Dubai, Jun 15 (Cricket News) India opener Ishan Kishan climbed up 68 places to grab the seventh spot among batters, while the bowling duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal also made gains in the latest ICC T20 rankings released on Wednesday.

Kishan,who has been one of India's consistent performers in the ongoing T20I home series against South Africa, aggregating 164 runs in three matches including two half-centuries, has made a massive jump to enter the top 10 among T20 batters.

The 23-year-old is the lone Indian batter in the top 10 with KL Rahul occupying the 14 spot.

Skipper Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer have dropped a place each to 16th and 17th spots respectively, while Virat Kohli has slid two places to 21st.

Among bowlers, Bhuvneshwar is up seven places to 11th while leg-spinner Chahal has climbed up four places to 26th.

Australia's Josh Hazlewood has regained his number one spot among T20 bowlers, while Maheesh Theekshana of Sri Lanka is up 16 places to eighth in the list.

In the Test rankings, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has moved a spot to third, behind compatriot Ravichandran Ashwin, who remains static on number two.

Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin, however, continue to occupy the top two spots in the all rounders' list.

Rohit and Kohli retained their seventh and 10 spots respectively among batters while England's Joe Root is back at the top after smashing a second successive century in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship series against New Zealand.

Root, who had reached within striking distance of Marnus Labuschagne after the first Test, has wrested back the top spot from the Australia batter, whom he now leads by five rating points.

Root is on 897 points after his knock of 176 in the first innings of the Nottingham Test, 20 less than his highest of 917 points.

Root first grabbed the number one position in August 2015 and was last at the top in December 2021 before Labuschagne leapfrogged him. He has been No.1 in Tests for 163 days so far.

Steve Smith (1,506 days), Kohli (469 days) and Kane Williamson (245 days) are the others to have had substantial vigils at the top in recent years.

Root's compatriots, player-of-the-match Jonny Bairstow and captain Ben Stokes have also had major gains.

Bairstow's 92-ball 136 that led England's last day chase for an eventual five-wicket win, has moved up 13 places to 39th position while Stokes' 75 not out has taken him from 27th to 22nd position.

Ollie Pope (up 22 places to 53rd) and Alex Lees (up 26 places to 86th) have also moved up the rankings for batters while seam bowler Matthew Potts has advanced 18 places to 59th after picking up three wickets in the match.

For New Zealand, Daryl Mitchell's scores of 190 and 62 not out have lifted him 33 places to a career-best 17th position while Tom Blundell's first innings century has helped him move up four places to 31st position.

Devon Conway's innings of 46 and 52 saw him inch up one slot to 23rd. Fast bowler Trent Boult is up four places to ninth. 

Also Read : Bowlers and openers shine as India keep series alive with 48-run win

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Dubai, May 27 (Cricket News) Veteran India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik reckons Babar Azam will soon become the top-ranked batter across formats, adding that Pakistan skipper is reaping the benefits of the subtle changes made in his batting technique.

The 27-year-old, who has been a consistent campaigner across all three formats, currently holds the top spot among batters in T20Is as well as ODIs and Karthik is confident Babar can become the first player in the history of the sport to be ranked No.1 across all three formats.

"One-hundred per cent (he is capable of achieving the No.1 ranking in all three formats). He (Babar) is a high-quality player who is at the peak of his batting prowess and he has got some Test matches coming up," Karthik said on The ICC Review.

"He has been phenomenal in all three formats of the game and he has done well in different batting positions too. I think he has the potential. He has got all the following of Pakistan helping him in abundance to go on and do special things for his country," he added.

The seasoned wicketkeeper-batter feels Babar has tweaked his batting technique recently which has helped the right-hander become a better player and his timing of the ball is now on par with all modern-day batters.

"The two things that struck me when I watched him bat is his balance and his striking point when he plays a ball.

"Whether it is on the front foot or the back foot, his ability to strike the ball more often than not under his eyes, has been phenomenal.

"He strikes the ball at the point where it is optimum power for where the ball is pitched and that makes him a very special player." In the longest format of the game, Babar is ranked fifth in the world, behind Australia's Marnus Labuschagne and the 'Big Four' of India's Virat Kohli, England's Joe Root, Australia's Steve Smith and New Zealand's Kane Williamson.

"It is a very strong 'Fab Four' that we are talking about and they have obviously been there for much longer, but there is no doubt that Babar has all the credentials and he is going to make it a 'Fab Five'." "There is no doubt he is there or thereabout ... he is a very special player." Karthik believes Babar will continue to develop further as he learns how to adapt to different conditions that players face when playing away from home.

"When you play international cricket, you have got to keep changing a little bit here and there to keep improving your technique,” he said.

"Sometimes just by one per cent (improvement), you can go on and achieve success in that particular tour you are on, so I think he has definitely tweaked his technique a bit here and there over a period of time." 

Also Read : RCB look to reach their second final as they take on RR in Qualifier 2

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Dubai, May 25 (Cricket News) Bangladesh's Liton Das and Sri Lankan veteran Angelo Mathews have made valuable gains in the ICC Men's Test Rankings after fine performances in the drawn first match while there has been no movement in latest top-10 list issued by the world body.

In the batter's list, Marnus Labuschagne maintained his pole position while India captain Rohit Sharma and his predecessor Virat Kohli remained static at eighth and 10th place respectively.

Similarly in bowling, Pat Cummins (901 points) has a 51-point lead over his nearest rival Ravichandran Ashwin, who is followed by countryman Jasprit Bumrah.

India's Ravindra Jadeja also remained on top of the all-rounders' table.

With only Sri Lanka and Bangladesh engaged in a WTC series, it was inevitable that players from those two nations earned points.

Wicketkeeper-batter Liton has moved up three places to 17th after notching 88 in Bangladesh’s only innings, while Player of the Match Mathews' knock of 199 in the first innings has lifted him five places to 21st among batters in the list led by Australia’s Labuschagne.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal are other Bangladesh batters to advance in the latest weekly rankings update after scoring centuries that took Bangladesh to a total of 465.

Mushfiqur, who notched 105, is up four places to 25th, while Tamim has gained six places to reach 27th position following his innings of 133.

In the rankings for bowlers, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has inched up one place to 29th after finishing with four wickets in the match, while off-spinner Nayeem Hasan's career-best figures of six for 105 in the first innings see him progress nine places to 53rd.

Sri Lanka medium-fast bowler Kasun Rajitha has moved from 75th to 61st after taking four wickets and Asitha Fernando is now in the top 100 of the list led by Australia captain Cummins. 

Also Read : You've got to swallow your ego sometimes and hang in there: Buttler on jittery start against GT

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New Delhi, Apr 14 (Cricket News) Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has picked Virat Kohli as the best batter among the 'big five' in Test cricket, preferring to not read much into the Indian maestro's failure to score a hundred since November 2019.

As per Watson's list, the former India captain has pipped the likes of Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Babar Azam.

"In Test match cricket, I am always going to say Virat Kohli," Watson said when asked by Isa Guha who he thought is the best Test batter in the world, in his latest episode of the ICC Review.

"It's nearly superhuman, what he is able to do because he has such high intensity every time he goes out to play," Watson added.

While Kohli has slipped to 10th on the ICC rankings, the Indian great continues to hold a remarkable Test batting record. He has scored 27 Test centuries and 28 half-centuries and currently has a Test batting average of just under 50.

The world's current No.1 Test batter Marnus Labuschagne, who has played 26 Test matches and averages 54.31, would have increased the 'big 'five' to a 'big six', but was left out of the debate for this topic due to a 40-Test minimum criteria, the ICC said in a report on its official website.

Regarding Pakistan skipper Babar, who he has kept at number two, Watson noted, "Babar Azam is playing incredibly well.

"(It's great) to be able to see how he has adapted his game to really move his game to Test cricket as well.

"Babar Azam would probably be No.2 at the moment." Babar is currently ranked the fifth best batter in the world and appears to be on the rise if his recent performances against Australia are anything to go by. He stroked a superb 196 during the second Test in Karachi and finished the series with a total of 390 runs.

About Watson's third best batter Smith, he said the Australian star "has just started to come off a little bit." "It looks like Smith has really started to play for time a little bit more and is not putting as much pressure on the bowlers as he did when was at his absolute best. For me, Steve has dropped down that list a little bit." Smith is second on the ICC rankings, with only Australian team-mate Labuschagne ranked ahead of him.

About Williamson, who Watson considers the world's fourth best at the moment, the Australian said, "Kane knows his game inside out and knows how to put pressure on bowlers in any conditions." While Williamson has played just two Test matches in the last 12 months, he remains ranked as the third best batter. The Kiwi veteran has 24 Test centuries to his name and may still have plenty of cricket left in him if he can overcome his injury issues.

Coming to his fifth best batter Root, Watson said, "Joe Root recently scored a hundred but he has had a bit of time along the lines of Steve Smith where he hasn't been able to nail the big scores like he has done in the past." "It's incredible how these world-class batters just go through waves where instead of scoring those big hundreds, get the 70s-80s, but still have an impact on the game but are not able to really maintain that really high standard of getting those big runs as they have done in the past," Watson added.

Also Read : Will India's chances be affected at the T20 WC if Chahar is injured?

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Karachi, Mar 26 (Cricket News) Australia suffered a blow ahead of their upcoming ODI series and lone T20 against Pakistan with senior batter Steve Smith being ruled out with an elbow problem.

Cricket Australia said on Friday night that Smith will miss the white-ball leg of the tour of Pakistan to manage discomfort in his left elbow.

"Smith experienced some discomfort during the three-match Test series and, with a full schedule of international cricket over the coming 18 months, it was felt prudent to prioritise recovery and treatment at this time," a CA statement said.

Leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson who failed to impress in the three-match Test series has replaced Smith in the white-ball squad.

Australia play three One-Day Internationals (March 29, 31 and April 2) and a T20 International (April 5), with all the matches taking place in Lahore.

Australia have already rested key players David Warner, Glen Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins for the series, while pacer Kane Richardson was also ruled out with an injury problem.

Cricket Australia's head of sports science and sports medicine, Alex Kountouris, said: "Steve has been experiencing some minor discomfort in his left elbow during the latter stages of the Test series in Pakistan and, given he had an injury with the same elbow last year, we felt it important to manage this proactively.

"Withdrawing him from the white ball matches means Steve will have the necessary time to rehabilitate his elbow to ensure his continuing availability and performance for Australia." Chairman of Selectors George Bailey said: "With the significant amount of cricket to come over the next 18 months, and the fact he has had an issue with the same elbow previously, it is appropriate for Steve to return home at the end of the Test series in Pakistan.

"We have opted not to name a replacement batter as we feel we have options within the existing squad, and Steve's absence offers up additional opportunities to players within the group." Australia's white-ball squad: Aaron Finch (capt), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Adam Zampa. 

Also Read : Shreyas Iyer is a superstar in making, says KKR coach McCullum

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Dubai, Mar 2 (Cricket News) Riding on his splendid run against Sri Lanka recently, India batter Shreyas Iyer has jumped a massive 27 spots in the latest ICC T20I rankings, even as Virat Kohli fell out of the top 10.

India's recent home series win against Sri Lanka has had major ramifications on the player rankings aiding attacking top-order batter Iyer to make a massive jump to reach the 18th position in the list for batters.

Iyer scored three unbeaten half-centuries during India's 3-0 win against Sri Lanka in February, with the 27-year-old amassing an impressive 204 runs at a strike rate of 174.

Iyer's teammate pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar jumped three spots to 17th on the bowler rankings.

Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka scored an impressive 75 in the second game of the series, and he was rewarded with a six-spot rise to ninth on the rankings, while former India captain Kohli - who was rested for the series - dropped five places to 15th.

The other big mover with the bat in T20I cricket this week is Mohammad Waseem of the UAE. His unbeaten century against Ireland in the final of ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier A, helped him reach the 12th position with the bat. That is the highest T20I ranking by any UAE batter, surpassing Shaiman Anwar's 13th place achieved in 2017.

Sri Lanka's Lahiru Kumara's five wickets in the series with India have lifted him into the top 40 bowlers for the first time.

Other bowlers who enjoyed a successful time at the T20 World Cup Qualifier A include Zahoor Khan of UAE (up 17 places to joint-42nd) and Ireland's Josh Little (up 27 places to join-49th).

Rohan Mustafa's successes with bat and ball have enabled him to move up to sixth place among all-rounders, just one place below his best of fifth achieved in February 2020.

The biggest mover on the Test rankings was South African quick Kagiso Rabada, who shot up three places to third following his impressive display against hosts New Zealand.

Rabada managed 10 wickets during the two-match series, with his magnificent haul of 5/60 in the first innings of the second Test helping the Proteas on their way to an important 198-run triumph.

The kiwi duo of Kyle Jamieson (dropped two spots to fifth) and Tim Southee (dropped one spot to sixth) lost ground in the bowler rankings, with Australia captain Pat Cummins and India veteran Ravichandran Ashwin still leading the way.

Marnus Labuschagne remained as the top ranked Test batter, with New Zealander Devon Conway jumping six places to 17th following his 92 in the second innings of the second Test against South Africa.

In the ODI rankings for men, veteran spinner Rashid Khan re-claimed his spot in the top 10 for bowlers following five wickets from the recent three-game series against Bangladesh.

Rashid jumped six spots to ninth, while teammate Mehidy Hasan Miraz dropped two spots to seventh following the series.

Sri Lanka's Liton Das was the leading run-scorer in the ODI series between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and he is up to a career-best 32nd with the bat.

Trent Boult remained the top ranked ODI bowler, while Pakistan right-hander Babar Azam led the way for batters. 

Also Read : Harmanpreet credits team psychologist for helping her come out of 'shell'

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Australia are all set to tour Pakistan for the first time in nearly 25 years. Cricket Australia and the players are in the midst of the controversial departure of head coach Justin Langer. Andrew McDonald is the interim coach and will take charge in Pakistan. 

Australia's 18-man Squad:

Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

The only player missing from the side that defeated England 4-0 in the Ashes is Jhye Richardson who has been rested to manage his workload. Ashton Agar is the only new addition to that side. Australia have gone for a full strength squad keeping the World Test Championship in mind. It goes without saying that none of the Australian players has ever played international cricket in Pakistan which will be a challenge.

