Ajinkya Rahane's name goes up on the MCG Honours Board for second time

Australia recall Warner, Pucovski after injury for SCG Test; Burns gets axed

Facing stern criticism after a heavy loss in the Boxing Day Test against the touring Indian side, Australia have welcomed the return of David Warner and uncapped Will Pucovski into the updated squad for the third Test slated to take place in Sydney. Also, running horribly out of form opener Joe Burns has been dropped from the squad after three bad innings when he looked really out of sorts against the impressive Indian bowling attack. David Warner had suffered a groin injury in the second ODI against India and walked off the field and was ruled out the T20 series and two Test that followed while Pucovski was hit on the head in the warm-up game by India’s net bowler Karthik Tyagi and he was ruled out on concussion ground. National selector Trevor Hohns has said that Pucovski has recovered from the concussion and its subsequent symptoms. Pucovski is likely to debut at the SCG and will open the innings for Australia along with David Warner as the left-hander too, has been shaping up nicely after returning to the national team fold. There were few concerns on his mobility on the field but Australia desperately need him in pursuit of earning the Border Gavaskar Trophy back from India. "David has made strong progress in his recovery from injury and will be given every chance to play in Sydney with another seven days until the match. Sean has fully recovered from a calf strain and is also available for selection,” Hohns said on Warner’s availability for the third Test. "Will is in the final stages of the graduated return to play protocols and has been symptom-free for some time. He will be fit to play in Sydney subject to completing the return to play protocols and an independent assessment,” Hohns added on Pucovski’s concussion and his recovery from the symptoms after suffering his ninth concussion in life. The Border Gavaskar series is levelled at 1-1 and both sides will look to see the remaining part of the series a two-match series with India too, getting the good news of Rohit Sharma’s return. But, they would be fretting over the injury concerns of Umesh Yadav who walked off the field in the midway of an over in the second innings of Australia at the MCG on the third day.

Neil Wagner overcomes broken toes to lead Blackcaps' surge against Pakistan

Neil Wagner has been known for bowling tough spells where he put all of his efforts and body on the line, and he does the role of an enforcer for the New Zealand side which is full of bowlers capable of pitching it up and dismissing the batsman. Wagner has now enhanced that reputation of being the most hard-working bowler in the line up as he kept running in even after fracturing his two toes. Pakistan Captain Mohammad Rizwan and Fawad Alam had put on a big century stand, but the young pacer Kyle Jamieson got the better of Rizwan in the final session of the final day of the first Test. An opening was created and Wager was hungrier than ever to earn wickets for one of the toughest spells he was bowling with broken toes. He bounced out Fawad Alam, while the next man in Faheem Ashraf, who was brilliant with the bat in the first innings with a full ball. Wagner has been the master of troubling the best batsmen in the opposition line up and he has troubled batsmen such as Steve Smith and Virat Kohli whenever he has got the chance to bowl at them. But, for Wagner, it’s a role that matters and he takes pride in performances like that. "Test matches don't come easy. Playing for your country is never anything you can take for granted. I know how bloody hard I had to work to get to where I am now and I'm sure as hell not going to sit on the side and watch other people do it. I want to be part of it and playing my part. Unless they carry me off on a stretcher, I'm going to try and do everything I can, I guess,” Wagner said on bowling with broken toes.

I see my younger self in him: Younis Khan on Mohammad Rizwan

Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan believes that stand-in Test skipper Mohammed Rizwan is much like him, especially in the manner that he struggles at the beginning of the innings to pick the right length, and then when he gets in the groove, he is just unmatchable. "When I see him, I see him, like me, struggling first and then regathering myself to find my game. It isn't just about this Test match… even in the T20 series, when he was struggling in the first two games, it was like me struggling, and then I got to know my game and have to change a little accordingly,” Khan was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. Talking about the advice that he would like to offer to the young wicket-keeper batsman, Khan, 43, said, "My advice was very simple for him to play his natural game. You just go and spend some time at the pitch and things will suddenly start coming to you. He did in the third T20 and he has taken his form into the Test series.” “He knows his role, his strengths, and weaknesses. He is a captain as well and with the runs, he is leading from the front,” the coach added. While Rizwan was run out on 71, Faheem Ashraf the all-rounder went on to make 91 runs and added some precious runs with the tail to avoid follow on. Praising him, Younis said that Pakistan has been looking for someone like him for a long time. "We need players like Faheem Ashraf. It's not just me, but other coaches, especially Waqar Younis, who was very keen to give him more chances in Test cricket. He offers us something we have been missing since Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood (retired). Batting is all about patience and he is improving with every passing day, and he has all the potential in him to become the all-rounder we need,” said Younis. At Mount Maunganui, Pakistan, after having avoided the follow-on have been set a target of 373 to chase by the Kiwis. On the last day, the Pakistani pair of experienced batters in Azhar Ali and Fawad Alam would begin the chase from 71-3, with 302 more required and seven wickets in hand.

Can't let him dictate terms: Smith on tackling Ashwin in future Tests

Australia’s top batsman Steven Smith has been out of form in this entire series, unable to play any significant innings in both the Tests. According to the 31-year-old himself, he believes that he had let the Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dictate terms to him while batting. "I probably haven't played Ashwin as well as I would've liked. I probably would've liked to have put him under a bit more pressure. I've sort of let him dictate terms and that's something I've probably never let any spinner do in my career,” Smith told SEN radio. Saying that he has liked to be a 'bit more aggressive’ to the bowlers and had ‘made them change things’, Smith lamented on the fact that he hasn’t really been able to do that to Ashwin in this series. Smith also said that to tackle Ashwin and to get into a bit of form, his scheme is to spend more time in the middle. "At the moment I'm searching for a time in the middle; that's the most important thing for me. When I look at this year, 64 balls is the longest I've spent in the middle, during those one-day games,” he said after the Melbourne defeat of the Aussies. "For me, that's important. I find a lot of rhythm out in the middle. You can bat as much as you want in the nets but there's nothing that can replicate what a game can do so that for me is what I'm searching for at the moment," he added.