The ECB has announced a financial package to help cricket clubs amid the coronavirus crisis.

Cricket bosses are confident they can salvage the international summer insisting they can be good to go ‘behind closed doors' in just four weeks.

The £500,000 donation by England's centrally-contracted players is equivalent to a three month 20 per cent pay cut.

Moeen Ali has opened up on the return of cricket but has sent a stark warning to his fellow players and the decision-makers on the sport.

Captain Tom Moore has been invited to deliver a team talk by England cricket captain Joe Root in the wake of his remarkable achievements in raising money for the NHS.

The Cricket Show pays tribute to Captain Tom Moore today on his 100th birthday. Here's how to watch the Sky Sports special.

Captain Tom Moore was made an honorary cricket player by former England captain Michael Vaughan on his 100th birthday.

The England cricket team are ready to play Test matches behind closed doors this summer.

Find out which cricketer you are most like - with our entirely unscientific personality quiz.

With cricket on hold because of coronavirus, here is a chance to test your knowledge of what has happened in 2020.

Northamptonshire club doctor Professor Bill Ribbans tells BBC Look East what cricket must do in order to return this summer.

The ECB intends for women to play international and domestic cricket this summer but is "realistic" about the impact of coronavirus, says Clare Connor.

England's physical disability cricketers have taken on an energy-sapping challenge - they are running a collective marathon each day for 10 days.

Fast bowler Mark Wood says players would be willing to go into isolation in order for England matches to take place this summer.

Test Match Special statistician Andrew Samson answers some of your cricketing questions.

Smith, Steve.

Cricket -- Australia -- Anecdotes.

Through a new cricket league and sports field approved by the local government, OM Ukraine can minister to hundreds of local families.

"The door for ministry is wide open to use our gifts," explains OM Ukraine Field Leader Wayne. "In my case, God is using my love for cricket to create relationships and influence people who have never heard the gospel...”

THE irony that the recent weather would have been ideal for the start of the domestic cricket season is not lost on Kyle Coetzer.

GUS MACKAY was full of good intentions when he agreed to become Cricket Scotland’s new chief executive last October.

The BCCI has already stopped DDCA's annual grant and there has been a discussion to put an ad-hoc body in place during a teleconference between Apex Council members a couple of days back.

Shan Masood was video-chatting with teammates when they grabbed their cricket gear and pretended to play a match.

CSK's cheeky dig at Shikhar Dhawan on his throwback picture with Suresh Raina left fans in splits.

Cricket Australia has not directed the players officially with its chief executive Kevin Roberts on Tuesday saying that players were individually contracted to their IPL teams and can make up their own minds to compete in the 2020 IPL or not.

"The captain is the boss, I always believe that. The job of the coaching staff, as far as I'm concerned, is to prepare the guys in the best possible way to be able to go out there and play brave, positive, fearless cricket," Shastri said.

Akram also said that he listened to his gut feeling and former Pakistani captain, Imran Khan’s advice, to take Shahid Afridi on the tour to India when he was originally not supposed to be included in the squad.

Earlier, Michael Clarke had said that Australian players who were keen to join the ludicrous Indian Premier League did not want to take on players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

 The items to be auctioned also include their respective gloves and shirts from that particular game where both of them had scored centuries to power RCB to a challenging 248 for three against Gujarat Lions. RCB had won the match by 144 runs. 

The 2017 women's World Cup in England was the turning point with 180 million watching the game out of which 156 million were from India, says Lahoti.

