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  India beat England by ‌270 runs as the first women's test match in the history of Lord's cricket ground concluded on Monday with the hosts being all out for 186 while chasing a target of 457. Lord's, cricket's most iconic ground, has been hosting international matches since 1884, and staged its first women's international in 1976, a 50-over match between England and Australia. It took another 50 years for a women's test, scheduled for four days from Friday, to ⁠be held at the ground owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which prohibited women from joining the club until 1999. "Playing at Lord's is always special... hopefully we'll get many more (tests here). These kinds of matches bring a lot of happiness," Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur said. Put in to bat first, opener Smriti Mandhana (83) held firm as India lost two quick wickets, before Issy Wong got her caught behind. Kaur (58) and Deepti Sharma (57) helped the visitors to post 28...

  Former England captain Heather Knight has announced her retirement from international cricket after a 16-year career, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on ‌Saturday. The 35-year-old will make her final appearance during the current Test match against India at Lord’s, the venue where she famously led the team to World Cup glory in 2017. Knight, who debuted in 2010, bows out ⁠as England Women's all-time record appearance-maker with 320 caps. She captained the side 199 times between 2016 and 2025, securing 134 victories. She had scored 7,988 international runs and six centuries prior to her final match, becoming the first English player to score hundreds in all three formats of the game. "It's hard to walk away because the dressing room ‌and ⁠the people in the dressing room have been a constant in my life for 16 years, and the memories and the experiences and the people have helped shape me to become ⁠who I am today," she said in a statement. "But I’m...

  Zimbabwe have confirmed Richard Ngarava will captain their test ‌and One-Day International sides while veteran Sikandar Raza is retained as Twenty20 captain, the country’s cricket board ⁠said in a statement on Friday. Josephine Nkomo was appointed captain of the Zimbabwe women’s team. Ngarava made his captaincy debut in the one-off Test against Bangladesh at ‌Harare ⁠Sports Club last month, which Zimbabwe won by an innings and 85 runs, and ⁠was also in charge for their two ODI wins over ⁠Bangladesh this week. The 28-year-old opening bowler replaces Craig ⁠Ervine as test captain.

  Zimbabwe won a low-scoring first one-day international against Bangladesh by 25 runs on Monday as ‌captain Richard Ngarava led the way. He took 3-31 as Zimbabwe bowled Bangladesh out for 116 in 33.1 overs, successfully defending a paltry total ⁠of 140 scored in 36.4 overs after being put into bat at the Harare Sports Club. Nahid Rana took a career best 6-21 as Bangladesh made short work of the home side but then ended on the losing ‌side ⁠as the tourists lost three quick wickets and also saw their last five wickets go cheaply. On top of his ⁠three-wicket haul, Ngarava (27) was also involved in a 63-run ninth-wicket partnership with top scorer Newman ⁠Nyamhuri (33) that lifted Zimbabwe from deep trouble at 70-8. The second ODI ⁠is also at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday.

  Reigning world ‌champions India, Britain, South Africa and hosts United States are set to feature in the men's Twenty20 competition when cricket returns to the Olympics at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles following a qualification pathway approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). One team each from Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania will be picked based on the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings at a cut-off ⁠date on December 31, 2026, according to a decision approved by the executive board of the IOC. https://r.org/2026/06/17/exclusive-arthur-okonkwo-opens-up-on-nigeria-debut-wrexham-project-and-saka-conversation/ Australia and New Zealand will vie for the one spot from Oceania, while the US will carry the flag for the Americas provided it does not slip out of top 15 in the ICC rankings. The sixth team will come from a global qualifier featuring the next eight highest-ranked teams, who have not yet qualified. The mix will include West Indies - a composite ICC m...

  Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan will step down from his role, the country's cricket board said on Monday, shortly after the Irish whitewashed India 2-0 in a Twenty20 series. The South African, appointed in ‌2022, oversaw a period in which Ireland qualified for three consecutive T20 World Cups, secured their first three test match victories, and claimed their first-ever series win against India. Few gave Ireland a chance in the two-match series, but they humbled India twice in three days, spoiling Shreyas Iyer's ⁠debut series as India's 20-overs captain. It was India's first T20 series defeat since 2023. The 45-year-old's current contract extends into early 2027, but Cricket Ireland said in a statement, "he (Malan) believes the timing is right in the cycle to step back following the just-concluded successful T20 series versus India." Malan will be replaced by Gary Wilson, who represented Ireland 292 times as a player between 2005 and 2020. Wilson joined...

  World Cup fever has gripped Houston but across the city the unmistakable sound of leather ball on willow bat can be heard as baseball mounds give way to cricket pitches and the gentleman's game begins to take hold in Texas. The growth of the sport in Houston is driven by communities from traditional cricket-playing nations, immigrants and their sons and daughters from India, England, West Indies, Australia and ‌South Africa. But there is a real hope the game can spread into the city’s diverse communities where it has not yet taken hold, and against the backdrop of the World Cup, soccer provides the blueprint. Surya Saladi started what is today the Triggers Cricket Consortium (TCC) in 2004, and it has been a driving force behind growing the game in Harris County and beyond. Initially a club for adults, 12 years ago Saladi created youth teams and has seen a big swing in popularity for the sport. "We started with 30 kids but now have over 1,000 players between the ages of seven...

  England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has been ruled out of ‌the next two group matches of the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup after suffering a left calf strain, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday. Sciver-Brunt retired hurt on ⁠48 during England’s group match against Ireland on Tuesday, with a scan confirming a calf injury in a previously affected area. She will continue to be monitored by the medical team. The all-rounder had earlier suffered a calf tear during the domestic Women’s One-Day Cup in April, which ‌sidelined ⁠her from England’s bilateral series against New Zealand and India. "Following a scan on Wednesday and further assessment by the England medical team, she will be ⁠unavailable for the next two fixtures against Scotland and West Indies,” the ECB said in a statement. Vice-captain ⁠Charlie Dean will lead the side in her absence. England, placed in Group B, face Scotland ⁠at Headingley on Saturday before taking on West Indies at Lord’s on June 24.

  England head coach Brendon McCullum said he was angry but also concerned about Ben Stokes after the nightclub incident involving his captain and fast bowler Gus Atkinson that led to their omission from the second test against New Zealand at The Oval. Stokes and ‌Atkinson breached the team’s midnight curfew and were reportedly present when an England security staff member was involved in an incident with a Saracens rugby player. “You go from being bewildered, to angry, to gutted,” McCullum told reporters on Monday. “Quickly through talking to Ben and Gus, my emotion turned to worry and concern - for Ben in particular," McCullum added. The episode is the latest off-field ⁠issue for England after vice-captain Harry Brook was punched by a bouncer outside a nightclub in Wellington in October, while videos during the Ashes showed players drinking during a Noosa break. Although managing director Rob Key played down talk of a “drinking culture” in March, the ECB introduced a strict midn...

  New Zealand stalwart Kane Williamson quit international cricket on Friday, ending a stellar 16-year career marked by numerous accolades and by captaining his side to the title in the ‌inaugural World Test Championship in 2021. Williamson's departure also suggests the sun is finally setting for batting's modern "Fab Four" of India's Virat Kohli, England's Joe Root, Australia's Steve Smith and Williamson himself. Statistically, Williamson departs as New Zealand's most prolific run-scorer, having accumulated more than 19,000 international runs and anchoring the team through its most successful era across all formats. Williamson, who turns 36 in August, decided to step away in the middle of the series in England having scored zero and 18 in the opening test last week. "It does ⁠feel the right time," Williamson told reporters. "I've given everything to this team, and it has given me a lot more in return. "When I look at the dressin...

