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Two-fors from Heather Graham and Linsey Smith restricted Perth to 137, which Hurricanes chased down with eight wickets to spare

AAP13-Dec-2025Hobart Hurricanes won their maiden WBBL title with a comprehensive win over Perth Scorchers, thanks to an unbeaten 77 off 44 balls by Lizelle Lee.Hurricanes, who topped the table at the end of the regular season, grassed half a dozen chances in the field but were still able to restrict their opposition to 137 for 5.Lee then turned on the fireworks in the chase as her side reeled off the target with eight wickets in hand and 30 balls to spare on Saturday night in front of a delighted home crowd. Hurricanes’ first trophy in the 11th edition of the WBBL came after their male counterparts broke through to win the BBL crown last season.Lee whacked three consecutive boundaries in the opening over, which included a drop that was parried across the rope. In scenes reminiscent of Mitchell Owen’s stunning hundred for Hurricanes in the January BBL decider, Lee turned up the heat and finished with 10 fours and four sixes.Lee’s knock was the highest score in a WBBL final and her best score of the season. She shared a 77-run partnership with Nat Sciver-Brunt (35 to 27) to iron out the majority of the chase.Scorchers legspinner Alana King, who was in good form heading into the contest, copped some punishment and went for 0 for 25 off two overs.Earlier, Scorchers won the bat flip and opted to bat but struggled to get their innings going, despite Hurricanes missing chances in the field. In-form opener Beth Mooney (33 from 26) was dropped three times in the powerplay before being bowled by Heather Graham in the 11th over. Graham (2-26) also picked up the big scalp of Scorchers’ skipper Sophie Devine.New Zealand international Devine, who was dropped on 27, was circumspect early but came to life with two sixes, before getting stumped in the 17th over. Hobart’s English spinner Linsey Smith bowled just two overs but finished with a valuable 2 for 8.Hurricanes had earned a direct passage to the final after ending the season atop the table, while Scorchers, who were gunning for their second title, won two finals games to qualify. On the big day, Scorchers came up short while Hurricanes cruised home.

The German's decision to step down this summer is so surprising because he's laid the foundations for another period of sustained success

When Jurgen Klopp extended his Liverpool contract until 2026 less than two years ago, he rather fittingly talked of his relationship with the club and its supporters as if it were a love affair.

"The feeling we were absolutely right for each other is what brought me here in the first place," he explained in a lengthy statement that concluded with a reference to The Beatles-based chant with which the Kop serenaded him on a weekly basis.

"When the owners brought the possibility to renew to me, I asked myself the question I've mused over publicly: 'Do I have the energy and vibe to give of myself again what this amazing place requires from the person in the manager's office?' I didn't need too long to answer, in truth. The answer was very simple: I'm in love with here and I feel fine!"

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  'Running out of energy'

  Things have obviously changed drastically in the interim. Klopp remains completely enamoured with the club but says he's now "running out of energy". As it turned out, going within two wins of a historic quadruple in 2022-23 didn't just mentally and physically drain Liverpool's players, who struggled for the majority of last season, it also took a heavy toll on their manager.

  He didn't want to depart before putting the Reds back on track, though, and that's exactly what he's done, revamping and revitalising a Premier League-leading squad that is still fighting on all four fronts as February approaches.

  Indeed, while Klopp's fatigue is wholly understandable, given his renowned work ethic and the way in which he commits himself so completely to a cause, the timing of his decision has come as such a surprise because Liverpool look perfectly placed to enjoy another era of sustained success under a charismatic leader that looked so focused and refreshed during the first half of the season.

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  Quadruple hangover

  Klopp has admitted that the 2022-23 campaign was "super-difficult", with a late-season rally not enough to secure Champions League football for a side packed with players suffering from a seriously heavy hangover after their heroic quadruple bid, and as he prepared to put things right, he found himself wondering how much longer he could go on.

  The thing is, though, the growing concerns over Klopp's irritability last season dissipated during the early stages of the new season. There had been a fear that a high-octane coach who had spent seven seasons at his two previous clubs might be starting to feel the strain.

  However, Klopp looked and sounded like his old self as Liverpool made a strong start to the current campaign – and no wonder, given it quickly became clear that the surgery he had been forced to carry out on his midfield had been an unmitigated success.

