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Joe Root Asks England To Be At Their Peak For Pinnacle Ashes In Australia

Joe Root asks England to be at their peak for 'pinnacle' Ashes in Australia

England are set to host New Zealand and India in consecutive Test series spanning from early June to early September but the skipper Joe Root has his eyes set on the most vouched target for an English skipper—The Ashes, scheduled for the end of this year.

Joe Root said that the Test team has made good strides over the last couple of years albeit they were defeated badly in India. Joe Root conceded that England did not ‘sail’ through but also saw improvement even in the face of defeats against India.

He asked his teammates to get at the peak of their prowess when they face Australia in The Ashes series that will be the ‘pinnacle’ of the contest they have faced in the last couple of years.

"We've made good strides over the last couple of years as a Test team. It's not been plain sailing, we've not had it all our own way, but we still improved. I truly believe we are making good strides in the right direction, and now we've got an opportunity to keep improving, keep getting better and peak for Australia, which is the pinnacle for us,” Root told Sky Sports during the County Championship game against Glamorgan.

ECB director of cricket, Ashley Giles had said that England would not force a fasten return of players who were in India for the IPL in the series against New Zealand. He had also said that England would try new talents, a welcome news for fringe players such as Ollie Robbinson and James Bracey.

However, Root conceded that the new selection committee headed by an all-powerful coach Chris Silverwood will have their task cut out while deciding between handing opportunities to new players and giving sufficient game time to established players before the all-important tour of Australia.

“It's very difficult at the minute, the circumstances make it very tricky. You've got to factor in so many different things and the welfare of the players is obviously paramount. But this is what you play for, years like this one. You want to pit yourself against the best, you want to be successful against the best, and this is the opportunity to do it,” Root added.

England will face New Zealand in the two-match long Test series starting June 2 at the Lord’s while the series against India will commence on 4 August in Nottingham.

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Tim Southee rates Test cricket as 'most treasured' format ahead of WTC final against India

New Zealand pacer Tim Southee is ecstatic at the prospect of playing the final of the World Test Championship in the format he said is most treasured for him. He said that it will be an unusual setting to face the Indian side in England but the highly competitive nature of both sides is expected to offer a great contest in the WTC final. "I love Test cricket. For me, it's my most treasured format. I love all three, but Test cricket is something that really gets the blood boiling. Being the first [World Test Championship final] it will be pretty special as well. India in England is unusual on its own, but it's great to test yourself against one of the best sides and they have been for a long period of time. It should be a great match,” Southee said in an interview with stuff.co.nz. Tim Southee made his Test debut way back in 2008 against England and the 32-year-old often face the question of how long can he continue playing for the Blackcaps. Dismissing talks surrounding his age, Southee said that age is just a number as long as an individual is able to match the high standards of international cricket. He also pointed to the example of James Anderson and said that the Englishman is still ruling the world at the age of 38 years. "As long as you’re still able to perform and reach those high standards it takes to represent your country then I think age is only a number. You look at the likes of James Anderson who is 38. He’s still arguably bowling as well as he ever has. Think cricketers in general look after themselves a lot better. We're a lot fitter as a group; we train a lot on the strength and conditioning side of things. I think you’ll see players play for longer," the Kiwi quick added. Southee will be facing England in a two-match long Test series starting June 02 before the WTC final against India. He has done well against England in the past and Kane Williamson will bank on him to swing games in Blackcaps’ favour in the series against England and WTC final against India.

BCCI scorer helps family of former colleague at Bombay hospital claim Rs 50 lakh insurance

A well-known scorer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Mumbai Cricket Association named Deepak Joshi successfully went the extra mile to enable the family of a technician who died to Covid-19 last year working as a technician in the X-ray department of Bombay hospital. The technician named Dhananjay was a healthcare worker who succumbed in the line of duty and his family was due for a gratuitous amount under the government’s insurance package for the healthcare workers. He had died in May last year and his wife has revived a sum of Rs 50 lakh in her account, as per a TOI report. Detailing his course of action, Joshi said that he had worked with Dhananjay for four years in the same X-ray department and hence was aware of his family’s immediate financial need. Joshi realised that Dhanjay’s family was eligible for claims under the government’s insurance policy. After enquiring in the health ministry and the New India Assurance about the ways to file a claim, he submitted Dhanjay’s details with the help of the Bombay hospital human resource department. Following on, Joshi got an email from the insurance company that his wife has received the sum in her account. “I worked with him in the X-ray department for four years. He was survived by his wife and a daughter, who studies in the ninth standard in school. Realising that they would need financial help on an urgent basis, and that can be done through the Prime Minister’s fund for healthcare workers, I approached New India assurance and the health ministry for details. They asked for some documents of the case, which I submitted with the help of the human resources and medical department of the Bombay Hospital. In March, I got a call and an email from the PM healthcare department, and last week, I got a call and an email from New India Assurance. Last Friday, they transferred Rs 50 lakh to his wife’s account Bank of India Wadala Branch,” Joshi was quoted as saying by TOI. Amid the horrific times due to a raging Covid-19 pandemic in India, stories of people rising to the occasion for humanitarian purposes are also resonating.

Mohammed Shami plans to impart knowledge to youngsters, says can’t keep on playing forever

India pacer Mohammed Shami feels that it is the right time that he starts imparting to youngsters, the experience and knowledge gained through playing professional cricket for so many years. “It comes automatically,” Shami said about mentoring. “After being in international cricket for so many years, I would like to share any input that the youngsters may want. I am not going to play forever, so it will be great if I can pass on something to the youngsters,’’ Gulf News quoted the Bengal cricketer as saying. The 30-year-old would be travelling with the Indian Test side in England for the all-important World Test championship Final at the Rose Bowl against New Zealand and the subsequent five-match Test series against hosts England. The right-arm pacer feels that the Indian team is in good and can do wonders this summer. “We have played some extraordinary cricket in recent times as a unit and naturally, the confidence level is high. If we can reproduce some of the performances which we did over the last six months, I am confident it will be a great summer for us,” hoped the Punjab Kings bowler. Talking about his plans in the upcoming year, The Amroha born, who has 180 Test wickets in 50 games to his credit, refused to divulge details, saying that things aren’t always in control of a man, no matter how much he plans. “See, there is no point in planning too much as certain things are not in our control. Who would have thought that the pandemic would virtually destroy two years of our lives – hence I prefer to take it by each series or tournament as the case may be,” he said.

DDCA offers Arun Jaitley Stadium to be used for vaccination drive in Delhi

The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) President Rohan Jaitley has offered the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to be used for the Covid-19 vaccination drive. According to Jaitley, this offer is part of an immediate measure of the government’s plans to vaccinate a maximum number of people. “I had written that if they feel that they require a centre for vaccination, the DDCA premises can be used till Normalcy returns,” Jaitley was quoted as saying to PTI. “In our stadium premises, we have a facility where 10,000 people can be vaccinated per day. If they want, till the time there is some semblance of normalcy, they can use it till cricketing activity resumes,” added Jaitley. The DDCA President further informed that he received a reply from the CM office that said, “the chief secretary will look into the matter.” The Arun Jaitley Stadium was where the second leg of IPL was taking place before it got suspended and eventually postponed as the number of cases in the Bio-bubble rose. The site was also under the radar of the BCCI’s Anti-corruption bureau during the IPL as the officers spotted and traced some unwanted people with suspect behaviour in the Feroz Shah Kotla ground under the Stadium’s premises.