England bowler Jofra Archer ruled out for the remaining two Ashes tests due to a left side strain, a team official confirmed Wednesday. The 30-year-old Archer have been battling a variety of fitness issues, including stress fractures of the back and right elbow, had made a promising return to red-ball cricket earlier this season and was one of England’s standout performers in the Ashes. It is a huge disappointment for Archer, who spent years battling elbow and back injuries in order to return to Test cricket. His most impactful performance came in the third Test at Adelaide, where he registered figures of five for 53 in the first innings and also contributed a vital 51 runs with the bat. Despite joining the squad at training at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday, Archer did not take part in practice, and a team spokesperson later confirmed he would take no further part in the tour. England will now be without one of their most experienced pace options as they prepare for the fourth Test, which begins on Friday at the MCG, followed by the fifth Test in Sydney starting January 4. Australia currently lead the five-match series 3-0 and have already retained the Ashes. Gus Atkinson will replace Archer into the playing XI for the Melbourne Test. England has also made changes in the batting line up; Jacob Bethell has replaced No. 3 Ollie Pope for the Melbourne test. Pope is strugling at an average of 20.83 with the bat for the series. Despite off-field controversy, opener Ben Duckett has retained his place in the side. Duckett has been under observations following the emergence of footage allegedly showing him intoxicated between the second and third Tests. The left-hander continues to play XI, despite managing only 16 runs on average in the series so far. England playing XI for fourth Test Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue. (Inputs from AP)
24 December,2025 01:12 PM IST | Melbourne | mid-day online correspondentNew Zealand have announced their squads for the upcoming tour of India as the Black Caps step up preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The tour will comprise three One-Day Internationals followed by a five-match T20I series, providing the visitors valuable exposure to subcontinent conditions ahead of the global tournament, scheduled to begin on February 7. Mitchell Santner will captain the T20I side as he continues his comeback from injury, while Michael Bracewell has been named skipper for the ODI series. The squads feature the return of several senior players across both formats, along with a handful of emerging talents rewarded for recent strong performances. Among the fresh faces are Jayden Lennox, Kristian Clarke, Bevon Jacobs and Tim Robinson, while Michael Rae, who made his debut in the second Test against the West Indies, also finds a place. Kyle Jamieson is set to feature in both formats following his recovery, with Mark Chapman and Matt Henry included in the T20I squad. T20I squad: Mitchell Santner (captain), Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Tim Robinson, Zak Foulkes, Bevon Jacobs. ODI squad: Michael Bracewell (captain), Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, Glenn Phillips, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Mitch Hay, Adi Ashok, Zak Foulkes, Michael Rae. Acclimatising to the sub-continent and preparing for a #T20WorldCup is the goal for New Zealand on their white-ball tour of India 🏏More 📲 https://t.co/sNq05RkS9F pic.twitter.com/J7t83Psnxj — ICC (@ICC) December 24, 2025 Several players, including Jacob Duffy, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Will O’Rourke and Blair Tickner, have been rested or ruled out due to injury management and workload considerations, with an eye on a packed international calendar that also includes the ICC World Test Championship cycle from 2025 to 2027. Head coach Rob Walter underlined the importance of touring India ahead of the T20 World Cup. “Exposure to subcontinent conditions is invaluable,” he said. “Playing in spin-friendly environments will help our squad prepare for the challenges of the World Cup.” The T20I squad is expected to be strengthened later in the series with the arrival of players completing franchise commitments, allowing New Zealand to field a near full-strength side before naming their final T20 World Cup squad in mid-January. (Inputs from ICC)
24 December,2025 12:28 PM IST | New Zealand | mid-day online correspondentSkipper Yuvan Sharma produced a brilliant spell of spin bowling as defending champions Anjuman-I-Islam Allana English School (Fort) seized control against Al-Barkaat Malik Muhammad English School (Kurla) on Day One of the 129th Dream Sports Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school Harris Shield final at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. Leg-spinner Yuvan (5-38) led from the front with a brilliant five-wicket haul as Al-Barkaat were bundled out for 135 in 40.5 overs. He received strong support from offie Aarav Yadav (4-32). Al Barkaat’s resistance on the first day of the three-day final, came primarily through Arhaan Patel, who scored 61 (12x4). Anjuman’s Laxmanprasad Vishwakarma en-route his unbeaten fifty In reply, Anjuman-I-Islam began their innings with intent, as Laxmanprasad Vishwakarma struck a fluent half-century (52 not out) laced with seven boundaries. He was well supported by Aarav, who scored a valuable 46 not out (5x4, 1x6). The Fort outfit ended the day at 109-1.
