Australia win Ashes 4-0
England's dejected 2021/22 Ashes ended with yet another batting failure as Australia thrashed them by 146 runs in the fifth and final Test match to claim a 4-0 series win. Set 271 to win, England raced to 68-0 before losing all 10 wickets for another 56 runs. Nine wickets fell in the final session on Day 3 as England were bowled out for 124.
Pat Cummins, who won his first series as captain comprehensively, snared three wickets, as did Scott Boland and Cam Green.
PCB recalls four players from BBL to prepare for PSL
The PCB has recalled Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan,Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain from the ongoing BBL to prepare for the upcoming season of the PSL, starting from 27 January.
Fakhar came as a replacement of the injured Tom Abell for Brisbane Heat on 31 December, and was only able to play one match due to the Covid-19 restrictions and travel issues.
Shadab did not feature in Sydney Sixers' win over Sydney Thunder on 15 January, so as Hasnain for the losing team. Haris confirmed his return to Pakistan via his social media handles.
Nabi, Naveen to miss Netherlands ODIs
Mohammad Nabi opted out of Afghanistan's upcoming three-match ODI series against the Netherlands, beginning on 21 January in Doha. Naveen-ul-Haq had also ruled himself out of the 18-member squad.
Nabi cited to clear the path for a younger player to get international experience, while Naveen wanted to take a break from the 50-over format to focus on preparing for the T20 World Cup later this year, to be held in Australia.
Hashmatullah Shahidi, who was appointed ODI captain last year, will continue leading Afghanistan.
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, Ikram Alikhail, Najibullah Zadran, Qais Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmat Shah, Riaz Hassan, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Shahidullah Kamal, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Usman Ghani, Yamin Ahmadzai.
Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe in first ODI
Pathum Nissanka (75), Dinesh Chandimal (75) and Charith Asalanka (71) starred with bat to help Sri Lanka chase 297 against Zimbabwe with five wickets and nine balls to spare in the first of three-match ODI series, in Pallekele.
Zimbabwe rode on Sean Williams’ 87-ball 100 and Regis Chakabva’s 81-ball 72 to post 296/9 after opting to bat, but in the end, it was not enough.