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  Blessing in disguise

  Klopp was desperately disappointed that Liverpool lost out on both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea during the summer – but it actually proved something of a blessing in disguise.

  Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister, the players who have shared the No.6 role this season to excellent effect, were signed for a combined £51.2 million ($65m) – roughly the same amount Chelsea paid for Lavia, who has made just one Premier League appearance this season, and less than half the British-record fee (£115m/$146m) handed over to Brighton for the struggling Caicedo.

  In addition, Ryan Gravenberch's potential is obvious even if he has only played in fits and starts, while Dominik Szoboszlai has been one of the signings of the season so far.

  Liverpool may have lost a lot of experience when Fabinho and Jordan Henderson departed during the summer, but they've gained goals, dynamism and versatility, and the Reds' revamped midfield has been one of the key components in a surprise title challenge.

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  Kids are more than alright

  Homegrown talent has also played a pivotal role in that regard. Trent Alexander-Arnold's deployment as an auxiliary midfielder, which started during the tail end of last season, is proving a masterstroke, while Curtis Jones is finally delivering the kind of influential displays of which Klopp always believed him capable.

  Harvey Elliott is also showing that he very much has it in him to become far more than a super-sub, and then there's the exciting young talents who are getting more and more game time, such as Bobby Clark and James McConnell, who capped a hugely impressive display against Norwich on Sunday with a lovely assist.

  Let's not forget either that Stefan Bajcetic, who made such a massive impact in difficult circumstances last season, is approaching a return to action after injury issues connected to growing pains.

  So, when one also factors the emergence of Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley as serious first-team options in defence, plus the excitement surrounding teenage attackers Ben Doak, Kaide Gordon, Trent Kone-Doherty, Lewis Koumas and Trey Nyoni, the future just looks so bright for Liverpool right now.

Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, has effectively ruled out the scheduling of a day/night Ashes Test when Australia tour England in 2019

Daniel Brettig at Melbourne27-Dec-2017Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, has effectively ruled out the scheduling of a day-night Ashes Test when Australia tour England in 2019, despite the concept’s success in drawing bigger crowds to grounds and greater audiences to television screens.Alongside Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland, Harrison has been a key advocate for changes geared at making Test cricket more accessible to fans, with day-night matches, the looming Test Championship and experiments with four-day matches among the measures being tried around the world.However Harrison was firm in stating it was highly unlikely that a day-night Ashes Test would be part of the 2019 schedule, arguing that England hosting Australia did not need tinkering with. The two countries played a first day-night Test against each other in the second match of the current series at Adelaide Oval, and Sutherland has indicated there will now be at least one floodlit Test in every Australian home summer. Two day/night fixtures – against India and Sri Lanka – are likely in 2018-19.”It’s to be decided, but it’s unlikely, to be honest,” Harrison told ABC Radio when asked about the prospect of a day-night Test in 2019. “I think we’ve got a format that works brilliantly well for us in Ashes cricket in the UK. Right time, right place, right conditions are the rules for day-night Test cricket, I think we’ll wait and see, but it’s unlikely I would say.”The ECB and CA have taken contrasting approaches to growing the game in recent years, with England’s cricket audience reduced by the Board’s 12-year-old reliance on Sky television money while Australian cricket chases the widest possible free-to-air television audience. Harrison said that it was “astonishing” to see a crowd of more than 88,000 spectators at the MCG on Boxing Day, but said much more needed to be done to ensure the health of Test cricket around the world.”It’s an astonishing achievement to get this amount of people watching Test cricket and it’s a great advert for where we are as an Ashes series, but of course the Ashes is not the standard marker for what Test cricket is actually facing around the world,” Harrison said. “So we’ve got to take a look at that, James and I are involved in a similar debate at ICC about how we make sure that Test cricket is relevant, it has context and meaning and the conditions under which it is played can guarantee as much as possible fantastic entertainment for fans around the world.”I think there are significant challenges there, but I think we’re doing the right thing by looking at the FTP in a meaningful way, trying to create a Test Championship around the FTP, which we’re very close to doing. Once you’ve got a Championship format where every series matters we can start looking at the details that sit behind that.”About pitch quality, about the schedule itself, about the way in which we can start innovating beyond things like day/night Test cricket which has worked so well in this country and we’ve just started in the UK as well, and start to look at what are the key things we can tweak within Test cricket to make it even more relevant and meaningful for fans.”The Melbourne crowd thinned out significantly by the end of Boxing Day, and the slow drop-in pitch has already faced criticism – from the England seamer James Anderson among others – for not providing the right sort of entertainment for spectators. Sutherland said that while Test cricket would inherently contain such passages, it was vital that good, fair surfaces were prepared to provide a balance between bat and ball.”It was a dour day’s play, Australia got off to a pretty good start and then England were able to contain the Australian players through that middle session,” Sutherland said. “That was perhaps a little bit due to the conditions but also good bowling on the England players’ part. But Test cricket’s like that sometimes, it’s a real battle and players need to work through those difficult times. I think it’s too early to judge in this Test match what that means and people talking about the pitch and things like that.”I think the broad statement is pitches are incredibly important to the future of Test cricket, we need to provide an entertaining contest, we need to provide a balance between bat and ball and I think broadly we’ve seen that in the three Test matches so far this summer, and who knows, there’s still four days’ cricket left in this game, let’s see how everything unfolds on the park.”

