ENG W vs IND W: Recordbreaking Mithali Raj still hungry for more runs in international cricket

Haris Rauf relishes promotion in PCB contracts, focuses on 'bowling partnerships' against England

Pakistan newest pace sensation Harris Rauf has said that the promotion into the grade C contract of the Pakistan Cricket Board will work as a motivation for him in the upcoming series against England. In a video released by the PCB on its Youtube and Twitter timeline, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is seen interviewing Rauf where the duo shared some of their views on the developments in the game. Rauf emphasized the challenges in the upcoming T20 and ODI series but focussed on building ‘ bowling partnerships’ to challenge the hosts. “I am very happy to get this news in Derby and of course would take it as a motivation for this year. England has always remained a challenging tour, but our bowling department is good and we will create trouble for the hosts through our bowling partnerships,” Rauf said. Pakistan had toured England last year as well when matches were played behind closed doors. This year, however, matches are scheduled to be played at grounds filled with full-capacity crowds and both Shaheen and Rauf expressed joy over performing in front of the fans all over again. The tourists are slated to reach Cardiff on July 6 where they will play the first ODI of the three-match long ODI series followed by an equally long T20I series.

Second largest stadium in the country to be constructed in Jaipur

The Rajasthan Cricket Association has received a financial grant of Rs. 100 crores from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to build the second-largest stadium in India. The stadium will be built in Jaipur. The estimated time for the construction of the first phase of the stadium is likely to take 24 to 30 months while an amount of around Rs. 290 crores would be required for the construction work. "Historic day for cricket in Rajasthan -- went to JDA for getting the lease deed and possession letter from JDC Gaurav Goyal for the land for India's second-largest cricket stadium proposed at Jaipur. Also present were GS Sandhu, Advisor, Mahendra Sharma, Secy and others," RCA President Vaibhav Gehlot tweeted. The stadium which will have a spectator capacity of 75,000 will get the funds for construction from three sources. 100 crores will be provided by the BCCI, a 100 crores loan from the bank and Rs. 90 crores from RCS funds. "Construction work will be done in two phases. There will be 40,000 spectator capacity in the first phase and the ground will have 44 international level cricket pitches," an official statement read. "There will be two practice grounds, four cricket academies, hostels, parking facilities, sports facilities like club, hotel, gym etc. and will be made of international level," it added. The Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad is presently the biggest cricket stadium in the world having a total capacity of 1,32,000 and was inaugurated by President Ramnath Kovind ahead of the Day-night Test between India and England earlier this year.

Sir Ian Botham rips into England team management, calls rotation policy 'absolute garbage'

One of the finest all-rounders of the game, Sir Ian Botham has lambasted the England team management for not picking ‘right players and adopting the rotation policy which he rated as an ‘absolute garbage.’ He said that things like plyers being asked to rest after a fine performance would not have taken place in his era. "I am not sure we are picking the right players. Rotation, I think, is the biggest load of b******s of all time. Absolute garbage. I tell you what, I would like to have seen someone say to me when I was playing 'well done, but you’re having a rest next game'. Err, no I’m not. Bowl, get fit and stay fit by bowling," Botham wrote in his column for The Daily Mail. Botham also came hard on England’s batsmen for not going for the chase in the first Test against New Zealand and rated their overall performances as one of the worst he has ever witnessed from his countrymen. He said that the excuse of not having the services of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler behind them not going for the chase did not make any sense as their absence created chances for other players to step up. "I think our batting is a big worry. Last month, England had a great opportunity at Lord’s when they were given the opportunity of a last-day run chase against New Zealand. People had been waiting for months and months to see live sport and to go out and bat like that in the final innings with no intent was appalling. I thought ‘you guys need to wake up a bit, you rely on the public’. "Their reason for why they didn’t do it was because Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes weren’t playing. Excuse me. That gives a chance for someone else to come through. I thought it was very weak. They got what they deserved in the end, to be quite frank. Performances like the one at Lord’s don’t do anything to promote Test cricket. Quite the contrary. It was one of the most p***poor performances I have ever seen from an England side. He said that the public who turned up at Lord’s to see live sports after such a long break due to Covid-19 would have preferred England going for it and losing it by 20 odd runs instead of watching them bat without any intent. He said that champion sides such as the West Indies of the 1970s, and 80s or New Zealand of now would never have let such opportunities go waste. "You know what, I think the public would have much preferred England to have gone for it and got within 20 runs and if they win it or lose it from that point, whatever. Imagine the West Indies side of the 70s or 80s turning down a challenge like that or New Zealand now. I was pretty ashamed to be honest. I just don’t understand the logic,” an infuriated Botham added in his column. England slipped to their first series defeat against New Zealand at home since 1999 and Joe Root suffered his first series loss at home to Kane Williamson-led New Zealand side who found them short of answers in all departments of the game.

Kohli will end up captaining more than any other skipper in history of the game: Bangar

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has put his weight behind present captain Virat Kohli and has said that the right-handed batsman will probably end up captaining more than any other skipper in the history of the game. Kohli though is still searching for an ICC trophy as a skipper but he is the most successful Test captain of India already and has a win percentage of over 70 in ODIs. “If as leaders, you have the opportunity to actually dictate the way the culture of the team is and the outcomes that the team derives, then, in that case, all of them (nominees) were in quest of excellence. So is Virat, I do not doubt that he’ll end up being probably captaining more than any other captain in the history of the game,” Bangar said in Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Live.’ Under Kohli’s captaincy, India have won 36 Test matches and 65 ODIs but suffered defeats in the final of the Champions Trophy in 2017 against Pakistan and recently in the title clash of the inaugural WTC against New Zealand. The Virat Kohli-led side is now slated to lock horns with England in a five-match Test series scheduled to begin on August 4 in Nottingham.