In a heart-warming gesture, Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch has reached out to a second standard student Alex Altube assigning him a cricket project through his school teacher.
With cases of COVID-19 rising in the state of Victoria and all the schools closed, remote learning proved difficult for students with an absence of community sport. Around 700,000 students are not being able to attend school.
According to Cricket Australia’s official website, “…learning from home in term two proved particularly challenging for young cricket lover Alex Altube, a grade two student at Blackburn Lake Primary School in Melbourne’s east. At least it was until Finch stepped in to help.”
The cricket.com.au reported that through Alex’s teacher Kathryn Taylor, Finch sent him a video message asking him to complete a “special project” during the lockdown.
Aaron Finch
Finch assigned the second-grade student to prepare a “cricket magazine” with a detailed explanation of the rules of the game, including the fielding positions and how to play.
As per Alex’s teacher Taylor, “the result was some of the best work he’d produced all year.”
“He was pretty blown away to have Aaron Finch send him a personal message. (He was struggling) with the whole circumstance of being at home and not being able to participate in his normal sport … that’s his outlet, usually,”Taylor was quoted as saying.
“Obviously he had a lot of support with it at home, but it was great work and he did come back to school quite engaged.”
Alex is a big cricket fan and that’s why enjoyed the school project.
“He’s a fanatical cricketer, he loves his cricket. That’s all they do all recess and lunchtime, they talk about it. He’s a big fan and he enjoyed doing that side of things with his work.”
An under-pressure Ben Stokes went for a smoke break as he calmed nerves before the Super Over of the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand at Lord’s. Stokes was the man-of-the-match as England won their maiden ODI World Cup title in a dramatic fashion on boundary counts with the Super Over also ending in a tie.
As per a book titled ‘Morgan’s Men: The Inside Story of England’s Rise from Cricket World Cup Humiliation to Glory’, Stokes was under immense pressure with a packed stadium and multiple cameras recording their every move.
New Zealand opted to bat first and posted 241/8 in 50 overs. Stokes then almost dragged England home scoring an unbeaten 84 but the hosts were bowled out for 241 in 50 overs with the final heading to Super Over.
Excerpts from the book, penned by Nick Hoult and Steve James, have been published on stuff.co.nz, which describe what was going on behind the scenes as England stitched their strategy.
Super Over in 2019 World Cup Finals
“Finding a quiet spot as the frenzy of the Super Over approached was hard in a ground packed out with 27,000 supporters and television cameras following the players from the middle, through the Long Room and up the stairs to the dressing room,” Hoult and James write.
“But Ben Stokes had played at Lord’s many times. He knows every nook and cranny. As Eoin Morgan tries to bring calm to the England dressing room and sort out their tactics, Stokes nips off for a moment of peace.
“He is covered in dirt and sweat. He has batted for two hours and 27 minutes of unbelievable tension. What does Stokes do? He goes to the back of the England dressing room, past the attendant’s little office and into the showers. There he lights up a cigarette and has few minutes on his own,” the book claims.
England sent Stokes and Jos Buttler to bat in the Super Over and they scored 15. New Zealand also scored 15 but England with a better boundary count became the champions.
It’s been one year to heartbreak, celebration and joy — all at the same time. It’s been one year to England lifting the 2019 World Cup in a nail-biting contest at the Lord’s. It’s been one year to world feeling sorrow for the Kiwis after they lost the World Cup final, despite a tied super over. It’s been one year to the best ODI match ever played.
A World Cup final that no one had predicted, England went on to defeat New Zealand to lift the World Cup trophy, only on a superior boundary count, on July 14, 2019.
After India was knocked out in the semis by New Zealand, the 1.3 billion strong nation threw their weight behind the Kiwis to win the final, but England turned out to be eventual and deserved winners.
It all started with New Zealand batting first and scoring 241/8 in the final. The only decent performance came from the bat of Henry Nicholls, who scored 55, while rest of the batsmen struggled to find form. Tom Latham tried his best with a resilient 47, but just wasn’t enough on the day. Though Kiwis were helped by 30 extras by the opposition.