Australia will be looking to play 2 spinners in the starting XI. Lyon is guaranteed to be the first one while Swepson and Agar can battle for the other spot. Agar will give more prowess with the willow while Swepson will be more dynamic with his wrist spin. Apart from being their best batters, Smith and Labuschagne are also two very reliable part time bowling options. The tour will be a massive challenge for Cameron Green who has never toured away with the Australian side.

The biggest challenge for Cummins and McDonald would be to sort out David Warner's opening partner. After Harris opened and failed to capitalise in the first 4 Ashes Tests, he was replaced by Khawaja. It will be interesting to see if the Aussies revert back to Harris or stick with Khawaja. Australia are currently 2nd on the World Test Championship table followed by Pakistan in 3rd which makes the series extremely crucial.

Also read: India brush aside West Indies to go 1-0 and make 1000th ODI more special

(Cricket news) The Vitality Blast will start the 20th edition of the T20 competition with an opening-night rematch of last season’s final when champions Kent Spitfires play Somerset on May 25. The new Vitality Blast brand has been announced to mark the world’s longest-running professional domestic Twenty20 competition turning 20.

This year the Vitality Blast’s competitors will have seven weeks of action as the 18 First-Class teams bid to reach the already sold-out Finals Day at Edgbaston on July 16. The audience will get an early taste of one of the Vitality Blast’s most celebrated derbies with Lancashire Lightning hosting Yorkshire Vikings on the first Friday night of the competition.

 

Fan-friendly timeslots will also be a feature of the group-stage with 99 of the 126 matches to be played on a Thursday night, Friday night or at the weekend. There will also be 10 double-headers when the men’s Vitality Blast and women’s Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 matches are played back-to-back at the same venue.

The continuity will help ensure the Vitality Blast’s biggest overseas stars can be available for one of the busiest days in the county calendar, with superstar names such as Rashid Khan (Sussex Sharks), Carlos Brathwaite (Birmingham Bears), Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan), Shaheen Afridi (Middlesex), Qais Ahmed (Kent Spitfires) and Matthew Wade (Worcestershire Rapids) already padded up for the competition.

 

Darren Stevens is also set to turn out for Kent Spitfires again, after playing a crucial part in the Spitfires’ success last September, as one of five players who played in the very first T20 season in 2003. Current-day players Samit Patel (Notts Outlaws), Ravi Bopara (Sussex Sharks), Tim Bresnan (Birmingham Bears) and Tim Murtagh (Middlesex) were also involved in the first Twenty20 competition.

 

They will be featuring along with the rising stars such as Harry Brook (Yorkshire Vikings), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire Lightning), Tom Banton (Somerset) and George Garton (Sussex Sharks) who are currently with the England Men’s squad for their five-match Twenty20 series in West Indies.

 

Also read: Stupid to blame IPL for England's Ashes debacle: Pietersen

Dubai, Jan 20 (Cricket News) The flamboyant Rohit Sharma featured as opener, Rishabh Pant as wicketkeeper and R Ashwin as the lone specialist spinner in the ICC men's 'Test Team of the Year' but no Indian player was included in the global body's ODI XI for 2021.

After going unrepresented in the ICC men's 'T20 Team of the Year' due to a disastrous World Cup campaign in the UAE, it was no surprise to see the Indians miss out in the apex body's ODI side as well after playing just six matches, even as the list featured two players from minnows Ireland.

India, the world number one in Tests, however have three representatives in the year's best team for the game's longest format, with New Zealand talisman Kane Williamson as its skipper.

Overall, India played 14 Tests in 2021 and managed to win eight out of them. They lost three Tests last year, including the heart-breaking defeat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand.

Rohit, who was recently elevated as India's white-ball captain as Virat Kohli's successor, cracked 906 runs in the calendar year at an average of 47.68 with two centuries.

Both of Rohit's centuries were memorable knocks in contrasting conditions against England -- one in Chennai and the other in overcast conditions away from home at the Oval.

Pant, who established himself as India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in all the three formats, scored 748 runs in 12 matches at an average of 39.36 with one memorable ton against England at Ahmedabad. He also accounted for 39 dismissals in 23 innings, with his glovework continuing to improve.

The seasoned Ashwin scalped 54 wickets in nine matches at an average of 16.64, making a big impact in the home series against England and New Zealand. He also chipped in with 355 runs at an average of 25.35, which included a vital century against England in Chennai.

Besides the Indian trio and Williamson, the ICC Test team has one Sri Lankan in Dimuth Karunaratne, one Australian in Marnus Labuschagne, England captain Joe Root, New Zealand's Kyle Jamison and three Pakistanis in Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi.

Leading the 2021 ICC Test Team of the Year, Williamson was an influential captain for New Zealand, leading them to glory at the inaugural World Test Championship Final against India in Southampton.

He was also steady with the bat, scoring 395 runs in 4 matches at an average of 65.83 with one century.

Besides the absence of India players, the ODI team also doesn't have anyone from Australia, English, New Zealand or West Indies.

The team, which has Pakistan's Babar Azam as its captain, has two of his team-mates, including Fakhar Zaman.

South Africans Janneman Malan and Rassie van der Dussen, Bangladeshis Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahaman and Mushfiqur Rahim, who is also the designated wicketkeeper, Sri Lankans Wanindu Hasaranga and Dishmantha Chameera along with Irishmen Paul Stirling and Simi Singh form the rest of the squad.

India, in the year 2021, played six ODIs and won four while losing two.

The non-selection of Indian players in the XI is more to do with lack of matches rather than poor show since they have won both the series that they played in 2021.

The only Indian player who has played all the ODI matches in 2021 is veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan, who had 297 runs from six games.

The likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma only played three ODIs in 2021 and ditto for premier bowlers, who also didn't play all the six games.

Buvneshwar Kumar was there in five of those six games with his tally of wickets not in double digits (9 from 5 matches).

In order to make it to the team of the year, there has to be enough impactful performances to earn points which Indians didn't have.

Ireland's Stirling had a whopping 705 runs in 14 ODIs in 2021 with an average of 79.66 which made him an automatic selection.

Proteas opener Janneman has scored 509 runs in 8 games with an average of nearly 85.

Babar, who has played least among the 11 players, also has 405 runs in six games with two hundreds while team-mate Zaman has 369 runs in the year. 

Also Read : ICC ODI men's Team of The Year: After T20s, no Indians in this one too

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) It's been exactly a year since India defeated Australia at the Gabba to clinch the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the 2nd consecutive time against all the odds. To some Indian fans the match seems like it was yesterday and to some it seems like an eternity ago. 

 

After securing a fighting draw at Sydney to keep the series alive at 1-1, India went to the Gabba with barely 11 players fit. India's lead bowlers Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin were both out of the game. Net bowlers Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan and Washington Sundar were added to the Playing XI. India started the game with absolutely nothing to lose as their main strike bowler with the most experience was Mohammed Siraj who himself had played only two Test matches. 

 

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Marnus Labuschagne's century guided Australia to 369 runs in the 1st innings. Matthew Wade, Tim Paine and Cameron Green also contributed with their small cameos. Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan and Washington Sundar picked up their maiden Test wickets and ended the innings with 3 wickets each. Despite their inexperience, Indian bowlers didn't let the Aussies run away with the game. Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy was spot on with good bowling changes and appropriate field setting. 

 

In the 2nd innings India found themselves in deep trouble as they lost 6 wickets for just 180 runs. Sundar and Thakur came out to bat and put together 123 runs for the 7th wicket. India were all out for 336 but it could've been much worse if it hadn't been for the partnership between the two newcomers. Australia came out to bat with a lead of 33 runs. Mohammed Siraj picked up 5 wickets while Shardul Thakur picked up 4 as Australia were all out for 294 runs.

 

Chasing 328 runs, India were given a good start by Shubman Gill who scored 91 runs off 146 balls. Cheteshwar Pujara occupied the crease 211 balls scoring 56 runs and fought very hard despite being hit by multiple body blows. Rishabh Pant played a match winning knock of 89* supported by Sundar's cameo. India ended up chasing the total with 3 wickets in hand and 18 balls to spare.

 

India's victory, although fresh in people's memories, has already acquired a legendary status. It has been taken to mythical proportions and deservedly so. Everyone loves a good underdog story and this was the ultimate underdog story where the Indians tackled injuries, bio-bubble, racism and sledging to create history.

Also read: Docu series 'Down Underdogs' will leave Indian cricket fans in nostalgic tears

(Cricket news) It's been almost a year since the Indian cricket team against all the odds defeated Australia in an away Test series. Now Sony Sports has released a 4 part docu series on India's triumph where they won 2-1 away against the mighty Australia despite numeral setbacks. The series is available to watch on SonyLiv

 

In the docu series, viewers will see players Hanuma Vihari, Mohammed Siraj and Marnus Labuschagne talking about their experiences. Former cricketers turned commentators Sunil Gavaskar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Nick Knight, Isa Guha, Vivek Razdan, Lisa Sthalekar, Micheal Clarke, Jason talked about the series and also their own experiences in similar situations. Journalists Harsha Bhogle, Ayaz Memon, Joy Bhattacharjya, Gaurav Kapoor and Rajdeep Sardesai highlighted several points about the series and the historical context of it.

 

The topic of the documentary was such that fans of Indian cricket would enjoy it regardless of the quality of the end product because it is still fresh in people's mind and the memories of it would trigger the nostalgic factor in people's brain who have experienced the series even if it is through their T.V screens. Each episode focused on the 4 Test matches titled Adelaide Aberration, Melbourne Magic, Sydney Siege and Brisbane Breached.

 

Throughout the series there were stories and anecdotes about players like Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan and Washington Sundar. The series brilliantly portrayed important parts of the series like Virat Kohli leaving after the first Test, Ravichandran Ashwin's battle with Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane's hundred, India's multiple injury woes, racist abuse, the unexpected debuts of inexperienced Indian players and Tim Paine's sledging. 

 

The main thing missing was that Marnus Labuschagne, Hanuma Vihari and Mohammed Siraj were unable to enlighten the viewers about their mindset during and before the games. What the atmosphere was inside the changing room was not really talked about. The main takeaway from the series was that it depicted the beauty of Test cricket and why it is the best format of the game and must be preserved. Overall the series is definitely a must watch for all the cricket fans. The high drama along with the ebbs and flow of the Test series is highlighted and enhanced in the docu series. 

Also read: India begin preparations for the 2023 World Cup with 1st ODI Vs South Africa

(Cricket news) Australia comprehensively beat England 4-0 to win the Ashes. The series could've easily been a whitewash as England managed to draw the 4th Test with just 1 wicket left. The result was because of a combination of Australia being good and England being underwhelming.

From the Australian point of view it was a perfect performance despite having the home advantage and England not being their best version. It is very clear that Australia are on the right track to getting back to their best even though they are not there yet. Australia are smoothly transitioning in new quick bowlers into the side as Scott Boland had a fantastic debut series. Micheal Neser and Jhye Richardson did well in the 1 game they played. The Aussies are working on the depth of their bowling and it's reaping rewards already.

The big plus point was Cameron Green's outstanding performance. The All-rounder made his debut in 2020 against India. He had a few decent performances with the bat but failed to take a wicket. In the Ashes he picked up 13 wickets and scored 238 runs with the willow. New captain Pat Cummins did his usual bit with the ball as he was the highest wicket taker with 21 wickets. His captaincy also was very good and didn't affect his bowling as people thought it would.

Travis Head was named player of the series for being the highest run scorer with 357 runs in 6 innings with a strike rate of 86.02. He scored two match winning hundreds and has now stamped his authority on the number 5 spot. Usman Khawaja came in as his replacement in the 4th Test and hit two tons. He was then asked to open the innings which is an area of concern for Australia. They have been unable to find a steady opening partner for David Warner. Overall Australia have a lot of positives they can take into the rest of the WTC cycle.

England on the other hand have had a long, hard and disappointing tour. Mark Wood's performance was possibly the only positive of the series. The seamer picked up 17 wickets in 7 innings but often had no support. England are well and truly missing the presence of Jofra Archer. Now might be the time for England to start phasing out James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Ben Stokes had a few decent periods in the series but wasn't good enough overall. This is his first tour since returning to the international scene and soon he should be back to his best. The opening slot is a big area of concern as all English openers look very inconsistent. Jack Leech who is the lead spinner also had very few good spells in the 3 games he played. England desperately needs a revamp in the entire structure. Their next red ball series will be away against the West Indies.
 

Also read: KL Rahul should be made Test skipper: former BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale

Melbourne, Jan 16 (Cricket News) Australian great Ian Chappell feels the just-concluded Test series between India and South Africa involved the kind of emotion that the lop-sided Ashes lacked completely.

Beaten comprehensively in the three-match series opener, South Africa bounced back in style to claim the rubber 2-1 after convincing victories in the second and third Test against their fancied opponents.

"South Africa surprisingly defeated India in an old-fashioned dogfight that included some enthralling cricket. It also involved ample emotion of the sort that has notably been missing from an Ashes contest that has been surprisingly uncontroversial so far," Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.

The former Australia captain added, "The South Africa series featured bowling domination on pitches that were probably too much in favour of the fielding side, but there was also some exquisite batting." While both teams fought hard to outdo each other throughout the series, the Ashes series between traditional rivals Australian and England turned out to be completely one-sided with the former dominating their beleaguered visitors.

The hosts sealed the five-match series with three successive wins before England just about managed to halt the Australian juggernaut in the fourth Test with a hard-earned draw. Australia won the fifth Test with two days to spare, to take the series 4-0.

"The Australia-versus-England series has often been frustratingly one-sided. It was apparent again when the ebullient Travis Head, aided by Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green, launched a defiant counterattack in Hobart.

"In the first three Tests it was mainly the home side displaying the grit and application that five-day cricket requires. That led to 12 days where Australia steamrolled their way to a series victory, while English cricket was exposed for all its ineptitude," Chappell said.

He added, "It was only when Joe Root's batting skill was duplicated and England finally applied some bowling nous that a Test was saved. Even then it was a close call.

"At the SCG, Australia were still by far the better side, expertly led and prepared to expend the required energy, but at least England unearthed some much needed fight." Chappell also believed that the administrators should start valuing the selectors more highly than coaches.

