He entered the Indian dressing room as a gangly teenager and even after 22 seasons, 40-year-old Harbhajan Singh backs himself to come out on top in a one-on-one “skill” battle with the best spinners in the country.
“If you still want to test me by pitting me for a battle of skills against those youngsters you consider best in the business, please bring it on,” Harbhajan, who has a career T20 economy rate of under 7 with 235 wickets, told PTI in an interaction.
Age at one level is over-rated, feels the veteran of 103 Tests and 236 ODIs.
“You can talk about age if the ball while fielding goes between your legs or your knees are gone or you have done in the shoulder which is the reason you can’t give that force.
“But yes, I have been on the field wearing those India colours for at least 800 days (playing time). I have been an achiever who doesn’t need anyone’s sympathy. But yes, if it’s about skills, bring the best in India and I am still ready,” he said.
But can he be at his best from IPL to IPL without playing domestic cricket?
“To each his own. If someone feels he wants game time, good for him. If I bowl 2000 balls at the nets for a month, the amount of top-level cricket I have played, it’s good enough,” said Harbhajan, who turned 40 earlier this month.
Tell him that some of the boys who will play IPL this season like Ravi Bishnoi and Kartik Tyagi were born after he had made his Test debut, he starts laughing.
“It seems that you are trying to make me realise that I am too old but on a serious note if you see I started when Mohammed Azharuddin was the India captain. It has been a brilliant journey, full of ups and downs and I am grateful to God that I could live my dream for over two decades,” Harbhajan said.
“You always feel that you can achieve more but you should always be grateful for the opportunities you got to achieve what you wanted to – that is win matches for your country,” said the ‘Turbanator’, who feels that the COVID-19 induced lockdown has helped him get fitter like never before.
“What I couldn’t achieve for India? Well I would say, “shayad woh mere muqaddar mein thaa hi nahi par woh ek doosra nazariya hoga” (it was probably not in my destiny but that’s a different perspective).”
Looking back at his 22-year-old journey, Harbhajan said he treated every day like an exam.
“That every day was like an exam. A lot of papers went well and I got good marks and a few I didn’t do well as much as I would have liked.
“It was like a great leveller. When you played actively for India, you could never celebrate a good performance for days as there was another challenge right down the corner,” said the man with 711 international wickets across formats.
At times, he does miss the pressure of playing for India.
“It’s funny you know. When I used to play, there would be days when I wouldn’t like that insane pressure where you are feted one day and brought down to earth on another day after one bad match. I didn’t like it back then but now when I am not playing cricket regularly, I miss that pressure.
“Everyone will tell you that they love challenges but when in the middle of an every day grind, you start questioning yourself that why do I need to go through. But yes, sometimes, when I look back, there were a lot of days, I enjoyed that pressure that I have to win a match for India,” he said.
Will the 2020 edition be your last IPL?
“I can’t say whether this will be my last IPL. It depends on my body. After four months of workout, rest, yoga sessions, I feel reinvigorated just like 2013, when I had 24 wickets in that IPL edition,” said the man, who has 150 wickets from 160 IPL games in 12 seasons.
Pakistan’s teenage bowling sensation Naseem Shah praised India opener Rohit Sharma, saying he has the ability to play all types of deliveries and getting his wicket would be a dream come true.
Naseem Shah, known for his raw pace, made his Test debut as a 16-year-old in Pakistan’s tour of Australia last year. He went on to pick up a 5-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in Karachi and picked up a hat-trick against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, thereby becoming the youngest bowler in Test cricket history to do so.
“Rohit Sharma has the ability to play all types of deliveries, be it short ones or good length deliveries. His records speak for itself and picking his wicket would be a dream come true for me,” Naseem Shah told Cricingif as quoted by the Pakistan Observer.
Shah also lauded Australia’s batting stalwart Steve Smith for his unorthodox batting technique and said that dismissing him would be a delight for Pakistan pacer.
“Steve Smith is very unorthodox in his batting technique and getting him out would be a delight for me. In the past, I have had the opportunity to bowl to him but picking his wicket would be a good experience, given his form,” Naseem Shah added.
During the conversation, Naseem Shah also revealed the names of 3 batsmen who would fill in his dream hat-trick.
Naseem Shah said that he would like to dismiss Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith and Joe Root on consecutive deliveries.
Currently, on an England tour, Naseem Shah will have an opportunity to dismiss Joe Root in the three-match Test series in England starting on August 5.
Former Australia speedster Brett Lee believes the Aussies will definitely be gunning for revenge when India travel Down Under for a mouth-watering Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year. The four Tests of the series are currently scheduled to be played at Gabba, Adelaide Oval, MCG and the SCG respectively starting December 3.
The last time Virat Kohli and Co travelled to Australia, they got the better of the hosts 2-1 and became the first Indian team to win a Test series there. With batting heavyweights Steve Smith and David Warner back in the side this time, Lee feels Australia will be too hot to handle on home soil.
“To me, it’s one of the best series that you can look forward to. Australian will definitely want revenge but I know that India will come out and play their style of cricket which could definitely put Australia on the ropes. I personally think Australia will be too strong on home soil,” Lee told IANS.
Lee also had a word of advice to stop the juggernaut that is called Virat Kohli. The India skipper will once again be expected to have a huge say in the outcome of the series and according to Lee, if the Aussie bowlers are able to keep him under check from the word go, that could end up in rattling the superstar batsman.