The key stat here is New Zealand hit 14 boundaries and 2 sixes.
England innings was somewhat similar in the way it went about. After being 86/4, Ben Stokes (84) and Jos Buttler (59) took their team to 203, without losing another wicket. When England looked sure of a victory, Jimmy Neesham and Lockie Ferguson picked up wickets to derail the chase.
The result was England were bowled out for 241. The stat to note is that they hit two sixes and 22 boundaries.
Cut to the super over, England batted first and scored 15 runs. With nothing to separate both the teams, Kiwis too scored 15.
But that meant that England lifted their maiden World Cup title.
Due to the coronavirus lockdown limitations in India sportspersons have not had the option to prepare since March, anyway, most are gradually beginning to come back to preparing while at the same time clinging to social removing rules.
On Monday, Chennai Super Kings batsman Suresh Raina took to social media and posted a video of him coming back to preparing alongside India’s young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.
Both left-handers can be seen exiting with their packs. Gasp is cushioned up while Raina isn’t.
Both players will have the IPL on their minds and will face off against each other when Delhi Capitals play Chennai Super Kings.
However, the dates for the IPL are not confirmed as yet with the BCCI waiting for the ICC to decide on the fate of the T20 World Cup first. The T20 World Cup is scheduled for October-November in Australia.
Rishabh Pant reveals why MS Dhoni is among his favourite batting partners
Further speaking about Dhoni, Pant explained why Dhoni never gives him the entire solution to problems and also considered the latter to be among his “favourite batting partners”.
Rishabh Pant reveals why MS Dhoni is among his favourite batting partners
“This is so that I don’t become entirely dependent on him, he gives me hints only that helps me solve the issue myself. He’s also one of my favourite batting partners, though it’s not something that happens too often.
“If Mahi [Dhoni] bhai is at the crease, you know things are sorted. He’s got a plan in his head, and all you need to do is follow it,” Pant said.
Pant, who has played 14 white-ball matches alongside Dhoni, has scored 276 runs a below-par average of 25.09 and a strike rate of 106.15 in those matches.
Pant, 22, has been recently seen falling off the radar in limited-over formats especially after the rise of Lokesh Rahul as a wicket-keeper batsman. After facing the axe in home Tests last year, Pant played a couple of Tests in New Zealand earlier this year but registered mediocre scores of 12, 4, 19 and 25.
As India praises the 18th commemoration of the notable triumph in Natwest tri-series final against England, the legends of the group’s victory took to social media to review their recollections.
World Cup champ Yuvraj Singh, who hit a game dominating 69 in the final against England at Lord’s, took to Twitter to share return photographs from India’s well-known victory.
In an emotional post, Yuvraj wrote: “#Throwback to Natwest 2002 Final. Jaan laga di thi sab ne mil ke (All of us gave everything we had)! We were young and we wanted to win. It was a wonderful team effort that helped us beat England and clinch the trophy in this nail-biting game,” Yuvraj said, referring to India’s dramatic chase of 326 at Lord’s.
While doing so, Yuvraj Singh also teased former England captain Nasser Hussain, tagging him in the post and saying: “just in case you forgot”.
Nasser Hussain responded to the post, saying: “Some lovely photos mate .. thanks for sharing” along with a winking face emoji.
Notably, Nasser Hussain’s hundred in the final went in vain as England lost the match by 2 wickets despite posting 325 on the board.
Earlier in the day, the hero of the final, Mohammad Kaif took to social media and shared a memorable throwback photo from the post-match celebrations.
“July 13, 2002: The day we climbed Mt Everest at Lord’s…Dada shirtless, Yuvi nerveless, Zak’s support priceless, Me fearless…memories endless,”Kaif wrote.
