Labuschagne replaces Root at top Test batter
Marnus Labuschagne replaced Joe Root at the top of the ICC Men's Test batting rankings with a career-best 912 points. He became the ninth Australian to pass the 900-point tally. Labuschagne got a hundred and a fifty in the second Ashes Test match, in Adelaide, where Australia beat England by 275 runs. He also scored 74 in the first Test, in Brisbane.
Root, who had held the top spot since this August, has now dropped to 897. Steven Smith (884), Kane Williamson (879) and Rohit Sharma (797) occupy the next three positions.
West Indies to travel Pakistan in 2023
West Indies Men will play three T20Is in Pakistan just ahead of the PSL 2023, as confirmed by the PCB. They have already confirmed to play the recently postponed three-match ODI series in June 2022. As per the new announcement, they are set to visit Pakistan for the third time in 14 months.
The ODIs between West Indies and Pakistan was scheduled to start in Karachi on 18 December. However, it had to be postponed after nine members of the West Indian squad tested positive for Covid-19.
England name Under-19 World Cup squad
England announced a 15-member squad for the 2022 Men’s Under-19 World Cup, to be played from 14 January to 5 February in the Caribbean. Tom Prest will lead the side, with Jacob Bethell as his deputy. England are pooled in Group A, alongside defending champions Bangladesh, Canada and the United Arab Emirates.
England Under-19 squad: Tom Prest (c), Jacob Bethell (vc), George Bell, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Aspinwall, Sonny Baker, Nathan Barnwell, Josh Boyden, James Coles, Alex Horton, Will Luxton, James Rew, James Sales, Fateh Singh, George Thomas.
Reserves: Josh Baker, Ben Cliff.
New Zealand drop Ajaz for Bangladesh Tests
New Zealand retained Tom Latham as the captain of their 13-member squad for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, starting on New Year's Day at Bay Oval. Latham will lead after Kane Williamson was ruled out due to an elbow injury. This will be Latham's first stint as New Zealand captain for an entire series.
New Zealand left out their specialist spinner Ajaz Patel, who became the third bowler in history to take all 10 wickets in an innings in his last Test match. They retained Rachin Ravindra, a bowling all-rounder, instead. They also recalled Trent Boult, who missed the Test series in India.
New Zealand squad: Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young, Trent Boult.