All posts by n8rngtd.top

Australia lost their cool at the SCG but India have been hit by further injuries

Andrew McGlashan14-Jan-2021

Big Picture

And so it all comes down to this. The ultimate decider for a series that has had drama, excitement, extraordinary swings in fortune, a dose of controversy and even uncertainty over where the next match would be played. India only need a draw to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but the Gabba is usually a result-orientated ground. It’s winner takes all, a rare situation for the final Test of an Australian summer.The home side will be pleased that the scheduling challenges of the season have meant that Brisbane is the final stop. They have not been beaten here since 1988 although it remains to be seen whether the surface for a January Test differs at all from one in November. It is also the first game of first-class cricket at the ground this season.Ajinkya Rahane termed India’s magnificent escape at the SCG as good as a win, but their resources continue to be stretched to breaking point. However, from the moment they were bowled out for 36 in Adelaide they have been galvanised, never better epitomised by the stand between Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin which means the series is at this point.Related

• Paine: 'My leadership wasn't good enough'

• Lyon: From groundsman to 100 Tests for Australia

• 'Will be the survival of the fittest': sore Australia eye final push

• Will Pucovski ruled out of final Test, Marcus Harris recalled

This match will be the biggest challenge in terms of fitness and recovery, especially for the fast bowlers. Adelaide was a short game, after Melbourne there was a week’s gap, but this time it’s been three days. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are all good to go again, but they will surely hope that Australia can bat first.Australia, and especially captain Tim Paine, have shown signs of the tension that has crept into the series and this is a significant match for a side that for a year had looked on a steady upward curve. India, meanwhile, will have to overcome more injuries and the history of the venue. If they succeed it will be one of the greatest victories.

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
Australia DLWWW
India DWLLL

In the spotlight

Matthew Wade helped Australia plug a gap for the first two Tests when he moved up to open but did not have a good match at the SCG back at No. 5. His first-innings shot, picking out mid-on shortly before the second new-ball, was not a great bit of batting although he got a decent delivery in the second. He has not been shunted around again despite Will Pucovski’s injury, and Justin Langer likes the attributes he brings to the team, but this has the of an important match for Wade in terms of where he stands when Australia next pick a Test side – whenever that might be.Shubman Gill has looked a Test match batsman in the two matches he’s played this series. His four scores between 31 and 50 have oozed class and it promises to be a long and successful career. Does he have a defining innings in him for this match? While he is just starting out and it would be harsh to criticise, his three dismissals have been frustrating purely because he has looked so much at home in the arena. The Gabba can be challenging for overseas players, but once set it can also be a wonderful place to bat.

Team news

Australia have confirmed one change with Marcus Harris recalled in place of Pucovski who has been ruled out with a shoulder injury. It will be Harris’ first Test since the 2019 Ashes.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Marcus Harris, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Matthew Wade, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Tim Paine (capt & wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh HazlewoodIndia will need to find at least two replacements with Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja ruled out and may yet need more with doubts over Jasprit Bumrah. Shardul Thakur or T Natarajan could come into the mix, with Kuldeep Yadav as a second spinner if R Ashwin recovers as the lead spinner. India could also play both Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha or bring back Mayank Agarwal in place of Vihari and continue with Pant as the designated wicketkeeper.India (possible) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant, 6 Mayank Agarwal/Wriddhiman Saha, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Jasprit Bumrah/Shardul Thakur/T Natarajan, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Pitch and conditions

The Gabba is known for its pace and carry although there are a few uncertainties due to the lack of cricket this season and the later start to the game (there have only been two January Tests at the ground). The forecast for the opening day is good but there’s a chance of storms on Saturday then showers over the rest of the game.

Stats and trivia

• Lyon, playing his 100th Test, needs four wickets to reach 400
• India have played six Tests at the Gabba, losing five and drawing one – in 2003
• This is the first deciding Test of a series in Australia (with the scoreline level) since the Perth match against South Africa in 2012 when the teams were locked at 0-0

Quotes

“We set high expectations for ourselves and last week we didn’t meet them and when you don’t do that you leave yourself to criticism and we’ve copped that on the chin. We’re now looking forward to this Test match…so we can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Australia captain Tim Paine“I think we are [prepared for Brisbane bounce]. On this tour we have got a lot of time to prepare. We came early, we had a lot of practice sessions here. You expect more bounce and pace; having played well and having played well for so many days now, yes the belief is there that the boys will be able to handle it and handle it pretty well I am sure.”