July 13, 2002: The day we climbed Mt Everest at Lord’s…Dada shirtless, Yuvi nerveless, Zak’s support priceless, Me fearless…memories endless. pic.twitter.com/ND6UDkaUiM
India had lost 9 consecutive tournament finals in the lead up to Natwest series in 2002 and had to chase a mammoth total of 326 in the final against England at Lord’s. Ganguly had hit a quickfire 60 during a 100-plus opening stand with Virender Sehwag but India was in trouble after losing 5 wickets, including that of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, for 40 runs.
Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif though helped India clinch a memorable win by thriving under pressure as the young members of Ganguly’s team added a 121-run stand. Kaif remained unbeaten on 87 while Yuvraj hit a match-winning 69.
The players of the New Zealand women’s cricket team have returned to action for their first training camp in Lincoln on Monday after the coronavirus pandemic put the game to halt in March this year.
The official Twitter handle of the White Ferns posted two pictures from New Zealand’s first post-lockdown camp which is currently underway.
The White Ferns revealed that the players from the Wellington cricket team, Canterbury Cricket and Otago cricket team have attended the first camp, while the players from Auckland Cricket, Northern Districts cricket team and Central Districts cricket team will return to camp next week at Bay Oval.
“We are back! Our 1st post lockdown camp is underway in Lincoln. Players from @cricketwgtn, @CanterburyCrick and @OtagoVolts are attending the first camp with @aucklandcricket,@ndcricket and @CDCricket players getting set for a camp next week at @BayOvalOfficial #CricketNation,” the White Ferns tweeted.
Recently, all-rounder, Sophie Devine was appointed as the new captain of the New Zealand women’s cricket team on a full-time basis, while Amy Satterthwaite was named as her deputy.
Devine will take up the role of the full-time skipper of the New Zealand women’s team with this split-squad training camps, beginning in Lincoln next week.
The duo’s appointment came as the White Ferns look to prepare themselves for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2021 in New Zealand early next year.
Meanwhile, top players of the New Zealand men’s cricket team will also make a return to squad training at the country’s High-Performance Centre in Lincoln this week for the first time since a prolonged break due to COVID-19.
Batting great Sachin Tendulkar has renewed demands for cricket rules to give greater weight to TV playbacks over umpires in making LBW decisions.
Tendulkar, a long-standing critic of the decision review system (DRS), returned to the fray after multiple LBW calls in the West Indies’ victory over England in the first Test.
If a ball-tracking playback shows that less than 50 percent of a ball would hit the stumps then the umpire has the discretion to reject a leg-before-wicket appeal.
If an umpire rules a batsman not out and the fielding side calls for a review, 50 per cent of the ball must be hitting the stumps for the third umpire to overturn the on-field call.
Tendulkar feels this is unfair and wants the International Cricket Council to rethink the system.
“One thing I don’t agree with, with the ICC, is the DRS they’ve been using for quite some time,” Tendulkar said in an online conversation with West Indies legend Brian Lara.
The former India captain said the playback should trump the umpire no matter how much of the ball would hit the wickets.
“The only reason they (the batsman or the bowler) have gone upstairs is because they are unhappy with the on-field decision,” said Tendulkar.
“So when the decision goes to the third umpire, let the technology take over; just like in tennis — it’s either in or out, there’s nothing in between.”
Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh backed Tendulkar’s position, saying on Twitter it was “1,000 percent correct”.
India was the last Test nation to embrace DRS, in 2016. It was rumoured that Tendulkar had led the opposition to the technology until his retirement in 2013.
Sachin Tendulkar ODI Delivery Records:
Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who is regarded as one of the most complete batsmen in the history of the game, holds almost all batting records which exist at the moment.
From finishing his career as the leading run-getter in Test and ODI format of the game to have scored the highest number of centuries in the international cricket, the master blaster has inked several records to his name.
However, there is one record that not many of the cricket fans are aware of.
Tendulkar, who has also bowled right-arm leg-spin during his cricketing career, has delivered more number of deliveries than many bowling greats in the One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who is regarded as one of the most complete batsmen in the history of the game, holds almost all batting records which exist at the moment.
