New Zealand players arriving in bunches for England Test series, WTC final against India

Still hasn't played a single Test: Chris Rushworth becomes leading wicket-taker for Durham in First Class history

For a man, who was forced to sell satellite dishes and attend call centre calls after not being selected in the first team of a club from whose academy he grew, to become the leading wicket-taker in its First Class history, is not just a herculean effort, but something that could be called as once in a century achievement. And this achievement has been achieved by none other than the always hardworking, rusty, but at your neck Chris Rushworth. When Rushworth claimed the wicket of Worcestershire's Jack Haynes, there were tears in his eyes, all the players in the field applauded as the man, who created history, lost in the moment of glory, re-energised himself went back to his run-up. He then came back again to help his team in going for the victory on the last day of Durham’s clash against Worcestershire at the Riverside Ground in Chester Lee Street. The 34-year-old, who made his First-Class debut in 2010 against Yorkshire, has now overtaken his former teammate Graham Onion, who even represented England in nine Tests and four ODIs. A one-club man, Rushworth took nine wickets in this game to lead Durham to their second win of the season and pushing them to equal points as Nottinghamshire who occupy the second position in the Group one table. The match was won by 258 runs by the home side. The Sunderland-born has so far picked 26 wickets this season. From the time he helped Durham survive the relegation scare in the 2012 Championship and then picked up 54 wickets to help them win their third Championship in the very next year in 2013, Rushworth has been an integral part of the set-up.

In my mind match started way before entering ground: Tendulkar reveals how he battled anxiety

Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar suffered from anxiety and not just for a short span of time, but a long 10-12 years of his playing career. The maestro had sleepless nights before any game and it was only later that he healed after having made peace with the acceptance of his mental state. "Over a period of time I realised that besides preparing physically for a game, you have to prepare yourself mentally also. In my mind, the match started long before I entered the ground. The anxiety levels were very high," PTI quoted Tendulkar as saying during an online seminar. "I felt the anxiety for 10-12 years, had many sleepless nights before a game,” he added. To overcome that phase, the 48-year-old said that he came up with things to do when he would not be able to sleep and get the game out of his mind. “Later on, I started accepting that it was part of my preparation. Then I made peace with times I was not able to sleep in the night. I would start doing something to keep my mind comfortable," said Tendulkar, who represented India in a record 200 Test matches. Some of the tasks he would take up to get his mind off the game included making tea, ironing clothes etc. which eventually helped him prepare for the game. The Mumbai born also revealed how carried on the teachings of his childhood throughout his career. “I would pack my bag the day before the game, my brother taught me all of it and it became a habit. I followed the same drill even in the last match I played for India," he said. Giving an example of injuries and how it could break a player mentally, the record holder for most runs in international cricket in all formats combined, said that to overcome those mental blocks and lows in life, support of people and acceptability of the situation are most important. “It is normal for anyone to go through ups and downs and when you hit those lows you need people around. Acceptability is the key here. Not just for the player, for people around him also. Once you have accepted you start looking for solutions," said the man with 34,357 international runs and 100 centuries in his kitty. Sachin also shared a personal story to exemplify how people can learn from anyone and that learning must never stop. Talking about a room serviceman in a hotel in Chennai, where he was staying for a series, Sahin said, "That person got me dosa in the room and after keeping it on the table, he offered advice.” “He pointed out that my elbow guard was restricting my bat swing, which was actually the case. He helped me address that issue," the master blaster added.

Natarajan on the road to recovery after knee surgery, shares exercise video

India’s left-arm pacer T Natarajan, who got injured in the now postponed Indian Premier League is getting on the road to recover in his rehabilitation program at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. The Tamil Nadu pacer went through knee surgery on April 27. Posting a video of his rehabilitation, Natrajan captioned it as, “I wake up each day stronger than before !! #Rehab #Progress.” The Tamil Nadu player was a breath of fresh air in the IPL’ 2020 edition, bowling yorkers at will and getting all the recognition that he rightly deserved. The 29-year-old, call this luck or reward for good performance, got to debut for India in all three formats on the Australia tour last year, even though he was not in the original squad, and only got in when Varun Chakravarthy got injured. This year though, he didn’t bowl that great for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who struggled in this year’s league, winning only of their six games before it was suspended and then postponed due to rising cases of Covid in the Bio-bubble. With India's Sri Lanka tour approaching in July this year, a fit Natarajan could be part of that team. Natarajan, who has so far taken 13 wickets in seven international games across all formats for India, was able to play just two IPL games this season, in which he took two wickets.

Hanuma Vihari confident of India doing well in the WTC Final

India’s middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari, who is being praised all over the internet for his tremendous work in helping the people during the second wave of Covid-19 in India feels that the Men’s team could do great in the upcoming World Test Championship Final. “We are in the finals and we are playing New Zealand, which is going to be challenging in these conditions, we all know that, but the Indian team can do outstanding things," Vihari, who is currently in England playing for Warwickshire in the County Championship 2021, after being unable to fetch an IPL contract for this season. The Andhra player came into the limelight from his 161 ball 23 runs Test and tour saving innings for India against Australia in Sydney, in January this year. An injured Vihari along with Ravi Chandran Ashwin played 254 balls scoring only 62 runs and forcing a draw in a match that looked a certain loss for the Men in Blue. The 27-year-old though has not been himself since then, scoring just a single fifty in his last 10 innings. Even in county cricket, he has been a flop show till now, with just 100 runs in six innings at an average of 16.25 and with two ducks in his name. But the Andhra skipper is confident that the experience of playing in England would not only help him in the WTC Final against New Zealand in Southampton but also in the subsequent five-match Test series against hosts England. "I am trying to prepare in the best way possible for the WTC final and the England series. It's going to be interesting and exciting as well for all the Indian fans because it's the first edition of the WTC,” said Vihari who would join Team India on June 2, when the Blue brigade reaches England for the three-month-long stay.