World Cup Special - 17 Amazing Facts About Cricket That You Most Definitely Never Knew

Literate Indians should be familiar with Ashis Nandy’s remark: “Cricket is an Indian game accidentally discovered by the English.“ A Trinidadian Indian by the name of Chuck Ramkissoon, in Joseph O’Neill’s superbly inflected novel “Netherland”, is also fond of making bold pronouncements on the behalf of the game he wants to introduce to the U.S. “I’m saying that people, all people, Americans, whoever, are at their most civilized when they’re playing cricket. What’s the first thing that happens when Pakistan and India make peace? They play a cricket match…”

It’s now my turn to be bold: “Netherland” is more of an Indian novel than the recent, much feted, Indian fiction. This is not only because O’Neill’s novel feeds our national obsession with the game. Nor even its exquisite description of what transpires on the playing field: “…. where the white-clad ring of infielders, swanning figures on the vast oval, again and again converge in unison toward the batsman and again and again scatter back to their starting points, a repetition of pulmonary rhythm, as if the field breathed through its luminous visitors.” No. My pronouncement is based on the fact that the Indian characters in the book are highly individualized and yet fully global in their identity. “Netherland” is not a sociological-historical epic thesis, nor is it a shallow, cynical report on injustice in the hinterland. Rich in observation, reporting as much on the interior life as on the life outside, it is a captivating literary achievement. A masterpiece.

Rave Out © 2007 IndiaUncut.com. All rights reserved.
India Uncut * The IU Blog * Rave Out * Extrowords * Workoutable * Linkastic

This is the 24th installment of The Rationalist, my column for the Times of India.

Back in the last decade, I was a cricket journalist for a few years. Then, around 12 years ago, I quit. I was jaded as hell. Every game seemed like déjà vu, nothing new, just another round on the treadmill. Although I would remember her fondly, I thought me and cricket were done.

And then I fell in love again. Cricket has changed in the last few years in glorious ways. There have been new ways of thinking about the game. There have been new ways of playing the game. Every season, new kinds of drama form, new nuances spring up into sight. This is true even of what had once seemed the dullest form of the game, one-day cricket. We are entering into a brave new world, and the team leading us there is England. No matter what happens in the World Cup final today – a single game involves a huge amount of luck – this England side are extraordinary. They are the bridge between eras, leading us into a Golden Age of Cricket.

I know that sounds hyperbolic, so let me stun you further by saying that I give the IPL credit for this. And now, having woken up you up with such a jolt on this lovely Sunday morning, let me explain.

Twenty20 cricket changed the game in two fundamental ways. Both ended up changing one-day cricket. The first was strategy.

When the first T20 games took place, teams applied an ODI template to innings-building: pinch-hit, build, slog. But this was not an optimal approach. In ODIs, teams have 11 players over 50 overs. In T20s, they have 11 players over 20 overs. The equation between resources and constraints is different. This means that the cost of a wicket goes down, and the cost of a dot ball goes up. Critically, it means that the value of aggression rises. A team need not follow the ODI template. In some instances, attacking for all 20 overs – or as I call it, ‘frontloading’ – may be optimal.

West Indies won the T20 World Cup in 2016 by doing just this, and England played similarly. And some sides began to realise was that they had been underestimating the value of aggression in one-day cricket as well.

The second fundamental way in which T20 cricket changed cricket was in terms of skills. The IPL and other leagues brought big money into the game. This changed incentives for budding cricketers. Relatively few people break into Test or ODI cricket, and play for their countries. A much wider pool can aspire to play T20 cricket – which also provides much more money. So it makes sense to spend the hundreds of hours you are in the nets honing T20 skills rather than Test match skills. Go to any nets practice, and you will find many more kids practising innovative aggressive strokes than playing the forward defensive.

As a result, batsmen today have a wider array of attacking strokes than earlier generations. Because every run counts more in T20 cricket, the standard of fielding has also shot up. And bowlers have also reacted to this by expanding their arsenal of tricks. Everyone has had to lift their game.

In one-day cricket, thus, two things have happened. One, there is better strategic understanding about the value of aggression. Two, batsmen are better equipped to act on the aggressive imperative. The game has continued to evolve.

Bowlers have reacted to this with greater aggression on their part, and this ongoing dialogue has been fascinating. The cricket writer Gideon Haigh once told me on my podcast that the 2015 World Cup featured a battle between T20 batting and Test match bowling.

