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South African fast-bowler Duanne Olivier has been signed by Derbyshire as an overseas player for the first half of the 2018 season. The 25-year-old, who has played five Tests for the Proteas, will be available for the first seven Specsavers County Championship matches and the entire Derbyshire's Royal London One-Day Cup campaign, subject to clearance from Cricket South Africa. "We identified new-ball bowling as an area we wanted to strengthen, especially for the first half of the season in red- and white-ball cricket. He is a tall, quick bowler who is keen to prove himself and he will give us another quality option with the ball. He comes highly recommended and will offer further depth to our seam attack," Cricket Advisor, Kim Barnett said . Olivier, who made his international debut last year, has claimed 17 Test wickets at an average of 23.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council have announced the schedule for the forthcoming season. The opening match of IPL 11 will be played on April 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Mumbai Indians to host Chennai Super Kings in the opening match at the Wankhede Stadium on April 7. IPL 2018 schedule Match 1 -Saturday, April 7, 2018 Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Match 2 – Sunday, 8th April, 2018 Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab 16:00 IST (10:30 GMT), Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi Match 3 – Sunday, 8th April, 2018 Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), Eden Gardens, Kolkata Match 4 – Monday, 9th April 2018 Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad Match 5 – Tuesday, 10th April 2018 Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | ...

Sussex have pulled off an absolutely magnificent coup by securing the signing of leg spinner Rashid Khan for the first half of their T20 Blast campaign. The Afghan prodigy was the breakout star of the Big Bash, where he led the league with 18 wickets and had the best bowling economy. That put him ahead of modern day greats like Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar and it drove his team, the Adelaide Strikers, to the unlikeliest of BBL triumphs. The Sussex Sharks will hope that rubs off on them as they bid to claim a maiden T20 Blast title. Much scepticism surrounded the Strikers at the start of BBL7, with pundits arguing that whoever was in charge of their recruitment had “some answering to do”. That came after they signed Khan and Colin Ingram, described by The Daily Telegraph as “hardly enthralling” additions to a squad depleted of the services of stars like Ben Dunk. The Strikers were tipped to finish second bottom in the ladder, but the critics were made to eat their words as Khan flo...

The Perth Scorchers were named minor premiers once again after topping the ladder courtesy of a four-wicket victory over the Adelaide Strikers. It was the perfect way to say farewell to the WACA and it set up a tantalising semi-final clash with the Hobart Hurricanes. George Bailey’s men defied the odds to finish fourth in the ladder, and the Strikers became another surprise package by finishing second. They were widely written off after losing key men ahead of BBL7, but Rashid Khan has been absolutely sensational and they deserve their place in the semi-finals. But they face a tough game against the experienced Melbourne Renegades, led by Dwayne Bravo. Here we preview both semi-finals: Perth Scorchers v Hobart Hurricanes The Scorchers have displayed remarkable resourcefulness in topping the ladder despite losing a host of key players to international duty. Coach Justin Langer will now have a selection headache as he heads into the semi-final: does he stick with the guys that got t...

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been bought by Rajasthan Royals for whopping Rs 12.5 crore (£1.4m) in the first round of Indian Premier League's bidding. The 26-year-old fetched a massive price at the IPL auction once again and will join Australian skipper Steve Smith after the 28-year-old batsman went for £1.38m. South Africa's Hashim Amla, England's Joe Root and the hard-hitting West Indies batsman Chris Gayle went unsold in the first round of bidding of the much-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Bengaluru. The second and final auction starts on Sunday, with a total of more than 500 players to be picked by the eight IPL franchises. The 11th edition of Indian Premier League begins in April.

England have announced their squad for the two-test match series to be played in New Zealand this March. The Controversial all-rounder Ben Stokes has been named in England's test squad to face Black Caps later this season. Stokes, 26, who arrested back in September after an incident in Bristol, his participation depends on the verdict of his legal case with the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK. The 24-year-old batsman Liam Livingstone has been called up for the first time to replace Yorkshire's Gary Ballance, while fast bowlers Jake Ball and Tom Curran both missed the selection following the Ashes defeat. England's top order batsmen James Vince and Mark Stoneman both retain their places in the squad. The first test will be played on March 22 at Auckland' Eden Park, is a day-nighter and the second test to be held in Christchurch on March 30. England Squad: Joe Root (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Cr...

England’s batsman Alastair Cook has become the sixth batsman to reach 12,000 Test runs milestone as England battled to save the fifth Test. The 33-year-old, who is currently playing his 152nd test match - joins an elite quintet of Sachin Tendulkar (15,291), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289), Rahul Dravid (13,288) and Kumar Sangakkara (12,400). The right-handed batsman becomes the first Englishman to achieve this milestone with a single off his pads after lunch on the fourth day of the fifth Ashes test at Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday. The records keep on coming for Alastair Cook 🙌 What a moment as the England opener brings up 12,000 Test runs to a standing ovation at the SCG 👌 Stunning effort over the years 👏 #ItsTheAshes #Ashes pic.twitter.com/kt0Qmwq8Fz — The Ashes on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) 7 January 2018 Cook received an ovation from the fans after reaching the milestone in the third over of England’s second innings.

Former Australian Batsman Bard Hodge has been appointed as the new head coach of the Indian Premier League outfit Kings XI Punjab on a three-year contract. The 42-year-old held a similar role with Gujarat Lions for the last two campaigns and will now report to KXIP's mentor-cum director, Virender Sehwag. "We have signed a three-year agreement with Brad, who will be our head coach," Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. Hodge continues to play for Melbourne Renegades in the forthcoming season of the Big Bash League before joining KXIP as the head coach.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes will be playing for the Canterbury one-day team after signing with New Zealand province Canterbury. The 26-year-old, who is set to return to competitive cricket, has been cleared to play for Canterbury on Sunday. He was omitted from the England Ashes squad to Australia and remains suspended from the cricket subject to a police investigation into an incident outside a Bristol nightclub back in September. However, Canterbury Cricket Association have confirmed the Englishman had signed as an overseas player and would be available for a limited over match to be played against Otago on this Sunday. “After the approach from Ben’s representatives everything has happened very quickly for us to the extent that we are now delighted to welcome Ben into the team,” Canterbury Cricket Association (CCA) Director of Cricket Gary Stead said in a statement on Thursday. “While Ben awaits the outcome of an investigation underway in the UK, he wants to maintai...

The Wellington Firebirds have announced the signing of former England international Samit Patel for the upcoming Twenty20 season. The 32-year-old, who was in impressive form for Nottinghamshire earlier this season, and named the Professional Cricketers' Association's player of the year after leading the Notts to success in all formats. Wellington head-coach Bruce Edgar pleased to Patel's quality. He said , "Our aim is simple: we're looking to play entertaining, positive cricket. As we saw last year, that recipe leads to success when it's well-executed." "For the upcoming campaign, we identified a need to complement our squad with a quality all-rounder. With a career featuring more than 200 T20 matches, including 18 internationals, and impressive strike rates with both bat and ball, we're excited to have Samit joining the team to fill that role." Very excited to play for @wgtnfirebirds in the super smash this year hopefully we ca...