3:17 AM GMT Toss Australia elected to bat v New Zealand At an empty SCG, Aaron Finch decided to bat first as the immediate future of sporting events in Australia looked increasingly doubtful due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have returned after missing the last ODI in South Africa while Mitchell
New Zealand
7:59 AM GMT Two months ago, New Zealand left Sydney chastened by their 3-0 Test defeat after having gone across with high expectations only to suffer injury, illness and drubbings. Now they are back for this awkwardly-placed late-season ODI series and another chance to improve on a poor record when crossing the Tasman. It has
2:44 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff New Zealand coach Gary Stead has called Australia a “benchmark” that they try and aspire to and has welcomed more white-ball fixtures against them in the coming years. “I look at what’s coming ahead in the next few years, and I do see that we are playing Australia in white
4:24 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff New Zealand have welcomed the pace attack that took them to within a hair’s breadth of a maiden World Cup triumph back into their ODI squad. After beating India 3-0 at home, New Zealand travel to Australia this month, where they have never won an ODI series before. And having
10:07 AM GMT New Zealand won the first Test by ten wickets, and came close to a repeat in the second, but their margin of victory, according to Kane Williamson, didn’t reflect how hard they had to fight to beat India. When New Zealand slipped to 153 for 7 on day two, with India’s first-innings
11:49 AM GMT World Cups have become an albatross around New Zealand women’s neck. For a third straight time, under three different captains and two coaches, have they now failed to make the knockouts of world tournaments. The most recent of those came down to a four-run defeat against hosts Australia at Melbourne that dashed
5:13 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff It’s all in the mind. While accepting that his side didn’t play good enough cricket in the 2-0 series defeat in New Zealand, Virat Kohli said that they lost the battle in their heads, and needed to be more positive and clear-headed when confronted with similar situations and conditions. He
Amelia Kerr prepares to bowl another delivery © Getty Images Barely months into her international career, New Zealand teen allrounder Amelia Kerr was billed as “a star of the future” by Australia captain Meg Lanning. On the eve of New Zealand’s virtual quarter-final clash against hosts Australia at the T20 World Cup, former New Zealand
3:16 AM GMT New Zealand 91 (Moni 4-18) beat Bangladesh 74 (Jensen 3-11) by 17 runs Tournaments are all about surviving and advancing. New Zealand survived an almighty scare against Bangladesh at the Junction Oval, setting a new Women’s World T20 record for the lowest total defended, but will need to play much better to
10:25 AM GMT Amid all the carnage left in the wake of the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, the city also lost its primary cricket venue, Lancaster Park. With time, the boutique Hagley Oval, located within the approximately 165-hectare Hagley Park, became the city’s new Test centre. The two venues can’t be any more dissimilar
9:58 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Virat Kohli‘s match aggregate of 21 runs in the Wellington Test against New Zealand, which went the way of the home team by 10 wickets, has allowed Steven Smith to reclaim the top spot in the Test rankings for batsmen, the Australian getting to No. 1 for the eighth time
5:42 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Virat Kohli has endured one of his quietest tours in recent memory, with scores of 2 and 19 in the first Test in Wellington following seven limited-overs innings with only one half-century. New Zealand are determined to ensure his lean run continues into the last match of India’s tour as
Neil Wagner roars in celebration after dismissing Steve Smith © Associated Press Neil Wagner is almost certain to be back in New Zealand’s bowling attack for the second Test against India, which begins in Christchurch on Saturday. Wagner missed the first Test in Wellington on paternity leave, but he will return to the squad on
7:55 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff New Zealand’s fledgling pace star Kyle Jamieson was “quite relaxed” leading up to his Test debut, and following his success in that game, he confident there’s “still a lot more to come” from him. Speaking the day after New Zealand thumped India in Wellington, Jamieson spoke of his transition from
© Getty Images The big boys of New Zealand fast bowling, Trent Boult and Tim Southee, did the business with the old ball to seal their 100th Test win, on the fourth morning at Basin Reserve. Twenty-eight of those wins have come in matches that Boult and Southee have played together. Their pin-point planning and
12:39 PM GMT Sidharth Monga It was quite uncharacteristic of India captain Virat Kohli to bring up the toss unprovoked at the post-match presentation after their 10-wicket loss to New Zealand. Some might be tempted to look at it as an excuse – as was done by Faf du Plessis when South Africa lost in
2:11 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff New Zealand captain Kane Williamson reserved special praise for his team’s fast-bowling trio of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and debutant Kyle Jamieson after their win against India in Wellington. The three quicks took 18 of the 19 wickets taken by the home side in the Test, not allowing India to