Day after CA CEO's support, Test captain Tim Paine backs Justin Langer to continue as coach

Days after Cricket Australia boss threw all his support behind him, Australian head coach Justin Langer, who finds himself in the middle of a raging storm, has found another high-profile support from the Australian team.

This time, Test captain Tim Paine has come forward to rally around Langer after what he called a “tough” week for the former Australian opener when he had “robust discussions” with Cricket Australia and the senior players.

Paine said that the ambition of the side is to become the number one side in the world and for that, they have to have tough conversations while also calling the blame game for Australia’s loss on the shoulders of Langer as a matter of “shame”.

“Then got around him [Langer], supported him and looked to move forward. We’re really looking forward to the next six months with JL. No doubt the week has been difficult for him. We’ve been able to galvanise around him and have some really robust discussions on where we want to take this cricket team, what we expect of him and what he expects of us,” Paine said.

“We want to be the best team in the world and to do that we need to have some tough and robust conversations. We’ve certainly done that as a senior group in the last 24-48 hours. It’s just been a bit of shame I think in the last week that a lot of the failings around Australian cricket have been pinned on JL, that’s certainly not the case.”

Langer had taken over the coaching role in the aftermath of the Newlands ball-tampering saga that had erupted massive leadership change both in the Australian cricket board and the national side. He has been under enormous pressure after several players reported “coaching methods” to be too strict and inflexible.

His term is due to end after the ICC World T20, and after the backings of the CA boss and Test skipper Tim Paine, it is most likely that he will complete his term albeit with the aura of controversies persisting around him.

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Mohammad Rizwan seeks rest for seniors from 'quite tough' biosecure bubbles before ICC World T20

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman and the vice-captain, Mohammad Rizwan has said that Pakistan players have been playing cricket under biosecure bubbles for a long time and they would need some time away from the game before the big event of ICC World T20 scheduled later this year. He said that staying continuously in a bubble is “quite tough” and that senior players want to rest, a point that is well supported by the team physio. He pointed out that rest for the seniors will open the doors of opportunities for players who have been warming the benches for a long time. “We have been playing continuously for last eight to nine months and the main thing is we are playing bio-secure bubble which is quite tough. Our main event is T20 World Cup and most of the senior players want to rest. Our physio has also suggested rest for our body and the players sitting on the bench have the best opportunity to showcase themselves,” Rizwan said in a virtual press conference before the second Test against West Indies. Pakistan fought well in the first Test of the series against West Indies but lost the game by the narrowest of narrow margin as the hosts were rescued by lower-order batsmen. Rizwan said that Pakistan is eager to bounce their way back in the series with a win in the second Test. He defended the batting lineup that failed on both occasions in the first Test and said that many of those batsmen are impact players and the team must back the players who have in them what it takes to change the course of the game by themselves. “The bottomline is we lost the Test after coming so close to winning it and it hit us and we are now looking to bounce back strongly in the second Test. I think it is also important to look at players who make small but game-changing contributions in a match. We need such impact players. Our main focus now is to level this series by winning the second game and getting equal points from it,” Rizwan added.

JKCA accuses Parvez Rasool of stealing pitch roller, cricketer hits back calling it 'unfortunate'

There has been a war of words between the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association(JKCA) and cricketer Parvez Rasool over the issue of a missing pitch roller, as per a report by The Indian Express. The matter has gone so worse that the JKCA has threatened to file a police complaint against the cricketer if he does not hand ver the roller to the administrator. In his reply to the cricket governing body in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Rasool has asked if the treatment met out to him is the right way to treat an international cricketer who has given his “life and soul”. However, one of the three members of the sub-committee appointed by the BCCI to run JKCA, Brigadier (Retd) Anil Gupta, has said that the matter has been “hyped up” because Rasool was included in the email seeking the whereabouts of the roller sent to all administrators. He said that Rasool’s name was on the list of beneficiaries for the email as the JKCA register showed his name as an official from the Bijbehara region from where the all-rounder belongs. “We have not only written to Parvez Rasool but to all district associations and whosoever has taken JKCA machinery from Srinagar. Machinery was distributed at district associations without any vouchers. In many districts where we don’t have a mailing address, the letter was sent to the concerned person whose name was registered with us. He (Rasool) took offence to why the mail was written to him,” Gupta told The Indian Express.

