Report
Shanto backs Bangladesh pace attack for first Australia Test tour in 23 years
The captain says his seam group can take 20 wickets in Australia. Darwin opens 13 August, Mackay follows for the second Test.
Cricket desk
Cricket news, match reports and fantasy reads
International and franchise cricket, covered by a named editor with verified sourcing and a session-by-session live desk.
What the cricket desk covers
International cricket across formats, the major franchise leagues and the rules that shape selection. Reporting, not paraphrase.
International cricket
Test, ODI and T20I cricket across both conferences. Squad announcements, surface reads and the press-conference round-up we carry every match week.
Franchise leagues
The IPL, the Big Bash, the Hundred, the PSL and the CPL. Coverage runs through the auction windows and the playoff picture with verified dates.
The rules desk
Impact-player rule explained, the DRS framework and the over-rate penalties. Backgrounders written when fixtures need context, not when calendars demand slots.
Fantasy reads
Selection-deadline checklists, role security reads and the captain-choice conversations. Format and contest size first, captain choice last.
Latest from the cricket desk
All cricket reporting
Report
India take the new ball as England win the toss in Ranchi
A green-tinged surface, two changes in the home XI, and a bowler who has not played a Test since January.
Explainer
The impact-player rule, three seasons in
What changed in the death overs, why allrounders rebid, and the bowling pattern that quietly shifted.
Report
Three under-20s forcing first-team minutes
The numbers behind the recent selections, the academy pathways and the squad context each of them is fighting into.
Match hub
India vs England · Day 1
Session-by-session reporting from the Ranchi Test. Lunch taken with England 78 for 2.
Cricket fixtures on the desk
All match hubsIndia vs England · Test
Ranchi. The third Test with England needing to win to keep the series alive. Lunch taken with the visitors 78 for 2.
Open match hubIPL 2026 final · preview
The fixture, the venue, the likely XIs and the impact-player rule as it now reads. Match hub goes live with the toss.
Open match hubAustralia vs South Africa · ODIs
The three-match series. Match hub with squad context, surface reads and the recent head-to-head.
Open match hubIPL 2026 · competition page
Fixtures, standings and the impact-player rule explained as it now sits after the rules committee update.
Open competitionCricket · Frequently asked
What does the cricket desk cover?
International cricket across formats and the major franchise leagues, with a fantasy desk that takes deadlines seriously. Match hubs go live when team news clears sourcing.
Do you run live blogs for Test cricket?
Yes, with a session-by-session structure. Lunch and tea intervals get their own entries, and we keep the feed running through the final session with verified fall-of-wickets.
How do you report the auction?
Confirmed signings are sourced to the franchise, the player or the player's verified representative. We do not publish rumours before the official release.
Do you cover women's cricket?
Yes. We cover the women's international calendar, the WPL and the WBBL where the calendar allows. Match hubs are launched with the same standards as the men's game.
Do you sell fantasy picks?
No. The fantasy desk is editorial. Selection reads are reasoned, not guaranteed. We say when we are uncertain, and we explain why.
Where do you source your statistics?
From the official score providers, the league statisticians and the verified broadcaster feeds. We name the provider, and we label the period.
Follow the cricket desk
The cricket desk updates through every Test session, every ODI window and every franchise match night.
Match hubs, daily reads and the editor's notebook. Updated through every fixture window.
The cricket desk, by beat
Test cricket
Surface reads, the seam-versus-spin split, the captaincy pattern. Match hubs run session by session, with the lunch and tea intervals getting their own entries.
White-ball
ODI and T20I coverage, with the powerplay scoring rates and the death-overs patterns as the cleanest reads. Match hubs run over-by-over for the marquee matches.
Franchise leagues
The IPL, the Big Bash, the Hundred, the PSL and the CPL. Coverage runs through the auction windows and the playoff picture, with the impact-player rule explained as it now sits.
Women's cricket
The women's international calendar, the WPL and the WBBL where the calendar allows. Match hubs are launched with the same standards as the men's game.
How the cricket desk reads a session
A Test session has a rhythm. The first hour of the morning is the seam bowler's hour, with the lateral movement at its most predictable. The middle session is the spinners' introduction, with the grip starting to come into play as the surface dries. The final session is the captaincy window, where the choice between bowling and batting in the fourth innings starts to crystallise.
