ENG W vs IND W | 1st ODI: Brilliant Beaumont and bowlers blank bemoaning India in the opener

Eng vs SL match referee Phil Whitticase tests COVID postive

The England and the Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is looking to seek replacements for the five-match officials in the upcoming three-match ODI series between hosts England and Sri Lanka. The development comes after Phil Whitticase, the match referee for the T20I series tested positive for COVID-19 after a PCR test revealed that he had contracted the virus. He was asymptomatic and didn’t feel unwell as per reports from the ECB. However, he has to undergo a 10 day isolation period. ESPN Cricinfo has reported that as many as seven match officials and anti-corruption personnel at the Ageas Bowl has been considered close contacts of Whitticase and can hence take no part in the upcoming ODI series which also includes the five who were slated to officiate in the three-match ODI series. All of those seven members will have to self isolate for 10 days till 7th July. "No members of the two teams were impacted," the ECB said in a statement. "Alternative arrangements will be put in place to ensure Tuesday's ODI goes ahead as planned. "Seven other members from the match officials and anti-corruption unit teams were deemed close contacts, including five members due to officiate at the first ODI on Tuesday, 29 June at Emirates Riverside, Durham. Those impacted will have to self-isolate for 10-days until July 7. No members of the two teams were impacted," the statement further read. Chris Broad was the designated match referee for the series with Michael Gough and Richard Kettleborough as the onfield umpires. After suffering a humiliating series whitewash at the hands of England, Sri Lanka will look to redeem their lost pride in the ODI series starting at Chester-le-Street from

It gave me power over other kids: Dale Steyn on why he chose cricket as a profession

South Africa speedster Dale Steyn celebrated his 38th birthday on Sunday, June 27. And in a quirky chat with a cricket website, he revealed the reason behind choosing cricket as his profession. According to the proteas bowler, cricket gave him the extra edge over other kids while growing up and that encouraged him to pursue the game. “I suppose the reason why ended up choosing cricket was just that I felt like I had power over other kids around me. I was almost untouchable when it came to cricket, so I ran with it,” Steyn said during a chat with ESPNCricinfo. Born in the picturesque town of Phalaborwa, the fast bowler was into sports right from his early childhood and played many other games apart from cricket. “In other sports, like when it came to hockey, I was really good at hockey, don’t get me wrong, but I was probably as good as other kids. You know in Swimming, I was a good swimmer, but if I beat somebody, it would just by the touch of the hands,” he said. “Whereas when it came to cricket, I leapt ahead of the other kids. It was the one thing where I thought I had power over and I could dominate,” Steyn added. With 439 wickets in Tests, Steyn is the highest wicket-taker in the longest format for his country. He also has 260 wickets in the limited-overs format of the game and is one of the most sought T20 format bowlers as well. Having achieved so much in the game, the pacer does not forget the support he received from his family at the early stage of his career. “If I was ever going to become a professional and take something further, it was always going to be cricket. A lot of people around me like my parents and family were helping me. They were like, ‘you have got something, we can see it and you are dominating the adults, so this is something you gotta go with’,” said Steyn.

