Craig Ervine retained as skipper as Zimbabwe announce 15-man squad for Sri Lanka tour

The Ashes | Moeen Ali, Alastair Cook indulge in an awkward on-air spat

For the unversed, both the stars were involved in a heated exchange earlier as Moeen compared Cook's captaincy with the current Test skipper of England Joe Root. The all-rounder felt more comfortable playing under Root.

NZ vs BAN | 2nd Test | Preview: Golden opportunity for Bangladesh to script history

Bangladesh created history against New Zealand after clinching a win in the first Test to go 1-0 up in the series against the world champions. The visitors’ batting unit was on song in the first clash with the top and middle-order making valuable contributions while Ebadot Hossain emerged to be the pick of the bowlers with his six wickets in the second innings. The action now moves to Christchurch where the two sides will lock horns with each other. While the Kiwis will have to go all guns blazing as the series is on stake. Bangladesh on the other side, just need a draw to add icing on the cake and clinch a series win in New Zealand. Match Details: New Zealand vs Bangladesh, 2nd Test Venue: Hagley Oval, Christchurch Date & Time: January 9th-13th, at 3:30 AM IST and 11:00 AM Local Time Live Streaming: Amazon Prime Video Pitch Report The pacers are likely to get assistance from the track. Moreover, the home side has had a good run at this particular venue. Having said that, the batters would be required to get their eye in and try to stitch partnerships to help the side put a decent total on the board. If you win the toss, elect to bat first. Team News New Zealand: The hosts are without the services of their regular skipper Kane Williamson as he was ruled out of the series earlier due to elbow injury. Tom Latham is leading the side in his absence. While New Zealand lost the first match, there was some good news for them as Devon Conway, Will Young and Henry Nicholls were among some runs during the course of the match. Bangladesh: Bangladesh are riding high on confidence after the win in the first match of the two-match series. A win or a draw in this second clash will help them clinch the series. The Bangla tigers’ batting line up was among runs in the first match while Hossain played an important role in the bowling department. The team management would expect them to replicate the performances from the players in this second Test. Probable XI New Zealand: Tom Latham (c), Will Young, Devon Conway, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das (wk), Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain Fantasy XI Tom Latham, Liton Das, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Mushfiqur Rahim, Will Young, Devon Conway (VC), Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee (C), Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain

Pollard lambasts teammates for ignoring fitness, says it’s the biggest hindrance for West Indies

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has lashed out at his teammates for not maintaining proper fitness standards and thus hampering the team performance by not being able to put the best men forward in the playing xi. "It has been an issue that has been plaguing us for the last couple of years. One way to look at it is, the selection policy, the fitness policies are there. Guys know exactly what is needed to represent the West Indian team. Sometimes, as individuals, we take it for granted. Yes, sometimes it hinders the process of selecting the best players at the given available time,” said the 34-year old. “Fitness has been one issue that has affected us in terms of trying to put our best team and sometimes, it's frustrating because you don't have the guys fit and available to represent the team,” he added further. Pollard, who himself is making a comeback from injury post the T20 World Cup 2021 to play in the three-match ODI series and a single T20I against Ireland, said that as a captain all he can do is make the players realise the importance of fitness and while on tours, make sure that players are adhering to the fitness regime. But according to the Trinidad man, the main problem is when players go home and are not part of the team on any tour or series. "For me, as an individual, the most I could do is try to make the guys understand the importance of fitness. When we are on tour, I can safely say there is no issue as to when the guys have to do their stuff in terms of what is required for the team and when they have to train in schedules. I think the difficult part is when the guys leave from tour with responsibilities and with instructions and, sometimes, they don't follow it. And then they come back on tour and they start from ground zero,” Pollard said. Talking about the importance of the series against Ireland, even though it is part of the CWC Super League and points will eventually help in booking a direct place in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Pollard believes that it is a no gainer for players. "The sad reality is that I don't believe that if we win these games - this might be taken out of context but that's not what I'm saying - if we were to win all three games, it's something that people will expect us to do. But if we were to lose, then that brings a different perspective. There's a no-win situation there,” he explained. Even as I write, West Indies and Ireland are currently squaring off against each other in the first ODI at the Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica West Indies

BBL 11 | Renegades surrender against Thunder, suffer a huge defeat by 129 runs

It was yet another disappointing end to a game for the Melbourne Renegades as they lost by a huge margin of 129 runs against Sydney Thunder in the ongoing Big Bash League 2021-22. This is the same margin by which Thunder had earlier beaten Renegades in the last season as well. This is in fact the joint third-highest victory margin registered by any team. Chasing a target of 210 runs, there was not even a single point in the chase where the Renegades could have looked in control. Right from the very start when they lost the opener, Sam Harper, in the second over with the team score at five runs, there was no stopping the downfall of the red machines. Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch, the two experienced tried to up the ante, but with the loss of Masrh’ wicket in the fourth over with the team score at 27, it all went in vain. From 27-2, suddenly the Renegades were 38-5 as they lost Nic Maddinson, Mackenzie Harvey and Finch in this period of 11 overs. After that, it was only formalities and thunder were ruthless in completing those formalities. James Seymour, who came to bat at number six top-scored with 25 while Kane Richardson made 17 as the ‘Gades got all out at 80. For Thunder, Mohammad Hasnain picked three wickets while Gurinder Sandhu and Tanveer Sangha picked two each. Earlier in the day, after losing the toss and being asked to bat first, Thunder lost Matthew Gilkes early. However, first Alex Hales with his 63 off just 23 balls and then Daniel Sams with his unbeaten 98 off just 44 balls made sure that the men in green reached 209 at the loss of seven wickets in their 20 overs. With this win, the thunder moved to the second position in the points table overtaking cross-city rivals Sixers. Renegades remained at sixth position with 15 points from 10 games, which is equal to fifth-placed Heat in the points table.