Rajasthan Royals sign up Tabraiz Shamsi for remainder of IPL 2021

Better pitches needed in First-Class cricket to groom batters: West Indies coach Simmons

West Indies Test batting has been poor and it was evident in both the two-match series against South Africa as well as Pakistan. Phil Simmons, the coach of West Indies conceded that his batters have been average and even below that, but stressed upon the fact that to improve Test batting, pitches in First-Class cricket need to better in West Indies. "We have to make our grounds better in terms of our pitches so our guys are able to bat and improve [and] bat longer. There's quite a few things we can do to push ourselves to the next level,” Simmons said after the team’s 109 run defeat against Pakistan in the second Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica. The First Class competition in West Indies, known as Regional West Indies Championship was last played for the 2019-20 season and that too was cut short after only eight rounds. The 12 round competition could not be completed due to the Covid-19 and ever since there has been no First-Class cricket for players ever since. Simmons, who took over the coaching of the West Indian Men’s team also said that the batters have been able to get to 40s and 50s, but have been unable to get that big hundred and that needs to be addressed. The coach further went on to seek the support of the Caribbean people to back his batters so that they keep "We see that we can bat. We are spending 110 balls for 50 runs but it's how we read the situation of the game. We've got to assess those situations in order for us to get the big scores. “We've seen a more controlled approach to the start of everyone's innings, but we have to work out how we go from the 40s and 50s to the 100s and 150s,” he said. “The bowling has been exceptional - it carries its weight and pulls the team - but the batters have to sit down and work out how to get to the scores we want to get. We need the backing, the batsmen need the encouragement. We don't see what's happening in the background, but they are working hard,” the 58-year-old, a Test batter himself in his playing days added.

Sunil Gavaskar attacks Nasser Hussain, says India don't 'moan' about pitches

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar was in a relentless mood during the Sony Sports Network's pre-match broadcast of the third Test between India and England in Leeds as he lashed out at Nasser Hussain during a tricky interaction. He appeared miffed with a column written by the former England captain who had written that the current Indian team led by Virat Kohli will not be bullied by any sort of aggression as their predecessors were. Hussain’s opinion on previous generations of Indian cricketers did not go down too well for the first little master of the game. He asked a reasonable clarification about the opinion from Hussain and reminded the series wins in 1986 and 1996 against what he called “better English sides”. He was also not happy with the English press and former cricketers repetitively questioning the quality of pitches in the Test series between India and England earlier this year. He had rebuked them saying “chal fut”, meaning go away with your opinions. Now, on the verge of the third Test in Leeds, Gavaskar reiterated that the Indian team have not “moaned” about the extra assistance on offer for pacers. He said that the pitches in Nottingham and Lord's were fairly green for pacers but they have taken it upon themselves to fight out the tough conditions.

Fresh from Lord's verbal battles, James Anderson leads England fightback in Leeds

After engaging and losing verbal battles with Indian players in the second Test at Lord’s, James Anderson looked determined to answer India’s sledging with the ball in hand. He was at his very best right from the start of the third Test at Headingley and deceived the in-form batsman KL Rahul with the one that nipped away, even before he could get off the mark. He followed it up with another big wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara, who too got sucked into playing at one he should have left. He was lured by incoming deliveries one after another before the champion pacer swung one away from him while bowling from wide of the crease. He then got the big fish, Indian skipper Virat Kohli, forcing him to drive at a fuller ball, just moving away, a bit too late from him. With three wickets, he was bursting with energy and bowled brilliantly in his eight-over spell in the morning session. India fielded an unchanged playing XI from the one that played and triumphed at Lord’s while England made two changes in Dawid Malan, who replaced struggling Dom Sibley, and Craig Overton, who replaced an injured Mark Wood. Virat Kohli finally won his first toss after losing eight consecutive tosses and decided to bat first. England skipper Joe Root did not mind the opportunity to bowl first on a fresh Headingley pitch and Anderson vindicated his stance with two early wickets. India are 1-0 up in the five-match long series after a spirited win at the Home of Cricket.

Virat Kohli- Joe Root exchange heated words in Lord’s Long Room: Report

It has come to light that after the animated exchange that took place between England pacer James Anderson and Indian bowler Jsprit Burmah on the field at the end of the third day’s play at Lord’s during the second Test, players were involved in heated conversations in the Lord’s Long Room as well. According to The Telegraph’s report, Indian skipper Virat Kohli and English captain Joe Root had a heated conversation in the Long Room after Jasprit Bumrah bowled a barrage of bouncers to James Anderson in a ten-ball over that transpired before Anderson was eventually bowled in the next over by Mohammad Shami. The report said that things seemed like getting out of hand before interventions by a few people cooled it off. Earlier in his weekly column for The Telegraph, Anderson had revealed that emotions got better of him during the interactions with Bumrah. "I was angry at the end. The emotion got the better of me and I felt I had to say something. I felt bad for doing that because it drew attention away from Rooty celebrating an amazing inning as he came off the field,” he had written. India went on to win the Lord’s Test through an incredible comeback on the fifth day and has now taken a 1-0 led in the series with three matches to go. The third Test begins on Wednesday, August 25 at Headingley, Leeds.