Kohli finished as the third-highest run-getter on the 2018-19 tour but will be definitely eying the top spot this time, especially when his head-to-head battle will be against age-old rival Steve Smith, which wasn’t the case last time around.
“He is obviously a world-class player and Australia will have to make sure they’ve got clear concise plans to bowl to him. I think if they can put him under pressure early in the series that will allow maybe Australia to go on top of him,” Lee opined.
The big reason for India’s success on their last tour was the consistency shown by the bowlers. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah ended the series with 21 wickets, Mohammed Shami scalped 16 wickets while Ishant Sharma also did well with 11 scalps. Lee feels that Indian pacers these days don’t back down and are always up for the contest, regardless of the opposition or the conditions.
“I think with their height and agility they are able to bowl in all conditions, but it looked as though they are really up for the contest,” Lee said.
Bumrah has been an integral part of the Indian pace battery across formats for a while now. But the one concern that is usually raised with respect to him is his short bowling run-up. Former greats have time and again expressed concerns and stated it is difficult for Bumrah to remain injury-free with the super-fast pace that he generates with that small run-up.
“I think it’s a matter of him keeping strong and doing what works for him. Obviously, with a short run-up, it does put a lot of pressure on your body but at the moment it looks as though it’s working for him,” the former speedster said.
Lee, recently, announced his tie-up with SportsAdda — the one-stop-shop for everything cricket, football, and kabaddi. Commenting on the same, he said: “India is a vast nation with a great appetite for sports content, particularly cricket, football, and kabaddi. However, finding the right way to satiate that hunger is what I feel separates SportsAdda from the rest of the pack. They really seem to know how to best connect with the sports fan in pioneering ways with a voice that is not only informative and opinionated but witty and funny too.”
“In Brett, we not only have an athlete who has plied his trade at the highest level, but also one of the most passionate, smart and revered names in cricket,” Ashish Rana, spokesperson SportsAdda, said. “His commitment to excellence on the field is on par with ours in the digital world and together, we have some exciting stuff lined up for our fans that we cannot wait to reveal.”
It’s been a long time since fans got a glimpse of MS Dhoni, with the former India captain limiting his public appearances, especially in the lockdown period.
Chennai Super Kings, though, came to the rescue of die-hard Dhoni fans with a short video where Dhoni made a rare appearance. Naturally, the video immediately went viral.
“The much-needed pawsitivity at 7! #Thala @msdhoni #WhistlePodu,” read the caption in the video uploaded by CSK.
Dhoni hasn’t played for India since the World Cup last year, where India exited in the semifinal. However, his manager and childhood friend Mihir Diwakar said Dhoni is not thinking of retirement yet.
“Being friends, we don’t talk about his cricket. But looking at him, he’s not all thinking about retirement,” he had said.
“He is very determined to play the IPL. He has worked really hard for this. If you remember he was there in Chennai one month in advance before everything was shut down.
“He has maintained his fitness regimen at his farmhouse and will start practice after the lockdown is lifted. Everything now depends on how fast the situation returns to normalcy.”
“One of the great players in world cricket. Not just a finisher, I think everyone talks about the way he finishes lower down the order…he batted at No. 3 when I was captain. He got 140 against Pakistan in Vizag. I always believe that he should bat up the order because he is so destructive,” Ganguly told Mayank Agarwal in a video show for BCCI.
“You know the best player in the shorter format has the ability to hit boundaries at will. You look over a period of time, the history of one-day cricket…the best players can find the fence under pressure consistently and M.S. Dhoni was one of them.”
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan said Dhoni would become the permanent ‘boss’ of CSK in 10 years.
“In 10 years from now, my feeling is that he’ll be a permanent fixture in Chennai as the Chennai Super Kings Boss,” he said.
Barry Jarman, Australia’s 33rd Test captain, wicketkeeper and later ICC match referee, has died in Adelaide aged 84 after the illness.
As a highly skilled gloveman and punchy lower-order batsman for South Australia, mentored by his predecessor Gil Langley, Jarman spent his entire cricket career at the front rank of Australian cricket, only to see his chances of playing more Test matches stymied by the selectors’ preference for the older Wally Grout.
After making his debut against India at Kanpur in 1959 at the age of 23, Jarman was Grout’s reserve for no fewer than 27 Tests over six series before his next chance, against England in 1962, and did not become Australia’s first-choice until a home series against India in 1967-68, by which time he was 31.
By then he found himself competing with the New South Welshman Brian Taber in the era immediately before Rod Marsh’s emergence as Australia’s next long-term wicketkeeper. It is a marker of the times in which Jarman lived that his solution to weight gain as his career went on was, according to Ray Robinson in On Top Down Under: “to sidestep lunch and begin smoking. He peeled off 9kg”.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Barry Jarman (right), the 33rd captain of the Australian Men’s Test team, aged 84.
We pass our deepest sympathies to his wife Gaynor and children Kristen, Gavin, Jason and Erin. pic.twitter.com/3AZkl9jw88
As a back-up wicketkeeper on so many tours, Jarman earned his reputation as a team man and a jokester, influential in ensuring that touring parties did not fragment into cliques, while also adding to Australian cricket’s nomenclature by coining numerous nicknames – most famously that of “Rowdy” for the taciturn South Australia spin bowler and writer Ashley Mallett.
