NEWSLETTER
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Well, you know what the drill is. So let’s cut to the chase and get started, shall we?
The week gone by — what’s been happening in world cricket?
This week, we’ll be alternating between on-field and off-field news.
The 2023 World Cup schedule has finally been finalized
It’s celebration time as the BCCI and ICC have done the impossible, i.e. finalizing the World Cup schedule two months prior to the start of the Mega Event. 10/10 for competency. Yay?
In the revised fixture list, as many as nine games have been rescheduled. If you’re someone that booked flights and hotels for October 15th in order to watch India vs Pakistan, well, we’ve got bad news for you: that fixture has been moved; it will now instead take place on October 14th. Below are the other matches that have been rescheduled.
The ICC have also announced that tickets will go on sale from August 25th, in phases.
25 August – Non-India warm-up matches and all non-India event matches
30 August – India matches at Guwahati and Trivandrum
31 August – India matches at Chennai, Delhi and Pune
1 September – India matches at Dharamsala, Lucknow and Mumbai
2 September – India matches at Bengaluru and Kolkata
3 September – India matches at Ahmedabad
15 September – Semi Finals and Final
Prithvi Shaw has been making a mockery of the Royal London One Day Cup
Last week, we looked back at Shaw’s rather bizarre and unfortunate ‘hit wicket’ and once again, this week, he’s in the news: except this time, he’s made the headlines because he simply can’t stop breaking records.
Batting first against Somerset, Shaw smashed his highest-ever List A score, a stunning 153-ball 244. In the process, he became only the fourth batter to post multiple List A double-hundreds, joining Rohit Sharma (3), Ali Brown (2), and Travis Head (2).
Remarkably, the 23-year-old followed up the double-century with YET ANOTHER ton, a 76-ball 125* against Durham. It was an equally absurd knock as chasing 199, Shaw ended up scoring 61% of the team’s total runs.
So after 57 List A matches, Shaw now averages 57 while striking at 126.69. That is just…….MAD!
Here’s Anirudh Kasargod summarizing the ridiculousness of Shaw’s achievement in his stat piece
Dewald Brevis has FINALLY received his maiden international call-up
The wait is over as Dewald Brevis, arguably the most exciting young batter in world cricket, has been handed his maiden international call-up, having been named in South Africa’s ODI and T20I squads against Australia. Brevis, who recently impressed in the MLC representing MINY, has interestingly only played eight List A matches. But Brevis isn’t the only youngster in the squad as Donovan Ferreira has also been named in the T20I squad. Ferreira was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals in the mini auction ahead of IPL 2023.
India have lost a bilateral series to West Indies, and Hardik Pandya is now ‘unique’
There was no heroic comeback on Sunday in Florida, as West Indies thumped India by 8 wickets to win the five-match T20I series 3-2. As a result, Hardik Pandya ended up creating a few unwanted records.
> He became the first Indian captain to lose 3 T20Is in a bilateral series (Men)
> He became the first Indian captain to lose a bilateral series (of more than 2 T20Is) against West Indies
Only a little while ago, Hardik said that ‘it’s okay to be unique’ and well, here he is, right now.
The Hardik trolling aside, if you actually want to know what went wrong (and right) for India across the five T20Is, we’ve got you covered.
Here’s Anirudh Suesh diving into all key takeaways from the series.
Shakib is Bangladesh’s ‘new’ captain
We’re in 2023 but it might as well be 2011 as Shakib Al Hasan has been named Bangladesh captain for the forthcoming Asia Cup and World Cup. So 12 years after leading the Tigers in a World Cup, the all-rounder, who last led Bangladesh in 50-over cricket six years ago, will be captaining his country in the mega event again.
He replaces the recently un-retired Tamim Iqbal, who last week resigned as captain due to fitness reasons.
Spare a thought for Litton Das, who would undoubtedly have dreamt about leading his country in the World Cup, being the next in line.
Pakistan have announced their squad for the Asia Cup
Key pointers:
> No Shan Masood, who earlier in the year was appointed vice-captain in ODIs
> Faheem Ashraf, who last played an ODI in 2021, is back.
> Usama Mir, who is currently playing for Manchester Originals, finds a place in the 17-person squad.
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup
Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim
Manoj Tiwary has done a Tamim; he’s reversed retirement
Tamim Iqbal is already inspiring people out there as Manoj Tiwary has followed the footsteps of the former Bangladesh skipper, the 37-year-old rescinding his retirement just days after announcing it.
“I’m coming out of retirement for one last year. Bengal cricket has given me everything. I want to give it a last try, be it as a player or captain,” Tiwary said.
“Next year, there will not be any more U-turn. I want to give one more year to Bengal cricket.”
Well, we’ll see!
Steven Finn has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket
The former future Glenn McGrath has called it a day as Steven Finn has retired from all forms of cricket at the age of 34.
Finn, who debuted in 2010 as a 20-year-old, finishes with 254 international wickets to his name.
Finn was a part of the successful Ashes triumph Down Under in 2010/11, and was also a part of Ashes victories in 2013 and 2015. In ODIs, he became the joint fourth-quickest Englishman to 100 ODI wickets, getting to the landmark in 67 matches.
Ranji Trophy speculation: Nitish Rana to leave Delhi; Kuldeep Sen to play for Tamil Nadu
Meanwhile, former Delhi captains - Nitish Rana and Dhruv Shorey, who was also the highest run-getter for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy last season, have decided to leave the state.
