The Australian cricket team is going to tour Pakistan for the first time after 1998. Cricket Australia confirmed the news of the away tour on Friday. Australia is visiting Pakistan for Pakistan vs Australia 2022after 24 years on March-April 2022. The team will face each other in a 3-match test series, as many ODI matches, and 1 T20I match.
Cricket Australia said in a statement, "It is the first time since 1998 that the national men's squad will tour Pakistan. CA thanks the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Pakistan and Australian Governments for their support in facilitating this series."
Both the Pakistan Cricket Board and CA shared the final schedule of the tour. A thorough security assessment including a reconnaissance visit made by the Australian officials went through in Pakistan prior to finalizing the venue.
Pakistan vs Australia 2022: Full schedule and fixture
1st Test: March 4-8 at Rawalpindi 2nd Test: March 12-16 at Karachi 3rd Test: March 21-25 at Lahore 1st ODI: March 29 at Rawalpindi 2nd ODI: March 31 at Rawalpindi 3rd ODI: April 2 at Rawalpindi T20I: April 5 at Rawalpindi
Cricket Australia on Friday announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming Women's ODI World Cup 2025. The Australian team will enter the World Cup under the leadership of experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Alyssa Healy. Left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux and allrounder Georgia Wareham have returned to the squad after recovering from injury.
The seven-time champion Australia is also the defending champion and will look to maintain its dominance in the upcoming competition. This tournament will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from September 30 to November 2.
Sophie Molineux has been out since January due to a knee injury. However, she will not be able to play in the three-match ODI series against India from 14 to 20 September. Darcie Brown and Georgia Wareham also returned to the squad from recent injuries.
Ten of the 15 members named featured in the previous edition of the tournament back in 2022, with skipper Alyssa Healy taking charge of the squad in her third Cricket World Cup.
Australia to begin campaign on October 1
The Australia also includes 10 players who were also part of the last tournament played in 2022. This team also includes experienced players like Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Tahlia McGrath and Ash Gardner. Australia will begin its campaign against New Zealand in Indore on October 1.
Australia will finalise its preparations for the mega event with three ODIs against hosts India from September 14-20 in New Chandigarh and New Dehli, before opening its Women's ODI World Cup 2025 campaign.
Australia will face each of the other seven nations across the round-robin format, with the top four sides progressing to the semi-finals on October 29 and 30. The Final will be played November 2.
Joe Root scored his 38th Test Century on the third day of the fourth Test between England and India in Manchester. He is now the batsman with the most test centuries for England.
The Nation England has produced some extraordinary Batsmen in Cricket. They have impressed Cricket fans from all over the world with their achievements and glory. The test is considered the Best Format in Cricket. England has & had some players who are the best among many in the world of Test Cricket. Sir Jack Hobbs is considered the Best Test Batsman for England in Tests. He has scored 5410 runs in just 102 innings with 15 centuries and 28 half-centuries.
In recent times of greats, Joe Root has proven himself one of the greatest if not the greatest for England in Test Format as he has every right due to his achievements. Now, Let's give a look at the list of the Top 5 Batsmen with the most test centuries for England.
Top 5 Batsmen with the Most Test Centuries for England:
1. Joe Root | 38 Centuries
England batter Joe Root has written his name in the history books for England in Test Format by bringing up his 38th Test hundred on the third day of the fourth Test between England and India in Manchester. With this century, Root also climbed to second on the all time list of Test run-scorers. Moreover, he also overtook Graham Gooch as the highest run-scorer at Lord's in international cricket.
Root made his debut in 2012 against team India and since then he has played 157* test matches. He has scored 13,409 runs with an average of 51.17.
2. Alastair Cook | 33 Centuries
Image - ICC
Alastair Cook was one of the greats in Test Cricket of his generation. He made his debut against India in 2006 for the national team in Test Cricket. Cook played 161 Test matches in which he batted 291 innings. He scored 12,472 runs with an average of 45.35. His highest score was 294 and he made 33 centuries and 57 half-centuries for his team. Cook played his last Test Match against India in 2018.
Kevin Pietersen has proved himself across every format for England. He made his Test debut in 2005 against the Australian side at Lords. Pietersen played 104 test matches, in which he scored 8181 runs with an average of 47.29. He played his last test match against Australia in 2014. Kevin Pietersen is third on the list with 23 Centuries.
