The Cricket.com Weekly - Edition 34

Plenty of action in the cricketing world this week, and the upcoming weeks promises to be even more exciting with the World Cup Qualifiers and The Ashes to come. 

A lot of twists and turns feature in this edition of the newsletter. Let's get right into it.

You already know what's happening in the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia, right? Despite a valiant fightback from the Indian team on Day Three, Australia are on course to win their maiden title. Unless rain plays a significant role in the next two (or potentially three) days, Pat Cummins' side will walk away with the coveted mace.

A perfect warm-up for the Ashes some might think. 

Anyway, moving on to other news...

Moeen Ali is back in whites

Following an unfortunate injury to Jack Leach, England have roped Moeen Ali into their Ashes squad. Moeen, who had retired from Tests, is set to feature for England in the format for the first time in nearly two years. 

West Indies whitewash UAE

In a major boost for West Indies ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, they have managed to make light work of UAE in Sharjah, winning the three-match ODI series 3-0. There were plenty of positives for both sides: for the UAE, they have unravelled a new talent in 19-year-old Ali Naseer, who smashed back-to-back fifties in his first two games, while Vriitya Aravind too was among the runs. For West Indies, though, the form of Brandon King and Kevin Sinclair were major plus points, along with Alick Athanaze, who smashed a 26-ball fifty on his ODI debut.

Sri Lanka edge past Afghanistan

Sri Lanka bounced back exceptionally well after losing the first ODI by six wickets against Afghanistan to win the series 2-1. That loss seemed like the wake-up call they needed as they went on to win the next two games by 132 runs and nine wickets, respectively.

Rashid rested

Afghanistan have decided to rest Rashid Khan for the one-off Test against Bangladesh, starting June 14. Rashid did not take part in the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka as well, given that he has played non-stop cricket for a few months - most recently turning up for Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. ACB, in a statement, said they do not want Rashid's back problems to resurface.

Milne gets NZC contract, Boult to feature in World Cup?

New Zealand pacer Adam Milne has earned his first contract in five years, while fellow pacer Trent Boult has declined the contract but is available to play for the BlackCaps after signing a "casual playing agreement" and remains in contention to play for the World Cup later this year, according to head coach Gary Stead.

Mathews dropped

One of Sri Lanka's finest, Angelo Mathews, has not been named in his side's 15-member squad for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, starting June 18. A veteran of 221 ODIs, Mathews is just one of 10 cricketers from his country to have scored over 5,000 runs in the format, with only Kumar Sangakkara (41.96) averaging more than Mathews (41.01). In SLC defence, Mathews has averaged just 7.5 in ODIs since 2020, and his frequent injuries as well do not help his case.

Asia Cup, World Cup to be streamed for free

Free IPL on Jio and now free World Cup on Disney+ Hotstar! What else could a fan ask for? Oh yes, for India to win a trophy. Oh well...

What's happening in the T20 Blast?

It's a tale of two teams that are rooted to the bottom of the table. Middlesex, despite their best efforts, are yet to be able to get off the mark in the tournament. THEY HAVE NOW LOST 8 IN A ROW! They are at the bottom of the South Group, as a result. In the North Group, it looked like Leicestershire would go the Middlesex way after losing their first five games. But they have managed to arrest their slide, winning two of their next three, but remain rooted to the bottom in that group.

Articles in focus

After a stellar IPL, Ajinkya Rahane is out to prove a point or two in the Test arena as his 89 helped reduce daylight between India and Australia at The Oval. Here's Anirudh Suresh talk about what a sight to behold Rahane is when he plays like he did in the first innings of the WTC final.

Was Michael Neser a tad unlucky to miss out? Here's Anirudh Suresh once again, throwing some light on a phenomenal season he has had with both bat and ball in the County Championship for Glamorgan. 

We've not run out of writers, have we? Because here's Anirudh Suresh once again, painting a picture of how Travis Head and Steven Smith went about their business during the 251-run stand in the first innings of the WTC final, closely resembling an Indian pair. You don't want to miss this.

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