This is the World Cup preliminary squad you weren't going to see. NZ Cricket originally intended the original group of 30 players to remain under wraps.

New Zealand Cricket has submitted its 30-man squad for World Cup. As expected, it doesn't include Otago opener Jesse Ryder.

Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke choked back tears as he read a statement paying tribute to his teammate Philip Hughes.

Mark Yardy was in the England squad for the World Cup on the Subcontinent. But instead of enjoying it and rising to the challenge, he was locked in his hotel room.

This stage of the year is usually one of great excitement for Australian cricketers.For the 11 men lucky enough to represent their nation, there should be the unique brand of nervous tension created by a home test series.

You can argue the wisdom of playing a couple of no-account T20 internationals between New Zealand's test and ODI legs in the United Arab Emirates.

England head Peter Moores has accepted the one-match ban on Alastair Cook and installed Eoin Morgan as England's captain for the fourth one-day international in Colombo. It will be Morgan's eighth match as captain.

Seldom in international cricket does a player get a second chance to make a first impression, let alone a third.

Ricky Ponting believes it will be a miracle if the first test starts on Thursday as planned, with Australian cricketers continuing to grieve the death of Phillip Hughes.

The cricketing world halted overnight to pay tribute to one of its own after the death of young Australian international batsman Phillip Hughes.

Phillip Hughes was a batsman so precociously talented he drew early comparisons with the legendary Sir Donald Bradman.

Phil Hughes faces a long road to recovery but New Zealand great Ewen Chatfield believes similar may be true for the bowler whose bouncer did the damage.

Junior Kiwi cricketers could be forced to wear protective helmets after the head injury that has left Australian international batsman Phil Hughes fighting for his life.

Luke Ronchi's compelling form in the one-day team looks set to propel him into the test team to replace Jimmy Neesham for next week's third test in Sharjah.

Any New Zealand players who still have a lingering underdog feeling should spend some time with Mitchell McClenaghan.

For New Zealand television viewers the sight of sparsely populated grounds in the United Arab Emirates has prompted concerns about how cricket survives in Pakistan.

The second test duel between Pakistan and New Zealand continued into the fourth day with the visitors making early progress with three wickets for 31 before Pakistan fought back.

Reluctant traveller Jesse Ryder is back in the Otago side for their T20 game against Canterbury tomorrow.

Tom Latham has played a compelling opening hand to deliver New Zealand first day honours at 243 for three in the second test against Pakistan.

The scoreboard was on first name terms with 'Tom' and 'Kane' as the pair amassed 76 for the second wicket as part of New Zealand's 160 for two at tea on the opening day of the second test against Pakistan.

Operation Desert Strip began positively for the New Zealand cricketers tonight in the second test against Pakistan with captain Brendon McCullum and Tom Latham bringing contrasting elements to an opening partnership of 77.

New Zealand's test spinning ranks are into their third year of the time classification known as PV (Post-Vettori) and off-spinner Mark Craig and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi are showing signs of promise.

Even Richie McCaw has an off day and Dan Carter often takes a few games to find his form, so I'm not going to crucify the Blacks Caps for the abysmal showing against Pakistan.