Justin Langer heaps praise on Indian pace bowlers

Guess which bowler from the past Steve Smith wants to face?

Many bowlers of the contemporary era have been driven mad by the task of bowling to Steve Smith. Be it the English ones or Indians, getting Smith out has been a bridge too far on numerous occasions for them. But is there a bowler from the past generation that could have troubled Smith? Well, the prolific right-hander may have himself given a clue to answering this question. In a Q&A session with his fans over Instagram, the Australian batsman responded to a fan's query about which bowler from past generations he would like to face. Smith named, not any Australian, but a man who had made a habit of troubling Australia on their home grounds - Sir Curtly Ambrose. Arguably, the most famous spell of Ambrose's spell came at Perth where he picked up seven wickets for just one run. In fact, WACA was a ground where Ambrose ruled the roost more than once. Not surprisingly then, that Smith, a great competitor, would have liked to test himself against the West Indian great if it was possible. Why Ambrose? While not as quick as many of his illustrious predecessors, Ambrose's towering height made him an extremely difficult bowler to face on bouncy Australian pitches. On top of that, his unerring line and length turned him into a nightmarish prospect for anyone. The fact that Smith has chosen Sir Curtly as the one he would like to measure himself up against may indicate that he thinks the Antiguan legend may be best placed to test his technique. Smith, whose trigger movements, back and across in the crease, set him up perfectly for a pull, might have found Ambrose a tough opponent due to the excessive bounce he could generate. On top of that, the stamina that the former West Indies pacer had, along with his consistency, may have made him the best candidate to test the patience of the Australian batsman. Have a look... While playing short deliveries hasn't been much of a problem for Smith in his career, it is worth noting that in the Ashes series last year, Jofra Archer forced him to be retired hurt during the second Test with a bouncer. In the Australian summer following the English season, Smith ended up getting dismissed repeatedly by the medium pace short deliveries of Neil Wagner. To be fair, some of those dismissals were not so much due to the nastiness of deliveries but Smith's mistakes, still, it did become an irritant. So, this is perhaps the reason why the former Aussie captain feels that facing Ambrose would have been interesting. One thing is sure, not too many batsmen who did face Ambrose on the famous WACA pitch would share Smith's desire.

WI coach Phil Simmons baffled by Andre Russell's availability in LPL

West Indies head coach Phil Simons has expressed dismay at the news of Andre Russell being present in Sri Lanka to take part in the Lanka Premier League. Notably, the West Indies are in New Zealand for a full tour and Russell had opted out of the selection for the series starting November 27 citing personal issues. When asked for his reaction, Simmons was caught surprised and asked if that was for real and it was news for him if the all-rounder is actually in Sri Lanka. "Is he? That's news to me," an astounded Simmons said. However, Simmons also stated the lack of communication between the two and said that he has not had any conversation with Russell in recent times after landing in New Zealand. "I haven't spoken to him since we came down here. He was at the IPL and I haven't spoken to him since then. I didn't know he was in Sri Lanka. I can't answer your question about that until I know what the whole situation is," Simmons added. At the time of the announcement of the squads for the New Zealand tour, Cricket West Indies (CWI) had said in its media release that Russell along with Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis declined selection. "CWI fully respects their decision to choose to do so and states that this will not impact consideration for future selection," CWI had said in its media release. Players prioritising T20 leagues over the national team is not a new development in the affairs of the West Indies Cricket but Russell may very well face the ire of selectors as the board is looking forward to moving on with the players for future and if the team which is in New Zealand go on to succeed against the Blackcaps as the lead selector Roger Harper had suggested after Russell’s withdrawal from the tour. "I think as we move forward we will look at all situations, all players and determine whether we need to continue to look at those players, continue to consider those players, or we need to move on. "A lot of things are determined by how well the team performs. I think if players in the team perform exceedingly well, then it will make it difficult for those that are not on the tour to get back into the team. So a lot of things will be taken into consideration as we move forward," Harper had said.