Strong regard for Jarman’s skills as a wicketkeeper and a leader were underlined when, with Bill Lawry injured and out of the fourth Test of the 1968 Ashes series at Headingley, he captained his country. Jarman duly secured a draw that ensured England could not regain the urn, even if some had hoped that the longtime lieutenant of the enterprising Les Favell in SA would have taken a more aggressive approach to a Test the Australians had much the better of.
Jarman went on to play out the following home summer, a successful one against the West Indies taking his Test match tally to 19, before hanging up his gloves after the season – at the time of his retirement, only Grout and Bert Oldfield among Australians had claimed more than Jarman’s 560 first-class dismissals, including no fewer than 129 stumpings.
Barry Jarman Australia’s 33rd Test captain
Beyond cricket, Jarman’s joint ownership of a sports store in Adelaide inadvertently began another chapter in Australian cricket lore, when he and his business partner David Rowe employed Barry “Nugget” Rees as an assistant. Jarman, twigging Rees’ love of cricket, took him along to Adelaide Oval to visit the South Australia dressing room, beginning an association that continues to this day.
In the early 1990s, the ICC’s commissioning of neutral match referees to oversee player behaviour for international matches brought Jarman to prominence once again, as he presided over 25 Tests and 28 ODIs between 1995 and 2001. Perhaps the most notable of these was the abandoned Test match between West Indies and England at Jamaica in 1998, called off within an hour due to the dangerous nature of the pitch.
“[The umpire] Venkat got in touch with me and said, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘I think it’s horrific’,” Jarman said at the time. “I told him, ‘You do what you want to do and you’ll get support from me.’ I spoke to Mike and Brian and they said, ‘We both agree it’s too dangerous and someone’s going to get seriously hurt’. The pitch is just nowhere near up to standard.”
Jarman was also the match referee for the infamous Centurion Test between South Africa and England in 2000, where after several days of rain, the Proteas captain Hansie Cronje engineered a fourth-innings chase for the visitors after two innings were declared closed at 0 for 0 with Jarman’s blessing.
England won late on the final day, and Cronje was to confirm that he had been influenced to open the match up by illegal bookmakers as part of what was later revealed to be a long and sordid history of match-fixing. Jarman, though, had not seen anything untoward.
“I cannot remember anything that made me think that way,” he had said in April 2000. “I have been a betting man all my life and I know what has been going on, but there was nothing there to suggest that anything was being manufactured.”
Indian women’s team opener Smriti Mandhana celebrates her 24th birthday on Saturday (July 18). Born in 1996, the Mumbai cricketer is a stalwart of the Indian women’s cricket team.
Smriti’s Journey To Cricket:
Mandhana’s tryst with cricket began when her father used to take her brother for cricket practice every morning. She used to wake up at 5 a.m. to tag along and after her brother was done with the practice, she used to get just 10-15 balls to face. 10-15 balls gradually became 20-30 and it was not long before she stole the limelight from her brother.
Seeing her brother bat left-handed, she also started doing the same and it took only a few years for her talent to push her into the Indian team. She was selected in the Maharashtra under-15 squad at the age of just 9 and by the time she was 11, she had already made it to the under-19 squad.
Smriti Mandhana celebrates her 24th birthday along with her family
Mandhana’s name first popped up in the Indian media when she scored an unbeaten double century – a knock of 224 off just 150 deliveries – against Gujarat in the West zone under-19 ODI tournament. The runs had come off the bat which had been gifted by Rahul Dravid to her and she indeed made good use of it.
Her Debut:
At 16, Mandhana made her ODI debut in April 2013 against Bangladesh in Ahmedabad. Just a year later, she played her first Test match and made her maiden Test half-century to see India to a historic Test win over England.
She is considered as one of the best batswomen in the current generation and is even ranked No. 4 in ODI batting rankings and is the only Indian in the top 5 of the list.
She also captained women’s IPL team Trailblazers. The southpaw grabbed the limelight through stellar performances in the ICC Women’s World T20 in 2018.
Her 178-run streak in five matches earned her the tournament’s third-highest run aggregator. Since then there was no stopping her as she continued to pile up runs in international and Franchise cricket.
Watch Smriti Mandhana’s Fastest Fifty:
Wishes From BCCI As Smriti Turns 24:
Having turned 24 today, Mandhana’s numbers in ODI Cricket are close to the gold standard. She has already scored 2,025 ODI runs from 51 matches at an average of 43.08 and a strike rate of 84.41. This includes four centuries and 17 half-centuries. In T20 Internationals as well, she averages over 25 with a strike rate touching 120.
First Indian 🇮🇳 woman to score ODI hundreds in SENA nations ✅
Fastest Indian 🇮🇳 woman to 2000 ODI runs ✅
📽️Let’s celebrate our very own @mandhana_smriti‘s birthday revisiting her fine 9⃣0⃣-run knock during the #WWC17. 👏👏
Mandhana has not been able to live up to the expectations in ICC events. She began the 2017 ODI World Cup, in which India finished as runners-up, on a great note, scoring 90 against England and 106 not out against West Indies but she finished the tournament with 235 runs from 9 matches at a pedestrian average of 29.00.
However, she showed her capability in the 2018 T20 World Cup where she was the third-highest scorer with 178 runs from 5 matches at an average of 35.60 and a strike rate of 125.35.