This England team is the high watermark so far. Their aggression does not come from slogging. They bat with a combination of intent and skills that allows them to coast at 6-an-over, without needing to take too many risks. In normal conditions, thus, they can coast to 300 – any hitting they do beyond that is the bonus that takes them to 350 or 400. It’s a whole new level, illustrated by the fact that at one point a few days ago, they had seven consecutive scores of 300 to their name. Look at their scores over the last few years, in fact, and it is clear that this is the greatest batting side in the history of one-day cricket – by a margin.

There have been stumbles in this World Cup, but in the bigger picture, those are outliers. If England have a bad day in the final and New Zealand play their A-game, England might even lose today. But if Captain Morgan’s men play their A-game, they will coast to victory. New Zealand does not have those gears. No other team in the world does – for now.

But one day, they will all have to learn to play like this.

© 2007 IndiaUncut.com. All rights reserved.
India Uncut * The IU Blog * Rave Out * Extrowords * Workoutable * Linkastic

This is the 24th installment of The Rationalist, my column for the Times of India.

Back in the last decade, I was a cricket journalist for a few years. Then, around 12 years ago, I quit. I was jaded as hell. Every game seemed like déjà vu, nothing new, just another round on the treadmill. Although I would remember her fondly, I thought me and cricket were done.

And then I fell in love again. Cricket has changed in the last few years in glorious ways. There have been new ways of thinking about the game. There have been new ways of playing the game. Every season, new kinds of drama form, new nuances spring up into sight. This is true even of what had once seemed the dullest form of the game, one-day cricket. We are entering into a brave new world, and the team leading us there is England. No matter what happens in the World Cup final today – a single game involves a huge amount of luck – this England side are extraordinary. They are the bridge between eras, leading us into a Golden Age of Cricket.

I know that sounds hyperbolic, so let me stun you further by saying that I give the IPL credit for this. And now, having woken up you up with such a jolt on this lovely Sunday morning, let me explain.

Twenty20 cricket changed the game in two fundamental ways. Both ended up changing one-day cricket. The first was strategy.

When the first T20 games took place, teams applied an ODI template to innings-building: pinch-hit, build, slog. But this was not an optimal approach. In ODIs, teams have 11 players over 50 overs. In T20s, they have 11 players over 20 overs. The equation between resources and constraints is different. This means that the cost of a wicket goes down, and the cost of a dot ball goes up. Critically, it means that the value of aggression rises. A team need not follow the ODI template. In some instances, attacking for all 20 overs – or as I call it, ‘frontloading’ – may be optimal.

West Indies won the T20 World Cup in 2016 by doing just this, and England played similarly. And some sides began to realise was that they had been underestimating the value of aggression in one-day cricket as well.

The second fundamental way in which T20 cricket changed cricket was in terms of skills. The IPL and other leagues brought big money into the game. This changed incentives for budding cricketers. Relatively few people break into Test or ODI cricket, and play for their countries. A much wider pool can aspire to play T20 cricket – which also provides much more money. So it makes sense to spend the hundreds of hours you are in the nets honing T20 skills rather than Test match skills. Go to any nets practice, and you will find many more kids practising innovative aggressive strokes than playing the forward defensive.

As a result, batsmen today have a wider array of attacking strokes than earlier generations. Because every run counts more in T20 cricket, the standard of fielding has also shot up. And bowlers have also reacted to this by expanding their arsenal of tricks. Everyone has had to lift their game.

In one-day cricket, thus, two things have happened. One, there is better strategic understanding about the value of aggression. Two, batsmen are better equipped to act on the aggressive imperative. The game has continued to evolve.

Bowlers have reacted to this with greater aggression on their part, and this ongoing dialogue has been fascinating. The cricket writer Gideon Haigh once told me on my podcast that the 2015 World Cup featured a battle between T20 batting and Test match bowling.

This England team is the high watermark so far. Their aggression does not come from slogging. They bat with a combination of intent and skills that allows them to coast at 6-an-over, without needing to take too many risks. In normal conditions, thus, they can coast to 300 – any hitting they do beyond that is the bonus that takes them to 350 or 400. It’s a whole new level, illustrated by the fact that at one point a few days ago, they had seven consecutive scores of 300 to their name. Look at their scores over the last few years, in fact, and it is clear that this is the greatest batting side in the history of one-day cricket – by a margin.

