A week into the Hundred and the competition is heating up almost as much as the debate around the tournament. Meanwhile Covid curveballs continue, with India having to revise their T20I line-up in Sri Lanka, and West Indies and Australia having to postpone their second ODI moments before the game. With a packed cricket schedule coming up – England-India Tests, West Indies-Pakistan T20Is – there’s a lot to catch up on in this week’s round-up of our top stories.
Wanindu Hasaranga leads the way with four-for as Sri Lanka claim 2-1 series win
After Krunal Pandya’s positive Covid-19 test took out almost half the Indian squad in Sri Lanka, the team had to play all their remaining 11 players for the second and third T20Is. In the final game, the severely depleted India line-up hobbled to an inadequate 81 for 8, which Sri Lanka made quick work of.
Australia beat challenging conditions and circumstances in series of incremental gains
Covid scares, missing players, challenging pitches – Australia overcame all these hurdles in the ODI series against West Indies in what was a good captaincy audition for Alex Carey.
Every second counts – early takeaways from the Hundred bash
Alan Gardner has learned a few things while taking early stock of the Hundred – bowlers have it better, timekeeping is key, women have equal billing as men – and says there’s quite a bit to get behind. George Dobell remains unimpressed, and says the Hundred is smoke, mirrors and gimmickry, while David Hopps says it’s tearing England cricket apart while the counties keep their heads down. Paul Edwards, meanwhile, sees in this “new” format echoes of the 1976 John Player League.
What lies ahead of the nine teams in the next World Test Championship cycle?
With the second WTC cycle ready to kick off, ESPNcricinfo staff look ahead at what to expect from the contenders while drawing up report cards from the inaugural championship.
India have a tailender problem and it’s not one they can solve easily
Karthik Krishnaswamy says whatever combination of fast bowlers and spinners they pick, their tail is longer and much less good at batting than England’s. Aakash Chopra is looking at the opening slot, specifically if Rohit Sharma has cracked the code as Test opener, while Dale Steyn has invaluable advice for India’s fast bowlers on how to command and conquer England.
Mike Hendrick: salt of the earth, sinew of the game
Mark Nicholas says farewell to a fine bowler who beat the bat more often than seemed reasonable, and came close to winning England the 1979 World Cup.
Michael Holding: ‘Racism strips away your humanity, takes away your feelings of self-worth’
The legendary former West Indies fast bowler looks back at times he was on the receiving end of racism in a book co-written with Usain Bolt among others.
Is Ishan Kishan the only man to make fifties on debut in ODIs and T20Is?
And what’s the highest ODI total without a half-century? All your trivia questions answered by Steven Lynch in this week’s Ask Steven.
