Confused Sri Lankans celebrate way too early as Suryakumar Yadav earns comic reprieve

Cricket Ireland postpones series against Zimbabwe due to covid restrictions in Northern Ireland

Cricket Ireland announced that the tour of Zimbabwe to Ireland, scheduled to begin next month has been postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions in Northern Ireland, which comes under the administrations of the United Kingdom. "Following the latest advice for the conditions around which scheduled matches may proceed in Northern Ireland - most notably the stipulations of health authorities around quarantining requirements of the incoming Zimbabwean squad - Cricket Ireland has today confirmed that the Zimbabwe Men's tour to Ireland will need to be rescheduled," Cricket Ireland Chief Executive Warren Deutrom said in a press release issued by the board on their official Twitter handle. All the matches of the series were scheduled to be played in Northern Ireland at the Civil Service Cricket Club Ground, Stormont in Belfast and Brady Cricket Club Ground in Magheramason. It is worth noting the fact that although two different countries in terms of political administration, Northern Ireland and Ireland are represented by the same cricket team. So even after Zimbabwe being in category two of Covid-19 nations travelling list, it is on the red list in the UK and thus the series could not be approved on health measures. Saying that the co-operation from Zimbabwe Cricket is appreciated, Duetron added, "It is now anticipated that the series will be held in August-September 2021, but that some venue changes may be required to accommodate the latest advice received.” "We appreciate the understanding and cooperation of Zimbabwe Cricket Board and all involved as we work through these latest challenges, and will provide updates as soon as possible."

Shane Warne backs Matt Parkinson to make it to England's Ashes squad

The most successful leg spinner to have ever played the game of cricket, Shane Warne has thrown his weight behind England prodigy Matt Parkinson and said that the leg spinner should be included in the Test squad for the Ashes series. Speaking on the eve of The Hundred, where he will be in the lead role along with Eoin Morgan for the London Spirits, Warner said that he loves to watch Parkinson bowl and that he can become a “huge” part of the England Test team if “pencilled” into the playing XI for the first Test at Gabba. Counting on the factors that can help him succeed in Australia, Warner said that Parkinson has all the armoury up his sleeve such as perfect pace, the amount of spin and bounce he extracts off the pitch. He suggested that the England team management should also consider bringing him to the squad for the Test series against India, especially at the Old Trafford and the Oval. "He is pretty exciting, isn't he? I love watching him. I've been watching him from afar and been very impressed so far. I really like the look of the way he bowls. He is a great addition to white-ball cricket, but also I see him playing a huge part in Test cricket, especially in Australia. I wouldn't be surprised in that first Test match at the Gabba if he is “pencilled” into the playing XI." "I think of the Australian conditions, the pace he bowls, the amount of bounce and spin he gets, I think he is perfectly suited to Australian conditions," Warne said. "So I think he has a big role to play and he might even play a Test match through the summer. "Jack Leach will be the spinner, probably to start with for England, but Matty Parkinson might get a gig at The Oval or Manchester, somewhere like that. I wouldn't be surprised if they have a look at him during the India series thinking about the Ashes down the track." Parkinson has attracted criticism for not bowling with pace, but Warner said that it’s good that the leg spinner is sticking to his own methods and not responding on the basis of people’s comments. He said that spinners should be judged on the basis of their ability to turn the ball and not the pace at which they operate as medium pacers are there for that role in the side. “The good thing is a lot of people would have told him to bowl fast, but he has stuck to being true to himself and what he is good at," Warne said. "It is like anything. If you are doing well, no one will question anything about your pace. If it starts to go wrong, that's when people start to question it, but he has stayed true to himself and that is what I really like. I have been pretty impressed watching him and I am looking forward to seeing his career develop.” "Mate, if I wanted a spinner to bowl fast, they would be called medium-pacers. Spin bowlers are spin bowlers because they spin the ball and he does that. If you can swing, seam or spin the ball, you will be successful, no matter what form. He definitely does that and I think he bowls a beautiful pace.” Parkinson travelled with England Test squads for the tour of Sri Lanka and India earlier this year without making it through to the playing XI. He would not have made it into the ODI squad against Pakistan as well, where he had achieved to turn the ball the maximum by any spinner in England since the ball tracking data is made available if there would not have been a covid-19 crisis in England camp. Parkison had produced a jaffa of leg spinner in the initial phase of the County Championship 2021 that had ignited the debate about his credentials as England’s spinner for the longest format. England have announced their Test team for the first two Tests of the series against India starting August 04 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

SL vs IND | 3rd ODI: India field five debutants for the first time in 21st century

Team India has handed debut ODI caps to five players today which includes Nitish Rana, Krishnappa Gowtham, Sanju Samson, Rahul Chahar and Chetan Sakariya. While in total there were six changes in the playing XI with Navdeep Saini finally getting a game on the tour as well. The players rested for the game include Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar and vice-captain Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. While Samson and Rahul Chahar have previously played T20Is for the Men in Blue, the other three in Rana, Sakariya and Gowtham would be having their first-ever outing in the Indian clours. This is also the first-ever occasion in the 21t century that India has made six changes in their playing XI from the previous game in a single series. The last time India had more than five changes in the squad was in 1980. The 27-year-old Rana, who has captained the Delhi Ranji team domestically is not a new name whatsoever to the Indian and IPL fans having represented Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders in 67 matches ever since debuting in 2013. Sakariya and Gowtham are reasonably new to the circuit with the former making a name for himself only in the current season of the IPL after a great Ranji Trophy-winning season with Saurashtra. Samson, who made his India debut in the T20Is way back in 2016, has so far played in only seven T20is and haven’t had a memorable outing in any of them. Chahar, the leg spinner debuted for India in 2019 against West Indies and has since played only three T20Is.

Injury-prone prodigy Will Pucovski will be fit for the Ashes reckons coach Chris Rogers

When Will Pucovski hit two back to back double centuries in the Sheffield Shield’s last season and was called up to represent the Australian national team against India in the Test series. It was thought that the 3rd Test of the series at Sydney in which he was making his debut, would be the breakthrough moment for the injury-prone prodigy. However, as if made of glass, he got injured again right after the match once again and was never to be seen. The 23-year-old underwent shoulder surgery in February and if his Victoria coach Chris Rogers is to be believed, the fans might expect the long-haired charisma to be back playing for the Aussie come the Ashes. “(There’s) A long way to go,” Rogers was quoted as saying to RSN Breakfast Club. “Shoulder injuries can take so long, and this one was the surgery. He’s just doing some basic stuff, but he’s targeted the first Shield game, so that’s excellent for us,” added the former Australian opener suggesting that Victoria might be benefited because of it when they start their Sheidfl journey against New South Wales on September 29 this year. The left-handed high backlift player, known for his low strike rates and grounded shots in the longest format of the game further suggested that once back to playing Pucovski won’t take much time to get into the groove. “For a player like him, I don’t think he’ll need a lot of time to get back into the groove of things. Hopefully, that first Shield game, he’s playing. I think if he gets a good run, we’ll see him playing in the Ashes. The great thing is there are enough games” said Rogers. There would actually be enough games, in fact, a whole Test as the Ashes 2021-22 begins on December 8 with the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, while Aussies play a Test against Afghanistan in November right ahead of the Ashes. Thus that game could turn out to be a testing ground for players like Pucovski.