Coach effusive in his praise for stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane and his handling of the inexperienced bowling attack

Shashank Kishore19-Jan-2021″Feeling defeated is one thing, but giving up is not in our vocabulary.”That was India coach Ravi Shastri summing up the team’s attitude during their conquest at the Gabba and in the series against Australia as a whole.The words “unreal”, “unimaginable” and “superb” repeatedly found mention as Shastri opened up on a historic performance: no team had beaten Australia at this ground in 32 years. It was also India’s second-straight series win in Australia, and Shastri termed it their “toughest tour ever”. During the course of his press conference, he also complimented the team for showing the kind of “character” and “personality stamp” Virat Kohli – who’s away on paternity leave – would’ve approved of, and admitted to tearing up after the winning runs were hit.8:17

Ravi Shastri: ‘Giving up is not in our vocabulary’

“This is the toughest tour ever. Playing it in Covid times, [going through] quarantine times and with the multiple injuries, nothing comes close to this,” he said. “I got emotional. I am not someone who generally has tears in his eyes, but this is unreal. What these guys have pulled off will go down in history as one of the greatest series ever played. When you look at the Covid situation and state of injuries and then to show the stomach for a fight after being bowled out for 36 is unimaginable.”Look at the circumstances in which this team came to Australia – being in lockdown for four-five months, where a lot of people living in metros couldn’t even get out of their flats, leave alone having an opportunity to train. Then to go to the IPL and then come here, take on Australia in their own backyard, where the world knows how tough it is. To go through quarantine, have multiple injuries right through the tour, to be bowled out for 36, our lowest score, and you come back to play like champions – it is unreal. The penny has still not dropped and it will take a long time to drop, but it is unreal. What I’ve seen is unimaginable, the resolve and character the boys have shown is simply superb.”India entered the final day needing 324 from a possible 98 overs. Shastri offered a peek into the team’s mindset coming into the final day: the possibility of a win wasn’t ruled out, but they plotted their progress “session by session” and decided to not force things. Duly, Shubman Gill set the game up for India with a typically flamboyant 91, alongside the rock-solid Cheteshwar Pujara. Then, they promoted Rishabh Pant to No. 5, ahead of Mayank Agarwal, and by tea, India needed 145 off 37 overs with seven wickets in hand. It was then that they thought victory was possible, especially if Pant batted through. Which he did to finish unbeaten on 89.”Right from the very beginning, we had a chat – Jinx [Rahane], myself and the support staff. ‘Let’s play normal cricket. Play your natural game, try and set the game up and not manufacture something. If you have wickets in hand, then you can think about going for it.’ The innings Gill played set the tone. It was outstanding for someone on his first tour. On a bouncy Gabba track to take the attack the way he did got the momentum going. Then there’s Pant. You can’t change his style. In his mind, he was always chasing. You saw him go after the bowling and you knew he had other ideas.”Terming Pant a “good listener”, Shastri went to lengths to explain that India haven’t tried to change his game, but instead make him aware of the need to play to the situation. “He understands,” Shastri said. “He’s a good listener. He realises what’s his natural game. He knows he has to strike the right balance between caution and aggression. No one wants to change the natural ability of anyone, sometimes you can be reckless and this game teaches you to learn and he’s shown it in both games. He got a 90-odd in Sydney, if he had stayed for another 45 minutes, we would have had another story to tell. He was disappointed and he will learn from that.”Shastri was effusive in his praise for Rahane, especially in handling the inexperienced bowling attack. “We were left with no choices,” he said of the attack – between them, the bowling group had a combined experience of four Tests, with two of them, Washington Sundar and T Natarajan, debuting.Related

• Ajinkya Rahane: 'Virat was and will always be the captain of the Test team, and I am his deputy'

• Gavaskar: 'Young India showing that they are not afraid'

• Pant: 'One of the biggest things in my life right now'

• Stats – India breach the Gabba fortress

• Gill, Pujara, Pant showcase India's batting riches

“There was not a single bowler from the side that beat Australia in Australia last time, so it was important to keep the self-belief going, and Ajinkya did a great job by being calm, composed and taking everything in his stride,” Shastri said. “It’s not easy as a captain to go out with a bowling attack that’s just three-Test-matches old, it’s no joke, to marshal the resources and keep everyone going is an outstanding achievement.”It’s also the self-belief that this team has, people think it has come overnight. It doesn’t come overnight. It’s a process that has taken five-six years, these boys have been playing with each other for five-six years, they’ve had tough tours, they’ve had losses, but what they’ve learnt now is never to give up.”Towards the end of the press conference, there were the typical Shastri one-liners. Asked if the Pujara strike-rate debates should end, he responded with: “Debates can keep going on, we’ll celebrate”. And asked about his role in motivating this team, he said: “There’s no need to make a bigger statement. The cricket speaks for itself.” Indeed, it did.