The judgment of cricket history is that the greatest batsmen the game has known are - WG Grace, Jack Hobbs, Walter Hammond, and Don Bradman. Others may come close indeed to those four but do not quite take place with them. Hammond made his test debut against South Africa in 1927. He played 85 test matches and scored 7249 runs with an average of 58.45. He is 4th on the list with 22 test centuries. The Great Walter Hammond played his last Test match against New Zealand in 1947.
Colin Cowdrey mostly known as Michael Cowdrey played Cricket for 21 years, One of the most durable batsmen in the history of Test Cricket. Cowdrey made his test debut in 1954 against the Aussies and played 114 matches, scoring 7624 runs with an average of 44.06. He is 5th on the list with the same no as Wally Hammond, 22 centuries. Michael Cowdrey played his last test match in 1975 against the Australian side.
Top 10 Players with the Most Centuries in Test Cricket for England:
5 wickets in 15 balls! Mitchell Starc creates record for the fastest five-wicket haul in test cricket
Aussie left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc took five wickets in just 15 balls to create the record for the fastest five-wicket haul in test cricket history. Starc created this record on his 100th test match during the WI vs AUS third test.
On his 100th test, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc created a record which would be very hard to break in future. During the second innings of the pink-ball test between West Indies and Australia in Kingston, Starc registered his 16th five-wicket haul in test cricket in just 15 balls.
In doing that, he broke the record for the fastest five-wicket haul (from the start of bowling innings) in test cricket history, breaking Ernie Toshack, Stuart Broad and Scott Boland's previous record of 19 balls.
Starc's record-breaking five-wicket haul in 15 balls
Here is how Mitchell Starc broke the record for the fastest five-wicket haul in test cricket history.
1st wicket: 1st ball - John Campbell
Starc after removing John Campbell on the first ball. Image | Associated Press
Starc dismissed John Campbell with a beautiful outswinger in the first ball of the second inning. The ball moved a bit, and it was enough to produce an edge to substitute wicket-keeper Josh Inglish.
2nd wicket: 5th ball - Kevlon Anderson
In the fifth ball of the first over, Kevlon Anderson left a delivery from Starc, who was able to make the ball come in sharply. The ball hit the pad, and the umpire was not hesitant to rule him out, as Kevlon Anderson did not offer any shot. Although he took the DRS, only to be proven wrong by the review.
3rd wicket: 6th ball - Brandon King
It was a typical Mitchell Starc dismissal. Brandon King was bamboozled by a big inswinging delivery from Starc.
King went for a big drive through the long off region, but the ball came back sharply to go through his bat and pad and took an inside edge before hitting the stumps.
Starc had three wickets in his and Australia's first over.
Starc celebrates after taking his 400th test wicket. Image | Associated Press vis ESPN Cricinfo
Although West Indies batters were able to play out Starc's second over, the left-arm pacer struck in the first ball of his third over.
Another big inswinging delivery at 142.4 kmph, and Mikyle Louis did not have any answer to that. Louis lounged into a big defence, but the ball came back in sharply and went on to hit the front of his back pad, in front of the middle.
The right-handed batter did not even wait for the umpire's decision and started walking back.
That was Starc's 400th test wicket. He is only the second left-arm pacer ever to take 400 test wickets. Only Wasim Akram is ahead of him at the moment with 419 test wickets.
5th wicket: 15th ball - Shai Hope
Starc left the field on a standing ovation by the Aussie teammates during the tea break. Image | X
Two balls later, Starc got Shai Hope out with the same formula.
Hope did not know which way the ball was going and had his weight on the back foot. He was late before the inswinger hit his front pad.
Hope went for the DRS, only to know that the ball was crushing the middle of leg stump.
After the 15th ball, Starc's bowling figure showed 2.3-2-2-5.
Fastest five-wicket hauls (from the start of bowling innings) in test cricket
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell announced his retirement from ODI cricket on Monday, ending his 13-year-long ODI career. However, he will continue to play T20I cricket. Maxwell has taken this decision to prioritise the T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka in 2026, the Big Bash League and his other global cricket.
Let's take a look at all the records of Glenn Maxwell in ODI cricket.
Maxwell's ODI career
Glenn Maxwell scored 3,990 runs in his ODI career at an average of 33.81, with his highest score being 201 not out. He scored four centuries and 23 half-centuries. In bowling, he took 77 wickets at an average of 47.32, with his best performance being 4/40. Maxwell played 149 ODIs for Australia.
