Cricket News: Sky Sports unveil Shane Warne Commentary Box at Lord’s | Shane Warne Commentary Box unveiled at Lord’s in ENG vs NZ 1st Test
The start of the English Test summer is always an exciting occasion, but there was a bit of sombre feel ahead of the first Test against New Zealand. There was no Shane Warne, whose presence was felt anywhere he went, particularly in the Sky Sports commentary box.
Warne, who tragically passed away in March, was honoured by the Sky Sports team before the start of play. The Lord’s commentary box has been unveiled as the Shane Warne Commentary Box, with Mike Atherton, Rob Key and Warne’s former agent Michael Cohen making it official.
“After Richie Benaud, I don’t think any Australian cricketer had such a warm and special relationship with an English audience,” said former England captain Atherton. “Shane loved playing in England, he loved playing on this ground, he commentated many years in our commentary box. The MCC have given us the honour of naming the commentary box after the great man.”
Shane Warne Commentary Box unveiled at Lord’s
The Sky Sports commentary box is renamed as the 'Shane Warne commentary box' ✨ pic.twitter.com/M3KzxP4CyY
Michael Cohen, Warne’s long-term English-based agent, said that “Shane was more than a sporting phenomenon to all of us. He was one of the kindest and best human beings we knew. And we all miss him very much.
“Lord’s was very important to Shane,” he continued. “His portrait painting by Fanny Rush is displayed in the pavilion here, and Shane had some of his greatest cricket successes playing for Australia here at Lord’s.”
Cohen went on to cut the ribbon to the Shane Warne Commentary Box, where Atherton then revealed a stunning tribute to the legendary leg-spinner on the back wall of the room.
Remembering Shane Warne, by Sky Sports.
Shane Warne’s incredible record at Lord’s
Warne took 19 wickets in four Test matches at Lord’s at an average of 19.58. He took 4/57 and 4/102 in his first Test on the ground in 1993, and ended his career having never lost a Test there (three wins, one draw).
His final series in England was a special one. The 2005 Ashes is remembered as one of the greatest series of all time, and Warne had a key role to play in the theatre. His 40 wickets and 249 runs weren’t quite enough to retain the Ashes for Australia, but he certainly gave them a chance in a series they were outplayed in.
Cricket News: We insisted on getting Siraj & Bumrah abusers out of the SCG – Rahane | Ajinkya Rahane speaks of the racial abuse situation at the SCG
Ajinkya Rahane has revealed that the Indian players insisted on getting the miscreants who racially abused Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah out of the ground during the infamous Sydney Test in January 2021.
The Indian players had brought this issue up with the match officials at the end of the third day’s play. They again alerted the umpires when certain spectators continued to hurl abuses on the fourth day.
The on-field umpires, namely Paul Reiffel and Paul Wilson, told the Indian players to return back to the dressing room if they didn’t want to play. However, the Rahane-led side stood firm on expelling the spectators and subsequently getting on with the game.
“When Siraj again came to me [on the fourth day, after being abused the day before], I told the umpires that [they] need to take action and we won’t play till then,” Rahane was quoted in a report by ESPN.
He added, “The umpires said that you can’t stall the game and can walk out if you want. We said that we are here to play and not sit in the dressing room and insisted on getting the abusers out of the ground. It was important to support our colleague given the situation he had been through. What happened in Sydney was completely wrong.”
Situation was particularly grim in Sydney towards Siraj and Bumrah – R Ashwin
Speaking at the launch of Bandon Mein Tha Dum, a documentary on that historic series, Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that the situation was particularly grim in Sydney as compared to Melbourne and Adelaide.
“Personally I think Adelaide and Melbourne weren’t as bad. But this has been a continuous thing at Sydney. I have experienced it as well. They do tend to get nasty,” the off-spinner was quoted in the aforementioned report.
He lauded Siraj’s courage for bringing up this matter at that point in time. Ashwin explained that people everywhere have a belief that they ‘belong to a majority sort of thing’ and that they feel that they can have their way with things.
“And I think racism is one tip of it, where people believe that is a way of differentiation with someone. The only solution is better parenting and better awareness,” Ashwin further opened up on the whole debate. The 35-year-old called upon everyone to condemn such situations and asserted that people are differentiating against each other on separate grounds and that it is not right.