"A good Test selector is capable of including both considerations in his choices and that is why they are highly regarded. When it comes to financial rewards, cricket should start valuing selection more highly than coaching; it would make a pleasant and worthwhile change," Chappell said.

Speaking on the role of selectors, Chappell cited as example the 28-year-old South African Keegan Petersen, who had played just two Tests coming into the series against India.

However, he showed a lot of composure against the strong Indian bowling attack and was unfortunate to have not got a century after scoring three fifties in the series.

"... In particular, Petersen's sudden rise to fame has been a revelation and raises the question of where he has been all this while. This example exposes one of the mysteries of Test cricket: do some selectors know what they should be looking for? "Petersen is in his prime, at 28, but he has only played five Tests. Despite lacking experience he has all the requirements of a Test No. 3, including a wide range of shots that he is prepared to play, plus a solid defence.

"So why is he only playing now? Sometimes players deserve an opportunity on potential and temperament alone and this is where good selection stands out," Chappell pointed out. 

Also Read : Gavaskar wants Rishabh Pant to succeed Kohli as Test skipper

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Day 2 of the 5th and final Ashes Test match started with Australia batting in the 1st innings on 245/6 with Mitchell Starc and Alex Carey at the crease. The day started half an hour early due to rain interruption yesterday. 

 

Mark Wood picked up the wickets of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc early on. Chris Woakes dismissed Alex Carey. Nathan Lyon came in and swung his arms around as he scored 31 runs off 27 balls hitting 1 four and 3 sixes. Stuart Broad finally bowled him as the Australian innings came to an end with 303 runs on the board. Rory Burns who came back into the side after sitting out the last two Tests was run-out without scoring a single run. The wrong call was given by his batting partner Zak Crawley but Burns didn't even bother to dive. Bruns and Malan both were out after edging the ball but the umpire didn't give it out and the Aussies decided not to review it. 

 

Pat Cummins picked up the wicket of Zak Crawley. The Australia captain then came back and bowled a fiery spell in which he picked up the wickets of Joe Root and Dawid Malan who were building a partnership. Lyon took a stunning catch off Mitchell Starc's bowling to dismiss Ben Stokes as England were in deep trouble on 88/5. Scott Boland joined the party as he dismissed Ollie Pope. He then produced the edge of Chris Woakes twice but the catches were dropped by David Warner and Usman Khawaja. Sam Billings and Woakes added 42 valuable runs before Cameron Green. Starc was brought back into the attack and he got rid of Woakes and Broad while Cummins cleaned up Mark Wood. England were bowled out for 188.

 

Warner and Khawaja walked out to bat with a lead of 115 runs. Warner just like the first innings was dismissed for a duck this time by Broad. Woakes got rid of Marnus Labuschagne shortly after while Mark Wood's brutal bouncer got the wicket of Khawaja. Scott Boland came in as night watchman and showed great resilience to survive. Australia ended the day on 37/3 with a lead of 152 runs.

Also read: 3 Takeaways from India's Test series loss in South Africa

 

 

(Cricket news) England and Australia started the 4th and last Test of the Ashes tour at the Blundstone Arena. England captain Joe Root won the toss and put the Aussies into bat. England made four changes as Rory Burns, Ollie Pope, Sam Billings and Ollie Robinson came in for Haseeb Hameed, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leech. Australia on the other hand replaced Marcus Harris with Travis Head. 

 

The new Australian opening pair had a wobbly start as England bowlers were on fire. Ollie Robinson came through and got rid of David Warner in the 6th over for a duck which was Warner's first in a home Ashes series. Robinson then produced an edge off Marnus Labuschagne but the catch was dropped in the slips. Stuart Broad who had been bowling well finally got his reward as he dismissed Usman Khawaja on 6. Steve Smith was dismissed for a duck on his second ball by Robinson leaving Australia 3 down for just 12. Labuschagne and Travis Head began to counter attack and put runs on the board in quick succession. The pair played some very aggressive strokes including aerial ones which wasn't ideal given the situation but paid off.

 

Labuschagne was dismissed by Broad on 44 in bizarre fashion after he failed to judge the ball and left his stumps exposed, falling on the floor in the process. Travis Head scored his 2nd hundred of the series in just 113 balls hitting 12 boundaries in the process. After completing his ton he was dismissed off the very next ball after chipping Mark Wood's ball straight to Robinson. Cameron Green to very well made 74 consisting of 8 fours before getting out to Mark Wood. After 59.3 overs rain decided to spoil the party as stumps were called with Australia on 241/6.

Also read: South Africa win Cape Town Test to clinch series 2-1 in grand fashion

(Cricket news) After the thrilling draw in Sydney, England will look to finish what has been a disappointing tour with a win. Australia on the other hand would be very keen to make sure they win the match and jump higher in the WTC table. The way England fought in Sydney will give the side a lot of confidence. They just need a few things to go their way in order to convert their efforts into victory at the Bellerive Oval.

 

Australia Possible Playing XI:

 

David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Lyon.

 

Pat Cummins has already confirmed that Usman Khawaja will open the innings to make way for Travis Head in the middle order with Marcus Harris being dropped. Khawaja's two centuries in Sydney have made him undroppable. Josh Hazelwood has been ruled out of the match while Scott Boland will have a late fitness Test. Jhye Richardson could get another opportunity in the side. Mitchell Starc will be the main man because of his incredible record with the pink ball.

 

England possible playing XI:

 

Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Sam Billings, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Jack Leach, James Anderson.

 

Jos Buttler has been sent back home after a finger injury which puts last games centurian Bairstow incharge of the gloves with Sam Billings all set to make his Test debut. The only other player whose position is in doubt is Haseeb Hameed but England don't have any other opener apart from Rory Burns who was himself dropped due to poor form. 

 

Weather and Pitch report:

 

The first 3 days have cloud cover and showers predicted. The last two days are expected to be mostly sunny. This will only be the 14th Test match at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The pitch is expected to be a good one to bat on as the ball should come onto the bat nicely. The surface at Hobart doesn't have much assistance for the bowlers. 

 

England desperately needs this victory but it won't come easy. Australia have an excellent record in pink ball Tests while England have been unimpressive with the pink ball.

Also read: Virat Kohli puts in a masterclass at Cape Town displaying sheer grit

(Cricket news) The Ashes series have always brought the best out of batters and bowlers. The 4th Test at Sydney was just another example of how the series has shaped career defining moments for the England and Australian players. Australia had already won the series when they defeated England in the previous three matches, England did not want to repeat the 2013/ 2014 case where they lost all the matches in Australia.

 

Australia had raised the standards of batting in both the innings of the Test as England bowlers had to toil hard to get a breakthrough. Usman Khawaja hit hundreds in both the innings to sink the hopes of the Englishmen who were in dire need of a win. Khawaja stood for almost 400 balls in the match which clearly helped the side to establish a heavy lead.

 

Stuart Broad was leading the bowling attack with five wickets including the wicket of Khawaja and James Anderson chipped in with an economical spell. The England side was reduced to 36-4 in 20 overs as Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow pulled the team back into the game, Bairstow hit 113 of 158 balls as the team put 294 runs on board.

 

The Australian batters again put up a solid stand on the crease as they declared at 265, setting up a target of 388. Joe Root had time to lead his men to victory as the batters tread slowly in the chase, Scott Boland continued his attack as he gave the first breakthrough in the 20th over. The batters did not look for runs as they played on the backfoot and kept defending the ball, it started working as the hosts tried 7 bowlers from the team. Even Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne came into the bowling attack as Smith got a wicket but they could cause full damage.

 

Pat Cummins had few outrageous inswingers which showed how much the team wanted to win the match. At the same time, Stokes alongside Bairstow stood for over 200 balls which lifted their hopes. Smith took the wicket of Jack Leach in the 100th over and also bowled the final over to James Anderson who kept the guard to disappoint thousands of fans at Sydney.

 

The last over saw one of the finest batters bowl to one of the finest bowlers. It was a reminder that the responsibilities change in the game and the players are demanded to excel as and when needed. The England side stood defiant, it had lost the last three matches but it was not ready to lose this one and this Test was definitely the best in the series.

 

Also read: Cape of 'Good Hope': All eyes on batter Kohli helping 'skipper' to win historic Test series

(Cricket news) Australia started day 2 at 126 for 3 with Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja new at the crease. The rain gods were kind to cricket lovers as it didn't interfere the play on day 2. Broad Anderson and Wood troubled Khawaja and Smith in their early spells but the pair negotiated well not taking any risks. Joe Root brought Jack Leech into the attack and Khawaja on his return to international attacked him straight away. He played a gutsy reverse sweep from middle and off to swiftly shift gears. Leach then changed the angle and went around the wicket and produced the left handers edge but the catch was dropped by Wicket keeper Jos Butler and Joe Root at first slip after a scuffle. Steve Smith reached his half century in 116 balls as he played very cautiously and didn't take any chances. 

 

Stuart Broad broke the 115 run partnership as he picked up the prized wicket of Steve Smith. The veteran seamer then dismissed Cameron Green cheaply as well to get England back into the game. Khawaja then started to show more and more attacking intent with half his side back in the pavilion. Just when his partnership with Alex Carey was building, Joe Root got rid of Carey. Usman Khawaja marked his comeback with an outstanding hunder off 201 balls which was the 9th of his career. 

 

After tea, Australia started playing very aggressively. Stuart Broad picked up the wicket of Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja to complete his fifer. Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc had a lot of fun with the bat as they were in T-20 mode. Cummins declared on 416/8 as England had to bat 5 overs before stumps. Zak Crawley edged Starc's ball straight to David Warner. After a check it was given a no ball for overstepping as the England openers successfully survived. 

Also read: Dean Elgar's resistance during run chase puts South Africa in the driver's seat

 

(Cricket news) Australia won the toss and elected to bat first in the 4th Ashes Test at the SCG. As expected rain intervened multiple times as England could only bowl 47 overs. Australia lost their top 3 and managed to score 123 runs. 

 

David Warner and Marcus Harris walked out to bat just like they did for the last 3 games. They started cautiously and later started bringing out the shots. Ben Stokes produced an edge of Warner that went between 2nd slip and gully. The pair put together a 50 run partnership. Stuart Broad finally got the breakthrough as he picked up the wicket of David Warner once again. This was the 13 time Broad had dismissed Warner in Test matches. Harris and Marnus Labuschagne started to look good at the crease but James Anderson broke the Partnership as Harris edged a ball to Root at first slip. Mark Wood joined the party as he got rid of Marnus Labuschagne on 28.

 

The returning Usman Khawaja joined Steve Smith in the middle. Khawaja got off the mark with a trademark lull shot. The pair could only add 9 runs before rain spoiled the party for one final time. The remaining 4 days are expected to be the same which will be very frustrating for the players. This was probably only the 2nd time in this series that England had a better day then Australia and they need more of those if they want to take any WTC points home.

Also read: Bangladesh beat New Zealand by 8 wickets in 1st Test at Bay Oval

(Cricket news) England are staring down at an Ashes whitewash. Australia have won the first 3 Tests very convincingly and England have had all sorts of trouble. From team selection to on field performances, everything has been questionable from the English side. Sydney presents Joe Root's men with a chance of getting some pride back along with crucial world test championship points. 

 

Australia Possible Playing XI:

 

David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.

 

Travis Head is out of contention and should be replaced by Usman Khawaja. Mitchell Marsh, Nic Maddinson and Josh Inglis have also been called up to the squad. Josh Hazelwood is fit again and should be back in the side despite an incredible performance from Scott Boland. Mitchell Starc is the only quick bowler who has played all 3 games and could be rested for this one to be ready for the pink ball Test at the Bellerive Oval.

 

England possible playing XI:

 

Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Jack Leach, James Anderson.

 

After missing the last Test Broad should come back into the side. The batters, especially the opening pair, need to do a lot better than they are. Ben Stokes has been a shadow of a player he usually is. Dom Bess and Dan Lawrence are the only two England players yet to feature in this series and it's difficult to see them play in Sydney.

 

Pitch and Weather Report:

 

There is a very high chance of rain on all five days. Getting a result in the game is very very unlikely. The pitch at Sydney is a good one for batting. The seamers can get some movement off the surface while the spinners will definitely come into play on the later days with the footmarks.

 

Australia are firm favourites going into the game but England have more than just pride to play for. They have been docked points for slow over rate in the series and will be looking to get at least one win to add to the table. They will be without their coach Chris Silverwood who is isolating due to a Covid scare.

Also read: Stokes backs Root and Silverwood, says 'no ambition' to be England captain

Dubai, Dec 31 (Cricket News) England captain Joe Root, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson and the Pakistan duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan were on Friday short-listed for the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year Award for their stellar performances across formats.

The award will be given to the best overall performer in men's international cricket (Tests, ODIs and T20Is) during 2021. The winner, who will lift the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, will be announced on January 24.

Root enjoyed a year that will go down in the pages of the history books, scoring 1855 runs in 18 international matches at an average of 58.37 with six centuries. He though endured disappointment as captain with England suffering Ashes humiliation.

His year began with a marathon knock in 228 against Sri Lanka in Galle and he has only gone from strength to strength.

He would follow up his exploits against Sri Lanka with a memorable knock in Chennai, a brilliant 218 against India in the sweltering heat against a spin attack of the highest calibre.

Root continued his sublime form against India in the return leg of the Test series at home, aggregating 564 runs in four matches with three centuries to his name.

His performance also helped him reach the summit of the ICC Test Player Rankings for batting, where he would be eventually displaced by Marnus Labuschagne.

Despite failing to convert his starts into big scores, Root continued being England's best batter against Australia in the first three Ashes Tests.

As compared to Root, Williamson's 693 runs in 16 internationals at an average of 43.31 with one century was a modest total but the admirable Kiwi cannot only be judged on the basis of the runs he scored.

It was also his influential leadership that helped the Blackcaps scale unchartered heights during the year. None more so important than the ICC World Test Championship Final against India in Southampton.

Williamson played a crucial role in that game with the bat as well, scoring a vital 49 in the first innings against a quality bowling unit in conditions assisting the seamers. He followed it up with a crucial 52 not out in the run chase of 139, taking his side home before lifting the mace.