On a sluggish deck, India’s quicks leaked just 35 runs in the last five overs

Andrew Miller14-Mar-20212:22

Manjrekar: Ishan Kishan the kind of batsman who’s not afraid of getting dismissed

India 166 for 3 (Kohli 73*, Kishan 56) beat England 164 for 6 (Roy 46) by seven wicketsA thrilling debut half-century from Ishan Kishan tore apart the second T20I in Ahmedabad, before a timely return to form from Virat Kohli sealed the contest with 13 balls to spare, as India bounced back from their opening-rubber defeat to level the series with an emphatic seven-wicket win.It was another sluggish deck at Motera – one which appeared, in the latter stages of England’s own innings, to have given up the ghost completely, as Shardul Thakur pointed the way to victory with a split-fingered masterclass in England’s sub-par total of 164 for 6.But, even allowing for the dew factor which kicked in under the lights, England’s own bowlers found nothing with which to respond – at least after Sam Curran had launched their reply with an immaculate wicket-maiden that culminated in KL Rahul edging to the keeper for a duck.

India fined for slow over rate

India have been fined 20% of their match fees for maintaining a slow over rate during the second T20I against England on Sunday. Match referee Javagal Srinath imposed the sanction after the hosts were ruled to be one over short after time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20% of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.
Virat Kohli pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Anil Chaudhary and KN Ananthapadmanabhan, and third umpire Virender Sharma had leveled the charge.

That, however, would prove to be a false dawn. Sam remained the pick of England’s bowlers with four overs for 22 all told, and Jofra Archer proved economical while lacking his usual menace. But the remaining three seamers all endured chastening days – not least Tom Curran, who was back in the team after Mark Wood pulled up lame with a bruised ankle, but failed to turn up on a pitch which, to judge by India’s own efforts, ought to have suited his variation-laden style.Instead, Tom might as well have been transported back to IPL duty in Sharjah, as Kishan ignited India’s powerplay effort by lashing his opening over, the sixth, for 16 runs, including a towering first-ball six over long-on.It was a continuation of the form and confidence with which he had helped the Mumbai Indians seal the IPL in November, and having whipped his first ball in international cricket, from Archer, off his legs for four, he clattered along to his half-century from 28 balls. He struck four of India’s nine sixes – more than England’s entire line-up could muster between them – and confirmed, at the age of 22, that India’s conveyor belt of preternaturally talented youngsters is once again whirling like a treadmill.Kohli goes back to basics
Throughout his innings, Kishan had a calm old head at the other end to guide him, and cajole him in equal measure. After back-to-back ducks in his last two international innings, Kohli admitted at the post-match presentations that he had had to go back to “focussing on the basics” to turn his form around, and – even allowing for a notable moment of good fortune on 10 – he managed just that with a final flourish that reaffirmed his majesty in this format.Kohli’s winning hit, a pull over backward square off Chris Jordan, carried him to 3000 T20I runs, and was his third six of the night, along with five fours. Rishabh Pant – overshadowed for once but never outmatched – served up a pitch-perfect cameo of 26 from 13 balls, with two fours and two sixes to reinforce the sense that normal service was being resumed after an off day on Friday.But on a night when England’s big guns had been spiked by a thinly-stretched but perfectly on-song five-man India attack, Eoin Morgan could find no combination of pace, spin or seam to unlock India’s rebooted batting line-up – one in which Suryakumar Yadav, the second injection of batting from Mumbai’s IPL-winning stable, wasn’t even called upon.1:54

Did we see a glimpse of India’s new approach to T20Is?

