squad before the 2026 T20 World Cup, scheduled for February and March in India and Sri Lanka. With at least 20 T20s, and up to 24 should Pakistan reach the Asia Cup final, Pakistan have ample opportunity for experimentation and refinement. But as Pakistan do not have any domestic T20s before the T20 World Cup, the only way Babar and Rizwan can reclaim their positions is by doing through something extraordinary in ODI cricket, a format in which Pakistan are scheduled to play nine matches (three each against West Indies, South Africa and Sri Lanka), or by putting a strong show in the Big Bash League where the duo are set to debut in December. Pakistan's upcoming T20 fixtures July - Bangladesh (Away, 3 matches) July-August - West Indies (Away, 3 matches) August - Afghanistan (Home, 3 matches) September - Asia Cup (Away, 2 to 6 matches) October - South Africa (Home, 3 matches) November - Sri Lanka (Home, 3 matches) February - Australia (Home, 3 matches) Pakistan's squad for Bangladesh T20I series Probable XI: Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Sufyan Moqim.
The Herald
a day ago
- Sport
- The Herald
Brevis fires as Proteas cruise to victory in T20 opener
But with just 30 runs required, Brevis miscued a Gwandu ball to Brian Bennett at extra cover. Ngavara then came back to uproot Hermann's off stump to make it 130/5 in the 15th over before Corbin Bosch led the team home with an unbeaten 23. Earlier, Sikandar Raza played a captain's knock to help Zimbabwe reach their total of 141 for six. He scored an unbeaten 54 runs off 34 balls, which included three boundaries and two sixes. His innings, combined with a 66-run partnership with Ryan Burl, saved the Chevrons' innings. The Proteas bowlers started the innings on a good note after skipper Van der Dussen won the toss and elected to field first. They restricted Zimbabwe to 34/1 after the first power play. Lungi Ngidi claimed the scalp of Wessly Madhevere (1) in the second over, when the batter stood on his wicket. Two overs after the first power play, and in his first over, Proteas wrist spinner Nqaba Peter rattled Clive Mandade's (8) stumps. Brian Bennett, who shared a 31-run stand with Mandande, followed to the dressing room for 30, leaving the home side in a spot of bother on 55 runs for three wickets halfway through their innings. Bennett was deceived in the air by George Linde and holed out to Reeza Hendricks, who was stationed a few metres inside the fence at deep midwicket. Raza and Burl then started to pick up the pieces with their stand. Their running between the wickets was carried out with urgency and their shot selection was precise. They ensured their team made it past the 100-run mark with five overs remaining. Raza was more of the aggressor. He reached his 14th career T20 fifty, and at the time Zimbabwe were looking at a total above 150. But that tempo dropped after Burl was dismissed by Nandre Burger for 29 runs off 20 balls. He was caught at long-on by Ruben Hermann after failing to clear the ropes. In the last over, Linde picked up the wicket of Tashinga Musekiwa for nine runs and removed Tony Munyonga for a golden duck. He finished with the economic figures of three wickets for only 10 runs in his three overs. New Zealand are the other side in the series and they play their first fixture against SA on Wednesday (1pm). Daily Dispatch
