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Ashes | Australia Sports Minister raises 'serious questions' on Perth Test

Australia’s sports minister has raised “serious questions” about the fate of the scheduled Perth Test of the Ashes series. The concerns come amid the growing uncertainty over the strict COVID-19 regulations which has put a question mark on the fate of the entire tour, scheduled to start in the first week of December.

England players have expressed extreme reluctance to travel to Australia under strict Covid-19 restrictions and the minister also said that if the Test match could not be done without players going through a “prolonged” quarantine.

"We've had to do a lot of work to organise quarantine arrangements for cricketers coming into Australia. There's serious questions about whether there'll be a test match in Perth this summer. If there's no chance of coming here without prolonged quarantine, it just won’t occur,” Sports Minister, Richard Colbeck said to Perth radio station 6PR.

The Ashes series is scheduled to start on December 8 with a traditional Test at the Gabba followed by three Test matches in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. There were earlier reports about the Perth Test as well and it was widely speculated that the Ashes series will end with two Test matches in Sydney instead of the final Test at the newly-built Optus Stadium in Perth.

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Calcutta High Court fines Sourav Ganguly and West Bengal government

A Calcutta High Court division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arijit Banerjee has imposed a token cost of Rs 10,000 on BCCI president Sourav Ganguly along with a cost of Rs 50,000 each on the government and state-owned West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO). The token cost has been imposed by the bench for irregular allotment of land to Ganguly for setting up a school in New Town area. "Though the plot of land has been returned by the allottees, for the conduct of the state in generating litigation by arbitrary exercise of power that runs totally contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court, we impose a cost of Rs 50,000 each on the state and WBHIDCO," the court said. "Even they should have acted in accordance with law, especially considering the earlier judgment whereby arbitrary allotment of plot in their favour was set aside by the Supreme Court,” the court said on the token cost imposed on Sourav Ganguly and the Ganguly Education. While the allotment was made on September 27, 2013 to Ganguly and the society, the plot was surrendered to WBHIDCO in August 2020. A PIL was filed back in 2016 that challenged the irregular allotment of two acres of land and the court was hearing the same. "The country always stands by the sportspersons, especially those who represent the country at international events. It is also a fact that Sourav Ganguly has brought laurels to the country in cricket," the court said. "But when it comes to law, our constitutional scheme is that all are equal and no one can claim to be exclusive, above the law and seek benefits from the state, especially when a question arises about allotment of plots for commercial ventures," the court further said.

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PCB offers more share of central revenue, other financial assistance to PSL franchises

In order to aid in wake of Covid-19 induced losses and disruptions, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has various plans ready to boost incentives for the franchises of the Pakistan Super League starting next edition. As per an ESPNcricinfo report, the PCB is considering increasing the share of the central revenue they generate from the tournament form the next year along with fixing the US dollar rate on the franchises' annual fees. The board is also willing to offer financial assistance to the franchises to help them recover a bit of loss generated due to the Covid-19 disruptions of the last two editions. The PCB has sold the ownership rights of the six franchises till the 10th edition of the tournament slated to be played in the year 2025 but the report suggested that the new model of revenue sharing will be in place until the 20th edition to be played in the year 2035. The newly-elected chairman of the PCB, Ramiz Raja hoped that all franchisees will accept the new contractual framework so that both the PCB and they could focus on strengthening the brand value of the PSL. "Taking into the account legal and contractual framework, the PCB has offered a new financial model to the franchisees with the sole purpose of supporting and resolving their concerns. The PCB expects the franchisees to accept this offer so that we can switch our focus on strengthening the HBL PSL brand,” the PCB Chairman, Ramiz Raja said. The PSL was launched in the year 2017 when the tournament was played entirely in the UAE. The PCB since then has convinced international players about the security situations in Pakistan and has been able to host the event in Pakistan.

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IPL 2021 | Chris Morris urge Rajasthan Royals to pull up socks, seize big moments

One of the key players of the Rajasthan Royals setup in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, Chris Morris has conceded that his team have not been able to raise their game in “big moments” of a game and that have cost them many games this season. He lamented failures in both batting and bowling departments to capitalize on small opportunities behind them winning just four out of the 10 games played this season. He picked just one game against the Punjab Kings that they won in the last over as a perfect case scenario of them seizing a big moment but apart from that he accepted that the Royals have not been at their best. He urged his teammates to pull up their socks in order to fight long and hard battles if they have to go past the first round and into the playoffs of the tournament. "Look, at the moment we are not performing in the big moments of the game, when the big moments come either we are batting or bowling, I don't think we are winning them," Morris said at the post-match press conference. "There was a very big moment in our first game, which we won in the last over. But apart from that we haven't, by any means, played our best cricket. I thought our first half from the last game was really really good and we were outdone by Delhi bowling attack. We should pull up our socks a little-bit when big moments in the game (come).” Morris himself has been abysmal with the ball in the second phase of the tournament. In the two matches, he has played so far in the UAE, he has conceded as many as 47 runs in four overs against the Punjab Kings while his three-over bowling effort in the last game against the Sunrisers cost the Royals 27 runs.

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Sheffield Shield 2021-22 game between Tasmania and Queensland postponed due to Covid

It wasn’t expected that only four locally acquired cases of Covid-19 could postpone a game of First-Class cricket, but it has happened as Tasmania decided to fly its team back home just ahead of the start of the second Marsh Sheffield Shield 2021-22 game between it and Queensland scheduled to start at Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane at 10 am on Tuesday, September 28. Queensland Cricket announced the postponement on Twitter and it was backed up by the statements from Tasmania Cricket and Cricket Australia. However, most of the people associated with Australian cricket believed that the match could have gone on in prevailing conditionals as the only health measure undertaken by the Queensland government is a return to mandatory mask-wearing in indoor settings for those in the Brisbane and Moreton Bay Areas. "Cricket Tasmania has made the decision to return their Tasmanian Tigers Marsh Sheffield Shield and One-Day squads to Tasmania today. This is not a decision that was taken lightly,” Cricket Tasmania said in a press release. "While the situation in Queensland hasn't prevented the match from commencing today, a cautious and considered approach is being taken and it is our strong opinion that we are better having our players and staff home as we build a better understanding of the current landscape. "We look forward to playing the Queensland Bulls at the first opportunity. We thank Queensland Cricket and Cricket Australia for their understanding and flexibility with this match postponement, and we hope that this preventative measure will, with hindsight, not have been required,” the statement added. CA on its account confirmed that while the Shield match would be rescheduled, the information regarding the List-A game is still to be updated. "The (Shield) match will be rescheduled to a new date later in the season, following the Tasmanian team's decision to fly home today. Further updates regarding the scheduled Marsh One-Day Cup match between the two sides, due to be played this Sunday, October 3, will be provided in due course,” it said.