1 week ago ‘We are a passionately multiracial team’: Zimbabwe return to England transformed

Visitors have endured political chaos and miserable results over 22 years but cricket is finally a national gameTwenty-two years is a long time, even in a sport that measures its games in days and its history in centuries. The last time England played a Test match against Zimbabwe, in 2003, Rob Key was in the middle order instead of the managing director’s job, Jimmy Anderson was a 20-year-old tearaway playing in his very first series, and the England and Wales Cricket Board was just about to launch the world’s very first professional Twenty20 tournament. Zimbabwean cricket has changed, too. Back then the team was in the earliest stages of a transformation that was meant to turn cricket from a minority game, played by the small white population, into a sport that better represented the whole country.They have been hard years, riven by player strikes, political interference, maladministration, and a miserable drop-off in results. The team temporarily withdrew from Test cricket, suspe...

Politics

2 w. ago India to send all party delegations abroad to push ‘zero tolerance’ on terrorism after Pakistan tensions

India’s diplomatic outreach after worst tensions with Pakistan tensions to send a message of national unity, government says

Events

2 w. ago IPL resumes after Kashmir conflict with English players facing ODI overlap

Bethell, Salt and Livingstone back in action for RCBStarc and Curran among those opting to stay back homeOnly eight days after the competition was suspended amid mounting hostilities along India’s border with Pakistan the Indian Premier League returns on Saturday, with most of the foreign players who scattered across the globe in the 48 hours after the competition collapsed now back in the country, their pursuit of runs and wickets having been temporarily replaced by the rapid accumulation of air miles.The plug was effectively pulled on the tournament 10.1 overs into a game between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala on 8 May, when as rockets landed only 80km to the west the floodlights went out, fans were told to leave and players rushed back to their hotel. That match has been rescheduled for 24 May in Jaipur with all the remaining games to be played in only six venues and Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata joining Dharamsala in being cut from the schedule. Continue reading...

Sport

2 w. ago Jos Buttler among five IPL players in England ODI squad for West Indies series despite date clash

Clash comes after final stages of IPL were rescheduled following rising tensions between Indian and Pakistan

Events

2 w. ago Liam Dawson earns recall to England squad as IPL threatens player availability for West Indies series

Harry Brook’s first series as white-ball captain could now clash with the latter stages of the Indian Premier League

Events

2 w. ago WCA concerned players cannot make ‘informed decisions’ over return to IPL action

The Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League were paused last week as military hostilities between the two nations escalated.

Sport

2 w. ago Modi says India has only ‘paused’ military action against Pakistan in first speech on crisis

Modi asserts that India’s retaliation against Pakistan is on hold, but warns of future responses as tensions remain high

Events

2 w. ago IPL will resume ‘soon’ confirms BCCI after India and Pakistan ceasefire

Tournament was suspended due to escalating hostilitiesReported plan is for IPL to restart this FridayThe Indian Premier League will resume “soon” but no decision has been taken yet as to exactly when, the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India has said.Escalating hostilities between India and Pakistan led to their respective T20 tournaments being suspended on Friday, with the BCCI saying that applied to the IPL “with immediate effect for one week”. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago India and Pakistan accuse each other of violating ceasefire deal

Explosions were reportedly heard in at least three cities in India-controlled Kashmir

Economics

2 w. ago Trump confirms India and Pakistan have agreed to 'full and immediate' ceasefire

The US President claimed to have brokered a deal between the warring nations after a ‘long night of talks’

Politics

2 w. ago Trump claims India and Pakistan agree to ceasefire despite ongoing strikes

Pakistan said it had carried out ‘precision’ attacks on Indian military sites, including a nuclear storage facility

Events

3 w. ago Tensions rise as IMF releases £750m loan to Pakistan despite escalating conflict with India

New funding to aid economic stability and climate resilience

Economics

3 w. ago India great Virat Kohli set to call time on Test cricket career before England tour

Rohit Sharma announced Test retirement this weekIndia due to embark on five-Test England tour in JuneVirat Kohli is set to deliver another blow to India’s plans for their imminent tour of England by indicating he wants to retire from Test cricket just days after Rohit Sharma’s decision to stand down, according to reports.Indian media is reporting that the 36-year-old has told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he no longer wishes to play the longest format of the game. The news comes amid rising tensions border with Pakistan. The Indian Premier League is on a one-week pause, while the Pakistan Super League has also been suspended. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago England could host Indian Premier League as India and Pakistan hostilities escalate

There are 16 remaining fixtures in the IPL and the England and Wales Cricket Board could be tempted to offer itself as a venue for those matches to be fulfilled, with both the IPL and it's Parkistani counterpart, the PSL, both currently suspended

Politics

3 w. ago Pakistan fires missiles at India in major escalation as nuclear tensions rise

Pakistan said it had carried out ‘precision’ attacks on Indian military sites, including a nuclear storage facility

Events

3 w. ago Pakistan accuses India of targeting three military bases with missiles as tensions escalate

The Pakistan military said most of the Indian missiles, fired from military jets, were intercepted by air defencesPakistan has threatened further retaliation after accusing India of targeting three of its military bases with missiles fired from fighter jets, in a major escalation of the brewing conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.“India, with its naked aggression, has attacked with missiles. Nur Khan base, Murid base and Shorkot base have been targeted,” Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a live broadcast aired by state television early on Saturday. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Pakistan says retaliatory strikes under way after accusing India of targeting military bases

Pakistan officials confirm counterattack against India has begun under the name Operation Bunyan Ul Marsoos, meaning ‘wall of lead’ in ArabicPakistan said it had begun retaliation strikes after accusing India of targeting three of its military bases with missiles fired from fighter jets, in a major escalation of the brewing conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.“India, with its naked aggression, has attacked with missiles. Nur Khan base, Murid base and Shorkot base have been targeted,” Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a live broadcast aired by state television early on Saturday. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago PSL follows IPL by postponing matches amid growing hostilities between India and Pakistan

Ten English players are currently playing in the IPL, which will now be suspended for at least a week

Politics

3 w. ago Pakistan Super League follows Indian Premier League in postponing matches

The PSL had originally moved some of its teams and infrastructure to the United Arab Emirates.

Politics

3 w. ago England open to hosting IPL after border hostilities prompt suspension

ECB has reached out to BCCI after IPL halted PSL also suspended with UAE unwilling to step in as hostThe England and Wales Cricket Board is open to hosting the remainder of the Indian Premier League in September after escalating cross-border tension between India and Pakistan prompted the suspension of the world’s most lucrative Twenty20 tournament on Friday.In a chaotic 24 hours matches in both the IPL and the Pakistan Super League were cancelled or abandoned, schedules torn up and foreign players told to start packing and book flights home. The Pakistan Cricket Board announced that the last eight fixtures of its tournament were being relocated to the United Arab Emirates, only for the Emirates Cricket Board apparently to reconsider its decision to host because it was “wary of being perceived as an ally of the PCB”, leading to that tournament also being suspended. Continue reading...

Politics