SA vs Eng 2020 | T20 series preview - Cricket returns to rainbow nation

November 27 is a big day of the year for cricket fans. Three different cricket tours get underway on this date. India start their much-awaited tour of Australia while West Indies play the first fixture of their visit to New Zealand. Also, England start their T20 series against hosts South Africa at Cape Town. Earlier this year, both teams squared off in the same country for a Test and ODI series. While England once again thumped Proteas at home in the longest format, the 50-over format saw a 1-1 result with one match of the three-match rubber washed out. Now, with the World T20 pushed back to next year, this three-match T20 contest gains great value. England may be considered favourites for this contest also with many impact players in their side. South Africa, on the other hand, would once again be angling to find the right combination from their squad, especially in the batting department. England batting: Solid and Stable There aren't many concerns as far as England's batting is concerned. Their line-up is likely to be very similar to the one in ODI format. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow form an explosive opening pair with a more reassured Sam Billings available as a back-up in case of an injury. Even otherwise, he is a useful prospect for batting at no. 3 or even lower. Most of the remaining batting line-up picks itself. With the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Eoin Morgan, there is much firepower and experience in the middle-order for England. The joker in the pack is Dawid Malan. Once a promising Test players, Malan is now forced to fight for a spot in the T20 team. Embarassment of Riches Interestingly, Malan's challenger for a spot in the batting line-up of the visitors will be all-rounders rather than proper batsmen. Ben Stokes is bound to play. But Sam Curran and Moeen Ali will be pushing for a spot as well. Especially, the former has made a strong case for himself with a blitzkrieg of 45 in just 18 deliveries during the most recent practice game. What works for Curran is his uncanny ability to get wickets despite a lack of perceptible threat. This, coupled with his batting capability, makes him a tempting pick for Morgan's side. De Kock's Leadership on Show Again For South Africa, this series would mark the begining of Quinton de Kock's captaincy era in the shortest format. He led the side impressively earlier this year in the ODI series against England. To make matters easy for him, he was also the most impressive batsman for his nation in the tough home season, across formats. Ace of Pace South Africa's biggest strenght in this series is likely to be their pace battery. With Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Lungi Ngidi, all available, there isn't much to worry about for de Kock, except choosing who else to try out. Andile Phehlukwayo would also be pushing for selection with his batting abilities complementing the bowling skills he possesses. However, the SA team has picked a host of other seamers. Lutho Sipamla and Junior Dala played in the ODIs earlier this year. Dwaine Pretorious and Beuran Hendricks are more reliable with their experience. Glenton Stuurman is the new face. Looking for Tahir's Replacements The Proteas selectors have also chosen a host of spinners in their search for Imran Tahir's replacement. The pack is led by Tabraiz Shamsi who has been in news for his magic tricks as well as spin-bowling ones. Others selected alongside him is the experienced Keshav Maharaj whose budding career in Tests has been partially derailed with poor performances of late. Other tweakers in the line-up happen to be Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde, and Jon Jon Smuts. The latter is more of an all-rounder. Unsettled Batting Order Apart from skipper de Kock, veterans Faf du Plessis and David Miller, the South African batting line-up is full of experienced batsmen without too many achievements yet in international T20s. Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, and Heinrich Klaasen have shown abilities in other formants but are yet to establish themselves in this one. Janneman Malan is one relative youngster at 24 picked in this squad. He might be the one to watch out for as Proteas look for some optimism after a dismal year-and-a-half.

NZ vs WI: Grandhomme, Patel ruled out of Test; Santner, Mitchell called up

New Zealand has suffered a body blow ahead of the international season as all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel have been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against West Indies. De Grandhomme suffered an injury in his right foot while Patel tore his calf muscle, as per an Associated Press report. The team management has roped in allrounders Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santer as replacements for the injured duo. Both Mitchell and Santner are part of the T20 squad that will take on West Indies in a series starting November 27. “Mitch and Daryl will be available for the final T20 game before linking up with the test squad on Tuesday where we will monitor them closely to ensure they’re fit and fresh ahead of the first Test,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said. Daryl Mitchell had made his debut last year against England and proved his worth with the bat, scoring 73 runs in Hamilton while Santner has enjoyed an impressive season since he scored a century against England last year. “They both proved last summer in the Tests against England what they can do in our conditions with Mitch scoring a century and claiming three wickets at Bay Oval, while Daryl produced a polished half-century on debut at Seddon Park,” Gary Stead added. Meanwhile, Gary Stead has also said that Mitchell Santner will lead the Blackcaps in the third T20 against West Indies with regular T20 captain Tim Southee leaving early from the series to prepare for the Test series that will follow the white-ball series. "His calm demeanour along with the sheer amount of international experience will hold him in good stead," Stead said on Santner's credential to lead the team. New Zealand will take on West Indies in a two-match Test series starting December 03 at Seddon Park in Hamilton followed by the last Test at Basin Reserve in Wellington from December 11.