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson admitted that the defeat to Bradford "hurts" as Ryan Reynolds’ side see promotion hopes hit.

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• Wrexham downed 1-0 by Bradford
• Third successive league defeat in a row
• Parksinon's men drop to fifth spot in League Two

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  In a dramatic League Two encounter, Bradford City's Andy Cook emerged as the hero, scoring a late winner after having a penalty saved by Wrexham's goalkeeper, Arthur Okonkwo. The match ended in despair for Wrexham, who suffered their third consecutive league defeat, dashing their hopes of climbing closer to the automatic promotion places.

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• WHAT PHIL PARKINSON SAID

  Speaking after the match, Parkinson said: "Yeah, it hurts. Dominated the game thoroughly, the first half in particular. I thought we were excellent. We did everything we set out to do against the 3-4-3 system. Moved the ball well and got into some great positions. But just couldn't find the moment and the way we played probably justified us coming in a goal if not two ahead.

  "In the second half, I think we were still the better team and the team that most looked like scoring. But we didn't produce the real quality from crossing or getting into better positions when the ball came into the box. The lads have given everything today. We know that we are in a period when it is not going our way but today they have given everything and today we just couldn't find the moment to unlock the door. No lack of effort today."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Paul Mullin was an anonymous figure against Bradford as the striker failed to record a single shot on target all afternoon. He struggled to get going and failed to breach the defence with goalkeeper Sam Walker proving to be a formidable obstacle.

  However, Parkinson was not ready to blame any of his players and added: "Football is all about putting the ball in the back of the net and it's very rare for us at home, probably one other time, where we haven't scored. When you had a few defeats, you kind of know things are going to go against you. But I can't fault the lads for the way they have gone about business in training this week. We'd have loved to win the game. One moment before the end proved decisive."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  The defeat will undoubtedly be a bitter pill to swallow for Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's Wrexham side, who now face an uphill battle to revive their promotion hopes. With attention turning to their upcoming fixture against Sutton United, who currently find themselves in the relegation zone, Wrexham will be eager to bounce back and secure a vital win to reignite their promotion aspirations.

  It seemed that Parkinson was already making plans for the next fixture as he said: "We are pleased that we can take the pitch again on Tuesday night. We have got to take the pain of losing. We haven't had it much. We haven't been on a run where it's not gone our way. We've had so much go our way but a the moment things are against us – some of it is our own making. But today it just wouldn't fall for us when we really needed it to. There are areas where we can be better and on another day we could have won the game comfortably."

