ICC releases revised schedule of Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the revised schedule of ICC Women's World Cup scheduled to be held in 2022 in New Zealand. Notably, the event earlier planned to take off in 2021 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will now commence on March 4 and finish on April 3 at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand.

There will be a total eight teams participating in the competition where a total of 31 matches have to be played across six major cities of New Zealand - Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. The knockout games will be played at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch; and Basin Reserve, Wellington.

Five teams such as India, Australia, South Africa, England, and New Zealand have already qualified for the marquee event while the other three participants will come from the ICC qualifying tournament scheduled to take place in June-July next year in Sri Lanka. The hosts New Zealand will take on one of the three incoming teams from the qualifier tournament in the tournament opener on March 4, 2022.

India, who were defeated by the defending champions England in the finals at the Lord’s in the last competition will start their campaign against one of three qualifying teams on March 6. The Women in Blue will play all their matches under lights at the Seddon Park in Hamilton.

On the other hand, England will open their defence of the title against Australia on March 5 in Hamilton.

India captain Mithali Raj is rejoicing at the prospect of leading her team once again into an ICC tournament where the team has been putting up a consistently good performance. She said that the success of her team and if they can take a leap by winning the title in 2022, it will inspire the current and next generation of girls in the country to take up the game very seriously.

"We have all been through a very difficult year and are happy to be getting back at playing the game we all love. India has been doing very well at ICC tournaments in the past three or four years, whether you talk about the (ODI) World Cup or the recently concluded T20 World Cup, and if we manage to win the tournament in 2022, it will be a massive inspiration for the next generation of girls, as the fifty-over format, is considered the pinnacle for any cricketer. I can assure you the team and I are looking forward to it," Raj said.

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If fit, Cameron Green to debut in 1st Test, confirms Justin Langer; ducks 'tough' selection calls

All-rounder Cameron Green will make his Test debut in Adelaide if he recovers from the mild concussion he suffered in the tour game against India, coach Justin Langer confirmed in the press conference. Langer spoke highly of Green’s capabilities as an all-rounder and said that he has earned the right to play on the back of consistent performances in the Sheffield Shield. “He's a terrific young bloke, he's obviously an excellent talent, he's earned the right for selection through his performances through Sheffield Shield cricket. If he's fit and available then he'll make his Test debut, which is very, very exciting for Australian cricket, for him and his family," Langer said in the virtual press conference. Langer detailed the level of Green’s progress in the path of recovery from the concussion after getting hit in one of the most unusual ways while bowling to Jasprit Bumrah. Langer said that Green will have to pass through all the tests mandatory as per the concussion protocols and if he is able to pass through all of them, a Baggy Green is waiting for him in Adelaide. "If he's passed fit he'll definitely play. We're just going through the concussion protocols. We all saw it was a very unusual incident that happened with him. If Cameron gets through the protocols and he gets through training and he feels good, I've seen him last night, he had a big smile on his face, he had another test this morning that we got good news,” Langer added. Opening conundrum The hosts have other selection conundrums as well and the top order is certainly one of them with the incumbent Joe Burns struggling awfully with lack of runs. There have been discussions about one of Matthew Wade or Marnus Labuschagne shifting to the top of the order but Langer ruled out promotion of Labuschagne to open the innings. “Marnus won't be opening. He's done an amazing job at number three, Steven Smith does an amazing job at number four, we're going to try and stay as settled as possible," Langer said of Labuschange’s batting position in the Adelaide Test. However, he did not disclose the plan of action on Wade as an opener or continuing with Joe Burns and gave mixed signals talking highly of both of them. He suggested that Burns is still rated highly by the team but also hinted that his lack of runs can’t be overlooked going into an all-important Test series against India and that a final decision of him will be taken in due course of time. "I've been privately and publicly backing Joe in the whole time, he's a very good player, you don't lose your talent overnight. He also understands though runs are the greatest currency of value to any player. We'll make our decision on who's going to open in the next day or so," Langer said of Joe Burns. Langer was immensely impressed with the character shown by Matthew Wade, whom he called ‘Mr Fix It’ and said that took his advice of ‘hammering the doors down’ by a truckload of runs in the Sheffield Shield and showing the skills and determination to help the team in tough situations. “Matthew Wade is almost becoming 'Mr Fix It', he's so well regarded. He's a very, very important part of our team … he's got good footwork, he's tough and he can also counter-attack, we know how aggressive he can be,” Langer said of Wade. On the question of Wade's credentials to open the batting at the Adelaide Oval, Langer was subtle and did not reveal what exactly is going on in the hosts camp but he was not short of backing Wade to succeed at the top of the order in case he is asked to do so by the team. "He can definitely do it; we've just got to work out what the best makeup of our team is going to be," Langer said. While the bowling attack of the hosts should be a settled line up with the return of Mitchell Starc into the squad, coach Justin Langer, captain Tim Paine and selectors have their task cut as they face some tough decisions with the absence of David Warner and Will Pucovski and Joe Burns’ lack of form has only complicated matters for the hosts.

