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All the action and talking points around England’s IPL contingent after the second week

Andrew Miller05-Oct-2020Another week of action in the IPL has flown by, with England’s contingent once again in the thick of things. Here’s a rundown on how they have fared to date. Click here for last week’s update.Archer in silken form, but little to show for itRajasthan’s hot form from the first week of the tournament has somewhat frittered away, but there’s not much more that Jofra Archer could have done to keep them competitive in consecutive defeats to KKR and RCB. With the ball he has been a dementor, sizzlingly quick and with such command of his variations, and with the bat he just keeps landing his punches – maybe not with quite the alacrity of week one, but he’s still got eight sixes to show for 25 deliveries in the tournament, a higher ratio than any other player. Talking of ratios, Archer has so far served up 51 dot-balls in the competition, the most by any bowler – 29 of which came from this week’s 48 deliveries. At one stage against KKR, he had figures of 2 for 4 in three overs. Who knows what might have happened had his last ball of the night, an uppercut from Eoin Morgan, not been palmed over the ropes by Tom Curran for six.Sam Curran, the finisher with unfinished businessWhat are we supposed to make of a world in which CSK’s best chance of pulling off a stiff run-chase is to get the GOAT of finishing off-strike, and hand the cudgels to England’s pint-sized pugilist, Sam Curran? For the umpteenth time since India’s World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, MS Dhoni’s wonky pace-maker has cost his side dear, but when Curran strode to the crease in Dubai on Friday night with 51 still needed from 14, and deposited his first ball high over midwicket for six, the prospect of another miracle was revived. Curran had, after all, been rattling along at a strike-rate of close to 300 in the first week of the tournament, but alas for CSK, he only faced two of the last 11 balls of the innings – including a last-ball lump down the ground for another six. With the ball, Curran had a bit of a mixed bag this week. One disastrous over against Sunrisers ruined an otherwise good impression with the new ball, but he did the needful in their ten-wicket stroll against KXIP.Morgan’s wise old head keeps KKR competitiveThat post-World Cup glow continues to radiate from the bat of Eoin Morgan, who is playing with a freedom that he probably hasn’t known since the earliest days of his cross-over from the Ireland to England camps more than a decade ago. He played two vastly contrasting innings this week, each of them an unflappable display from a player who’s come through the pressure cooker and now is ready to savour any situation – whether it’s Archer hunting for his head in Dubai, or an asking rate of 16 with wickets running out in Sharjah. In the former, he kept his cool (and rode his luck) to make a vital 34 not out from 23 balls; in the latter, he watched three wickets fall before he’d faced his first ball, and promptly lumped Anrich Nortje for the first of five sixes in an 18-ball 44. It wouldn’t be enough, but it took his side closer than they could realistically have hoped.Eoin Morgan hit three sixes in a row off Kagiso Rabada•BCCI

Buttler finds his range in low-key weekNothing much to write home about from Jos Buttler just yet. However, this week’s scores of 21 from 16 against KKR and 22 from 12 against RCB suggest that most aspects of his game are in good working order, and his usual full-throttle service should only be a matter of time. Certainly, his solitary six in the latter match – an effortless front-foot pick-up off an Isuru Udana slower ball – was a remarkable feat of timing and wristwork. But as his England team-mates discovered against Australia this summer, Buttler’s serenity can at times give a misleading impression of the pitch conditions, and without him on hand to power through the middle overs, Rajasthan are leaving themselves with too much catching-up to do at the death.Hard yakka for Tom Curran as Rajasthan stumbleIf Tom Curran was relieved to escape the six-hitting slaughterhouse of Sharjah – the scene of some uncomfortable moments in his opening two games of the tournament, then his bowling figures didn’t get much of a massage on the friendlier surfaces at Dubai and Abu Dhabi – 1 for 77 in 7.1 overs all told, including a bit of a schooling from a revitalised Virat Kohli against RCB. In mitigation, Curran has regularly been handed the toughest overs at the back-end of the innings – ones in which his team-mate Buttler said that conceding 15 was a win if it meant you weren’t clattered for 20-plus. His appetite for the scrap has been undiminished in the circumstances, as exemplified by his hard-earned half-century in a losing cause against KKR. In a tight table, who knows how crucial that salvaging of RR’s net run-rate may be.Bairstow proving it’s tough at the topIt’s all gone a bit Test-match for Jonny Bairstow this week – for better and for worse. An uncomfortable grind against Delhi Capitals was amply justified in hindsight, as he resisted some tight bowling on a two-paced deck to make 53 from 48 and give Rashid Khan more than enough runs to defend. But three days later against CSK, he fell victim to an outstanding opening gambit from Deepak Chahar – length ball, outswinger, savage inswinger, the latter uprooting Bairstow’s off stump for a duck as his initial plans for a cover drive were contorted into a wretched hack across the line. His week was completed with 25 from 15 against Mumbai, an innings which was arguably undone by David Warner’s lack of fluency at the other end. Their bromance is still smouldering but it’s not quite igniting the passions as it did last year.Johnny Bairstow drives on the up•BCCI

