Make sure you make a career out of it: How Daniel Vettori’s advice impacted BJ Watling

New Zealand wicketkeeper BJ Watling, who announced retirement after the upcoming tour of England, has thanked his former captain Daniel Vettori for a piece of life-changing advice while he was in his early days in international cricket

Talking to the Blackcaps social media team in a video uploaded on their official Twitter handle, Watling said, “Dan [Vettori] told me once, ‘Make sure you don’t just be happy with playing one or two Tests, make a career out of it’. From then on, I was immensely focused to try and have a decent career.”

The Northern Districts player has now made a more than decent career, making 3777 runs in 71 Tests. Reminiscing about the time when he made his debut, Watling said, “I think if you had told me after my first few Test matches when I was 24 or something that I was gonna play 70 odd test matches and make the World Test Championship Final, I would have said, ‘Yeah, I would take that’ probably it would have been like a dream.”

Watling, who has most dismissals and runs for Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman, making him the greatest Blackcaps wicketkeeper to have ever taken the gloves, feels that winning the WTC Final would be the icing on the cake for his career.

“It’s a good feeling to be able to play this long and I would look forward to playing three more Test matches. It would be really lovely to win a final,” said the 35-year-old.

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Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav set to make WBBL debuts

India women’s team players Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav will be making their Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) debuts later this year in Australia. While Verma has already signed a two-year contract with Sydney Sixers, Yadav is on the verge of becoming a part of one of the two Sydney-based teams. In fact Shafali’s father had confirmed that she has signed the contract with the Sydney Sixers side. "Yes, Shafali has signed the contract with Sydney Sixers, and given she is a minor, I have had to give my consent, too," Verma's father, Sanjeev, told ESPNcricinfo. "I would like to thank the BCCI and Haryana Cricket Association [HCA] for giving my daughter the permission and support to play in the WBBL. Without the guidance of the HCA, whatever Shafali is doing in her career wouldn't have been possible." Further a BCCI official has also stated that the WBB might have the largest number of Indian players ever in this upcoming edition. “All players who have been or will be approached by Big Bash teams will be given all necessary permissions to participate in the WBBL this season," he said on the condition of anonymity. Shafali has represented India in 22 T20Is matches where she has scored 617 runs at an average of 29.38 and at a strike-rate of over 148. Radha Yadav on the other side has been capped 37 times in T20Is and once in ODIs. In the shorter format, she has played 37 games for India picking up 51 wickets at an average of 16.68 and at an economy of 6.28.

Australian contingent in Maldives after IPL 2021 suspension will be home soon: Report

The wait and desperation of Australian players, support staffs and all other citizens who were stuck in a complicated situation following the suspension of the IPL is soon to be over with Cricket Australia, BCCI and Australian Cricketers Association finally coming with a plan to bring all back home. The contingent had already left India to spend their time in the Maldives before they can be eligible to get back into their country after the federal government announced a ban for people coming from India. Now, as per an ESPNcricinfo report, all the 38 members of the contingent will be travelling to Australia via Singapore on a chartered flight and they will be put under hard quarantine upon arrival in Sydney. Notably, the 14th edition of the IPL was postponed for an indefinite period of time following the Covid-19 outbreak in the biosecure bubbles of multiple teams. The first report of novel coronavirus cases surfaced from the Kolkata Knight Riders followed by the Sunrisers, the Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals. The contingent currently in the Maldives includes big players such as Steve Smith, David Warner, Pat Cummins, along with former players such as Michael Slater who was there as a commentator.

Brad Haddin reveals how David Warner reacted to his axing as Sun Risers Hyderabad captain

Sunrisers Hyderabad player David Warner was axed from the captaincy of the side after they had a dismal run in the IPL 2021 before the tournament was suspended. The captaincy was handed over to New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson. SRH assistant coach Brad Haddin opened up about Warner’s reaction and said that he took it with “class”. "He took it with class. It was a bit of a shock to everyone. Management decided to go in a different direction to try to spark something within the team," Haddin (while being asked about Warner’s reaction) was quoted as saying by Fox Cricket. While Warner was removed from the captaincy, he was also dropped from the only match that SRH played after this but Haddin was of the opinion that the left-handed Aussie batsman would have made his way back in the side in no time. “I dare say he would have come back in contention in the next few games. He is one of the best in the world in that form of the game. He was still really vocal in the meetings. He handled a difficult situation with a lot of class,” Haddin concluded. Warner has led SRH to the title win in 2016 edition after they defeated RCB in the final.

Sri Lanka Cricket announces Lanka Premier League 2021 schedule

The second edition of the Lanka Premier League will take place between July 30 to August 22 this year, Sri Lanka Cricket has said in its media release. The tournament, into its second year, is likely to be continued to be played under biosecure bubble arrangements, SLC has hinted. However, a final decision on the modalities of the tournament will be taken after discussions with the health ministry, SLC said. "We have found a suitable window to hold this year's edition, whilst we are currently working on finalising the other details of the tournament," said Arjuna de Silva, the chairman of the management committee at the SLC. "Sri Lanka Cricket will assess the country's situation and discuss with the Ministry of Health closer to the tournament to ascertain the health situation in the country prior to taking a final decision on the competition," the release further stated. The LPL was launched only last year with five teams fighting for the trophy in Hambantota. Jaffna Stallions went onto become the first champions of the tournament SLC is hoping will prosper over the upcoming seasons.