Looking at the bigger picture: Glenn Maxwell ready to take on India

The mandatory regulations of the bio-secure bubble have brought forward the conversation of mental health to limelight once again, and rightly so. Australian players like Will Pucovski and Glenn Maxwell have been at the forefront of de-stigmatising the issue. Speaking about the same the hard-hitting Australian all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell has said that he is better equipped to deal with any issue pertaining to mental health or emotional well-being during the prolonged bio-bubble situation. He said that it also made him a resourceful person in the sense that other players also came to him to combat their issues.

"What I went through last year, I think I'm better equipped to deal with those sorts of things now,” he said to cricket.com.au “This year has certainly been a massive test of it, and to put (in place) some of my learnings and help other people with it and be a shoulder for other people to lean on,” he added.

The 32-year-old further said he is now preparing to get a better picture of himself after a failed IPL.

“I'm looking at the bigger picture and understanding my role in the Australian side, trying to put the IPL aside and thinking about what I need to do to get ready for every game. So that when the time comes, and when I need it, I can perform really well," the Victorian said.

Complimenting spinner Adam Zampa, who has dismissed Virat Kohli five times in limited-overs (most for any Australian bowler in the current squad), Maxwell said, "He's been very good against Virat, and one of the key things is having good match-ups against their batsmen.”

But Maxwell stressed the fact that Virat Kohli would be equally pumped up and working hard to tackle Zampa. "Adam's obviously had a pretty good time against Virat in recent history, but you can guarantee that Virat's working just as hard to combat that,” Maxwell said.

Finally speaking on having crowds in the stadium for the first time since the pandemic hit in March this year, Maxwell said that his team would give its best to give the home crowd all the right reasons to cheer up.

“I can assure you the guys are looking forward to playing in front of them a putting on a good show, and hopefully continuing that form from England where we played so well," he said.

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Kamran Akmal failed two fitness tests, says Mickey Arthur

It is no secret that former Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur shared a pretty atrocious relationship with the Akmal brothers. Time and again we have seen a barrage of words directed against each other and it doesn’t seem to stop. During his tenure as the Pakistan coach, Arthur used to leave out the Akmal brothers quite regularly and one of the primary reasons behind their exclusion was their lack of fitness. Given the current trend and pace at which cricket is played fitness is of utmost importance. However, Kamran said that Arthur gave too much importance to fitness and never gave genuine talents their due during his time with the Pakistan national team. Infact Kamran went a step ahead and blamed Arthur for the mess Pakistan currently is in. Yet again the opposite party hasn't remained silent. Replying to the allegations of Kamran, Arthur claimed that Kamran failed two fitness tests and he doesn’t really take his words seriously. "Just look at what happened to Kamran Akmal. Kamran Akmal is a comfort zone player. He couldn’t field. Sarfraz Ahmed was captain. He wasn’t going to be the wicket-keeper. We took him on a West Indies tour and he was average at best. Kamran Akmal failed two fitness tests. So to be honest, anything that the Akmals say, I don’t listen to at all. Anything they say, I just take with a pinch of salt," Arthur was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. Meanwhile, it must also be noted that Arthur didn’t take a liking to Kamran’s younger brother Umar either. Arthur feels that Umar needed a helping hand at the start of his career which could have helped him take giant strides in international cricket. There was never a question mark surrounding the talent Umar had but the consistency was always the issue. Arthur wasn’t a big fan of Kamran’s younger brother Umar also. Arthur opened up about his relationship with Umar Akmal and said that the cricketer needed a guiding hand during the start of his career. It’s definitely too late for him [Umar Akmal] now. It’s sad because he is a likeable enough bloke but what he needed was a real firm hand at the start of his career to guide him properly,” Arthur was quoted as saying by the Pinch Hitter Magazine. “I don’t think he got the right messages earlier in his career because if he had, he wouldn’t have gone down the route he has chosen to. He was frustrating to work with,” Arthur further added.