NED vs WI 2nd ODI Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible 11 Pitch Report | NED vs WI 2nd ODI Dream11 Prediction Today | Netherlands vs West Indies 2nd ODI Key Players | Amstelveen Pitch Report
It was that man Shai Hope once again. The West Indies opener continued his prolific run in ODI cricket as he led his side to a victory in the first ODI against Netherlands.
His century masked some of the deficiencies in the Windies’ performance. In addition to leaking runs in the middle-death overs, the tourists lost three quick wickets in the middle to leave them tottering in the chase. These two improvement areas will be on the agenda today as they aim to seal the series and continue picking up ODI Super League points.
For the Netherlands, it’s about building on the positives. Vikramjit Singh looked good once again in ODI cricket, while Teja Nidamanuru made quite the impression. However, the challenge will be for the bowlers to find enough penetration to trouble the Windies lineup, with early wickets the key to their hopes today.
NED vs WI 2nd ODI Possible Playing 11
Netherlands: 1. Max O’Dowd, 2. Vikramjit Singh, 3. Musa Ahmed, 4. Bas de Leede, 5. Teja Nidamanuru, 6. Scott Edwards (wk), 7. Pieter Seelaar (c) 8. Logan van Beek, 9. Aryan Dutt, 10. Ryan Klein, 11. Vivian Kingma
Vikramjit Singh has looked good in ODI cricket, and he will be tasked with carrying on with his starts. He scored 19, 31, 25 in New Zealand and a 45-ball 47 in the first match vs West Indies.
Scott Edwards has scored 237 runs at an average of 33.85 in 2022. This is the most runs of any Dutch player in ODIs this year, and includes three half-centuries.
Max O’Dowd struggled in the first match (39 off 69). He is key to the Netherlands’ hopes today. He averages 52.71 in eight ODIs at home (369 runs) with three half-centuries.
Teja Nidamanuru played brilliantly on ODI debut (58* off 51 balls). His strokeplay over square leg and midwicket in particular is something the Windies have to guard against.
Logan van Beek was the leading wicket-taker in the NZ-NED ODI series earlier this year (7). He was also the most threatening bowler for the Netherlands in the first ODI (2/49).
Pieter Seelaar Netherlands’ equal second-highest wicket-taker in ODIs (55). He averages 28.53 in 24 home ODIs.
West Indies:
Shai Hope continues to score well in ODIs. After his 119* in the first ODI, Hope has now hit 2,195 runs in 44 ODI knocks since the start of 2019 at an average of 56.3.
Shamarh Brooks also looked good in the first match (60 off 67 balls) before losing his wicket against the run of play.
Nicholas Pooran missed out against spin in the first ODI. He was in promising touch in the IPL and scored well in the T20Is vs India before the tournament.
Brandon King made a strong impression at number five two days ago (58* off 51 balls).
Alzarri Joseph performed well just days after the IPL 2022 Final where he was in the Gujarat Titans squad. He has gone wicketless just once in his last 14 ODIs.
Akeal Hosein slowed the scoring rate down in the first ODI (2/29 off nine overs). He has now taken at least one wicket in his last 11 ODIs. He has a total of 20 scalps in these matches.
Other Stats and Facts
West Indies have won all three ODIs against Netherlands.
West Indies are tenth in the ODI Super League table with 60 points, level with New Zealand and Pakistan. However, New Zealand have played ten matches fewer and Pakistan four games fewer.
Shai Hope averages 58.88 in 18 innings in Europe.
VRA Cricket Ground Amstelveen Pitch Report and Weather
The Amstelveen track was a good one for batting in the first ODI after the initial period. There was movement up front for the bowlers, especially with rain around.
There is clear weather forecast today. Both captains will be tempted to bowl first to take advantage of any early movement.
NED vs WI 2nd ODI Dream11 Prediction 2 June 2022
Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article as well as your own instincts to create your teams.
Cricket News: Will there be two IPLs a year in the future? | Ravi Shastri and Aakash Chopra give their views on having two IPLs per year in the future
It is no secret that the Indian Premier League (IPL) continues to grow at a rapid rate. Ahead of the recently-concluded 2022 season, the BCCI sold new franchises Lucknow Super Giants and eventual champions Gujarat Titans for a combined Rs 12,715 crore (approx. US$1.7 billion) in October 2021.
