England won ICC World Cup 2019

In the grand finale of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, England Cricket team defeated New Zealand Cricket Team in the Super over thriller to lift their maiden World Cup title at the Lord’s cricket stadium in London.

Batting first after winning the toss, New Zealand had posted 241/8 in 50 overs in reply to which, England ended at the same score leading to the one-over eliminator at the Lord's. In the Super Over, England batted first, and the duo of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler made 15 runs, and New Zealand also ended at the same score but for the loss of one wicket, paving the way for an English victory on boundary count.

It was nothing less than sheer magic as the match kept tilting in the favour of England and New Zealand throughout the final overs, but eventually it was England whose 44-year-long longing ended on a Super Over, that too, on boundary count as England had 22 fours and two sixes compared to 16 by New Zealand.

Earlier, Ben Stokes was England's last hope in taking the team home as England needed 15 runs in the last over, Stokes played two dots and then smoked Boult over deep mid-wicket for six, then got a lucky overthrow while running a double that fetched them six runs --- that was the biggest highlight and that paved that way for England to reach the magic number. Kane Williamson won Man of the tournament award, Rohit Sharma won the golden bat and Mitchell Starc won the Golden ball in the tournament.

Comilla Victorians won BPL 2019

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal came up with one of the most eye-catching T20 innings in the Final of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2019. Tamim heroics with the bat in Dhaka helped Comilla Victorians beat three time champions Dhaka Dynamites by 17 runs and win their second title.

Tamim had been struggling for form in the lead up to the final but he stepped up on the big night and broke an array of records as he took the Dhaka Dynamites attack to the cleaners. Tamim hit an unbeaten 141 from just 61 balls, his first century in the BPL that had 11 sixes and 10 boundaries. Tamim 141 was the second highest score in a T20 tournament final and it helped the Imrul Kayes-led Comilla Victorians post 199. He also became the first Bangladesh batsman to hit more than 10 sixes in a T20 match.

Even as his much-fancied teammates were struggling to put bat to ball on a tricky Mirpur wicket, Tamim was hitting the big ones at will. Tamim showed little respect to the likes of Andre Russel, Shakib Al Hasan and Rubel Hossain as he scored heavily against the big boys of Dhaka Dynamites. Dhaka Dynamites looked like they would render Tamim special knock in vain when Upul Tharanga and Rony Talukdar took on the Victorians' bowling attack after Sunil Narine was run out in the very first ball of their 200-run chase.

Tharanga and Talukdar stitched a 102-run stand in just 8.4 overs before Thisara Perera got the wicket of his Sri Lankan teammate with a slower ball. Once the big partnership was broken, the Dynamites imploded as the likes of Shakib, Andre Russel, and Kieron Pollard were dismissed cheaply. Talukdar looked to keep the Dynamites in the hunt but he was run out (for 66 off 38 balls) after a mix-up with Pollard in the middle.

The Dynamites felt the pressure of chasing a big total in the final as their seasoned campaigners, including the likes of Shakib, Pollard and Russell, were unable to get going. Wahab Riaz shone for the champions with figures of 3/28 while Mohammad Saifuddin and Thisara Perera picked up two wickets each. There were a couple of costly run outs that brought the downfall of the Dynamites.

Cricket Weekly

In the first week of Cricket around the world, matches were played with different teams in different countries. Sri Lanka toured New Zealand, West Indies toured Australia, England touring South Africa, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are playing in UAE, and Big Bash league in Australia.

Sri Lanka lost Test Cricket & ODI cricket series in New Zealand. Both series were dominated by New Zealand in form batsman Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson. Sri Lanka tried best to give good challenge but team without retired legends is still looking for good combination of players. In another Australia remain unbeaten this year in test cricket and their complete team work won test cricket series against West Indies.

Australian Openers, captain and their bowlers are in tremendous form and players in all three cricket formats are in good form. England cricket team is showing a winning determination in South Africa to win Test cricket series. Ben stokes created records in second test match. England won the first test match and now lead the series. South African Skipper has stepped down as Captain.

Afghanistan won ODI cricket series against Zimbabwe in UAE in a thrilling finish in last match. They now are close to win T20 Series too if they win last match. In Big bash League; Adelaide Strikers is on top now followed by Perth scorchers, Melbourne Stars, and Sydney Thunder. In coming week, Pakistan will tour New Zealand for T20 and ODI series. India will tour Australia for T20 and ODI series. 