24 December,2025 10:37 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamStar India all-rounder Deepti Sharma, 28, on Tuesday rose to the top of the ICC women’s T20I bowling rankings for the first time in her career. Deepti’s haul of 1-20 in the opening T20I of their home series against Sri Lanka in Vizag was enough for the off-spinner to pip Australia pacer Annabel Sutherland by one point to sit on top with 737 points. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 December,2025 10:10 AM IST | Dubai | PTIAustralia skipper Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon were on Tuesday ruled out of the final two Ashes Tests against England with the former also in doubt for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, which begins in February. Cummins “won’t play any part in the rest of the series,” coach Andrew McDonald told cricket.com.au. He returned from a lower back injury to lead Australia to victory in Adelaide, taking six wickets in the match. “We’ve now won the series, [so] to position him for further risk is not something we want to do,” added McDonald. In a separate interview with ESPN, McDonald further went on to state that Cummins’s participation in the T20 World Cup was by no means a certainty. “Looking forward to the World Cup, whether he will be there or not, I can’t really say. It’s quite grey at the moment,” said McDonald. Replacing Cummins and Lyon in the squad for the Melboure Test are pacer Jhye Richardson and off-spinner Todd Murphy. Australia’s squad for fourth TestS Smith (c), S Boland, A Carey, B Doggett, C Green, T Head, J Inglis, U Khawaja, M Labuschagne, T Murphy, M Neser, J Richardson, M Starc, J Weatherald, B Webster This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 December,2025 10:07 AM IST | Melbourne | AgenciesEngland managing director Rob Key pledged on Tuesday to investigate whether players’s drinking on a mid-Ashes beach break went too far, after reports said it had been like a “stag-do.” The England team headed to Queensland tourist playground Noosa after heavily losing the first two Tests in Perth and Brisbane. They spent several days on the sand and around restaurants and bars, followed by TV crews, photographers and reporters before travelling to Adelaide where they lost the third Test and the Ashes. Rob Key Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported that ‘after drowning their sorrows after the Brisbane Test, it is no exaggeration to say some, certainly not all, players drank for five or six days.’ It added that players ‘did nothing outrageous in Noosa,’ bAustralia, England, Australia vs England, Aus vs Eng, Aus vs Eng live, Ashes, Ashes series, Ashes Test, Test cricket, Cricket News, Latest Cricket News, Cricket latest news, Cricket News Today, Cricket match news, Sports News, Latest Sports News, Live Sports Updates, latest sports update, sports news headlines, Sports News, Trendingut there was concern over the level of drinking, with England’s professionalism already under question after their limited preparations. “If there’s things where people are saying that our players went out and drank excessively, then of course we’ll be looking into that,” Key told English media in Melbourne ahead of the Boxing Day Test. “Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol for an international cricket team is not something that I’d expect to see at any stage. It would be a fault not to look into what happened there. [But] from everything that I’ve heard so far, they actually were pretty well behaved,” added Key, who did not travel with the team to Noosa. He admitted that he did not mind players having the occasional drink, but “if it goes past that, then that’s an issue as far as I’m concerned. I have no issue with the Noosa trip if it was to get away and just throw your phone away, down tools, go on the beach, all of that stuff. If it goes into where they’re drinking lots and it’s a stag-do, all of that type of stuff, that’s completely unacceptable,” he added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 December,2025 10:00 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPDelhi Capitals on Tuesday appointed India batter Jemimah Rodrigues as captain for the 2026 Women’s Premier League. The 25-year-old played a key role in India’s ICC Women’s World Cup triumph, scoring an unbeaten 127 in a record chase of 339 against Australia in the semi-final. “It is an absolute honour to be named captain, and I am deeply grateful to the owners and support staff for placing their faith in me,” Rodrigues said in a release. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 December,2025 09:54 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIAccusing the Indian players of provocative behaviour during the Under-19 Asia Cup final, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has said that he intends to “formally inform” the ICC about it. Pakistan beat India by 191 runs in the final of the continental tournament in Dubai on Sunday. Players from both sides were seen engaged in verbal altercations during the game and the two teams also did not shake hands before and after the match. “Indian players kept provoking Pakistani players during the Under-19 APCBsia Cup final. Pakistan will formally inform the ICC about the incident. Politics and sports should always be kept separate,” Naqvi said at a reception hosted by PM Shehbaz Sharif. