Al Amerat stadium in Oman might become the new adopted home ground for Afghanistan

Steve Smith beats Kohli on ICC Test Rankings to number two, behind Kane Williamson on top

Australia’s star batsman Steve Smith has tipped Indian captain to become the second on the ICC Rankings for batsmen in Tests on the back of a superlative century in the Sydney Test against India. Smith was battling with bad form and had failed in the three innings of the first two Tests of the series, but his century helped Australia gain the ascendency in the game. Smith has gone up to 900 points while Kohli who has returned home for the birth of his first child is at 870 rating points. Smith’s fellow teammate Marnus Labuschagne consolidated his ranking at the number four position with his highest best career ration points at 866 on the back of scores of 91 and 73 in the two innings of the SCG Test. For India, Cheteshwar Pujara played a crucial role in helping India draw the SCG Test with the fifties in both the innings of the Test match, and his exploits with the bat helped him jump two ranks on the eighth position on the table. On the other hand, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson consolidated his domination on the ranking table with a jump to his and the career-best rating point for any Kiwi batsmen at 919. Williamson has been in sublime form in the home series against West Indies and Pakistan and plundered two double centuries against them over the course of two two-match Test series. Another Kiwi batsman who batted supremely against Pakistan in the last Test match of the series in Christchurch, Henry Nichols has broken into the top 10 batsmen of the Test format. He stands at the ninth position with 747 points to his name. For bowlers, Pat Cummins has consolidated his top position in the ICC player rankings for bowlers in Tests while Josh Hazlewood has jumped three places to fifth position on the table. Mitchell Starc looked off-colour and could get only one wicket across the two innings of the SCG Test and slid three places to number eight on the table. India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah too lost some of their gains and slid two and one places respectively in the latest changes announced by the ICC in the players’ rankings.

BBL10 | Match Preview: Top spot in contention as Thunder face Sixers in the Sydney Derby

As the action of the BBL returns to Manuka Oval in Canberra once again, two teams at the top of the table, separated by just two points between them will collide to prove their dominance over the other and to emerge as the team to beat in the 10th edition of the league. Although it is taking place in Canberra, the Sydney derby promises to be the match of the season as two very evenly matched sides will be going against each other. Battle of the batting heavyweights Both the Thunder as well as Sixers have gained victories in the tournament so far courtesy of their superb batting display. Although the last few matches of both the teams might give a different account. In the top 10 run scorer’s list, Sixers have two players in Josh Philippe and skipper Daniel Hughes while Thunder too have Alex Hales and skipper Callum Ferguson in the same list. Usman Khawaja is not far away from making the list either sitting at the 12th position. It is therefore among these batsmen where the real fight between the two teams would take place. The form of these players along with the likes of all-rounders Dan Christian and Ben Cutting will be one of the main factors deciding the outcome of the game Thunder spin duo vs Sixers pace quartet The thunder team has been blessed with two very different spinners who are similar in the way that they like to pick wickets. Among them, they have so far got 27 wickets and are part of the top ten wicket-takers in this season’s BBL. The 19-year-old Tanveer Sangha has impressed all with his leg-spin variations while Chris Green and his adding yorkers with the off-spin has been a cause of worry for many. Sangha would also be looking to regain the top spot on the wicket-takers list as he is just two wickets away from getting there. On the contrary, the Sixers attack looks a bit weak, especially after the departure of Jason Holder and due to the unavailability of the likes of Mitchell Starc and Sean Abbott due to national duties. However the availability of Jackson Bird, Jake Ball, and the spinners in Loyd Pope and Steve O’ Keefe along with all-rounders Dan Christian and Carlos Brathwaite has somewhat filled in that gap and as a result, the team seems to be doing just fine. However in comparison to the Thunder spin duo, the Sixers attack looks a bit weak and hence a lot will depend on the all-round abilities of Christian and Brathwaite to take the Sixers over the line, as was seen in the last game against the Heat. Christian single-handedly took Sixers to a thrilling victory with his astonishing batting display. Sixers vs Thunder: Match Details Match Number- 38 Date and Time- Jan 12, 2021, 1:45:00 PM IST, 07.15 PM Local, 08.30 AM GMT Venue- Manuka Oval, Canberra Broadcast and Live Stream- Sony Six, Sony LIV Pitch Report Manuka Oval earlier presented a wicket that had something for the bowlers if they hit the right lengths and batsmen couldn’t run away with the game. The scores were generally at par except for the last two games where the side's batting first went past 200. Soin this game, a true wicket with something for both the bowlers and the batters in it is expected. Weather and Bat Flip The weather is going to be cloudy throughout the game assisting a bit of swing and the spinners would get a bit of drift as the humidity would be on a bit of high in the second innings as well. In such a scenario, the team winning the bat flip would like to bat first and put a good total on the board to defend. Sixers Strongest XI Josh Philippe (wk), Jack Edwards, James Vince, Daniel Hughes (c), Jordan Silk, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Steve OKeefe, Jackson Bird, Jake Ball, Lloyd Pope Thunder Strongest XI Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson (c), Sam Billings (wk), Alex Ross, Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Nathan McAndrew, Chris Green, Adam Milne, Tanveer Sangha