Chris Jordan’s birthday bumpsIt was Chris Jordan’s 32nd birthday on Sunday, but it wasn’t a very happy return to the Kings XI side. After conceding 30 runs in the final over of his previous appearance against Delhi, Jordan was pumped for a further 19 in his comeback over against CSK, with Faf du Plessis cashing in on his variations with four fours in five balls at the end of the Powerplay. It got no better as he returned for the 11th over, Shane Watson this time dispatching him for consecutive fours to bring up his first fifty of the tournament. By which stage the game was long gone. You can’t pin a ten-wicket defeat on the travails of one man, but Jordan’s lack of confidence epitomises a team with one win in five to date.Stokes primed for action; Banton, Moeen wait for the callBen Stokes has landed in the UAE after his compassionate leave in New Zealand, and could be ready when Rajasthan return to Sharjah for their rematch against KXIP, assuming he comes through his six-day quarantine period. Meanwhile, Moeen Ali (RCB) and Tom Banton (KKR) are still itching for their first outings of the competition – Banton could conceivably get a trial run at the top of KKR’s order this week, following a run of misfires from Sunil Narine.

Test pair took three wickets each as NSW completed their finest ever Sheffield Shield comeback after being bowled out for 64

Alex Malcolm11-Nov-2020New South Wales produced one of the greatest comeback victories in Sheffield Shield history with Test duoNathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc claiming three wickets each to bowl Tasmania out on a dramatic final day.The Blues’ win by 146 runs ranks as the state’s finest ever fightback after being bowled out for just 64 and trailing by 175 runs on the first innings.Tasmania began the final day at 2 for 26 but an excellent partnership between Matthew Wade and Peter Siddle took them through to lunch unscathed and had Tasmania in a comfortable position at 2 for 101 needing 247 in the final two sessions for victory.However, Lyon struck with the first ball after lunch, extracting sharp turn and bounce to have Siddle caught brilliantly at short leg by Nick Larkin who needed two bites to pouch the reflex catch.Wade and Ben McDermott then settled into a 52-run stand. McDermott survived some nervous moments but Wade looked in control against Lyon and Starc to bring up his third half-century of the season. But Lyon changed the game again when Wade tickled a leg glace to a well-placed leg slip, on 59, with Larkin snapping up another sharp chance.The Test spinner knocked over Jake Doran cheaply with a classical off-break that scratched the edge of the left-hander’s groping blade. McDermott reached his fourth half-century of the season but ran out of luck against Starc to give the Blues two wickets in two overs and when, just before tea, Beau Webster inexplicably carved Starc straight to point and the end was nigh for Tasmania.Starc and Harry Conway wrapped things up shortly after the final break, with Starc claiming the last wicket, pinning Test captain Tim Paine lbw to complete the remarkable result.