Also, according to Forbes, the IPL is growing at a whopping 24% year-on-year. During IPL 2022, seven of the 10 franchises were valued at over US$1 billion, including new franchise Lucknow Super Giants who ended up reaching the playoffs in their debut season.
There is an opportunity for two IPLs every year – Aakash Chopra and Ravi Shastri
Such numbers cannot be ignored. That is the view of former India cricketers Aakash Chopra and Ravi Shastri, who both believe that two IPLs is more of an inevitability rather than possibility.
Speaking on ESPNCricinfo’s Runorder program, Chopra said that he sees two IPLs in the calendar in the future. “I actually foresee there might be two editions of the IPL in a calendar year,” said the former batsman.
Chopra is one of the most engaged analysts when it comes to the IPL. Following the conclusion of the 2022 edition, Chopra tweeted, “Curated a lot of content throughout the #IPL2022. A special thanks to our sponsors for believing in us…one more season. Lots of different content is in the pipeline for the months to come…Upwards and onwards.”
Curated a lot of content throughout the #IPL2022 A special thanks to our sponsors for believing in us…one more season ??? Lots of different content is in the pipeline for the months to come…Upwards and onwards. ✌️☺️ pic.twitter.com/PSBWfzJsAz
Former India coach Ravi Shastri echoed similar views. He says there is no fear of IPL overdose despite some lower TV ratings, but rather it is the future given its quality and financial might.
“That [two IPLs in a calendar year] is the future. It could be tomorrow – 140 games, split 70-70. In two seasons. You never know. That is the way it is going to go,” he said. “That’s the way it has developed into a beast of a property, and you cannot hide away from that.
“You might think that’s overdose, but nothing is overdose in India. I have been sitting outside the bubble, I have been watching people, how they have seen, how they have reviewed these last few months, especially [after coming] out of Covid. And they are loving every bit of it, and they are almost having withdrawal symptoms,” he continued.
T20Is should be limited to just World Cups – Ravi Shastri
Shastri also said that there are too many meaningless T20 matches. He said international T20 matches should be just limited to World Cups.
“Yes, absolutely, there’s too much of bilateral stuff going on in T20 cricket,” Shastri said. “I’ve said that [before], even when I was the coach of India, I could see it happening in front of my eyes. It should go the football way, where, in T20 cricket, you just play the World Cup. Bilateral tournaments – no one remembers.
“I don’t remember a single game in the last six-seven years as coach of India, barring the World Cup. A team wins the World Cup, they will remember it. Unfortunately, we didn’t, so I don’t remember that either. Where I am coming from is: you play franchise cricket around the globe; each country is allowed to have their franchise cricket, which is their domestic cricket, and then, every two years, you come and play a World Cup.”
ENG vs NZ 1st Test Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible 11 Pitch Report | ENG vs NZ 1st Test Dream11 Prediction Today | England vs New Zealand 1st Test Key Players | Lord’s Pitch Report
The new era officially begins. Ben Stokes’ reign as England skipper and Brendon McCullum’s as coach gets underway against the nation of their birth in a highly anticipated start to the English Test summer.
The key question will be whether they can make an immediate impact. There is little doubt of their desire to play on the front foot and attack, evidenced by Stokes’ style of play over the years and Brendon McCullum as a player and coach for New Zealand. However, whether the team can fight through periods of adversity will be of focus, with the home side tasting victory just once in their past 17 Tests going way back to their win in Chennai nearly 18 months ago.
And the Black Caps, despite their humbling defeat in the recent tour match, are capable of applying the blowtorch. They won the World Test Championship on English soil last year after beating England 1-0 in an accomplished display of Test cricket. However, while Ben Stokes is looking to make an impression on one side, so too is the established Kane Williamson, with the Black Caps’ skipper struggling to find his best form across formats in recent times.
If the Black Caps click into gear right away, they’ll be tough to stop. However, if they start slowly, England’s attitude under the new regime might elevate them to bigger and better things. A good start at Lord’s will be key.
ENG vs NZ 1st Test 2022 Possible Playing 11
England have confirmed their XI for the Test. Ollie Pope will bat at three and Matthew Potts will debut. Also, after being left out of England’s squad for the tour of West Indies, Stuart Broad and James Anderson are back.
