Why Wiaan Mulder hates watching cricket
“I hate watching cricket,” Wiaan Mulder told reporters on Wednesday. “Especially when you feel like you’re playing nicely and you could have filled some gaps that maybe the team needed.” Mulder has been watching cricket for 33 days. He broke a finger while batting against Sri Lanka at Kingsmead in November, and missed the second match of that series at St George’s Park and the Centurion Test against Pakistan – which South Africa won by two wickets on Sunday to confirm their place in next year’s WTC final. “I’ve watched so much cricket over the last four weeks, it was terrible,” Mulder said. “I felt like because I was playing cricket on the beach – which I was doing 100% – I’m like, why couldn’t I be playing? I had a brace on, so my movement was limited. But it’s so frustrating watching cricket. “When you’re playing a lot, I think you lose a little bit of the love for the game. And then when you’re watching, that perspective is so important. You play for a lot of different reasons – when you’re just ticking over or sometimes you play for the paycheque, sometimes you play because you kind of have to.
Lawrence, Stoinis shine as Stars get off the mark
Counterattacking fifties from Dan Lawrence (64* off 38) and Marcus Stoinis (62 off 48) alongside a collective bowling performance helped Melbourne Stars to their first win of the 2024-25 BBL season, courtesy of a five-wicket win over Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. The duo walked in with the visitors in serious trouble at 14/3, but gauged the situation well to stitch a fluent 132-run stand that all but killed the game. Stoinis brought up his maiden fifty as captain of the Stars and was the initial aggressor of the two with Lawrence also shifting gears soon. Heat started the second half quite well with the new-ball pair of Xavier Bartlett (4-10) and Spencer Johnson (1-28) breathing fire. The fresh pitch had some life in it for the bowlers early on, although the movement wasn’t as extravagant as it was in the first half of the game. Bartlett and Johnson still caused problems, making the Heat’s total of 149 seem a lot more than it was. Ben Duckett fell for a golden duck, strangled down leg-side while Sam Harper and Thomas Rogers found the new-ball bowling too hot to handle.
Bird’s four-for goes in vain as Hurricanes hand table-toppers Sixers big defeat
Hobart Hurricanes overcame the late withdrawal of captain Nathan Ellis to hand Sydney Sixers their first BBL loss of the season. Ellis pulled out from Wednesday afternoon’s game at Ninja Stadium with illness, but his bowling team-mates stood up against the table-topping Sixers. Hurricanes posted 161 for 6 and bowled out Sydney for 111 in 19.3 overs to jump to fourth on the ladder with a third win in a row. Chris Jordan picked up 3 for 22, including the big wickets of James Vince early and noted finisher Jordan Silk in the middle overs. He was assisted by fellow import Waqar Salamkheil, who took 2 for 22 with his left-arm wristspin and bowled Kurtis Patterson with one that turned the other way. Allrounder Nikhil Chaudhary was impressive, top-scoring with 42 from 31 deliveries and picking up 1 for 15 with the ball. Sixers, who stay in first place on the ladder, had won four from four prior to the match, while Hurricanes are on the rise after being flogged by Melbourne Renegades in their opening game.
Vijay Hazare Trophy: Agarawal, Tilak, Nair go big as tournament crosses halfway mark
Mayank Agarawal, the Karnataka captain, recorded his third straight List A century, in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. However, it wasn’t enough as Hyderabad chased down 322 with two balls to spare. Hyderabad’s chase was fuelled by Tilak Varma, who laid the foundation with a 106-ball 99. After four games, Agarawal is currently the second-highest run-getter in the 50-over competition, having racked up 428 runs in five innings. His strike rate of 117.26 is the highest among the current top five run-scorers. Agarawal’s up-turn in form comes at a time when Karnataka’s senior players are all on notice, with the selectors keen on handing opportunities to younger players. The selection churn has already led to the likes of Manish Pandey and K Gowtham finding themselves out of favour, while a number of other senior players, like R Samarth and Karun Nair, have found homes with other state sides.Agarawal, who went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction, has been in patchy form this season. He managed just 179 innings in seven innings at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. More importantly, he presided over Karnataka’s group-stage exit. In seven innings in the first half of the Ranji season, Agarawal managed just 203 runs at an average of 29.
‘He’ll push through’ – Carey confident Starc won’t let back issue keep him out of SCG Test
Mitchell Starc has been termed one of Australia’s “toughest” cricketers as he was backed to be fit for the Sydney Test after having maintained speeds above 140kph in Melbourne despite battling a back problem. Starc first showed signs of discomfort in the first innings at the MCG, but was able to play a key role in the dramatic victory push where he claimed Virat Kohli on the final day. Starc went for scans on Wednesday, but he also spent time in the gym during what became an optional training session where none of the bowlers who played in Melbourne turned their arm over. Normally, Australia have their main training session two days out from a Test but have tweaked their build-up given the short turnaround between the final two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, and the heavier workload at the MCG. “He’ll be fine. He’ll push through,” Alex Carey said. “I’ve played with Starcy for a long time now, and [he’s] one of the toughest cricketers I’ve played with. He’ll grimace, he’ll grab his rib no doubt, but he’ll be ready for the contest.”