The Ashes

The Ashes is a test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term was originated in a British Newspaper immediately after Australia 1882 victory at the Oval, their first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English Cricket had died and the body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia. The mythical ashes immediately became associated with 1882-83 series played in Australia, before which the English Captain Ivo Bligh had vowed to regain those Ashes.

After England had won two of the three tests on the tour, a small urn was presented to Bligh. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the Ashes of a wooden bail and were humorously described as Ashes of Australian Cricket. An Ashes series is traditionally of five tests, hosted in turn by Australia and England. Australia is the current holder, having won all of five tests. Out of 68 Ashes Series played, 32 are won by Australia & 31 by England and 5 remain as draw.

The 2015 Ashes series is hosted by England. In Last five Ashes encounters, three series are won by England. In overall, 320 Tests matches had been played out of which 128 are won by England and 103 by England. Rest of the test matches resulted in a draw. Don Bradman is the highest run maker in Ashes. Out of 37 matches he hit 19 centuries and scored more than 5000 runs at an average of 89 which is a record. Shane Warne had played Ashes for 14 years and taken 195 wickets which is a record.

In the current series, key players from Australia are Steven Smith, Michael Clarke, Mitchell Starc, Chris Rogers, and Mitchell Johnson. From England key players are Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Moen Ali, Alastair Cook, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes. The last time Australia had won Ashes in England was in back 2001, when they won Ashes by 4-1. Since then Australia had never won Ashes in England. They will try to break this streak in this year while England will play to regain their lost momentum and revenge last Ashes Clean Sweep. Stay tuned for the result.

The Wisden Trophy

The Wisden trophy is named after the famous cricketing publisher Wisden and was presented by John Wisden and Co. It is awarded to the winner of the Test Cricket Series played between England and West Indies. It was first awarded in 1963. If the series is drawn then the country holding the Wisden trophy retains it. The Wisden Trophy is presented to the victorious team as a symbol of victory, but then returns to the MCC Museum at Lords.

England currently holds the trophy. They held the trophy for nine years, after beating the West Indies 3-1 to regain it in 2000. They successfully defended the trophy three times. West Indies regain the trophy in the most recent series in the West Indies, winning 1-0 in early 2009. It was originally planned to consist of four test matches. Currently, Wisden trophy tournament is going on in England with English country leading the series with 1-0. Last match will start from May 1, 2015.

In overall 111 Test matches had been played between West Indies and England in Wisden Trophy with West Indies winning maximum number of matches. They won 43 matches and England has won 31 matches. Series is been hold by West Indies 13 times and by England 8 times. In last five Encounters West Indies has won the series only once. Brian Lara is the top scorer of the Wisden Trophy. He has scored 2983 runs in 51 innings. His highest score of 400 also came up in the same trophy in 2004.

Curtly Ambrose is the maximum wicket taker in Wisden Trophy with 164 wickets in 8284 balls in a period of 12 years. Clive Lloyd has played maximum number of Test Matches in Wisden Trophy and played 19 matches. Most wins as Captain Record is in name of Viv Richards with 13 wins from 18 matches. These are some of the past records which are hold mostly by West Indies Cricket team. In future we hope to see these records in bag of England Cricket Team.

ESPNcricinfo Awards 2014

The ESPNcricinfo Awards honour the best batting and best bowling performances across the international formats of the game for the calendar year. This year, a jury of former players decided them. Awards are given in all three formats of cricket. New Zealand Captain Brendon McCullum became the first to score a triple century in tests, which came when New Zealand was about to lose test match against India. It is voted as the top test performance of the 2014 eighth annual ESPNcricinfo awards.

The Test Bowling awards goes to Mitchell Johnson for his spell of 7 for 68 against South Africa in Centurion. His brilliant performance bundled out South Africa for 206 and set Australia to win series and the match. It was his second consecutive ESPNcricinfo award in consecutive years. Rohit Sharma, who broke his monumental 264 against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, took the award for the best ODI Batting performance. He smashed his second double ton with 33 fours and 9 sixes. His first double hundred in 2013 against Australia also won the ODI batting award.