Kolkata Knight Riders have a settled squad built on experience, while Delhi Daredevils are hoping for a fresh start under Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu09-Apr-2016

Match facts

Sunday, April 10, 2016
Start time 2000 local (14.30 GMT)T20 ‘Champion’: Can Andre Russell add the IPL title to his cabinet as well?•BCCI

Big Picture

Gautam Gambhir v Quinton de Kock. Robin Uthappa v Shreyas Iyer. Yusuf Pathan v Karun Nair. Andre Russell v Carlos Brathwaite. Shakib Al Hasan v Pawan Negi. T20 experience v T20 exuberance. An ensemble cast v a bunch of apprentices.Kolkata Knight Riders’ push for their third title has become stronger, with Sunil Narine’s reworked action getting a clean chit from the ICC two days before the start of the tournament. Narine, however, isn’t a certainty for the first match, having returned to West Indies following his father’s death. Shakib is ever present in Knight Riders’ attack, and Brad Hogg, 45, the inspiration behind T20I’s oldest debutant Ryan Campbell, is still fit and ready to step in. Kuldeep Yadav, also a chinaman bowler, although 24 years younger than Hogg, provides another spin option. And the ensemble has got bigger with the cheap addition (INR 30 lakh, or USD 44,000 approx) of Colin Munro who can switch-hit fast bowlers for sixes. Munro is not just about brawn; he has it in him to grind it out as he showed against Mustafizur Rahman-powered Bangladesh at Knight Riders’ den during the World T20.Daredevils let go of 11 players and rebuilt their squad and support staff, laced with a flavour of Rajasthan Royals. Iyer, the torchbearer of Daredevils’ youth force, is not far from breaking into the team’s top-ten run-getters list, after only one IPL season. Brathwaite, who went 6,6,6,6 to seal West Indies’ second World T20 title a week ago at Eden Gardens, is billed as the other face of the team. However, there are plenty of concerns in the bowling department. The injured Joel Paris has already withdrawn from the tournament, the fit-again Mohammed Shami lacks match time, and to top it all captain Zaheer Khan has not played competitive cricket since the last IPL.

In the spotlight

At the 2015 IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders sent #MuscleRussell trending. He was called the “Dre Russ” at the Big Bash League, where the Jamaican duck-hooked a skiddy bouncer from Doug Bollinger for a one-bounce four over square leg. At the PSL, Andre Russell was the leading wicket-taker. He has won the BPL, BBL, PSL and World T20 this season. An IPL title will be the perfect topping.Pawan Negi, listed at a base price of INR 30 lakh (USD 44,000 approx), was purchased for INR 8.5 crore (USD 1.3m approx) at the auction, following consistent bowling performances in the Vijay Hazare (India’s domestic one-dayers) and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (the domestic T20 competition). He then made his international debut for India at the Asia Cup. Negi, a T20 specialist who was earlier with Chennai Super Kings, can also swing his bat in the lower-middle order, but a hefty price tag brings pressure. Ask Yuvraj Singh. Ask Dinesh Karthik.

Team news

If Narine isn’t available, Knight Riders have a few back-up options, including Piyush Chawla. They will have to make a choice on the pace front between Morne Morkel and John Hastings. Morkel wasn’t part of South Africa’s World T20 squad, while Hastings got only one match in that tournament.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Robin Uthappa (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Brad Hogg/Sunil Narine, 9 Piyush Chawla/Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Morne Morkel/John HastingsWith de Kock in good form, Daredevils will want him to open and spend as much time as possible in the middle. Sanju Samson might beat Mayank Agarwal to the XI.Delhi Dardedevils (probable) 1 Shreyas Iyer, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Sanju Samson/Mayank Agarwal, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Karun Nair, 6 Carlos Brathwaite, 7 Pawan Negi, 8 Zaheer Khan (capt), 9 Mohammed Shami 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Imran Tahir

Pitch and conditions

With dew likely to come into play later in the night, chasing might be the way to go at Eden Gardens. The weather is expected to be fine for the duration of the match.

Stats and trivia

• Knight Riders’ squad has an experience of 2365 matches, while Daredevils’ has a count of 1471
• Gambhir is among the top run-getters for Knight Riders as well as Daredevils. He tops the list for Knight Riders with 2346 runs at a strike rate of 124.65. For his former team, Gambhir is the fourth-highest, with 1115 runs at a strike rate of 122.52

Quotes

“I feel proud to be able to play at the Eden in KKR’s colours. I’m happy with my contribution in the last few seasons… I think our team is stronger than before.”
“He is an inspiration. I was part of Royal Challengers Bangalore when he was there and, that time, I wasn’t playing so it was huge step for me to be in the same dressing room. Now having the opportunity to play under him [is] great. We can all learn so much from him.”

Marcus Rashford replacing Kylian Mbappe at PSG “would make sense”, but the Manchester United forward has been warned off a transfer to France.