England: 1. Alex Lees, 2. Zak Crawley, 3. Ollie Pope, 4. Joe Root, 5. Ben Stokes (c), 6. Jonny Bairstow, 7. Ben Foakes (wk), 8. Matthew Potts, 9. Jack Leach, 10. Stuart Broad, 11. James Anderson
As of Wednesday, Trent Boult is still considered a chance to play in the Test despite reports that he was unlikely to feature (details here). He played in the IPL 2022 Final that only finished late on Sunday night.
Daryl Mitchell will bat at five as Henry Nicholls has been ruled out with a calf injury.
New Zealand: 1. Tom Latham, 2. Devon Conway, 3. Kane Williamson (c), 4. Will Young, 5. Daryl Mitchell, 6. Colin de Grandhomme, 7. Tom Blundell (wk), 8. Tim Southee, 9. Matt Henry/Ajaz Patel/Trent Boult, 10. Kyle Jamieson, 11. Neil Wagner
Key Players to Watch/Key Stats
England:
Joe Root without the burden of captaincy is a dangerous proposition for New Zealand. He has solid but unspectacular numbers against the Black Caps by his standards (992 runs, avg. 41.33). The average bumps up to 43.58 at home.
Root has the fourth-most runs of any player at Lord’s. The classy batsman, who struck 1,708 Test runs in 2021, has 1,484 runs at an average of 53.00 in 16 innings on this ground.
Ben Stokes will be vital to England’s hopes. The new captain has six 50+ scores in seven Tests at Lord’s at an overall average of 47.66 (572 runs). Against New Zealand, Stokes has scored 476 runs in six Tests at an average of 43.27.
Also, Stokes struck scores of 161 and 82 for Durham earlier this month.
Jonny Bairstow has struck two Test centuries so far in 2022. Also, he is just 83 runs away from 1,000 at Lord’s. He currently averages 43.66 in 13 Tests on this ground.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad are back. Anderson is the only bowler with at least 100 wickets at Lord’s (avg. 24.57) and averages 26.07 against New Zealand at home. Broad is close behind with 95 wickets at Lord’s at an average of 24.57 and averages 26.31 vs NZ in England.
Matthew Potts has taken 35 wickets this County season at an average of 18.57. He is capable of touching speeds of 140km/h.
New Zealand:
Devon Conway struck a memorable double century on Test debut on this ground one year ago. He made scores of just 4 and 5 in the tour match, so he will be looking for a quick turnaround in fortunes.
Kane Williamson averages below 40 against England (39.84) and 32.90 in six Tests in England. His lone century in this country did come at Lord’s. Can he deliver in this Test?
Tom Latham has a terrible record against Stuart Broad. The left-hander has been dismissed by Broad eight times for 118 runs in 255 deliveries. Expect Broad to test him from around the wicket right away. If Latham can get through the initial period, he is capable of going big.
Tim Southee took 6/43 on this ground a year ago. He has 20 wickets in four Tests at Lord’s (avg. 25.65) and 57 wickets in 14 Tests vs England (avg. 30.14).
Matt Henry is a much-improved bowler in Test cricket. He has taken 20 wickets in his past three Tests, including two player of the match performances vs England and South Africa respectively.
Kyle Jamieson is one to watch with his height, pace and swing. He took 3/85 at Lord’s a year ago, which included the wicket of Joe Root.
Other Stats and Facts
New Zealand have not lost a Test to England since 2015 (seven Tests).
Ben Foakes comes into this series in fine touch. He has struck scores of 132*, 45, 63, 48*, 16 and 91 in his last five County matches for Surrey.
Tim Southee vs Joe Root is a key battle. Root has scored just 180 runs off 427 balls against Southee, and has been dismissed five times by the seamer.
James Anderson averages 19.1 against Kane Williamson. The seamer has dismissed the NZ captain seven times for 134 runs in 351 deliveries.
Tom Latham has scored 474 runs in eight Tests vs England at an average of 36.46.
Ollie Pope struck scores of 84 and 96 in his past two First Class matches for Surrey.
Lord’s Pitch Report and Weather
The forecast for the first two days looks pretty good before some rain is expected across the final three days. In terms of the pitch, it looks to be the kind that will have something on offer early before settling down to be a decent batting track with some nibble for the bowlers from mid-day one onwards.