The more you see of Mandhana, you cannot help but feel that her best cricket is yet to come. At 24 years of age and the women’s IPL in the making, Mandhana is all set to have the world at her feet over the coming five years or so.
Mandhana, with the rest of the Women’s national team, made it to the final of the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia but unfortunately got outclassed by the hosts in the finale of the tournament.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently also named her as the Best Women’s International Cricketer.
The United Arab Emirates has emerged as the top contender to host India’s training camp along with Ahmedabad and Dharamsala being the other options discussed at the BCCI Apex Council meeting. With India’s COVID-19 caseload exceeding a million mark, UAE is favourite to host this edition of Indian Premier League which is scheduled to be held between end September and mid-November.
Indian cricketers, who have not played since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could well resume their training in Dubai, the likelihood of which will increase significantly if the UAE gets to host the cash-rich league.
The issue was discussed in the virtual Apex Council meeting on Friday but the final call will be taken by the IPL Governing Council.
“If the IPL is held in the UAE, then it only makes sense the Indian cricketers train there before the tournament. They have a good infrastructure in place. UAE is the most likely choice for the IPL with India getting increasingly unsafe (due to COVID-19),”a BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
“The other likely options are training camp in either Dharamsala or Ahmedabad (at the renovated Motera Stadium) with a bio-bubble in place. But the cases continue to increase in India, so UAE will be the safest option,”the official added.
The BCCI has zeroed in on September-early November window for the T20 extravaganza but for that, the ICC needs to announce the cancellation of the T20 World Cup, scheduled in Australia in October-November.
The announcement can come as early as next week when the ICC Board meets on Monday. The meeting was attended by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, whose tenure has reportedly ended.
“The BCCI’s legal team okayed his presence and that is why he was there,” a source said.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly’s term ends on July 27 but the board has sought an extension for him, the secretary and joint secretary Jayesh George from the Supreme Court.
After the first test loss hosts England seeks to win the second test to stay alive in the series. England’s Joe Root makes his way to Test squad and expected to lead the team to victory in home ground.
ENG vs WI Toss Updates: Toss – Up goes the coin and it lands in favour of Jason Holder. West Indies have won the toss and have opted to field.
England Squad:
Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad
West Indies Squad:
Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich (wk), Jason Holder (c), Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel
Captain’s View:
Jason Holder: We’re going to field first. Try to make use of the overhead conditions. We’ve got the same team as well. Whatever it is under the surface, we’ll try to extract it in the first session. The bowlers have pulled up quite well, expect similar things in this game from them. We’ve got to start fresh; different venue, different match. We have to learn from our mistakes in the last game and rectify it here. The last game brought a lot of smiles to the faces of our people back home and we’ll look to keep it that way.
Joe Root: We have to look ahead to the next five days and put up a good performance. We spoke to Mark and Jimmy and knew it’s a high risk to play them in back to back games. It is a must-win for us, but we need to look after them as well. We can take 20 wickets and we’re looking forward to that. We have Broad, Woakes, Curran and Bess in the bowling. Firstly we need runs and need to improve there. We need to figure out how we want to play our cricket. We got ourselves where we could win the game after being down in the first two and a half days and that gave me a lot of pleasure. It was a difficult one at the toss. It looks a very good wicket, might spin a little bit and is softer than usual. I have had a lot of time thinking about Test cricket and want to get out there and perform.
Day-1 England’s 1st Innings:
Rory Burns and Sibley gets in the crease, Rory Burns is on strike. Roach opens the attack against England. As England seeks to win this match they steadily start the innings. With a maiden over at the beginning of the match, West Indies shows their aggressive bowling attack.
After 10 overs England scored only 17 runs with no wicket loss. Before lunch, at 13.2 overs England lost their first wicket for 27 runs. Where Roston Chase dismissed Rory Burns for 15 runs off 35 balls.
Post lunch at the very first ball England lost their second wicket where Zak Crawley dismissed for a duck and return pavilion. England gets in struggle after Roston Chase uproots two wickets.
Joe Root Backs in-game:
Joe Root joins hand with Dominic Sibley and executed an excellent performance to save Englan from sinking for a low score. Breaking a huge expectation Joe Root lost his wicket to Alzarri Joseph for 23 runs off 49 balls.
Ben Stokes joins hands with Dominic Sibley and dragged England further to score. Without any loss of wickets, further, England crossed 100 runs with Strokes and Dominic’s partnership.
At the end of Day 1, England scored 207 runs for 3 wicket loss.
Watch 2nd Test Day 1 Highlights:
Day 2 England Innings:
England continues their strike on the second day of the second Test match. Gabriel starts his attack against England where England’s batsman seems well settled as Ben Stokes scored 59 runs off 159 balls and Dominic Sibley after facing 259 balls scored 86 runs.
This duo seems to have a special day today!!. Both the batsman without any tension face the Windies bowlers and moves England towards a safe target.
West Indies bowlers struggled to break this partnership and tried various spells to dismiss a batsman. On the other hand, Dominic Sibley nears his second test ton in partnering with Stokes.
Drinks:
Before drinks break England scored 229 runs for 3 wicket loss where Stokes scored 75 runs off 204 balls and Dominic Sibley scored 90 off 286. West Indies skipper Holder continues the bowling attack against strong England.
