England announce fixtures for 2021, including five Tests against India | England schedule 2021 – ECB announces jampacked schedule
The England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed a busy 2021 summer as they plan to host three international teams for men and two for the women’s team.
ECB has scheduled a five-match Test series against India, three-match ODI series with Sri Lanka and Pakistan, as they are expected to visit in June and July. England Women squad will host South Africa and New Zealand.
This comes in wake of the World Test Championship announced by ICC in June 2021 after which England hosts these series back-to-back. ECB also mentioned that the outlook around Covid-19 is still uncertain which puts venues and dates subject to change in case of safety. While these matches are expected to have live crowd audience, they would get refund on the tickets if the matches are to played behind closed doors due to Covid-19.
JUST IN: England will travel to Pakistan for a T20I tour in October 2021 ?
“Next year we’ve got another big international program to look forward to, with the thrill of a five-Test series against India as the centerpiece, compelling white ball series for our men and women, and an Ashes Series for our Visually Impaired team. It’s an exciting prospect for England fans, and while Covid means there’s still a great deal of uncertainty, we really hope to be able to welcome fans back into the grounds safely next year to bring that unique atmosphere to stadia across the country”, ECB Chief Executive Officer, Tom Harrison, said.
??????? JUST IN: England have announced a busy 2021 home season ?️
The women's side are scheduled to play ODI and T20I series against South Africa ?? and New Zealand ??
The men's team will play Sri Lanka ?? and Pakistan ?? in white-ball series, and five Tests against India ?? pic.twitter.com/g7ZkxrgXGC
Tuesday, 29 June, 2021: 1st ODI v Sri Lanka, Durham Thursday, 1 July, 2021: 2nd ODI v Sri Lanka, The Oval Sunday, 4 July, 2021: 3rd ODI v Sri Lanka, Bristol
Thursday, 8 July, 2021: 1st ODI v Pakistan, Cardiff Saturday, 10 July, 2021: 2nd ODI v Pakistan, Lord’s Tuesday, 13 July, 2021: 3rd ODI v Pakistan, Edgbaston
Friday, 16 July, 2021: 1st T20I v Pakistan, Trent Bridge Sunday, 18 July, 2021: 2nd T20I v Pakistan, Headingley Tuesday, 20 July, 2021: 3rd T20I v Pakistan, Old Trafford
Wednesday, 4 August, 2021: 1st Test v India, Trent Bridge Thursday, 12 August, 2021: 2nd Test v India, Lord’s Wednesday, 25 August, 2021: 3rd Test v India, Headingley Thursday, 2 September, 2021: 4th Test v India, The Oval Friday, 10 September, 2021: 5th Test v India, Old Trafford
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
The England and Wales Cricket Board will visit Karachi to play two T20Is against Pakistan on October 14 and 15 2021. ECB will make a comeback to Pakistan after a gap of 16 years gap as they last toured Pakistan in 2005 when they played three Tests and five ODIs.
Later on, Pakistan played against England in 2012 and 2015 in the United Arab Emirates. After the two-match series, both the teams will leave for India on 16 October for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison has an emphasis on the safety and welfare of the team and their support staff and has ensured that they are working closely with PCB to churn out this visit peacefully.
“We are working closely with the PCB to ensure all the necessary plans are in place, especially concerning the anticipated levels of security around the team, the proposed travel protocols, and of course the situation regarding the fast-moving and ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic. The two-match series will serve as ideal preparation for the England team leading into an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup taking place in India during October and November 2021″, he said to the media.
2021 will see the return of international cricket in Pakistan after a long gap occurred due to a terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009. However, after a long wait, South Africa, New Zealand, and England are set to play in the country next year.
Wasim Khan, who is the Chief Executive of PCB, mentioned how the board has been working for the past two years to build a healthy relationship with international cricket boards and players so that international cricket could be played in the country on a consistent basis.