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• England international struggling for spark
• French star linked with Real Madrid
• Big future calls set to be made in 2024

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Rashford posted a personal-best goal return of 30 efforts last season, with those exploits earning him a lucrative new contract and a supposed standing alongside the global elite. However, the 26-year-old has endured another humbling dip in the current campaign, with the target found on just five occasions through 29 appearances in all competitions.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The England international has also made unwelcome headlines off the field following a recent visit to Belfast nightclubs, with disciplinary action taken at Old Trafford as questions are asked of Rashford’s commitment to the Red Devils cause.

• WHAT SAHA SAID ABOUT RASHFORD

  Former United striker Louis Saha can appreciate why Rashford may be giving thought to a move elsewhere, and why Paris would be an obvious landing spot if World Cup winner Mbappe were to join Real Madrid this summer, but he has told of why a switch may not be the best solution: “We have seen English players be hounded by the media in the past, but I don’t believe Marcus falls into the same category because he’s criticised due to his performances and his mistakes. When he’s doing well and playing out of his skin, then he’s doing nothing wrong, but when you’re caught going out when you’re not supposed to, then that’s your own fault. You have to understand that you represent your club and your country. Marcus is a huge name and he’s going to receive a lot of press attention and that’s a challenge in itself. Going abroad to PSG may change the parameters, but he will still be under massive pressure there too.”

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Saha added: “Kylian Mbappe also said something similar in a recent interview about the pressure he is currently under in Ligue 1, claiming that certain people don’t like him because he’s doing this and that and he said that he’s under so much scrutiny in Paris. However, moving to Real Madrid won’t change anything for him because the pressure at both PSG and Real Madrid is enormous. When you’re such a big player, and I say this with no disrespect intended, but you’re not going to go to Monaco where there are fewer fans in the stands and play under less pressure. If Marcus leaves Manchester United, it will only be to another massive club with huge expectations. He will have to remain very focused and the pressure will still be there so I don’t think that a move to PSG is something that will happen in the future for Marcus. It would make sense if Kylian leaves but I don’t think it will change anything for him in terms of the scrutiny he will be under. He has to improve his game, score more goals and do more because he can and that’s it.”

Inter Miami are MLS Cup “favourites because of Lionel Messi”, says David Beckham’s former LA Galaxy team-mate Robbie Keane.

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• Herons boast star-studded squad
• Argentine icon a talismanic presence
• Expected to compete on multiple fronts

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Herons collected a first major trophy in 2023 as eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi inspired them to Leagues Cup glory within weeks of his arrival in the United States. An untimely injury prevented him from steering the Florida-based outfit into the play-offs.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Messi is expected to push Inter Miami into contention for silverware on multiple fronts in 2024, with domestic and continental honours there to be chased down by the most-decorated player of all-time. He will not have things all his own way, with the Galaxy and a number of other ambitious outfits determined to block his path, but the Argentine icon will take some stopping.

• WHAT KEANE SAID ABOUT MLS

  Three-time MLS Cup winner Keane admits as much, with the Irishman telling : “I’ll be watching MLS this season, as I always do. It was a big part of my career, being there five-and-a-half years and winning three championships, so I always look out for LA Galaxy. They haven’t had the best time in the last couple of years and with the history of the club they should be always fighting for the play-offs and the chance to win the MLS Cup. We know how difficult that league can be, but I hope they can hit a bit of form and get to the play-offs this season. You’d have to say Inter Miami are the favourites because of Messi. He’s a top player, and you look at the players that they’ve brought in, with the Barcelona guys coming back and Luis Suarez now there as well, it will be interesting to see. They’ve definitely got every chance to win the MLS Cup, no question about it.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI & INTER MIAMI?

  Inter Miami are off to a winning start in 2024, having overcome Real Salt Lake in their season opener, and will be in California on Sunday – with the potential for more A-list guests in Hollywood – when they line up against the Galaxy.