Sibley Second TON
After a long struggle, Sibley reached TON and marked his second hundred count in Test matches. Where England scored 260 runs for 3 wicket loss.
Dom Sibley (101* off 312 balls) – This is the slowest century for England since Michael Atherton’s 317-ball century against Pakistan in Karachi in 2000/01.
What a moment! First Test 💯 on home soil for @DomSibley! 🙌
The previous slowest was off 199 balls against Australia at Leeds last year.
After 114 overs England reached 283 runs 3 wicket loss. Where the partnership crossed 200+ runs.
First English pair to score 200 runs for the fourth wicket since Jonathan Trott & Ian Bell against India in Nagpur in 2012/13.
This partnership reached another record at the end of 115 over where the duo faced 500 balls in partnership.
Sibley & Stokes partnership is now 500 balls long. The last English pair to bat as many balls was Alastair Cook & Nick Compton – 509 balls vs NZ in Dunedin in 2013. Last to do so in a home Test was Stuart Broad & Jonathan Trott (574 balls) against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010.
England crossed 300 runs:
Stokes with an impressive boundary in Roston Chase’s over moves England to score 300 runs in total for 3 wicket loss. Holder risks teams last review in an attempt to dismiss aggressive Stokes.
Highest individual scores for Stokes
258 v SA Cape Town 2015/16
139* this Test
135*v Aus Leeds 2019
128 v Ind Rajkot 2016/17
This duo seems to be a great threat for Windies bowlers as they crossed 250 runs partnership also Ben Stokes scored 150 runs.
Sibley Dismissal:
Finally, Windies prayers have been answered!!. Roston Chase dismissed Sibley for 120 runs off 372 balls. The slow and steady innings come to an end after facing more than 60 overs.
Highest partnerships in Manchester (any wicket)
267 M Vaughan – G Thorpe 3rd wkt v Pak 2001
260 D Sibley – B Stokes 4th wkt v WI 2020 *
246 T Dexter – K Barrington 3rd wkt v Aus 1964
245 B Wyatt – F Woolley 3rd wkt v SA 1929
Ollie Pope joins hands with aggressive Stokes and continues the innings. But this duo fails to lead the innings as Ollie Pope lose his wicket to Roston Chase and return Pavillion for just 7 runs. England at this stage scored 352 runs for 5 wickets lost. It’s Jos Butler who then joins hands with Stokes
Day 2 Tea:
Before tea break, the hosts scored 378 runs for 5 wicket loss. Butler with a triple boundary in Roston Chase’s over dragged England to 395 runs.
Roach Back to Back Wickets:
With 5 runs away from reaching 400 England lose a couple of wickets. West Indies Roach ends the aggressive innings of Stokes. Stokes dismissed for 176 runs off 356 balls. Soon after his wicket the followed batsman Woakes too lose the wicket in very next ball from Roach.
England crossed 400 runs and Declared:
Sam Curran joins hands with Jos Buttler and dragged England past 400 runs mark. Buttler soon loses his wicket to Holder before scoring a half-century. Soon after his wicket England collapsed and England captain Root declared the innings for 469 runs with a wicket remaining to lose.
WI spinners taking 5-fers in England in the last 50 years
6/57 R Harper Manchester 1984
5/34 C Gayle Edgbaston 2004
5/172 R Chase this Test *
Most expensive 5-fers for WI
5/266 OC Scott v Eng Kingston 1929/30
5/179 S Shillingford v Ind Mumbai WS 2013/14
5/172 R Chase this Test *
West Indies 1st Innings:
With a mammoth target to chase West Indies starts their 1st Innings. Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell get in the crease as England’s Stuart Broad opens the attack on behalf of England.
Stuart Broad in Ashes 2019
vs LHB: 16 wickets @13.63 (SR 25.4)
vs RHB: 7 wickets @56.43 (SR 92.1)
Sam Curran dismissed John Campbell in an early stage of the innings where Campbell return Pavillion for 12 runs from 34 balls. West Indies lost their first wicket for just 16 runs.
Day 2 Stumps:
At the end of day 2, West Indies scored 32 runs for a wicket loss from 14 overs. Where Alzarri Joseph (14 from 18 balls) and Kraigg Brathwaite (6 from 32 balls).
Watch 2nd Test Day 2 Highlights:
Day 3 Called Off:
It’s raining in Old Trafford.
14:25 Local Time, 13:25 GMT, 18:55 IST: Still no signs of rain abating in Old Trafford.
16:05 Local Time, 15:05 GMT, 20:35 IST: Fair to say this was coming. The rain has had the last say and Day 3 has been called off without a ball being bowled. As things stand, England has 196 overs to bowl the visitors out twice and level the series at 1-1. It’s difficult to see West Indies winning from here, at best they would be happy if they can draw this Test and preserve their lead going into the decider.
Jofra Archer Back to 3rd Test:
A big boost for England with Jofra Archer being made available to play the final Test. He has been fined and warned by the ECB, but they haven’t gone further in imposing any sort of ban. ICYMI, he was ruled out of the ongoing Test for breaking the bio-secure bubble in between the last Test and this one.
On his way from Southampton to Manchester, the Hove-based bowler took a detour to his home in Sussex – which constituted as a breach in protocol.
Day 4 West Indies Batting:
The rain has done quite a favour for the visitors, it has not only taken time off the game but has also given the bowlers, who toiled hard for 162 overs, a much-needed rest. Now it is up to their batsmen to extend that relaxation period and ensure they need not worry about their fitness going into the final Test of the series.
