It is something I do in games: Smith defends scuffing of Pant’s guard

Deepak Hooda controversy: Pathan attacks Baroda Cricket Association for overlooking promising talents

Former Indian all-rounder and Baroda captain Irfan Pathan has come out in support of bereaved Baroda and Kings XI Punjab all-rounder Deepak Hooda after the latter had left the Baroda Syed Mushtaq Ali team camp following altercations with skipper Krunal Pandya. Pathan,36, wanted the cricket association to treat a player of Hooda’s caliber well, especially at the time of the pandemic, when the mental health of players is very important. “During the difficult times of this pandemic wherein mental health of a player is of utmost importance as they have to stay in a bio-bubble as well as keep themselves focused on the game, such incidents may have adverse effects on a player and should be avoided,” said Pathan in a statement that he posted on his Twitter account. The Baroda-born who represented India in 173 internationals including 120 ODIs, 29 Tests, and 24 T20Is further requested the association to look into the matter extensively. “Requesting all the members of the BCA to look into this and condemn such actions since they are not good for the game of cricket,” said Pathan. The junior Pathan also pointed out the inconsistencies of BCA in dealing with the talent prospects saying, “In the recent past, there have been episodes wherein the deserving young talents who have performed well and are under the age of 30 have been overlooked for selection.” “Also, the likes of Aditya Waghmode, who was the highest run-scorer for the Baroda team in the last season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 364 runs and Swapnil Singh, who had all-round performance, scoring 216 runs and took 10 wickets, were overlooked,” he added. Pathan, who was Man of the Match in the 2007 T20 World Cup and who has taken 301 international wickets, hitting out at the BCA Chief Executive Officer, who had hinted at taking harsh disciplinary action against Hooda, said, “If what I have heard about the Deepak Hooda episode is true, it is indeed shocking and disheartening. No player should be treated like this.” Baroda in their SMA campaign have got two wins from two games and look like a formidable unit.

BBL 1O | Match Report: Scorchers fetch fifth consecutive win, make light work of Hurricanes at Perth

The Perth Scorchers continued their scintillating form in the 10th edition of the Big Bash League winning their fifth game on the trot as they defeated the Hobart Hurricanes by a huge margin of nine wickets with 22 balls to spare. The winning runs were scored as Jason Roy hooked one to fine leg and the ball fell short of Sandeep Lamichhanne stationed there for just that sort of a shot. The fielder made a complete mess of it, unable to even find the ball. That, however, quite literally summed up Hurricanes’ day in the office, where nothing went their way. The Englishman led the way for Scorchers It was the two Englishmen in Roy and Liam Livingstone that nearly saw their team through before a little lapse in concentration saw Livingstone get caught just before the victory was ensured. But before that the pair added 1213 runs for the opening stand, the second-highest partnership in this edition after Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran’s 125 runs partnership against the Sydney Sixers. The two openers took the game away from the Hurricanes quite early as changing a target of 140, they never looked like being hurried and played their shots freely. While Livingstone made 54 off 39, Roy, who was adjudged Man of the Match scored a balanced 52 ball 74. This was also the first fifty of Roy in this season of the BBL. The only chance for Hurricanes went begging Having got to a very average total, Hurricanes’ bowlers started off nicely and got past the edge of Roy and Livingstone early on. This pressure created by ‘Canes pace brigade induced a mistake from Livingstone when he was naught. The catch went straight to D’Arcy Short at the point, it was a dolly but Short was in motion when the ball reached him and as a result, he dropped a sitter. From there onwards, no chances were given to the Hurricanes whatsoever. Jhye Richardson and the Scorcher's bowling attack As was expected before the game, it would be a fight between Scorchers’ bowlers and the Hurricanes' batting. Scorchers however got the better of the visitors as the highest wicket-taker in the league so far, Jhye Richardson broke the opening partnership of highest run-getter in the series Ben McDermott and D’Arcy Short. Richardson won the battle of the number ones by getting McDermott played on in just the third over of the game. Soon after Dawid Malan was choked as well. Having scored not even a single run of five deliveries faced so far, Malan tried to break free and hit one in the air which was gulped at mid-on quite easily off Jason Behrendorff. The situation of the Hurricanes got so worse that even after 8 overs they just had 30 odd runs on the board and soon skipper Peter Handscomb too got out to make it even worse. Mitchell Owen a bright young prospect The only positive out of this game for the Hurricanes was 19 years old Micthell Owen who showed glimpses of the potential that he has hitting established bowlers like Andrew Tye and Richardson for four on deliveries that were hard to hit. The youngster made 11 off seven deliveries and looked like a busy player who wanted to dominate, no matter what. Although in the bowling department, he got a bit of a tonking as he gave away 18 runs in the only over that he bowled in the game. Apart from Owen, Short getting back in form and Tim David finding his mojo with big hits was also a plus point that Hurricanes must utilize in the next few games. What's Next? With three losses in the last five games and three of them in a row, the Hurricanes for the first time in the tournament find themselves in a worry. Now they don’t have any other option but to win at least three of their last four games to give themselves a shot at qualifying for the Playoffs. They now have another four days to think about and inspire themselves to face the Thunder at the Manuka Oval on 18th January. Scorchers on the other hand would look to continue on their winning trail as they face Sixers at Manuka Oval on 16th.

