Chris Gayle's experience is extremely valuable to rebuilding of WI cricket: CWI Chief

Hardik Pandya could have been a good investment in captaincy: Childhood coach

The Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian team is scheduled to play a three-match ODI series and as many T20Is beginning on July 18. The selectors picked up as many six uncapped players for the tour while handing over the captain’s baton to Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar was named his deputy. All-rounder Hardik Pandya’s coach Jitendra Singh has expressed disappointment on his captaincy snub. Jitender while speaking to Cricket Next further added that the right-hander could have been a good option. “He can contribute. He has got the technique and temperament and maturity and if he gets an opportunity he can prove himself. The conditions don’t matter for him as his technique is sound and simple," Jitendra said. “Definitely, I was (on being asked if he was disappointed to see Hardik being snubbed for the role). He could have been a great option as he can play for five to seven years. He has got new thoughts and has a lot of energy. He could have been a good investment (in captaincy) especially for the white ball format,” he added. The ODI series will begin on July 18 while the T20Is are scheduled to commence on July 25. All the matches will be played at Colombo’s R.Premadasa Stadium.

It shows we're making strides: Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie on historic win over SA

Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie has hailed his team’s efforts after the win against South Africa in the second ODI in Dublin on Tuesday. Balbirnie who notched up a ton said that the Ireland side has defeated big guns in the past but he would want them to do this consistently. "We've beaten big teams before but we haven't beaten them consistently. We don't have the players these teams have, we don't have the infrastructure or the exposure. A lot of the South African team have played in the IPL. We don't get that," ESPNcricinfo quoted Balbirnie as saying. "So what we do, when we do play these big teams, we get the most of out of these games and we try to put in our best performance. We are thrilled and beating them once off is great but winning a series at the end of the week will be so important, because it shows we're making strides," he added. Balbirnie’s ton helped the hosts post 290/5 in 50 overs on the board and later bundled out the Proteas for 247 to win the match by 43 runs, courtesy some fine piece of bowling from the home side. Apart from the skipper, Harry Tector scored a half-century while Dockrell’s late surge played a vital role in helping Ireland to a good total. The first match between the two sides was called-off due to rain and Ireland now lead the three-match series 1-0 with the final encounter to take place on Friday at the same venue.

BBL11 to begin on December 5; Sydney Sixers play Melbourne Stars in opener

The schedule for the Big Bash league has been announced with the tournament slated to take place between December 5, 2021 to January 28, 2022. Sydney Sixers will lock horns with Melbourne Stars in the opener in Sydney. The venues for the knockout matches and the final are yet to be decided.

ENG vs PAK | 3rd ODI: Incompetent Pakistan get whitewashed by England's makeshift squad

England completed a clean sweep win against Pakistan in the three-match ODI series at Edgbaston on Tuesday after beating the visitors by 3 wickets. Chasing a stiff target of 332, the home side went over the line in 48 overs to hand Pakistan side and their fans another disappointment. The Ben Stokes-led side didn’t have a great start to the chase and lost Dawid Malan early in the innings for a duck. But Philip Salt who took on the Pakistan bowling attack and Zak Crawley who came into bat at number three resisted well and scored 34 runs for the second wicket before Salt departed for 22-ball 37. Crawley was then joined by James Vince who certainly changed the course of the game. The two batsmen stitched a stand of 51 runs for the third wicket. Crawley was eventually cleaned up by Haris Rauf for 39 off 34 but Vince showed his class and continued his form. Captain Stokes joined him in the middle at number five and put up a partnership of 47 runs before departing for a 28-ball 32 after Mohammad Rizwan held on to a brilliant catch behind the stumps off Shadab Khan. Stokes played some aggressive strokes and was also dropped twice, first at deep fine leg and then at long on but was finally sent packing, courtesy some brilliant glove work from Rizwan. The skipper’s scalp was followed by John Simpson’s dismissal in quick succession leaving England in a spot of bother at 165/5. With half of the team back in the hut, Vince and Lewis Gregory took on the onus on themselves and steadied the ship for the team. The two batsmen put 129 runs for the sixth wicket as Vince went on to score his maiden ODI hundred while Gregory struck 77 off 69 that included three maximums. Vince eventually departed for 102 and Gregory followed him soon. The team’s scorecard read 303/7 when Craig Overton was joined by Brydon Carse and the two made sure that there were no further fall of wickets. England eventually went over the line with two overs to spare. For Pakistan, it was Haris Rauf who was the pick of the bowlers after he returned with figures of 4/65 in 9 overs. Earlier, Pakistan rode on Babar Azam’s emphatic ton to post 331/9 in the allotted 50 overs. The visitors lost Fakhar Zaman early in the innings but Babar’s partnerships with Imam-ul-Haq and Rizwan helped them put up a huge total on the board. While Babar went on to hit his career best score (158) in ODIs, both Imam and Rizwan notched up individual half-centuries. For England, Carse bagged a five-wicket haul while Saqib Mahmood who has been in some form in the series with the ball scalped three wickets during the course. Pakistan captain Babar Azam put the onus of the defeat on the bowling and fielding efforts and lauded Vince for his efforts. “We couldn't bowl in the channels consistently at the start and the sloppy fielding didn't help either. England were really good and special credit to James Vince. In international cricket the margins are very small and these kinds of errors cost us the game,” he said. England skipper Ben Stokes credited Morgan, Silverwood and Trevor Bayliss for creating a “culture” that allows the players to play fearless cricket. “ll the efforts from all the guys who turned up last week, I just want to say a massive thanks to the players, support staff and everyone who made this possible. The normal personnel, a huge amount of credit must go to Morgs, Silverwood and Trevor Bayliss to allow the new guys to play the way they play and be really happy. This is a culture that we try to create, allow the guys to go out there and play fearless cricket,” he said. The two teams will now face each other in the three-match T20I series scheduled to begin on Friday (July 16, 2021).