Pat Cummins appointed Australia's Test captain, Steve Smith to be vice-captain

Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins has been appointed as the captain of the Test team right ahead of the Ashes series. The decision comes after days of speculation when he and former captain Steve Smith appeared before a five-member panel constituted by Cricket Australia. Smith will be his deputy in the longest format.

The decision to promote Cummins as the skipper can be seen as a seminal moment in Australian cricket as he has become the first pacer to take the full-time leadership position of the side.

"I am honoured to accept this role ahead of what will be a massive Ashes summer," Cummins said in a statement. “I hope I can provide the same leadership Tim (Paine) has given the group in the past few years. With Steve and I as captains, a number of very senior players in this squad and some great young talent coming through we are a strong and tightly-knit group.

"This is an unexpected privilege which I am very grateful for and am very much looking forward to."

His first test as a leader will come in the upcoming weeks as England are already in Australia for the all-important Ashes series and he will have the task of uniting the players to move on from the saga that his predecessor Tim Paine left behind him.

His appointment as skipper was more or less on cards as he was deputy to Paine for a long time and that his candidature was also approved and promoted by many former Australian players.

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T20 World Cup 2021 match between India & Pakistan most viewed T20I game: ICC

The T20 World Cup 2021 broke the viewership records as it recorded a television reach of 167 million and a record consumption of 15.9 billion minutes in India on the Star India Network for the India-Pakistan fixture. The clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan is now the highest viewed T20I game. "We are pleased with these outstanding global viewership numbers, that demonstrate the power of T20I cricket to attract a huge audience across the globe on linear and digital platforms. It reinforces our belief that there is a significant opportunity and appetite to grow the game in our strategic growth markets including the USA, so more fans can enjoy it, more kids are inspired by it and sponsors and broadcasters want to be a part of it,” ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said. The overall TV consumption of the tournament was recorded at 112 billion minutes in India despite the side’s exit in the group stage itself. Pakistan had defeated India for the first time in a World Cup game and went on to win all the group matches before bowing out of the tournament in the semi-final. The Aaron Finch-led Australian side lifted the trophy eventually after beating New Zealand in the final in Dubai.

Warm-up match between England & England Lions ends in a draw after rain plays spoilsport

The warm-up match between England and England Lions eventually ended in a draw after rain played a spoilsport on the three days of the game in Brisbane. Only 29 overs had been bowled in the first innings of the match when the game was interrupted and the showers continued on the second and third day as well. England who were batting first had scored 98 with Haseeb Hameed unbeaten at 53 and Rory Burns at 39*. The two sides will now play another warm-up match between November 30 to December 3 in Brisbane. The Ashes series is slated to begin on December 8 at The Gabba. England captain Joe Root had earlier said that his unit should take inspiration from India and how they fought back during the Tour Downunder. “One thing I think we can take a lot of heart and confidence from is the way India went and played there in their (Australia’s) last home series,” Root said. England squad for the Ashes: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Ireland announce squad for USA, West Indies tours

Ireland have announced the squads for the tour of the USA and West Indies respectively. Andrew Balbirnie will be the skipper in both T20Is and the ODIs. The Ireland side will play two T20Is and three ODIs against the USA. The first T20I is slated to take place on December 22 in Florida while the second match will be played on December 23 at the same venue. The ODI series will begin on December 26 and the second and third match will be held on December 28 and 30 in Florida. The schedule for the West Indies tour will be announced soon. Joshua Little will join the travelling side ahead of the ODIs against USA. "The selectors have had to make some tough decisions as we look to move the men's squad forward, particularly in the T20 format - however, what has influenced our thinking behind some key selection decisions is the proximity to the T20 World Cup Qualifier in early 2022," said Andrew White, the Chair of National Men's Selectors. T20I squad for USA and West Indies:Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, William McClintock, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young. ODI squad for USA and West Indies: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, William Porterfield, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

We have to back each other: Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque on overcoming recent bad patch

Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque believes that his team would give a stern competition to Pakistan in the upcoming two-match Test series which also charts the inauguration of their World Test Championship 2021-23. Acknowledging the fact that they are facing a tough challenge, especially given the form that the team is carrying with the drubbing in the World Cup and then by Pakistan at home in the T20I series, Mominul said that only players have to overcome that and they have done it in the past as well. "This is not the first time Bangladesh has gone through such a phase. We have overcome such situations before too,” said the 30-year-old. People become mentally weak because they take outside talk seriously. My job is to bring back focus from thinking about what everyone is saying, and focusing on our job. We have to back each other. You cannot shut anyone's mouth but I think you can shut off your own ears,” Mominul added further. The left-handed batter who has one of the best averages in Test cricket for a Bangladesh batter with more than 3000 runs, said that there is no doubt that big players are missing from the series. But according to him, it also gives young players an opportunity to showcase their talent. “Tamim bhai gives us good starts that we have often capitalised on. Shakib is two players in one. Taskin has been bowling well recently. We are effectively missing four players. It makes my captaincy a bit more challenging but Mushfiq Bhai and I have to take on the added responsibility,” he said. Mominul also backed Liton Das and other players who could have a great impact in this game. "(Abu Jayed) Rahi has been our leading wicket-taker in the WTC. We also have (Mehidy Hasan) Miraz and Taijul (Islam). I have confidence in my bowlers. I think if we bowl well, we can take 20 wickets in this game. I think Liton has overcome that (failure in T20 World Cup). He has averaged 45-50 in Tests in the last 12 months. I think he can handle it well. He had a mental break. Everyone is supporting him,’ said the captain. The first Test will begin at 10:00 am Local time at the Zahur Ahmed Chaudhary Stadium in Chattogram on November 26.