BAN vs SL: Shiran Fernando tests negative for Covid-19 ahead of 3rd ODI

Jofra Archer prepared to sit out of entire English summer, sets eyes on ICC World T20, Ashes series

Reiterating his commitment towards the England cricket team, pacer Jofra Archer has said that he has his eyes set on the ICC World T20 and The Ashes series scheduled towards the end of the year. However, he has ruled out any hurried return rushing to the cricket field and said that he has made peace with sitting out of the entire upcoming English summer where the hosts will play as many as five Tests against India. “One thing I am determined about post-elbow operation is not to rush my comeback because my primary focus is to be playing for England in the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes later this year,” Archer wrote in his column for Daily Mail. “Those are my targets. If I come back before then and manage to play in the home Test series against India — then fine, so be it. If I don’t, I am quite prepared to sit out the summer.” He has said that the chance of adding few more years in his career is significantly higher if he reduces some months out of it due to a lack of surety over his fitness level. Having played with a recurrent injury over the last last couple of years, Archer asserted that if he does not time his return well, it could well mean the end of his cricketing career. “I just want to get this injury sorted once and for all and that’s why I’m not looking that far ahead or at dates for a return to action — because if I don’t get this right, I won’t play any cricket. Period. I am not going to do myself any good by coming back before I’m fully fit, so I will take my time and do what is best for me and my life,” Archer added. Detailing his elbow injury that went under the knife last Friday, Archer said the option of going through surgery was the last one on the table and he decided to go ahead with it only after all the other methods such as resting and injections failed to produce desirable results. He had gone through another surgery on his hand after injuring while cleaning a fish tank at his home. The finger surgery ruled him out of the ODI series against India and the IPL 2021. He made a high-profile return in the county championship for Sussex in the game against Kent but could not walk away unscathed. He could bowl only a few overs in the second innings and walked off the field holding his right elbow. “Surgery was always the last option and we wanted to exercise every possible strategy before we went down that route. It was the last thing on the list. It is not always a fix and in four weeks we will find out how things have gone,” Archer said. “But after playing for Sussex against Kent earlier this month, it wasn’t a difficult decision to go down the surgery route because trying to manage the injury with rest and pain-killing injections clearly wasn’t working.” The elbow injury first surfaced on England’s tour of South Africa in late 2019. Since then, Archer has been in and out of the England squads. He played only two out of four Test matches against India before travelling back to the UK after the T20I series.

England batsmen don't read from the hand, sweep on line: Axar Patel

India’s latest spinning star Axar Patel, who wreaked havoc in the Test series against England has said that the English batsmen don’t read the deliveries from the hand of bowlers (spinners) and hence they are always unsure of the nature and type of delivery a bowler delivers. In an interview with The Indian Express, Axar Patel also opened up on his thought process in the series against England and said that bowling stump to stump line denies the English batsmen opportunities to sweep and reverse sweep as they can’t pick the variation from the hand. Bowling outside the line of stumps allows them a free hand to play their favourite swipe shot. “If they are in doubt whether it’s spinning or not, they just play sweeps and reverse-sweeps. If one bowls stump-to-stump, then it gets tough for them but if the ball is pitched outside off-stump or leg-stump they go for the sweep. They don’t read the ball from my hand, instead, they go by where it’s pitched,” Axar Patel said to The Indian Express. Axar missed the first Test of the series due to a knee injury but was included in the playing XI starting the second Test. He was instrumental in India’s fightback in the series after a big loss in the first Test. He picked up 27 wickets from three Tests at a staggering average of 10.59 runs per wicket.

UAE approves visa for TV crews, South Africa players for PSL

In a major relief to the Pakistan Cricket Board that is desperate to organise the remainder of the Pakistan Super League, the UAE authorities have issued visas for players and broadcasting crews. As per a PTI report, the UAE authorities have approved the visa for 22 Indian nationals working as members of the TV crew and 25 players and associates of South Africa. “All the players, officials and crew which check into their hotels by 2.00.P.M on 27th May would have been considered to have started their isolation period,” the Board said in a statement. Both South Africa and India are on the red-list countries due to a high number of Covid-19 cases and hence the members approved for visa will have to serve a mandatory seven day period of quarantine before starting to work for the PSL. The report further suggested that the PCB has organised a chartered flight to take as many as 233 players across six franchises of the PSL to complete the 2021 edition that was postponed midway through the tournament earlier in March. There are 20 matches remaining in the tournament which will be organised in Abu Dhabi. The revamped edition is likely to commence from June 6 and will end on June 20.

WTC Final | Conditions favourable for Blackcaps but Pat Cummins prefers to 'sit on the fence'

Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins has put his weight behind New Zealand as they take on India in the inaugural WTC final slated to gain on June 18 in Southampton. Cummins has said that the conditions in England might suit the Blackcaps. "It is going to be a good match. I think there has been a lot of rain in England from what I have seen in the news. I think, in terms of conditions, it is probably close to New Zealand conditions," Cummins said in a question-and-answer session with fans on Youtube. "If I say anything, the conditions should probably suit New Zealand more than India," he added. The pacer further suggested that the two teams haven’t played a Test for almost a couple of months now so it is going to be an exciting encounter. "We have seen both teams not having played Test matches for a couple of months. So, it is a one-off. Anything can happen. I will sit on the fence," said the 28-year-old. The Kane Williamson-led New Zealand side was the first team to make a place in the title clash while India first defeated Australia 2-1 in a four-match series away from home and then thrashed England 3-1 on the home soil. India made a fine comeback in the series against Australia after they were bundled out for 36 in the first clash. The side that was without the services of the regular skipper Kohli turned fortunes for themselves to win two of the remaining three games and defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. New Zealand will first play England in a two-match Test series ahead of the WTC final while the Virat Kohl-led side will be up against the English team in a five-match Test series after the conclusion of the WTC.