The average first innings score at Lord’s in the last five Tests is 238.4. This includes totals of 107 by India in 2018 and 85 by England in 2019.
The Lord’s pitch 24hrs out from the #ENGvNZ Test – usual caveats apply. Ahead of that, a new ep of The Final with @GeoffLemonSport somewhere in remote Canada. Stay to the end for a nice chat I had with @Sophecc19 as she blitzed another T20 comp.
Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article as well as your own instincts to create your teams.
Option 1:
ENG vs NZ 1st Test Dream11 Prediction
Option 2:
ENG vs NZ 1st Test Dream11 Prediction
Fan2Play Prediction
Base team:
Wicket-keepers: Jonny Bairstow
Batsmen: Joe Root, Kane Williamson, Devon Conway
All-rounders: Ben Stokes
Bowlers: James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Southee
Match Prediction
Runs on the board batting first will be key. New Zealand start as favourites especially given England’s inexperienced top three.
Rain could impact this Test, so a draw is the most likely result.
Cricket News: Bangladesh reluctant to make Shakib Test captain | BCB President says Shakib must commit to Test cricket to become captain
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hasan is reluctant to let veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan take over the reins as the Test captain of the national team after Mominul Haque stepped down from the post following Bangladesh’s 1-0 series loss at home to Sri Lanka.
Nazmul explained to Cricbuzz that the BCB will sit with Shakib to ensure that he is available for the longest format. The 35-year-old has been reportedly non-committal of his long-term plans in the whites as he has missed multiple matches for Bangladesh in the previous few seasons.
Shakib along with Liton Das are said to be the frontrunners to become the captain following Haque’s relinquishment of the leadership role.
“Shakib can be a skipper in any format. But we need to know whether he will play or not (Test cricket regularly),” Nazmul’s official statement was quoted in a report by the aforementioned website.
He added, “If he says that he won’t go or choose a format then it will be a problem. Shakib was our skipper and there is no doubt about his captaincy. But we also need to be sure about his availability.”
Can’t make someone Test captain on a whim – Nazmul
Shakib had to actually give away the captaincy to Haque after the former was banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not reporting a corrupt approach.
“He cannot make last minute decisions about his availability when he is the captain. We have to discuss with him first. We cannot make someone a captain on a whim and so have to take a well-thought-out decision,” Nazmul further told Cricbuzz.
Haque endured a horrid time as the Bangladesh Test skipper. The team won only three out of the 17 games he led them in but it included a historic away victory at Bay Oval against New Zealand in January this year.
“If he says that he won’t go or choose a format then it will be a problem. Shakib was our skipper and there is no doubt about his captaincy. But we also need to be sure about his availability.”
Nazmul Hasan.
Shakib has led the country in 14 Tests and the team emerged victorious in merely three of those games. However, he seems to be in a good run of form currently and even scored a half-century and took a five-wicket haul in the team’s last Test vs Sri Lanka at the Shere Bangla National Stadium last week.
Cricket News: No Sam Billings in England ODI squad for Netherlands tour | England select squad for ODI series vs Netherlands
Eoin Morgan will lead England in their tour for a three-match ODI series in Netherlands from 17th June-22nd June. The matches will take place between England’s second and third test matches against New Zealand. Accordingly, players from the longest format of the game were unavailable for selection for this particular series.
Sam Billings has been a surprising exclusion from the squad whereas other batsmen like Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt and Dawid Malan made the cut to the final squad. England have picked a lean squad of only 14 players in order to ensure that other cricketers do not have to unnecessarily withdraw from their ongoing Vitality T20 Blast commitments.
The roster has some new additions like that of David Payne and Luke Wood. However, the majority of the responsibility is expected to be shouldered by seasoned stars like Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Jason Roy, Adil Rashid and even all-rounder Sam Curran who makes a comeback after a relatively lengthy injury layoff.
“Luke Wood deserves his call-up. He has been consistent for Lancashire over the past 12 months and we have been monitoring his progression. If given a chance to play, I’m sure he will make the most of his opportunity,” England’s new white-ball coach Matthew Mott was quoted in a report by ESPNCricinfo.
Mott hailed the ‘tremendous depth’ with a blend of youth and experience in the squad. He assured that the setup wants the cricketers to play expressively and display their skills and firepower.
