Jason Holder bats for 'new initiative' to fight racism in Cricket

West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder has said that the anti-racism movement in cricket needs some new initiative apart from gestures teams do before the start of any game. He said that people have developed a feeling that those gestures are just a 'watered-down' action and hence the fight against racism should be fought with 'new initiative.'

“I had a few discussions about it and I feel as though some people feel it’s now a watered-down action taken before the games. I would like to see some new initiative to spark the movement again,” Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.com.

Holder emphasized that taking a knee can’t just be a tradition or a norm alone and instead, should hold some meaning. “I don’t want people to just think we’re taking the knee because Black Lives Matter, that’s the tradition and that’s the norm. It has to have some substance.”

“I would like to see some more emphasis, some more thought process going into actually re-sparking or re-engaging the movement so it can actually hold some substance,” he added.

On the other hand, the touring South Africa side had earlier said that it would be up to the players to take a knee before the match against West Indies at St Lucia and their leader Dean Elgar has confirmed the move by the Proteas.

“We've given the players their right to perform whichever act or gesture they want to perform. So if players are comfortable with taking the knee, they may. If a player wants to use the previous gesture we had - raising the right fist - they're also entitled to do that. And if players aren't comfortable just yet they've got to stand to attention so we can still respect the campaign that's rolling out,” he said.

The first Test between South Africa and West Indies is scheduled to start today at Gros Islet, St. Lucia.

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ICC to induct 10 more greats into Hall of Fame on eve of WTC final between India, New Zealand

The International Cricket Council has announced that it will induct 10 legends of the game from the previous eras into the ICC Hall of Fame on the eve of the inaugural World Test Championship final. The latest addition of two players from each of the five eras—Early Cricket Era (pre-1918), Inter-War Cricket Era (1918-1945), Post-War Cricket Era (1946-1970), ODI Era (1971-1995), Modern Cricket Era (1996-2016) will take the overall tally past the 100 (currently at 93). ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said that the global governing body of the game has decided to induct legends in the list to celebrate the ‘history of the game’ which could not have been done in any better what than honouring the players who have left their legacy in the game and will continue to inspire future generations. “It is an honour for us to announce a one-time induction of ten cricketing greats into the ICC Hall of Fame to coincide with the first-ever final of the World Test Championship in Southampton. We are celebrating the history of the game and what better way than to honour some of the greats that founded and played the game across different eras. These are all players with a legacy that will continue to inspire future generations for years to come,” ” ICC acting chief executive Geoff Allardice said in a release.

Would continue what this group has been doing over the last couple of years: Tom Latham

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Was expecting to captain India in World T20: Yuvraj Singh

Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has revealed that he expected to become the captain of the national side during the World T20 in 2007. “I was expecting to captain India in the T20 World Cup and then it was announced MS Dhoni will be the captain,” Yuvraj said on the 22 Yarns podcast. The left-handed player played a crucial role in India’s winning triumph in the tournament. Yuvraj’s heroics included six sixes in an over from Stuart Broad while he was up against England and a 30-ball 70 against Australia in the semi-final. India later on defeated Pakistan in the title clash to win the inaugural World T20 under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. A number of senior players including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly didn’t feature in the tournament. “So, basically, India had lost the 50-over World Cup, right? I mean there was quite a turmoil in Indian cricket and then there was a two-month tour of England and there was also a month-long tour in between with South Africa and Ireland. And then there was a month of the T20 World Cup so there were like four months away from home,” Yuvraj said. “So probably the seniors thought that they needed a break and obviously, nobody took the T20 World Cup seriously,” he added. The duo of Yuvraj and Dhoni also anchored India to a World Cup win in the ODI format after 28 years in 2011. The Men in Blue defeated Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai to clinch the title.

Indian team begins preparations for WTC final; undergoes first group training session

The Indian team is set to play the final of the inaugural World Test Championship against New Zealand in Southampton from June 18. The Virat Kohli-led side had the first group training session. India made it through to the finals of the WTC after beating Australia 2-1 away from home and then thumped England 3-1 on the home soil. The Indian team that defended the Border-Gavaskar trophy in Australia faced a lot of problems both on and off the field during the Tour DownUnder. India’s regular captain Kohli returned back home for the birth of his first child while the team was plagued with injuries. Key players like KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja were ruled out of the series after sustaining respective injuries. To add to this, the Indian players were also racially abused. The visiting team had a horrible start to the tour after they were bowled out for 36 in the first Test but rode on some fine performances from the youngsters to make a comeback. Young guns like Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj took the onus on themselves and anchored India to a win in the four-match series. Kohli’s men then hosted England but had a dismal start to the four-match bilateral tie against the Englishmen as they lost the first match but returned back to form to win the remaining three games and march into the WTC final. New Zealand on the other hand have had some match practice as they are battling it out against England in a two-match Test series. The first match at Lord’s ended in a draw while the second is scheduled to take place at Edgbaston from June 10.