No third umpire in USA vs IRE series, all decisions to be taken on field

'Persistent injury' rules Anrich Nortje out of Test series against India

In what would come as a big blow to the prospects of the hosts South Africa, pacer Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the three-match long Test series against India starting December 26 in Centurion. Cricket South Africa announced the development and said that the pacer who made his Test debut against India in 2019 has been ruled out due to a “persistent injury”. However, the hosts will not seek any replacement for him. After the first Test, the second and third Tests of the series will be played in Johannesburg and Cape Town starting on January 03 and January 11 respectively. Earlier this month, South Africa had announced a 21-man strong squad to face India at home. The squad included the return of Duanne Olivier, who had left the country to play cricket in England and hence they will have a replacement ready to fill in for Nortje’s absence.

Newly appointed Nepal captain Lamichhane wants to end dispute between CAN and leading players

The Cricket Association of Nepal on December 15 appointed Sandeep Lmaichhane as the new captain of the Nepal national cricket team. But this was not a usual decision as it came after the body suspended the central contract of four players for six months and removed Gyanendra Malla as captain and Dipendra Singh Airee as vice-captain. The decision was taken by the board after the players were found to be breaching the disciplinary protocol of CAN after the players were engaged in a protracted payment dispute with the body. Lamichhane who is currently plying his trade for the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL feels that the matter will be solved soon as the team would look to prepare for the T20 World Cup qualifiers for the 2022 T20 World Cup. "It's an honour for me to lead this country. There's been a lot going on between players and CAN. In this tough time, we have to back up each other. All the players and CAN have to come in one place to take Nepal cricket to the next heights,” ESPNCricinfo quoted the leg spinner as saying. “It's a tough time for Nepal cricket but I'm looking forward to getting this team through every thick and thin so that we have a great time ahead. It hurts to see all these things right now. There's nobody who can help us to go through it. There has been a lot of ups and downs. But with the kind of skills our players have and the kind of big heart they have, I'm pretty sure they're going to represent Nepal and prove themselves. [Malla and Airee] are one of the main pillars of the Nepal team. Though they are not captain or vice-captain or don't have that tag right now, for me, they are still the best players in the team,” he added. There is pressure being built from outside on the CAN as well with former skipper Paras Khadka who just retired from international cricket tweeting in favour of the cricketers. "We are in support of our cricket players. Justice has to be served. Hopefully CAN will take its decision back and players can start training to focus in preparations for the T-20 World Cup qualifier in February and to maintain our ODI STATUS in coming days,” Khadka wrote on his Twitter timeline. With the Qualifiers not far, it would be interesting to see how the matter is solved by CAN.

The Ashes | Joe Root backs teammates to rise on ultimate motivation to turn around Ashes

Only once a side has come back from a situation of 0-2 down to win an Ashes series and it happened with Australia under the watch of Sir Don Bradman and no wonder the current England skipper Joe Root finds the situation a point of ultimate motivation for his side having lost both the Tests of the series. He has put his weight behind his teammates to respond to the situation of now or never in the ongoing Ashes series but not before coming hard at his teammates for their inability to learn quickly from their mistakes and repeating their errors far too often. "I expect them to (respond). We've got three games, three massive games with the Ashes on the line now and if that's not motivation enough to go out there and put performances in, then I don't know what is,” Joe Root said. England were lamented for bowling too short and not making the best use of the Pink ball in the Day-Night Test and Root too was not pleased with England pacers. He let his displeasure and disapproval be known to the public in the post-match presentation and press conference but also hoped his side will respond to their downward curve in the series.

Tamim Iqbal planning to make comeback from injury with BCL One Day tournament

Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal, who has been out of the cricketing scenes, having not taken part in a competitive game since October 6 due to injury is looking to make a comeback to the sport with the Bangladesh Cricket League white-ball format scheduled from January 9. "I am batting after a while and there is some pain but with time it will heal totally and I have to go through it," Tamim was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. "Later I will increase the intensity of my training like batting against pace bowlers and all that, and at that point, I can understand where I stand. Let's see if I can take part in the BCL one-day tournament," added the 32-year-old revealing his plans to recovery. BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury, who is looking after the recoveries of both Tamim and Mustafizur Rahman also agreed that they both could come back in the league starting in January. "This is part of his rehabilitation program. He was expected to bat from November 20 and he did that. He is playing against slow bowlers and later his intensity will increase. We are expecting him to take part in the BCL one-day format," Chowdhury said. Talking about the Fizz’s recovery who picked up a side strain injury in the second T20I against Pakistan at home, the physician said, "Mustafizur is bowling with 50 per cent intensity. He is bowling with a short run-up and a lesser pace. He will do gym sessions and increase his intensity in bowling gradually. At the moment he is not feeling any pain while bowling.”