Covid-19 vaccine refusal might cost Murali Vijay his domestic career

ICC inducts Mahela Jayawardene, Shaun Pollock in Hall of Fame

Mahela Jayawardene, Shaun Pollock and Janette Brittin were inducted in ICC’s Hall of Fame taking the total tally to 13 for the year. The former Sri Lanka captain expressed delight and said that he is grateful for the recognition. “I am very grateful for the recognition and would like to enjoy and share the moment with all those that have helped me on my journey, including my family, friends, coaches, team-mates and, most importantly, Sri Lanka cricket fans who passionately supported and inspired me during my career," Jayawardene said. The right-handed batsman had been an integral part of the Sri Lankan side. He played 149 Tests and notched up more than 11000 runs in the format while scoring over 12000 runs in 448 ODIs that he featured in. Apart from this, Mahela was capped 55 times in T20Is where he scored 1493 runs and was a part of the Lankan side that won the World T20 in 2014 after beating India in the final. Pollock thanked ICC for the recognition and further added that it was an honour to be included in the Hall of Fame. "I would like to thank the ICC for this recognition of my career," Pollock said. "It's an amazing honour to be included in the Hall of Fame alongside the very illustrious company that has already been inducted. It's a real cherry on the top or maybe even a book end of what has been a thoroughly enjoyable cricketing experience and I'd like to thank my teammates who played such a massive part along the journey." Pollock played 108 Tests where he scored 3781 runs and scalped 421 wickets during the course. The right-hander also played 303 ODIs and notched up over 3500 runs and picked up 393 wickets during the course. In 12 T20Is that Pollock played, he had 15 dismissals to his name. Janette Brittin has been inducted posthumously into the hall of fame. She played 27 Tests and scored 1935 runs while was capped 63 times in ODIs, scoring a total of 2121 runs. Brittin had one of the most stellar careers in women’s cricket and is most famed for her incredible World Cup exploits where she scored 1299 runs at an average of 43.30. She operated between the years 1979-1998. At the time she retired, Brittin had broken all possible batting records in women’s cricket and to date, holds the most runs scored by a woman in Test format.

Bruce Edgar believes Kiwis can avenge 2015 WC Final

It has never been a case that in a New Zealand-Australia clash, the former is considered favourites. But come to the T20 World Cup 2021 Final and the Kiwis are riding the favourites tag, especially after their form in the tournament and their recent ICC tournaments record. Contrary to that is Australia’s form. World beaters and most dominant side at one point, the Aussies are no more the most feared unit across any format of the game. This feeling has resonated way back to the older generation of cricketers as well. Former New Zealand opener Bruce Edgar, who scored 102 not out in the infamous 1981 match, where Trevor Chappell bowled an underarm ball at the instruction of brother Greg with the Kiwis needing six runs to tie from the final delivery. Edgar feels that Australia are not what it used to be and therefore Kiwis have the best possible chance to settle scores. “The Aussies always rated our rugby but never rated our cricket. [Australians would think] ‘We’re better than you guys, simple as that, and we always will be’. Maybe that gap has closed now. The fear factor has gone. It’s a bit like teams playing the All Blacks. It’s equalised a bit more now. It’s time for the Black Caps to settle a score from their experiences in Melbourne in 2015,” Edgar was quoted as saying by Stuff.co.nz. “The Aussie mentality in the 1980s was ‘we’ll beat anyone in front of us’. That was a team ethos and it’s always been like that with [Ricky] Ponting and [Michael] Clarke and [Adam] Gilchrist. There are now [New Zealand] players with experience and mental toughness that there has not always been there,” added the man who has to his credit 3772 international runs including four hundreds and 22 fifties in 132 innings. Edgar, 64, went on to say that the image of New Zealand as the little brother is changing and that they might punch above their weight. “The little brother might be boxing above his weight. We’ve been playing some very good cricket for some time across all formats and the Aussies know that” he said. Talking about the infamous 1981 incident and if that could be avenged, the former selector of the men’s team said, “They’ll bring it up from time to time, but it’s not the focus. I feel we’ve matured as a nation in a way.” However, he concluded by stating that 2015 is recent and might be at the back of the minds of the players. New Zealand play Australia in the final of the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday 14 November.