From finishing his career as the leading run-getter in Test and ODI format of the game to have scored the highest number of centuries in the international cricket, the master blaster has inked several records to his name.
However, there is one record that not many of the cricket fans are aware of.
Tendulkar, who has also bowled right-arm leg-spin during his cricketing career, has delivered more number of deliveries than many bowling greats in the One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
The former Indian cricketer has bowled a total of 8,054 deliveries in 463 matches he played during his illustrious career in the 50-over format. He has also bagged 154 wickets in ODIs.
Let us take a look at a few veterans who have bowled a lesser number of deliveries than Tendulkar:
1) Malcolm Marshall
Former West Indies pacer Malcolm Marshall, who was one of the most dangerous bowlers of the 1980s, delivered 7,175 balls in 136 games he played in the 50-over format.
Marshall, however, did not manage to claim a single five-wicket haul during his illustrious career, with his best bowling figures being four for 18.
2) Lance Klusener
Former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener has appeared in 171 matches for his national side in the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and bowled a total of 7,336 deliveries in it.
Klusener, who made a name for himself with his exceptional finishing abilities, grabbed a total of 192 wickets in the 50-over format.
3) Dale Steyn
Regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, South African pacer Dale Steyn has bowled almost 2,000 deliveries lesser than Indian great Tendulkar.
Steyn, who dominated top place in the ICC Test rankings during the peak of his career by standing atop for a record 263 weeks between 2008 and 2014, has bowled 6,256 deliveries and scalped 196 wickets in 125 ODIs he has played for the national side.
4) Mitchell Johnson
Former Australian quick Mitchell Johnson has featured in a total of 153 matches for the national side in ODIs and bowled 7,489 deliveries in it.
The left-arm quick, who was more impactful in the longest format of the game than ODIs, finished with a total of 951 wickets in the 50-over format.
5) Imran Khan
1992 World Cup-winning Pakistan captain Imran Khan had bowled a lesser number of boundaries than Tendulkar despite having played for his national side for 18 long years.
The former Pakistan all-rounder had delivered 7,461 balls in 175 matches he played in the 50-over format. Imran had picked up a total of 182 ODI wickets, including three four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul. His best bowling figures were of six for 14.
6) Shoaib Akhtar
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, who holds the record of fastest delivery bowled in international cricket of 161.3km/h, bowled 7,764 deliveries in 274 ODIs he played for his national side.
Fondly regarded as ‘The Rawalpindi Express’, Akhtar finished his illustrious ODI career with a total of 274 wickets.
Sachin Tendulkar’s Bowling Stats:
Mat
Inns
Balls
Runs
Wkts
BBI
BBM
Ave
Econ
SR
4w
5w
10
Tests
200
145
4240
2492
46
3/10
3/14
54.17
3.52
92.1
0
0
0
ODIs
463
270
8054
6850
154
5/32
5/32
44.48
5.1
52.2
4
2
0
T20Is
1
1
15
12
1
1/12
1/12
12
4.8
15
0
0
0
First-class
310
7605
4384
71
3/10
61.74
3.45
107.1
0
0
List A
551
10230
8478
201
5/32
5/32
42.17
4.97
50.8
4
2
0
T20s
96
8
93
123
2
1/12
1/12
61.5
7.93
46.5
0
0
0
WATCH Sachin Tendulkar’s Best Bowling:
On a related note, Tendulkar, who made his debut for India during a Test series against arch-rivals Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989, finished his illustrious career as the leading run-getter in international cricket with a total of 34,357 runs across formats — 15,921 in 200 Tests, 18426 in 463 ODIs and 10 in lone T20I he played against South Africa in 2006.
With a total of 463 appearances, Tendulkar also holds the records of most ODIs played by any cricketer. He is also the only player to have accomplished rare ODI triple i.e 15000 runs (18426), 100 wickets (154) and 100 catches (140).