His leadership would again be vital during the T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman, with his tactical nous helping New Zealand reach the final.

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Rizwan had a stunning year with 1915 runs in 44 internationals at an average of 56.32 with two centuries. He also had 56 dismissals behind the wickets.

Rizwan ruled the roost in 2021 when it came to the shortest format of the game. Aggregating a staggering 1326 runs in only 29 matches, Rizwan struck at an average of 73.66 and a strike-rate of 134.89.

Apart from his exploits with the bat, he was as solid as ever behind the stumps, playing a key role in Pakistan's run to the semifinals during the T20 World Cup.

Rizwan also upped his game in Test cricket, scoring 455 runs in nine matches at an average of 45.50.

Swing, seam, sheer pace and sizzling yorkers -- Shaheen Afridi gave an exhibition of it all in 2021 with 78 wickets in 36 internationals at an average of 22.20. He had his best bowling figures of 6/51 The tall Pakistani fast bowler was on fire throughout 2021, knocking some of the best batters over across all three formats of the game. He especially had a year to remember in Tests and T20Is, reaching his absolute peak during the T20 World Cup in UAE where he impressed one and all with his sheer speed and skills.

He would scalp seven wickets in six matches during the tournament in Pakistan's run to the semi-final. He ruled the shortest format throughout the calendar year, scalping 23 wickets in 21 matches with his death bowling improving by leaps and bounds.

He scalped 47 wickets in nine Tests at a staggering average of 17.06. 

Also Read : India beat Sri Lanka by 9 wickets to win U-19 Asia Cup title

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Dec 29 (Cricket News) Seasoned India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday retained his second position in both the ICC Men's Test Player Rankings for bowlers and all-rounders.

Ravindra Jadeja managed to hold to his third position in the Test all-rounders list.

Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli also retained their positions in the Test batters' chart -- at fifth and seventh respectively.

While Rohit has 797 rating points in his kitty, Kohli has collected 756 points.

The Test batting chart is being led by Australia's Marnus Labuschagne (915 points), followed by England captain Joe Root (900) while New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (879) has dislodged Steve Smith (877) from the third position.

Rohit, David Warner, Kohli, Dimuth Karunaratne, Babar Azam and Travis Head complete the top-10.

Among Test bowlers, Ashwin is the only Indian in the top-10, steady at the second spot with 883 rating points.

Australia Test captain Pat Cummins continues to lead the pack, while Pakistan left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is placed third ahead of Tim Southee and James Anderson.

Australia Test debutant Scott Boland also made his first appearance in the ICC Men's Test Player Rankings for bowlers for his outstanding performance in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

By virtue of his six for seven run spell in England's second innings on Tuesday, the 32-year-old Victoria fast bowler is ranked 74th with 271 points.

Boland finished with a seven-wicket match haul in a thumping innings and 14 run victory for Australia.

In the Test all-rounders list, Indian duo of Ashwin (360) and Jadeja (346) are below leader Jason Holder (382) of the West Indies.

Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is fourth, while Mitchell Starc nudged ahead of Ben Stokes into fifth place.

The Test Team ranking is being led by India with 124 rating points, while New Zealand and Australia occupy the second and third positions respectively.

England are fourth ahead of Pakistan. 

Also Read : Ganguly stable, maintaining oxygen saturation of 99% on room air: Hospital

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Australia have retained the Ashes and it looked as if they did it without dropping a bead of sweat. The Aussies won the 3rd Test by an innings and 14 runs. England fell apart on the 3rd day itself. 

 

The visitors didn't have any real hope of rescuing the match at the start of day 3 but the game was done and dusted way earlier than anyone expected. They started the day on 31/1 trailing by 51 runs. Joe Root and Ben Stokes started the day with a few glorious strokes but Stokes was cleaned up by Mitchell Starc shortly after. Scott Boland who picked up two wickets in his one over at the end of day 2 came into the attack and produced an edge of Jonny Bairstow in the very first ball but the catch was dropped, 3 balls later he trapped Bairstow in front and got the wicket. The debutant picked up the prized wicket of Joe Root in the very next over. In his 4th over Boland then picked up the wickets of Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson as he finished his 2nd international innings at 6/7. Cameron Green wasted no time as he clean bowled James Anderson as Australia retained the Ashes.

 

The thing that would hurt England the most is that this Australian side isn't even the strongest one. Even after missing Josh Hazelwood for 2 matches and Pat Cummins for 1 match, Australia have overpowered England in this series and how. Scott Boland made his international debut at the age of 32 and picked up 7 wickets. Micheal Neser debuted in the 2nd Test and picked up 2 wickets. Despite losing the series, England still have a lot to play for in terms of the World Test Championship points. They have already been docked a few points due to slow over rate. Root and co. will be hoping to win at least one of the remaining two games to avoid a whitewash and get some points in the process. 

 

Also read: Former captains 'embarrassed' at England's Ashes surrender

(Cricket news) Australia is ever so close to winning the 3rd Test in Melbourne and wrapping up the series. England at the end of day 2 are 31/4 trailing by 51 runs. Australia could wrap up the series tomorrow itself. The start of the day was delayed by 30 minutes due to a COVID scare in the England camp. Australia started the day on 61/1 with Marcus Harris and night watchman Nathan Lyon in the middle.

England started the day really well as Ollie Robinson got rid of the night watchman after Lyon hit a couple of boundaries. Mark Wood came into the attack and picked up Marnus Labuschagne early for just 1. Anderson started to really trouble both Steve Smith and Harris with some beautiful balls. The veteran bowler finally got his reward as he managed to get one through Smith's bat and pad as he was bowled on 16. Australia ended the first session on 131 for 4 trailing by just 54 runs.

While he was on 27, Travis Head edged Robinson's ball to 1 slip soon after lunch. Harris, whose place in the side was being questioned, answered the critics with a fine 76 off 189. He fell short of his ton as Anderson picked up his wicket. Alex Carey and Cameron Green occupied the crease for a good amount of time and got Australia past England's total. Jack Leech finally turned up and trapped Green in front. Stokes finally got his first wicket of the Test as he dismissed Carey. Anderson got his 4th wicket as he picked up the wicket of Pat Cummins. Mark Wood got Scot Boland as Australia were bowled out for 267 runs with a lead of 82 runs. England would've been content with their performance but what followed was disastrous.

Haseeb Hameed and Zak Crawley walked out to bat with England. Starc got rid of Crawley on 5 before trapping Malan in front on the very next ball. He came very close to getting a hat-trick as the next ball just went past Joe Root's outside edge. Debutant Scott Boland got two wickets late in the day as he got rid of Hameed before cleaning up meant to be night watchman Leech. Australia picked up 4 wickets but it could've been more as quite a few edges didn't carry. England need a minor miracle to rescue the match and keep the series alive. Australia could end the series tomorrow itself and retain the Ashes.

Dubai, Dec 22 (Cricket News) Indian captain Virat Kohli slipped a notch to be placed seventh in the latest ICC rankings for Test batters even as Australia's Marnus Labuschagne, riding on his prolific Ashes form, displaced England skipper Joe Root to become the new world number one.

India's Rohit Sharma remained static at fifth position.

Among bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin is still in second place behind Australia skipper Pat Cummins.

Kohli, who played the second Test against New Zealand, was earlier placed sixth and now with 756 points is in seventh position.

Labuschagne has climbed to the top of the ICC rankings for batters for the very first time after sensational performances in the two matches of the Ashes so far.

With career-best 912 rating points, he went past Root (897), who has dropped to the second spot.

Ranked fourth before the series, Labuschagne rose two spots to No.2 after scoring 74 in Australia's win in the Brisbane Test. In the second Test at Adelaide, he scored a hundred and fifty (103 and 51) as Australia routed England by 275 runs to go 2-0 up in the Ashes.

His teammate Mitchell Starc broke into the top 10 for Test bowlers after returning figures of 6/80 in the second Test, which included a four-for in the first innings that helped reduce England to 236. He moves up to the 9th spot.

In the Player Rankings for T20Is, Pakistan captain Babar Azam reclaimed the top spot in the list for batters after just one week of losing it.

With scores of 0 and 7 in the first two T20Is against the West Indies, Bazar dropped two spots to No.3 in last week's rankings update.

He came roaring back and is now tied at the top of the rankings with Dawid Malan after a brilliant 79 in the final T20I that helped Pakistan complete a clean sweep over West Indies.

His fellow opener Mohammad Rizwan, who has had a tremendous 2021, capped the year by climbing to No.3 in T20I batters' rankings with career-best ratings of 798.

India's new white ball vice-captain KL Rahul is best placed Indian at fifth position in the table. There are no Indian bowlers in top 10 T20 list. 

Also Read : Positive COVID cases will be isolated but matches will continue: CSA Medical Officer Manjra on India tour

News Source : PTI

Australia defeated England by 275 runs in the 2nd Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval to take an invaluable 2-0 lead. England now need to win all three of their remaining games to win the Ashes which looks like the most unlikely thing right now. Marnus Labuschagne was named player of the match for his 103 in the first innings followed by a 51 in the 2nd. 

England have been completely outplayed in both the Tests and they are heading towards an Ashes whitewash. The most disappointing thing for England would be knowing that this Australian team is nowhere near full strength and came into the tournament with a few question marks. Tim Paine left the captaincy and withdrew from the squad just before the tournament. Pat Cummins was named captain for the first time.

Australia played the 2nd Test without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood. Debutant Micheal Neser along with Jhye Richardson didn't disappoint. Alex Carey is making his debut. All these changes should have affected Australia but they haven't because England haven't been anywhere near international level. England's batting line-up was supposed to be boosted by the return of Ben Stokes but it hasn't. Dawid Malan and Joe Root have looked promising at times but haven't been able to play the big innings. Jos Buttler has been a shadow of the player he is. The keeper did try his level best to rescue the match with his 26 from 207 balls but in the end threw his wicket away as he stepped onto his stumps. Chris Woakes also showed great resilience with his 97 ball 44.

Also read: I am 100% committed to doing my best at the Vijay Hazare Trophy - Indian cricketer Yash Nahar

After going wicketless in the first innings, Jhye Richardson picked up a fifer in the second. It will be interesting to see the changes Australia makes in the boxing day Test as Cummins will definitely return to the side while Josh Hazelwood is still doubtful. England are in a lot of trouble at this point. They might give a thought to bringing in Jonny Bairstow and Zak Crawley into the side along with Marko Wood. Apart from Jofra Archer, no other player is missing from the England squad which goes on to show that England's system of running a Test team is going wrong.

Lack of a world class spinner and maybe an opener is proving to be a big problem for Joe Root. Benching Broad and Anderson in the 1st game, playing Pope instead of Bairstow, not playing Mark Wood in the 2nd game are the big decisions that have massively backfired. At this point England would just be hoping that they don't lose the series 5-0. Australia now have a perfect opportunity to whitewash their eternal rivals.

Melbourne, Dec 20 (Cricekt News) Australia skipper Pat Cummins and pacer Josh Hazlewood are set to return for the Boxing Day Test against England as the country’s cricket board named an unchanged 15-member squad for the remainder of the ongoing Ashes series.

Cummins had been unavailable for the ongoing second Test after being deemed a close contact of a person who had tested positive for COVID-19, while Hazlewood was ruled out of the ongoing match with a side strain he sustained in the series opener at the Gabba.

Jhye Richardson had replaced Hazlewood while Michael Laser had been handed a last minute debut.

Under-fire opener Marcus Harris has retained his spot for the remaining three fixtures alongside all others who featured in the second Test, while Usman Khawaja could also be asked to open the innings.

The fourth Test is slated to be played in Sydney from January 5 while the final game is a Day and Night fixture in Hobart, starting January 14.

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. 

Also Read : Boxing Day Test between India and SA to be played without spectators: Report

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) England started day 3 on 17/2 and were bowled out for 236. They did manage to get a breakthrough before stumps but are now massively behind in the game. 

Joe Root and David Malan walked out to bat and stitched together a 100 run partnership for the 2nd game in a row. Malan in particular was very hasty and at one point was looking to swing at any ball that had width. The partnership was broken by Cameron Green as his outswinger got Root's outside edge. Green was troubling the England skipper with his fourth stump line before he succumbed. Malan lost his wicket just 6 overs later as Mitchell Starc got rid of him. Nathon Lyon joined the party as he picked up the wicket of Ollie Pope. Jos Buttler continued his bad form as he edged Starc's ball to 1st slip.

Also read: KL Rahul to be Virat Kohli's deputy for SA Test series

Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes put together 43 runs before Woakes was cleaned up by Lyon's off spinner. The veteran spinner wasn't done then as he trapped Ollie Robinson in front. Stokes tried to attack with only two wickets left but ended up playing Green's ball onto the stumps. James Anderson and Stuart Broad got some blows on the helmet and on the body from the England bowkers. Starc picked up his 4th wicket of the innings by getting rid of Broad. England were bowled out for 236 which was 237 runs less than Australia's total.

Despite having the option, Steve Smith didn't enforce the follow on and out walked David Warner and Marcus Harris to face Broad and Anderson under the lights. The openers negotiated well and put 41 runs together. The ball was swinging a fair bit but the pair played well before a miscommunication led to Warner getting run-out just before stumps. Michael Neser was given the job of night watchman and managed to survive. Australia are now 45/1 with a lead of 282 runs. England are pretty much out of the game and need a minor miracle to save this Test and the series. Broad and Anderson would have to come through. 

(Cricket news) At the end of day 2 in the pink ball Test at Adelaide, England are 17/2 trailing Australia by 456 runs. England are in deep trouble as Joe Root and Dawid Malan would be looking to get a partnership together on day 3 just like they did at the Gabba. 

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne came out to bat. Labuschagne got to the 6th Test century. He was soon caught in the slips off Ollie Robinson but it was declared a no ball for overstepping. It was the 3rd time he had survived due to an opposition mistake. His luck soon ran out as Robinson trapped him in front as he didn't offer a shot. Joe Root bought himself into the attack and cleaned up Travid Head when he was on 18. Moments later Ben Stokes got rid of Cameron Green with a ball similar to the one that dismissed him in Brisbane.