Roy the lone ranger in flatlining innings
For a man who had come into the series under a fair bit of scrutiny, Jason Roy’s desire to keep throwing the bat in spite of personal circumstance remains a priceless commodity. After opening the series with 49 from 32 in Friday’s uncomplicated chase, he again top-scored with 46 from 35 on Sunday – a scratchy affair while it was being compiled, but an innings that gained in stature as his team-mates’ struggles for fluency were revealed later in the innings.At no stage of England’s innings was it easy to hit through the line- and by the time Thakur was causing Ben Stokes to tear out what remains of his hair with a diet of scuttling cutters at the death, it seemed nigh on impossible. But not that it stopped Roy from trying, as he flogged the first ball of the second over, from Washington Sundar, high over long-on for six, before avenging Jos Buttler’s first-ball duck with a hoick through midwicket to disrupt Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s length.India spin it to win it
What little value existed for England was to be found behind square off the spinners – as Roy repeatedly attempted to prove as he unfurled his reverse-sweep time and again off the legspin of Yuzvendra Chahal. After an innings with as many missed connections as Craigslist, he finally nailed two in three balls to leave England handily placed at 74 for 2 after nine overs, especially with the prospect of Sundar’s offspin being tossed back into his leg-dominant arc.Sure enough, Roy did not hold back – climbing into Sundar’s very first delivery, only to find more height than distance and pick out Kumar on the midwicket rope. Jonny Bairstow perished shortly afterwards in near-identical fashion, as Sundar dropped the pace and reaped the rewards for another mistimed piece of big hitting.The depth of England’s batting is their main reason why they have risen to the top of the ICC rankings, but it’s rare that they’ve all fizzled in the same innings, rather than flame out in a more gloriously dramatic failure.Perhaps Buttler could have made the difference in the mid-innings, much as he’s been charged with doing for the Rajasthan Royals in recent IPLs. Instead, England’s Nos. 3-6 made 24 from 23 (Dawid Malan), 20 from 15 (Bairstow), 28 from 20 (Morgan) and 24 from 21 (Stokes). To a man, they committed T20’s cardinal sin, of getting in at an unspectacular run rate, then getting out before they could kick on.India loose, England looser
In a low-scoring contest, the fielding was always likely to play a vital factor, and after missing scarcely a beat in their opening-match victory, England seemed well placed to capitalise on another underwhelming display from India.The errors were dotted across the innings. Chahal missed a violent return chance off Roy; Bairstow scudded a pull through Yadav’s hands on the fence; Shreyas Iyer was beaten by the spin on the cover boundary as Morgan climbed into a wide ball from Thakur. And when Kohli demolished the stumps while gathering a gentle return from the deep, and threw the ball away for overthrows as he did so, the sense pervaded that India still weren’t quite back on their A-game.But the sum of those mishaps was nothing compared to the two critical moments in England’s reply. With Kohli on 10, and still not fully up to speed, Jordan found his edge off a leg-side waft, only for Buttler to spill a regulation take behind the stumps – his decision to go for the catch with both gloves fatally undermining his reach as he dived to his left.But that error was nothing compared to the goober to end all goobers. With Kishan climbing into his night’s work, Morgan had no choice but to fling the ball to his mid-innings lock-picker, Adil Rashid, in spite of the fear the left-hand batsman’s love of a lump over midwicket might prove to be a less-than-favourable match-up.And so it initially proved, as Rashid’s third ball was cuffed in front of square for a one-bounce four. But moments later, he seemed to have sprung the perfect trap. A front-of-the-hander skidded into Kishan’s bat and cramped his attempts at a follow-up, but Stokes, running in from long-on, made an unfathomable hash of the chest-high chance. Fingers pointed skyward … gaze averted to the deck, as the ball burst out of his grasp.And at 80 for 1 after nine overs, the puff had vanished from England’s game as Kishan celebrated his reprieve with back-to-back sixes in Rashid’s second over. The slider did for him before the over was out, but by then the game was gone.

Five SA players will leave for the IPL after the second match

Firdose Moonda01-Apr-2021

Big picture

Christmas in July? No, it’s cricket in April, which is still somewhat of a rarity for South Africa as the country approaches autumn.Three years ago, a Test series against Australia finished on April 3, but we have to go back more than a decade for anything that started in this month. South Africa hosted Australia for five ODIs between April 3 and 17 in 2009. The current visit from Pakistan will be longer in match terms, with three ODIs and four T20s scheduled, but shorter in days, as all seven matches will take place in two weeks.The full tour will take place on the Highveld, between Centurion’s SuperSport Park and Johannesburg’s Wanderers, necessitated by bubble conditions, which means we won’t get to see coastal wickets and can expect conditions to suit seam bowlers. While that could mean a feast for fast-bowling aficionados with both teams known for the pace prowess except that five first-choice South Africa players will leave after two matches.The IPL is the other reason we don’t often see cricket in April in this country. A standing agreement between Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the BCCI has meant that South Africa keeps the April-May window reasonably empty even as the number of their players at the IPL has reduced. This season Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Quinton de Kock will leave the national squad to link up with the franchises in India which may take some of the gloss off this series.South Africa’s new white-ball captain Temba Bavuma is unlikely to see it that way, though. He will be around for all of it and will want to use these matches to establish a style of leadership to take South Africa through the next three World Cups, after being appointed until 2023. Ultimately, that’s what the three ODIs are about. South Africa have yet to begin collecting points on the World Cup Super League after last year’s matches against England were postponed when the visitors left early and questioned the integrity of the bio-secure environment. Pakistan are currently eighth on the table (remember only eight teams qualify for the World Cup) after playing three matches and dropped points when they lost in a Super Over to Zimbabwe late last year. That, and a series against Sri Lanka, are the only ODI cricket Pakistan have played since the 2019 World Cup and they too need to start building towards the next tournament.Pakistan have travelled with a big, youthful squad for this trip to Southern Africa (they will also head to Zimbabwe for three T20s and two Tests later in the month) with six of their 18 ODI players under the age of 23 and three uncapped players. This is an opportunity for Pakistan to find combinations and consistency against an opposition who have not known either of those things for some time.South Africa have not played an ODI series in a year and have been through another cycle of administrative upheaval and on-field slumps. They beat a depleted Sri Lanka at home but lost soundly in Pakistan. All while the boardroom shenanigans rumble on. This series will be played under threat from the sports minister to intervene in CSA’s affairs unless the Members’ Council – the body made up of 14 provincial presidents- and interim board agree on a Memorandum of Incorporation to usher in a new board by next week.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa WWWLW
Pakistan TWWWWDanish Aziz is set to become Pakistan’s 229th ODI player after a successful run in domestic cricket•PCB

