Cricket news

• Player resistance the major hurdle to cricket's proposed four-day Tests

  31-12-2019 23:26
  
  Travis Head and Neil Wagner opposed to changeAfghanistan Test floated as a possible trial groundPlayer resistance looms as as a serious difficulty for cricket administrators if the push for four-day Tests is to gather serious momentum. Australia host Afghanistan in a one-off Test next summer and there is a possibility that clash will be a four-day match. The International Cricket Council agreed to let boards schedule four-day Tests in 2017 on a trial basis.The governing body is expected to discu
  
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• Sport in 2020 calendar: your month-by-month guide to the year ahead

  31-12-2019 21:00
  
  The Olympics and Paralympics head to Tokyo, Euro 2020 sends football fans around Europe, plus the return of the Ryder CupThe sporting year’s traditional raucous curtain-raiser, the PDC world darts final, takes place on New Year’s Day. The BDO championship follows, with men’s and women’s titles on offer at the O2, and the second of snooker’s “triple crown” events, the Masters, takes place at Wembley. Speaking of which, the Carabao Cup final will be set as
  
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• Four-day Tests need the right pitches to work – and less white-ball intrusion | Vic Marks

  31-12-2019 15:29
  
  The ECB has given a cautious welcome to proposals to shorten the length of Tests but surfaces need to be responsiveThe Test in Cape Town, where the first three days are already sold out, may well last five days. The traditionalists had better treasure the occasion since the England and Wales Cricket Board has given a cautious welcome to the idea that from 2023 World Test Championship matches should be of four days duration.“We believe it could provide a sustainable solution to the complex
  
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• The Spin | The Hundred will be hangover to cricket year that took the biscuit

  31-12-2019 13:12
  
  Stokes’s Headingley miracle and the World Cup final super over were special but 2019 is likely to be as good as it gets for a whileThere’s something missing from the England and Wales Cricket Board’s financial statements, a hole in between all the intangible assets and net liabilities, where the figures revealing the enormous sums they’ve spent on tea and biscuits ought to be. Cricket press boxes, like so many British institutions, run on tea and biscuits. Demand rises in
  
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• 20 for 2020: the unmissable sporting events over the next 12 months

  31-12-2019 10:59
  
  The Tokyo Olympics is the main event but with England in the Euros and Tiger Roll attempting an unprecedented third straight Grand National fans are spoilt for choice in 2020An ever-fascinating tournament takes on an extra edge given it represents a post-World Cup reboot for the teams involved. Will England bear any scars from their defeat to South Africa in Yokohama? Will Wales – holders and grand-slam winners in 2019 – hit the ground running without Warren Gatland at the helm? Irel
  
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• End of Steve Smith's leadership ban rendered irrelevant by Tim Paine

  31-12-2019 01:24
  
  Smith can be considered for captaincy again after SydneyBut Paine’s form in 2019 makes him hard to replaceThe Sydney Test will be the last played under Steve Smith’s leadership ban, but that could be immaterial with evergreen Tim Paine’s form showing no sign of letting up.Speculation has swirled over what Australia will do with the captaincy once Paine either retires or is dropped, with some suggesting this summer could be his last. But someone clearly forgot to tell Paine, who
  
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