The first target for them will be 270 which will make England bat again and almost ensure a draw. However, with the pitch assisting the bowlers and being under covers for an entire day will not make things easy. It will need the same kind of discipline they showed with the ball from their batsmen.
The players are out in the middle. Nasser Hussain rings the bell as Jerusalem plays in the background. Brathwaite marks his guard in typical Caribbean fashion by hammering the bail-in. Woakes to get us underway. Three slips and a gully in place. Ready to go.
West Indies Batsman Struggled to Score:
Woakes continues the attack against West Indies, soon after reaching 70 runs West Indies lose their second wicket. Dom Bess dismissed Alzarri Joseph for 32 runs off 53 balls.
On the other hand, Sam Curran loads pressure on the Windies batsman. Which made West Indies score 81 runs off 2 wickets lose before drinks break.
Kraigg Brathwaite’s Impressive Innings:
Kraigg Brathwaite joins hand with Shai Hope and dragged Windies to cross 100 in total. West Indies gets in-game as the players seem to have a good partnership where English bowlers were under pressure.
Day 4 Lunch:
England skipper Joe Root finished the first half of the day 4 with a maiden over.
A good session for the visitors, they added 86 runs for the loss of nightwatchman, Alzarri Joseph. The ball didn’t do a lot despite being under covers for a long time. Joseph set out trying to score runs, he was dropped early by Stokes, found a couple of edges flying past slips and then settled. On the other hand, Kraigg Brathwaite was happy to bide time.
It needed the introduction of spin and Dom Bess to break the stand – Joseph couldn’t deal with extra bounce and offered a simple catch to short-leg. That brought in Shai Hope and he has looked very solid. Brathwaite has gained in confidence and the scoreboard was kept busy. West Indies are still 152 runs adrift of avoiding the follow-on, but they would only be thinking of batting for a long time at this stage.
Kraigg Brathwaite Fifty:
After a short lunch break, Sam Curran continues the attack against West Indies and dismissed Windies Hope for 25 runs from 71 balls. Kraigg Brathwaite, on the other hand, executes an impressive inning by scoring his 19th Test fifty.
At this stage, West Indies scored 131 runs for 3 wickets lost.
West Indies hope to victory has been scattered when Stokes dismissed Kraigg Brathwaite for an impressive 75 runs from 165 balls. Where West Indies scored 199 runs for 4 wickets lost.
Roston Chase joins hands with Shamarh Brooks and lifts West Indies team score to 227 runs before the Tea break.
New Ball Changed the game:
After 80 overs England picks the new ball to bowl with. Broad start off with the new ball and dismissed Shamarh Brooks for 68 runs off 137 balls.
Jermaine Blackwood gets in the crease and joins hand with Roston Chase. Blackwood has faced 103 balls from Broad without getting dismissed. He has scored at an SR of 70.87.
But the stats have been renewed as Broad dismissed Blackwood for the duck. West Indies scored 248 runs for 6 wickets lost.
West Indies soon starts to collapse and players dismissed for few runs and wind-up West Indies innings for just 287 runs.
It’s a new change in opening players of the England side as Stokes and Buttler get in the crease. Roach opens the attack.
This seems not to be a great idea for England as they lose Buttler in the first over of the match without scoring a run.
Zak Crawley joins hand with Stokes, soon this partnership too broke by Windies bowlers as Roach dismissed Zak Crawley for 11 runs.
Day 4 Stumps:
England lost 2 wickets for just 17 runs. England skipper gets in the crease and lifts total to 37 runs at the end of day 4.
Watch Day 4 Highlights:
Day 5 England Batting:
England Declared the innings:
Ben Stokes and Joe Root continues the innings as England already secured a good spot in lead. After 10 overs England scored 56 runs for 2 wicket loss.
After 15 overs England scored 90 runs in their second innings where Alzarri Joseph dismissed England skipper Joe Root for 22 runs from 33 balls.
After England skippers wicket Ollie Pope joins hands with aggressive Stokes and dragged England to 129 runs. After which the declaration has come from England, giving themselves 85 overs to get West Indies out.
Ollie Pope(12 for 7) and Stokes (78 from 57) remains undefeated in the yard.
Five times previously WI have lost the Test after starting their fourth innings on the fifth day.
(Overs played out by them in these instances)
34.3 v Eng Edgbaston 1963
83.5 v SL Kandy 2001/02
70.1 v Ban Arnos Vale 2009
82.2 v NZ Bridgetown 2014
47.3 v Ind Gros Islet 2016
Most sixes in Test cricket (among current players):
74 – Ben Stokes**
72 – Tim Southee
61 – Angelo Mathews
56 – David Warner
52 – Rohit Sharma
52 – Ross Taylor
West Indies 2nd Innings:
West Indies is in need to score 312 off a minimum of 85 overs. Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell gets in the crease. Kraigg Brathwaite is on strike. Broad opens the attack against West Indies.
Broad continues his aggressiveness as in the first innings and dismissed John Campbell foe just 4 runs and gave the England’s much needed start.
Windies Struggled to score:
West Indies struggled to score as their another opener Kraigg Brathwaite too lose his wicket to Woakes and return Pavillion when he scored just 12 runs off 23 balls.