In the spotlight

Even though he is no longer the captain, there will still be plenty of eyes on Quinton de Kock who was stripped of the leadership in all formats last month and has recently returned from a mental-health break. De Kock has played just one competitive match in almost two months since returning from South Africa’s Test series defeat to Pakistan – a fairly low-key first-class match for his domestic team, the Titans. Now, back and freed from the burden of captaincy, it is hoped he will return to being the destructively carefree cricketer who set the international alight.Danish Aziz is expected to become Pakistan’s 229th ODI player after a successful run in the domestic fifty-over competition in January. Aziz scored 297 runs in seven matches, which included a century and two fifties at an average of 74.25, finishing as the fourth-highest scorer in the competition. In the absence of Imad Wasim and Haris Sohail, Aziz has the opportunity to make the No.5 position in the batting his own on this tour.

Team news

With World Cup Super League points up for grabs and five players leaving after the second game to the IPL, South Africa will want to field their strongest XI. That’s likely to include the full India-bound quintet. There’s a bun fight at the top of the order with four opening candidates in the squad. Coach Mark Boucher said Bavuma “will probably” bat at No.3 which means Aiden Markram may have to wait his turn after the departure of the IPL players. A middle order of Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen may leave no room for Kyle Verreynne with Andile Phehlukwayo likely to slot in as the allrounderSouth Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk) 2 Janneman Malan 3 Temba Bavuma (capt) 4 Rassie van der Dussen 5 David Miller, 6 Heinrich Klaasen, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Anrich Nortje 10 Lungi Ngidi 11 Tabraiz ShamsiMiddle-order batsman Aziz is expected to slot into an important role behind the top four with Asif Ali and Shadab Khan to follow. Pakistan will want their seamers to make a strong statement early on but may not be able to play their first-choice attack. Although Babar Azam declared Hasan Ali “100%” fit after his recovery from Covid-19, it is expected that he will be given more time to prepare and 20-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain could be given the opportunity to add to his 10 ODI wickets.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Danish Aziz, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Mohammad Hasnain, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Haris Rauf

Pitch and conditions

Late-summer pitches may be unpredictable with Bavuma expecting a little more for the bowlers and Mark Boucher thinking it may get slower as the weather cools off. That could mean matches are not as high-scoring as modern-day matches can be. The storm season has just about ended with summer and conditions in Centurion are set to be warm and sunny, with a light breeze.

Stats and trivia

• Temba Bavuma has only played six ODIs but that does not make him South Africa’s least experienced captain. Clive Rice debuted in his first match in charge on South Africa’s return to international cricket in 1991 and Kepler Wessels had only played three ODIs for Australia before turning out as South Africa’s captain in 1992. Aiden Markram was made temporary ODI captain after two matches and Graeme Smith had played 22 ODIs before being given the job.
• Pakistan were the first team from the subcontinent to beat South Africa in an ODI series at home. They won a three-match series in 2013-14 2-1, and have lost two series before and after that by close margins of 3-2.
• Fakhar Zaman needs 40 runs to reach 2,000 ODI runs.

Quotes

“Unfortunately we won’t have some guys available for selection after the second ODI. It’s not ideal for preparation in a World Cup year. At least those guys are going to go and play in a good, strong competition against strong opposition. They are going to be getting first-hand information about the different venues in India and playing against players they are going to meet up against in the T20 World Cup. It would be a different story if they were going on holiday.”