Batter given timed out before Mehidy calls him back
Chittagong Kings captain Mohammad Mithun praised his opposite number Mehidy Hasan Miraz after the latter called back Tom O’Connell, who had been dismissed timed out during their BPL match against Khulna Tigers in Dhaka on Tuesday. O’Connell, the Australian legspinner, walked out to bat after the allocated three minutes were up during Chittagong’s chase of 204. Mehidy, the fielding captain, went to the umpire along with several of his team-mates to ask about the delay. The umpires, Raveendra Wimalasiri and Tanvir Ahmed, adjudged O’Connell to be out. As O’Connell started to trudge back to the dugout, Mehidy called him back. Mithun accepted that the dismissal was legitimate, and said that O’Connell had been taken by surprise as the wickets fell quickly, and he didn’t have enough time to get ready despite batting at No. 7. “I personally feel Miraz did a fantastic job,” Mithun said. “He showed that he has a big heart. It is within the rules for the fielding side to appeal. Credit to Miraz for letting O’Connell return to the crease.
Bumrah’s phenomenal 2024: Redefining fast bowling excellence
Bumrah finished at the top of the charts for wickets in Tests in 2024 with 71 scalps, 19 more than the next best. Some years are etched in cricketing folklore synonymous with cricketers for their incredible exploits. Sachin Tendulkar’s 1998. Ricky Ponting’s 2003. Virat Kohli’s 2016. If 2024 had to find a cricketer to prefix it with, it will be hard to look past Jasprit Bumrah. After missing almost 12 months between the middle of 2022 to 2023, the talisman Indian seamer has been back with a mission to make up for the time lost and reclaim his throne in world cricket. Here’s a look back to Bumrah’s journey in 2024 through numbers. Bumrah finishes top of the charts for wickets in Tests in 2024 with 71 scalps, 19 more than the next best. His crowning glory of the year was when he was awarded Player of the Tournament in India’s T20 World Cup win for his 15 wickets at a barely believable strike rate of 11.8 and economy rate of 4.17. He did not feature in a 50-over game this calendar year, but to underline his primacy across formats we can look at his numbers since he made a return in August 2023 following a one-year hiatus due to stress fracture.
Nikhil Chaudhary stars as Hurricanes halt Sixers winning streak
Sydney Sixers’ winning start to the 2024-25 Big Bash season came to a tame end on New Year’s Day as they were demolished by the Hobart Hurricanes at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. After setting a target of 162 for the Sixers, the hosts bowled them out for 111 to clinch a 50-run victory. All the six bowlers for the Hurricanes chipped in with wickets at regular intervals, not allowing any of the Sixers batters to break free. Nikhil Chaudhary opened the gates with the wicket of Joshua Philippe in the third over while Chris Jordan dismissed James Vince. Soon after, Waqar Salamkheil got the better of Kurtis Patterson. Languishing at 28 for 3 inside five overs, the Sixers attempted to resurrect the chase through Moises Henriques and Jordan Silk. A 35-run partnership followed but the Sixers collapsed, losing five wickets for 21 runs, and stumbled from 63/3 to 84/8. The lower order took the Sixers past the 100-mark but the hosts sealed the deal with the wicket of Jackson Bird. Earlier put in to bat first by the Sixers, the hosts got off to a decent start with a 45-run opening stand in 4.5 overs.
Disciplined Australia seek WTC reward in Sydney
A victory in the final Test in Sydney would not only see Australia reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade but also secure their spot in the ICC World Test Championship final. With South Africa having secured a thrilling victory over Pakistan in Centurion, and Australia having overcome India in Melbourne, the equations for the WTC 2025 Final have become clear. While South Africa have ensured a maiden spot in the final, Australia have boosted their chances significantly too. Now, Australia are just one win away (from their upcoming three games) to guarantee their spot at Lord’s. Speaking to the reporters ahead of the final Test, Alex Carey was proud of how the side had turned up in recent encounters but added that the Aussies were taking it one step at a time. A draw in Sydney would be enough for Australia to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a prize that has eluded them for a decade. However, it wouldn’t guarantee their spot in the ICC World Test Championship final.
Seizing the moment ft. Pat Cummins
It called for a Pat Cummins intervention. And Pat Cummins intervened. He seized the moment. He turned the match around. The Test match had come alive with three quick wickets following the Rishabh Pant brain-fade. But Yashasvi Jaiswal still remained as a mighty obstacle between Australia and a vital 2-1 series lead in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The young opener had by then faced 197 deliveries and looked to be well on his way to a second century in the series. India had 24 more overs left to survive with Jaiswal having been joined by Washington Sundar who’d battled away for 162 deliveries in the first innings. Twelve overs still remained for the second new-ball to become available. Nathan Lyon wheeled away at one end, and Scott Boland’s successful spell was just coming to an end. The Australian captain was yet to bowl in the second session, and there might have been some wisdom in holding himself back a little more till the 80th over of the innings. But Jaiswal had to be eliminated. That would mean opening up one end and also putting the home team well on track for a famous Test win in front of over 74,000 people at the MCG.
