AUS vs IND: Vice-captain Cummins hopeful of Pucovski's recovery in time before 1st Test

Australian vice-captain Pat Cummins expressed hope that the young opener Will Pucovski will recover well in time from the concussion he suffered in the practice game for Australia A against India A on December 08. Pucovski had taken a blow to his head when he took his eyes off the ball from a bouncer off Kartik Yagi on the last day of the three-day game that ended in a draw.

“It's not great. But I suppose in cricket it's been spread out over a few years. The good thing is he's been through it and he knows how to come back. He's obviously got the best experts around him that are going to help him. I wish him all the best but it's obviously not ideal. You just want to go out and play sport, you don't want to think about these kinds of things or your health. Fingers crossed, he'll be OK,” Sydney Morning Herald quoted Cummins as saying.

Pucovski has a getting stuck in his head and has also taken bowls off-the-field in his home in Melbourne and also while playing Australian rules football in his teenage.

Pucovski has been in great form and had amassed 495 runs from two Sheffield Shield matches to knock the selection door for the Australian Test team and after the regular opener David Warner was injured, the way was clear for him to make his Test debut against India in Adelaide. Now, Warner has been ruled out of the first Test and Pucovski will most certainly make his debut if recover before the time of the first Test starting December 17.

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NZ vs WI: BJ Watling fit for 2nd Test, set for comeback into team

New Zealand wicketkeeper BJ Watling is set to return to the Test team for the second match of the series scheduled to start on 11 December at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Watling missed the first Test in Hamilton due to hamstring strain and at his place, Will Young was handed a debut. With his return, Tom Blundell will be relieved of the gloveman duty and will be slotted back to the top of the order and Young will make way for Watling in the XI. On the other hand, the visitors who are already 0-1 down in the two-match series have faced setbacks as the leader of the bowling attack, Kemar Roach and the first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich have return home due to personal reasons and will not be available for the last match of the tour. The hosts will be looking to sweep the series while the visitors will have the opportunity to square off the series and salvage some pride after being at receiving end of a humiliating loss in the first Test.

Ben Stokes' father, Ged, passes away at 65

Father of Ben Stokes, Ged Stokes has died after a long battle with brain cancer, aged 65. Ged was an international player for the New Zealand rugby league and the news of his death was made public by Stokes' former rugby league club, Workington Town, for whom he played one season in 1982-83. Later on, Ged returned to coach in 2003 when the family along with a 12-year-old Ben Stokes emigrated from New Zealand. "It is with great sadness that we learn our former player and coach Ged Stokes has passed away. Ged is written into the rich fabric of Town history and will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with Deb, Ben and James. Ged still has many, many friends here in West Cumbria and we send our thoughts to them too," the Workington Town club wrote on Twitter. It was his father's illness only that forced Ben Stokes to be absent from the early part of the Indian Premier League held earlier this year. He arrived very late in the tournament for the Rajasthan Royals. He had come to the UAE straight from New Zealand and had also posted a picture of him with his ad before leaving for the IPL. Ged’s cancer was reported almost 12 months back when Ben Stokes was with England’s squad on the tour of South Africa last year and the ECB had granted him indefinite leave to spend time with family in August this year and the all-rounder went to New Zealand.

India in Australia: Natarajan the highlight as India trounce familiar foes

India might not have attained what all they strived to achieve from the three T20I rubbers but Thangarasu Natarajan's guile would do nicely for now.

David Warner ruled out of first Test against India with groin injury

In a big blow to the Australian team, their opening batsman David Warner has been ruled out of the first Test against India in the upcoming four-match series due to injury. The opening game of the series would be a day-night affair and would begin on December 17 at the Adelaide Oval. Warner had suffered a groin strain while fielding in the second ODI against India, played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, more than a week ago. This injury ruled the left-handed batsman out of the final ODI of that three-match series as well as forced him to sit out of the T20I series against the same team that concluded on Tuesday. While Australian camp was hopeful of Warner's recovery, their coach Justin Langer had already stated that he was mentally prepared for the ace batsman's absence in the first Test. The absence of Warner, along with Steve Smith, was seen as the biggest reason for Australia's first-ever home series loss against India in the 2018-19 season. With both these batsmen back in their squad, the Aussies were hoping to get some revenge for that loss. But now, with Warner out again, it could be a case of deja vu for the home side. Warner's absence has left the Australian team in a bit of a crisis regarding their opening combination. There are two other openers in the squad. One of them, young Will Pucovski suffered a heavy blow to the head while batting against India during a practice match on Tuesday. He had to leave the field due to concusssion and has been declared unavailable for the next practice match. His availability for the first Test is also under severe doubt. That leaves only Joe Burns available for the first Test, from among the three openers. But Burns, who has had previous stints in the Test team has been struggling badly in first-class cricket this season. Cricket Australia are bound to name a replacement for Warner and, if Pucovski doesn't recovery, maybe one for him also. The man likely to get named is Marcus Harris. He played in the 2018-19 series against India but lost his place thereafter due to lack of runs. Commenting on his injury, Warner said, "I feel I have made great progress in a short amount of time and it's best for me to stay here in Sydney to continue working on getting back to full fitness. The injury feels a lot better, but I need to be able to satisfy in my own mind and to my team-mates that it is 100 per cent ready for Test match conditions. "That includes running between the wickets and being agile in the field. Right now, I feel I am short of being able to play at peak fitness and another 10 days will make a difference." Coach Langer hopes that the man who scored a ton of runs in Australia's last home season, including a triple hundred, would be back for the second Test - the Boxing Day game in Melbourne. "If there is one guy you know will go well above and beyond that's Dave. He has done an incredible job to get to where he is today and we hope to have a fully fit David Warner at his absolute best in Melbourne."