Australia to wait bit longer before deciding on Will Pucovski for Brisbane Test

While the Indian team is struggling with a lot of injuries and might as well play with the remaining players on the bench in the last Test of the series, the injury woes for the hosts are not too thin either. Opener Will Pucovski injured his shoulder while diving on the final day of the SCG Test. The Australian team management has confirmed the young right-hander who was making his debut in the Test suffered ‘shoulder subluxation’ but also said that the decision on the state of his injury and whether he will be able to take the field at the Gabba in the fourth Test will be decided later. However, the hosts have not made any addition to their squad for the fourth and final Test of the summer. "He will continue rest and rehabilitation over the next two days before a decision is made on his fitness for the fourth Vodafone Test match," a Cricket Australia spokesperson said. Pucovski was pressing the case for his election before the series against India had begun, but he suffered a concussion in the tour game against India and was ruled out of the first two Tests in Adelaide and Melbourne. Finally, he made his Test debut in the last Test and showed impressive signs of being a good opening batsman with a good fifty in the very first innings of his Test career.

Sreesanth thanks fans and supporters after return to competitive cricket

It was an emotional moment for Shantakumaran Sreesanth who bagged his first wicket in competitive cricket in 7 years when he castled Fabid Ahmed with a pearler of an outswinger and announced his return to competitive cricket. The ball pitched at good length and moved away just enough to miss Ahmed’s bat and disturb the timbers. Quite naturally he was overwhelmed after getting his first wicket in competitive cricket in 7 years. Plying his trade for Kerala in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Sreesanth was part of the playing XI in the game against Puducherry in Mumba and bagged his first wicket in the 2nd over of his spell. He finished with figures of 1/29 in his quota of 4 overs which played a role in restricting Puducherry to 136/8 in 20 overs. For Kerala, Jalaj Saxena was the pick of the bowlers finishing with 3/13. It proved to be a rather straightforward chase for Kerala as they chased the target down with 10 deliveries left and with 6 wickets in hand. Sreesanth took to his Twitter handle and shared the video of his maiden wicket after return. “Thanks a lot for all the support and love ..it’s just the beginning..with all of ur wishes and prayers many many many more to go.. lots of respect to u nd family,” wrote Sreesanth. Sreesanth was banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after his alleged involvement in spot-fixing during the 2013 IPL alongside his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan. A life ban was imposed on him but it was reduced to 7 years only last year which made him illegible to play from October 2019. He was added to the Kerala squad in December after he had a great time with the ball in the pre-season campaign.