“Krunal, myself and my mother, we were finding ways at trying to help out”

PTI01-May-2021Mumbai Indians allrounder Hardik Pandya on Saturday announced that his entire family, including brother Krunal Pandya, will donate 200 oxygen concentrators to help the rural areas of the country fight the raging Covid-19 pandemic.Talking ahead of his team’s match against the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, Hardik said his family had been looking for ways to help those in need.”Gratitude to all the medical staff, frontline workers and all the individuals who have come out and held their hands at such times to fight out the battle,” Hardik said during a pre-game chat on Star Sports. “Krunal, myself and my mother – basically our entire family – we were finding ways at trying to help out. We decided to donate 200 oxygen concentrators to the rural parts of India where I feel the medical infrastructure needs more support.”Related

• Dhawan, Tendulkar contribute to India's fight against Covid-19

• KKR's Pat Cummins donates $50,000 'to purchase oxygen supplies for India's hospitals'

India is reeling under the second wave of the pandemic with cases rising rapidly, the crisis compounded by shortage of some crucial medicines and oxygen supplies. The country recorded over four lakh cases since Friday.”We all understand it’s difficult, we want to show our gratitude, support and just want to tell everyone that they’re always there in our prayers,” Hardik said.Several cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan and Jaydev Undakat, Australians Pat Cummins and Brett Lee, and West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran also stepped up to help in the fight against Covid-19.IPL sides are also pitching in. The Rajasthan Royals have raised INR 7.5 crore (US$ 1 million approx.) while the Delhi Capitals contributed INR 1.5 crore ($20,2500 approx.) for the cause.

Wicketkeeper says three-finger gesture was salute to friend

Firdose Moonda11-Jun-2021Quinton de Kock dedicated his sixth Test century, and highest score in the format, to a friend who lost his finger in Afghanistan and to rhino conservation in South Africa. de Kock celebrated both his fifty and his hundred by holding his bat lengthwise to show the name of Rockwood, an organisation fighting to save the endangered rhino, and made a hand gesture, holding the ring finger of his right hand down with his thumb and spreading the other three fingers.”It’s just a friend group I have back home,” de Kock told the host broadcaster. “A couple people know I am doing this initiative with the rhino thing and one of my friends got his fingers shot off in Afghanistan, and I said I will salute to him.”Later, he told the press conference a little more. “I am doing Rockwood and the Rhino conservation and it’s a whole group of us. The one night we had a braai and we started talking and I said his finger being shot off is quite a limelight in our group of friends so I said I will do that as an accolade for him. I couldn’t believe it happened first time. I am sure my phone with the boys’ group is going to be buzzing.”de Kock seemed in lighter spirits than he had throughout the 2020-21 summer, when he was asked to captain South Africa in all three formats moving between bio-bubbles. He finished the season after being given time off for the domestic T20 tournament, which the South African Cricketers’ Association described as a mental health break. de Kock explained that it was the restricted environment, not the leadership, that necessitated his time off.

Watch cricket on ESPN+

West Indies vs South Africa is available in the US on ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the series.

“It didn’t have anything to do with the captaincy. It had to do with the Covid bubbles. Being under so many bubbles took its toll. It was just too much,” he said. ” I asked for a break; if I can just relax for the T20 series back home and they deemed it a mental [health] break. I wasn’t mentally tired, from cricket at least. I was just tired from bubbles. I had enough of them.”He described South Africa’s trip to Pakistan in January-February as particularly difficult, as it came after several other tours and was the most strict of the lot. “We were on the road right from the IPL, but being in the Pakistan bubble was particularly difficult, especially just going from cricket change room to one floor of rooms. That’s how we stayed. No balconies, no nothing, no room to move. I just asked if I could have a break. Ever since then, it’s been good.”Since then, de Kock scored one half-century for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL and had two scores above 35 before the tournament was postponed. He returned to international form with his century in the Caribbean, his first Test score over 30 in seven innings to break a lean patch that was starting to get under his skin. “If I was getting starts and wasn’t converting that would have irritated me more but during this last while I wasn’t even getting starts,” he said. “Now, for me just to bat through, is great.”He assessed conditions in St Lucia as offering plenty of movement but also reward for those willing to dig in. “It was difficult. Even in the 75th over, it was still swinging a lot. Obviously there is still a lot in that wicket. If you bat right, there could be an opportunity to score runs and if you bowl well there is also an opportunity to take wickets. It’s been a fair contest so far.”But with South Africa having their noses far in front, de Kock expected the match to end with time to spare. “If we had to just keep doing what we’re doing, building pressure, we should have the game closed by tomorrow,” he said. “In saying that, they’ve still got some good players to come. We’ve seen this team bat deep before.”Should South Africa manage that, it may mean no more gestures from de Kock for his friend or the rhinos in this match. Asked to explain his decision not to participate in any anti-racism gestures at the start of the Test, de Kock said. “My reason – I will keep it to myself. It’s my own personal opinion. Like Lungi [Ngidi] said, it’s everyone’s decision. No one is forced to do anything. Not in life. That’s the way I see things. That’s just about it.”After adopting a collective stance not to take a knee last year, South Africa gave their players a choice in the Caribbean. Six of the playing XI and the entire support staff took a knee and four raised their right fists while standing.