“The October 2021 T20Is will allow the leading England cricketers to access and examine the world-class arrangements we will put together, which will give them further encouragement and confidence to not only return in 2022-23 but also express their interest in the Pakistan Super League, which has grown to become one of the top leagues in the world. The enhanced progress made over the last two years has been down to nurturing relationships with various cricket boards and international players, as well as building trust and confidence. Importantly, this announcement speaks volumes about the relationship that we have with the ECB and I would like to thank the ECB for their strong will and desire to make this short tour a reality”, Khan said in his statement.
PCB is also expecting Australia visit for their FTP commitment in early 2022, with England returning for both Test and White Ball tours in the 2022-23 season.
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
Cameron Green ideally has to bowl to play ODIs – Langer | Justin Langer says it would be ideal if Cameron Green bowls in white-ball
Australia’s latest pick for their Test squad, Cameron Green, has garnered a lot of eyeballs before his debut match. Greg Chappell described Green as the best batting talent that the country has seen after Ricky Ponting and can head into the squad this summer.
National Coach Justin Langer feels that he will be part of the ODI only if he bowls a few overs well. “He hasn’t had the white-ball experience to come in as a pure batsman but if he can bowl a few overs, my gosh he becomes a good prospect. But Test cricket is different. He’s earned the right to play Test cricket on his batting. I love watching him bat. For such a tall batsman, he’s got so much time”, Langer said in his statement.
Green has just returned from a second back stress fracture and bowled for Western Australia. He has put in intensive work to tweak his action to ease the stress on his body while retaining the same pace. The youngster will slowly but surely step up his workload in the nets while training with the limited-overs squad in Sydney ahead of Australia’s ODI series opener against India next Friday night, said CA.
“The results I’ve had in four-day cricket are definitely a lot better than what I have shown in T20s. If I don’t play, I’ll get a lot of experience and hopefully take a lot out of it. There’s probably no better place to keep learning and evolving your game than around world-class coaches and players”, Green said to Cricket Australia.
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
Afghanistan’s star players might miss a lot of BBL 2020 | Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi may miss key stages of BBL 2020
The Big Bash League clubs are facing a major issue with the availability of their players, as other countries have scheduled matches around the same time. Recently, Afghanistan has confirmed that they are going to play three ODI matches against Ireland in January as planned. But the problem is three of their players, namely Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi have also signed deals with BBL franchises.
The ODI games will be held on January 18, 21 and 23 in Abu Dhabi and as Australia has a quarantine rule of 14 days for overseas travellers, it becomes difficult to fit in these three players in the league matches. Rashid Khan will be playing for Adelaide Strikers, Mujeeb Ur Rahman for Brisbane Heat, and Mohammad Nabi for Melbourne Renegades, but now it’s highly doubtful if the players can return for the BBL playoffs from January 29-February 6.
Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman may miss key stages of BBL 2020 season.
All the three players are star cricketers of the national team and their selection is undoubted. Now the only way fans can see them play for BBL is if they opt-out of the national team’s selection which again looking tricky. According to the ESPNCricInfo reports it says, “Negotiations are ongoing about a possible series in the UAE in December, initially planned to involve the hosts and Scotland in a Tri-series. Cricket Ireland is understood to be keen to ensure that tour goes ahead, with centrally-contracted players back in training”.
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
Imad Wasim dedicates maiden PSL Title to Dean Jones | Karachi Kings win maiden PSL Title in honor of the late Dean Jones
Karachi Kings skipper Imad Wasim won his first Pakistan Super League trophy on Tuesday, as they defeated Lahore Qalandars by five wickets. He showered his gratitude to his late coach and commentator Dean Jones for playing a key role in shaping the team. “Dean Jones, of course, gets credit because what he taught us, very few coaches in the world can”, he said after the victory.
Imad also tweeted a billboard image which read ‘Forever in our hearts, Deano!’. “This is for you Deano – the first final for Karachi Kings! #GoneButNeverForgotten #DoItForDeano”, he wrote on Twitter. Dean’s death was a sudden shock for a lot of his fans. He died of a heart attack amid the chaos of IPL 2020 when he was in Mumbai amid the IPL 2020 commentary stint.
