Let us look at some of the most-discussed cricket stories on the news on 4 August.
Zimbabwe's Ireland tour postponed due to Covid-19 complications
Zimbabwe’s limited-overs tour of Ireland has been postponed because of complications around Covid-19 protocols. Zimbabwe Cricket, being on the UK Red List, still awaits clearance from the government to fly to Ireland.
The tour, comprising three ODIs and five T20Is, was originally scheduled to get underway on 6 August, with the first ODI in Belfast. As per a report of ESPNCricinfo, the tour is likely to take place in the August-September window.
New Zealand to play five T20Is in Bangladesh in September
Bangladesh will host New Zealand for a five-match T20I series from 1 to 10 September, as confirmed by the BCB. New Zealand will arrive in Dhaka on 24 August, and will play a warm-up match five days after.
New Zealand last toured Bangladesh in 2013 for two Tests, three ODIs and a T20I. While the Test series was drawn, Bangladesh swept in the ODIs 3-0. New Zealand then won the solitary T20I to end the tour with a positive result.
Men’s 100: Stirling replaces Conway for Southern Brave
Paul Stirling will replace Devon Conway at Southern Brave for the ongoing Men’s Hundred. Conway copped a blow on his fingers from Blake Cullen in Brave’s last game against London Spirit while batting, and did not take field after that. He aggregated 97 runs at a strike rate of 113 in the competition.
Trent Rockets, another Hundred franchise, will bring in Wahab Riaz for Marchant de Lange, the joint-leading wicket-taker at this moment, alongside Rashid Khan and Adil Rashid. De Lange will return to Somerset for the remainder of the Royal London One-Day Cup campaign.
Bangladesh beat Australia by five wickets to take a 2-0 lead
Bangladesh edged past Australia by five wickets with a clinical performance in the second T20I in Dhaka to take 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
The Bangladeshi bowlers, led by Mustafizur Rahman (3-23), bowled tightly to restrict Australia to 121/7 after they opted to bat. Mitchell Marsh top-scored for the second time in two days, repeating his score of 45.
Coming to chase, Bangladesh were left reeling at 67/5. Afif Hossain (37*) and Nurul Hasan (22*) then put on an unbroken 56-run stand for the sixth wicket to guide their side home with eight balls to spare.