BBL 2021-22: Sydney Sixers register comfortable win against Brisbane Heat

Chappell-Hadlee series postponed indefinitely due to New Zealand quarantine issues

The Chappell-Hadlee ODI series and a T20 match between Australia and New Zealand have been postponed indefinitely due to New Zealand’s border controls and quarantine requirements. The two sides were slated to lock horns in three ODIs on January 30, February 2 and 5 respectively while the T20I was scheduled to take place on February 8. But the fixtures had now been postponed. "As we now know, the advent of Omicron prompted a change of heart from the NZ Government, resulting in a hard 10-day mandatory isolation period being imposed on all incoming travellers,” NZC chief executive David White said. “NZC and CA had explored a proposal to expand the tour and to push out the date on which the squad might return to New Zealand in the hope that might be more achievable for the Government.” "Unfortunately, we received advice this morning that they could not provide certainty over this,” he added. CA chief executive Nick Hockley expressed disappointment on the postponement of the matches but added that the two boards would look for the rescheduling. "We are extremely disappointed that we won’t be able to play the scheduled matches against New Zealand as planned, however we will continue to work with New Zealand Cricket to reschedule the series,” he said. “We thank NZC, who made every effort to make the series happen, however because they were unable to get certainty over return quarantine arrangements, it is simply just not possible at this time,” he added.

SL vs ZIM | 2nd ODI: Shanaka's hundred goes in vain as Zimbabwe make it 1-1

Zimbabwe turned the fortunes for themselves on Tuesday after they levelled the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. The visitors defeated the Lankan Lions by 22 runs in the second ODI to make it 1-1. Batting first, Zimbabwe were off to a decent start after openers Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Chakabva put up a stand of 59 runs for the first wicket. But the dominance with the bat began when captain Craig Ervine walked out in the middle to bat. The visiting team lost the second wicket in the form of Chakbva (47 off 50) when the team score read 90. Ervine was then joined by Sean Williams and the two batters made an important contribution with a 106-run partnership for the third wicket. While Williams missed out on a fifty by just two runs, Ervine went on to notch up 91 off 98 deliveries. Later, Raza also chipped in with a half-century as Zimbabwe posted 302/8 in 50 overs on the board. The home side had a dismal beginning to the chase as they lost early wickets and were reduced to 63/4 in the 15th over itself. Shanaka and Kusal Mendis tried to steady the ship and provide the resistance with a partnership of 118 runs but Mendis’ departure for 57 broke the shackles and Sri Lanka were once again pushed on the back foot. Chamika Karunaratne replaced Mendis in the middle and built a 66-run partnership for the sixth wicket with the skipper. Shanaka was eventually undone for 102 off 94 deliveries and his dismissal broke the shackles as Sri Lanka lost a few more wickets at regular intervals to get restricted to 280/9 in 50 overs. Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani had three wickets each to their names. Ervine who was adjudged man of the match later talked about the track. “With the seamers it (the pitch) was quite easy to bat. Vandersay got a bit more purchase. Certainly more in it for the spinners today. Our seamers did so well upfront getting those early wickets. We are very happy with how it (team combination) looks. We will back them to come and do the job in the third game,” he said after the match. The two teams will now lock horns in the decider on Friday (January 21, 2022).

SA vs IND | Kagiso Rabada to not be part of ODI series against India, no replacement added

Cricket South Africa (CSA) released Kagiso Rabada from the ODI squad of the national team which will face India in a three-match series beginning with the first game on Wednesday, January 19. South Africa haven’t announced any replacement for the premium fast bowler either meaning that they would have to play the three matches with the available resources. “Kagiso Rabada has been released from the team for the upcoming series against India due to high workloads over a sustained period of time. No replacement will be brought in for him,” India news wire agency ANI quoted CSA as saying. Rabada, 26 was the highest wicket-taker in the three-match Test series that concluded one week ago with South Africa winning the series 2-1 with a win in the last Test at Newlands. Thus the hero of that series was given the much-needed break to balance out his workload. Now that Rabada is gone and Anrich Nortje unavailable due to injury, Wayne Parnell, the veteran pace bowling all-rounder who is making a comeback in the Proteas squad after many years will have his work cut out in the fast bowling department. He would have Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius and one of the heroes from the Test series Marco Jansen to share the workload within the three-match series.

Test match always the priority, people blaming The Hundred laughable: Eoin Morgan on Ashes drubbing

England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan said that Test cricket has always been the priority for England and that people blaming the newest and most successful domestic format in the country- The Hundred are not making the correct analysis. "Test match cricket has always been the priority: it's the format for our elite players. Obviously, times at the moment have been tough down in Australia during the Ashes [but] they always are: we've lost the last two series 5-0 [sic] and it's no surprise that Australia are very, very good at home,” Morgan said on talkSPORT's Following On podcast. "Given the preparation, the guys have had where since they've arrived in Australia, until the first Test match, it has hammered it down with rain… it's laughable to point the finger at the Hundred. The Hundred is an unbelievable success. Our formats in county cricket and the Hundred, in the way they're structured, it's exactly the same as Australia's,” added the man who was given the Commander of the Order of the British Empire honours on the new year’s day of 2022 by the British Empire. Morgan, who is currently in Barbados to play the five-match T20I series against West Indies, said that people need to assess the loss purely on the merit of preparation and the game that the team has played instead of searching for the scapegoat in The Hundred. "People need something to blame so they'll point at probably the furthest point to reality because nobody wants to say: 'you know what, we haven't had the prep we would have liked, we probably haven't played as we'd have liked, and we've lost'. That happens in all formats, but I stress: Test match cricket has always been the priority,” he said. The Hundred’s first season was played in July 2021 and both the men’s and the women’s tournament was received well by the audiences with the women’s tournament seeing record attendance as the men’s and women’s games were played at the same venue on the same day. Morgan led London Spirit, one of the eight city-based sides in the tournament.