The northern beaches cluster has grown to 38 cases, forcing a lockdown of the region by the NSW government

Daniel Brettig19-Dec-2020David Warner and Sean Abbott flew into Melbourne ahead of schedule on Saturday as Cricket Australia worked to ensure they are not caught up in the growing web of restrictions around Sydney residents in the wake of the northern beaches Covid-19 outbreak.The northern beaches cluster grew to 38 cases on Saturday, forcing a lockdown of the region by the New South Wales government, and widening the net in terms of affected residents or recent visitors to Sydney being monitored by health officials in other states.Related

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CA quizzed broadcast and media personnel on Saturday morning about whether they had been present in a range of affected Sydney postcodes after December 11, with a number of NSW residents flying home early from their work on the Adelaide Test as a precaution.The decision to move Warner and Abbott south to Victoria was made similarly, to avoid the possibility of them being stranded in NSW in the event of the southern border being closed in coming days, should the current outbreak continue to grow. It is understood that Warner took a private jet from Sydney while Abbott went to Canberra for a commercial flight to Melbourne.Warner is no certainty to play in Melbourne as he continues his recovery from a groin strain, but is making decent progress. Abbott is on the way back from a calf strain he suffered while playing for Australia A against the Indian touring team in a Sydney warm-up game.”Hopefully I can get up and about and start running at a higher tempo,” Warner told SEN radio this week. “I managed to get up to 14kmh so I’ve got to work towards a max of 26 to 30kmh by next week. If I can run between wickets and move laterally and do some ground fielding by the end of next week, I should be ready to go. Fingers are crossed.”Speaking on Friday, CA interim CEO Nick Hockley remained confident of being able to navigate this new Covid-19 outbreak with plans still in place to stage the third Test in Sydney. However, further border restrictions, especially to Queensland where the fourth Test is currently due to be played, could force a change.”We’re monitoring the situation; we’re not panicking at all, staying calm,” Hockley told SEN radio. “Adelaide, a few weeks ago we had that pizza-shop outbreak and through that process we worked very calmly to get the players in Adelaide on a charter plane, out of Adelaide within 24 hours and that really saved the summer.”We’ve got the Sydney Test and the BBL in NSW after that, so the fact we’re here in Adelaide, we’ve got the next Test in Melbourne, it’s really watch, wait and see and I think the governments around the country have handled the pandemic so well, so we’ll watch, learn and stay in touch.”

Faulkner re-aggravated the hamstring injury that he suffered on December 27 and won’t play again in the BBL

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2021Hobart Hurricanes seamer James Faulkner has been ruled out of the remainder of the BBL after re-injuring his hamstring at training on Sunday.Faulkner had not played since he limped off the Gabba four balls into his second over in the Hurricanes’ loss to the Brisbane Heat on December 27.He was on track to return to the Hurricanes side but re-aggravated his hamstring at training ahead of the clash with Sydney Thunder on Monday in Canberra.Faulkner has left the BBL hub and travelled home to Hobart to have scans and begin treatment.The Hurricanes have recalled Surrey batting allrounder Will Jacks into their squad after Colin Ingram departed to the Abu Dhabi T10 League. Jacks hasn’t played for the Hurricanes since December 19.The Hurricanes currently sit seventh but only four points separate the teams between there and second position.

India’s captain was reacting to Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Tewatia failing their fitness tests

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Mar-20212:49

Kohli says no compromise on ‘very high levels of fitness’

Fitness cannot be “compromised”. That is the firm message India captain Virat Kohli has sent to the players who recently failed to clear to the fitness tests put in place by BCCI to be eligible for selection to the national team.Two uncapped spinners – mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and leggie Rahul Tewatia – failed to clear one of the two norms that comprise the fitness test: either matching the 17:1 mark in the yo-yo test or running a two-kilometre time trial in 8 minutes and 15 seconds (for a fast bowler) or 8 minutes 30 seconds (for the rest).Related