  Bangladesh secured a landmark series victory over a second-string Australian side with a composed chase in a rain-affected second One-Day ‌International in Dhaka on Thursday, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match contest. Set a revised target of 192 in 41 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, Bangladesh recovered from the early loss of Tanzid Hasan for a duck as Soumya Sarkar and Najmul Hossain Shanto steadied the innings with identical knocks of 42. After their departures, Mehidy Hasan Miraz anchored the chase with a captain’s knock of 22 not ⁠out, holding firm alongside Towhid Hridoy who scored an unbeaten 40, as the pair guided Bangladesh home in 35 overs. Miraz, who was struck on the helmet by speedster Nathan Ellis towards the end of the chase, went for medical check-ups after scoring the winning runs. "Winning the series means a lot, but I can't tell you in words, it's an amazing feeling," said Najmul Hossain Shanto, who attended the post-...

  England captain Ben Stokes and bowler Gus Atkinson have both been left out of the second test against New ‌Zealand starting next week following an investigation into an incident in a London nightclub, the ECB said on Wednesday. Former captain Joe Root will lead the team at The Oval in the absence of Stokes. "The England & Wales Cricket Board can confirm that, given the ongoing investigation, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have not been made available for selection for the second Test against New Zealand, which starts at the ⁠Kia Oval on Wednesday 17 June." Stokes and pace bowler Atkinson broke the team's midnight curfew in the early hours of Monday morning and were reportedly present when a member of England's security staff was involved in an incident with a Saracens rugby player. It is the latest incident to involve a member of the England team after vice-captain Harry Brook was punched by a bouncer outside a nightclub in Wellington in October on the eve of a one...

  Bangladesh stunned Australia with an 86-run win via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in their opening one-day international in Mirpur on Tuesday, securing their ‌first win over the six-time world champions in 21 years to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Chasing 285, Australia slumped to 191-9 when rain halted play, with only four batters making it into double figures. ⁠Cameron Green top-scored with an unbeaten 52, but he found little support as wickets fell at the other end at regular intervals, as Australia suffered only their second ODI defeat to Bangladesh. Fast bowler Nahid Rana led Bangladesh’s attack with four wickets from his 10 overs. Earlier, Bangladesh built a competitive 284-8 after half-centuries from Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto ‌and ⁠Mosaddek Hossain. "We are very happy because of the way we batted. Shanto and Tanzid, the way they batted, I was really excited about that moment," Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz said at ⁠the post-mat...

  England captain Ben Stokes is considering his leadership future following his involvement in a nightclub incident that has prompted ‌an investigation by the country's cricket board (ECB), according to media reports on Tuesday. On Monday, the ECB said Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson were under investigation. The incident - the details of ⁠which have not been disclosed - occurred in the early hours of Monday after England’s victory over New Zealand in the first test at Lord’s. On Tuesday, ESPNcricinfo reported Stokes would meet with his advisors on Wednesday to decide on his future. Stokes was previously involved in a 2017 incident outside ‌a ⁠Bristol nightclub that led to an affray charge. He missed the 2017-18 Ashes tour before being cleared the following summer. After England's squad faced scrutiny earlier this ⁠year for their behaviour during a 4-1 Ashes series defeat, ECB chief executive Richard Gould said in January ⁠that players would be subject to stricter measures,...

  England captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson are under investigation following a nightclub incident, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Monday. The incident — the details of which have ‌not been disclosed — occurred in the early hours of Monday after England’s victory over New Zealand in the first test at Lord’s. "The ECB is currently investigating a breach of team protocols following the conclusion of the first men’s test against New Zealand," the board said in a ⁠statement. "Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were present at a nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning when an incident took place. "We are currently seeking further information, and an announcement regarding the squad for the second test will be made in due course." The episode marks another setback for England, who faced scrutiny earlier this year during their 4-1 Ashes series defeat amid reports of heavy drinking during a mid-tour break in Noosa. Following that series...

