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

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.”

The Ashes | With doubts over Starc and Hazlewood, Australia call up Scott Boland for Boxing Day Test

Australia have called up pacer Scott Boland in the squad for the third Ashes Test scheduled to start on Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Cricket Australian announced. Boland has been training with the Australian Test side in Adelaide after featuring in a game for Australia A against the England Lions in Brisbane. He has been in great rhythm with the ball in the Sheffield Shield before joining the Australia A side and will provide Australia with a potent seam bowling option. "Boland has been training with the team in Adelaide and joins the squad while the medical team assesses the fast bowling group following the second Test victory," Cricket Australia said. Boland’s inclusion could be seen as a reinforcement to cover for the bowling attack comprising of Mitchell Starc who seemed to be battling a niggle on the final day of the second Test in Adelaide and Josh Hazlewood, who missed the second Test due to side strain. However, Australia have named an unchanged 15-man squad for the remaining three Tests of the series hinting at a possible return of Hazlewood at some point in the series if not at the MCG. The hosts will welcome their skipper Pat Cummins at the MCG as he missed the second Test in Adelaide after coming in close contact with a Covid-19 infected person. Australia are leading the five-match long Ashes series 2-0 with three games remaining to be played at the MCG, SCG and Bellerive Oval in Hobart.

Ravichandran Ashwin opens up on considering quitting the game between 2018 to 2020

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has opened up on the times when he considered giving up on the game due to excessive pains he had to go through to play the game and it was becoming too much to handle for him. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Ashwin said he was weighing various options including quitting the game during the time period between 2018 and 2020 as he was not able to bowl even one over without extreme discomfort. "Between 2018 and 2020, I contemplated giving up the sport at various points," Ashwin was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "I thought I have put in a lot of effort, but it is not coming through. The harder I tried, the farther it felt. Especially with athletic pubalgia and the patellar tendonitis - I used to bowl six balls and then I used to be gasping for breath. And there would be pain all over the place." Thankfully for both India and Ashwin, he got hold of the injury and bounced back admirably from the career-threatening scare. He bowled beautifully on the tour of Australia and at home against England and New Zealand earlier this year to help India continue their dream run in the longest format. He has embarked on another overseas tour of South Africa and his role will be crucial if India have to have any chance of winning their first ever Test series in the rainbow nation.