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Kohli, who has utilised fitness as a scaffolding to climb greater heights in the game, said that it was the responsibility of the individual player to maintain “high levels” of fitness in order to play for the country.”Individuals have to understand and appreciate the kind of system that’s been created for the Indian cricket team,” Kohli said on Thursday during a media briefing. “We should operate at very high levels of fitness and skills.”Kohli was responding to a query on whether he was disappointed Chakravarthy has failed to work on his fitness ahead of India’s five-match T20I series against England, having already missed out earlier when he was picked for India’s T20I series in Australia but couldn’t travel due to a shoulder injury.There has been a perception in some quarters that players like Chakravarthy, Tewatia and other domestic players who are not part of the Indian set-up all the time could be cut some slack. Some of the players, who recently took the tests at the NCA, told ESPNcricinfo that if they had been informed in advance about the new fitness norms, they could have cleared the hurdles at the first time of asking with enough practice.Virat Kohli says there will be no compromise on fitness levels for Indian players•PTI

There is also a school of thought that holds that cricket primarily is a skill-based sport, and players should be given a bit more leeway as long as they have a base level of fitness. Kohli, however, disagreed. “There is a reason why this is the top of the ladder when it comes to playing cricket in our country,” he said. “And, yeah, you would obviously expect players to abide by what’s required to be a part of Team India. There should not be any space for any compromise in that regard.”In terms of fitness, India are still catching up with teams like New Zealand, Australia and England, where the targets are much tougher compared to those set by the BCCI, although the Indian board did recently upgrade its minimum fitness targets by raising the level of the yo-yo test from 16:1 to 17:1, and introducing the 2km time trial, which many other international cricket teams use as global fitness standard. These fitness norms were finalised by the national selectors, the team management and the National Cricket Academy, which is headed by former India captain Rahul Dravid. Consequently, the BCCI asked the selectors to identify a pool of about 25 players, who would normally in the reckoning to play for India. These players were called by the NCA, which has the authority to conduct the fitness tests. Several of the players in India’s T20I squad, including KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar cleared the tests before they integrated with the Indian squad.However, both Chakravarthy and Tewatia failed to clear the test at the first attempt. While Tewatia travelled to Ahmedabad (the venue for the T20I series), Chakravarthy’s whereabouts could not be confirmed. It is likely that he is currently at the NCA in Bengaluru as ESPNcricinfo understands Chakaravarthy injured his shoulder again, after he was picked in the 19-member T20I squad for the England games.Even T Natarajan, who became the first player to make international debuts across three formats in the same series on the Australian trip, is currently at the NCA doing rehabilitation for a niggle. It is understood the left-arm fast bowler will take the fitness test on March 12.As far as Tewatia is concerned, he is likely to take a second fitness test in Ahmedabad before his fate is decided. In case he is unable to clear it again, it is likely he will stay with the squad as a net bowler, and be replaced by legspinner Rahul Chahar, who played a solitary T20I for India in 2019.The BCCI has not yet officially made any announcement on the fitness status of Chakravarthy, Tewatia and Natarajan, nor named any replacement for the five-match T20I series that starts on Friday.It is worth noting that Kohli’s stress on fitness is not an isolated view in cricket. Recently, the West Indies selectors did not consider four players who had failed to reach the minimum fitness standards for the white-ball segment of their ongoing Sri Lanka series: Shimron Hetmeyer, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas. This is the second time Hetmeyer has failed the fitness test in a year, having missed the ODI series in Sri Lanka last February.

Ballance concussed in the nets while Salt suffers foot injury after cycling accident

Matt Roller07-Apr-2021Freak injuries have ruled Gary Ballance and Phil Salt out of the opening round of the County Championship season, which begins on Thursday.Ballance, the Yorkshire batsman who played 23 Tests for England, will miss the fixture against Glamorgan against Headingley following a “freak accident” in the build-up to the game. It is understood that he suffered a concussion after being hit by a ball in the nets, and he is expected to be available for Yorkshire’s second match of the season, against Kent on April 15.Related