Broad in the next over dismissed Shai Hope for 7 runs which lands West Indies in danger zone as their top order batsman fails to give the much needed partnership.
At the end of 10 overs West Indies scored 24 runs for 3 wicket loss.
Lunch:
Half a day over YES it’s time for Lunch!! West Indies struggles to score and may tries to draw the match by restricting the wicket loss.
Broad Scatters Windies Dreams:
Roston Chase and Shamarh Brooks gets in the crease post lunch and seems to have a new determination. But their plans scatters when Broad bowled and dismissed Roston Chase for 6 runs.
Jermaine Blackwood joins hands with Shamarh Brooks for the next wicket. Blackwood hits a impressive triple boundary in Sam Curran’s over which gave Windies a hope to survive.
Drinks:
This duo stands and drags Windies towards a good score as Windies scored 86 runs for the same 4 wicket loss before drinks break. And this duo drags Windies to reach 100 runs in total.
This duo continues to slam England bowlers and leads West Indies to score 122 where Blackwood lists a fifty under his name. In the same Dom Bess’s over Brooks too reached his half century.
Game Changes in favour for England:
But soon Stokes shows up and dismissed Blackwood for 55. Woakes on the other hand dismissed Dowrich for duck and registered his 100th Test wicket.
Windies skipper Jason Holder joins hands with Shamarh Brooks and drags windies to score 161 runs in total and loose his wicket to Sam Curran and return Pavillion by scoring 62 runs off 136 balls.
England Won the Second Test:
Windies skipper and Roach are at the crease soon the west Indies starts to loose their lower order wickets in a regular interval and wind up with a score of 198 runs.
England won the second test by 113 runs and equals the three Test series as 1-1.
This is the sixth time WI have lost a Test after starting their fourth innings on the fifth day
v Eng Edgbaston 1963
v SL Kandy 2001/02
v Ban Arnos Vale 2009
v NZ Bridgetown 2014
v Ind Gros Islet 2016
v Eng Manchester 2020*
Wins for England against other teams
110 vs Aus (351 Tests)
64 vs SA (153)
50 vs WI (159) *
48 vs NZ (105)
47 vs Ind (122)
Watch Day 5 Highlights:
Captains View:
Joe Root (England) | Winning captain: It was a brilliant week of cricket. From the outset making 400 for the third time in four games was great. From that point on in this game, we just drove the game on. At the start of the day all three results were possible and it was great to finish on top. [On Sibley’s batting] I mean that’s exactly what we want from him – to go out there and make that big contribution and then Stokes just keeps getting better and better.
He went through a range of gears and played the situation. He doesn’t surprise me, if you watch how he goes about his business in training and practice, he leads the way. He just wants to get better and better and it is great for a lot of young guys coming in to see that. [On Broad’s comments after the last game] You expect that from Stuart. When he says something you expect him to back it up.
He put up a great performance in the first innings and today as well. We always feel that he has a long career ahead. [Selection for the next game] That was always going to be the case with the ball. It’s the first time we have so many options available. It is a good headache and a fantastic position to be in as a team.
Jason Holder (West Indies) | Losing captain: We’re disappointed with the result. We have let ourselves down. England played a good game of cricket so they deserve all the credit. We could have stretched the game yesterday, but that’s when we let ourselves down and lost wickets in clusters. England bowlers challenged our batters a lot, stuck to their tasks, and held their lengths. The batters got caught in the crease; we need to get forward or back and make sure we are decisive about playing or leaving and also with our footwork.
We have a few days left to ponder these things. It’s a short-term problem, honestly. We need to understand scenarios better. English bowlers tend to bowl long spells, so we need more grit and trust our defences for longer. No regrets about the toss, Stokes and Sibley deserve the credit for their innings. I remember we passed the bat a few times and put down chances, and we need to make sure that doesn’t happen in the final Test. We are experienced enough.
After a long layoff, we are getting used to the workload, and we just have to see how the bowlers pull up before the last game. We are here to fight, I know the guys are feeling this loss, and we’ll give it everything in this last game.
Australia have named a 26-member preliminary squad for their potential tour of England in September.
Australia have included batsman Usman Khawaja and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis into their 26-member preliminary squad for their upcoming tour of England in September. Both players were part of Australia’s 2019 World Cup squad but didn’t play white-ball cricket after below par returns in the world event.
After pinning down Shaun Marsh for the No. 3 spot, Khawaja had scored 316 runs in nine ODIs at an average of 35.11 and a strike rate of 88.26 including a couple of half-centuries.
On the other hand, Stoinis’ World Cup campaign saw him scoring 87 runs in seven innings at an average of 14.50 and a strike rate of 76.99. His eight wickets had come at an economy rate of 6.10 and a strike rate of 34.2. Apart from getting dropped, the two players also lost out on national contracts.
Australia squad for England tour 2020:
Other than Khawaja and Stoinis, other high-profile inclusions are that of Test specialists Nathan Lyon and Travis Head. While Lyon was also part of Australia’s World Cup squad, Head had last played white-ball cricket during the home series against South Africa in 2018.
Wicket-keeper batsman Ben McDermott and pacer Michael Neser, who have played 12 T20Is and two ODIs respectively for Australia, also finds a place in the preliminary squad.
“This preliminary list covers the contingencies of playing one-day internationals and T20 internationals in bio-secure hubs with the likely prospect of not being able to bring in replacements should the tour proceed.