Chris Cairns taken off life support

Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns has been taken off life support. Cairns had undergone second emergency surgery in Sydney for a heart problem and is now recovering. Cairns’ lawyer Aaron Lloyd said in a statement that the former cricketer has been taken off life support. "I'm pleased to advise that Chris is off life support and has been able to communicate with his family from hospital in Sydney," Aaron Lloyd, Cairns's lawyer, said in a statement. The right-handed cricketer had undergone a major heart surgery in Canberra earlier this month and was in the ICU under observation. "He and his family are thankful for all of the support and well wishes from everyone, and for the privacy they have been afforded. They request this continue as they focus on his recovery moving forward," Lloyd's statement read. Cairns was capped 62 times in Tests and 215 times in ODIs and also played a couple of T20Is for New Zealand. In 62 Test matches that Cairns played, he scored over 3000 runs and picked up 218 wickets while notching up 4950 runs in the ODIs along with 201 wickets. The right-hander was an integral part of the Blackcaps setup that won the ICC Knockout trophy after beating India in the final back in 2000. Cairns in fact scored a ton in that match to help his side chase down a target of 265 runs in Nairobi.

The Hundred | Eliminator, Southern Brave vs Trent Rockets: When & where to watch Live, Probable XI, Fantasy XI

It has been a fascinating introduction to a new format of cricket and as we get into the final few days of the Hundred, we should be thankful for the spectacle it has been for the fans across the globe. After a one month extravaganza, it’s the Southern Brave who will be playing the Trent Rockets in the Eliminator on Friday (August 20). Having started the tournament with a couple of losses, the Southern Brave has made an exceptional turnaround and is yet to lose a game as they face the Trent Rockets in the Eliminator clash. James Vince has been an inspirational character for the team after two losses in the first two games. They thrashed the Oval Invincibles by 6 wickets to ensure a smooth entry into the knockout stage, on the other hand, the Trent Rockets started off the tournament in a commanding fashion having won all of their first three matches. However, a couple of consecutive losses meant that their qualification became a touch of concern. in later stages, they picked themselves up. It was a commanding performance in their final group game against the Manchester Originals which made sure that they qualified for the Eliminator with 10 points. A loss would have ensured qualification for the Oval Invincibles. Southern Brave vs Trent Rockets Match Details Match Number- 33 Date and Time- August 20, 2021 (Friday), 11:00 PM (IST), 06:30 pm Local, 05: 30 GMT Venue: Kennington Oval, London Live Stream: FanCode Pitch Report It is expected to be a batting paradise like it has been during the course of the tournament. An average first innings score of 151 goes onto prove that it has been a bowler’s graveyard as far as this tournament is concerned. While chasing a target is always a good option in T20 cricket, batting first could be the way forward in the only knockout match of the tournament. Weather forecast It will be proper overcast conditions when the eliminator clash kicks off. However, there is hardly any chance of rain with the temperature expected to hover around the 21-degree mark. Like it has been the case in England, the humidity will be as low as the early 60s. Southern Brave predicted XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Paul Stirling, James Vince (c), Alex Davies, Colin de Grandhomme, Ross Whiteley, George Garton, Chris Jordan, Danny Briggs, Tymal Mills, Jake Lintott Trent Rockets predicted XI: D Arcy Short, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Steven Mullaney, Samit Patel, Lewis Gregory (c), Tom Moores (w), Rashid Khan, Matthew Carter, Marchant de Lange, Samuel Cook Fantasy XI Wicket-keeper- Quinton de Kock (vice-captain), Tom Moores Batsmen- Dawid Malan, Alex Hales, D’ Arcy Short, Steven Mullaney All-rounders- Lewis Gregory, Paul Stirling Bowlers- Rashid Khan (captain), Chris Jordan, Craig Overton