WTC win meant a lot to us says retired wicket-keeper batsman BJ Watling

Former New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman BJ Watling played his farewell Test against India in the ICC World Test Championship final and what better way to bid adieu to international cricket with a word title under his belt. The Black Caps thrashed the most successful team in the two years WTC cycle by 8 wickets to win their second ICC title after a wait for more than two decades. Watling who played an influential role in reinventing New Zealand’s lost ground in the traditional format ended his Test career with 75 Tests and 3790 runs in his career. He played quite a few stellar knocks for the national team and remained a rock behind the wickets since making his Test debut back in 2009. Having started his career as an opener, Watling finished as the most capped wicket-keeper batsman from the country. Reflecting on a historic moment in Southampton earlier this week, Watling said that without a shade of doubt the WTC win meant a lot to the New Zealanders. Watling battled pain in his final Test and decided to carry on his keeping duties despite dislocating his finger. "You could see that it meant a lot to the New Zealanders. You could kind of see the smiles on their faces underneath their masks and that everyone seemed to be pretty excited that we had managed to bring it home,” Watling was quoted as saying by Stuff.co.nz. Over the last few years, New Zealand have become one of the finest Test sides across the world and Watling played a substantial role in the transformation. Watling was asked to present the caps to the players ahead of the WTC final as it was his farewell game. Even Indian skipper Virat Kohli paid a tribute to him while coming out to bat on the final day of the Test match. "It just talks about teamwork and what it means to be involved in a team and that it's not just the team, it's about everyone involved. “We have a fantastic group of support staff and players and in this competition, the way it's worked out, there's been a number of players that have played games over the two-year period that weren't actually there, so it sort of just alluded to things like that,” Watling said. Tom Blundell who has been around the New Zealand Test circuit for a while now will replace Watling in the Test XI and Watling has high hopes from the swashbuckling stumper. "I think we all know Tom is prepared and ready to go. He's already scored two fantastic hundreds and in the game that he played against England over here, his keeping was excellent. "It's not easy over here with the Duke ball moving around, and he did an outstanding job and took some excellent catches. I have full faith in Tom. I think he's hungry, and he's ready to go,” Watling concluded.

Misbah-ul-Haq hoping to solve the middle order woes in tour of England and West Indies

Head coach of the Pakistan national cricket team Misbah-ul-Haq is trying to focus on a couple of middle-order positions ahead of the T20 World Cup and the series against England and world champions in this format West Indies will serve as a dress rehearsal for them to get things in order and shuffle the batting order around to see which might work for them in the future. Pakistan who landed in UK a couple of days ago has enough time in their hand to set things rolling before the showpiece event slated for November-December this year. They will play three ODIs and as many T20s against England and will then fly to the Caribbean shores to lock horns against England in a five-match T20I series. "The PSL made a few things clear," Misbah was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz on Sunday (June 27). "I think it is that one slot we are trying to fill, at No. 5 and No. 6, that we've had issues with. We have Azam Khan now and Sohaib Maqsood with us to see if they can, and what combination we can make with them,” he added. It must be noted that ever since Misbah took over the reins as the head coach of the national side as many as fourteen players have been tried in those two middle-order positions. With Azam Khan and Shoaib Maqsood coming in the mix, they will certainly look to make these two positions their own as Pakistan prepare for the World Cup. "Overall, the bowling we know we have pretty much our attack. At the top of the order, we have our four pretty much and their replacements. So, we know our side more or less but a couple of positions that we need to focus on over the next two series,” Misbah said. Despite not having a productive time with the bat in the PSL, Azam Khan was selected on the basis of his past performances while Shoaib Maqsood returned to the national squad after a long hiatus owing to a rich vein of form during the recently concluded PSL. He scored 428 runs in the tournament but prefers batting in the top order. "We try that whatever players we have here are fully prepared and that we show confidence in them so they go out there and perform. Azam no doubt is talented although he is a little out of form recently. But everyone knows that in modern T20 cricket, the power you need at five or six, the strike rate you need, he has the potential for that. So, looking forward to seeing him, we just have to see what combination we want to go with,” Misbah stated. Pakistan had to select the team for both the international series before the resumption of the second leg of PSL. Had they got a chance to analyse the recent performances, Shahnawaz Dhani had a realistic chance of making it to the squad after finishing the tournament as the leading wicket-taker with 20 scalps under his belt. "It's always a good thing that the maximum number of players are in good form and in a good frame of mind. But you learn from cricket that it doesn't matter when you have good form and runs and you still don't perform. And sometimes you're not in good form but you come with more focus, you try harder to recapture that form. "One good thing is we have time. We have ODIs first, so we can utilise that time and then be properly prepared as we go into the T20s. Form is not something that sticks with you permanently or goes away permanently. As coaching staff and players you try and get that back and we have enough time to do it,” Misbah concluded.