AUS A vs IND A: Will Pucovski gets hit on head by Kartik Tyagi as match ends in draw

SA vs ENG: Concerns over bio bubble raised anxiety among players, says Ashley Giles

Anxieties and insecurity about the level of safety under the bio bubble among players led to the abandonment of the ODI series between South Africa and England, the Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, Ashley Giles has said. He also said that the facilities and bio-secure environment provided to them in South Africa were not up to the standards of their expectations as there were as many as two ‘unconfirmed’ cases of COVID-19 were reported from the tourists’ camp. The talks about the integrity of the bubble started going rounds after five members within the bubble were reported to be Covid positive. At first, a member in the South African camp reported to have tested positive, which led to the postponement of the first ODI at Newlands, followed by the emergence of two positive cases among hotel staff in subsequent rounds of testing which forced both the board to delay the second ODI as well. Another round of testing was prescribed and after the reports of two England squad members found to be positive, the second match too was postponed. The ECB and the team management on the tour had sought ‘independent ratification’ of the unconfirmed cases in their camp before making up their mind on the modalities of the remaining two fixtures out of a three-match series. The tourists still believe that the result of ratification will give a false positive result of the cases reported in their camp, but the growing anxiety among the squad members would not have left them in a proper mental state to play two back-to-back matches on December 08 and 09, before taking the flight home on December 10 and hence the tour was adjourned. "It came down to well-being. I don't think it's the last three weeks, it could be the last eight or nine months. These guys have been living in bubbles for long periods and their mental health is the absolute priority for us. Clearly, this was a situation for all of us in the bubble. Not just players but management and the South African players and management. We felt trying to squeeze two games into two days here when this had been going on in the background was going to be particularly difficult and we're better off calling it and looking to re-arrange these fixtures at a better time," Giles said on the level of problems the squad was facing before the decision to call off the series was taken. The abandoned series against England will hurt the image of Cricket South Africa which is already battling many issues ranging from systemic racism and administrative failure and interventions from the federal government.

NZ vs WI: Roach, Dowrich return home; unavailable for 2nd Test

Already down by 0-1 in the two-match Test series against the hosts New Zealand, the touring West Indies have been served another series of blows with the ace paceman Kemar Roach and wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich being ruled out of the last Test of the series. Both the players will return to their homes in the Caribbean islands to attend their family emergencies. Kemar Roach has decided to go back home after the death of his father while Dowrich has called off his tour owing to personal reasons, as per the release by Cricket West Indies. The 22-year-old Joshua DaSilva will in all likelihood replace Dowrich in Wellington as a like for like replacement, being a wicketkeeper-batsman while left-arm fast bowler Preston McSweenwill is in the squad as a cover for Roach. Dowrich couldn’t contribute with the bat in the last Test after suffering an injury in his hand that ruled him out of batting from both innings while Roach was impressive in the only innings that the hosts batted and returned with a figure of 3-114. The double-centurion captain Kane Williamson spoke highly of Roach for running in all day when things were not happening for the visitors. He also took a wicket off a no-ball and Williamson sympathized with him for the frustration he had to incur. The troubles for the Windies do not end here as the left-handed batsman Shimron Hetmyer is yet to recover from the concussion he suffered in the second T20 of the series that preceded the ongoing Test series. West Indies’ squad for the second Test Jason Holder (c), Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua DaSilva(wk), Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul.

Wade ignites debate on Steve Smith's captaincy; coach Langer says 'processes' to follow

Injury to Australia’s full-time captain in limited-overs formats, Aaron Finch has reignited the debate surrounding the captaincy of the national team. The comments made by the stand-in skipper Matthew Wade, who led the team against India in the second T20i, on former captain Steve Smith’s credentials to regain the captaincy has fuelled the fire. After the last match, Wade had said that Smith has “plenty of say” in the on-field tactics and drive players around on the field and he would do a “great job” if reinstated again to the leadership position. Notably, Steve Smith was stripped of the captaincy after the sandpaper saga in the Newlands Test against South Africa in 2018. “We have so many good leaders, I have been given the captaincy but we have got Smith, we have got Moises, who captains his BBL team. We have guys with a lot of experience, there is a lot of discussion among the seniors but we are all working together. It is not me driving the field, obviously, Finchy is our captain and we all work together when he plays well. So Smith has plenty of say, he has been a great captain for a long time and he will do a great job if he gets an opportunity,” Wade said on no dearth of leadership quality in the Australian team. However, coach Justin Langer is still not buying into the arguments of handing the captaincy to Smith and said that the former captain will have to go through some processes which will be carried out before he could lead the team again on the international stage. Langer also lauded Smith for leading the side and showing leadership abilities while not having any title at the moment. “Matty Wade was the vice-captain, Steve Smith has done a brilliant job in the past, there is a process probably to go through till he becomes captain again. We’ll go through that. He is doing all the right things to show leadership without a title at the moment,” Langer said to Fox Sports. Steve Smith’s presence in the team and his outstanding batting has rubbed onto his teammates in the past and the Ashes series held in England last year was proof of that when he almost single-handedly won Australian the marquee title. But, as Langer suggested, there is a lot to happen before Smith can be restored to the captaincy of the national team, as both Australia and the board managing the game in the county-- Cricket Australia were left badly embarrassed to explain the details of the sandpaper scandal in Newlands two years back.

India in Australia: Natarajan sparkles the light at the end of India's tunnel

With both vigour and wits in his arsenal, Thangarasu Natarajan looks the left-armed racehorse manor born.