MAN OF THE MATCH ✅ MAN OF THE TOURNAMENT ✅ CHAMPION ✅
Imad also mentioned how Wasim Akram’s contribution was equally helpful in the process of entering the finale and then winning it with a convincing performance. “Wasim Akram, of course, deserves the trophy because he was our bowling coach, head coach, mentor, and team president rolled in one. It’s an honor to captain this franchise. The way the bowlers bowled was fantastic. We misread the pitch somewhat, too, because we wanted to bat first, too. The bounce wasn’t true, and so we varied our pace and lines, and I think our bowlers executed their plans perfectly”, he said.
Babar Azam was awarded Man of the Match and the Player of the Tournament titles for scoring 63* in 49 balls in the final match. “We knew if Babar put on a masterclass we could effectively put our feet up in the chase. Obviously, anything can go wrong and in the end, we lost a couple of wickets all of a sudden, and that’s why I’d decided to go in lower down the order, so we’d have some security at the end,” said the skipper of his opening batsman.
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
Shakib Al Hasan receives threats after attending a Hindu festival | Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan receives death threats after attending Hindu festival
Bangladesh’s all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has received threats from Islamists after he attended a Hindu festival in India recently. It is believed that the Muslim majority country Bangladesh doesn’t approve of attending festivities of other religion and hence the matter escalated when the cricketer visited Kolkata during the festive season of Durga Puja.
Shakib took it on his social media forum and protested about how Islamic preachers in Bangladesh dictate about people attending ceremonies and events of other faiths. “I was on the stage for barely two minutes. People are talking about this and thought I inaugurated it. I did not do this and being a conscious Muslim I would not do this. But, maybe, I should not have gone there. I am sorry for this and apologize. As a practicing Muslim, I always try to follow religious customs. Please forgive me if I have done anything wrong”, Shakib told an online forum late Monday.
Reportedly, a man posted some personal threats on a Facebook live forum and accused him of hurting religious sentiments. However, the man later apologized and was out of reach after that. The AFP reports suggest that police are trying to get hold of that man and the weapon of attack – a knife that he had shown in the Live video.
The increasing case of vocal Islamists is a matter of concern especially after the world saw anti-France rallies in the last few weeks over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
Shane Watson & Usman Khawaja criticise new BBL rules | Australian cricketers Shane Watson and Usman Khawaja have criticised the new BBL rules
The upcoming Big Bash League is in the news as senior players have criticised the addition of new rules. Recently Cricket Australia league’s consultant Trent Woodhill introduced three additions – ‘Power Surge’, the ‘X Factor Player’ and the ‘Bash Boost’ in the BBL.
However, Shane Watson calls it a misguided attempt to reinvigorate the tournament. In his blog post, he said that the “complexities that these new ‘science experiments’ are going to create for the viewers, let alone the players and coaches, when none of these have been tried and tested at lower levels, have really taken the wind out of my sails.” I just can’t seem to get my head around why there are people out there who are trying to reinvent the wheel when the wheel was not broken”, he said.
Instead, the player made suggestions to add world-class players playing in world-class pitches to garner eyeballs from the fans. “The simple game plan in my mind is to get the world’s best cricketers playing on world-class pitches and guess what, you will get world-class cricket to watch for the cricket lovers out there and we will all be on the edge of our seats admiring the feats of these amazing cricketers,” he added.
Along with Watson, Sydney Thunder batsman Usman Khawaja wrote in his tweet how the new BBL rules look complicated to him. “So had a day to think about new BBL rules. My biggest issue is that the BBL is all about (and great at) getting new people involved whom have never played,” tweeted Usman Khawaja.
So had a day to think about new BBL rules. My biggest issue is that the BBL is all about (and great at) getting new people involved whom have never played. But the rule changes complicate what's already a very complicated game (for newcomers). Shouldn't we be going the other way?
India has every chance of winning the series: Cheteshwar Pujara | Cheteshwar Pujara believes India can win another Test series in Australia
Cheteshwar Pujara gave a phenomenal performance in the 2018-19 Australia Test series, as he struck three centuries in seven innings. Even now the right-hand batsman feels that history can repeat itself. In an exclusive interaction with PTI, Pujara said that India has every chance of winning the Test series again in Australia if they can repeat their great performance from 2018-19.
