Welcome to Tuesday’s live cricket blog.
The Sport360 team is in place bringing you the latest news from around the world as we follow and build up to some big matches.
We will be bringing you all the reactions from the first Test between Pakistan and New Zealand following its dramatic conclusion on Monday. We will also be looking ahead to the three-match T20 series between Australia and India which gets underway at Brisbane on Wednesday.
As always, get in touch with us through Facebook and Twitter.
4:00pm – Lahore Qalandars land AB de Villiers in PSL 4 draft
The player draft for the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was held at Islamabad on Tuesday with Lahore Qalandars landing the big fish AB de Villiers.
The South African stalwart was the headline act in the player draft and it was the Lahore franchise that got their hands on him in a Platinum Category pick.
Read more on who joined whom in the player draft here.
AB ed Villiers will turn out for the Lahore Qalandars.
2:00pm – Virat Kohli refusing to take Australia lightly
India skipper Virat Kohli will not be taking Australia lightly despite the hosts missing the services of key batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner who continue to serve their one-year bans from international and domestic cricket.
Australia and India are set to lock horns in the first T20 at Brisbane on Wednesday and Kohli believes the hosts have enough firepower to cause his sides all kinds of troubles despite the absence of Smith and Warner.
Read what Kohli and Australia skipper Aaron Finch had to say ahead of the clash here.
The two captains: Virat Kohli and Aaron Finch.
1:00pm – Misbah-ul-Haq turns down Islamabad United mentor role
Misbah-ul-Haq will no longer be a part of Islamabad United with the former skipper now set to take part as an active player in the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League(PSL).
The veteran batsman had an agreement with the Islamabad franchise to become the team’s mentor for the upcoming edition but has now backtracked on it in a bid to continue his playing career.
Read more on this story here.
Misbah (r) is looking to continue as an active player in the PSL.
12:00pm – Rohit Sharma on verge of milestone
India’s two-month long tour of Australia begins in earnest on Wednesday at Brisbane as Virat Kohli and his men get ready to take on the hosts in the first of the three T20s.
As the two heavyweights get ready to lock horns, we have taken a look at the key talking points ahead of the clash. Among them is Rohit Sharma sitting on verge of a couple of personal milestones.
Read that and more in our talking points here.
Rohit Sharma is enjoying a purple patch with the bat.
8:30am – Cricket Australia uphold Steve Smith, David Warner bans
Steve Smith and David Warner will not make a premature return to domestic cricket after their one-year bans for ball tampering were upheld by Cricket Australia (CA) on Tuesday.
The Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) had called on Cricket Australia to immediately overturn the bans handed to Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft, arguing that the players had already been ‘punished enough’.
Read more on this breaking story here.
Warner and Smith’s one-year bans will be upheld.
8:00am – Sarfraz Ahmed laments Pakistan’s poor shot selection
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed has blamed his batsmen’s poor shot selection as the reason for the side’s four-run loss to New Zealand in the opening Test at Abu Dhabi.
Chasing 176 for victory in the second innings, Pakistan were cruising at 130-3 with Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq going strong at the crease. However, the Kiwis scripted a dramatic turnaround led by left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel to take the honours at Abu Dhabi.
Read Sarfraz’s quotes in full here.
Plenty of disappointment for the Pakistan skipper.
