David Saker returns to Big Bash League as Melbourne Renegades coach

Now you know how it feels bro: Conway greeted by skipper Williamson on historic debut hundred

Devon Conaway was the star of the day in the first Test between England and New Zealand at Lord’s. He was not only the first non-English debutant in 25 years to score a century at Lord’s, but also went on to become the highest scorer in a debut innings at the iconic ground. The best part is he carried the bat to the dressing room and will come back again on Day two to continue from where he had left. It was when he went to the dressing room that he was greeted by his captain Kane Williamson in a manner, which the South Africa born might remember all his life. Describing the situation, Conway said, “It’s a pretty special feeling. When we arrived at Lord’s a couple of days ago, we walked into the change room and had an opportunity to have a look at the names of the legends on the honour’s board. Funny enough, I had a conversation with Kane and asked what it feels like to see his name up on that board.” “When I walked in the change room today, the first thing he said, ‘Now, you know what it feels like bro,’,” added the left-hander who is unbeaten at 136. Talking about his knock, Conway believes that it will take a day or two for him to let that special feeling sink in. “A special, special day you know. I don’t think I could have dreamt of something like that happening and it will certainly take a few days for me to let it sink in,” he said. New Zealand had a brilliant start to their first session, after having elected to bat first on a sunny day at the home of cricket. Conway, who put on a 58 run partnership with Tom Latham was grateful that a batting-friendly condition was available to him. “We started off in a beautiful sunny condition and a lot of the guys say that when it’s nice and sunny at the Lord’s, it’s a batting day. So I tried to make the most of it,” said the 29-year-old. However, for the first three overs, the Wellington Firebirds player didn’t get to strike thanks to Tom Latham who played all the deliveries. Conway was actually pleased that he did not take strike for that long. “I was actually pretty grateful. It gave me the opportunity to sort of watch from the non-striker’s end as to how the ball was holding and what it was doing off the wicket,” he said. “And I got a chance to have those conversations with him [Latham]. It git a bit nerve-wracking and we probably joked, ‘gee is it the longest that someone hasn’t faced a ball on Test debut?’,” added the man who has an average of more than 50 in all three formats so far.

BBL: Trevor Bayliss appointed head coach of Sydney Thunder for next three seasons

Word Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss has joined Sydney Thunder as their head coach for the next three season of the Big Bahs league, as announced in a press release by the team. The 58-year-old, who is already a life member of a Western Sydney club, the Penrith Cricket Club, is more than excited to be reunited with the team that represents his part of the city. “It’s great to be home and involved in New South Wales cricket,” said Bayliss. “The Thunder have done well over the last few years… Hopefully, we can go one or two steps further this summer. To win as many matches as possible and compete in the Final is my number one goal,” added the man who has taken England to ICC ODI World Cup victory in 2019, Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles and Thunder’s cross-town rival Sydney Sixers to their inaugural BBL title. Bayliss also feels that getting the crowds back in the stadium will push players to achieve more fruitful results performance-wise. “Hopefully this year we can get some crowds back into the matches and making plenty of noise,” he said. “My experience over the years is that these players are at their best when there is some good atmosphere around the match so hopefully, we can put on a good show for the fans,” he added. Bayliss, a New South Wales First-Class player himself, will replace Shane Bond, who had more than a decent season with Thunder, taking them to the Finals where they bowed out in Eliminator. Bayliss is also head coach of IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Watch: India Men’s and Women’s depart for England tour

The Indian Men’s and Women’s team departed for England at around 12 am Thursday, June 3 from Mumbai. The two teams will travel together in a chartered flight to the English shores. The Men’s team, which would be staying in England for more than three months has been allowed to take close family with them as well. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared the photos of the team’s departure on their official Twitter handle. While the Women’s team’s journey starts with the one-off Test at Bristol against England Women, the Men’s team under captain Virat Kohli would take on Kane Williamson’s men in the inaugural World Test Championship Final at Southampton starting June 18. Post the WTC the Men’s will have a long break before they return in action on August 4 for the first of the five Tests against England. The Women’s team however will play three ODIs and three T20Is against the English Women to end the tour in July itself. Five members of the Women’s side including Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma will, however, stay put take part in the inaugural edition of The Hundred, a franchise-based 100 ball tournament envisaged by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Pat Cummins, Jofra Archer & others to take part in charity stream for India's Covid-19 relief

International cricket stars would collaborate on a 12-hour gaming live-stream hosted by Australia paceman Josh Lalor on his Twitch page to raise $100,000 for UNICEF Australia's India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal. The stream will see the likes of Aussie bowlers Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Starc and Josh Hazlewood on a live stream as they talk cricket and show their wares as gamers. The stream would begin From 5 pm AEST on Thursday, June 3 and go on until 5 am AEST on Friday, June 4. Englishman Jofra Archer, Aussie all-rounder Moises Henriques, Southern Stars’ Alyssa Healy and South African Rilee Rossouw will also be part of the steam at some point or the other. Lalor, the brain behind the concept will also host an informal discussion with Cricket Australia's new CEO, Nick Hockley and Todd Greenberg, the CEO of the Australian Cricketers' Association. "The enjoyable thing about it is it'll be a couple of guys doing what they do in their spare time, which the public don’t get to see a lot of," Lalor told cricket.com.au. "We see Pat Cummins doing what he does on the cricket field, but he's one of the worst (video game) players you can play with! Which is fair enough because he's busy doing other things in cricket,” said the predominantly T20 bowler who has represented Melbourne Renegades and Brisbane Heat in the BBL. Popular games like Warzone and Rocket League will feature, while Lalor and Healy will indulge in a light-hearted, interactive game of 'Siblings or Dating?'. Henriques on the other hand has challenged his New South Wales mate for a game of Chess which will also be part of the Live Stream. The 33-year-old, who was inspired by Pat Cummins’ $50,000 donation says that any help to the Indians in this time of crisis is worth a try. "Being a cricketer from Australia, we have a unique relationship with Indian people. It's a beautiful part of the world, they're absolutely cricket-mad and they bend over backwards to make every cricketer feel welcomed and accommodated,” he said. "If we're able to raise any money at all to help what's going on in India, that'll go a long way," Lalor added. So far, the Australian Cricket has raised $280,000 as part of UNICEF Australia's India Covid-19 Crisis Appeal.