In the 2023 World Cup, Maxwell made the record for scoring the fastest century in World Cup history by scoring a century in just 40 balls against the Netherlands. Apart from this, he also created a stir in the cricket world by playing an innings of 201 runs against Afghanistan.
All the records of Glenn Maxwell in ODI cricket
Highest Individual score in an ODI run-chase: Glenn Maxwell scored an unbeaten 201 in the 292-run chase against Afghanistan during the World Cup 2023. This is the highest individual score by any batter in a run chase in ODIs. He also became the first ever Australian player to score a double-century in the format.
Fastest ODI century for Australia: Glenn Maxwell smashed a century off just 40 balls against the Netherlands at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi during the World Cup in 2023. This is the fastest century for Australia in their ODI cricket history.
Highest career strike-rate: Glenn Maxwell retires from ODIs with a career strike-rate of 126.70, the highest for any player in the world who has played 100 or more ODIs. Among all players, Maxwell finishes with the second highest strike rate with Andre Russell on top, who strikes at 130.22 in 56 ODIs.
Most centuries in the World Cup while batting at no.5 or below: Glenn Maxwell scored three centuries in the World Cup during his illustrious ODI career. These are the most for any batter in World Cup history while batting at no.5 or below.
Second fastest double century in ODIs: Glenn Maxwell smashed the second-fastest double century in ODIs. He reached the 200-run mark against Afghanistan in World Cup off just 128 balls with the fastest being from 126 balls by Ishan Kishan against Bangladesh in 2022.
Third most sixes in World Cup history: Glenn Maxwell finished his career with 43 sixes in the World Cup, the third most behind Rohit Sharma and Chris Gayle. During the World Cup in 2023, he went past David Warner to become the leading six-hitter for Australia in the format.
Second most sixes for Australia in ODIs: Glenn Maxwell finished with 155 sixes in ODIs, second most maximums for Australia in the format, only behind Ricky Ponting who smacked 159 sixes.
PSL Players' Terror in Pakistan: Daryl Mitchell Vows Never to Return, Curran Breaks Down after reaching Dubai
New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell promised he will never go back to return after reaching Dubai from Pakistan. Sam Billings, Daryl Mitchell, Kushal Perera, David Wiese, and Tom Curran were all with him on the flight.
In a dramatic turn of events, overseas players in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) faced harrowing experiences due to escalating military tensions between India and Pakistan, leading to the indefinite postponement of the tournament.
The crisis, sparked by India’s strategic response to a terror attack in Palalgam on May 7, 2025, which claimed 26 civilian lives, left players like New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell vowing never to return to Pakistan and England’s Tom Curran in tears after a close call at the airport.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) initially planned to relocate the remaining PSL matches to the UAE after tensions escalated. However, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) rejected the proposal, leaving the PCB with no choice but to cancel the tournament.
Overseas players were swiftly evacuated to Dubai via charter flights, from where they caught connecting flights to their home countries. Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, part of the Lahore Qalandars squad, recounted the terrifying ordeal, revealing that the airport they departed from was struck by a missile just 20 minutes after their plane took off.
“After landing in Dubai, we heard that a missile struck the airport 20 minutes after we left. The news was scary and sorrowful, but we felt relieved to be safe in Dubai,” Rishad told Cricbuzz.
Rishad shared the palpable fear among foreign players, including Sam Billings, Daryl Mitchell, Kushal Perera, David Wiese, and Tom Curran.
“Landing in Dubai, Mitchell told me he would never go to Pakistan again, especially in this kind of scenario. They were all horrified,” Rishad said.
Recounting Tom Curran’s emotional breakdown, Rishad added, “Tom went to the airport, but heard it was closed. He started crying like a little child, and it took two or three people to console him.”
Rishad also spoke about the anxiety his family felt during the crisis. “Whenever I play, my family worries about the situation. When they heard about the bomb blasts and missile strikes in Pakistan, they were naturally tense. I tried to console them and assure them I was safe,” he said.
PCB’s Failed Attempt to Salvage the Tournament
According to Rishad, the PCB chairman attempted to convince players to continue the tournament in Karachi, downplaying the severity of the situation.
“The chairman tried to hide that there were two drone attacks the day before, which we later learned about. Almost all foreign players agreed that Dubai was the only safe option,” Rishad revealed.
The PCB eventually facilitated the players’ safe evacuation to Dubai, a move Rishad credited to the board’s efforts. “Thanks to the PCB chairman and the Pakistan Cricket Board, we reached Dubai safely by the grace of Almighty Allah,” he said.
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