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The timing is particularly frustrating for Ballance after he missed the whole of the 2020 season for a number of reasons: he fell ill during the UK’s first lockdown and suffered from anxiety in the early weeks of the season, while his pregnant wife tested positive for Covid-19 as he was preparing to return, setting his return further back.Salt, meanwhile, will miss Sussex’s first game of the season away at Lancashire after a cycling accident which damaged his right foot. Salt suffered the injury in the weeks after his return from the Pakistan Super League, and he played no part in the club’s pre-season schedule. A Sussex statement said that he was due to visit a specialist for “further imaging and consultation” and that no timeframe has been set for his return.For Lancashire, Luke Wells is not available to face his former club, after he suffered a hamstring injury while running up Rivington Pike in pre-season.The majority of England’s centrally-contracted players who are not involved in the IPL have been made available for their counties: Rory Burns and Ollie Pope will play for Surrey, Dom Sibley for Warwickshire, Zak Crawley for Kent, and Joe Root for Yorkshire. James Anderson is not due to play for Lancashire until the third game of the season, while Stuart Broad and Mark Wood are also expected to miss the opening rounds.

Mahela Jayawardene wants to make sure the allrounder “is completely in a position to come in and bowl”

Sruthi Ravindranath19-Apr-20210:55

Mahela Jayawardene: We don’t want to risk Hardik Pandya’s niggle

Hardik Pandya, who has a shoulder niggle, could be ready to bowl in the next few weeks, according to the Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene, but the team “don’t want to risk it” in the ongoing IPL till he recovers completely and feels comfortable enough.”We were obviously looking forward for him to be bowling this series as last season he was coming back from injury,” Jayawardene said in a press interaction. “But after the ODIs against England I believe he picked up a niggle. So that’s something we are nursing at the moment. We don’t want to risk it because it’s important that we make sure that he is completely in a position to come in and bowl.””Hopefully in the next few weeks, with work and all that, you might see him bowl. It’s not like we are deliberately trying not bowl him. We would love to have him bowling but as soon as the niggle cools off and he is comfortable we should be able to utilise that asset as well.”Related

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Pandya, who has not bowled much in the last couple of years mainly because of lower-back issues, played as a specialist batter during the 2020 IPL. He returned to bowling in the five T20Is against England in March, before which he had bowled just four overs during the second ODI against Australia in November 2020 – the first time he had bowled since the 2019 50-over World Cup. He bowled only in one of the three ODIs against England that followed the T20Is.Earlier, the franchise’s bowling coach Zaheer Khan had said that Pandya’s shoulder concern was “not worrisome”, adding that he would be bowling “very soon”. “He bowled in the India-England series, in the last ODI he bowled about nine overs, and that’s why in consultation with the physios, we had to take that approach,” Khan had said. “There was a little bit of a shoulder concern. I don’t think it’s worrisome, you will very soon see him bowl. For the timelines, you’ll have to ask the physio but in terms of Hardik the bowler coming in this tournament, we are very confident that he will be chipping in.”Pandya has continued to play as a specialist batter for the team this year as well, with Kieron Pollard being used as the sixth bowling option. He had said last year during the Australia tour that his long-term plan was to bowl mainly “in the important games” like “World Cups and “other crucial series”.

The allrounder is now back with the New Zealand squad and has no plans to ditch the captaincy

Andrew McGlashan08-Jun-2021New Zealand captain Sophie Devine has opened up on her decision to take a break from the game at the end of last season, with her fatigue having reached a point where she did not feel able to do herself or her team justice.Devine stepped away after the first T20I against Australia in late March – following a run of seven internationals that brought a top score of 17 – and revealed she did not think about the game for about two months. She is now back with the New Zealand squad as part of their first winter training camp in Christchurch and wants to retain the captaincy ahead of a 12-month period that includes a tour of England, the home one-day World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.”Looking back, and hindsight is a wonderful thing, it had probably been bubbling away for a little while,” Devine said. “For me I just knew I couldn’t do a job. It’s the same thing as if I broke a leg or pulled my hamstring – if I can’t complete the job to 100% then I need to take a serious look if I’m worthy of being in that team. And at that stage, I couldn’t live up to my role, what I expect of myself, as well as what my team-mates expect of me.”I had my own little bubble for probably two months and spent that time going back to simple things, spending time away from cricket first and foremost and spending it with loved ones which was really important. I needed to get back to what makes me feel good. I had fantastic support which made it easier for me, wasn’t having to worry about expectations. I really did switch off from everyone and everything which I needed to do at that time.”Amy Satterthwaite stepped into the captaincy against Australia but Devine said her commitment to the role had never wavered. “I certainly do want to keep with it, that’s something that has stayed throughout.”While not singling out one factor that led her to the point of taking the break, Devine acknowledged the challenges presented by Covid-19. Last year she was part of the New Zealand squad that had two weeks quarantine in Brisbane before facing Australia, was then part of the WBBL hub in Sydney and then did two more weeks of quarantine on returning home.”Covid has certainly thrown a spanner in the works and spending time in numerous different bubbles and quarantine, it’s a bizarre environment,” she said. “Think it was a combination of a lot of different things.”Devine has been working with New Zealand Cricket’s psychologist Natalie Hogg to put in place strategies if she feels she is having difficulties again, and also hopes her situation encourages others to speak out or seek help if they need it.Sophie Devine is crucial to New Zealand with bat and ball•Getty Images