Tim Paine apologises for poor behaviour on fifth day in Sydney Test

Australia skipper Tim Paine has apologised to the Indian team for crossing the line while having banter on the field and admitted that the pressure of purchasing a wicket got to him on the final day of the Sydney Test. However, Paine said that the night after the game when he got the time to reflect on the conduct of himself and his teammates, he realised the things really got over the line and that it shed a poor light on his leadership in wake of a tough Test match that was being played by two sides. "International cricket at the moment with the hub life and in the bubble you have a fair bit of time to yourself and last night for me was one of those moments to sit back and reflect on the Test match. I think it was important to address some things from yesterday. I want to apologise for the way I went about things yesterday. I'm someone who prides themselves on the way I lead this team and yesterday was a poor reflection of that,” Paine said in a virtual press conference he apparently called to address these issues of the fifth day of Sydney cricket. "My leadership wasn't good enough, I let the pressure of the game get to me, it affected my mood and then from there affected my performance. Yesterday when I came off the ground my reflection was purely on my wicketkeeping. Sitting back last night and reflecting on the whole game, I think I said to our players yesterday I've had a really poor game as a leader, not so much as a captain but certainly as a leader. The Australian bowling team was put under enormous pressure from the defiant duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari and it looked like the hosts were feeling rattled by the vigilance of the duo in the middle. They tried to break their concentration with a bit of banter but things looked like quickly slipping out of hands as Paine and Ashwin started responding to each other’s jibe in a far serious tone. Australian captain Tim Paine was heard saying that the home side was itching to go to the Gabba which has a reputation of offering more bounce and pace to pacers than other pitches that have been used in the series so far to which Ashwin did not hold back and invited Paine for the series in India and warned that his team will make sure it would turn it be the last series for the Australian skipper.

David Warner extends apology to team India, Mohammed Siraj for racial abuse

Australia opener David Warner has extended an apology to the Indian team and pacer Mohammed Siraj who was at the receiving end of racial abuse in the just-concluded Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He took to his Instagram account and reiterated that there is no place for racism in cricket and that he put onus on the Australian spectators who are coming to the grounds for watching the game. Warner was making his comeback in the Sydney Test after suffering a groin injury in the ODI series against India. He commended the Indian team for putting up a brave fight that defied all the firepower of the Australian bowling attack on the fifth day of the Test and denied the hosts a lead in the series leading up to the final Test at the Gabba in Brisbane. “It was great to be back out on the park again this week. Was not the ideal result for us but this is what Test cricket is all about. 5 days of tough cricket and well done to our guys for working as hard as we could, congrats to India in the way they fought hard for the draw, and that's why we love this game, it's not easy. Move onto Brisbane now for the decider and what a place the Gabba is to play at. I’d also like to say sorry to @mohammedsirajofficial and the Indian team as racism, and abuse is not in any way acceptable or tolerated anywhere at any time, and I would expect better from our home crowd. #cricket #test #fun pic cred: @ryanpierse,” warner wrote on his Instagram account. Both sides have been plagued with multiple injuries with the hosts camp fretting over the shoulder injury to Will Pucovsi along with the status of Warner, who played at the SCG despite not being 100 per cent fit.