Australia won a thrilling Ashes opener by two wickets at Edgbaston as captain Pat Cummins’ six-smashing 44 not out and Usman Khawaja’s patient 65 combined to give England’s “Bazball” cricket revolution a lesson from Down Under. Cummins hit two sixes and four fours, and he shared a match-winning ninth-wicket partnership of 55 with Nathan Lyon (16 not out) in the last hour of the final day. Chasing 281 to win, Cummins hit the winning boundary off Ollie Robinson and Australia finished on 282-8 to disappoint a raucous crowd at Edgbaston. On the first day, England had got off to an aggressive start with the bat. As Joe Root starred with a century (118 not out), England, in yet another unconventional move, declared at 393-8. In response, Khawaja ended his decade-long wait for a Test hundred in England with a well-compiled 141. However, struggles to adapt to the short ball saw the Baggy Green finish at 386. Later, Cummins and Lyon returned with four wickets apiece as England was bowled out for 273.
Bangladesh entered the record books with a massive 546-run win against Afghanistan in a one-off Test in Mirpur. It was the third biggest in the history of Test cricket. England defeated Australia by 675 runs in 1928 at the Gabba, the biggest win by runs in Tests. Bangladesh quicks took 14 wickets, the most for them in a Test match. Ebadot Hossain finished with five scalps.
New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell will miss the ODI World Cup in India after rupturing his right Achilles in domestic T20 action in the U.K. Bracewell pulled up while batting for Worcestershire, retiring hurt on an unbeaten 11 in a T20 defeat to Yorkshire. Bracewell joins national skipper Kane Williamson on the team’s injury list.
In some good news for Indian cricket fans, Rishabh Pant is recovering faster than expected. Pant recently started to walk without crutches and climb stairs without any support. Media reports suggest the BCCI is attempting to get Pant ready for the ODI World Cup this year. However, his recovery process could take longer. Pant last played during India’s tour of Bangladesh in December 2022. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah is targetting the upcoming Asia Cup for his return to international cricket. Bumrah, who suffered a recurring back injury, had surgery in New Zealand in March and has not played since the home T20Is against Australia last September.
Australia has a one-two-three at the top of the International Cricket Committee’s Test rankings for batters, with Travis Head breaking into the top three, behind second-placed Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne at No. 1. The last time three batters from the same team occupied the top three spots in the Test rankings was in December 1984. Aussie skipper Pat Cummins remains at No. 3 on the bowler’s list, behind India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and England’s James Anderson.
Asia Cup 2023 will be held in a hybrid model with four games in Pakistan and nine in Sri Lanka from August 31 to September 17. This will be the first time since 2008 that matches of a multi-nation tournament will be staged in Pakistan. The hybrid model was proposed because the BCCI had made it clear that it wouldn’t send its team to Pakistan. Sri Lanka is the defending champion.
Pakistan batter Nahida Khan announced her retirement following a 14-year international career. Nahida made her international debut at 23 in 2009 against Sri Lanka. She played 66 ODIs and 54 T20Is, scoring 1410 runs at 23.50 and 604 runs at 13.13, respectively. Nahida has already moved into coaching, with experience in Pakistan domestic cricket as an assistant.
West Indies will host India for a multi-format series, with two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is set to be played between July 12 and August 13. Dominica will host the first Test, while the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad will stage the second and final Test from July 20. These two Tests will also mark the beginning of India’s 2023-2025 World Test Championship cycle.
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