The desk reads each session through that rhythm. The morning entries focus on the lateral movement and the bowling changes. The afternoon entries focus on the spin and the scoreboard pressure. The evening entries focus on the captaincy call and the fourth-innings shape. The closing summary pulls the day's three sessions into one record, with the moments that defined the day and the editorial threads to follow next.
The cricket desk's reading list
Surface taxonomy
Indian surfaces, English surfaces, Australian surfaces, South African surfaces and the Caribbean. Each surface carries a pattern, and the pattern shapes the team selection and the captaincy call.
Bowling patterns
The seam-versus-spin split, the new-ball partnerships, the death-overs specialist, the spinner who holds one end. Each role is defined by the manager's usage and the conditioning data.
Batting patterns
The top-order anchor, the middle-order accumulator, the lower-order hitter, the impact-player. Each role is defined by the surface, the bowling matchup and the run-chase context.
Captaincy patterns
The toss call, the bowling change, the declaration timing, the DRS review, the impact-player substitution. The captaincy patterns are the cleanest read on the team's strategic picture.
What we're watching this season
The Ashes
England vs Australia in England. The series opener at Lord's, with the venue-by-venue splits behind the read. Match hub goes live with the team announcement.
The World Test Championship final
India and Australia are the two teams in the qualification picture. The percentage-points calculation now reads the result as decisive, with the final scheduled for June at Lord's.
The IPL impact-player rule
Three seasons in, the rule has reshaped the death overs and the allrounder market. The 2026 cycle is the cleanest test of the rule, with the franchises settling into the optimal pattern of use.
The women's international calendar
The women's international calendar, the WPL and the WBBL. Reporting with the same standards as the men's game, with the off-pitch storylines that frame the season.
The desk's editorial calendar
The cricket desk runs on a weekly cadence. Mondays carry the post-series wrap for any Test series that has closed, with the editorial read on the captaincy, the bowling patterns and the batting depth. Tuesdays carry the preview for the upcoming Test or white-ball series, with the surface read and the squad context. Wednesdays carry the team-news round-up, with the verified squad list and the press-conference notes.
Thursdays carry the match-hub launch for any Test match starting the next day. Fridays carry the match-hub launch for any white-ball series starting the weekend. Saturdays and Sundays carry the live coverage: session notes for Test matches, over-by-over for white-ball matches, with the editor's clock on every page. The desk's analysis pieces run once a week through the regular season, with deep reads through the tournament windows.
Standards the desk runs on
Sources
The desk cites the BCCI, the ECB, Cricket Australia, the ICC, the verified broadcaster feeds and the verified player representatives. Quotes carry the publication; statistics carry the period.
Predictions
The desk writes previews, not predictions. The preview names the form, the availability, the surface and the open question. The desk does not promise outcomes.
Fantasy
The fantasy desk treats selection as a research exercise. Captain picks are reasoned, not guaranteed. The late team-news window is flagged, with the bankroll discipline never forgotten.
Corrections
The desk publishes corrections the same day. The corrections log is on the corrections page, with the article, the changed fact and the time of the correction.
Three reads the desk recommends
The impact-player rule, three seasons in
What changed in the death overs, why allrounders rebid, and the bowling pattern that quietly shifted.
Read the explainerIndia vs England · Test match hub
Session-by-session reporting from the Ranchi Test. Match hub with the verified fall of wickets and the over-by-over tempo.
Open the match hubIndia take the new ball as England win the toss
A green-tinged surface, two changes in the home XI, and a bowler who has not played a Test since January. Day one session one from Ranchi.
Read the reportA note on the data
The cricket desk uses three primary data sources. The official score providers carry the live scores, the fall of wickets and the over-by-over tempo. The federation releases carry the squad announcements, the injury updates and the captaincy notes. The verified broadcaster feeds carry the press-conference recordings, the post-match interviews and the analyst reads. Each piece of data carries the source and the period.
For the deeper analytics — the expected wickets, the run-chance percentages, the wagon-wheel reads — the desk uses the verified analytics feeds where they are available. The ESPNcricinfo ball-by-ball commentary is the desk's reference for the historical Test data. The CricViz/Opta feeds are the desk's reference for the live analytics. Each piece of analytics carries the source and the period.