On November 16, 2013, Tendulkar bid a tearful adieu to his international career following a Test match against the West Indies in his home state Mumbai. He contributed a fluent 74 runs during that match which India won by an innings and 126 runs.
While the 2001 series against Australia at home, changed the complexion of the Indian Test side, the 2002 NatWest final against England at Lord’s was a defining moment for the ODI team.
Under skipper Sourav Ganguly’s dynamic leadership, two young players – Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh — achieved the impossible and chased down a mammoth 326 against the odds. It was on this day, 18 years back, that India stunned the world.
India, back then, had already become a force to reckon with in the 50-overs cricket, but what ailed them was the inability to win pressure finals. Be it their bowling or batting, the players crumbled under pressure, and failed to live up to the expectations, only in the summit clash.
This match against England looked no different. After batting first, England looked in complete control of the proceedings right from the word go. Opener Marcus Trescothick looked in sublime form and smashed 109 from 100 balls. Skipper Nasser Hussain too, who was considered ordinary in ODIs slammed his maiden ton — 115 from 128 balls.
To add to that, flamboyant Andrew Flintoff muscled his way to 40 from 32 balls as England ended with 325/5 in their stipulated 50 overs.
Come to the second innings, Ganguly and Virender Sehwag gave the best possible start to the team, and stitched a 106-run partnership, in less than 15 overs. But what happened after that was a complete disaster. India lost next four wickets adding just 36, that left them reeling at 146/5. Till then the last hope Sachin Tendulkar had also departed.
But the two youngsters in the team — Kaif and Yuvraj — had other plans. When no one gave India a chance to win, the duo played innings of a lifetime and showed the world, what the team was made of.
Yuvraj scored 69 and Kaif ended with an unbeaten 87, to take India home. This was also the highest chase at that time in the world.
Shannon Gabriel stowed a five-wicket pull before Jermaine Blackwood crushed a rankling thump of 95 hurries to enable West Indies to beat England by four wickets in the main match and take a 1-0 lead in the arrangement.
From legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to Indian captain Virat Kohli, numerous current and former players took to their social media handles to praise the Caribbean side for winning the first universal fixture since the game was disrupted due to coronavirus pandemic in March this year.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, Tendulkar previously hailed great all-round exhibitions of both the sides before praising Blackwood for playing pivotal thump in a tense circumstance to manage the visitors to win.
“Good all-round performances by players from both teams. Jermaine Blackwood played a crucial knock in a tense situation to see @windiescricket through. An important win which has set up the series perfectly. #ENGvWI,” Tendulkar tweeted.
Good all-round performances by players from both teams.
Jermaine Blackwood played a crucial knock in a tense situation to see @windiescricket through. An important win which has set up the series perfectly. #ENGvWIpic.twitter.com/PLbJlqIe8c
Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra also congratulated West Indies for their victory, while also thanking England for making Test cricket possible at this difficult time.
“Well played, West Indies. Well played, Test Cricket Thank You, England….for making this possible in current times. Gratitude. #EngWI #TestCricket,” Chopra tweeted.
Well played, West Indies.
Well played, Test Cricket 🏏
Thank You, England….for making this possible in current times. Gratitude. #EngWI#TestCricket
Renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle, on the other hand, tweeted, “Brilliant result for an understated, determined West Indies side. Excellent test match. This has been good for our game.”
Brilliant result for an understated, determined West Indies side. Excellent test match. This has been good for our game.
Congratulating West Indies for a stunning victory over England, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif lauded Jason Holder for leading the side exceptionally well and Shannon Gabriel and Blackwood for playing quality cricket.
“Excellent win for @windiescricket Led exceptionally by @Jaseholder98; Shannon Gabriel (9 wkts) stood up & Blackwood played a great knock in the run-chase. Great start to cricket after a long break. Crowds wont be back in the stadiums but quality cricket is surely back #ENGvWI,” he wrote.
