All posts tagged: Ball

Brendon McCullum steps down as England Test coach, set to continue in white ball formats

Brendon McCullum steps down as England Test coach, set to continue in white ball formats

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Jul 12, 2026 06:50 PM IST The England and Wales Cricket Board on Sunday confirmed that Brendon McCullum will step down as the head coach of the England Test team. He will, however, continue to lead the white ball teams, the release confirmed. “I’ve absolutely loved coaching the Test side and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together. There’ve been some unbelievable highs and a few tough days along the way, but that’s all part of taking on a challenge like this. It’s been a privilege and an honour, and I’m grateful. Grateful to the players, the staff and the fans who supported us on the journey,” McCullum said via he same release. “Of course I’m gutted not to be continuing, but I respect the decision. My focus now is on giving everything I’ve got to the White Ball teams and helping England keep moving forward. I wish the Test team nothing but success. There’s a hell of a lot of talent in that dressing room and they’re a special bunch …

Another Indo-Canadian arrested in Operation Hard Ball

Another Indo-Canadian arrested in Operation Hard Ball

Published by Parlour News

Enforcement action related to Operation Hard Ball has continued with a Canada-based gangster of Indian origin taken into custody in France. Another Indo-Canadian arrested in Operation Hard Ball The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed on Friday that 40-year-old Garinder Deo was arrested on July 7 after the United States Department of Justice announced the outcome of the operation which led to charges being filed against 37 individuals, including Lawrence Bishnoi and his former lieutenant in North America, Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar. Deo was named in the indictment against the Bhagwanpuria gang and is the fourth Canadian to be arrested under the sprawling investigation which spanned the United States, Canada and Europe. Also known as Doctor, Rocket, and Ritz Carlton, the Vancouver resident, though not charged as a member or associate of the criminal group, “allegedly helped enrich the group by purchasing bulk quantities of cocaine and heroin that were to be shipped from Southern California to the eastern United States with the assistance of members and associates of the Bhagwanpuria enterprise,” the indictment …

Operation Hard Ball: 24 with links to India-based gangs arrested in US, Canada, Europe

Operation Hard Ball: 24 with links to India-based gangs arrested in US, Canada, Europe

Published by Parlour News

Law enforcement authorities in America, Canada and Europe announced the arrests of 24 individuals with links to India-based transnational organised crime groups for criminal acts like racketeering, shootings, extortion and even the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Three defendants have been arrested in Canada, one defendant was arrested in Spain, and seven defendants already were in custody prior to today’s law enforcement operation. (X/FBILosAngeles) In total, 37 individuals have been charged with a number of offences, including gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently imprisoned in India. A statement from the US Attorney’s office in Los Angeles alleges that Bishnoi and his lieutenants directed a transnational organised crime group from his jail cell “using contraband cellphones and other voice-over internet protocol devices smuggled into his jail cell” and charges them directly with ordering the assassination of Nijjar. The arrests came after a years-long investigation into the activities of organised crime groups with links to India, the authorities said. “Today’s law enforcement action – “Operation Hard Ball” – is the result of a years-long …

England’s short ball ploy pays off against Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

England’s short ball ploy pays off against Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Published by Webster

3 min readJul 4, 2026 08:12 PM IST England had a plan. They may have been in all sorts of turmoil in recent times, but they had done their homework on the youngest-ever cricketer to represent India. “We have some tactical decisions. Just a matter of executing now,” captain Harry Brook said at the toss about their ploy to keep Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in check on his international debut. Sooryavanshi’s debut seemed an inevitability at Manchester, considering the form — or the abject lack of it — of Sanju Samson in the last three matches. Anticipating the move, England had devised a plan against Sooryavanshi. Not that plans always work against the youngster, but today, they did as he only scored a 10-ball 14. England peppered the prodigy with short balls. Every delivery came with a disclaimer: age is of little relevance in the big boys’ club. Sooryavanshi swung and missed the first two deliveries he faced off Josh Tongue. His maiden international run was almost anti-climactic to the build-up: an inside-edged single while trying to …

Pathan points out a technical flaw in Samson’s batting: ‘Take the ball away…’ | Cricket News

Pathan points out a technical flaw in Samson’s batting: ‘Take the ball away…’ | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readJul 2, 2026 01:55 PM IST Sanju Samson has had a fruitful T20 World Cup 2026 and Indian Premier League seasons for the Chennai Super Kings, but his form in Indian colours has been poor after that, with three low scores in a row. Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan pointed out a technical flaw in Samson’s game, saying that if the ball is bowled outside the off-stump, there is a chance of dismissing the Kerala batter. “You want to take the ball away from Sanju Samson. Even if you don’t take the ball away, you want to keep the line outside the off-stump because his bat face remains closed. When his bat face is closed and he tries to play on the off-side, the bat face opens up at times,” Pathan said on Jiohotstar. In the first T20I against Ireland, Samson tried to drive the ball on the up through the covers and inside-edged it onto the stumps; in the second game, he was beaten by a delivery that came back. In the …