“Hopefully it doesn’t happen again, but it might and hopefully I’m in a better position to deal with it if those things do come up. And I can share my stories with others to know it’s okay to be able to step away. It’s not just athletes, it’s everyone. We need to create that space for people to be able to talk about mental health.”It seems to be quite topical at the moment, the really important thing to keep remembering is we are humans too – humans first and athletes second. We are not shying away from the fact that we know we are going to scrutinised from the public, media, everything and we don’t want to step away from that. It’s just remembering behind the helmet, the bat and the pads there’s a person under there too.”Joining Devine back in the New Zealand set-up at the training camp which has been largely focused on fitness testing has been Suzie Bates, who had shoulder surgery six months ago which ruled her out of the home summer.Bates has picked up a bat again over the last month and is confident that she is on track to return to action. She admitted she found it tough being around the game in the initial part of her recovery which included a commentary role, but by the end of the season was eager to be involved.”It was an interesting experience. The first tour against England I wanted nothing to do with it, but with commentating I couldn’t help it, but then the Aussie series I felt like I wanted to be back around the group just trying to help because I could sense that individuals were struggling a bit.”It was a tough summer but I’m absolutely fizzed that I haven’t missed a World Cup. All going well my shoulder will be fit to play a full part again.”In my White Ferns career this is probably the most exciting 12 months that we’ve got with a home World Cup and a Commonwealth Games. So when I was sat at home feeling a bit sorry for myself, to know those two tournaments were ahead of us was really exciting.”

“I don’t look to please people, I’m here to play the role that’s assigned to me accordingly, by the team management”

Annesha Ghosh04-Jul-20213:35

Mithali Raj: When young players like Rodrigues go through bad form, senior players back them

Mithali Raj has said she doesn’t heed criticism around her strike rate and instead focuses on shouldering the responsibility bestowed by the team management in terms of playing the anchor role in the Indian ODI side.”I do read the criticism about my strike rate but as I’ve said earlier also, I don’t seek validation from people,” Raj, the India Test and ODI captain, said after sealing a 220-run chase and her side’s thrilling four-wicket win on Saturday in Worcester with an unbeaten 75. “I have played for a long time, and I know that I have a certain responsibility in the team. I don’t look to please people, I’m here to play the role that’s assigned to me accordingly, by the team management.Related

