CSA announce revised schedule for India’s tour to South Africa

BBL 11 | Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Sandhu shine in Thunder's win over Heat

Alex Ross was at his very best with the bat as he guided Sydney Thunder to an easy seven-wicket win over Brisbane Heat in their opening clash of the Big Bahs League 2021. Ross’ unbeaten 61 off 46 balls combined with Sam Billings’ 45 not out and their 109 run partnership meant that Thunder chased down the total in the 18th over itself. This win with 17 balls remaining will give a boost to the net run rate of the Thunder which becomes crucial at later stages of the league. The chase of 141 did not start well for the Thunder who were playing at their home ground of Manuka oval. Alex Hales, the controversial import from England was removed on the second ball of the innings by Xavier Bartlett. Soon, Liam Guthrie, who was playing his first game for Heat, struck twice in one over to remove Matthew Gilkes and Sam Whiteman and force Thunder into a rebuilding phase. It was then that Billings combined with Ross and the duo finished the job at hand with much ease. Earlier in the evening, after winning the toss and deciding to field first, Nathan McAndrew gave a great start to the Thunder as he removed Max Bryant in the third over. Daniel Sams then removed Chris Lynn. Englishman Ben Duckett and Sam Heazlett then built a partnership of 83 runs in 66 balls and just when it seemed that they would tee off and get Heat to a respectable total past 160, Sams struck again and removed Heazlett. It was then the turn of Gurinder Sandhu as he removed two dangermen Duckett and Jack Wildermuth to push Heat into all sorts of trouble. If it weren’t for Bartlett’s late order hitting, where he made unbeaten 26 off 18 balls, getting to even 140 would have been mighty difficult.

Plastic under leather in new Kookaburra for Ashes 2021-22 to give it more swing and zip

The Ashes 2021-22 will have a seemingly different ball than the one used in the previous Ashes of 2017-18 Down Under. The new ball is supposed to swing more and have shine on it for a longer period of time than has been the norm thanks to the tweaks applied by the manufacturer Kookaburra. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the new ball is likely to keep moving through the air and off the seam in a much more sustained manner. This will be due to a double coating of lacquer that helps the whole ball retain its hardness for longer. The Gabba pitch right ahead of the first Test match has indicated that it might have a rich coating of grass, which in turn might act as a big booster for pace bowlers from either team. The double coating of lacquer is not the only change, rather it is the plastic lining under the leather that would make it sustain its hardness, shine and swing for a longer period. This was done by the manufacturer on request from Cricket Australia.

Shakib Al Hasan set to miss New Zealand tour as BCB grants him leave

After spells of controversies over his selection into the squad for the tour of New Zealand, Shakib Al Hasan’s leave has been granted by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the all-rounder will miss the series due to personal reasons. BCB President Nazmul Hassan rued late communication from Shakib but cofired that the board has granted him leaves. He said that players should be informed about their plans beforehand so that there won’t be any issue in naming replacements. He also refused to call the controversy over Shakib’s selection for the tour an “embarrassment” for the board and said that they were not informed officially and could not decide their course of action based on unofficial request. "Certainly (his leave is granted) and what I wanted to say is that everyone should inform us regarding their availability beforehand considering that makes our job easier to prepare a replacement. Whoever needs rest or break will be given whether he is an important player or not but his case is different as he neither injured nor he asked for a break. He wanted leave for a family commitment,” he was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. "We are not embarrassed about it considering we were informally informed so there is no kind of miscommunication but they must inform us officially so that we can choose our path of action. I have always said that rest or break will be given to everyone if they ask for it but the thing is that they have to inform us earlier because it gets complicated if we hear about it all of a sudden. From January onwards these things need to be informed to us beforehand," added Nazmul. Bangladesh are set to tour New Zealand for a two-match long Test series starting January 1, 2022.

New BBL rule to allow bowlers free hit at stumps, Siddle dreads becoming 1st bowler to miss

Although in force since the start of the Women’s Big Bash League, but the new rule which allows bowlers a free hit at the stumps if the batter doesn't make to the crease in the 75 seconds time limit from the dismissal or removal (by retirement) of the last batter at the strike, might have been used in the very first game of the BBL 11. Melbourne Stars’ Syed Faridoun had to sprint his way to the wicket at number 11 and he just beat the clock by a few seconds otherwise the Sydney Sixers bowler Steve O'Keefe would have been given a free shot at the stumps. Although the rue has been applied to save time in the game and also to benefit the bowling unit thereby, former Australia international and Adelaide Strikers’ veteran and stand-in captain Peter Siddle dreads becoming the first bowler to miss the free hit. "I guess you do (fancy a free bowl at the stumps) but you don't want to be the first guy to do it and miss," he said in a press meet on Monday, December 06th. However, the 37-year-old was sure that the batters wouldn’t be giving any such opportunity any time soon to bowlers. "We all know how much batters love having a hit and not missing out, so I can't imagine there'd be too many guys taking it slow this season,” he added. According to the rule At the fall of a wicket or retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must be ready to face the next delivery within 75 seconds. If the batter fails to arrive in time, then they must stand to the side of the pitch for the first delivery of their innings and allow the bowler a free ball at the stumps. If the ball strikes the wicket the batter is out bowled. If the ball misses the wicket it is counted as a dot ball and a ball faced. If the bowler delivers a no-ball, the next delivery is a free hit. And if the new batter is the non-striker (the batters crossed while the ball was in the air, the wicket fell at the end of the over or there was a run out at the bowler's end), then the same process is followed when they get on strike to face their first delivery.