T20 World Cup | Road to Final: New Zealand’s has been a journey of turning promise into performance

When New Zealand started their journey in the T20 World Cup, it would have breathed a sigh of relief to find themselves in a group that wasn't as deadly as the other one. However, Afghanistan’s performance in the first game, where they bundled out Scotland for meagre 60 was more than a virtual threat to the Kiwi dreams of making it to the semis, which was not relatively easy given the fact that their group already had two Asian giants playing on the slow UAE pitches. The fact that the Kiwis lost two of their warm-up games against Australia and England made it even tougher for them to stake a claim in the group that had India, Pakistan and an Afghanistan side that was capable of beating any team on their day. But one sure thing was that the Kiwis know how to stick together and weave a promising unit every time they walk into an ICC event. NZ vs PAK: A big jolt even before the start The fear of faltering against spin was aggravated in the very first match of the Blackcaps’ campaign. They were playing Pakistan in Sharjah, always a tricky place and above that, they lost the toss. Many things were running coming into the game. The Kiwi side had abandoned a Pakistan tour minutes before the beginning of the game, Pakistan had beaten India to break the jinx at the World Cup and the obvious danger of spin in Sharjah. However, wading through all the spin and the pace of Haris Rauf, New Zealand managed to post 133 on a Sharjah wicket where chasing was tough. Pakistan struggled and were at one time reduced to 87-5, needing still 48 from the last five overs. However, Asif Ali showed what he was capable of and blasted his way to 27 off just 12 balls, winning the game with an over to spare. Not only did New Zealand lose the game but it also lost one of its main bowling weapons in Lockie Ferguson just before the start of that game. At that time it looked like a hindrance to the campaign of the team from the southern hemisphere. But having seen them get through to the final on the back of some great bowling in the powerplay by the two of its most experienced pacers in Tim Southee and Trent Boult, it seems like a blessing in disguise. IND vs NZ: The complete game Having lost to Pakistan, there was only one way that New Zealand were going to get to the next round and it was by winning its remaining games. The situation was the same for India who had been beaten by the Pakistani team in their inaugural match as well. Thus this game was a virtual quarterfinal for both teams, with the winner getting a clear advantage to qualify for the semi-final. New Zealand needed to bring their ‘A’ game to the table and thankfully they won the toss. Toss was not only a psychological boost but crucial for getting a head start considering the amount of dew that was falling at the time. However, winning the toss and capitalising on it are two different things. India did the Kiwis a favour by showing panic right at the start of the match by changing their opening pair. The rest was done by the Blackcaps bowler. They choked the Indian batting lineup and with the help of Ish Sodhi’s brilliance and some very average batting approach from the Indian batting order. The entire Indian team could only make 112 runs, which was chased with much ease by Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson’s brilliance. Facing Scotland and Namibia: Learning utilised later on While many thought getting past the two associate nations in Scotland and Namibia was going to be an easy affair, for New Zealand, it turned out to be a tough pill to swallow, especially the Scotland game. However, these were the same games that gave the Kiwis a different hero in each game to celebrate. In their third match, the Kiwis faced Scotland in Dubai. Batting first, they could get to 172-5 thanks to some brilliant hitting by Martin Guptill who scored 95, which was more than 50% of the total. The rest of the batters failed big time against the tight bowling of the European team. But the real challenge came while bowling as the Scots were not at all giving up on the chase. Be it George Munsey, Michael Leask or Matthew Cross, every Scottish batter tried to contribute as much as he could, but the likes of Southee, Boult and Sodhi kept their calm to get through it. Against Namibia, Jimmy Neesham and Glenn Phillips came into their true form and thanks to their 76 runs stand in just 36 balls, New Zealand was able to post 163 on the board, which looked very difficult at one stage. In defending the target, there were no issues at all as the Blackcaps restricted the Blue Eagles at only 111-7. NZ vs AFG: A real test of Kiwi resilience Even after winning against India, the New Zealand team wasn’t through and it was going to be yet another test of their persistence and resilience as they faced the Afghanistan side in a must-win game. Millions were watching it in India as well, as the result of this game would have an enormous effect on the fate of Kohli’s men in the World Cup. An Afghan victory would mean that India just needed to beat Namibia to go through. The game was a day affair and that too in Abu Dhabi, a track that always offered some help to spinners, especially in the second innings. With the bets stacked against them, New Zealand lost the toss as well, giving Afghanistan a straight advantage in the crucial game. But when the match actually began, things started to change and they changed pretty quickly. Apart from Najibullah Zadran, no Afghan batter was allowed to settle in by the Kiwi bowlers and as a result, the Afghans could only set up a target of 125 to be chased in 20 overs. Boult and Southee were once again at the forefront of the Kiwi brilliance with the ball. Chasing such a total could be tricky at times, especially if you lose early wickets. Therefore New Zealand made sure it didn’t fall into that trap. Even as Mitchell got out early, first Guptill and then skipper Kane Williamson guided the team home. Semi-Final: Neesham, Mitchell led redemption The semi-final against England had some many contests within the contest that it was more than just another match. This clash has been building up right from the time of the ODI World Cup when England was declared winners on boundary count. It was just not a game but a match that New Zealand would have dreamt about day in and day out. Beating the English at a crucial World event would have been ‘the’ dream for this squad. But that dream was going haywire as the Blackcaps were once again succumbing to the pressure. While the start was poor, Devon Conway and Mictheel had managed to keep the required run rate in check, chasing 167 runs. They required 73 from the last seven overs, but once Conway got out and Phillips followed, and things got really tense in the middle with Mitchell not being able to time the ball. However, Jimmy Neesham walked in as a man on a mission. He cashed in on a poor bowling performance from Chris Jordan and some miscommunication in the field from Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone where they couldn’t even attempt his catch in the deep. When Neesham walked in, the Blackcaps needed 57 from 24, but as he walked out, only 19 from 12 were required. And that’s where it changed. Rest was up to Mitchell and he made sure that the 19 were chased in just one over to get New Zealand the famous win and a place in a T20 World Cup final for the first time. With one more hurdle to pass, this might be their road to ultimate redemption as they now face the team that beat them outrightly in the 2015 ODI World Cup final, Australia, in the finals on November 14 in Dubai.

