Alastair Cook comes hard at English batsmen, says they can't handle mental pressure

PSL 2021 Preview: Struggling Quetta Gladiators face menacing Lahore Qalandars

Lahore Qalandars might have suffered a defeat against Islamabad United in their last fixture but the side has been looking pretty dominant in the competition. The loss against Islamabad pushed them down to the second spot in the points table. Though both sides have equal wins and points, Lahore’s 28-run defeat against United cost them some crucial couple of points which could have kept them at the helm of the table. The Qalandars are facing an issue with their batting. There have been instances where either top-order hasn’t scored runs for them or the middle-order has failed to fire. This is one aspect that the Lahore team needs to sort before it gets too late. To add to the misery was the margin with which they lost the match as that has affected their net run-rate as well. Nevertheless, Lahore will now be up against bottom-placed Quetta Gladiators who have continued their dismal run in the tournament. In seven matches that Quetta have featured, they have lost six of them. But as they say, if you have nothing to lose, you have a lot to gain. With just one win in seven matches, the Gladiators would be seeking to produce some results that brings positivity in the dugout. Moreover, they are plagued with injuries with two key members, Andre Russell and Faf du Plessis getting injured. Russell suffered a blow on his helmet during the match against Islamabad United from Muhammad Musa and was later stretchered off to a hospital following the match. The West Indies all-rounder was substituted by Naseem Shah under the ‘concussion substitute rule’. Later South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis was also injured in the team’s fixture against Peshawar Zalmi while fielding. The right-hander collided with Pakistan’s Mohammad Hasnain while diving to stop a boundary. Saim Ayub came as the concussion substitute for du Plessis. Quetta have a lot of questions to answer and probably have more hurdles to face. Match Details Match – Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars – 23rd match Venue – Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Time – 06:30 PM IST, 01:00 PM GMT Pitch Report The tracks in Abu Dhabi have something on offer to the spinners but the batsmen too have some advantage once they get their eye in. It’s all about spending fair bit of amount in the middle and then go all guns blazing. However, as the game progresses, the temperature would cool down a bit and the dew factor can also come into play. So, the captain who wins the toss should elect to bowl first. Team News Lahore Qalandars Lahore Qalandars are looking pretty stable at the moment despite their defeat against Islamabad United. However, they need to rejig the plans as a batting unit because just one lapse has dropped them down to the second position in the points table. The side isn’t short of star performers who can take away the match single handedly but it is all about the balancing act. With the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Rashid Khan and James Faulkner, Lahore are a pretty sorted side for now. One major aspect of their successful run so far is the number of all-rounders they have in the side. Quetta Gladiators The Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side were anyhow facing troubles on the field with their performance in the tournament and the side then suffered two blows in two matches. First the West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was hit by a short ball from Musa during the match against Islamabad and was taken to hospital and then the former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis during the clash against Peshawar Zalmi while fielding. Faf later tweeted that he was recovering and would be soon back on the field. “Thank you everyone for all the messages of support. I’m back at the hotel recovering. Have concussion with some memory loss but I will be fine. Hopefully be back on the field soon. Much love,” du Plessis tweeted. With two of the most experienced customers getting injured, Sarfaraz has some workload on himself to make a balanced playing XI. Probable playing XI Lahore Qalandars Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar (c), Zeeshan Ashraf, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Tim David, James Faulkner, Rashid Khan, Ahmed Daniyal, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf Quetta Gladiators Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Jake Weatherald, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Azam Khan, Cameron Delport, Mohammad Nawaz, Zahir Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Khurram Shahzad, Zahid Mahmood Fantasy XI Azam Khan, Ben Dunk, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Usman Khan, Tim David, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, James Faulkner (VC), Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Rauf, Rashid-Khan(C)

