Good morning cricket fans, and welcome to Saturday’s live cricket blog.
The Sport360 team is in place bringing you the latest cricket news from around the world including India’s warm-up clash against Cricket Australia XI at Sydney. We will also be looking ahead to the deciding Test between Pakistan and New Zealand.
9:30 pm – Hales sets T10 record
Alex Hales set a new benchmark for the highest individual score in the T10 League in Sharjah, just 24 hours after England team-mate Jonny Bairstow raised the bar.
The 29-year-old opener hit six fours and eight sixes in his unbeaten knock of 87 from 32 balls for Maratha Arabians.
Read more here.
6:30 pm – Praise for T10 League
His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and Chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board, lauded the rise in popularity of the T10 League after enjoying the action at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Read the full story here.
5:30pm – Shahid Afridi show powers Pakhtoons to T10 final
Pakistan icon and T10 League side Pakhtoons captain Shahid Afridi came up with a match-winning effort in the first Qualifier in Sharjah on Saturday.
Read more on Afridi’s display in our match report here.
5:00pm – Murali Vijay raring to go in Adelaide against Australia
Veteran opening batsman Murali Vijay is raring to go in the opening Test against Australia at Adelaide after striking a quick-fire ton in India’s drawn tour game against a Cricket Australia XI at Sydney.
Vijay slammed a 132-ball 129 in India’s second innings on Saturday with the help of 16 boundaries and five sixes. T
Read Vijay’s quotes here.
4:00pm – Stage set for Shaheen Afridi’s Pakistan Test debut
The three-match series between Pakistan and New Zealand is perfectly poised at 1-1 as the two teams head to Abu Dhabi for the deciding Test which gets underway on Monday.
With Mohammad Abbas injured, Pakistan could hand a Test debut to teenage pacer Shaheen Afridi who has been going from strength to strength in the limited-overs formats.
That, and more, is among our talking points ahead of the clash here.
1:30pm – Afghanistan and Ireland to meet in one-off Test in March 2019
Ireland and Afghanistan will square off in a one-off Test match in India in March next year in what will be the first ever overseas Test for the Irish.
Cricket Ireland on Friday made the announcement as they confirmed their itinerary for the clashes against Afghanistan, set to get under way at the end of February next year.
Read more on this developing story here.
1:00pm -Shahid Afridi champions the virtues of T10 League
Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi believes the T10 format could be cricket’s route to the Olympic Games.
The veteran is currently representing the Pakhtoons franchise in the second edition of the T10 League in the UAE and feels that the format has come on leaps and bounds since its introduction.
Read what Afridi had to say about T10 cricket’s viability for the Olympics here.
11:30am – Murali Vijay registers ton as India draw tour game
A century from opening batsman Murali Vijay was the highlight of the day for India as their tour match against a Cricket Australia XI in Sydney ended in a draw on Saturday.
India’s bowlers were once again given a workaround by CA XI batsmen on the final day at the Sydney Cricket Ground with wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen bringing up a fine century.
Read more on the drawn game in our report here. We have also taken a look at the three major things learned for India from the drawn game. See our analysis here.
10:30am – Fakhar Zaman a doubt for Pakistan’s tour of South Africa
In what will come as a major setback for Pakistan, opening batsman Fakhar Zaman has reportedly been ruled out of the opening Test against South Africa at Centurion which gets under way on Boxing Day.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the explosive left-hander is set to be ruled out for at least three to five weeks after aggravating his knee injury in the T20 series against Australia.
Read more on this breaking story here.
10:00am – Dhawan among possible replacements for injured Shaw
With just a week to go until the opening Test between Australia and India gets underway at the Adelaide Oval, the visitors have been dealt a severe blow with Prithvi Shaw ruled out due to an ankle injury.
With Shaw now ruled out, India have a big question mark hanging over the opening slots for the Adelaide Test. Here, we analyse the various options at India’s disposal including a possible Test recall for Shikhar Dhawan.