“The ODI side has had limited opportunities and last played in July. However, with about 18 months to the next ICC 50-over World Cup in India, our preparation will start ramping up with nine matches over the summer and a busy winter ahead against strong opponents,” Mott added.
The three ODIs will take place on 17th, 19th and 22nd June at the VRA Cricket Ground in Amstelveen in Netherlands.
England ODI Squad for Netherlands tour
Full Squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, David Payne, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Willey, Luke Wood
The below infographic from GrabOn.in paints the picture of the IPL 2022 season. Jos Buttler smashed the most runs, fours and sixes in a dream season where he compiled 863 runs, the second-most in IPL history. Yuzvendra Chahal broke Imran Tahir’s record of 26 wickets in a season by a spinner. However, it was Gujarat Titans who stole the show with just four defeats in a competitive 10-team league.
IPL 2022 stats infographic: Most runs, sixes, fours, wickets and more
Gujarat Titans were too strong for Rajasthan Royals in the Final. The champions restricted the Royals to just 130/9 and chased the modest target with 11 balls to spare. Hardik Pandya was player of the match thanks to his brilliant 3/17 and 34 off 30 balls.
Shubman Gill, with his unbeaten 45, moved into the top five run-scorers in IPL 2022.
IPL 2022 stats infographic by GrabOn.in
IPL 2022 stats: players who left a lasting impression
It was a special season for youngster Umran Malik, who wowed millions with his pace. He finished the season with 22 wickets, and his future looks bright as Ravi Shastri has called for his inclusion in the Indian national team setup.
Also, other uncapped cricketers including Rajat Patidar, Arshdeep Singh and Mohsin Khan left a lasting impression this season. Arshdeep in particular has been hallmarked as a key death bowler for India going forward, given his ability to execute skills under pressure when some of the world’s best batsmen are looking to go big at the death.
Arshdeep has been selected in India’s squad to face South Africa in their upcoming five-match T20I series. Brilliant all-rounder and five-time IPL champion Hardik Pandya has also been selected, and is set to make a return to the Indian setup after injury setbacks.
Cricket News: Guys from different backgrounds now have a say – Temba Bavuma | Temba Bavuma praises inclusivity in the South Africa cricket setup
South African white-ball captain Temba Bavuma has claimed that the national team is set to move on from controversies and present their culture of ‘inclusiveness’ as it approaches a busy 2022-23 cricketing season
“It’s inclusive. When I say inclusive, I look at the leadership squad. You’ve got guys from different backgrounds, who come in with their different perspectives and guys are able to sit down on a table and share their ideas and whatever decision we make, it’s an encompassing one,” Bavuma spoke about the team culture in an interview with ESPNCricinfo.
He added, “It’s one that accommodates everyone. It’s not one that is biased to one specific group.”
We have had conversations on sensitive issues – Temba Bavuma
Bavuma says that the players have accepted each other’s gestures condemning racism and even explained taking the knee has become more about optics gradually. Moreover, the national team hasn’t been directed to take the knee in the upcoming season.
“It probably got to a point where, without being disrespectful to it, it was a bit more about optics more than anything. But I think within the team, there was a lot of growth, a lot of respect that guys started having within each other,” the 32-year-old told the aforementioned website.
Bavuma opened up that there’s an openness in the team now and that they have had sensitive conversations over this whole issue. He even went to the extent of saying that he doesn’t think that any other group would be having those discussions and still be in a place to play for each other on the ground.
“It’s an environment where it’s conducive for guys to play well and I’d like to think the younger guys that are coming in, feel as if they can come in and be themselves but most importantly, perform,” the skipper elaborated on the prevailing team environment.
Bavuma even touched upon the recent misconduct charges against head coach Mark Boucher and Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) subsequent withdrawal of the same. He expressed that there would be much greater relief now given that the team is now in a space where they can completely focus on cricket currently.
“I am sure the coach as well will look forward to being allowed to focus on his main job of coaching and being given the necessary support that he requires as a coach,” Bavuma signed off.
South Africa will begin preparations for the 2022 T20 World Cup campaign with a five-match series in India. They performed well despite the Quinton de Kock distractions in last year’s World Cup, where they ultimately just missed out on the Semi Finals despite winning four of their five group matches.