Alex Carey provided good support to Steve Smith as the stand-in captain got himself to 93. He missed out on what would have been a hard fought century as he was dismissed by James Anderson. Alex Carey got to his maiden Test fifty in only his 2nd game but couldn't convert it as Anderson picked up his 2nd wicket. Mitchell Starc, Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson were swinging hard at every ball with the clear intentions of getting as many runs as possible and having a crack at the England openers towards the end of the day. 

Steve Smith declared at 473/9 as Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns came out to bat. Mitchell Starc started with a few wide deliveries to Hameed. Jhye Richardson from the other end was breathing fire as he got the ball to swing more than anyone in the game. Starc provided the first breakthrough as he got rid of Burns once again. Micheal Neser picked up his first wicket with only his 2nd ball in Test cricket. Joe Root edged Neser's ball in the same over which fell just short of Smith at 2nd slip. The day ended early due to a slight drizzle and lightning. 

England are currently 17/2 trailing by 456 runs. Root and Malan need to replicate their partnership at the Gabba. Stokes bowled really well in the first innings and would be keen to translate the same form with the willow. Australia are on fire and will be looking at bowling out England on as soon as possible and potentially enforce a follow on.
 

(Cricket news) Australia end day 1 of the 2nd Ashes Test at 221/2 with Marnus Labuschagne unbeaten at 95 along with Steve Smith on 18. Newly appointed captain Pat Cummins was ruled out of the game after being identified as a close contact of a COVID patient. His deputy Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bat first. England decided to play with 5 seamers and use Joe Root as the sole spinner. They also left out Mark Wood who had a good game in Brisbane.

David Warner and Marcus Harris walked in to face the classic duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson. The England seamers made it very difficult for the Aussies to score runs. Both the lefties were struggling to pick up Anderson who kept bowling on his off stump from over the wicket. Harris survived a close LBW call thanks to DRS but fell shortly after to Broad courtesy of a brilliant diving catch from Jos Buttler. From then on England bowlers had to toil really hard as Warner and Marnus Labuschagne built a very good partnerships just like they did at the Gabba. 

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Warner didn't play anywhere near his usual striker rate and had to be patient. Joe Root decided to bring on Ben Stokes on one end and bowl from the other himself. Stokes barraged in with a series of relentless short deliveries to both the batters troubling them on many occasions. Labuschagne gloved one of Stokes' short balls to Buttler when he was on 21 but the keeper couldn't hold on to it. Warner was on his way to what would've been a gritty hundred but threw his wicket away in the nineties for the 2nd game in a row. He played Stokes' wide half volley which he could've hit anywhere straight to Jos Buttler at extra cover. The partnership for the 2nd wicket was worth 172 runs with Warner contributing 95.

Labuschagne and Steve Smith negotiated the rest of the overs well. Labuschagne once again dropped Buttler, this time off Anderson on 95, a catch which he would've taken 99 out of a 100 times. Labuschagne played for his 95 but did ride his luck. He had a lot of catches that didn't carry or were wide and had a lot of plays and misses. Australia are well on top as England have bowled 9 overs with the 2nd new ball. England need to pick quick wickets in the first session tomorrow to get back into the game. 

 

(Cricket news) After losing the 1st Test by 9 wickets on day 4, England will be hoping to show some grit and fightback. The big partnership between Joe Root and Dawid Malan will give England a bit of confidence that they can bat for long hours. England played the last game without Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad who are expected to be back for this game.

Australia Playing XI:

David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Jhye Richardson.

Pat Cummins has announced the playing XI already. Josh Hazelwood's injury brings Jhye Richardson into the side while David Warner has been passed fit enough to play. We have seen Warner play despite not being fully fit which might be the case once again. Richardson has been given the nod ahead of Micheal Neser which is what everyone expected. Australia didn't have any reason to make any other changes after their performance in Brisbane.

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Possible England Playing XI:

Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Stuart Broad.

England should bring back both Broad and Anderson into the side. Jack Leech is without question the best candidate to sit out after a disastrous performance at the Gabba. Leaving out Chris Woakes is a very tough call but Wood and Robinson's performances make them difficult to drop. Joe Root will take the role of the spinner and is expected to bowl a good amount of overs. 

Pitch and Weather Report:

Day 2 and Day 4 are forecasted to be cloudy. Other than that it is expected to be sunny without any rain. The pink ball will assist the seamers but the Adelaide wicket is usually a good wicket to bat on. The spinners will get assistance as the days progress which is a huge advantage for Australia as England lack an in-form and reliable spinner which leaves a big task for skipper Root.

This is the venue where Australia bowled India out for 36. Australia have an excellent record in the pink ball Tests as they have won all 8 matches under the lights. England on the other hand have won 1 and lost 3 pink ball Tests.   

(Cricket news) After a massive comeback on day 3, England started day 4 at 220/2 trailing by 58 runs. Australia managed to pick up 8 wickets in less than 77 runs. Nathan Lyon was the star of the show with the figures 4/91. England are in a huge pickle after having a major batting collapse in both the innings.

Root and Malan who led the way yesterday to carve out a brilliant fightback to somewhat get England back into the game were dismissed just 6 overs after the start of day 4. Nathan Lyon got rid of Malan on 82 to pick up his much awaited 400th Test wicket. Joe Root edged Cameron Green's wide late outswinger straight to Carey as he got out on 89. Lyon continued his spell till the 2nd new ball was due and got the wicket of Ollie Pope with a bouncing ball. 

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Pat Cummins took the new ball and Ben Stokes played all over a leg stump ball as he edged it to Green at gully in a rather comical fashion. Jos Hazelwood got rid of Jos Buttler shortly after with another wide outswinger. Lyon came back into the attack to dismiss Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood. Green got the last wicket of Jack Leech, caught by Carey took a total of 8 catches in the game and broke the record of most catches by a keeper on debut. 

Australia needed just 20 runs to win as Alex Carey walked into bat instead of David Warner. The debutant was dismissed by Robinson with 4 runs left. Australia won the game by 9 wickets well inside 4 days. After Malan and Root gave England hope on day 3, it all came crashing down on day 4. England chased too many balls outside off stump which was ultimately their demise. Nathan Lyon bowled well to get his four-fer to answer the critics questioning his selection. England have a lot of thinking to do before the 2nd Test which starts on 16 December at the Adelaide Oval. Stuart Broad and James Anderson should be back but the real question is who do they replace.

(Cricket news) Australia started day 3 at 343/7 with Travis Head and Mitchell Starc at the crease. England made a massive comeback as the 3rd day ended with England just 58 runs behind in their 2nd with 8 wickets in hand. The situation promises a very interesting day 4 and possibly an exciting day 5 finish.

Australia came out with the intent of scoring quick runs with Starc being the aggressive one. He hit a few boundaries off Ollie Robinson and Chris Woakes before the latter got his wicket on 35.  Head hit a few boundaries and a maximum to get to 150. Mark Wood turned the heat on with some hostile bowling to get rid of Nathan Lyon and Travis Head as Australia were bowled out for 425 with a lead of 278. 

After what happened in the first innings, England switched things around as Haseeb Hameed took strike against Mitchell Starc. Despite that, Rory Burns was on strike for 3 balls of the first over, the last of which struck him on pads. He was given out by the umpire but the DRS showed that it had bounced too high as it often does at the Gabba. Both the openers played a couple of good shots as lunch was called while England were 23/0. 

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Skipper Pat Cummins struck in the very first over of the 2nd session with a brute of a delivery which Burns edged to the gloveman. Lyon was brought into the attack after 9 overs and got the ball to turn straight away. Hameed was starting to look really good after a couple of gorgeous leg glances and square cuts. His innings ended at 27 when he edged Starc's leg stump ball behind to Carey. From then on it was the Joe Root and Dawid Malan show.

The pair batted for one and a half session to put together 159 runs on the board. Root finished the day unbeaten on 86 while Malan is 80 not out. Root went past Micheal Vaughan to become the English player with the most runs in the calendar year. The partnership has certainly brought England back into the game and given them hope. Australia are still clear favorites but England have a much better chance now than they did at the end of the previous 2 days. 

(Cricket news) Australia are 343/7 at the end of day 2 as they lead by 196 runs. Travis Head, David Warner and Marnus were the stars of the show. It was a very exhausting day for the England bowlers who had to bowl 84 overs. Ollie Robinson was the pick of the bowlers with the figures of 3/48 in 18 overs.

Australia walked into bat after England managed only 147 in the first innings. Ollie Robinson broke through early as he produced an edge of Marcus Harris which was caught by Dawid Malan at 3rd slip. David Warner started the innings in classic Warner fashion, hustling for quick singles and looking to take on the bowling. He had a couple of body blows from Mark Wood and Ben Stokes along with a few edges that didn't carry. The big moment came when he was cleaned up by Ben Stokes but the third umpire called it a no ball for overstepping. Marnus Labuschagne had more than his fair share of plays and misses but managed to survive. Both the batters consistently put bad and overpitched balls to the fence. The pair also attacked Jack Leech as soon as he was brought into the attack. 

Luck was completely on David Warner's side as Joe Burns dropped a simple catch at 2nd slip off Robinson's bowling just after lunch. Haseeb Hameed at short leg made a mess of a clear run out chance when Warner slipped and was way out of his crease. Jack Leech finally got the breakthrough in the 47th over as he dismissed Labuschagne at 74. Mark Wood was awarded for his fiery bowling as he got rid of the dangerous Steve Smith early. Warner was unbeaten on 94 at tea but was dismissed straight after tea by Robinson's slower ball. Cameron Green walked into bat and decided to leave the first ball which crashed onto the top of off stump. Green's misjudgement meant that Robinson was on a hat-trick with debutant Alex Carey on strike. The keeper did survive the hat-trick ball but fell to Chris Woakes shortly after. 

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After a nervous start, Travis Head got into his groove thanks to a very poor over of looseners by Stokes. Pat Cumminns edged Joe Root's ball to leg slip just 4 overs before the 2nd new ball was due. Head continued firing and reached his 3rd Test ton in just 85 deliveries. Australia didn't declare despite having a healthy and ended the day at 343/7 with Head and Mitchell Starc at the crease. 

There were a few times where England could've capitalized and got back into the game. Despite having a few good moments it was a tough day for England. The bowling wasn't up to the mark especially from Woakes and Leech despite both of them picking up wickets. Leech has an economy of 8.64 in his 11 overs. Root had to bring himself into the attack towards the end of the day and bowled much better. Woakes on the other hand didn't look dangerous at all with the new ball which was a crucial period of the game. Mark Wood bowled his heart out in those 20 overs and deserved more than one wicket. England's fielding wasn't anywhere near international standard with dropped catches, missed run-outs and sloppy work on the fence.

It would be very difficult for Australia to not win this match from here. It would be possible with big innings from a couple of England batters. Joe Root will be looking to bounce back after his duck in the first innings. Haseeb Hameed played well for his 25 in the first innings and would look to make it big in the 2nd innings.

(Cricket news) Day 1 of the first Ashes Test at the Gabba as expected was called off early. Rain and bad light interrupted but not before Australia ran riot and dismantled the England batting line-up for just 147 runs.

England made a few controversial calls by leaving out the experienced Johnny Bairstow in favor of the relatively young Ollie Pope. With James Anderson already rested, England decided to leave out Stuart Broad and play Mark Wood instead. It was the first time since 2006 that an England XI at the Ashes didn't have either of Broad and Anderson. The big call was electing to bat first after winning the toss which massively back fired for Joe Root.

Australia on the other hand stuck with their senior bowling quartet despite underwhelming performances. It did the trick as Mitchell Starc launched a rapid in-swinging yorker on Rory Burns' leg stump on the very first ball which knocked over the England opener's stumps. Australia got off to an incredible start with Burns out for a duck. Dawid Malan walked in to join Haseeb Hameed in the middle. Malan's stay was a short one as he edged Josh Hazelwood's good length ball straight to debutant gloveman Alex Carey. The Yorkshire batter could have left the ball which would've comfortably missed the stumps due to the excess bounce at the Gabba but uncertainty got the better of him.

Hazelwood wasn't done there as he continued with his relentless line and length to new batter Joe Root. The England skipper was caught at first slip with another good length delivery by Hazelwood as England lost their 3rd wicket for just 11 after 6 overs. Skipper Pat Cummins then got into the act as he dismissed the returning Ben Stokes with a bouncing good length ball which was angled in into the left hander. England went into lunch at 59/4 after absolute carnage by the Australian quicks.

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Hameed's gritty innings where he got 25 off 75 balls while wickets kept crumbling at the other end was ended by Pat Cummins. Jos Buttler and Ollie Pope put together the highest partnership of the England innings at 52. Buttler in particular took on the bowlers and counter attacked like he usually does. Mitchell Starc returned to break the partnership as Buttler edged his ball to Carey while on 39. After failing to pick up a single wicket in the entire 4 match series against India, Cameron Green finally got his maiden Test wicket. Ollie Pope couldn't resist pulling his short ball towards Josh Hazelwood who took a good catch. 

Captain Cummins brought himself back into the attack and cleaned up the tail in no time. Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood lasted only 7 overs. Cummins ended the innings with fifer, his first against England. Nathan Lyon failed to pick up a wicket in his 9 overs. He will have to wait for his 400th Test scalp. Rain and later bad light made sure that the Aussies didn't come out to bat. The England bowlers have a massive task ahead. The 4 pacers will be hoping to see a few clouds early the morning tomorrow to try and make inroads.

(Cricket news) The ultimate grudge match between England and Australia famously known as the Ashes is about to kick off with the first Test at the Gabba. Australia named their playing XI four days before the game while England have announced their 12 man squad for the 1st Test Jimmy Anderson will be rested for the game.

Australia Playing XI:

David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazelwood.

The Australian line up is pretty much as expected. There is still no place for the in-form Usman Khawaja as Harris and Head are preferred over the Queensland skipper. Despite underwhelming recent performances with the red ball Starc and Lyon are given the nod over Jhye Richardson and Mitchell Swepson.

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Possible England Playing XI:

Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leech, Stuart Broad.

With Anderson set to miss the game all 3 of Woakes, Robinson and Broad should get a place in the side over Mark Wood. England will give Jack Leech a go as the specialist spinner. Anderson is definitely fit and is only rested because of workload management as they want him to be fully ready for the pink ball Test in Adelaide. Ollie Pope is preferred over Johnny Bairstow because of his performance against India at the Oval. 