“The preliminary list includes several exciting young players who have recently excelled at state level and in the BBL. These emerging players are among those we would like to develop further as we believe they have a bright future in Australian cricket. The preliminary list also has a view towards the upcoming T20 World Cup and in the longer term the 2023 World Cup,”Australia selection chairman Trevor Hohns said in a statement.
Australia 26-member preliminary squad for England tour:
Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Michael Neser, Josh Philippe, Daniel Sams, D’Arcy Short, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly believes that he can still score runs in Tests if he trains for six months and play a few Ranji matches.
Ganguly last played for India in 2008, said that he is fit to score runs in Test cricket.
His comments come while talking about the last leg of his career to Bengali newspaper Sangbad Pratidin.
“If I was given two more series in ODIs, I would’ve scored more runs. If I hadn’t retired in Nagpur, I would’ve scored runs in the next two Test series too. In fact even now give me six months to train, let me play three Ranji games, I’ll score runs for India in Test cricket. I don’t even need six months, give me three, I will score runs,”said Ganguly.
“You might not give me an opportunity to play but how will you break the belief inside me?”asked the former India captain.
Ganguly also talked about, when he was dropped from ODI side after being best performer in 2007-08.
“It was kind of unbelievable. I was dropped from the ODI side despite being one of the highest scorers of that calendar year. No matter how good your performance is if the stage is taken away from you then what will you prove? And to whom? The same thing happened with me,” Ganguly added.
Ganguly was initially dropped from the side in 2005 in the Greg Chappell era. He then made a comeback in 2006 and went on to play for the country till 2008.
Ganguly scored 7212 runs in 113 Tests at an average of 42.17 with 16 centuries. In ODIs, he scored 11363 runs in 311 matches at an average of 41.02.
Graeme Smith Praises “DADA”:
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, however, believes that Ganguly would have benefitted a lot more from having a player like Dhoni in his team.
Speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected, Smith discussed ODI captaincy record of Ganguly and Dhoni, “The biggest difference between Dada’s captaincy and MS’s captaincy is MS, the player for me. I think in that middle order, the ability to close games, win games, finish games in that calm that he brought to the people around him. I think for me, that is probably the biggest difference between the two heroes, is MS Dhoni.
If Dada had an MS type player, his team was slightly more developed, I think you would have seen him win plenty more trophies. Dada was blessed to play or not blessed to play in an era where Australian cricket was at the forefront and dominating the world game as well which at the time the team had won the most during that period.”
Australia opener David Warner took to Instagram to share a video of two of his daughters dancing to the hit song “Bala” from the Akshay Kumar-starred Housefull 4. “When your daughters want to do their own Bala dance,” Warner captioned the video on the social media site.
The video, featuring his oldest daughters Indi Rae and Ivy Mae, has got over a million views so far. Warner had shared a video in May where he himself performed Akshay Kumar’s steps from the song. “I think I’ve got you covered,” he had written, tagging the Bollywood superstar.
The Warner family is by all accounts very partial to the melody, with the left-gave batsman sharing another video in June where his two most established little girls are seen moving alongside him to the tune.
Warner has spent most of the coronavirus-authorized lockdown making a progression of diverting recordings.
Warner’s move video on the Bollywood hit tune “Sheila ki Jawaani” with his girl Indi turned into a hit among his fans and from that point forward the left-gave batsman has been sharing video strictly, in spite of getting trolled from his partners.
Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev, who led India to their first World Cup triumph in 1983, made his debut under the captaincy of Bishan Singh Bedi and played under Sunil Gavaskar and S Venkataraghavan as well.
In an interaction with former India opener WV Raman, India’s best seam-bowling all-rounder revealed that he was scared of Venkataraghavan when he first came into the side in the 1978-79 season.
According to a report, Kapil, who played four Tests and three ODIs under Venkataraghavan’s captaincy, revealed, “I was very scared of him. Firstly he only used to speak in English and secondly, we all know his anger. Even when he was an umpire he used to give not out in a way as if he was scolding the bowler.”
The legendary player went on to add that when he had gone to England in ’79, Venkataraghavan was captain. He revealed that he used to find a place where Venkataraghavan could not see him.
Kapil Dev
“We had Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar, so he couldn’t say much to them. And naturally, whenever he saw me, he used to fire up. I used to have breakfast sitting in one corner because I was a heavy eater and he would be like ‘he’s always eating,” he revealed.
As per a report in Times Now, Kapil also narrated an incident involving Venkataraghavan from a Test match between India and West Indies in Barbados. Kapil was leading the side and Venkataraghavan was playing in the final stages of his career.
The report stated that Venkataraghavan did not get a chance to bowl for a long time in the Test match and ended up asking Kapil when will he get his chance. The cricketer recalled that it was a bouncy pitch so fast bowlers were bowling more and the first spinner he introduced was Ravi Shastri.
According to Kapil Dev, Venkataraghavan was walking from the slips and he called out Kapil Dev’s name.
“I said ‘Yes Venky!’ By that time I had started to call him Venky but before that, it was ‘sir’ only. He said ‘Did I say I don’t want to bowl?’ I didn’t understand who was the captain, he or me. I said ‘Yes Venky your time will come’. His nature was so lovable. He used to scold despite me being the captain,” Kapil recalled.