Cricket News: “Hope to get people off my back” – Aaron Finch | Finch aims to get out of lean patch in upcoming tour of Sri Lanka
Aaron Finch is looking to overcome his self-proclaimed lean patch in the upcoming limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka. Finch scored only 86 runs in five games for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2022 and has notched a solitary half-century in his last 14 T20Is for Australia.
The Aussies are set to play 11 ODIs and T20Is each prior to embarking on their title defence of the World T20 at home later this year. Finch seems to keen address concerns over his poor form but admits that he has faced such a situation several times in his career so far.
“It’s been a reasonably lean patch. I’ve been through that plenty of times in my career. At times, you go through stages where you get a heap of runs in a hurry and then go through some lean patches,” the Australian white-ball skipper was quoted in a report by ESPNCricinfo.
“A lot of time to build form” – Aaron Finch
He added, “With such a busy schedule of cricket, there’s a lot of time to be able to build and I suppose get back into the groove of one-day cricket especially. We haven’t played a huge amount of that over the last little while, so it’d be really nice to try and get some big runs and keep everyone off my back for a little while.”
Finch even spoke in detail about his technique, mentioning that he has been trying to regain his rhythm by altering with his set-up and movement patterns for quite some time. In the series vs Pakistan, prior to the IPL, Finch said that was getting too open in his stance. Then he started “trying to go a little too hard” during the IPL by moving around the crease. Now, he is looking to settle for a better base in the series vs Sri Lanka.
“When you’re worried about the ball swinging back into your front pad, you can tend to open up which then has a bit of a flow-on effect. So it’s just trying to get back to a little bit more square and making sure that I’m giving myself every chance to get through the first five or six balls and then in T20 or ODIs you can sort of flow on from that,” Finch explained.
“They’re obviously your most vulnerable times. But just squaring up my technique again. I was just a bit open and hips and shoulders and feet and everything and just lost the ability to transfer my weight back through the ball,” the 35-year-old further elaborated on the issue.
Meanwhile, Australia is looking to play around its bowling combination a bit in the absence of Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa in the Sri Lankan series. The first T20I between the two sides will take place at the R. Premdasa Stadium in Colombo on 7th June. The ODI series will commence from 14th June with the first of the five games to be played at the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy.
Sky Sports unveil Shane Warne Commentary Box at Lord’s
Cricket News: Sky Sports unveil Shane Warne Commentary Box at Lord’s | Shane Warne Commentary Box unveiled at Lord’s in ENG vs NZ 1st Test
The start of the English Test summer is always an exciting occasion, but there was a bit of sombre feel ahead of the first Test against New Zealand. There was no Shane Warne, whose presence was felt anywhere he went, particularly in the Sky Sports commentary box.
Warne, who tragically passed away in March, was honoured by the Sky Sports team before the start of play. The Lord’s commentary box has been unveiled as the Shane Warne Commentary Box, with Mike Atherton, Rob Key and Warne’s former agent Michael Cohen making it official.
“After Richie Benaud, I don’t think any Australian cricketer had such a warm and special relationship with an English audience,” said former England captain Atherton. “Shane loved playing in England, he loved playing on this ground, he commentated many years in our commentary box. The MCC have given us the honour of naming the commentary box after the great man.”
Shane Warne Commentary Box unveiled at Lord’s
Michael Cohen, Warne’s long-term English-based agent, said that “Shane was more than a sporting phenomenon to all of us. He was one of the kindest and best human beings we knew. And we all miss him very much.
“Lord’s was very important to Shane,” he continued. “His portrait painting by Fanny Rush is displayed in the pavilion here, and Shane had some of his greatest cricket successes playing for Australia here at Lord’s.”
Cohen went on to cut the ribbon to the Shane Warne Commentary Box, where Atherton then revealed a stunning tribute to the legendary leg-spinner on the back wall of the room.
Shane Warne’s incredible record at Lord’s
Warne took 19 wickets in four Test matches at Lord’s at an average of 19.58. He took 4/57 and 4/102 in his first Test on the ground in 1993, and ended his career having never lost a Test there (three wins, one draw).
His final series in England was a special one. The 2005 Ashes is remembered as one of the greatest series of all time, and Warne had a key role to play in the theatre. His 40 wickets and 249 runs weren’t quite enough to retain the Ashes for Australia, but he certainly gave them a chance in a series they were outplayed in.