Lasith Malinga 5 for 56, which helped Sri Lanka, beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in Mirpur marked as the top ODI bowling performance. In the T20 category, England Alex Hales took the award for the best batting performance with his unbeaten 116 runs, against Sri Lanka in the World T20 in Bangladesh. In the same tournament, Rangana Herath 5 for 3 against New Zealand was the best choice for the bowling performance in T20.

Sri Lankan players have figured prominently across award categories in 2014, including the Statsguru Award, which recognizes consistency in performances. Sri Lanka Captain Angelo Mattews swept three awards. He won Batsman of the Year, Best Test Batsman, and most Consistent Test Batsman. It was rewarded for aggregating more than 1200 runs in Test and ODIs. Rangana Herath was named the Test Bowler.

Cricket World Cup 2015

The 2015 Cricket World Cup is the 11^th Cricket World Cup, currently being hosted by Australia and New Zealand from 14 February 2015 to 29 March 2015. Fourteen teams will play 49 matches in 14 venues, with Australia staging 26 games and New Zealand hosting 23 games. The final match of the tournament will take place at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The ICC has named Sachin Tendulkar as the 2015 Cricket World Cup Ambassador for the second time, after 2011 Cricket World Cup where he was the Ambassador. India is the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2011 defeating Sri Lanka in the finals. Now, let us have a look on all teams and key players from each team.

Afghanistan- This debutant team of this year got good experience in T20 Cricket and beaten both Ireland and Scotland in 2015. Key Players are Nawroz Mangal and Captain Mohammad Nabil.

Australia- The hosts, the favorites, and the team to beat. They have won 11 of their last 13 ODI. Key Players are David Warner, Mitchell Johnson, Steve Smith, and Glenn Maxwell. Captain Michael Clarke is also in good form and Coach Darren Lehmann guidance can make this team fifth time champion.

Bangladesh- Always a threat but not quite the dangerous underdogs they were in 2007 and 2011. Whitewashed Zimbabwe in recently but have not beaten any of the top eight team since 2013. Key Players are Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, and Tamim Iqbal. Captain is Mashrafe Mortaza.

England- Founder country of Cricket but have never won the World Cup. This time they got some all-rounders and a captain in form. Key Players are Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Joe Root, Stuart Broad, and James Anderson. Their Captain is Eoin Morgan.

India- Defending champions and good performer team in last four years in major tournaments. Played three major finals and won two. Current conditions are little shaky but captain cool is always good to watch. Key players are Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Captain is Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Ireland- Famous win over Pakistan in 2007 and England in 2011 are still remembered. This team can beat any top performing team. Key Player is Ed Joyce and captain is William Porterfield.

New Zealand- Currently the best team in form and favorite to win the tournament. Played six semi-finals until now. Key Players are Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Boult, Vettori, and Southee. Captain is Brendon McCullum.

Pakistan- Line up looks shaky after absence of Hafeez. Star batsman Afridi is in good form. Key players are Umar Akmal, Afridi, Irfan, and Ahmed Shahzad. Captain is Misbah-Ul-Haq.

Scotland- Goal is to register first win at World Cup. Good performing team with key player and captain Preston Mommsen.

South Africa- Top most team in ODI with a star line up. This is the team to watch out for in this season. This team have never won any major tournament. Key Players are Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Philander, Morkel, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, and Duminy. Captain is AB de Villiers.

Sri Lanka- Runner up of last two world cup tournaments and winner of 2014 T20 World Cup. Most consistent performing team always. Key Players are Lasith Malinga, Jayawardene, Sangakkara, and Dilshan. Captain is Angelo Mattews.

UAE- Another opportunity to play in World Cup. Key Player is Khurram Khan, 43 year old all rounder and oldest player in the tournament. Captain is Mohammad Tauqir.

West Indies- Never Underestimated team with huge and power hitters. Key Players are Chris Gayle, Smith, Sammy, Russell, and Samuels. Captain is Jason Holder.

Zimbabwe- One of the underdog’s team from the past. They have experienced and consistent players in the team. Key Players is Brendan Taylor. Captain is Elton Chigumbura.

These are the 14 teams of the tournament this year. Event will start on 14 February 2015. Opening match will be played between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Auckland.