Yasir Shah's five-for spells trouble for England

Yasir Shah became the first leg-spinner in 20 years to register a five-for at Lord's Cricket Ground and in the process restricted hosts England to 253 for 7 at stumps on Day 2 of the first Test match, on Friday (July 15). Shah finished the day with figures of 5 for 64 to dent England's progress in the second half and help the visitors stay 86 runs ahead at stumps.

'My role was very clear, to give support to the fast bowlers'

Pakistan's Yasir Shah said varying his pace had been behind his spectacular return to Test cricket at Lord's on Friday (July 15).The legspinner took 5 for 64 as England reached stumps on the second day of the first Test on 253 for 7 -- 86 runs behind Pakistan's first-innings total of 339.

Brathwaite hopes for improvement against spin

Carlos Brathwaite, the West Indian all-rounder, is hoping for an improved performance from his side against spin bowling in the upcoming Test series against India. Brathwaite is currently training for the series in a preparatory camp in Jamaica and is vary of the spin threat the visitors will pose in friendly conditions.
Brathwaite acknowledged West Indies' improvement over the course of their tour of Australia in December 2015 - January 2016, but reckoned the pitches at home will be a lot slower and hence need better adaptability.

Mitchell Starc makes impressive return to red-ball cricket

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc's bid to return to full tilt after a long injury lay-off and subsequent foot and

ankle surgery in December 2015, received a massive boost as the left-armer bowled 17 overs and returned figures of 3 for 50 in the intra-squad practice match at P Sara Stadium in Colombo. Even as Starc takes small strides to regain his best form with the red ball, Australia's stand-in bowling coach Allan Donald reckoned the left-armer will make the difference in Sri Lanka.

I rate this as my top innings in Test cricket: Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has said that his unbeaten century against England at Lord's on Thursday (July 14) was his 'top innings' of what has turned out to be an impressive Test career. The 42-year-old right-handed batsman became the sixth oldest player in Test history to make a century as his unbeaten 110 took Pakistan to 282 for 6 at stumps on the first day of the four-match Test series.
Incidentally

Confident of doing well against India: Devendra Bishoo

Devendra Bishoo, the West Indies legspinner, has said he's eager to have a good series in the four-match Test series against India, having last played a Test in 2015, against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Bishoo acknowledged that he's ready and prepared to bowl long spells. "I am up for it," he said on Wednesday (July 13). "I know I will have to bowl long spells and get wickets ... I really want to have a good series. I want to have an excellent series."

Jeet Raval 'ready' for Africa challenge

Jeet Raval, the opening batsman from Auckland, has stated that the upcoming tour of Africa will be an important learning curve for him. The 27-year-old was selected for national honours after he netted in 780 runs at an average of 55.71 in the 2015-16 Plunket Shield.
Bharat Popli, who plays for Northern Districts, crunched 1,149 runs at an average of 67.58 in New Zealand's premier first-class competition last season, and was also said to be in contention for the Test series against Zimbabwe and South Africa, respectively. However, the selectors picked Raval mainly as they wanted a reserve opener.