Excellent win for @windiescricket
Led exceptionally by @Jaseholder98; Shannon Gabriel (9 wkts) stood up & Blackwood played a great knock in the run-chase. Great start to cricket after a long break. Crowds won’t be back in the stadiums but quality cricket is surely back #ENGvWIpic.twitter.com/DmkHBF8AML
Meanwhile, former opener Virender Sehwag too took to social media and hailed the phenomenal effort of the entire West Indies side.
“Test Cricket matters, winning overseas matters, @windiescricket doing well in Test cricket matters. Great to see Test Match cricket back and great to see West Indies win. A phenomenal effort from the whole WI team. Congratulations #ENGvWI,” Sehwag tweeted.
Test Cricket matters, winning overseas matters, @windiescricket doing well in Test cricket matters. Great to see Test Match cricket back and great to see West Indies win. A phenomenal effort from the whole WI team. Congratulations #ENGvWIpic.twitter.com/yKUILMdOEr
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said the national team will visit Australia in December yet required an abbreviated isolate period for the players.
Australia has checked the spread of the coronavirus except in Melbourne, its second-greatest city, which has seen an ongoing flood in cases.
By Friday, Australia, a country of 25 million, had recorded recently more than 9,000 COVID-19 cases, 106 of them deadly.
“Ya, ya, we have confirmed that tour. In December we will be coming. We just hope the number of quarantine days gets reduced a bit”, Ganguly told TV channel India Today.
“Because we don’t want the players to go all that far and sit in hotel rooms for two weeks. It is very, very depressing and disappointing.”
“And, as I said Australia and New Zealand have been in good position except for Melbourne. So from that point of view, we will be going there and hopefully, the quarantine days will be less and we can get back to cricket.”
The West Indies squad went through 14 days in isolate after arriving in England on June 9 for the three-Test series, where the first Test match between England and West Indies started on July 8, denoting the arrival of worldwide cricket.
Virat Kohli’s India is scheduled to visit Australia for four Test matches in December-January. India won a four-Test series in Australia 2-1 out of 2018-19.
India won a four-Test series in Australia 2-1 out of 2018-19
“It is going to be a tough series. It is not going to be what it was two years back. It is going to be a strong Australia but our team is as good,” said Ganguly.
“We have the batting, we have the bowling. We just need to bat better. You know the best team overseas bat well.
“When we were so successful in England, in Australia, in Pakistan we were getting 400-500-600 in Test matches. I said that to Virat as well.”
During that Test tour, Australia was without their top batsmen David Warner and Steve Smith, who both missed the series because of their ball-altering bans.
Ganguly backed his side to win under Kohli’s leadership.
“Because you are Virat Kohli your standards are high. When you walk out to play, when you walk out with your team, I, watching on TV, don’t expect you to just play well against Australia. I expect you to win,”said the former India captain.
“So you have to live up to the standards. For his captaincy tenure, this will be a milestone series – more than the World Cup.”
Almost a month after the untimely death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput – who died of suicide sending the whole nation into utter shock and mourning – a rare video of the actor is going viral on social media.
Sushant – who received a lot of praise for his role in MS Dhoni’s biopic – is seen practising the signature shot of the former India skipper – the helicopter shot. His stellar performance in the movie made him a big star.
Not only does he nail the shot, but also receives a lot of praise as fans cheering in the background can be heard. The video is already being loved by fans.
Meanwhile, a lot of big directors and people associated with the late actor have been quizzed by the police.
MS Dhoni’s Retirement Update:
On the other hand, MS Dhoni turned 39 on July 7 and hasn’t played professional cricket for nearly a year. His last match was against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semifinal.
Asked whether retirement has crossed Dhoni’s mind, Diwakar told PTI:
“Being friends, we don’t talk about his cricket. But looking at him, he’s not all thinking about retirement.
“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.”
Recently, former India captain Sourav Ganguly said Dhoni was not just a great finisher but a great overall player.