The India-Australia series is going to be an interesting one, as Virat Kohli the captain of the Indian team is taking time off as the couple welcomes their first child, and David Warner and Steven Smith are back after the ball-tampering ban. While things look tricky for the Indian team on paper, Pujara’s moral seems pretty strong.
“The Australian batting line-up will be a little stronger than what it was in 2018-19, but then victories don’t come easy. If you want to win away from home, you need to work hard. No doubt Smith, Warner, and Marnus Labuschagne are great players. But the good part about our current crop of bowlers is that most of them play in the same series, and our bowling unit will also not be very different from what it was in 2018-19”, he said.
Apart from Pujara’s 123 and 71 in Adelaide that made him earn Man of the Match and Rishabh Pant’s 350 runs, Bumrah’s 21 and Shami’s 16 wickets were also the highlights of the Down Under series. “They know how to be successful in Australia as they have enjoyed success there in the past. They have their game-plans in place and if we can execute them well, they are capable of getting Smith, Warner, and Labuschagne out quickly. If we can do what we have done in the past, I am sure we have every chance of winning the series again”, he said.
India is set to play its first Day/Night Test game in a foreign country, which will be held in Adelaide. Pujara believes Adelaide will be a little challenging as the surface will be different. “It will be a different challenge altogether playing with the pink ball as the pace and bounce also change,” he said. “We will be playing with the pink Kookaburra in Australia (against Bangladesh, India played with the pink SG ball). It will be slightly different. As a team and as individuals, one has to understand and accept and get used to it (pink ball and lights) as early [as] possible. There will be a bit of difference with the pink ball. The twilight period is more challenging than other periods, but as you play more and practice more, you get used to it. It does take a little while”, he said.
Pujara has not played any match in the past 10 months after he last featured for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal in March. The Rajkot player along with Hanuman Vihari landed in Dubai a week earlier to train for some time, after which they left for Australia along with the rest of the squad. “Even during the last tour, my preparation was good. I am confident that I will be able to repeat the same preparation before this series also,” Pujara said. “I always try and add a few more things in my game, which will help me get better.”
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
Analysing the Top 3 Opening Pairs in IPL 2020: Who was Best? | A close look at the top 3 opening pairs in IPL 2020: Who was the best?
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League has been one of the tournament’s most competitive editions yet. It was a great spectacle to watch the top batsmen from all eight different franchises, as this season also saw several close games, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats throughout with the quality of cricket on offer.
The role of the openers has evolved into a significant one; earlier it was more about giving the team a good start and set a platform for the batsmen to follow. Now, there’s an additional responsibility on the openers to stay out in the middle for the maximum number of overs. At least one of the openers should go on and make a big score – whether it’s a run chase or setting a total. If a team has a settled opening pair then more often than not that team is expected to do well in any series or tournament.
The importance of having two good openers in a team can never be undermined, especially when it comes to big tournaments like IPL. So, let’s have a look at the three most impactful opening pairs of IPL 2020:
Analysing the Top 3 Opening Pairs in IPL 2020: Devdutt Padikkal played well.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore has a history of having good openers with the likes of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel contributing at the top of the order. This year was no different as the newly-formed opening pair of Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal gave their team good starts right from the opening game vs the Sunrisers Hyderabad thanks to an opening stand of 90 runs.
The senior partner Aaron Finch played second-fiddle to the debutant Padikkal, who took the attacking role with aplomb. And the story remained the same till the backend of the season with young Padikkal being the aggressor with Finch playing the supporting role from the other end. Despite Finch’s struggle with the bat, RCB management kept backing him as the opening pair seemed to have a good understanding between each other. With Finch struggling to fire from one end, Padikkal made sure that the pressure is on the bowling side and not on his partner.
Padikkal displayed a sanguine demeanor right from ball one he faced in his IPL career and thwarted the bowlers throughout the tournament. He ended up outscoring the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to be the highest run-scorer of his team. A major role was played by RCB’s openers in the team’s success this year.
