Sean Williams blames coach Lalchand Rajput for creating mistrust in Zimbabwe camp

I owe a lot to my family and coaches: Paul Stirling on reaching 300 matches milestone for Ireland

Paul Stirling, the pocket-sized dynamite of a batsman has become the third Ireland player to complete three will play his 300 games for Ireland when he started in the playing xi against Zimbabwe in the first of the five T20Is to be played between the two sides. “It’s been a long journey since debuting in 2008 and if you had asked me back then I never thought I would have had the privilege of playing this many games,” Stirling said in an interview to Belfast Telegraph. It must be noted that this is not his 300th international game, but overall 300 matches while representing Ireland and it includes First-Class matches during the Inter-Continental Cup era and List A matches before Ireland got the full-time ODI status. “I owe a lot to my family and coaches for the time and dedication they have put in throughout my career to date,” added Stirling, who was also the show-stealer in The Hundred Final, bagging the Man of the Match award in the Final against Birmingham phoenix. It was a season that saw his side Southern Brave’s dramatic turnaround after the first two losses to reach the Eliminator and then the Final and win it. Andrew Balbirnie, the captain of Ireland was also excited about the development. “I think he’s really happy with getting that exposure that he absolutely deserves. I’m a big believer that he should be playing in every domestic competition around the world because he’s that good,” he said in another interview. As far as international matches are concerned 31-year-old Stirling lies just behind veteran Kevin O’ Brien in matches played for Ireland. While O’Brien has played 255 games, Stirling with this game in Clontarf will be playing his 216th game for Ireland. Since making his debut in 2008, Stirling has so far represented the Men in Green in 131 ODIs, 82 T20Is and three Tests.

ICC Women’s T20 WC Europe Qualifier: Frederique Overdijk registers best T20I figures in cricket history

Netherlands Women team member and medium-fast bowler Frederique Overdijk rocked the world by registering the best figures by a bowler in the history of T20 cricket. The Dutch woman bowled a spell of 4-2-3-7 against France Women in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier. Overdijk was the main reason behind dismissing France Women for a meagre 33 and allow the Dutch Women batters to then chase the total in only 3.3 overs and rap of the game, getting two important points on the board. Earlier on the very same day, playing their first match of the Qualifying tournament, Netherlands Women lost to Scotland Women by six wickets after being able to score only 98 in their quota of 20 overs. Among the other teams participating in the tournament which will win ensure the winner qualifying for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier, Ireland Women beat Germany Women by a huge margin of 164 runs. Gaby Lewis became the first Irish Woma to score a T20I century as she scored an unbeaten 60-ball 105* to get the Women in Green to 196. In reply, Germany Women batted out the entire 20 overs and could score only 32 runs.

ENG vs IND | 3rd Test, Day 3: Pujara, Rohit and Kohli keep India in the game at Headingley

