ENG vs IND | Old Trafford Test most likely to get deferred

The fifth and final Test of the series between India and England is likely to get suspended or deferred by one or two days as per some reports. Moreover, the match will not begin on Friday (September 10, 2021). 

According to some reports, it is learnt that the Indian players are not comfortable taking the field with the uncertainties around Covid-19. 

Though, it was earlier confirmed that the clash is going to be played as scheduled after the Indian players had tested negative for Covid-19 in the latest round of testing. 

There was a Covid-19 situation in the Indian camp after India head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar had earlier returned positive for Covid-19 and the latest support staff from the visiting camp to have contracted the Covid-19 was the assistant physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar. 

In fact, the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had earlier said that the board wasn’t sure whether the match is going to be played or not. 

“We don't know if the match will happen at the moment. Hopefully, we can get some game," PTI quoted Ganguly as saying at the book launch of 'Mission Domination' in Kolkata on September 9.

The visitors presently lead the five-match series 2-1 after they won the second Test at Lord’s and the fourth encounter at The Kennington Oval.  

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CPL 2021 | BR vs TKR: Trinbago bowlers rattle Barbados batting line up to script easy win

Trinbago Knight Riders etched a comfortable 6-wicket win against Barbados Royals after chasing down an easy target of 94 runs in St Kitts. The TKR side had a disappointing start to the chase after losing the openers early but Colin Munro who had come in at number three held the fort from one end and remained unbeaten at 41 off 47. Darrev Bravo and Tim Siefert chipped in with important contributions while Akeal Hosein remained not out for 12 off 5 as the Trinbago side chased down the target in the 17th over. Mohammad Amir and Joshua Bishop were among the wickets for Barbados after both the bowlers scalped a couple of wickets apiece. Earlier, the Trinbago spinners rattled the Barbados batting line up to restrict them to 93/9 in 20 overs. The Royals started off the proceedings in a decent manner as the openers Mayers and Charles put 24 runs on the board for the first wicket. But Mayers dismissal saw a flurry of wickets in quick succession for the Barbados team and then were soon left tottering at 59/7. Bishop though showed some resistance at the end of the innings and scored a 19-ball 17* that included a maximum and a four. Khary Pierre was the pick of the bowlers for TKR as he picked up a total of three wickets while Sunil Narine, Jayden Seales and Hosein bagged a couple of wickets apiece during the course. Barbados captain Jason Holder admitted that the toss did play a massive role. “I think the toss was very crucial. There was a lot of moisture. It still played difficult as the Knight Riders also took 17 overs to chase down the total. It has been a tough campaign so far but the boys are still in good spirits,” he said after the match. TKR skipper Kieron Pollard expressed his delight at the win and lauded the players for their efforts in the middle. “Well done to the boys. We were struggling at the halfway stage of the tournament but we knew where we had to improve. This is the business end of the tournament and we have to nail down all the areas,” he said. Barbados will now play Saint Lucia Kings on Saturday in St Kitts while TKR will be up against the Patriots on Sunday at the same venue.

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CPL 2021 | SLK vs JT: All round show hands Jamaica Tallawahs another comfortable win

Jamaica Tallawahs continued the momentum to give themselves another comprehensive win against Saint Lucia Kings on Friday after defending a target of 212 runs. The Kings were bundled out for 156 in the 19th over after Imad Wasim returned with a three-wicket haul for the Tallawahs while Andre Russell and Carlos Brathwaite scalped a couple of wickets during the course. Saint Lucia lost a couple of early wickets after a quick start with the likes of captain Faf du Plessis and Andre Fletcher back in the hut. But Mark Deyal and ROston Chase then tried to steady the ship for the side as the two batters stitched a stand of 66 runs for the third wicket before Deyal departed for a 17-ball 33. Deyal’s dismissal broke the shackles and the Kings lost wickets at regular intervals to get reduced to 136/7 and get bowled out eventually. Chase also chipped in with 30 runs off 17 balls. Earlier, the Jamaica side rode on some fine batting performance from the unit to post 211 in 20 overs. Opener Kennar Lewis notched up a half-century while Wasim struck a 10-ball 27`in the later stage of the innings to anchor the side to a big total. Kadeem Alleyne picked up three wickets for Saint Lucia but was hit for 53 runs in his allotted 4 overs. With this win, the Tallawahs have now moved up to the third spot in the points table with four wins and as many defeats under their belt. Kings on the other side, also have the same number of wins from the eight matches that they have played but are placed at number four position because of a lesser net run rate. Faf expressed his disappointment at the defeat and admitted that a target of over 200 is always difficult and also pointed out that dropping catches proved costly. “We didn't start well. There was some incredible hitting but we didn't hit our lengths. When someone gets 200 plus, it was always going to be tough. Good cricketing wicket though. Lot of catches being dropped surprises me and it I guess boils down to skills,” he said after the game. Saint Lucia Kings will now play Barbados Royals on Saturday in St Kitts while Jamaica Tallawahs will take on Guyana Amazon Warriors on Sunday at the same venue.

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Defending champions West Indies name World T20 squad without Narine; Rampaul, Chase earn call up

The defending champions West Indies have named their squad for the upcoming edition of the ICC World T20 scheduled to be played in the UAE and Oman. The squad will be led by Kieron Pollard while Nicholas Pooran, who earlier this year was rated as the future of West Indies by the skipper himself has been elevated as the vice-captain of the men in maroon. The likes of Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Fletcher strengthen the youth and flair quotient of the Windies batting group that is already enriched with the presence of heavyweights such as Pollard, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo. The bowling department appears a bit thin with the absence of Narine but the emergence of Hayden Walsh Jr. in the recent past augurs well for the Windies on those pitches in the UAE and Oman. He has had a successful run of form against Australia and South Africa in the recent past and the leg-spinner will be hoping for replication of his performance against those sides as they are placed in the same group as the Windies. The quartet of Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder and Akeal Hosein has been selected as reserves to travel with the side. The selection of players is on the expected lines except for the non-selection of Sunil Narine and the selection of Ravi Rampaul and Roston Chase. The recent performances in the ongoing edition of the Caribbean Premier League would have tipped the selectors in favour of Rampaul and Chase. Rampaul has returned to the Windies squad in the shortest format for the first time since 2015 while Chase has earned a maiden call up. “Ravi Rampaul is a highly experienced bowler who performed well in the last CG Insurance Super50 Cup and the current Hero CPL to date. He will boost the team's wicket-taking options in the power-play and the middle phase and will provide another option for the death overs. Roston Chase has shown that he is a very capable T20 player. He performed well in the CPL in 2020 and has been outstanding in the 2021 edition so far. He has shown the ability to knit the innings together while still scoring at a fast rate with a low dot-ball percentage. He will be an excellent foil for the explosive players in the team,” Windies’ lead selector Roger Harper explained the reasoning behind the selection of Rampaul and Chase in the side. West Indies will start the defence of their championship title against their opponent in the final of the last edition—England on October 23 in UAE.