Tim Paine backs Marnus Labuschagne to be future Australian captain

Aussie Test captain Tim Paine feels that Marnus Labuschagne has exceptional natural leadership qualities and tipped him to be a future captain for the national team. Ever since making his debut against Pakistan in 2018, Labuschagne has taken giant strides in the international level and is currently the 3rd ranked Test batsman. “I think he’d be a good (leader),” Paine told reporters from Brisbane. Marnus is a great thinker of the game. He’s a good team man, he’s got so much enthusiasm for his team and the game,” he added. Labuschagne has been an animated character on the field and his childlike enthusiasm has been there for everyone to see. Paine feels that the stylish right-handed batsman will play a bigger role for the national team in the coming future. “In terms of our cricket team improving and Marnus evolving, I think in the next couple of years we’ll definitely see him take the step up,” he added. “He’s got some real natural leadership ability and if that’s harnessed and helped, I think he’ll be a great captain,” Paine said. After taking over as the Test skipper of the Australian team following the sandpaper gate in 2018, Paine has led the side well. Despite the return of Steve Smith and David Warner, he has been kept as the skipper despite his indifferent form with the bat and glove. Following Australia’s defeat against India at home, there were reports that some of the Australian players were not happy with Langer’s coaching style. However, Paine backed his coaching style and said that the former opener did a good job in difficult times. “We had a team review at the end of the Indian series which is pretty common practice in professional sports. He (Langer) had been doing a good job at a difficult time," Paine said.

Shubman Gill or Mayank Agarwal? VVS Laxman picks Rohit Sharma's partner for WTC final

Since he made his Test debut on the tour of Australia in 2018, Mayank Agarwal was India’s first-choice opener in Tests until the middle of the last series against Australia, where his vulnerabilities were exposed regularly by Australian pacers. When Rohit Sharma recovered from injury, Indian team management valued the then current form and dropped him from the side and persisted with the newcomer Shubman Gill, who had batted with confidence against the trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. Gill jumped in the pecking order with every game in the series and more or less established his claim for an opener’s slot in the side after an explosive 91 at the Gabba in the series decider. However, just as Agarwal’s journey stuttered after reaching the point of becoming an established opener, Gill too suffered a similar fate in the home series against England. He struggled against the reverse swing of James Anderson and left ar spin of Jack Leach to leave India and himself vulnerable. His failings in the Test series against England has reignited the debate on who among him and Agarwal should be Rohit Sharma’s partner at the top of the order against New Zealand in the World Test Championship final. Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman too backed Shubman Gill to open with Rohit Sharma in the WTC final to retain continuity in the team selection for an all-important clash. On Star Sports’ Cricket Connected show, Laxman said that Gill should be persisted with for the ‘continuity’ in team selection and the ‘character’ he had shown in the Gabba Test against Australia to set up a series win for Australia. However, he said that the team can’t overlook the contribution of Mayank Agarwal, who performed at his best in the home series against South Africa to keep the side ahead in the Test Championship points table.

WTC Final | Ageas Bowl curator prepares pitch with pace and bounce, but weather can play spoilsport

Just as the possible team combination of both India and New Zealand for the World Test Championship final, the expected weather and pitch conditions have gathered enough attraction. Both sides have enormous depth in their squad and there seems to be more than enough options available to filed suitable playing XI for whatever conditions will be on offer. Virat Kohli-led India have not been a pace-reluctant side in the recent past and can unleash an all-pace attack if it will be an absolute green top and the script is similar for the Kane Williamson-led New Zealand, who have been spoilt for choices in terms of picking their best pacers in the playing XI. However, if the pitch will be flat in nature, India would be compelled to play at least one of Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja in the all-important clash and for New Zealand, Ajaz Patel would get the nod ahead of Mitchell Santner if the conditions will not demand a pace-only bowling lineup. The curator of the Ageas Bowl, Simon Lee, has said that the pitch will have pace and carry in it that will allow a fair contest between bat and ball. He said that being a cricket fan he would like to have an enthralling contest that will force cricket lovers to avoid missing even a single ball. However, he said that the pitch will not have excess seam movement in it to make the contest ‘one-sided’ in the favour of bowlers. "For me personally I just want to get something out that has some pace, bounce and carry in the pitch. It can be a hard thing to do in England as the weather doesn't help us most of the time, but the forecast in the build-up is good with a lot of sun, so we are hopeful that we'll get some pace and a hard pitch without over-rolling it and killing it, Lee told ESPNcricinfo. "Pace just makes red-ball cricket exciting, I'm a cricket fan and I want to produce a pitch where the cricket lovers have to watch every ball in case they miss something, be that some class batting or an amazing spell of bowling. A maiden over can be quite exciting if it's a battle of skill between both bowler and batter. So, yeah, if we can get some pace and bounce in the pitch, but not too one-sided towards seam movement, we'll be happy." The weather forecast for Southampton is however not looking bright and shining as there is more than 30 per cent chance of rain on the first day of the WTC final followed by 20 per cent across the next two days. The forecast for the fourth and fifth looks better on the BBC Weather channel. The ICC has approved a reserve day for the final and has also ruled that both India and New Zealand will share trophy in case of the match ending in a draw.