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 December,2025 09:50 AM IST | Karachi | PTIOne of the most successful coaches in domestic cricket, current Madhya Pradesh head coach Chandrakant Pandit and former national selector and ex-India pacer Salil Ankola have welcomed the BCCI’s move to make at least a couple of Vijay Hazare Trophy matches mandatory for Team India’s senior cricketers. With the domestic 50-over tournament starting today, India stalwarts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and batting sensation Abhishek Sharma will be seen in action across different venues. Kohli will be playing for the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi against Andhra at Bengaluru, while Rohit and India’s T20I captain Suryakumar will bat for Shardul Thakur’s Mumbai team against Sikkim at Jaipur. India’s Test and ODI captain Gill and Abhishek will represent Punjab against the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Maharashtra in Jaipur. “It’s a good move that all international players, including India’s stalwarts, are available and keen to play this Vijay Hazare tournament. Naturally, the value of this tournament is very high now. Also, it will give a lot of motivation to all the other players. The sheer presence of players like Virat, Rohit and Shubman will motivate others to give their best as they try and compete. At the same time, these matches will give the international stars some good preparation. For example, someone like Shubman has been failing to score runs at the top level in the recent past, but if he scores here, it will be a good confidence-booster for him,” Pandit told mid-day over the phone from Ahmedabad, where his team will take on Rajasthan on Wednesday. Pandit reckoned these are good times for domestic cricket: “These players are setting a good example for this and the upcoming generation by playing in this tournament. One should never forget where you started playing the game, and by playing this tournament the international players are showing that they haven’t forgotten their roots. This is a good sign for Indian domestic cricket and hopefully, it will continue in future.” Former India pacer Ankola, who was a national selector recently, recalled how his generation of players, including batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, were always eager to play in Mumbai’s local circuit. “In our days, everybody used to play. Right from Sachin to Sanjay [Manjrekar] to Ravi [Shastri]. I remember Sachin never missed Sungrace Mafatlal’s matches. Playing in the nets is one thing and actually playing a match is totally different. To get into the groove, you need match practice. Performance also matters. When you bowl to any player and when you bowl to someone like Rohit or Virat, it’s totally different. It’s a different ball game altogether when the legends of the game are playing,” Ankola concluded. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
24 December,2025 09:45 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh MayureBengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh on Tuesday said that permission has been denied to hold the Vijay Hazare Trophy match at the city’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on December 24, a day after a government appointed committee inspected the facility in light of the June 4 stampede that killed 11 persons during the RCB’s IPL victory celebrations. Matches were stopped at the Chinnaswamy Stadium after a stampede outside it during RCB’s IPL victory celebration. However, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) had sought permission to hold the Vijay Hazare match without spectators. Key matches todayMumbai vs Sikkim (Jaipur)Andhra vs Delhi (Bengaluru)Maharashtra vs Punjab (Jaipur)Jharkhand vs Karnataka (Ahmedabad)Puducherry vs Tamil Nadu (Ahmedabad) This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 December,2025 09:38 AM IST | Bengaluru | PTIThe charismatic presence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma alongside a host of top India cricketers lends unprecedented gravitas to the Vijay Hazare One-Day Trophy beginning on Wednesday, giving all of them a chance to prove a point amid a renewed focus on domestic grind. The velvety tapestry of superstars also features Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Sharma among others but none attracts as much attention as Kohli and Rohit. Their appearance has a direct link to the BCCI’s decision of making at least two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches mandatory for India cricketers. But in case of Kohli, who is playing in this tournament after 15 years, and Rohit, it is a sharp reminder that they are no longer immune to the evolving power equations within Indian cricket. Rohit to play first two games Rohit has made it clear that he will play the first two matches of Mumbai against Sikkim and Uttarakhand in Jaipur on December 24 and 26. Kohli, who has been training with former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar in Mumbai, has not yet decided as to which two or three matches he will play for Delhi. Punjab’s Shubman Gill (left) & Arshdeep Singh Delhi will open their Elite Group D campaign against Andhra in Bengaluru at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE), following which they will face Gujarat. An underwhelming outing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy will not have a say in their selection for the ODIs against New Zealand next month, but Kohli and Rohit would know that the space around them is shrinking. Gill, Pant in focus Pant, a Test certainty, will be eager to bring himself back in contention for white ball formats selection. The wicketkeeper batter has not represented the country in either ODIs or T20Is since August 2024. Gill, on the other hand, will be picking himself up after the selectors’ call to overlook him for the upcoming T20 World Cup. The right-hander will be aiming to vent some of that frustration while turning out for Punjab. For Gill, it will be a good warm-up ahead of next month’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand. Search for young bowlers Another pertinent point could be the interest of selectors in young bowlers in this edition of the tournament, particularly on the pacers.Since Mohammed Siraj came through the Ranji Trophy circuit a few years back, no young talent has been able to produce compelling outings to break into the established Indian pace order. Even the support line — consisting of Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and Akash Deep — has not been consistent enough. In that context, Gurjapneet Singh (Tamil Nadu), Gurnoor Brar (Punjab), Yudhvir Singh (J&K), Anuj Thakral (Haryana) and Sakib Hussain (Bihar) etc will evoke keen interest from the selectors. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 December,2025 09:32 AM IST | Bengaluru | PTIADVERTISEMENT
