Konst he save Australia?

Konstas is an impressive 19-year old, the Vanuatu-inspired Queensland tournament, & unreleased Bradman letters

Konstas already scored a century against India A in the warm ups. Can he repeat the trick against Jasprit Bumrah?

Konst he save Australia?

Konstas is an impressive 19-year old, Shami is out,, & the numbers behind Rohit’s decline.

• ESPNcricinfo’s Alex Malcolm writes about 19-year old debutant Sam Konstas’ impressive rise coming into the Boxing Day test, while New Indian Express’ Gomesh S explains Scott Boland’s journey to the Australian Test team.

• Mohammad Shami won’t play in the last two Tests, Tanush Kotian has been called up as Ravichandran Ashwin’s replacement, & Travis Head might be doubtful for the MCG Test.

• Cricbuzz’s Deepu Narayanan looks at the numbers behind Rohit Sharma’s decline, while Cricviz’s Ben Jones does the same for Marnus Labuschagne.

• Indian Express’ Pratyush Raj writes about Cricket Australia’s attempts to engage the local South Asian immigrant audience, while BBC’s Steven Finn writes about the oddity of Christmas for a player, the day before a Boxing Day Test.

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Australia thrash the world champs

AUS-W are ready for the Ashes, Stokes is injured, & the biggest run chase in Women’s cricket history.

• Australia Women beat New Zealand by 75 runs to win their ODI series 2-0. Cricket Australia’s Laura Jolly looks at the team’s preparedness ahead of the Ashes starting in late January.

• Ben Stokes is out for 3 months with a recurrence of his hamstring tear. Meanwhile, The Telegraph’s Tim Wigmore thinks it’s disgraceful that the cricketing community has let the Champions Trophy leave Pakistan.

• Cricbuzz has a roundup of the Vijay Hazare results, while ESPNcricinfo’s Shashank Kishore covers the biggest run chase in Women’s List A history, as Bengal chased down a Shafali Varma-inspired Haryana total of 389!

Franchise cricket can be good (sometimes)

The Vanuatu-inspired Queensland tournament, unreleased Bradman letters, & Jacobs’ rise.

• The Guardian’s Ella Archibald-Binge reports on the part-time Vanuatu internationals who have brought joy to a tiny Queensland cricket tournament, and how the tournament has helped after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Vanuatu’s capital last week.

• Sydney Morning Herald’s Dan Brettig gets a look at unreleased Don Bradman letters from 1984 to 1998, with views on the Queen, Kerry Packer, Shane Warne, and his own struggles with fame.

• ESPNcricinfo’s Abhimanyu Bose profiles the quick rise to fame, including an IPL contract and international call up, of New Zealand’s Bevan Jacobs.

The end of year roundups

Healy on a Xmas special, and looking back at 2024’s highlights

• The Final Word’s Geoff Lemon & Adam Collins are building a Christmas tradition of interviewing former greats, and this year’s guest is Ian Healy! [Apple Podcasts]

• Wisden’s Phil Walker & Yas Rana talk with TNT Sports' Kate Mason about their favourite cricket moments of 2024, from players to matches. [Apple Podcasts]

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