Pitch and Weather Report:

The Gabba is Australia's fortress where they hadn't lost since 1988. India breached it earlier this year but that doesn't change the fact that defeating Australia in Brisbane is not a piece of cake. The pitch is likely to assist the quicks and slow down as the days progress. England may even consider going with 4 quicks along with Ben Stokes and use Root as the part time spinner leaving Jack Leech on the bench. Rain is forecasted on the first 3 days while day 4 should be sunny followed by a cloudy day 5.

England have taken a gamble by resting Anderson for the very first Test due to the weather conditions there is a high possibility that we will not get a result after 5 days. The big concern for Australia is the red ball form of Starc and Lyon. If things go wrong then the pair's selection in particular will come under a lot of scrutiny.

(Cricket news) Tim Paine has officially resigned from the post of Australia's Test captain after a 'Sexting' scandal in 2017. Paine in a statement announced that his actions does not breach the code of conduct but certainly does not match the image required to lead the Australian side.

 

There were rumours that the Ashes would be Paine's last series anyway. Now with him not being the captain it is more likely than ever that Paine either retires after the Ashes or is dropped. Paine and Cricket Australia have both confirmed that the player will remain available for selection. Paine will surely play at least the first two Tests as the Aussies haven't named any other wicket keeper in the squad. 

 

Australia lack options in the captaincy department. Pat Cummins was Paine's deputy in previous tours so he would be the obvious choice. Having a fast bowler who will bowl his heart out in long spells isn't ideal to be a captain. Cummins will go off the field for rest during which someone else will have to take over which isn't a good thing. Cummins also plays all three formats of the game, add captaincy to that and his workload becomes too much.

 

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Australia wouldn't be too keen on going back to the Steve Smith and David Warner route after what happened with the sandpaper gate. If these things are ignored then Steve Smith is one of the best captains in the World and would be perfect for the role. Whether Australia use that option is a big question mark.

 

Another name thrown around is Marnus Labuschagne who may be too young for the role. The batter doesn't even captain his domestic team. His domestic captain is Usman Khawaja who is a good leader but he has just come back in the squad after 2 years away. Whatever option Australia chooses would have loopholes in it. It is important that whoever is chosen captain gets adequate support from the team and takes on the responsibility.

(Cricket news) The most grudge rivalry in cricket is about to kick off down under. Australia and England will go head to head forto head for a classic old school 5 match Test Series. Australia have named a 15 man squad for the first two Tests. Despite the disappointing performance in the last home series against India. There aren't anyaren't any significant changes in the Australian squad. There certainly won't be more than 2 changes in the XI that played in the last Test against India at the Gabba.

Australia's ideal Playing XI:

Openers: David Warner, Marcus Harris

David Warner is a no brainer selection at the top of the order more so after the kind of form he is in. There is an option to go for Usman Khawaja but Marcus Harris is likely to retain his spot. The two left handers have to start well. It is important for Justin Langer that whichever opening combination he chooses works this time around as not having a constant opening partner has affected David Warner's game as well. Marcus Harris is the most likely batter to fit in perfectly with Warner.

Middle order: Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja

Labuschagne and Smith will definitely be in the side unless there is an injury to either. The pair will have a lot of responsibility to anchor the Australian innings. Both Smith and Labuschagne unlike the others had a decent series against India as both of them got tons. Labuschagne has been in good knick in the Sheffield Shield as well. Langer and Paine could go for either Usman Khawaja or Travis Head. Khawaja's Sheffield Shield form is two difficult to ignore. The Queensland captain has scored 404 runs in 6 innings which is just a touch better than Head who has 285 runs. Considering Head was given a chance against India in the first two Tests but couldn't capitalise and Khawaja hasn't been given a chance since 2019 suggests that it could be Khawaja who completes the middle order. 

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All-rounder: Cameron Green

Cameron Green will definitely be in the side as the sole All-rounder. His only competition is perhaps Micheal Nasser but Green will be difficult for any team in the world to keep out. His Sheffield Shield form has been good which is a positive. Batting at no. 6 Green will have a lot of responsibility with the willow. He will have to get a few overs in with the ball as well. The all-rounder had a decent performance with the bat against India but didn't manage to pick up a single wicket which is something he wouldn't want to do again.

Wicket keeper: Tim Paine

The Australian selectors are pretty confident that Tim Paine will be fit enough to don the gloves as they haven't picked another keeper in the squad. Paine will also captain the side for potentially the last time. He had a decent series against India last time around, scoring 204 runs in 7 innings including 2 not outs. His performance with the willow was overshadowed by his antics behind the stumps which he has since apologized for. He will have a job on his side more with the captaincy side of things which doesn't mean that he will get a free pass for his batting and keeping.

Bowlers: Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazelwood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins

The Aussie bowling quartet is tough to change. The pace trio have been terrific in the T20 World Cup but this will be a different ball game altogether. Lyon on the other hand is one of the best spinners in the world. He will have to do much more with the ball this time around then he did against India. Jhye Richardson and Mitchell Sweepson are other options but it is difficult to see them start the first game unless there is an injury or fatigue to the quicks.

London, Oct 14 (Cricket news) England fast bowler James Anderson says he enjoyed the "well-spirited" manner in which he and India captain Virat Kohli had a go at each other during the home Test series this summer and described the contest as his favourite of the many duels with the star batter.

The Kohli versus Anderson rivalry is one of the biggest talking points whenever India lock horns with England in the longest format of the game.

While Anderson dominated proceedings in 2014, the stylish Indian batter turned things around and kept the speedster at bay during India's 2018 tour of England.

This year, Anderson was able to dismiss the Indian skipper twice in a span of four Test matches.

"This summer was probably my favourite contest with Virat. We've had a few good battles over the years, both in England and India, but this year was certainly my favourite," Anderson was quoted as saying by 'ESPNCricinfo.' "I got him out a few times but also he got some runs as well, and we had a battle on the field where there was definitely a mutual respect there.

"It was in a really nice manner, if that makes sense. Obviously we were going at each other, but it was in a in a well-spirited way. So I really enjoyed that," he added.

Talking about the iconic Ashes series, Anderson said he is looking forward to bowling to star Australian batter Steve Smith.

"As a bowler you always look at the best player, and for me over the last three, four or five years, Steve Smith's been Australia's best player." "He's been the one they rely on for their volume of runs, obviously supported by guys around him like (David) Warner and (Marnus) Labuschagne recently. But he's been their go-to in the last few years, so he'll be the one that we will be keen to get out early." The veteran pacer said he would be content with playing three or four Tests rather than all five to maintain his longevity.

"I will do exactly what I did in our summer. Hopefully I'll be playing all five, but I'd be happy with three or four. You manage it as you go through the series," Anderson said.

"We've got decent squad of bowlers, so we can rotate a little bit, as we have been for the last 18 months to two years.

"The likelihood of playing all five at my age, to be honest at any age in Australia, (is slim). It does take a lot out of you, especially in the heat in some of the venues. So we just have to wait and see," he added.

Also Read : It's a minor one, progressing fine: Williamson on hamstring injury

News Source : PTI 

London, Sep 1 (Cricket news) Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik feels the time is ripe for R Ashwin to play his first match of the ongoing five-Test series between India and England.

India have gone with four pacers and a specialist spinner in Ravindra Jadeja so far in the series but that could change in the fourth Test beginning here on Thursday.

"I believe the time is ripe for Ravichandran Ashwin to make his first appearance of the series. Traditionally, The Oval has thrown up some of the flattest pitches in England, and it has been no different this season.

"Three of Surrey’s five matches at home in the County Championship have ended indecisively, and ten hundreds have been registered in those games," Karthik wrote in 'The Telegraph'.

Karthik feels Ashwin's versatility will help India at The Oval.

"If I was Virat Kohli, I’d like to bring a new dimension into play in this crucial Test. As Ashwin has shown in his storied career, he hasn’t necessarily relied on assistance from the surface to make an impact. England have two left-handers in their top three and three in the top seven." "The off-spinner’s record against lefties is second to none, and he is more than handy against the right-handers, who he tests with the knuckle ball and the floater that he has mastered through hours of diligent practice away from the harsh spotlight of the international game." Karthik, who will be playing in the upcoming IPL, said the conditions will suit Ashwin's style of bowling.

"In Australia, Ashwin got excellent drift with the Kookaburra ball, getting it to curl away from the right-hander in the air and break back on pitching. That’s how he had Steve Smith caught at leg-slip in the second Test in Melbourne.

"He is equally comfortable switching to around the stumps and getting the ball to go away with the angle, a trick that netted him the prized scalps of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, Australia’s two best batsmen.

"Like the Australian tracks, The Oval boasts bounce, which is Ashwin’s greatest ally away from home. He is willing to try to buy wickets because he is always focused on getting batsmen out," Karthik wrote.

Skipper Virat Kohli can also open the bowling with Ashwin.

Also read: Karnataka speedster Prasidh Krishna added to main Test squad

"One of Ashwin’s specialties is that he lets the ball hang in the air; because he has big fingers, he imparts a lot of revs, which makes him particularly venomous whilst bowling to the lefties.

"At Headingley, as early as day one Moeen Ali got the ball to turn off shallow footmarks during his brief spell to Ajinkya Rahane. What it reiterates is that England can aid turn if there is moisture, if the surface is a little damp.

"Ashwin is adept at bowling with a new or newish red ball, so Virat can use him even in the first hour if there is dampness to be exploited. As the match progresses, of course, Ashwin will become a more potent weapon," added Karthik. 

News source: PTI

Dubai, Sep 1 (Cricket news) Opener Rohit Sharma on Wednesday toppled his skipper Virat Kohli to become top-ranked Indian batsman after being placed fifth in the latest ICC men's Test Player Rankings.

Rohit's scores of 19 and 59 in the third Test lifted him one place to a career-best fifth position, seven rating points more than Kohli for an aggregate of 773.

The last time someone other than Kohli was the top-ranked India batter was in November 2017, when Cheteshwar Pujara was second and Kohli fifth.

In the latest update, Pujara has progressed three slots to reach 15th position after his second innings knock of 91 and is the fourth Indian on the list with Rishabh Pant still ahead of him in 12th place despite slipping four slots.

India pacer Jasprit Bumrah also rose one place among bowlers, from 10th to ninth, while spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was static at the second position behind Australia's Pat Cummins.

Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin held on to their third and fourth spots respectively in the Test all-rounder rankings, which is headed by West Indies' Jason Holder.

England captain Joe Root's sublime form in the ongoing World Test Championship series against India has helped him reclaim the top spot for batters after nearly six years.

The 30-year-old had started the series in fifth position but his 507 runs in three Tests have helped him overtake Kohli, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and finally New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, whom he now leads by 15 rating points.

Root was second before the Leeds Test, in which he scored 121 in England's only innings.

Root was last at the number one position in December 2015 before being overtaken by Williamson, with Kohli and Smith also reaching the pinnacle since.

The last time someone apart from these four was at the top was South Africa's AB de Villiers in November 2015.

Root is now only one point below his career-best aggregate of 917 rating points, which he achieved in August 2015 after his innings of 130 against Australia in Nottingham.

Only four other England batters have achieved more rating points – Len Hutton, Jack Hobbs, Peter May and Denis Compton.

Other England batters to make progress in the latest weekly rankings update include opener Rory Burns (up five places to 24th) and Jonny Bairstow (up two places to 70th), while Dawid Malan has re-entered the rankings in 88th position after scoring 70.

Also read: I have made changes to my bowling action, reveals Royals pacer Unadkat

Among bowlers, veteran England pacer James Anderson has moved back to the top five, his four wickets in the match lifting him one place, while Player of the Match Ollie Robinson has advanced nine places to 36th after his seven-wicket match haul.

Craig Overton has reentered the rankings in 73rd position with three wickets in each innings.

In the men's T20I Player Rankings, Ireland's Paul Stirling is up one place to 23rd with scores of 24 and 37 in their ongoing series against Zimbabwe, while Kevin O'Brien is up from 42nd to 39th after scoring 25 and 60 in the two matches played in Dublin.

Zimbabwe's Tendai Chetara has moved up five places to 99th among bowlers. 

News source: PTI

New Delhi, Aug 18 (Cricket news) Mohammed Siraj is a beautiful story that can always invoke an entire gamut of emotions -- sadness for the tragedies he has endured, thrill for the way he is attaining mastery over his craft and joy for his success at the highest level.

A match-haul of eight wickets at Lord's recently was a testimony that success Down Under earlier this year wasn't a mere flash in the pan and the Indian cricket team's most adorable "miyaan" is here to stay for some years.

Siraj is one of the multiple stories of grit and glory chronicled in a new book on Indian cricket -- 'Mission Domination: An Unfinished Quest' -- co-authored by Boria Majumdar and Kushan Sarkar. The book has been published by Simon & Schuster.

The manner in which Siraj scythed through the lower-order with two sets of double breakthroughs just when it seemed the match was meandering to a draw, not only spoke volumes about his high skill-sets but also gave a peek into his mental fortitude in pressure situation.

This Indian team management always knew that Siraj is cut out for the big league having watched him from close quarters during the tour of Australia, when he lost his father Mohammed Ghaus, who died after a brief illness.

Also read: Was Team India's victory at Lord's better than the one at the Gabba?

An excerpt from the new book reads: "Siraj had lost his father during the statutory period of 14 days hard quarantine in Australia in November. What this meant was that none of his teammates could even go to his room to give him a shoulder to cry on. At the time there were cops outside every room just in case the Indians tried to violate protocol. They were being guarded as prisoners who could export Covid to Australia!" "As a result, his teammates were on video calls with him all day and were concerned he wouldn't do something drastic or damaging to himself. Only the physio could go to his room to treat him, and Nitin Patel used the window to go and console the young man who was in mourning.

"Siraj broke down on multiple occasions, which is only natural but never gave up. He was steadfast and resolute. He wanted to fulfil his father's wish of doing his best for India and when the opportunity came his way at the MCG on the huge occasion of the Boxing Day Test, he just did not want to let it go." Before his Test debut on the Boxing Day, Siraj had played a few white ball games for India without much success and wanted to make it count.

