Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane get valuable insights from Vinod Kambli ahead of SA tour

The Ashes | Travis Head reflects on preparation to combat round the wicket bowling after Gabba heist

It was argued that Australia had some selection conundrums leading up to the Ashes series at home but on the face of it, they did not have any contentious selection issue to deal with after they picked Alex Carey to replace Tim Paine as the wicketkeeper-batsman except for the number five position in batting. The debate has largely been centred around Travis Head and whether he deserves to bat at number five for Australia in Test cricket and the theme was not at all different this time. He was in the form before joining the Australia Test squad but so was Usman Khwaja, who was giving him tough competition for that spot, at least from the outset. However, Head was always a run-getter at the Sheffield Shield level but could not unlock his potential at the highest level. Thankfully, for him to start with, Australia picked him over Khwaja and for the side, he hammered England bowling attack to all parts of the Gabba to quash all the murmurs surrounding his candidature once for all. His downhill curve began in the last Ashes series when Stuart Broad ripped open all the faultlines in his batting by exploiting the bowling friendly conditions and round the wicket angle. He got him out for fun bowling round the wicket and making a mockery of his inability to combat the threat that was apparent and inevitable. He did not have a great Ashes series and thankfully for Australia, Steve Smith was in Don Bradmanesque form and the bowling attack was well oiled to rescue them in almost every game and they got away retaining the Ashes. There was no end to that round the wicket trouble for Head even after returning to his home soil as Jasprit Bumrah and Ajinkya Rahane exploited the same shortcomings at the MCG to hurt Australia when he looked set for a big score. The crisis was deepening and as runs dried up, he found his name out of the squad for the last two Tests against India last summer that led to discussions and debates over his place in the side for the Ashes series. He went away from the limelight and worked on his technique while facing right-handed pacers bowling from round the wicket after a period when he was “found out” by bowlers from that angle. He said that the century in the Gabba Test was the result of the relentless and focused hard work he did to line himself up for round the wicket angle of attack. England also offered him and his teammate, David Warner, a big relief by not playing Stuart Broad who had a wood against them but Head concedes the problem was bigger than facing only Broad and that he struggled in general with that line of attack. “Not just from Broady, but I think in general from bowling around the wicket,” Head said in Adelaide. “Personally, I’ve worked really hard on batting against bowling around the wicket. We got found out a little bit in England, personally and maybe as a team. I know from my personal experience over the last sort of six months, I’ve gone away and worked really hard at that, how to line the ball up. “I didn’t change it just for this Test match. I think it’s been what I’ve been doing since probably Christmas last year. So, I’ve had the back end of the summer and feel like that has been going on for over 12 months now. So I guess since missing out in the Test series last year, I went away and worked on a few things that are so minor. You wouldn’t probably even get to pick them up though, it’s that minor.” Having won the confidence of the new skipper in the form of Pat Cummins and Justin Langer, Head too attack the England bowling lineup and produced an 85-ball century to stamp his authority on the game. If he remains in the form and bats the way he did at the Gabba in the next four Tests of the series, Australia are only going to get stronger and England’s resolve will be tested with every spell of such counterattacks that he launched on the opposition.

KKR have played vital role in me adorning the blues: Venkatesh Iyer

All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has become a household name in the recent past especially after making some significant contributions for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the second leg of the IPL 2021. Owing to his good performance in the cash-rich league, Iyer was called-up in the T20I squad for the New Zealand series at home. Talking about his success, Iyer credited the Knight Riders for playing an important role. "The franchise has played a very vital role in me adorning the blues. I am looking forward to playing at Eden Gardens, it's always special to be there and to play in front of a packed crowd,” Iyer said in a video released by KKR. Iyer who plays for Madhya Pradesh in the domestic circuit has been in terrific form in the on-going Vijay Hazare Trophy where he has already scored a couple of tons and a fifty in the first four matches that he played. Apart from his batting, the all-rounder has been among the wickets as well after he scalped 8 wickets in the first four appearances in the tournament.

Ben Stokes signs contract extension for three years with Durham

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has signed a contract extension for three years with Durham. Stokes had made a return to cricket after taking a mental health break. Stokes expressed his delight after signing an extension with the club. “I am delighted to commit to a further three years with Durham, I have had some fantastic memories playing for the Club over the years and I look forward to experiencing more of this in the future," Stokes said. Playing for Durham, the left-handed batsman has notched up 3611 first-class runs in 64 matches. Apart from this, Stokes has played 62 T20 Blast games. Director of Cricket, Marcus North also expressed his joy after the all-rounder agreed his future to Durham for a further 3 years. "Ben is one of the finest players in the world and while we may not see him as much as we would like, his influence around the club remains huge. It's fantastic to see Ben back fit and well following his time away from the game and now back playing for England in the Ashes. We are extremely happy that Ben has agreed his future to Durham for a further 3 years," added Marcus North.

The Ashes | David Warner to undergo fitness test before day-night Test in Adelaide

The hosts Australia are expecting David Warner to be fit and ready for the second Test of the Ashes series starting December 16 in Adelaide but the opener is racing against the time to recover from the rib injury he picked up in the first Test. He is set to undergo a fitness test tonight when Australia will hit the nets under lights to prepare for the Pink Ball Test against their arch-rivals, Fox Sports reported. The batting hero of the Gabba Test with a swashbuckling hundred, Travis Head has expressed expectations that Warner will be ready to play the second Test and that all he needed was rest to get back in the groove. He said that the opener is in good space and should bat at the top of the order at the Adelaide Oval. “I flew home with him a couple of days ago. His family have come into Adelaide which was nice,” Travis Head said. “And he felt like he was in a good space. Obviously, he was a little bit sore, we didn’t take any risks with him only needing 20. “He was going to bat but in the end, our bowlers did a fantastic job to give him a day off. So I think for him it was just rest. I think he’s ready to go. So no issues for David.” He was hit on the rib while batting in the first innings where he notched up 94 aggressive runs before getting dismissed off Ollie Robinson and did not bat in the second innings. As per reports, he was going through a lot of pain but was prepared to take a painkiller to bat in the chase of 20 runs to take Australia 1-0 up in the five-match series. Australia have had other injury concerns as well with Josh Hazlewood being ruled out of the second Test due to a side strain. His spot in the playing XI would go to one among Jhye Richardson and Michael Nesser with the former being frontrunner for his ability to swing the ball at a raw pace.