Matthew Wade to continue playing with 'nothing to lose' attitude as T20 audition looms

Australia’s wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade has said that he has made peace with the fact that every tour he travels with the Australian side could be his last opportunity in case of no performance.

Wade, a veteran of 94 ODIs, said that all along in his career at the highest level, it has always been a continuous audition process where he never felt like a player who has cemented his place in the side.

However, the left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman has now accepted that he has nothing to lose from here on and that he will try to cash in on every opportunity presented to him.

"Think every time you play for Australia is a bit of an audition, I've never really been a cemented player in the team so it'll be no different going into this tour. I've played 90-odd one-dayers and every tour I went on felt like I needed to perform or I wouldn't be on the next tour,” Wade said in St. Lucia.

"As I've spoken about before I'm in a different place with my life and my cricket, if I get opportunities to play games of cricket again for Australia whether that be one or two games here or 10 and the World Cup, whatever comes my way I'll take," said the batter with 3906 international runs under his bag across all formats.

Matthew Wade has travelled to West Indies where Australia are scheduled to play a five-match long T20 series and a three-match ODI series.

Discover more

MS Dhoni backed me to bat up the order for CSK: Moeen Ali

England and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Moeen Ali has said that MS Dhoni backed him to play up the order in the IPL and suggested that the kind of backing he got from the skipper boosted his confidence. Speaking at the traditional press conference prior to the upcoming third One Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka, Moeen credited Dhoni for backing him up during the 14th season of the cash-rich league. "MS (Dhoni) backed me to bat up the order (for CSK) and play as I play for Worcester. It's nice to get that confidence from the captain. I get it here (England) as well. But we (England) have got so many world-class players it's difficult to get up the order," the left-hander said. CSK have had a brilliant run in the first leg of the IPL which was suspended on May 4 after instances of Covid-19 cases within the franchises. The MS Dhoni-led side was sitting at the second position in the table with five wins and 10 points to their name when IPL was suspended. Ali had been roped in by the CSK franchise for INR 7 crore in the mini auctions that took place in Chennai ahead of the IPL 2021. The all-rounder had notched up 206 runs and picked up five wickets for the side in the first leg of the competition.

ENG W vs IND W: Recordbreaking Mithali Raj still hungry for more runs in international cricket

India captain Mithali Raj became the highest run-getter in women’s international cricket after she surpassed England’s Charlotte Edwards. Edwards had a tally of 10,273 runs to her name. The right-handed batter achieved the feat during India’s third ODI against England in Worcester. Mithali in a video posted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on their official Twitter handle talked about her journey and the challenges she encountered. “I think the way things have gone, it wasn’t an easy journey. It had its own trials and challenges. I have always believed that trials always have a purpose. There were times when I wanted to give up for various reasons," Mithali said. "But there was something that kept going and here I am, 22 years of international cricket but the hunger to score runs for India has never dried up. I’m still very passionate to go out there and score runs for the team, to be there and win matches for India,” she added. Raj further added that there is still some room for improvement and she is working on it. “There is still some room for improvement in my batting and this is what I’m working on because I know I have a few months run-up to the World Cup and there are certain areas and dimensions that I would like to add to my batting. I look forward to working in those areas,” said the 38-year-old. The India batter etched her name in the record books in the 24th over of the innings when she struck a boundary off Nat Sciver. Mithali has played 216 ODIs, 89 T20Is and 11 Tests, hitting eight centuries and 78 fifties across formats.

Haris Rauf relishes promotion in PCB contracts, focuses on 'bowling partnerships' against England

Pakistan newest pace sensation Harris Rauf has said that the promotion into the grade C contract of the Pakistan Cricket Board will work as a motivation for him in the upcoming series against England. In a video released by the PCB on its Youtube and Twitter timeline, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is seen interviewing Rauf where the duo shared some of their views on the developments in the game. Rauf emphasized the challenges in the upcoming T20 and ODI series but focussed on building ‘ bowling partnerships’ to challenge the hosts. “I am very happy to get this news in Derby and of course would take it as a motivation for this year. England has always remained a challenging tour, but our bowling department is good and we will create trouble for the hosts through our bowling partnerships,” Rauf said. Pakistan had toured England last year as well when matches were played behind closed doors. This year, however, matches are scheduled to be played at grounds filled with full-capacity crowds and both Shaheen and Rauf expressed joy over performing in front of the fans all over again. The tourists are slated to reach Cardiff on July 6 where they will play the first ODI of the three-match long ODI series followed by an equally long T20I series.

Second largest stadium in the country to be constructed in Jaipur

The Rajasthan Cricket Association has received a financial grant of Rs. 100 crores from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to build the second-largest stadium in India. The stadium will be built in Jaipur. The estimated time for the construction of the first phase of the stadium is likely to take 24 to 30 months while an amount of around Rs. 290 crores would be required for the construction work. "Historic day for cricket in Rajasthan -- went to JDA for getting the lease deed and possession letter from JDC Gaurav Goyal for the land for India's second-largest cricket stadium proposed at Jaipur. Also present were GS Sandhu, Advisor, Mahendra Sharma, Secy and others," RCA President Vaibhav Gehlot tweeted. The stadium which will have a spectator capacity of 75,000 will get the funds for construction from three sources. 100 crores will be provided by the BCCI, a 100 crores loan from the bank and Rs. 90 crores from RCS funds. "Construction work will be done in two phases. There will be 40,000 spectator capacity in the first phase and the ground will have 44 international level cricket pitches," an official statement read. "There will be two practice grounds, four cricket academies, hostels, parking facilities, sports facilities like club, hotel, gym etc. and will be made of international level," it added. The Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad is presently the biggest cricket stadium in the world having a total capacity of 1,32,000 and was inaugurated by President Ramnath Kovind ahead of the Day-night Test between India and England earlier this year.