Home
Cricket News
Ipl 2022 Rajasthan Royals Appoint Steffan Jones As High Performance Fast Bowling Coach

IPL 2022 | Rajasthan Royals appoint Steffan Jones as High Performance Fast bowling coach

Inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals have appointed former Wales pacer Steffan Jones as the franchise's High-Performance bowling coach ahead of the 15th season of the lucrative league.

Jones, who served as the Royals' fast bowling coach back in 2019, will be tasked with providing high quality training, support and guidance to bowlers who are part of Rajasthan's set-up throughout the year, with major focus being on off-season and pre-season camps.

In a media release, Jones expressed his delight at re-joining the franchise besides expressing his gratitude towards the management for giving him an opportunity to work with a 'plethora of talented bowlers'.

He said, "I am delighted to be returning to the Rajasthan Royals and grateful to the management for giving me the opportunity to work with the team again. With a plethora of talented bowlers in our ranks, I'm looking forward to working with them round the year and preparing them to peak and excel when the season comes,"

Meanwhile, Royals' Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara reckoned that Steffan's familiarity with the processes and culture in the franchise, and his past performances paved the way for his return.

"Steffan has been closely associated with the franchise over the past few years so he understands the culture perfectly, and brings with him a very able coaching style, which has been appreciated by both players and management in the past," said Sangakkara.

"We are delighted to welcome him back to the franchise in his new role, wherein he will be working with our bowlers and providing support to them throughout the year, and we're confident his expertise can guide us to newer heights," he added.

Jones will link with the Royals' squad during the pre-season camp at the High-Performance Centre in Nagpur between March 07-10.

Discover more

PAK vs AUS | 1st Test | Day 1: Imam-ul-Haq makes headlines as hosts unleash dominance with bat

Pakistan batter Imam-ul-Haq was on a roll against Australia on the first day of the first Test in Rawalpindi. The home side, after winning the toss elected to bat first, were off to a magnificent start as the openers Imam and Abdullah Shafique put up a partnership of 105 runs for the first wicket. But Australia finally got the breakthrough when Shafique played one in the air and was caught by Pat Cummins off Nathan Lyon for 44. Imam was then joined by Azhar Ali in the middle and the left-right batting duo dominated the Australian bowling unit thoroughly. While Imam brought up his maiden Test hundred, courtesy a drive through the covers on a length delivery from Mitchell Starc, Azhar also notched up a fifty during the course. The track in Rawalpindi seemed to have something on offer for the spinners in the early stage of the game but the openers negotiated that well and the top-order later frustrated the Australian bowlers. Only Lyon managed to scalp a wicket out of the eight bowlers who were put in the attack by the captain. Pakistan were 245/1 at stumps. The left-handed opener later expressed his joy after reaching the milestone. “I cannot explain how I feel now. Coming back into the Test side, I wanted to make it count. I have been practicing hard in the last two and a half years. Special mention to the camp we had in Karachi. I last played against Australia and then got injured against New Zealand. And then was the twelfth man for a long time. You need to keep working hard. You need to learn from your mistakes and never lose your belief,” he said. This is the first time in 24 years that Australia are touring Pakistan. The visitors would need to pick early wickets on Day 2 to get the side back on track.

IND vs SL | 1st Test | Day 1: Rishabh Pant's batting masterclass puts India in driver's seat

India wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant was in dismay when a delivery from Suranga Lakmal went through and dismantled the woodwork behind him during the first Test in Mohali. The left-handed batter was cleaned up for a well-compiled 96, missing out on yet another hundred. Pant had walked out to bat after Virat Kohli who is playing his 100th Test was dismissed by Embuldeniya for 45. The former skipper’s dismissal was followed by a couple of more wickets at regular intervals with the likes of Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer back in the hut. Pant now needed someone who could steady the ship with him and Ravindra Jadeja did exactly the same. India were 228/5 when the two-handers came in for the rescue and initially played with caution. But once Pant got settled in, he played his strokes and in fact scored 22 runs in one of Embuldeniya’s overs. The wicket-keeper batsman’s knock of 97-ball 96 comprised four maximums and 9 fours during the course. Pant and Jadeja together put up a stand of 104 runs for the sixth wicket. India’s steady start Earlier, Rohit Sharma after winning the toss elected to bat first and he along with Mayank Agarwal provided the side with a brilliant start. The two openers didn’t really shy away from putting away the bad deliveries to the boundary and scored 52 runs for the first before the new skipper was caught at deep fine leg by Lakmal off Lahiru Kumara, courtesy a good short delivery. Sharma pulled the ball in the air but found the fielder to get out for 29. Mayank was then joined by Hanuma and the two batters were looking pretty steady at one stage. But Embuldeniya got into the act and removed Agarwal for 33 after trapping him in front of the stumps, leaving India in a spot of bother at 80/2. Kohli then came out to bat at number four. The former captain and Vihari made sure that they didn't lose any further wickets in the first session and took India to 109/2 at lunch. Sri Lanka fightback The Lankan Lions scripted a perfect fightback in the second session of Day 1. Kohli and Vihari had added 61 more runs to the tally from where they had left and were now looking dangerous to hand India a foundation for a big score. But that didn’t really happen as Embuldeniya breached Kohli’s defence while he was trying to block a length delivery on the back foot. The right-hander certainly misjudged the turn and was cleaned up for 45. Kohli’s departure was soon followed by Vihari’s wicket who played one from Vishwa Fernando on to his stumps and was sent back in the hut for 58. India lost another wicket in the form of Shreyas Iyer later on. Iyer was out LBW to Dhanajaya de Silva for 27. But riding on the partnership between Pant and Jadeja, India turned fortunes once again and ended the day’s proceedings at 357/6.

IND vs SL | 1st Test | As Virat gets dismissed on 45, prediction tweet goes viral

Virat Kohli was really good during his 76-ball 45 before he misguided a delivery by Lasith Embuldeniya. Following his dismissal, a tweet has gone viral after the events mentioned in it were vindicated to the hilt.

PAK vs AUS | CA to monitor tour situation after suicide bomb attack in Pakistan

Peshawar has suffered a terrorist suicide bomb attack that killed more than 30 people. The city is just two hours away from where Pakistan and Australia are battling it out in the first Test. Cricket Australia (CA) is monitoring the situation according to The Sunday Morning Herald report while the local reports suggest that more than 50 were injured in the blast after the bomb was detonated in the northern city of Peshawar. The reports further suggest that a person ran into the mosque and detonated the bomb after the attackers opened fire on police. This is the first time in 24 years that Australia are touring Pakistan. The visitors have been provided with a presidential-style security. Talking about the first Test, Pakistan had a brilliant start and were in the commanding position during the first day’s proceedings. Opener Imam-ul-Haq made the historic Test most special after he scored his maiden hundred in the format. Imam along with Abdullah Shafique provided the hosts with a positive start as the two stitched a stand of 105 runs for the first wicket before Shafique was out to Nathan Lyon for 44. Imam was then joined by Azhar Ali who also brought up his fifty.