"In fact, he said to us he was abusing himself for failing and coaxed himself to push harder on debut. 'I was telling myself that I had done nothing worthwhile in the white ball games. And here are the same batsmen — Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, who I had bowled to and had success against while playing for India A. Then why couldn't I do so at this stage? I had to. There was no turning back'." The 13 wickets in Australia earned Siraj overnight stardom.

"Siraj did not turn back. 13 wickets later he ended up as India's highest wicket-taker. It was only fitting that his teammates handed him the tricolour during the team's victory march. He was so much more than a cricketer. He was a young boy who had turned into a man in the course of the two months in Australia." The book also has anecdotes on how Rishabh Pant and Navdeep Saini performed in the most hostile confines of Delhi District & Cricket Association and how Dinesh Lad convinced a teenaged Sharduk Thakur's father to allow him to come to Mumbai to give himself a fair shot at top flight cricket.

Arvind Pujara spoke at length about how his son Cheteshwar went and played an U-19 match days after his mother's death, without shedding a drop of tear. How fielding coach R Sridhar told a hamstrung Hanuma Vihari that he owes the team and needs to save the Sydney Test.

News source: PTI

London, Jun 28 Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne has been forced to pull out of Glamorgan's T20 Blast match against Middlesex after his compatriot Nick Selman tested positive for COVID-19.

Selman, who earned youth representative honours for Queensland at both cricket and Australian Rules, will have to spend 10 days in self-isolation, Glamorgan said.

"Batsman Nick Selman has tested positive for coronavirus following the results of a PCR test. He will now spend 10 days in self-isolation," Glamorgan said in a statement.

"The club also identified Labuschagne and Michael Neser as potential close contacts and are taking the precautionary measure of removing them from the match day squad." "All other team members, coaches and staff returned negative results..." Labuschagne is Glamorgan's top scorer but Neser is yet to play a game in the competition with the club opting for Colin Ingram for their second overseas spot so far.

With a hectic schedule, the Australian duo could miss more T20 games, something that would hamper Labuschagne's bid for a spot in the T20 World Cup later this year. News source PTI

Dubai, Jun 23 India's Ravindra Jadeja on Wednesday dislodged West Indian Jason Holder as the world's top all-rounder in the latest ICC Test rankings.

Jadeja is two points ahead of Holder (384) while England all-rounder Ben Stokes is third on 377 points.

Another Indian, Ravichandran Ashwin is at fourth with 353 points, followed by Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh (338).

Ashwin remained at second spot in the bowlers' rankings on 850 points, below Pat Cummins (908) of Australia. Tim Southee (830) of New Zealand is third.

Among the batsmen, there was no change in top-five with Indian captain Virat Kohli static at fourth on 814. Steve Smith of Australia continued to be the top batsman on 891 points, followed by Kane Williamson (886) of New Zealand and Marnus Labuschagne (878) of Australia.

England captain Joe Root (797) is at number five, followed by the Indian pair of Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma at joint at sixth on 747 points. News source: PTI 

New Delhi, May 12 Quarantine restrictions might hamper the Indian cricket team's preparations for the World Test Championship final in England but bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar feel that the players' abundant experience will be enough to counter that challenge.

India are expected to depart for the UK in the first week of June following a week of hard quarantine. It is not yet known if Virat Kohli and Co. will be allowed to train ahead of the marquee clash against New Zealand during their quarantine in Southampton. The match starts on June 18.

The team is also scheduled to play five Tests against England after that in August.

"I don't think we have a choice," Sridhar told PTI when asked how much time the team will need to ready for the big game." "We would like to make the most of what we get because it all depends on how many days of hard or soft quarantine we are going to have, when we are going to land and if at all getting a practice game so I don't think we have a choice," he added.

Given the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, strict bubble life including quarantine upon arrival has made scheduling more taxing on the players. Sridhar said going to the UK with a "slight under-prepared mindset" can also bring the best out of players.

"It's time to be mentally smart, we have a very experienced team going into going to the final. Each guy is capable of adapting to the situation. They have played against New Zealand and played in England.

"So, I think that experience will count and we will have to come to the fore, because we really can't plan as to how many sessions we want because we only have to take what is given to us," he said.

He said lack of preparation is at times akin to playing with an injury, which sometimes makes the player more aware.

"...sometimes it can work in our favour as well, because that way you're mentally more ready. It's like playing with an injury sometimes when you're injured, you tend to concentrate a little better.

"Sometimes when you're a little under-prepared, you tend to focus more and maybe that will bring the best out of us as well, so that that is the kind of mindset we are going in with," said Sridhar.

With most of the country in lockdown due to the rise in COVID-19 cases, bowling coach Arun said the players have been assigned specific tasks while they are at home.

"They have been given specific roles as to what they need to do. But yes, you are restricted because they cannot go out, once we regroup, then we'll have to see how best we can plan," said the bowling coach.

Arun conceded that New Zealand playing two Tests against England before the WTC final is a definite advantage for Blackcaps.

"See, it is definitely an advantage for them...the getting used to English conditions and things like that. but then we'll have to recall (our past experience) in England...," he said.

"...you know, bring about the experience of the players and the support staff, to make our plans, the scheduling is such that this is what it is. You have to work around that," he said.

India planned meticulously for the Australia tour earlier this year on which they recorded one of their best ever Test triumphs.

They laid out the now famous "leg-side" trap for top stars like Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.

For the WTC final and five Tests against England, Arun said they will plan based on what they see in two Tests before the WTC final.

"England is playing New Zealand before us. So that will give us a good insight into how the New Zealanders are playing in English conditions, and also how the English men are playing right now.

"The present form is extremely important for us to plan and the quarantine period in England would give us enough time to take into consideration all the factors and make plans accordingly," he said. News Source :  PTI

London, Apr 29 Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne has admitted that being overlooked at the IPL auction turned out to be a "blessing in disguise" in the light of the rising COVID-19 cases in India.

The 26-year-old, who found no buyers at the IPL auctions in February, expressed concern for his compatriots featuring in the ongoing lucrative league in India.

"It certainly looks like it (missing out on the IPL) was a blessing in disguise ," Labuschagne was quoted as saying by 'PA Media.' "I would love to have played in the IPL, it's a great tournament. But there's always two sides to the coin. If I was in the IPL, I would have been away and to win a Shield is something that doesn't come around often.

"Secondly, you look at the conditions in India now and it's not looking great," Labuschagne, who has linked up with county cricket club Glamorgan, added.

India is reeling under the second wave of the pandemic with cases rising by over 3 lakh everyday, a crisis compounded by shortage of some crucial medicines and oxygen supplies.

The Australian government has suspended all direct passenger flights from India until May 15 due to the spike in COVID-19 cases in India.

The IPL league matches will end on May 23, followed by the qualifiers (May 25, 28) and eliminator (May 26) and the final (May 30) -- all scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad.

Labuschagne also revealed that a majority of Australian players aren't feeling unsafe in the IPL bio-bubble but are concerned about returning back Down Under.

"You obviously feel for them. But I haven't spoken to too many guys that are feeling unsafe.

"It's more about getting back into Australia and what does that look like. I just hope that they stay safe and get back to Australia safely whenever they do," he added.

The fear of being locked out of their own nation drove the likes of bowlers Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa to take an early flight back to Australia.

However, Australian umpire Paul Reiffel's attempts at leaving hit a dead end owing to his country's suspension of air travel with India. News Source : PTI

Melbourne, Apr 23 All-rounder Cameron Green landed his maiden national contract but big names, including Matthew Wade and Travis Head, missed out as Cricket Australia on Friday announced a 17-strong list of contracted players for the upcoming season. The 21-year-old Green, who scored 236 runs at 33.71 during the home four-Test series against India, was the only new name in the contract list which has been trimmed down to 17 players from 20 in previous years. However, opener Joe Burns, all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinus along with former Test vice-captain Head and wicketkeeper-batsman Wade failed to get a deal for the 2021-2022 season, which includes the T20 World Cup in India and a home Ashes series. "We have great confidence in the 17 players announced today as the Australian men's team enters a busy year of high-quality cricket across all three formats...," National Selector Trevor Hohns said in a statement. Hohns gave two main reasons behind the size of the contract list. "Firstly, we have seen format specialisation become increasingly prevalent in recent seasons which, accordingly, has resulted in a broader group of players representing Australia, often beyond the initial list of contracted players at the start of each year," he said. "Secondly, we want to create an environment where players strive for national selection through consistent domestic performances and earn national contracts through consistent international performances." Green had made a mark in his maiden Test against India and also amassed 922 runs at 76.83, including three centuries, in the Marsh Sheffield Shield. "Cameron is a player we believe will play an important role for Australian cricket after his impressive breakout summer," Hohns said. "His 84 in the second innings against India at the SCG demonstrated excellent technique and resolve and we are confident his bowling will be impactful at international level. "His domestic form was also outstanding, and we expect he will only get better with more international exposure." Hohns said those who have missed out are still eligible for national selection and can be upgraded to a central deal over the course of the year. "But in naming these 17 players, we believe we have a strong core group which cover all forms of the game for the 12 months ahead. "The NSP continues to hold Joe Burns, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis in high regard and expect that they, and many others across Australian Cricket, will continue to make strong cases for national selection next season." Cricket Australia men's contract list 2021-22: Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, James Pattinson, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Adam Zampa. News Source : PTI

According to a press release by Cricket Ireland, the Board has agreed for a short-term release for Ireland Men’s skipper Andrew Balbirnie to join Glamorgan Cricket for the start of the English county season. Welsh county will welcome Balbirnie this week as an early season substitute for Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne till the end of April, and he will be the team's foreign player for the start of the 2021 season. Balbirnie said: “It’s a brilliant opportunity to play red-ball cricket, and the County Championship is historically one of the best first-class competitions in the world.” “I really enjoyed my time in Wales last season in the Vitality Blast - the players and coaches were incredibly welcoming and it’s a great place to play. I’m really excited to go back, get stuck in and hopefully contribute to some wins for Glamorgan.” Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director for Cricket Ireland, said: “A window of opportunity arose with the postponement of the men’s tour to Zimbabwe, and we were happy to agree to Andrew’s move for six weeks to Glamorgan. We have a big year ahead of us at both international and domestic levels, with a T20 World Cup in late 2021, so for one of our key players to be able to take advantage of an opportunity to play cricket in April at this standard will be of great benefit.” “Balbo will be back for the start of the Inter-Provincial Series campaign in early May, then will lead the senior men’s squad into action against the Netherlands in early June.”

Dubai, Feb 17 (PTI) India's Ravichandran Ashwin jumped to fifth spot among all-rounders in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings following his brilliant show with the bat and the ball against England in the second match while his captain Virat Kohli remained at fifth among batsmen. Ashwin hit an excellent 106 in India's second innings and took eight wickets with his off-spin in the second Test against England in Chennai, which the hosts won by 317 runs on Tuesday. He has logged 336 points in a list headed by West Indian Jason Holder (407 points). Ashwin's spin bowling partner Ravindra Jadeja remained at second with 403 points, followed by Ben Stokes (397) of England and Shakib Al Hasan (352) of Bangladesh. The 34-year-old Ashwin remained static at seventh among Test bowlers with 804 points while pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested from the Chennai Test, also retained his eighth spot with 761 points with Australian pacer Pat Cummins (908) topping the chart. Kohli, who made 0 and 62 in Chennai, retained the fifth position among batsmen with 838 points. Kane Williamson (919) of New Zealand retained the top position with Steve Smith (891) of Australia in second spot. Another Australian Marnus Labuschagne (878) moved up to third while England captain Joe Root (869) slipped to fourth after his two innings of 6 and 33 in the Chennai Test. Another Indian Cheteshwar Pujara -- 21 and 7 in Chennai -- slipped to eighth place with 727 points.

Dubai, Feb 10 (PTI) India skipper Virat Kohli was on Wednesday pushed to the fifth spot by his English counterpart Joe Root, who rose two rungs to third in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen, even as Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin moved up in the bowlers' chart. Kohli, who had had scores of 11 and 72 in the opening Test against England, has 852 points and down one spot in the latest chart issued on Wednesday. Veteran spinner Ashwin and pacer Bumrah have jumped a rung each to be seventh and eighth respectively. Root, who helped his team to a memorable 227-run victory in Chennai that kept England in contention for the ICC World Test Championship final, has reached 883 rating points. It is his highest position since September2017 after a fabulous run in the sub-continent saw him accumulate 684 runs in three Tests, two of which were in Sri Lanka. Ahead of Kohli for the first time since November 2017, Root is now 36 points behind top-ranked Kane Williamson and trails Steve Smith by only eight points. With Marnus Labuschagne also in the mix, competition for the top five slots is intense with all of them above 850 rating points. For India, Rishabh Pant's knock of 91 in the first innings has helped him become the first full-time wicketkeeper from his country to reach 700 rating points as he retained the 13th position among batsmen. Opener Shubman Gill progressed seven places to 40th position while all-rounder Washington Sundar is 81st after moving up two slots. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem too has gained two places to reach 85th position among bowlers. Opener Dom Sibley is another England batsman to gain in the latest rankings update, his knocks of 87 and 16 helping him rise 11 places to 35th, while their players also made the way up in the bowling rankings presently led by Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins. Formerly top-ranked James Anderson is up to third from sixth and only four points behind compatriot Stuart Broad, a fellow-member of the 500-wicket club. Anderson is at his highest ranking since the start of the ICC World Test Championship while spinners Jack Leach and Dominic Bess are both at career-best rating points, moving up to 37th and 41st positions, respectively. West Indies batsman Kyle Mayers, whose scores of 40 and 210 not out helped script an epic win in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong, has entered the rankings in 70th position with 448 rating points. It is the best by a West Indian batsman on debut and the second-best ever on debut after RE Foster, who was on 449 rating points back in 1903 after scoring 287 on debut for England against Australia in Sydney. Others to gain for the West Indies include captain Kraigg Brathwaite (up eight places to 53rd) among batsmen and the spin pair of Jomel Warrican (up 14 places to 62nd) and Rahkeem Cornwall (up six places to 65th). For Bangladesh, captain Mominul Haque's 10th Test century has lifted him eight places to 33rd. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has gained four slots to reach 30th position among batsmen while off-spinner Mehidy Hasan has progressed from 28th to 24th position. Pakistan completing a 2-0 sweep over South Africa is followed with good news from the rankings perspective as well, especially with regard to fast bowling. Player of the series Mohammad Rizwan has attained a career-best 16th place after scores of 26 and 115 helped him make a leap of 19 places in the list.

