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Gay and Rew headline England overhaul for Lord’s Test

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Emilio Gay (L) and James Rew (R). (PC: X.com) England have dropped Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, selecting the uncapped duo of Emilio Gay and James Rew in the 15-man squad for the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s. Sonny Baker is the uncapped pacer called up alongside the returning Ollie Robinson and Matthew Fisher. After a disappointing run with the bat in the 2025–26 Ashes, both Crawley and Pope have been sidelined by the selectors. Will Jacks has also been dropped. Gay, who averages 92 and has scored 552 runs for Durham, is set to open the batting with Ben Duckett. Rew will serve as the backup wicketkeeper to Jamie Smith. Rob Key, England Men’s managing director of cricket, said: “We have selected a squad that we believe has a really exciting blend of proven international quality, strong county form and players with huge potential to develop at Test level. “Emilio, James and Sonny have all earned their opportunities through consistent performances and have impressed us not...
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Virat Kohli, white-ball cricket, and the sun that doesn’t give way to darkness

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Kohli for RCB against KKR (Image: BCCI) At around 6 PM, the radiant sunshine slowly begins to give way to darkness. That is exactly how it feels while watching the fag end of great sporting careers. The coruscating candlelight gradually begins to dim; an indicator that it is time to pen a few words on a glorious chapter. Virat Kohli, one of the greatest Indian cricketers, has retired from the longest format alongside T20Is. But in the world of IPL and ODI cricket, the willow is still burning bright, bisecting gaps with incandescent brilliance. On a day when inclement weather threatened to play spoilsport in Raipur, a few of his imperious shots against Kolkata Knight Riders would have brought smiles to the faces of the patient crowd. Kohli’s quintessential hundred, while chasing down a target, would have transported aficionados to another era. Meanwhile, analysts may well have been engaged in a bit of number-crunching over his upgraded spin game. Among all those eye-popping strokes, ...
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Kohli Cracks Majestic Hundred; RCB Inch Closer to Playoff Qualification

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Virat Kohli (PC: IPL/BCCI) Virat Kohli’s majestic unbeaten 105 powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Raipur. RCB chased down the target of 193 in the final over to seal their eighth victory of the season. With this loss, KKR are on the verge of crashing out of the tournament, while RCB are very close to qualifying for the playoffs. Yet Another Masterclass from Kohli The Raipur crowd, largely comprising RCB fans, witnessed yet another masterclass from Kohli. It was a quintessential Kohli innings as RCB went about the business of chasing down a competitive target. In Vaibhav Arora’s opening over, he cracked four boundaries to lay the platform. Kohli also gave a glimpse of his game against spin by using the depth of the crease to pull Anukul Roy and Sunil Narine. But the highlight of his innings was a lap shot off Kartik Tyagi for six. He also whipped the same bowler for another six in the slog overs and reached hi...
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Dravid Bluntly Admits T20 Cricket Favours Batters

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Dravid spoke about the changing landscape of T20 cricket. (PC: BCCI) Former India captain Rahul Dravid has asked the bowlers to improve their skillset while giving the example of how the batters have evolved and improved their game in T20 cricket. In the past few years, the batters have dominated the white-ball cricket with low scoring affairs becoming a rarity. Irrespective of the country, the pitches have mostly been on the flatter side with little or no assistance for the bowlers. “In a sense, to see the quality of batting that has happened over the last two or three years, I think the bowlers in that format of the game will slowly have to do some catching up,” Dravid told PTI. “I think batsmanship and the ability to hit sixes and to access different parts of the ground has certainly improved leaps and bounds. With the game becoming difficult for the bowlers, Dravid reckons bowlers will have to keep working and developing the skills in order to standout. “Bowlers will have to k...
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Women’s T20 World Cup 2026: Hamilton earns maiden World Cup call as Australia announce squad

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Lucy Hamilton (PC: IPL/BCCI) Australia’s selection committee has announced its 15-player squad for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England and Wales, beginning on June 12, with Sophie Molineux set to lead the side as captain alongside deputies Ashleigh Gardner and Tahlia McGrath. Young left-arm pacer Lucy Hamilton earned her maiden T20 World Cup call-up after an impressive international debut earlier this year. The 20-year-old secured her place ahead of fellow fast bowler Darcie Brown, who missed out after going wicketless during Australia’s recent white-ball tour of the West Indies. In an official statement, national selector Shawn Flegler said, “Darcie Brown was unlucky to miss out but the decision was based on the conditions we’re expecting and the make-up of the side.” He further added, “With at least six right-arm pace options in the mix and raw pace expected to be less effective, we opted to go with Lucy Hamilton, who offers something different as a left-ar...
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GT vs SRH: “I have been backed and it has been clear what my role has been” – Kagiso Rabada after match-winning spell against SRH

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Kagiso Rabada (PC:IPL/BCCI) Gujarat Titans (GT) speedster Kagiso Rabada delivered a match-winning bowling performance as his side thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 82 runs in their IPL clash on May 13 in Ahmedabad. Defending a tricky target of 169 runs, Rabada led the bowling attack brilliantly. He first struck in the second over of the innings by dismissing in-form opener Abhishek Sharma (6). He then removed wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan (11) before sending back Ravichandran Smaran (9), helping GT bowl out SRH for just 86 runs within 15 overs. Rabada conceded 28 runs from his four overs at an economy rate of 7. During the post-match presentation, where he was named the Player of the Match, Rabada spoke about the dropped catch of Ishan and how GT recovered quickly from the mistake. “Did not react fast enough and did not judge,” Rabada said. “Luckily, we got the wicket. Season in, season out, all you try to do is do the best you can. I have been backed and it has been...
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The Invisible Boundary: BCCI’s War Against the IPL Honey Trap

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AI Generated On May 7, the BCCI issued a stern eight-page directive to all franchises, signalling that the greatest threat to a player’s career might not be a searing yorker, but a carefully orchestrated “honey trap”. The advisory serves as a grim reminder that, in the digital age, intimacy is often used as an entry point for extortion. The BCCI is aiming to end the era of lax hotel lobby greetings and unvetted visitors. The BCCI’s directive focuses heavily on the sanctity of a player’s private space. No person — regardless of their relationship to the player — is permitted into a hotel room without prior written approval from the team manager. The board explicitly warned that honey-trapping often leads to serious legal allegations, including sexual misconduct, which can ruin lives even before a case reaches court. To understand the gravity of these warnings, one only needs to look at the ruins of once-promising careers. Notably, there has been a rise in sexual allegations against I...
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