Joe Root's reign as the best player in the world is over as rising England star Harry Brook confirmed his climb to the top by claiming the No.1 spot for the first time on the latest ICC Men's Test Batter Rankings.

India skipper Rohit Sharma's woeful batting form is affecting his captaincy in Australia, according to former teammates Harbhajan Singh and Cheteshwar Pujara.

A power-packed innings by David Miller and a career-best all-round performance by George Linde took South Africa to an 11-run win in the first T20 international century against Pakistan at Kingsmead on Friday.

Jishan Alam’s 53-ball century gave NCL T20 a flying start as Sylhet Division posted 205 for four in the first match of Bangladesh’s new domestic T20 competition in Sylhet on Wednesday.

"Our score wasn't enough, 300-plus was needed," admitted Bangladesh captain Miraz during post-match presentation. "We bowled really well in the first ten overs but on this wicket, it's hard for bowlers to defend an under-par score."

Bangladesh U-19 team head coach Naveed Nawaz spoke with The Daily Star’s Samsul Arefin Khan after the successful campaign, shared insights on their performance in the event and the plans going forward.

West Indies thrashed Bangladesh by seven wickets to clinch the second ODI in St. Kitts and win their first ODI series against the Tigers since 2014. Sherfane Rutherford, hero of the first ODI, pulled Shoriful Islam for six to get the winning runs and a very convincing series win.

It is hoped that the NCL T20 will help local talents hit their stride early and improve their performance in the BPL.

Poor string of scores is nothing new for the 30-year-old as he has gone on a run of registering single-digit scores for three or more matches on the trot on four different phases in his 50-over career but this is the longest he has gone without reaching double digits.

Pacer Ripon Mondol received a call-up and Shamim Hossain made a return as Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against the West Indies in Kingstown, St Vincent on 16, 18 and 20 December.

It has been smooth sailing for the West Indies in chase of Bangladesh's 227 in the second ODI at Warner Park in St. Kitts. Brandon King hit a 52-ball 50, his seventh ODI fifty while Evin Lewis also looked determined as West Indies reached 100 without loss in 19 overs.

West Indies bowler Alzarri Joseph has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the first ODI match against Bangladesh in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Azizul Hakim Tamim led the Bangladesh Under-19 team to the ACC U-19 Asia Cup title in the UAE on Sunday by defeating India in a heated final where tempers flared and stern words were exchanged among both teams.

Five Test wins in a row, made up of away victories over West Indies in Guyana in August, two in Bangladesh in October and two more over Sri Lanka, means South Africa top the table of Test results over the last two-year cycle and are within touching distance of a place in the final at Lord’s from June 11-15.

Trott, who has been in charge of Afghanistan since 2022, took them to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in June.

Bangladesh successfully defended their title, beating India by 59 runs in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

There are a few areas the Tigers must improve to bounce back in the second fixture of the three-match series today.

The recently-concluded three-match WT20I series against Ireland marked the end of a forgetful year for the Bangladesh women’s team, which witnessed an extraordinary downfall in their performance in both white-ball formats compared to the preceding year.

With the series level at 1-1, it is now effectively a three-match series as the BGT lives up to its reputation for bringing excitement to Test cricket. 

In the wake of India's 10-wicket thrashing inside three days in the second Test at Adelaide on Sunday, there will be a growing clamour for Shami to be parachuted into Brisbane for the third test against the hosts.