Cricket
ESPNcricinfo staff 3y

In Case You Missed It: Pakistan face another snub, Australia women clinch-last ball thriller

Cricket

It hasn't been a good week for Pakistan, whose international home season was left in disarray after England, to much censure, followed New Zealand in pulling out of their limited-overs tour. The second leg of the IPL kicked off, and there have already been some cracking matches, including a spectacular last-over defence by Rajasthan Royals against Punjab Kings. England continue to assert their dominance over New Zealand in the women's ODI series, while India Women look to level the series against Australia. Catch up on a busy week of cricket with our round-up.

England withdraw from October tours to Pakistan
After New Zealand's withdrawal from the Pakistan tour minutes before the first game was to begin, England pulled out of their upcoming tour, with the ECB citing player and staff wel-lbeing and "increasing concerns about travelling to the region", despite the UK government issuing no change in the travel advisory for Pakistan. It's a slap to Pakistan's face, says Osman Samiuddin, especially since Pakistan have toured the world more than any other team since the pandemic began, hoping for reciprocity, which hasn't materialised. George Dobell sees the ECB's hypocrisy and double standards fast losing them friends. No-ball drama, Beth Mooney's 125*, Australia's epic victory
The second ODI brought all the drama, with India thinking they won it off the last ball, only for it to be ruled a no-ball.

Heather Knight ton hands England victory for unassailable 3-1 series lead
England took the lead in the ODI series after the captain scored 101 to lead the hosts to their highest successful ODI chase.

Was it Kohli's own decision to give up India's T20I captaincy? Is Dhoni part of a larger plan?
Last week the India captain announced his decision to step down after the T20 World Cup, which raised several questions. Nagraj Gollapudi attempts to answer some of them.

How do batters train for the demands of T20?
Tim Wigmore dives deep into the science behind modern T20 batting, with Liam Livingstone, Fabian Allen, Kane Williamson, Faf du Plessis and others talking about the work that goes into the big hits.

Five talking points about South Africa's new domestic structure
South Africa's domestic structure has had a complete overhaul, with the franchise system phased out and many new changes introduced. Firdose Moonda has the breakdown.

Red-hot Lewis, Livingstone 2.0, prolific Hasaranga: IPL 2021's (relative) fresh faces in focus
The IPL is back for the second time this year and the teams are looking a bit different than they did in the first leg. Saurabh Somani has the cheat sheet to the new and not-so-new faces you'll see in this round.

Marcus Stoinis: 'Over the next three years I want to be the best finisher in the world'
Alex Malcolm speaks to the Australia allrounder, whose ambitions might seem lofty but he's been putting in the hard yards to achieve them - for Delhi Capitals in the IPL to start with.

Sanju Samson: 'The brand of cricket I want Rajasthan Royals to play is to fight and succeed'
In the first of his IPL diaries, the Royals captain looks ahead to the second half of the season.

What is the closest Test series ever played, by average runs per wicket scored by each team?
And how many players have lost a Test in which they scored a century in each innings? Steven Lynch has the answers to these and more.

Why replacing the toss with an auction is the fair thing to do
Gaurav Sood and Derek Willis on the impact and fairness of the toss and how it doesn't work at giving both teams an equitable shot at winning a game.

Watch: 25 Questions with Krunal Pandya
Who are the best dancers in the Mumbai Indians side? And who talks the most in the Indian dressing room?

On The Ball with Muthiah Muralidaran
The former Sri Lanka spinner talks to Aakash Chopra about what makes Afghanistan and Sunrises Hyderabad leggie Rashid Khan so special.

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