England use coded signals from dressing room; players, ECB defend move

Modern-day cricket needs more than players’ and captain’s game-awareness on the field and keeping that in mind the England cricket team has adopted a single-sending measure that is based on the use of coded signals from the team’s balcony on the ground. The tactics were evident at the Newlands where the team was facing the host South Africa in the third and final T20 of the series and the team analyst Nathan Leamon was seen placing the cards with some numbers that sent signals to the English players and captain in particular.

England vice-captain Jos Buttler likened the move as one of the modes for value addition and compared it to the two strategic timeouts in the Indian Premier League where the players and captains on the field get the opportunity to collect feedback and inputs from the analysis team. However, in the English team setup, it has been left for the players and captain to decide if they want to adopt the signal and tactical suggestions that it brings or wishes to ignore them and go ahead with their own tactics based on match situations.

"The lads were checking their Euromillions numbers. Eoin works closely with Nathan to work on the match-ups. In the IPL, you have two tactical time-outs for suggestions from analysts, but you have to be careful how you use it, there has to be an instinctive, intuitive side to the game," Buttler told Sky Sports suggesting the idea behind this development in the England team setup.

On the other hand, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said that the signalling system was under trial for along time and the process is just another value addition as a ‘live informational resource’ which by no means are ‘commands or instructions’ to players and the captain on the field and that all the decisions are taken on the field only and not inside the dressing room.

England have swept the three-match T20 series against South Africa and are the contenders to win the ODI series starting December 04 as well. The hosts have a lot of questions to answer and they will find it really tough to turn things around against this England white-ball side which does not allow slip-ups.

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After Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik attacks Pakistan selectors over 'communication gap'

Pakistan All-rounder Shoaib Malik is searching for answers on why he was excluded from the squad for the tour of New Zealand. Malik, who has also captained Pakistan, said that he has ‘no idea’ on the reasoning behind the selectors’ decision to drop him for the tour of New Zealand. "If I am not part of the national team, only the chief selector can answer this. I have no idea. There wasn't any communication from them but of course, I don't want to go into the negative side and just stay positive," Malik was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Reportedly, chief selector Misbah ul-Haq had last month said that the selectors are looking to build the team for the future and hence players such as Malik doesn’t feature in the scheme of things looking at the two upcoming T20 World Cups. Malik’s apprehension about the lack of communication from the selectors comes on the back of observation made by pacer Mohammad Amir who had lamented the selection committee for not allowing space to players where they could ask for a break or workload management. He had said that there is a severe communication gap between selectors and players and the situation is leading the players to be insecure while remaining in the setup.

AUS vs IND: SCG may host full-house crowd for final T20

The upcoming T20 series between Australia and India may well see cricket going back to the old normal with a full-house crowd at stadiums as there is a possibility that Sydney Cricket Ground will be allowed to fill 100 per cent of its seating capacity when the two teams meet for the third T20 of the series. The New South Wales government is mulling lifting covid-19 restrictions after December 7 as the coronavirus situation has been contained to a large extent in the state. "From Monday, life will be very different in NSW," The Australian quoted NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian as saying. Earlier, the seating capacity for the third and final T20 was capped to up to 50 per cent of the seating capacity of the SCG. The T20 series will begin in the capital city of Canberra after which the two teams will travel back to Sydney where the ODI series had started which the hosts won 2-1. Virat Kohli and his men will be ecstatic after winning the last ODI game of the series and it would make up for a riveting series that should go down the wire in terms of results.

Jason Holder Brimming With Confidence Ahead of Test Series Against New Zealand

West Indies captain Jason Holder has expressed optimism about the chances of his team in the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. In an exclusive interview with Cricket West Indies' YouTube channel, the skipper of the touring team suggested that his side has improved and matured a lot since their last tour of the country. "I think we are in with a really good chance. Cricket is played on a day. We've beaten a lot of top sides in the last couple of years. I think this side has been building, heading in the right direction. So, for me, this tour is really important. "Last time we played here, we were pretty much outplayed. But its pretty much the same guys that we've had for the last couple of years. A lot of these guys are familiar with the conditions now. They would like to make amends for the last time's performance. So, I think we stand a really good chance. We just need to be disciplined and execute our plans," Holder said while summing up his team's prospects. The West Indies side has been in New Zealand for quite some time and has played two practice matches. In both those games, the team's batsmen showed good form. This has especially pleased their captain. "It's really good to see the batsmen spend some time in the middle... Regardless of the conditions (in the practice games), the wicket was quite placid and quite good for batting, you still have to do the job and spend time in the centre. So, it was really good to see people like Kraigg (Brathwaite) get scores, Darren Bravo get scores, (Shamarh) Brooks got a score...mainly all of our top six batters got starts... Positive signs heading into the Test match... I am really confident that the guys can transform some of those performances in the Test. There is some uncertainty regarding the middle order of West Indies with both Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo coming back into the team. From their last Test outing in Engalnd, only one spot, that of the dropped Shai Hope, has opened up. Also, the make of the bowling attack isn't certain. Rahkeem Cornwall is the only frontline spinner in the squad while there are five fast bowlers. Holder said the composition of the team will be decided after they have a look at the wicket. The Windies captain is especially pleased with the performance of opener Braithwaite. The latter scored his highest first-class score in first-class cricket during the second practice match against New Zealand A. "I was remarking to one of the coaches in our staff that the innings I saw in Queenstown, the double hundred, was one of the most fluent innings of him that I have seen, ever. For me, his balance looks really good and he is striking the ball really well," Holder observed. One worrying sign for the West Indies was the lack of form for the bowlers. But the skipper of the side asserted that he is not worried about his bowlers. "Not worried at all! Our bowlers have reallly carried the mantle for this team for the last 5-10 years. It's more or less for us to continue that trend. Our bowlers know what is expected of them.... What I have seen of the bowlers in the warm up games is discipline and what we need going into this series is discipline." The first Test begins at Seddon Park in Hamilton on December 3.

Players to Take a Knee During New Zealand-West Indies Series

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has decided to continue New Zealand's overt support to the Black Lives Matter movement by confirming that his team will take a knee at the start of the Test series between his side and West Indies. The first Test begins at Hamilton on December 3. Both teams had taken a knee during the T20I series between the two teams which concluded recently. Williamson expressed his reasoning behind the decision to continue the symbolic protest during the Test series. "Jason and I caught up. (We are) looking to continue what was done during the T20s and try to continue that awareness around the BLM movement and also the 'Give Nothing To Racism' campaign that New Zealand Cricket are right behind as well... So that will be continued on the first day of each Test match," the Kiwi captain said on the eve of the first Test. The Windies captain Jason Holder was delighted with Williamson for his gesture and profusely praised the cricketers of the New Zealand team. "It just shows the kind of individuals that New Zealand cricket has. Kane came openly to me and we sat down and had a really good chat around it. It was just mainly him hearing our side of it. Really happy with his support…and New Zealand Cricket have started a campaign too, which is really good." The kneeling gesture had its origin in United States of America where some African-American sportspersons decided to express their opposition to racial inequality, especially the alleged excesses by police against members of the Black community, by kneeling during the national anthem of the country. After the infamous killing of George Floyd earlier this year, the Black Lives Matter movement gained worldwide support. The act of kneeling made its appearance in the cricket world at the start of the first Test between England and West Indies some months ago. Players of both West Indies and England had taken the knee on that occassion. Later in the season, when Australian team toured England and avoided taking a knee, their decision was criticised by former West Indies cricketer and leading commentator Michael Holding.