  Australia captain Mitchell Marsh, opener Travis Head and spinner Tanveer Sangha have all been ruled out ‌of the three-match one-day international (ODI) series Bangladesh, the country's cricket board said on Monday. The trio have been replaced by Todd Murphy, Ollie Peake and ⁠Matt Short. Peake and Short were part of the Australia squad which suffered a 2-1 ODI series defeat in Pakistan last week. The ODI series begins on Tuesday, with all three matches taking place in Dhaka. Josh Inglis will step in ‌as ⁠captain for Marsh, who could return from his ankle injury in time for Australia's three Twenty20 Internationals in Chattogram starting on ⁠June 17. National selector Tony Dodemaide said Sangha's hamstring injury has ruled him out of ⁠the entire Bangladesh tour. Head has been granted personal leave and will only ⁠return for Australia's two home tests against Bangladesh in August.

  Afghanistan reached 18 for no loss at lunch after hosts India ‌enforced the follow-on on day three of their one-off test at the PNA Stadium in New Mohali on Monday. India bowled out ⁠Afghanistan for 152 in the first innings for a massive lead of 412. Rahamat Shah's 60 was the lone spark of resistance in Afghanistan's reply to India's 564-8 declared. The batter hit nine fours ‌and ⁠a six before being bowled around the legs by left-arm spinner Manav Suthar. Suthar claimed 6-33 in his debut ⁠test as Afghanistan lost their last five wickets in the morning session. ⁠Seamer Prasidh Krishna returned figures of 3-37. Sediqullah Atal (16) and Abdul ⁠Malik (two) survived the four overs before lunch.

  India declared their first innings on 564 for eight before debutant Manav Suthar and ‌Prasidh Krishna took five wickets between them to maintain the hosts' stranglehold on the one-off test against Afghanistan on Sunday. Faced with a daunting chase, Afghanistan lost wickets at steady intervals in a feeble reply to finish day two on 113-5 and trailing by 451 runs at the New PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh. "So my aim was to extract as much turn as possible because the pitch was assisting. At the same time, I wanted to keep bowling in good areas and hit the ideal length consistently. "Playing for India is a dream for everyone and I am extremely happy to have received my cap." Krishna was ‌similarly ⁠impressive, breaching Sediqullah Atal's defence with a vicious delivery to claim his first test wicket in India. He then dismissed Hashmatullah Shahidi, breaking up the Afghanistan captain's dangerous-looking partnership with Shah. Earlier on Sunday, India resumed on...

  England exploited to the full a Lord’s pitch once again offering erratic bounce and lateral movement on Sunday to win the rain-interrupted first test against New Zealand by 115 runs with a day and two sessions to spare. New Zealand, set a daunting 254 to win the opening game in the three-match series, were ‌dismissed for 138 before lunch on the fourth day after resuming on 55 for five in the 150th test at the home of world cricket. The Marylebone Cricket Club issued a rare public apology after the milestone test turned into a bowler's paradise as wickets tumbled every 25 balls on average. The first wicket of the day fell after only seven deliveries when paceman Josh Tongue jagged the ball late into wicketkeeper Tom Blundell (4) who was hit low on the back pads and given out lbw. Tongue then had opener Devon Conway ⁠dropped on 24 by Harry Brook at second slip in his next over when the ball flew through the fielder’s outstretched hands as he reached in vain over his head. Left-hand...

  The Cricket Association of Nepal apologised after its players got a Bhutan batter 'timed out' in Thursday's ACC Women's Premier Cup match, saying the dismissal was within the laws but did not reflect the spirit ‌of the game it wanted to uphold. Bhutan's Ritshi Choden, coming on at number three after opener Ngawang Choden was bowled out off the first ball of the innings, was not at the crease within the stipulated two minutes after the fall of the previous wicket, leading to the Nepal players ⁠appealing for dismissal. The dismissal left Bhutan reeling at 0-2 after the first ball, chasing a target of 114 in the Twenty20 match. Bhutan could only score 62-8 in their 20 overs, as Nepal won their second straight Group D match in Mantin, Malaysia. "The incident involving the timed-out dismissal of a Bhutanese batter during today's match does not reflect the values and spirit of cricket that the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) strives to uphold," the nati...