While they are committed to keep playing the longest format, preferably overseas, hosting teams has been leading to troubling financial losses

Firdose Moonda and Osman Samiuddin04-Nov-2017Hosting fewer Tests and scaling down operations may be the way forward for Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) as it navigates a changing cricket structure and tricky financial waters. Zimbabwe will not be part of the new Test league that is set to start in July 2019, and are happy with the development. They do not intend to stop playing Tests altogether, preferring in future to play them away from home. Instead they will shift focus to limited-overs cricket.In one way it is a formalisation of the status quo, in which Zimbabwe are already playing a greatly reduced number of Tests. “What we quickly realised was that hosting Tests is something that costs us a lot of money, and that is a commodity we do not have at the moment – in fact we owe people a lot of money,” ZC’s recently appointed MD Faisal Hasnain told ESPNcricinfo.”As things stand, it costs us money because we get almost negligible amounts from our current TV rights and sponsorships, and these continue till 2019. So if we were in a formal Test league, where we were forced to play Tests at home, we just would not be able to sustain it financially, unless we get substantial help from the ICC or from some other source – and the ICC Test fund no longer exists and other funding sources are few and far between.”Obviously, we will continue to play Test cricket, but in our current circumstances we will try and play them away from home, primarily to save costs. We will concentrate on playing more ODIs and T20s, home and away, under the ODI league and the T20 open format, which will hopefully enable us to cut expenditure and potentially generate greater revenues.”Zimbabwe have just finished hosting a two-Test series with West Indies, which has cost them somewhere in the region of $1 million. For an organisation in as much of a financial battle as ZC, that is an unnecessary strain. There is a possibility that, in discussion with Afghanistan and Ireland, Zimbabwe will formally ask the ICC for certain relaxations from the full requirements of the strict playing conditions – conducting matches without DRS for example. They may also ask for leniency in TV broadcast requirements for international cricket. This could ultimately make it more affordable to host Tests, and ZC has already taken up the matter, informally, with the ICC.Crucial to their quest to better financial health is income from the ICC, in the form of distribution and World Cup participation fees, which makes qualification for the 2019 event even more important. With that in mind, Zimbabwe has embarked on an ambitious project to convince certain players who had left the country to return, but the flipside of that has been the toll it has taken on their finances.Both Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis are being paid more than they were at Nottinghamshire and Lancashire respectively, and were also given a small portion as an advance to secure their return. Solomon Mire, based in Australia, received what one source said was a “good deal, better than that of the other players who have stayed behind”.Unsurprisingly, the treatment of the trio has created issues within the team. “Players who come back automatically get paid more than the guys who are there,” one source said. “It’s bad because there are players who have made sacrifices to stay in Zimbabwe and they are suffering.” ZC denies their return has led to rifts; Hasnain says players have told him the atmosphere in the dressing room remains fine.Brendan Taylor walks out for the national anthem•ICC

In addition to employee and player salaries being part-paid at the end of October, and because of the financial challenges their board faces, Zimbabwe’s players have yet to receive their match fees for the Sri Lanka tour that took place in July. A proposed increase in player allowance for this season’s domestic matches has also not come to pass.At least one board member is understood to have opposed the efforts to lure Taylor, Jarvis and Mire back because of the expense, but the prospect of having them in the team for the World Cup qualifiers motivated ZC to do “everything it could”, according to the source, to convince the players to commit to Zimbabwe.ZC is attempting to stabilise its operations and finances under Hasnain and CFO Feroza Shariff, though given the country’s ongoing economic crisis and the limited opportunities to raise money that will not be easy.ICC money will be an important source of income and rationalisation of costs will have to continue. With no Test ranking points for Zimbabwe to concern themselves with, there would appear to be sense in not hosting home Tests. So even though they will not abandon Tests altogether, this could lead to a fundamental shift in outlook and the way they position themselves as a cricketing nation. The Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s first-class competition, for example, may be shortened from its current format – in which teams play each other in a double round – to a single round, and there could be an increase in domestic ODI and T20 competitions.In that light, it is not outlandish to wonder whether West Indies might have been the last team that will play a Test in Zimbabwe for a while. According to the current FTP, Zimbabwe are scheduled to host Pakistan for a two-Test series next year in June-July, a tour which also includes three ODIs and two T20Is. Preceding that, Australia visit for a tour that was originally scheduled to include two Tests, but no longer does; instead they will feature in a T20I tri-series alongside Pakistan.For Zimbabwe Test fans, the good news is that their team’s schedule on the road is busier. They will play the inaugural four-day Test in South Africa over Boxing Day, and are in talks to become Afghanistan’s first Test opponents in February next year, most likely in the UAE. That is set to take place after a tri-series in Bangladesh and they are then supposed to return to South Africa for one Test, three ODIs and a T20I in October next year. In March, they are also due to host the ICC qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup, in which two teams from 10 will proceed.Another tour to Bangladesh – for three Tests and three ODIs in early 2019 – and a single Test in India along with three ODIs in March 2019 takes Zimbabwe to the end of the current FTP, with their hopes pinned on participation in the World Cup.