Analysing the Top 3 Opening Pairs in IPL 2020: Warner & Bairstow was a dangerous partnership in 2019 and 2020.
This opening pair undoubtedly is one of the most destructive ones in the history of the cash-rich league. David Warner, captain of SRH, has been a prolific run-scorer making him one of the best batsmen to take part in this tournament.
His partner, Jonny Bairstow, has been a quintessential opening batsman for his franchise since his IPL debut last year. The duo was the most successful opening pair of the last season and was expected to do the same thing this season.
In the first half, it seemed like Warner was struggling with his form at the top, while Bairstow was looking to make the most of the powerplay restrictions early in the innings. However, in comparison with last year, they weren’t at their dominating best this season. The numbers will show that they scored at a decent rate (8.34) and the boundary percentage (53.81) too was up there with the other duos. Jonny’s injury in the second half meant that they’ve to go with Wriddhiman Saha/Shreevats Goswami to partner Warner at the top for the last few games.
Still, their impactful performances together make them the second-best opening pair of the IPL 2020.
Analysing the Top 3 Opening Pairs in IPL 2020: Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul had a strong partnership.
KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are long-time best friends who play for the same domestic side.
With KL being the regular KXIP opener since 2018, it was all down to who’ll open with him. Many experts predicted that Chris Gayle will open with KL Rahul, considering their record in the past. But to everyone’s surprise, it was Mayank who opened with KL in the first game of the season. The fashion in which they batted together in their first game set the tone for the remaining games of the season. With a renowned name like Chris Gayle in the hut, waiting for his opportunity, there was always pressure on Agarwal to keep ticking the boxes. And he did everything right to cement his place with his captain at the top.
The two complemented each other well and compiled big runs for their team. With KL playing the role of sheet anchor this year, it was on Mayank’s shoulders to up the ante in the powerplay overs. The most impressive part about their partnerships was the dot ball percentage (32.02), second-best after Warner and Saha, and the best if you consider opening pairs who batted at least 10 innings together. They were equally good at finding the boundaries and pacing the team’s innings at a healthy rate.
Kings XI Punjab had a highly fluctuating season, encapsulated by massive upsurge and downfall before being eliminated in their last league match. The Karnataka duo of Agarwal and Rahul form arguably the best opening pair of the recently concluded IPL. Together they also claimed the record of the highest ever opening partnership for KXIP: 183 vs RR, Sharjah. This also is the third-highest opening stand in history of the league.
New Zealand rest Kane Williamson & Trent Boult for T20Is vs WI | NZ decide to rest Williamson & Boult for T20Is – to prepare for Tests
Kane Williamson and Trent Boult have been asked to rest for the upcoming T20I series against West Indies and prepare for the Test matches. During the short format games, Tim Southee will be taking the role of captaincy as Kane will join the team in the long-form games. Doubts about Colin de Grandhomme and Ajaz Patel’s return will be cleared in the course of time as both the players are still recovering from their injuries.
Devon Conway has been selected by the NZ board for the first series against West Indies whereas Gary Stead, NZ head coach confirmed that Colin Munro is missing the squad due to Big Bash League commitments. “We’re looking forward to welcoming Devon into our environment for the first time and I’m sure he’ll soak up the experience. With Colin Munro heading to the Big Bash and therefore unavailable for the Pakistan T20 series pre-Christmas, the selectors are keen to look at other batting options at the top of the order. We’ve had to make a decision on Kane and Trent to prioritize the Test matches, given how important they are to our red-ball team and the fact they both played such big roles in the recent IPL while also managing injuries”, he said.
The T20 squad also sees return of Glenn Phillips who was last seen smashing 316 runs at a strike rate of 127.41 in 10 CPL outings. “There’s no secret we’re right in the hunt for the World Test Championship Final following our two-nil win over India and having Trent and Kane fully fit and focussed for the upcoming series will be crucial. Colin and Ajaz have quite different injuries which are requiring a different return to play protocols. It’s too early at this stage to definitively say what their chances are but we’re hopeful the next two weeks will make that clearer”, Stead added.
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