Shane Bond backs decision to rest Boult for T20 series against West Indies

Former Kiwis spearhead Shane Bond has acknowledged the decision to rest Trent Boult for the upcoming 3 match home T20I series against West Indies. Boult had a long summer and the break could be much needed from both personal and team front. It will definitely help Boult keep himself in good shape ahead of the Test series. Boult will miss the T20I series alongside skipper Kane Williamson who has also been rested. The T20I series starts on November 27 and the Kiwis will be led by Tim Southee in the absence of Williamson. Both Boult and Williamson will return for the two-match Test series slated to start in Hamilton from 3rd December. Boult returned from UAE very recently where he plied his trade for the Mumbai Indians who went onto win their 5th IPL title. Boult was quite exceptional and forged a solid camaraderie with Jasprit Bumrah which paid rich dividends for the 5-time champions. Boult finished the tournament with 25 wickets from 15 outings and 16 of them came in the powerplay. Meanwhile, Shane Bond who troubled many batsmen during his heydays with his searing pace is currently in isolation with Boult in Christchurch. Bond backed the New Zealand Cricket Board’s decision to grant him a break and allow him to spend some quality time with his family. “To fly out of here and go straight into games without seeing his family would have been a massive mistake. I think for his own sanity he needs to get home and spend a bit of time with his family before another busy summer," Bond said. Meanwhile, the left-arm pacer is currently training at the High-Performance Centre. He is basically focusing on getting back on track especially when it comes to Test cricket. Ever since the COVID-19 outbreak, New Zealand is yet to play a Test match. “Part of the thinking of being here together in quarantine is to get a bit more volume in terms of overs under his belt. So it gives him a bit of time to get some volume here and in the week or two before the test series against the West Indies starts,” said Bond.

Ravi Bopara pulls out of Lanka Premier League

In what comes as another setback to the inaugural edition of the Lankan Premier League, English all-rounder Ravi Bopara has made himself unavailable for the tournament joining a big group of players. There have been several issues surrounding the tournament despite the fact that the Sri Lanka Cricket Board was optimistic of pulling this off. However, with the growing list of players making themselves unavailable it will be interesting to see the fate of the tournament. Bopara was part of the Jaffna Stallions squad. Earlier in the day the official Twitter handle of LPL revealed that Bopara has pulled out of the tournament. "Official announcement English Cricketer @ravibopara (Jaffna Stallions) has pulled out from Lanka Premier League 2020," the official Twitter handle of LPL read. Bopara is not the first player to pull out of the tournament. Big players like Lasith Malinga and Chris Gayle has also opted out of the tournament. Meanwhile, Liam Plunkett also pulled out of the tournament yesterday. While Malinga cited lack of match practice and preparation time behind his decision, it is learnt that Gayle withdrew his name from the tournament as commercial understanding with the organizers couldn’t be made. In all 23 matches will be played in the tournament between five franchise teams, Colombo, Kandy, Dambulla, Galle and Jaffna. The opener will be played on November 26 between Colombo and Kandy. Doubleheaders will be played every day till the semis and the finals. While the semis will be played on 13th and 14th December, the final will be played on 16th December.

South Africa edition postponed till February 2023

The 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup which was slated to be played in South Africa from November 2022 has been postponed by 3 months in order to avoid clashing of other ICC tournaments and manage the workload of the players. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the ICC had to postpone the 50 overs Women’s World Cup to 2022 which was slated to be played in New Zealand in 2021. The ICC declared in a statement that the Women’s T20 World Cup has been shifted to February 2023 and will now be played from 9th to 26th February. Having said that, the silver lining in these trying times is that the women’s T20 cricket is set to be part of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. “The Board confirmed that the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will move from its current slot at the end of 2022 to 9-26 February 2023,” ICC said in a statement. Had the tournament not been postponed there would have been three big-ticket events in a calendar year. However, the apex body felt that in order to manage the workload of the players and help them prepare for the mega event it was necessary to postpone the tournament. “As there are currently no major women’s events scheduled to take place in 2023 the Board confirmed the switch for the T20 World Cup to better support player preparation and to continue to build the momentum around the women’s game beyond 2022,” the apex body said. Meanwhile, the decision was a unanimous one as the workload of the players could have been a major issue. Keeping in mind the long term growth of women’s cricket, the ICC CEO said it was a sensible move. “Moving the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to 2023 makes perfect sense on a number of levels,” ICC CEO Manu Sawhney said in the statement. “Firstly, it will provide a better workload balance for players giving them the best possible opportunity to perform to the highest levels on a global stage. Secondly, we can continue to build the momentum around the women’s game through 2022 and into 2023. We are committed to fuelling the growth of the women’s game and today’s decision enables us to do that over the longer term.” Manu concluded.