Stats preview for the five-match one-day series between India and South Africa

Kanishkaa Balachandran18-Nov-2006

Australia demolish everything in sight, a master returns, and an old-timer finds another landmark to reach. In part two of our staffers’ picks of the best and worst of 2007

29-Dec-2007

Martin Williamson

Best: The County Championship

The County Championship is often dismissed as an anachronism, lampooned by many from overseas as featuring substandard pie-chuckers, and many in England as being irrelevant and unloved. While not so many attend matches as was once the case, interest remains high, as Cricinfo’s traffic figures for scorecards and coverage show. This year’s final round of matches in Division One provided a thrilling finale and a reminder that a drawn-out climax is usually better than the crash-bang instant gratification of one-day cricket. The tense final hours on the last Saturday, as Sussex, who had won their match, had to sit back and watch Lancashire inch closer to a remarkable win, will linger in the memory for a long time.Worst: The un-Caribbean World Cup

Only cricket could manage to take its showpiece event to a region so full of colour, character and vibrancy and render the whole thing bloated, soulless and sterile. Not since … well, the last World Cup … has a tournament been so unnecessarily sanitised in the name of commercial greed. The security, which caused so many delays and so much frustration, was more about brand protection than personal safety, and from the off the whole event was a mismanaged disgrace. Empty grounds were evidence of a misguided and overpriced ticketing process. Bemused non-cricket fans looked on and asked: if this was a World Cup, why were the stadiums empty? Sad though it was for players, spectators and the sport, it was somehow fitting that the final ended in utter farce. Remarkably, despite overwhelming criticism and the evidence of their own eyes, those running the whole thing steadfastly maintained the tournament had been a success.

Mathew Varghese

Best: Australia winning the World Cup
It was a dud of a tournament, with awful organising and awestruck opponents, but nothing should take away from an imperious performance by the world champions. Australia steamrolled everyone on their way to their third successive World Cup win, and while many were bored with the re-run, you couldn’t help but sit up and applaud the way Australia chalked out a clinical decimation of the other contenders.One of the moments that stood out: South Africa briefly threatened to do another 438 in a group match, but a rampaging AB de Villiers was done in by an exceptional direct hit from Shane Watson in the deep. From then on, it was Australia all the way, with Glenn McGrath orchestrating perhaps the finest swansong in history.Worst: Australia and India getting stuck into each other
The ODI champions clashed with the then recently crowned Twenty20 champions in October, but an unsavoury contest began even before the players took the field. Andrew Symonds didn’t have any kind words for India’s gaudy Twenty20 celebrations, while Robin Uthappa said India would fight “fire with fire”. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s first assignment as ODI captain wasn’t made easier by constant questions over the heated exchanges, and team-mates such as Sreesanth didn’t help matters: he appealed for a non-existent run-out in Kochi, and allegedly had a go at the opponents while doing his duties as 12th man. The whole saga took a bitter turn when Symonds was subject to “monkey chants” in Vadodara and Mumbai, and even worse was the initial denial by the authorities. The spectators had taken the sport to a new low, but perhaps they were only taking cue from the nonsense on the field.

Peter English

Best: The advent of Shaun Tait
Instinct is being bred out of modern players, so the sight of the rugged Shaun Tait clumping in to frighten batsmen is hard to beat. He is raw, regularly injured and determined not to change. A novice at the World Cup, he starred with Glenn McGrath and Brad Hogg, and after finally getting over elbow surgery, he upset New Zealand on his return to the one-day side. He bowls like an old-fashioned paceman and isn’t sure whether he can land the ball where he’s aiming. Tait might not be around for long, but hooray for unrefined pace.Worst: The Sydney farewells
The SCG is the farewell ground for Australian cricketers and three more departed on the final day of the Ashes in January. There was plenty of celebrating, from the hoarse fans in the stands to the players’ children on the ground, but deep down there was a feeling of sadness. This would be it for two heroes and one very good batsman. Justin Langer could be replaced, but Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were one-offs. As they waved, another chapter of life passed by.

