Steve Smith exits nets; not ruled out of 1st Test yet

Former Australian cricketer Eric Freeman dies aged 76

Former Australian Test cricketer Eric Freeman has died aged 76. He had suffered a heart attack last weekend and was taken to hospital where he lived his last breath on the night of Monday, December 14. He was the awardee of the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to sport in 2002. Freeman was a pace bowler and had made his Test debut against India in Brisbane during the 1967-68 tour. He took three wickets in the first innings including the wickets of both Indian openers - Farokh Engineer and Syed Abid Ali. He was also a useful lower-order batsman and was the first batsman to start his Test career with a six as his first scoring shot. Freeman went on to play 11 Tests in total for Australia and his last appearance for Australia in Tests was against South Africa and it turned out to be the last match for the rainbow nation was slapped ban for apartheid. In the 11-match-long Test career, Freeman took 13 wickets at an average of 30.07 and also scored two half-centuries with an average of 30.50. Domestically, he was a legend for South Australia as the pacer led the team to a Sheffield Shield Title in 1970-71 season by blowing off New South Wales with his career-best 8 for 47 in first-class cricket. He played cricket in summer, while in winter he used to switch to football and represented Port Adelaide. He scored as many as 390 goals in 116 games for the club. Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings joined the chorus of former players in paying tribute to Freeman whom he rated ‘one of the greatest athletes South Australia has ever produced.’ “Eric will forever be remembered as one of the greatest athletes South Australia has ever produced. He was an all-rounder in every sense of the word — powerful with both bat and ball in cricket and a prodigious goalkicker with the Magpies in the winter months,” Eddings said.

If fit, Cameron Green to debut in 1st Test, confirms Justin Langer; ducks 'tough' selection calls

All-rounder Cameron Green will make his Test debut in Adelaide if he recovers from the mild concussion he suffered in the tour game against India, coach Justin Langer confirmed in the press conference. Langer spoke highly of Green’s capabilities as an all-rounder and said that he has earned the right to play on the back of consistent performances in the Sheffield Shield. “He's a terrific young bloke, he's obviously an excellent talent, he's earned the right for selection through his performances through Sheffield Shield cricket. If he's fit and available then he'll make his Test debut, which is very, very exciting for Australian cricket, for him and his family," Langer said in the virtual press conference. Langer detailed the level of Green’s progress in the path of recovery from the concussion after getting hit in one of the most unusual ways while bowling to Jasprit Bumrah. Langer said that Green will have to pass through all the tests mandatory as per the concussion protocols and if he is able to pass through all of them, a Baggy Green is waiting for him in Adelaide. "If he's passed fit he'll definitely play. We're just going through the concussion protocols. We all saw it was a very unusual incident that happened with him. If Cameron gets through the protocols and he gets through training and he feels good, I've seen him last night, he had a big smile on his face, he had another test this morning that we got good news,” Langer added. Opening conundrum The hosts have other selection conundrums as well and the top order is certainly one of them with the incumbent Joe Burns struggling awfully with lack of runs. There have been discussions about one of Matthew Wade or Marnus Labuschagne shifting to the top of the order but Langer ruled out promotion of Labuschagne to open the innings. “Marnus won't be opening. He's done an amazing job at number three, Steven Smith does an amazing job at number four, we're going to try and stay as settled as possible," Langer said of Labuschange’s batting position in the Adelaide Test. However, he did not disclose the plan of action on Wade as an opener or continuing with Joe Burns and gave mixed signals talking highly of both of them. He suggested that Burns is still rated highly by the team but also hinted that his lack of runs can’t be overlooked going into an all-important Test series against India and that a final decision of him will be taken in due course of time. "I've been privately and publicly backing Joe in the whole time, he's a very good player, you don't lose your talent overnight. He also understands though runs are the greatest currency of value to any player. We'll make our decision on who's going to open in the next day or so," Langer said of Joe Burns. Langer was immensely impressed with the character shown by Matthew Wade, whom he called ‘Mr Fix It’ and said that took his advice of ‘hammering the doors down’ by a truckload of runs in the Sheffield Shield and showing the skills and determination to help the team in tough situations. “Matthew Wade is almost becoming 'Mr Fix It', he's so well regarded. He's a very, very important part of our team … he's got good footwork, he's tough and he can also counter-attack, we know how aggressive he can be,” Langer said of Wade. On the question of Wade's credentials to open the batting at the Adelaide Oval, Langer was subtle and did not reveal what exactly is going on in the hosts camp but he was not short of backing Wade to succeed at the top of the order in case he is asked to do so by the team. "He can definitely do it; we've just got to work out what the best makeup of our team is going to be," Langer said. While the bowling attack of the hosts should be a settled line up with the return of Mitchell Starc into the squad, coach Justin Langer, captain Tim Paine and selectors have their task cut as they face some tough decisions with the absence of David Warner and Will Pucovski and Joe Burns’ lack of form has only complicated matters for the hosts.

Rampant New Zealand ruffle World Test Championship feathers

New Zealand's clean sweep over West Indies has afforded them a realistic shot at making the World Test Championship final come June 2021.

Tightest Australian team I’ve been part of: Lyon rings the warning bell

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has rung the warning bell ahead of the first Test match against India in Adelaide, saying that he is ready with an altogether different plan for the Indian batters. He also called the present Aussie side the tightest that he has been part of, meaning that it is the deadliest bowling attack since the dominance era of Australia. "We have spoken about it [the 1-2 defeat against India in the last series] and come up with a few different plans. We are in a far better place than we were two years ago. It's exciting and the tightest Aussie team that I have been a part of, " Lyon told the press during a virtual media conference. David Warner’s injury along with that of Will Pucovski means that the Aussie team has to find a different opener altogether. Lyon called it disappointing.” We all know what quality of player Warner is," he added. The 33-year-old is confident that the Aussie bowlers will be able to challenge the Indian batsmen and cramp them for runs. "We have the best bowling attack in the world, so we should make sure that we do our stuff, challenging the Indian (batters') defense for long periods of time," he said. Born in the Young town of New South Wales, Lyon will become only the second spinner after great Shane Warne to go past the 400 wickets milestone if he takes 10 more wickets in this series and he is really excited about it. "From where I had started to where I am at present, it is pretty exciting. Hopefully, I can create chances and get close to the 400 wicket mark," he said. "In the last five years, my bowling has gone to an altogether new level. I love the challenge of playing an attacking side like India,” added the man who has played 96 Tests and is nearing yet another milestone of 100 Tests.