Drumming up support for the Cancer Society's Daffodil Day appeal is easy if you're Brendon McCullum.

The 24-year-old batsman is contracted to the Northern Knights but he is enjoying another gig at the moment - playing halfback and kicking goals for the Auckland rugby team.

The schedule released yesterday includes four tests, two each against Sri Lanka and Australia, plus 11 ODIs and five T20s.

The start of a new era of Chappell-Hadlee rivalry is the feature of this summer, comprising inbound tours from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia.

Steve Smith has officially taken the reins from Michael Clarke, after his retirement following the failed Ashes campaign, and in his first assignment will look to take Ireland apart.

The runs keep flowing for New Zealand's brilliant one-day batsmen with Martin Guptill joining Ross Taylor as the only Kiwis to score four centuries in a calendar year.

England capatin Alastair Cook has admitted that England phoned it in during the finals Ashes test.

The runs keep flowing for New Zealand's brilliant one day batsmen with Martin Guptill joining Ross Taylor as the only Kiwis to score four centuries in a calendar year.

With his parting message as Australian captain, the retiring Michael Clarke has taken a final pot shot at his old enemy England.

Chants of "sit down if you're 3-1 down" rang out around The Oval in London as England struggled on day three of the fifth Ashes cricket test. And the locals had a point.

Live scoreboard of the second ODI between the Black Caps and South Africa at Potchefstroom.

New Zealand cricket fans will be able to watch the Black Caps after all.

It was one of Steve Smith's most impressive innings and put Australia on track for victory in the Ashes dead rubber but the pain of past failures still stung.

New Zealand's ability to get one-day series back on track after losing the first game should fill them with confidence, all-rounder says.

If you've read any of the press in the fortnight since Australia's Ashes capitulation in Nottingham, it seems 'Pup' will leave the game just shy of being a great.

Spin king says Australia's selectors deserve to shoulder the blame for much of the Ashes debacle.

Bizarre painting hanging on spin king's walls shows his dream get-together.

South Africa held off a late rally by New Zealand's tailenders to win the first one-day international by 20 runs.

Stuart Broad confesses he has been part of the renaissance but also a part of the decline of English cricket.

Who is Michael Clarke? The truth is that after 12 years, more than 100 tests and a mountain of runs that put him in the upper echelon of batsmanship, we still don't know.