It was all about getting the right balance: Williamson on playing Eng ahead of WTC Final

New Zealand were crowned champions of the inaugural World Test Championship after they defeated India in the final at Southampton. Chasing 139 in the second innings, New Zealand rode on captain Kane Williamson’s unbeaten half-century and Ross Taylor’s 47* to go over the line.

The Blackcaps had played a two-match Test series ahead of the WTC final against England. In a conversation with India Today, Williamson was asked whether the series did help them get into the groove and the right-handed batsman said that it was all about finding the right balance ahead of the big game.

“Look, it’s very hard to know what the best preparation is. India are competitive and a strong side. Having said that, we were trying to get the balance in the side because there were three Test matches in quick succession and we didn’t want our bowlers overdoing it in particular. The idea was to have a certain amount of cricket which is beneficial and keep the balance right. It was nice playing against England. They too are a very difficult side,” Williamson said.

India were rattled by the New Zealand bowlers and were bundled out for 170 on the reserve day of the Test match. Tim Southee scalped a four-wicket haul while Trent Boult picked up three as the Indian team was thoroughly dominated by New Zealand.

Earlier, India were bowled out for 217 in the first innings while the Kiwis took the lead before getting all out for 249.

The Virat Kohli-led side will now play a five-match Test series against England in August away from home.

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Michael Holding sees a lot of Viv Richards in Virat Kohli

Legendary West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding credited Indian skipper Virat Kohli for the change in Indian cricket and taking it to new heights. Stressing on the fitness levels of all the players, Holding said during his time as a player only or two players from the Indian side used to have the fitness levels and now the whole team looks so fit and always raring to go. Over the last few years, the Indian cricket team has been one of the fittest outfits with skipper Virat Kohli leading from the front. Ever since his physical transformation, Kohli has been an example to his teammates which has shrugged off on his teammates and have made the Indian team one of the fittest units. Holding feels Kohli resembles the characteristics of legendary West Indies batsman Viv Richards “Virat Kohli is someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s someone who will let you know exactly how he feels. I think he gets a bit carried away at times, but that is Virat Kohli, that is the man. He’s similar to Viv (Richards) in that regard. Viv, sometimes on the field, was over-expressive. But those are the personalities of those two gentlemen. They can tone down a little bit as well, but then, if you are a Mustang, it’s hard to tell a Mustang to trot. He’s going to gallop,” Holding was quoted as saying during an exclusive interview with the Indian Express. Despite already becoming one of the most successful Test skippers of all time, Kohli’s over-aggressive approach has led to India’s downfall on certain occasions. Holding feels that Kohli could tone down just a bit in order to make his players a bit more relaxed. “As far as his captaincy, I’ve only seen India when they were touring England and I saw them in South Africa. The only thing I’d say about Virat is that he tone down a bit so his team can relax because a lot of them, I think, are on tenterhooks,” Holding said.

PCB adds three more spots in central contracts for women

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made some additions in the central contracts for women. The PCB added three spots in the list and also increased monthly retainers across all categories by 10 per cent. "In total, the PCB has awarded 20 contracts for the 2021-22 cricket season, which is two more than the previous," the PCB said in a statement. "Monthly retainers across all rungs – including the emerging category – have been increased by 10 per cent and the national women’s selection committee has kept one spot open in the central contracts that will be awarded in the year based on on-field performance," it added. The decision was taken by the board to reward the players who have been performing for the team. "The Pakistan Cricket Board has increased the list of central contracts from nine to 12 as it continues to value and reward the best performers on the circuit," Urooj Mumtaz, the chair of the national women’s selection committee, said. The contracts are divided into three grades, A, B and C and will have 12 spots. Pakistan are slated to host England for a couple of T20Is and three ODIs before they feature in ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier in December. They will later play in ICC Women's Cricket World Cup and Commonwealth Games next year.

Kusal Mendis, Gunathilaka, Dickwella suspended by SLC for bio bubble breach in UK

Three Sri Lanka players Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka and Niroshan Dickwella were on Monday suspended by the SLC for a bio-bubble breach in the UK. The cricketers who were in England for the on-going limited-overs tour will now fly back home from Durham. "Sri Lanka Cricket executive committee has suspended Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka & Niroshan Dickwella for breaching the bio- bubble and they will be immediately recalled to Sri Lanka," SLC secretary Mohan De Silva said in a statement. A video of Mendis and Dickwella had gone viral on social media where the two were spotted roaming around on the streets of Durham. “An investigation is underway as they have breached the (code of) conduct,” said SLC chief Shammi Silva said earlier after the video of the players surfaced on social media. Sri Lanka are touring England for a three-match T20I series and as many ODIs. The visitors suffered a thumping 0-3 defeat in the series after losing the third and final encounter by 89 runs. Chasing 181 in 20 overs, Sri Lanka were bundled out for 91. This is not the first time that Mendis has found himself in trouble. He was arrested for being allegedly involved in a car accident with a cyclist who died on the spot last year. He was later produced before the Panadura Magistrate’s Court and was released on two personal bails of Sri Lankan rupees 1 million each after being detailed in the jail overnight. The first ODI between England and Sri Lanka will be played on Tuesday.

T20 is not cricket says Michael Holding

From being the undisputed kings of world cricket during the late 1970s to the early 1990s to becoming one of the weaker teams of the current generation, West Indies cricket has been not even a shade of themselves in the recent past and former legendary fast bowler Michael Holding blamed the administration for several top Windies players choosing T20 leagues over national duty. Despite languishing in the latest ICC rankings across all three formats, West Indies are still the world champions in the T20 format. West Indies won the 2016 edition of the tournament which was held in India and despite languishing at the 10th spot in the Latest ICC team rankings in T20Is, Windies go into the showpiece event later this year with a reasonable chance in this format. Speaking on the same, Michael Holding said that he doesn’t consider T20s as cricket and doesn’t feel winning T20 tournaments will help in the development of cricket in West Indies. “When you win a T20 tournament, that is not revival; it’s not even cricket! It’s going to be very difficult for the West Indies to get on top in Test cricket because of this T20. The T20 tournaments around the world are the bane of the game. When you are a poor country and can’t afford to pay as much as England, Australia, and India, the players will go on to play T20. That’s where West Indies and others are getting hit,” Holding said. “Unless you can pay as much as the rest of the big countries, this will happen. Many West Indies players are not interested in playing for West Indies. I don’t want to call out names. When you are earning 600,000 or 800,000 dollars for six weeks, what are you going to do? I don’t blame the cricketers. I blame the administrators. They give a lot of lip service to Test cricket but all they are interested in is bringing in money into their cupboards… West Indies will win T20 tournaments which aren’t cricket; they won’t be a force in Test cricket,” he further added.