All squads will be revealed at the CPL draft that will take place on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2021Chris Gayle has returned to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for CPL 2021. The 41-year old adds more experience and firepower to a Patriots side that had already secured trades for Dwayne Bravo and Sherfane Rutherford from Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors respectively.Gayle was supposed to turn out for the St Lucia Zouks in CPL 2020 after an acrimonious fallout with the Jamaica Tallawahs, but he eventually opted out of last season for personal reasons.Notably, Gayle had captained the Patriots to their first final in 2017, when they lost to the Knight Riders at the Brian Lara Stadium.Related

• CPL 2021 schedule tweaked to avoid clash with remainder of IPL season

• Shakib Al Hasan not to get NOC to play remainder of IPL 2021

• Andre Russell retained by Jamaica Tallawahs

• Mohammad Amir to play for Tridents

• CPL 2021 to be played entirely in St Kitts

Faf du Plessis, too, will return to the CPL after being snapped up by the Zouks. He had been part of the Patriots in CPL 2016, when he scored 179 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of less than 100. This season, however, he brings with him strong form, having rattled up 320 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 145.45 for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021, which was indefinitely suspended earlier this month after after a number of players and staff tested positive for Covid-19 amid a second wave of the pandemic in India.Meanwhile, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has re-signed with the Jamaica Tallawahs for the forthcoming season. He had been part of the franchise in 2016 and 2017 before moving to the Barbados Tridents in 2019 and winning the title with them.All squads will be revealed at the CPL draft that will take place on Friday. The tournament is scheduled to begin on August 28, with the final on September 19. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all games will be held in St Kitts & Nevis.

The three-day match starting July 20 will feature “a number of players from the county circuit”, a Durham Cricket release said

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2021India are set to play a three-day warm-up match starting July 20 against a County Select XI at Chester-le-Street in Durham. India will use the Riverside Ground “as a home venue for their preparations this summer”, a release from Durham Cricket stated on Wednesday.”The three-day game will see a number of players from the county circuit feature as they go up against the Indian national side,” the release said.There will be 90 overs scheduled per day with the game being played “strictly behind closed doors”, and will be streamed on Durham Cricket’s YouTube channel.India’s Test squad is currently on a break in the UK and is set to reconvene this week to start preparing for the five-Test series starting August 4 in Trent Bridge. R Ashwin also squeezed in a county game for Surrey against Somerset, where he took 6 for 27 in Somerset’s second innings of the drawn game.No tour games were scheduled for the Indian team until recently, and reports had said the visitors had made a late request for a warm-up game before the Test series. Soon after India lost the World Test Championship final to New Zealand in Southampton, captain Virat Kohli had even said that India wanted first-class games before the England Tests.”We obviously wanted first-class games, which I believe have not been given to us,” he said at the post-match press conference. “I don’t know what the reasons for that are. But yeah, other than that, I think our preparation time will be ample for us to be ready for the first Test.”While the squad had been on break, most players got their second shot of the Covid-19 vaccine last week, which was in line with the plans made by the BCCI to keep their players safe on the tour. There have also been recent cases of Covid-19 in the England set-up, when three of their players and four support staff members tested positive before the ODIs against Pakistan.The five Tests will be played at Trent Bridge, Lord’s, Headingley, The Oval and Old Trafford.

