Afghanistan Cricket Board reappoints Azizullah Fazli as new Chairman

Sri Lanka's Kusal Perera tests Covid-19 positive

Sri Lanka captain Kusal Perera has tested positive for Covid-19. The player who has been out of action ever since the team’s England tour due to an injury that he picked on the tour, has now tested positive for the Coronavirus confirmed Sri Lanka Cricket in a tweet. The cricketing body further updated that the wicket-keeper batter is undergoing the treatment and laid out protocols. “Wicket Keeper–Batsman Kusal Janith Perera has tested positive for Covid 19. He was found to be positive during a PCR test which was carried out on the players yesterday (15th August). Following the detection, Perera is undergoing due medical protocols pertaining to Covid 19,” read the SLC tweet. All the top Sri Lanka cricketers apart from the three (Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka) suffering one year ban after their breach of protocol and bio-bubble during the England tour, are taking part in the SLC Invitational T20 tournament which is being played between four SLC teams. It was strange to see Perera not being part of it and thus, this confirmation reveals the reason for that absence. Perera also missed the ODI and T20I series against India at home and Dasun Shanaka captained Sri Lanka in his absence.

Kevin Pietersen says Rashid Khan is worried about his family with Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

Afghanistan cricketing superstar Rashid khan is currently playing for Trent Rockets in the inaugural edition of The Hundred, but his mind is back home wondering about the well being of his family in Kabul after the Taliban took over the capital city on Sunday, August 15. Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen, while commentating during Trent Rockets’ game in The Hundred raised the topic of the Afghanistan situation and revealed how in a conversation with Rashid Khan, he came to know how worried the all-rounder was about the situation. "There's a lot of things that are happening at home. We had a long chat here on the boundary talking about it and he's worried: he can't get his family out of Afghanistan and there's a lot of things happening for him," Pietersen said during the Live commentary. Another popular Afghan cricketer Mohammad Nabi, playing for London Spirit in The Hundred, already returned back home last week, leaving the competition midway. As far as the match at Trent Bridge is concerned, Rashid picked up three wickets in his 20 deliveries and gave away only 16 runs against Manchester Originals, in what was a must-win game for his side. Courtesy of his brilliant bowling and great batting by Dawid Malan, the Rockets have now secured a top-three spot in the Points Table having played all their games and are comfortably in the Playoffs.

WI vs PAK | Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales hold nerves to see Windies to thrilling one-wicket win

It’s a rare occasion in Test cricket that aside wins a match by one wicket. But whatever little amount of people that were available in the limited seating capacity of the Sabina Park at Kingston, Jamaica, they will surely remember the one-wicket win of the West Indies over Pakistan for the rest of their lives. Fast bowler Kemar Roach was the most unlikely hero with the bat for the home team, scoring an unbeaten 30 off 52 balls to guide them home in a chase of 168 in the fourth innings. He stitched together an unbeaten 17 run partnership with number 10 Jayden Seales to reach the total and maintain West Indies’ record of successful chases of targets below 200. Chasing 168, after getting Pakistan bundled out for 203 in their second essay thanks to Seales’ historic five-wicket haul, where he became the youngest West Indian t achieve the feat at 19 years of age, Windies didn’t really have a good start. Shaheen Afridi was spitting fire on that Jamiac wicket and removed the top three batters for just 16 runs on the board. Jermaine Blackwood and Roston chase then steadied the ship and got a partnership going to fuel the hopes of Men in Maroon of chasing the total down. The duo added 68 for the fourth wicket before Chase was removed by Faheem Ashraf. Kyle Mayers couldn’t do much either and was forced to register a pair after being caught at the slips for nought of another Ashraf delivery. Just as things started to look bright again with a 19 run stand between Blackwood and Jason Holder with the former picking up his 15th Test fifty, Hasan Ali struck and removed him. Soon, Holder was removed as well and Windies were staring at defeat with 54 runs still to get and new batters in Joshua Da Silva and Roch at the crease. The pair added 28 for the eighth wicket and gave hope to the Windies team. However, Da Silva was removed by Shaheen Afridi and then Mohammad Rizwan took an outstanding catch to send Jomel Warrican back to the pavilion with Windies still requiring 17 and that’s when Seales joined Roach and in legendary commentator, Ian Bishop’s words, “The teacher and his student led the Windies to a famous win”. This is the third occasion in 84 Tests in the last 12 years where a team has won a Test by one wicket and although it can’t be compared with the heroics of Ben Stokes to win the Headingley Test of the Ashes of 2019, this one is surely up there somewhere when it comes to thrilling test wins. Seales was awarded Man of the Match for his eight wickets and crucial stand with Roach at the end. The two teams will now once again be up against each other from August 20 for the second and final Test of the series at the same venue.

The Hundred | Southern Brave vs Oval Invincibles: When & where to watch Live, Probable XI, Fantasy XI

The third last league game of the season and two of the best teams of the league in Southern Brave and Oval Invincibles would be up against each other to try and secure a birth for themselves in the final three in the points table to be able to make it to the Playoffs of the inaugural edition of The Hundred. The equation is very simple for Oval Invincibles who would be playing their last game of the season and have nine points in their kitty. For them to secure a berth in the finals, they just need a plain and simple win. If they fail to get that, chances are they would not be able to make the final as Birmingham Phoenix are already on 10 and points and their loss against Brave would also take Brave to 10 points and if Rockets win their game against Manchester Originals, they would be on 10 pints as well. So if Oval doesn’t want to remain dependent on someone else’s results, it must win. Similar is the case with the Brave who have won their previous four out of the five games with one of them getting washed out. If James Vince’ men secure a win in this game, they would ensure that Oval are almost out of the race of the Playoffs and they are in. How things unfold, only time will tell. Southern Brave vs Oval Invincibles: Match Details Match Number- 30 Date and Time: August 16, 2021, 11:00 pm IST, 06:30 pm Local, 05:30pm GMT Venue: The Rose Bowl Southampton Live Stream: FanCode Pitch Report The pitch at Southampton has been a decent one. Not as high scoring as Birmingham, but not dead either. It has something for the bowlers in terms of bounce and a slight bit of turn as well. But that does not mean that batters can’t score runs if they apply themselves well. Weather Forecast According to BCC Weather, there are only 5-6% chances of precipitation, hence a good full game, which would also be the best possible scenario for both the teams as no one would like to get through with a washout. But the teams would be looking to secure their place in the final three with an outright victory. Southern Brave Probable XI Quinton de Kock (wk), Paul Stirling, James Vince (c), Alex Davies, Colin de Grandhomme, Ross Whiteley, Chris Jordan, George Garton, Danny Briggs, Tymal Mills, Jake Lintott Oval Invincibles Probable XI Jason Roy, Will Jacks, Sunil Narine, Colin Ingram, Sam Billings (c & wk), Alex Blake, Laurie Evans, Tom Curran, Tabraiz Shamsi, Reece Topley, Saqib Mahmood Fantasy XI Quinton de Kock (wk), Jason Roy, James Vince, Sam Billings, Laurie Evans, Chris Jordan, Sunil Narine, Tom Curran, Danny Briggs, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tymal Mills, Captain Quinton de Kock Vice-Captain Tabraiz Shamsi