Sidharth Monga

Best: Sachin Tendulkar hitting his stride
On September 5, India were fighting to keep the seven-match ODI series against England alive. Yuvraj Singh had been hit for five sixes in the 50th over, which set India a target of 317. Just about then we came to learn that Sachin Tendulkar might retire from ODIs after the home series against Australia.While that story developed, Tendulkar was putting up a display at The Oval – the clock was turned back; he stepped out and hit the pacers, making room and hitting through extra cover, walking across and scooping past fine leg. There was nothing ordinary about that innings of 94. Imagination and inspiration had taken over. Every unbelievable shot firmed the belief that he had made his mind up to retire and was now playing with a much freer mind.Though the retirement notions were soon put to rest, the form continued. He came up with more gems over the next two months, playing like the Tendulkar we knew better and had yearned for.Worst: Inzy and Lara retiring on lows
Brian Lara was uninspiring and was sold a dummy by Marlon Samuels, Inzamam-ul-Haq just wanted to get a record done with and was stumped trying to do so. The two final memories of two of the best batsmen ever weren’t of the sort one would want to cling on to. They were disappointing, but then again, they were hardly ever perfect and so could be allowed that fallibility.What hurt was the sight of them in their moneywhore avatars, playing for the Indian Cricket League. With the kind of competition they were up against, money seemed the only motivation. By all means, there was money to be made and they were free to make it. But they needed to realise there were several domestic cricketers who had put their careers on the line for, among other things, a chance to play with and against the likes of the two of them. Lara looked disinterested and Inzamam average, against bowling they could have murdered in their sleep. If I had joined the league wanting to compete against a Lara, I would have felt cheated.

Faras Ghani

Best: Kallis in Pakistan
When South Africa opted for younger legs in the World Twenty20, an early ejection from the world of cricket looked on the cards for Jacques Kallis. Unhappy, Kallis gave up the vice-captaincy as the “omission caused me to question my future for the first time”. However, a 155, 100 not out, 59 and 107 not out in four innings in Pakistan later, the ill memories were washed away and the future secure as ever. Crucial wickets and sensational catching by South Africa complemented the artistic flow off his bat, and Pakistan suffered under the blazing sun in the holy month. The home side’s fielding ought to get some credit, but it will be Kallis’ stride forward and the flick of his wrists that will haunt Pakistan, and South African selectors, for a long time.Worst: Pakistan losing the plot against South Africa
A spot in the World Twenty20 can do wonders for a team’s decision-making abilities, as Pakistan realised to their wrong side of it as they went into the first Test against South Africa with only four specialist bowlers. The impact was felt when, with the South African batsmen strolling away, Shoaib Malik had to introduce no less than six bowlers, including two part-timers. All this within the first hour on the first morning of the first Test. So much for planning. And when your frontline fast bowler walks off due to injury, as did Mohammad Asif in the second Test, with Kallis in the middle of a turkey-feast with the bat, it all but made one ponder if the game was still worth watching.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Best: Kumble’s Test hundred
Several sights stand out from India’s victory in England; Anil Kumble cover-driving on one knee at The Oval was the most endearing. The oldest man on the park, and a tailender too, he defended with an awkward technique and attacked with child-like freedom, bounding towards a memorable hundred. The way he reached the landmark – with a heads-up charge and a bottom edge that flew through Matt Prior’s legs to the boundary – prompted both laughter and a raucous cheer. It was a packed house acknowledging a champion.Worst: India’s World Cup loss to Sri Lanka
It was probably the defeat to Bangladesh that really hurt India’s World Cup chances, but it was the collapse against Sri Lanka that was more depressing. A target of 255 wasn’t out of reach, but reading Muttiah Muralitharan certainly seemed impossible. It was the last chance for some great players to make an impact in a World Cup. Now they would be remembered as a bunch who couldn’t even clear the first hurdle. They probably didn’t deserve to advance, as their captain admitted, but it was a forgettable night anyway.