The England and Northern Superchargers batter said she wants to be a role model for younger fans on the field and off it

Matt Roller30-Jul-2021Lauren Winfield-Hill has said that making her relationship with her wife Courtney public last year felt like “a weight lifted off my shoulders” and that she is hoping to act as “a role model” for young fans both on and off the field.The Winfield-Hills were married in Australia shortly before the pandemic struck in March 2020, with both Courtney – a former Brisbane Heat player in the WBBL and now a Leeds Rhinos rugby league player – and Lauren opting to take a double-barrelled surname, rather than keeping their respective maiden names.And with cricket supporting the Stonewall foundation’s rainbow laces campaign – which will see both men’s and women’s players wearing the laces across this weekend’s Hundred and Royal London Cup fixtures – Winfield-Hill said that the decision to go public with their relationship has been a driving force in her uptick in form over the last few months.”It was pretty significant, and pretty scary as well,” she said. “It’s a strange one: I never really felt fully comfortable being open publicly about my relationship until I got married. Then, I felt a sense of ‘I’m here, my people are here, everyone is happy, and we’re happy.'”I’m not afraid to be who I am and be authentic any more, but up until getting married, I’d probably never felt like that. It was quite frightening initially – even silly things, like posting a wedding photo on Instagram. People assume things when someone features a lot in your posts, but nobody actually knows.Cricketers in England and Wales will wear rainbow laces across this weekend’s fixtures•Getty Images for Surrey CCC

“It might seem silly, but it was quite a big deal. It feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders for sure. I honestly think that’s why I’m playing some of my best cricket as well, because I just feel comfortable, confident and more open about everything.”The Hundred is the perfect platform to support and showcase our support for the Stonewall foundation. I genuinely believe cricket is a sport for all. If people can be true to themselves then it’s making massive strides moving forwards – it means the pond that you’re fishing from for players to come and enjoy the game is wider and wider.”Winfield-Hill is one of several openly gay players in the England dressing room, and said that she was beginning to embrace the idea of being a role model for younger fans – not only as a cricketer, but as a person more generally.”It’s about being more open and confident in who you are as a person,” she said. “You can’t just be a role model as a cricketer with a cover drive. It has to be about who you are – you want to be considered as more than just a cricketer. You want people to like you as a person.”Fans want to know that Lauren Winfield-Hill likes to play golf, she likes to go for coffee, and she’s married to Courtney. That helps build who you actually are. I’ve never really seen myself as being a role model beyond being a cricketer because I’ve put a lot of value on just being a cricketer, but I’ve put a lot more value on the whole package now, and who I am as a person.”While a number of cricketers in the women’s game are openly gay, the situation is very different in the men’s game. Steven Davies, the former England wicketkeeper, was the last high-profile male player to come out back in 2011, and Winfield-Hill said that she hoped players would feel comfortable if they were to follow suit.”It’s individual preference,” she said. “You can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. You can just make the environment good and open, and the culture supportive. I think the ECB are doing a lot of good work to ensure that is definitely the case.”Hopefully, in time, if that was the situation that would arise, they would feel comfortable enough to be who they are. I certainly think that’s something that the ECB have put a lot of value on and been very supportive in pushing. Hopefully, moving forwards, cricketers do feel that they can just be themselves.”

Lahiru Madushanka is left out from the original squad after failing to recover in time from a fractured collarbone

Madushka Balasuriya01-Oct-2021Pathum Nissanka, Minod Bhanuka, Ashen Bandara, Lakshan Sandakan and Ramesh Mendis have been added to Sri Lanka’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, while Lahiru Madushanka is left out from the original squad after failing to recover in time from the fractured collarbone he suffered against South Africa.The additions take Sri Lanka’s travelling contingent to 23 players, including four reserves, though they scarcely add any weight in terms of international experience. While Sandakan has 20 T20I caps to his name, the other four have just 15 combined. It is also unlikely that any of them will make their way into Sri Lanka’s preferred starting XI, though they do add much-needed injury cover.As such, the inclusion of Sandakan, who had been omitted from Sri Lanka’s recent home series against South Africa, means there will be four specialist spinners in the squad, with him joining Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana and Praveen Jayawickrama.In the highly-rated Nissanka, Sri Lanka have a potential future star with an impressive domestic record – his century on Test debut in the West Indies only reaffirmed his standing – though he is yet to impress in the shorter formats of the game. That said, he did get a few promising starts in the recently concluded SLC T20 Invitational, including an unbeaten 76 off 54 balls.Bandara, meanwhile, was a surprise inclusion in Sri Lanka’s tour of the West Indies earlier this year and is renowned for being a livewire in the field. However, aside from an unbeaten half-century in a losing cause against West Indies, he hasn’t done much for the national side, having been dropped for the South Africa series following a modest showing against a weakened India.In much the same way, both Bhanuka and Mendis have made little impression in the limited outings they’ve had for the national side.While Sri Lanka begin their World Cup campaign with qualifiers against Namibia, Ireland and Netherlands, they will also play two T20Is against Oman in the lead-up to that, on October 7 and 9. The team will fly out for Oman on October 3.