There have been stumbles in this World Cup, but in the bigger picture, those are outliers. If England have a bad day in the final and New Zealand play their A-game, England might even lose today. But if Captain Morgan’s men play their A-game, they will coast to victory. New Zealand does not have those gears. No other team in the world does – for now.

But one day, they will all have to learn to play like this.

The India Uncut Blog © 2010 Amit Varma. All rights reserved.
Follow me on Twitter.

The International Cricket Council has said it is "exploring all options" for the tournament.

Tamannaah Bhatia has quashed the chitchat about her love life

LAHORE: Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq says being confined to home due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown can become depressing and wants some cricket activities to resume soon even if the matches have to take place behind closed doors with proper safety barriers.

There are reports that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was contemplating rescheduling and organising the three Test matches against Pakistan in August behind closed doors at Old Trafford, Manchester and Southampton.

Misbah said he would love to see some cricket activities resume at the international level, and has no problems in playing in empty stadiums.

“It is not an ideal situation for anyone because of this coronavirus pandemic and obviously the health and well being of everyone should be our top priority. But if matches can be held even in empty stadiums with the right safety barriers...I would have no problems,” Misbah was quoted as saying in a Press Trust of India report that appeared on The New Indian Express website on Friday.

The former Pakistan skipper said that the players have had nothing much to do except stay indoors for the last two months since the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was called off due to the global health crisis in March.

“Everyone is confined and I just think that if even if it can be made possible to bring some live cricket action to people sitting at home it would do them a lot of good,” Misbah said.

“It becomes depressing when you have nothing to do and hear about mostly Covid-19 news all the time. In this situation if sports can be resumed and if cricket can be started at least it will allow the people to watch cricket at home.”

Misbah, who took charge last year in September, said if the right safety barriers and precautions are put in place for players, match officials and other stake holders, cricket boards can move forward.

He, however, reminded that boards will have to follow their government instructions on the coronavirus.

German football league Bundesliga is set to resume on May 16 and Misbah said it was a positive development.

“But even they first got clearance from their government. Cricket boards also will have to do that,” he insisted.

The 45-year-old said the players were responsible for maintaining fitness standards during these testing times and he expects them to be in top condition whenever cricket resumes.

“I told them as cricket professionals it is their individual responsibility to take care of themselves and their fitness. Because they can be called on duty anytime,” he said.

Misbah said he had told the players fitness standards are essential nowadays because if they are fit they can also get back to form and match fitness quickly.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

The musician on DIY smooching, dinner parties and why he won’t do interviews between 1.45pm and 2.15pm

Raised in Sheffield, Heaton, 57, founded the Housemartins in the early eighties. They had hit singles with Happy Hour and Caravan Of Love before splitting in 1988. Heaton then formed the Beautiful South, releasing 10 albums before disbanding in 2007. With former band member Jacqui Abbott, Heaton has released three albums, the most recent being Manchester Calling. He is married with three children and lives in Manchester.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Forgetfulness.

Welcome to the Evening Standard's LIVE coverage as the coronavirus crisis continues to heavily impact sport across the globe.

A suburban Melbourne community cricket competition's finals matches are going ahead this weekend against the advice of the sport's state and national governing bodies and despite the concerns of some teams and players.

As cricket's coronavirus shutdown continues, Australian coach Justin Langer suggests resuming games in empty stadiums when possible, saying he will never take for granted how lucky he and the team are again.

The experienced Test batsman is left without a Cricket Australia men's contract, while Tahlia McGrath is added to the women's list following a lengthy absence from the national team.

With uncertainty surrounding the men's T20 World Cup and Indian tour, former players have expressed interest in revisiting one of cricket's most famous experiments — Australia v Australia A.

With crickets in decline, some scientists say that the insects' summer crooning may become a thing of the past.

Angelina Jolie has inadvertently (or perhaps by design) added "Ambassador for Insect Proteins" to her credentials as a do-gooder. In an interview about her Louis Vuitton ad (you remember, the one

What's in a cricket's song? And how do they do it?