Showing every bit of “resilience” the team boast of, the batsmen stuck to their discipline and batted with a clear mind to keep India in the game by the end of the third day’s play in Leeds. There was speculation and fears about the game that it will be over by today, but the batting department led by Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara showed that the first innings disaster was a blip and not a phenomenon. First, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah wrapped things up quickly before the last two England wickets could pile more agony and frustration. The onus was well and truly on the batsmen after England took a massive lead of 354 runs and with three days in remaining, and they have responded in a grand fashion so far till the end of the day. England are due for the second new ball and they will not be hesitant to take it straightway on the fourth day to stop India from running away with the game on the back of a partnership between Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. Pujara’s rare aggressive innings If the fans of the game had thought of having seen it all in terms of surprises after India’s horrific batting in the first innings, they were in for a pleasant surprise in the afternoon session of the day. Pujara has taken a long time in the recent past to get off the mark so much so that his slowest fifties and most balls faced before opening the account has come in the last one and half year. The lack of runs and shaky confidence had a lot to do about it but none of them could be seen easily on his face while he struggled to get big runs for India. The day was different in many senses though and he would be delighted to see Joe Root and James Anderson not blocking his scoring areas between the short midwicket and square leg. England employed the same tactic at Lord’s and made him wait forever before he could open his account having seen how Tim Paine-led Australia had squeezed him for runs earlier this year. He was provided with three gifts on his leg stump and desperate for runs to get going fluently, Pujara put all of those to boundaries to announce his arrival in an uncharacteristic manner. The innings then followed a similar trajectory as his batting style except there was confidence in his stride and hunger in his shots to go for the runs while not giving up control around off stump. He walked out confidently with his skipper at the end of the day having quashed all the murmurs about the end of his career. Rohit’s love affair with frustrating dismissals Rohit Sharma was the lone man standing for India in the first innings amid all the havocs at the other end. He was assured about his off stump and batted with immense composure to combat at on-song Anderson and impressive Ollie Robinson. However, his dismissal was the tamest in the first innings as he was caught in two minds against a short and rising ball from Overton. He was batting very watchfully but got himself into shackles and could not break it with full intent when a short ball, that he considers a scoring opportunity came his way. He shed all those indecisiveness in the second innings and uppercut a rising delivery from Overton for a six over the slips. He was cautious on balls around off but also got better in attacking deliveries that were too full and pitched in his arc. Just like Lord’s, Sam Curran opened the tap of runs for him and he produced two magnificent drives—one straight down the ground that compelled Shane Warne into comparing him with Mark Waugh, and one through the cover to reach half-century. He has been the best batsman around all the six innings of this Test series for India and overall after Joe Root but his tryst with soft dismissals continued in this Test as well. After doing all the hard work and waiting for perfect deliveries to pounce on, he was guilty of getting overambitious against a delivery from Robinson that he perceived would be going beyond his leg stump. The attempted shot by an angled bat did not touch the ball and he was out in as agonising manner as it could have been and the disgust was visible in the way he smashed his bat on his pads. Kohli survives early bout with Anderson Virat Kohli has been found out so far in the series, especially against his nemesis Anderson. Root did not need a second invitation to bring his ace pacer back once the Indian skipper walked out to bat. Not to take credit away from Kohli, but the pacer was searching for the line and committed the mistake of bowling to his pad in search of magic delivery from the leg stump line. Or maybe, he was trying to bowl inswinger and erred in the line, but Kohli did not complain and flicked him to square leg boundary to get going. As the number of easy balls that could be left outside off stump came, he grew in confidence and the stride was getting bigger and better albeit that has not been at fault in this series. Anderson corrected his line but length remained his achilles heels in that spell to Kohli as the skipper brought out two sumptuous cover drives to provide a glimpse of what could well be on cards if he does not commit the mistakes he has been guilty of in this series. India’s bundle of bad luck India won the toss and Kohli took a brave call of batting first on a Headingley pitch that promised to offer more than usual help to pacers. His call could not have backfired more terribly as India were skittled for 78. However, by the time England batsmen walked out to bat, it was bright sunshine and the pitch appeared to be a different surface than the one India had batted on. It remained quite the same for the entire second day and India’s pacers had to toil hard to get wickets. But, once again, as India got ready to bat on the third day, there was rain in the air and clouds hovering over Leeds. Both Rahul and Rohit had to once again combat challenging conditions that none of the England batsmen had to face in the entire length of their first innings. India showed remarkable discipline and mental fortitude after the demoralising low of the first innings and they must be commended for putting their head down and fighting hard to keep themselves in the game. Looking forward to the fourth day India are 139 runs behind the lead of 354 runs conceded in the first innings with Pujara and Kohli batting solidly at 91 and 41 respectively. England walked out off the field as the new ball was not available for them due to inadequate light and Root will be eager to unleash Anderson and co. with the second new ball right from the first ball of the day. India would hope Pujara’s returned assurance around off stump and confidence along with signs of Kohli coming near ton= his best will be able to see Anderson and the second new ball off. They are still way behind in the game, especially with the kind of collapse that can happen in England and any effort of batting less than two more sessions will send their journey in the Test match very quickly.

CPL 2021 Preview: Trinbago Knight Riders, Barbados Royals look to get back on track

Trinbago Knight Riders will lock horns with Barbados Royals in the fourth encounter of the CPL 2021 on Saturday in St Kitts. Both the sides will be coming into this match after suffering a defeat in their previous respective games. While the Trinbago side lost to Guyana Amazon Warriors in the opening clash, Barbados were defeated by St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in a pretty comprehensive manner. The two teams faced problems while chasing a target after their batting unit failed to go all guns blazing. Trinbago were handed a target of 143 runs in 20 overs which looked to be achievable at one stage but the Knight Riders’ batting line up never really got the start that was required and in fact kept losing wickets at regular intervals during the course. On the other hand, Barbados had to chase a stiff total of 176 but they too fell short of the target by 21 runs. The Royals too faced similar problems as Trinbago during the chase as the batsmen failed to stitch a steady stand and were eventually pushed on the backfoot. Another major cause of concern for both the teams is their bowling especially in the later part of the innings. Trinbago had reduced Warriors to 104/6 but weren't able to put a halt on the run flow after that. Hetmyer went on to score a half-century. Royals on the other side, ripped through the Patriots’ top order but a brilliant partnership between Sherfane Rutherford and captain Dwayne Bravo of 115 runs took the game away from them. Both the sides do have some good striker of the ball in their ranks and a high-voltage drama can be expected when they clash. But the team managements now have some work cut out as the teams have failed to capitalise on the starts they have got. Match Details Match: TKR vs BR, 4th Match, Caribbean Premier League 2021 Date: Saturday, August 28, 2021 Time: 4:30 AM (Aug 28) Venue: Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts TV: Star Sports Live Streaming: Fancode Pitch Report The evening game on the first day witnessed some runs being scored in St Kitts and something of similar sorts can be expected in this encounter as well. The bowlers might find it difficult to prevent the batsmen from scoring runs quickly especially as the game progresses. The dew can also play a major role in the later part of the game. So, if you win the toss bat first. Probable XI TKR: Lendl Simmons, Sunil Narine, Darren Bravo, Colin Munro, Kieron Pollard (captain), Denesh Ramdin (wicket-keeper), Isuru Udana, Yasir Shah, Khary Pierre, Jayden Seales, Ali Khan BR: Johnson Charles (wicket-keeper), Glenn Phillips, Kyle Mayers, Shai Hope, Jason Holder (captain), Azam Khan, Thisara Perera, Hayden Walsh Jr, Mohammad Amir, Ashley Nurse, Oshane Thomas Fantasy XI Shai Hope, Azam Khan, Colin Munro, Lendl Simmons, Bravo, Philips, Kieron Pollard (VC), Sunil Narine (C), Hosein, Walsh, Thomas