Melbourne, Feb 6 (PTI) Former captain Steve Smith claimed his third Allan Border Medal while Beth Mooney bagged her maiden Belinda Clarke Award, the top two honours of the Australian Cricket Awards. Smith was honoured for his performances in all three formats of the game, while Mooney bagged the recognition in the Australian women's game for the first time. The awards were decided by a voting process for the period 2020-21. Smith was surprised to receive the honour, insisting that he felt his poor outing in the Test series against India had ruined his chances of winning the award. "It's a great thrill, plenty of hard work has gone into it (but) I didn't expect it; I thought Marnus (Labuschagne) or Pat Cummins were the front runners because they both had exceptional years," he said. "I didn't feel I had the biggest Test summer, which normally holds the most votes. I think my one-day cricket was pretty good last summer. "I'm just really honoured to have won my third AB Medal and hopefully I can keep producing results for Australia," he added. It was double celebration for Smith as he also won the men's ODI Player of the Year with 28 votes ahead of Finch (23) and leg-spinner Adam Zampa (19). Smith amassed 568 runs at 63.11 with centuries in Bengaluru and twice at the SCG within three days, as well as a knock of 98 in Rajkot. Ashton Agar bagged the men's T20 Player of the Year, beating fellow leg-spinner Zampa and Finch. Flamboyant open David Warner won the Allan Border Medal last year, while all-rounder Ellyse Perry had claimed the Belinda Clark Award. Smith scored 1,098 runs at an average of 45.75 across all three formats during the period 2020-21, which was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith hit four fifties and four centuries, with a top score of 131 in an ODI against India. With 126 votes in his kitty, the right-hander He edged out Pat Cummins (117 votes) and limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch (97). Mooney, who polled 60 votes, edged out Meg Lanning (58) by just two votes to take the honour, with Georgia Wareham (50) finishing third. Due to logistical challenges posed by the pandemic, this year's awards were not presented at the usual gala event, but were announced on Friday during a televised show ahead of the KFC BBL10 Final. The duo received their medals at home -- Mooney on the Gold Coast and Smith in Sydney. Money is the ninth Australian woman cricketer to win the award since its introduction in 2002. The 27-year-old left-hander batswoman also won the women's T20 Player of the Year award. Cummins won the Test player of the year award with 16 votes ahead of Josh Hazlewood's and Marnus Labuschagne. List of 2021 Australian Cricket Awards: Belinda Clark Award: Beth Mooney. Votes: Beth Mooney 60, Meg Lanning 58, Georgia Wareham 50. Allan Border Medal: Steve Smith. Votes: Steve Smith 126, Pat Cummins 114, Aaron Finch 97. Men's Test Player of the Year: Pat Cummins. Votes: Pat Cummins 16, Josh Hazlewood 9, Marnus Labuschagne 8. Women's One Day International Player of the Year: Rachel Haynes. Votes: Rachel Haynes 11, Meg Lanning 10, Georgia Wareham 6. Male One Day International Player of the Year: Steve Smith. Votes: Steve Smith 28, Aaron Finch 23, Adam Zampa 19. Female International Twenty20 Player of the Year: Beth Mooney. Votes: Beth Mooney 30, Alyssa Healy 18, Ash Gardner, Megan Schutt and Georgia Wareham 16. Male International Twenty20 Player of the Year: Ashton Agar. Votes: Ashton Agar 19, Aaron Finch 14, David Warner 13. Female Domestic Player of the Year: Elyse Villani. Male Domestic Player of the Year: Shaun Marsh. Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year: Hannah Darlington. Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year: Will Sutherland. Community Impact Award: Joshua Lalor. Hall of Fame inductions: Johnny Mullagh, Merv Hughes, Lisa Sthalekar.

Dubai, Jan 30 (PTI) Virat Kohli remained the highest-placed Indian batsman at fourth position even as Cheteshwar Pujara rose a rung to sixth in the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Saturday. Apart from Kohli (862) and Pujara (760), Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (748) is the other Indian batsman in the top-10, hanging on to the eighth spot. Pujara moved up one place to sixth, while wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and star opener Rohit Sharma remained static on the 13th and 18th spots respectively. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (919) continued to lead the batting charts, with the Australian duo of Steve Smith (891) and Marnus Labuschagne (878) rounding up the top three while England skipper Joe Root (823) retained the fifth spot. Among the bowlers, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (760) and pace ace Jasprit Bumrah (757) retained their eighth and ninth spots respectively. Pat Cummins (908) continues to lead the chart followed by England pacer Stuart Broad (839) and New Zealand's Neil Wagner (835). Ravindra Jadeja (419) and Ashwin (281) also retained the third and sixth place, respectively, in the all-rounders' list led by England's Ben Stokes (427).

Melbourne, Jan 20 (PTI) Former captain Michael Clarke has criticised Australia's "negative" approach in the Test loss to an under-strength Indian team, saying the hosts, instead of pushing aggressively for wins, seemed scared of defeat. Clarke, however, refused to blame team leader Tim Paine for the unthinkable Test series defeat at home. An injury-ravaged India beat Australia by three wickets in the final game in Brisbane on Tuesday to win the series 2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. "I thought we might have been a tad negative at certain stages throughout because we were scared to lose versus attack hard and look to win the game," Clarke said on Big Sports Breakfast. Under Paine, Australia have competed in 23 Tests and have managed to win only 11 of them. Two Test series defeats at home against India make his record look worse. Paine, who took over from Steve Smith in 2018 after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, is copping criticism for not only the 1-2 defeat but also for his sloppy work behind the stumps. However, Clarke said it was the negative mindset that pegged Australia back. "At the end of the day, whether we lost with 20 overs left in the game or on the last ball of the game, it didn't matter. We had to win that game to win that trophy. "I sort of feel we should have approached the first ball of that game to the last ball of that game with a bit more of that attitude." Clarke said there was a time when the buck stopped with the captain but it should not be the case anymore since there are other professionals, who call the shots in the Australian set up. "When I played cricket, when I grew up watching my father ... the captain was accountable in the teams I played in. Through that transition of me captaining Australia, that changed. "There had become a chairman of selectors that had more pull, there had become a high performance manager that had more pull, there had become a head coach who had more pull," he said. "So now, who is driving the bus? This is my point." Former pacer Brett Lee too jumped to Paine's defence. "I think since he's taken over the captaincy he's shown real good leadership qualities," Lee told foxsports.com.au. "And look, there's been a lot written about Tim Paine behind the stumps. He's grassed a few chances, but who hasn't? You look at all the keepers in history and I'm sure there would be plenty who had leaner periods behind the stumps. "With the bat, you can't fault him. He goes along with Marnus Labuschagne as having one of the best techniques in the team. He stood up and took on the Indian players." Lee said he does not find anything wrong with Paine captaincy style. "His captaincy has been really good. As I said, in Sydney there were maybe a few other things he could have tried, but put yourself in that situation” he's under the pump, he's had a few players go down as well, there's chances (gone begging) when they're trying to take those last five wickets," he said. "(He's a) brilliant keeper, his batting has been outstanding, and his captaincy really sound." Paine, after the defeat on Tuesday, said he wants to continue as leader of the team since he has some "unfinished business" to settle.

Dubai, Jan 20 (PTI) India's Rishabh Pant became the top-ranked wicket-keeper batsman in the world after his sensational series-winning 89-run knock in the Brisbane match pushed him to a career-best 13th spot in the ICC Test batting rankings, issued on Wednesday. Pant, who won many admirers for his fearless and mature batting, has 691 points in his kitty. South Africa's Quinton de Kock (677) is the next best wicket-keeper batsman in the list in the 15th position. Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne's first-innings century in Brisbane took him past India skipper Virat Kohli (862 points) to third position with a career-best 878 rating points. Kohli missed the action as he was on paternity leave. Young India opener Shubman Gill continued his upward trajectory, moving up from 68th to 47th spot after a crucial 91 in the second innings of the fourth Test, which India won by three wickets on Tuesday. Middle-order mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara moved up one place to seventh after his dogged effort, while Mohammad Siraj jumped 32 places to 45th after taking six wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings. Debutant Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur too gained in rankings following their useful contributions with both bat and ball. Washington entered the rankings in 82nd (batting) and 97th (bowling) positions, while Thakur re-entered the batting list in 113th position and bowling list in 65th position. Australia captain Tim Paine moved up three spots to 42nd after scores of 50 and 27 while fast bowler Josh Hazlewood leapfrogged New Zealand's Tim Southee to the fourth spot after grabbing six wickets in the match, including a haul of five for 57 in the first innings. England's Joe Root has returned to the top five with his highest rating points tally (738) in two years after scoring a first-innings 228 to help his team win the first Test against Sri Lanka by seven wickets in Galle. Root has advanced six places, overtaking the likes of Pakistan's Babar Azam and Pujara in the process. England spinners Jack Leach and Dominic Bess made notable progress after their five-wicket hauls in Galle. Leach's second innings' figures of five for 122 lifted him three places to 40th while Bess's five for 30 in the first innings took him from 67th to 50th position. Jonny Bairstow (up five places to 58th in batting) and Sam Curran (up two places to 39th in bowling) also gained. For Sri Lanka, Lahiru Thirimanne's second innings century helped him progress 12 places to 87th position while left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya (up six places to 47th) and medium pacer Asitha Fernando (up 11 places to 96th) also gained

Sydney, Jan 8 (PTI) Steve Smith's typically gutsy hundred was neutralised by Ravindra Jadeja's four-wicket haul and rookie Shubman Gill's fluent half-century as a resolute India reached 96/2 after dismissing Australia for 338 on the second day of the third Test here on Friday. The Indian bowlers, especially Jadeja (18-3-62-4) and the ever-dependable Jasprit Bumrah (25.4-7-66-2), were brilliant with their length on a flat SCG deck where Smith (131 off 226 balls) along with Marnus Labuschagne (91 off 196 balls) raised visions of a 450-plus total by taking the side to 206 for 2 at one stage. But in the end, 338 was all they managed in a little less than 106 overs with none of the other batsmen making any telling contribution. It was only fitting that Jadeja's split second brilliance from the deep found Smith short of his crease. Then it was the calm and collected Gill (50, 101 balls), who was assured during those cover drives off Nathan Lyon and equally breathtaking while presenting his forward defence to Pat Cummins. The 21-year-old and Rohit Sharma (26 off 77 balls) added 70 in 27 overs but more importantly set the stage for skipper Ajinkya Rahane (5 batting off 40 balls) and Cheteshwar Pujara (9 batting off 53 balls) to cash in on the batting-friendly conditions on the third day. It was Gill's maiden Test half century in just his second match. Despite the cloud cover for the better part of the day, there was no swing on offer and lack of moisture meant that there wasn't any turn or for that matter, even some movement off the pitch. The Australian attack looked more insipid than ever and Rohit, playing his first game in nearly two months, did all the hard work for nearly two hours before failing to check an uppish drive that was pouched by the bowler. But it was a day when India had two openers, who were both ready to pull the fast bowlers during their opening spells and dominate Lyon with precise footwork. Both frittered away good starts but in broader context, provided the launchpad which the team failed to get in the first two Tests. The first two sessions could be ideally described as fascinating with Australia getting 172 runs in just under 51 overs, largely due to some positive batting by Smith, Labuschagne and down the order Mitchell Starc (24 off 30 balls). But Jadeja and Bumrah, especially with the second new ball, were on target even as debutant Navdeep Saini (2/65) leaked a few runs due to sheer inexperience. The Sydney track didn't have much help for the slow bowlers in the first two days but that didn't deter Jadeja from denying Labuschagne a deserving hundred. In a stop-start first session, Labuschagne, who was looking good for a hundred, when he got an arm ball from Jadeja, which bounced a bit more denying him room for a non-existent cut shot. The result was a smart catch by skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who positioned himself a bit wide at the first slip. Labuschagne's 196-ball innings had 11 boundaries and no one deserved a three-figure score more than him. He and Smith, in their bid to neutralise India's leg-side field, played some eye-catching strokes. Smith completed his half-century in the very next over after Labuschagne's dismissal, off Ravichandran Ashwin (0/74 in 24 overs), who has been well below his best during the five sessions that India had been on field. The two batsmen had little trouble as they blended caution with aggression perfectly during the first hour on a track that's offering slow turn with no visible demons in it. The Indian bowlers continued bowling in straight lines with a heavy leg-side field that they have been employing since the second Test match. What changed for Australia was the understanding of the opposition strategy better as they showed aggressive intent. While Jadeja got a couple of wickets, both Ashwin and him erred on the shorter side of the length giving Smith ample opportunity to rock back and play through the vacant spaces in the off-side area. While the pronounced shuffle was still there, Smith did cover his leg-stump while going across and was hardly troubled by the Indian bowlers. Despite a tight leg-side field, he was able to find on-side gaps and once it was 278 for 7 after Pat Cummins' dismissal, the next 60 runs came in a jiffy in 11 overs, courtesy Smith's aggressive approach.

Sydney, Jan 8 (PTI) Australia were all out for 338 in their first innings on the second day of the third and penultimate Test against India here on Friday. After Will Pucovski (62) and Marnus Labuschagne (91) gave the hosts their strongest start of the series, Steve Smith struck a gritty 131-run knock to ensure that the team had a fighting score on the board. For India, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the top wicket-taker with four scalps, conceding 62 runs in his 18 overs. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and debutant Navdeep Saini chipped in with two wickets each to keep the visiting side firmly in the match after the hosts claimed the day one honours. The series is currently locked 1-1 after India's remarkable eight-wicket comeback win in the Melbourne Test, off-setting a humiliating loss in the opener in Adelaide. Brief Scores: Australia 1st innings: 338 all out in 105.4 overs (Will Pucovski 62, Marnus Labuschagne 91, Steve Smith 131, Ravindra Jadeja 4/62, Jasprit Bumrah 2/66).