Rampant New Zealand ruffle World Test Championship feathers

New Zealand's clean sweep over West Indies has afforded them a realistic shot at making the World Test Championship final come June 2021.

Tightest Australian team I’ve been part of: Lyon rings the warning bell

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has rung the warning bell ahead of the first Test match against India in Adelaide, saying that he is ready with an altogether different plan for the Indian batters. He also called the present Aussie side the tightest that he has been part of, meaning that it is the deadliest bowling attack since the dominance era of Australia. "We have spoken about it [the 1-2 defeat against India in the last series] and come up with a few different plans. We are in a far better place than we were two years ago. It's exciting and the tightest Aussie team that I have been a part of, " Lyon told the press during a virtual media conference. David Warner’s injury along with that of Will Pucovski means that the Aussie team has to find a different opener altogether. Lyon called it disappointing.” We all know what quality of player Warner is," he added. The 33-year-old is confident that the Aussie bowlers will be able to challenge the Indian batsmen and cramp them for runs. "We have the best bowling attack in the world, so we should make sure that we do our stuff, challenging the Indian (batters') defense for long periods of time," he said. Born in the Young town of New South Wales, Lyon will become only the second spinner after great Shane Warne to go past the 400 wickets milestone if he takes 10 more wickets in this series and he is really excited about it. "From where I had started to where I am at present, it is pretty exciting. Hopefully, I can create chances and get close to the 400 wicket mark," he said. "In the last five years, my bowling has gone to an altogether new level. I love the challenge of playing an attacking side like India,” added the man who has played 96 Tests and is nearing yet another milestone of 100 Tests.

AUS vs IND: A confident Rishabh Pant poses selection dilemma for Team India

With Rishabh Pant hitting a 73-ball 103 in the second innings of India’s second practice game against Australia A, the question of who among Pant and Wriddhiman Saha should play has once again popped up in front of the coach and the captain, ahead of the first Test, a day/ night affair in Adelaide. "This hundred has been a big confidence-booster for me,” Pant told BCCI tv in an interview after the end of the three-day practice game in Sydney. “It's been a month, I am in Australia but I didn't get the chance to play in the first practice match because of a stiff neck,” he added. With a resolve to bat for a longer period of time, having been undone by an LBW decision in the first innings of the Test, Pant, 23 talked about how he grew in confidence as the innings progressed. "When I went out to bat a lot of overs were left, so (Hanuma) Vihari and I wanted to build a good partnership. We wanted to bat as much as possible. I was just trying to give myself as much time as possible and slowly I started to develop confidence," he said. Saying that the batting unit was keen to spend as much time as possible in the middle during the Pink Ball practice game, teh Delhi born said that it turned out to be a good practice overall. "The bowlers bowled well, the batsmen got good time at the crease. Everyone did well, so I think we got very good practice because playing under lights is a little difficult," he said.