Sanju Samson helps budding footballer, sponsors his flight tickets to Spain

India wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson came forward to help a budding footballer. Samson sponsored the flight tickets for the youngster to Spain as he has been selected for the training program with Spanish fifth division CD LA Virgen del Camino which will last for a month. The young footballer had asked for help from local MLA Saji Cherain and he got the response from the politician and Samson. “It was a week ago that a young man named Adarsh, a resident of Mannar Kuttampoor, came to see me,” Cherin wrote in his Facebook post. “A graduate student of Thiruvalla Marthoma College, he is a brilliant football player. Adarsh has got a big opportunity, but he was worried that he will lose that opportunity because of financial problems,” Cherain wrote in a lengthy Facebook post. “Adarsh had the opportunity to train for a month at Deportivo La Vergne del Camino, a third division league in Spain. About five matches can be played in this period. There is a possibility of getting a contract if the club or other clubs give preference to the performance.” “This is a dream opportunity for our native football player to get the chance to play in league matches in a country which is the most important country in football like Spain. But we have to find ourselves the necessary cost for this. It was a crisis,” he added. He further acknowledged Samson’s contribution and lauded the wicket-keeper for the same. “Our beloved star Sanju Samson has sponsored Adarsh’s flight ticket. The well-wishers of the country and studied in their school, they have done whatever they can to help. Further, the possibilities of the sports department to pay the required amount were examined, but before that, there were technical problems as Adarsh had to leave immediately.” Samson was not considered for the New Zealand T20Is which are slated to take place at home from November 17.