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“When you’re chasing a target, you pick your bowlers, you pick the length, and you pick the areas. And because I am in good flow, I know I need to make the best use of me in the middle. In a way the batting unit revolves around me – that’s the job that’s been given to me by the coach.”I look to not get bogged down because somewhere I do know that the top order is already in the dugout and it was important for me to understand the situation how I can manoeuvre and try to get the match as close as possible with the batters who are yet to come and the batters that I had in the middle. And I guess I need to give credit also to Sneh Rana because that partnership was very, very crucial. She kept her calm, which is very important in such situations.”Picking up her third straight fifty in the ODI leg of the multi-format series, Raj steered India to victory in the final over of the chase after putting on two fifty stands. The second of those was with No. 7 Sneh Rana, whose vital 22-ball 24 earned her praise from Raj.”For me batting has always been a role-play in the team,” Raj said. “The sort of role that is assigned to me over the years is of taking the responsibility of the batting unit and play throughout. And that’s something I’ve always done.”Today also was one of those days where I could plan my innings. Chasing gives me a better picture of building an innings along with the other batters in the middle and I am able to control the game. I think that really worked for me. And having young girls in the side it helps to guide them when you’re in the middle to also sort of help them understand the situation and how to play in these conditions. It works well that way.”En route to her half-century, Raj surpassed former England captain Charlotte Edwards as the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket. She went past Edwards’ tally of 10,273 with a four off Natalie Sciver in the 24th over of the chase.Mithali Raj – “Because I am in good flow, I know I need to make the best use of me in the middle”•Getty Images

“I think the way things have gone, it wasn’t an easy journey,” Raj said, reflecting on her storied 22-year-long international career. “It had its trials and challenges. I’ve always believed that these trials always have a purpose, and there were times when I wanted to give up for various reasons but something kept me going and here I am, 22 years of international cricket but the hunger to score runs for India has never dried up.”[…] I know I have a few months in the run-up to the World Cup, and there’s certain areas, certain dimensions to the game that I would like to add to my batting. I look forward to working on those areas.”Raj, who retired from T20Is in 2019, had before the England tour said the 2022 ODI World Cup would be her swansong. With only tours of Australia and New Zealand so far scheduled before next year’s world tournament, the ODI assignment in England which concluded on Saturday may have been her last one in the country.”Obviously, before the World Cup we don’t have an England tour but I have always enjoyed playing in England against England, one of the quality teams on the world stage,” Raj, who made her international debut in England in 1999, said. “They say English conditions are always difficult, but the bulk of my runs I’ve scored on this soil. I’m just grateful that each time I come here…”There have been times when I’ve toured England from a bad form and I have scored heavily coming to England. So, I am happy the way I started in 1999, and today it’s come a full circle. I just look forward positively for the tours I am yet to play that I continue this form into those series as well.”

The tour will consist of one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is

Firdose Moonda22-Jun-2021Zimbabwe’s Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) has given Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) permission to host Bangladesh in July despite a government directive to suspend all sporting activity in the country as part of measures aimed at containing Covid-19.The tour will consist of one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. All matches will take place behind closed doors in Harare.This will be the second men’s international series Zimbabwe will host since the pandemic began, after successfully staging two Tests and three T20s against Pakistan in April. Zimbabwe have also hosted the Pakistan women’s side and the South Africa A side, although both those series were cut short.The Pakistan women’s side left Zimbabwe because of flight restrictions while the South African A team left before completing their second four-day fixture last week when stricter restrictions were introduced. At the time, ZC petitioned the SRC to allow the match to be completed, and they agreed, but South Africa A had already departed the country.Zimbabwe’s Covid-19 infection rate has remained relatively low, with less than 50,000 cases in the country to date but numbers are on the rise. Restrictions are in place in several districts in the country, including a ban on all gatherings, while schools also remain closed. However, several industries are allowed to continue operating, including professional sport, with a small Olympics contingent continuing to prepare for the Tokyo Games, and the national cricket team now gearing up to play Bangladesh.The tour will begin with a Test match from July 7-11 followed by three ODIs which form part of the World Cup Super League. Bangladesh are currently at the top of the table, with 50 points from nine matches, while Zimbabwe are at the bottom, with 10 points from three matches. The top eight teams will automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup, while the rest will go through to a qualifying event. Zimbabwe hosted the qualifier for the 2019 World Cup, and missed out on the showpiece event. The tour will conclude with three T20Is.Zimbabwe and Bangladesh last met in March 2020 when Zimbabwe traveled to Bangladesh. Zimbabwe lost all the matches on that tour: one Test, three ODIs and two T20Is. Bangladesh were last in Zimbabwe in April and May 2013. They drew the Test series 1-1, won the ODIs 2-1 and drew the T20I series 1-1.