While Shorey has moved to Vidarbha, there is no information about Rana's move yet.
“Yes, Dhruv Shorey will be playing for Vidarbha in the coming domestic season. It is confirmed,” Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) president Justice (retd) Vinay Deshpande told CricketNext.
Ambati Rayudu will feature in the forthcoming CPL season
Rayudu replaces South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs in the Patriots’ squad.
The Patriots, however, will be holding their breath as the 37-year-old pulled out of the inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) season just days prior to the commencement of the competition. There, Rayudu was set to play for the Texas Super Kings.
CPL and WCPL 2023 will have some funky rules
In an attempt to combat slow over-rates, organizers of CPL and WCPL have opted to incorporate new rules that are, well, quite funky in nature.
According to CPL,
To ensure that games are finished in good time, penalties for slow over rates will kick in from the 18th over, and will be as follows:
> If behind the required over rate at the start of the 18th over, one additional player must enter the fielding circle (for a total of 5)
> If still behind the rate at the start of the 19th over, two additional fielders must enter the fielding circle (for a total of 6)
> If still behind the rate at the start of the 20th over, teams will lose a player from the field (selected by the captain) and have six inside the fielding circle.
> There will also be an onus on batting teams to keep the game moving. After a first and final warning from the umpires, the batting team will be given a 5 penalty for each instance of time wasting.
Team India have a new head coach
Not Dravid, not Laxman, it will be Sitanshu Kotak who will be the head coach of the Indian side for the three-match T20I series against Ireland. Kotak, who played 130 first-class matches between 1992 and 2013, will travel with Sairaj Bahutule (bowling coach) and will oversee proceedings for the series against Ireland, for which Jasprit Bumrah has been named India captain.
Boult and Jamieson are back for the Kiwis
In what is exciting news for fans of New Zealand, Trent Boult and Kyle Jamieson are both in line to feature in the World Cup as the pair have been picked for the four-match ODI series against England in September. While Boult, who no longer is a centrally contracted New Zealand player, last played an ODI in September 2022, Jamieson has not played any professional cricket since February due to injury.
The Kiwis have also not given up hope on Kane Williamson, who they are hopeful can still play a part in the World Cup. Williamson ruptured his ACL in IPL 2023 and is currently in a race against time to be fit for the World Cup.
New Zealand ODI squad for England series
Tom Latham (capt), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Will Young
What’s happening in the Men’s and Women’s Hundred?
It was quite the happening week in The Hundred (both Men and Women) as there were multiple hat-tricks, a spell for the ages and a remarkable knock from the bat of a bowling all-rounder.
While Tymal Mills took a hat-trick against Welsh Fire, his hat-trick was made to look like a non-achievement by Shabnim Ismail. In a truly absurd final set, with Birmingham Phoenix needing 4 off 3 balls with 9 wickets in hand, Ismail went W W W to seal an improbable victory for Welsh Fire. It truly was a moment that proved to be an all-timer.
Spencer Johnson, meanwhile, in what was a spell for the ages, astonishingly finished with 3/1 off 20 balls. Even more mind-boggling when you factor in that he bowled more than half of those deliveries to Jos Buttler and Phil Salt.
As far as the Indian players are concerned, it’s been a massive struggle for both Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur. While Jemimah is averaging 12.80 with the bat after five knocks, Harmanpreet has managed just 36 runs in three innings.
Richa Ghosh has had an equally disappointing campaign so far, managing just 21 runs from two innings. The outlier, really, has been Smriti Mandhana, who is the second-highest run-getter in the competition with 185 runs in five matches.
What’s happening in the LPL?
There are just two more league games left in Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023 but remarkably, Dambulla Aura are the only side to have sealed qualification. B-Love Kandy, Galle Strikers, Jaffna Kings and Colombo Strikers are all still with a chance of making it to the playoffs.
As far as individual showings are concerned, it’s Babar Azam sitting atop the run-scorers list, with 255 runs in 7 outings. He and Tim Seifert are the only batters to have crossed the 200-run mark. However, interestingly, Wanindu Hasaranga is third on the run-scorers list, having smashed 193 runs at an astounding strike rate of 203.15. Hasaranga, in 95 balls, has smashed a stunning 24 fours.
Hasaranga has also arguably been the pick of the bowlers, having picked 10 wickets at an E.R of 5.49. He is one of four bowlers to have picked exactly 10 wickets, the others being Naseem Shah, Kasun Rajitha, and Dunith Wellalage. The highest wicket-taker of LPL 2023 so far is Matheesha Pathirana, who has picked 12 wickets at an E.R of 8.25.
The Maharaja T20 Trophy 2023 has kicked off
The 2023 Maharaja T20 League has kicked off, and what’s made the headlines so far is that Prasidh Krishna has made his comeback, playing his first professional match in a year. Prasidh bowled two overs and conceded 13 runs while picking the wicket of Luvnith Sisodia.
The wicket was certainly a ripper indeed
Certainly, a tournament to keep an eye on, with all marquee Karnataka players participating.
Other articles in focus
Shams Mulani sets sight on constantly climbing the cricketing ladder - Aakash
EY's involvement highlights benefits of BCCI strengthening its professional roster - Bastab
Away from the spotlight, Kuldeep is quietly making a strong case to be a T20I regular - Anirudh
Video in focus
