Cook knighted, Siddle recalled, Pybus back with Windies

Haris Sohail ruled out of South Africa series

Pakistan batsman Haris Sohail has been ruled out of the ongoing Test series against South Africa with a persistent knee injury, which also kept him out of the Boxing Day Test at Centurion.

Sohail suffered the injury prior to the practice match, but remained with the squad to take part in rehabilitation sessions. He did not bat in the nets before the first Test and was declared unfit to play an hour or so before the scheduled start.

Details: Haris Sohail ruled out of South Africa series with persistent knee injury

Mandhana named ICC women's cricketer of the year

India's Smriti Mandhana was named women's cricketer of the year by the sport's world governing body, capping off a prolific run-scoring season for the opener.

The left-handed batswoman was also named ODI cricketer of the year for accumulating 669 runs off 12 one-day internationals. She scored 622 runs in 25 T20 matches this year.

Details: Smriti Mandhana named ICC women's cricketer of the year

Andrew Strauss' wife dies aged 46 of cancer

Ruth Strauss, whose cancer diagnosis prompted her husband Andrew Strauss to step down from his role as England's director of cricket, has died.

The statement said Ruth had died aged 46 of the rare form of lung cancer she suffered from in her home country of Australia.

Sir Alastair Cook

After retiring from international cricket in September last year, former England captain Alastair Cook has been knighted in the New Year's Honours.

Cook, who has more Test centuries (33) and runs (12,472) than any other England player accrued during a record 161 Test matches, is the first cricketer to be knighted since legendary all-rounder Ian Botham in 2007.

Details: Sir Alastair Cook: Former England captain knighted

‘Cricket in heaven’

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar paid a glowing tribute to Ramakant Achrekar, his childhood coach and lifelong mentor who passed away aged 87.

Achrekar, a club-level coach, discovered a 12-year-old Tendulkar's extraordinary talents in Mumbai and nurtured him on his way to becoming cricket's most prolific run-scorer of all time.

Achrekar died at his home in Mumbai last Wednesday.

Read: Tendulkar pays tribute to childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka to play T20 World Cup qualifiers

Former World T20 champions Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have failed to secure themselves direct entry into the T20 World cup scheduled to take place in Australia in 2020. The qualification criteria dictates that hosts Australia and the 8 top-ranked sides earn automatic spots in the Super 12s.

Khawaja, Siddle recalled for India ODIs

Veterans Usman Khawaja, Peter Siddle, and Nathan Lyon have been recalled to a revamped Australian one-day squad to play India with an eye on the World Cup in England and Wales this year.

After a poor run in the limited overs format, selectors axed Travis Head, Chris Lynn, D'Arcy Short, Ben McDermott and all-rounder Ashton Agar.

Read: Australia recall Khawaja, Siddle for India ODIs

Southee to lead New Zealand in Sri Lanka T20I

Tim Southee is set to lead New Zealand in next week's one-off T20 match against Sri Lanka.

Regular skipper Kane Williamson is to be rested along with Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme.

Southee, who has captained New Zealand twice before, admitted that leading a side in cricket's shortest form can be a bit of a gamble.

Pybus back with Windies

West Indies announced the appointment of Richard Pybus as interim head coach ahead of the upcoming three-Test series against England.

The Englishman has previously served as a director of cricket for West Indies from 2013 to 2016. He will coach the side for the 2019 Cricket World Cup and the visit of India in July and August.

Details: West Indies appoint Richard Pybus as interim head coach