Why India started their innings with 5/0 before a ball was bowled in Chepauk ODI

Why India started their innings with 5/0 before a ball was bowled in Chepauk ODI

Published by Webster

2 min readJun 20, 2026 05:46 PM IST The Indian innings began with 5/0 on the board, even before openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal had faced a single delivery in the second innings of the third ODI against Afghanistan at Chepauk on Sunday. This unusual start came after India were awarded five penalty runs following a mistake by Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi in the first innings. Shahidi, whose rearguard effort took Afghanistan to a respectable total, was penalised for running on the restricted area of the pitch. It was the last delivery of the 40th over when Shahidi breached the restricted area for the second time. On-field umpires Chris Gaffaney and Rohan Pandit noted the infringement, disallowed the single he had taken, and handed five penalty runs to India. What does the rule say? Under Law 41.14 of the MCC Laws of Cricket, batters are penalised if they run on the “protected area”, a 5-foot by 2-foot zone in the centre of the pitch. The batting side receives one official warning for a first …

Messi sends hat-trick ball to his Barcelona home collection

Messi sends hat-trick ball to his Barcelona home collection

Published by Webster

2 min readJun 18, 2026 10:14 PM IST Lionel Messi kept the match ball after scoring a hat trick in Argentina’s World Cup opener against Algeria and plans to have it signed by his teammates before adding it to his personal collection at his home near Barcelona, according to Argentine newspaper Clarín. Argentina kit staff retrieved the ball after the final whistle, and Argentine Football Association president Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia personally carried it out of the stadium shortly before midnight in Kansas City. Messi’s wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, and sons Thiago, Mateo and Ciro watched the match from the stands. The following morning, Argentina’s squad held a recovery-focused training session in Kansas City. Clarín reported that Messi was among a group of regular starters who remained on the field with recovery staff, alongside Rodrigo De Paul, Cristian “Cuti” Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Lautaro Martínez and Thiago Almada after logging heavy minutes against Algeria. Players who saw less action in the opener completed a more demanding workout that included small-sided possession drills, pressing exercises and a game of …

Star-studded England left with one ball and no shoes as theft hits FIFA World Cup camp | Football News

Star-studded England left with one ball and no shoes as theft hits FIFA World Cup camp | Football News

Published by Webster

2 min readUpdated: Jun 13, 2026 02:42 PM IST England are just about four days away from starting their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a match against Croatia in a rematch of the 2018 semi-final, but they have been left without any boots to wear for the match! The Football Association are scampering to procure equipment, including the players’ match shoes, with the vehicles transferring them to their Swope Soccer Village base in Kansas City being broken into. The heist has reportedly left England, who boast some of the most prominent names in the sport in their lineup, with just one football remaining for training. Thomas Tuchel and his squad are scheduled to arrive at the in Kansas City on Saturday afternoon and the equipment was due to be in place beforehand, according to BBC Sport. They are scheduled to have their first full training session at the site on Sunday and the theft could disrupt some of these plans. Among other items being transported from Florida were analysis equipment, tactical whiteboards and massage …

Giant-killers with white ball, Afghanistan aim to impress in rare Test foray

Giant-killers with white ball, Afghanistan aim to impress in rare Test foray

Published by Webster

Rais Ahmadzai remembers a “long, long drive” with his young Afghan teammates in Zimbabwe from well over a decade ago, as if it were yesterday. It was August 2009. Hopping on what he now recollects was a small van, Ahmadzai and the Afghanistan cricket team were travelling 250 kilometres from Harare, chasing history. Nerves jangling, they were approaching something they had never really prepared for before — all-white kits, a red cricket ball, and the status of First-Class cricketers awaiting at the Mutare Sports Club. “I was so excited to wear a white kit, to have the white floppy on my head,” Ahmadzai, now head coach of the Afghanistan A and U-19 teams, tells The Indian Express from Kabul. “I remember us talking in the van… that at the end of the match, our cricket profiles on the internet would recognise us as First-Class cricketers,” he recounts. Novices in the longer format, Afghanistan walked away with a draw against a stronger Zimbabwe XI, though Ahmadzai now scoffs at their unlettered approach on debut. “We had …

Teams can shift from red ball to pink in Test to deal with bad light

Teams can shift from red ball to pink in Test to deal with bad light

Published by Parlour News

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved the trial run for a switch from red ball to pink ball midway through a Test deal with the issue of bad light reducing playing time. Both teams would have to agree before the start of the game to the change in the colour of the ball if the weather dictated so and play under lights. The ICC board approved the recommendations of its Chief Executives Committee during the meeting in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The proposal to use different balls during a Test was among the many that the ICC board has approved. So far in Test matches, teams can either use the red ball or pink. The pink ball was first used in a day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide in 2015. Though Australia continues to host a day-night almost every season Down Under, the innovation hasn’t taken off in other parts of the world. India hasn’t hosted a day-night Test since the game against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in 2022. England, another venue …