Still have something to give to this game, both on & off field: Ross Taylor

Pataudi series to kick off WTC 2 cycle, India to play 19 matches by the end of the cycle

The second cycle of the ICC World Test Championship will kick off with five match Patuadi Trophy involving England and hosts that is slated to be played from 4th August. The Indian contingent is already in England enjoying their time out of the bio-bubble. They will rejoin a fortnight before the first Test to start their preparation for the series. Along with that series, the Ashes slated to be played in Australia in December will be the only other series comprising of five Tests in the second WTC cycle. Australia is scheduled to tour India for a four match Test series in 2022 which will be the only four match series in the competition. In total, there are 13 two match Test series, seven three match Test series and two five and a solitary four match series. The venue for the final of the event if yet to be decided by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Just like the inaugural edition of the WTC, all the top 9 teams will fight it 6 Test series each with three at home and three away. None of the series which was postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be carried forward to the next cycle of the championship. Once again there will be a big difference between the number of matches played among all the 9 teams. India, England and Australia regarded as the Big 3 of modern cricket will be the only three teams contesting in four and five-match series. All the other teams will only play a two-match or a three-match series. England will play the most number of matches in the league phase by the end of this cycle with 21 matches followed by India and Australia with 19 and 18 matches respectively. South Africa will play 15 while the inaugural world Test champions New Zealand will only play a total of 13 matches which is also equal to what Sri Lanka and West Indies will play in this phase. Meanwhile, Pakistan will play 14 matches while Bangladesh will be the only team in the competition to play two-match series in each of their six scheduled series. In order to ensure that there is no disparity in point allocation which hurts the teams, the ICC has decided to allot an equal number of points for each match. Under the new proposed system which is expected to get a go-ahead at the next chief executive’s committee meeting, each match in the 2nd WTC cycle will comprise a total of 12 points. A win will fetch all 12 points while a draw will fetch one third which will be 4 points and a tie will fetch 6 points. Teams with slow over rates will also be docked one point for every over they fall behind. The ICC acting chief executive officer Geoff Allardice said that the point system was changed from the inaugural edition to make sure that all teams despite playing different number of matches can get a chance to be compared with anyone at a given stage of the tournament. "Instead of each series being worth the same number of points, 120, irrespective of whether the series is played over two Tests or five Tests, the next cycle will see each match being worth the same number of points - a maximum of 12 per match. Teams will be ranked on the percentage of available points they won from the matches they have played. The aim was to try and simplify the points system and to allow teams to be meaningfully compared on the table at any point, though they may have played differing numbers of matches and series,” Alliance was quoted as saying by the ESPN Cricinfo.

Enough is enough: Bangladesh umpire quits after players' misbehaviour

Bangladesh umpire Moniruzzaman has taken a decision to quit after another disappointing incident took place during the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier League T20 that involved Mahmudullah. Moniruzzaman was the TV umpire in one of the matches between Gazi Tank Cricketers and Prime bank Cricket Club when Gazi Tank Cricketers’ captain Mahmudullah lied down on the adjacent track after an appeal was turned down. The right-handed batsman in fact refused to continue with the game and was later found guilty of committing a level-2 offence . "Enough is enough for me and I don't want to do umpiring anymore," a dejected Moniruzzaman told Cricbuzz on Tuesday. "I have some self-respect and want to live with it." he added. "Umpires can make mistakes but if we are treated in this manner, there is no point in doing it anymore because I am not in it just for the money." In an earlier incident during the tournament, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan had misbehaved with the on-field twice. Moniruzzaman though wasn’t a part of this game but expressed disappointment on Shakib’s behaviour. "I was not involved in Shakib's game. The way he behaved was something very hard for me to digest. In the Mahmudullah match I was the TV umpire and watching the episode closely. It left me numb and at that point, I decided not to carry on with umpiring," he said.

R Ashwin, Mithali Raj recommended for Khel Ratna Award 2021

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be recommending off-spinner R Ashwin and women’s team skipper Mithali Raj’s names for this year’s Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award which is the highest sporting honour in the country. According to ANI reports, batsmen KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s names will be recommended for the Arjuna Award. Ashwin who was a part of the World Cup-winning Indian team in 2011 and the Champions trophy-winning side in 2013 edition has featured in 79 Tests for India and has 413 scalps to his name. Apart from this, the right-hander has also notched up five centuries in the longer format. The off-spinner has been capped 111 times in ODIs picking up 150 wickets while has played 46 T20Is for the team where he has 52 dismissals to his name. The right-handed batter Mithali recently completed 22 years of her career and became the only woman cricketer to achieve the feat. She made her debut back on June 26, 1999. Mithali has played 215 ODIs so far for India and has struck over 7000 runs. The right-hander has also featured in 89 T20Is for the side scoring more than 2300 runs and has played 11 Tests. The last date of submission of application for the National Sports Awards 2021 was earlier extended by the Union Sports Ministry. India captain Virat Kohli, his limited-overs deputy Rohit Sharma, World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni and former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar have been honoured with the award.

WI vs SA | 3rd T20I: South Africa hold nerves in a nail-biter to go 2-1 up in the series

South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada showed his class and clinched a victory for his side in a nail-biting finish against West Indies in the third T20I in Grenada to go 2-1 up in the five-match tie. The hosts needed 8 off the last two deliveries with Rabada who had the ball in his hands was up against Fabian Allen. The right-arm bowler nailed a perfect Yorker on the penultimate delivery of the match to get the equation down to 8 off 1 but was hit for a maximum on the last one which didn’t really keep any significance as the Proteas eventually won the match by 1 run. Chasing a stiff target of 168, West Indies began the proceedings pretty well as openers Even Lewis and Lendl Simmons put 55 on the board for the first wicket before Simmons departed for 22 off 22. His opening partner, Lewis was soon undone by Tabraiz Shamsi for 27 off 21 and the Caribbean side were now 57/2. Jason Holder who came in at number three and Shimron Hetmyer who was in at four provided some resistance to the side and chipped in with a partnership of 33 runs for the third wicket. Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi eventually broke the partnership as he sent Holder packing back in the hut for 16 off 11. The right-handed batsman’s dismissal saw a fall of couple of wickets in quick succession and the home side were soon reduced to 104/5 with captain Kieron Pollard back in the hut. But it was Andre Russell and Allen who steadied the ship for the side and the two aggressive batsmen took on the South African bowling attack to stitch a stand of 36 runs for the sixth wicket. Russell struck a 16-ball 25 while Allen remained unbeaten at 14 off 9. But their efforts went in vain as West Indies failed to go over the line. Anrich Nortje and Shamsi scalped a couple of wickets each. The spinner in fact returned with some impressive figures of 2/13 in 4 overs. Earlier, South Africa after batting first rode on Quinton de Kock’s 51-ball 72 to put up a formidable total of 167/8 in 20 overs. The visitors had a decent start to the proceedings but a flurry of wickets in the death overs denied them to post a big total on the board. While De Kock notched up a half-century, Aiden Markram scored 23 off 18 and Van der Dussen chipped in with 32 off 24 during the course. For the West Indies, it was Obed McCoy and Dwayne Bravo who were among the wickets. McCoy scalped a four-wicket haul for his side while Bravo returned with a three-for. West Indies skipper Pollard admitted that the team didn’t really capitalise on the start that it got. “It has plagued us over the two games, and we need to get the chase right. We had a lot of dots and didn't capitalize on a good start. We couldn't get over the line despite starts, and we have to find a way, that's it. We have close matches, some you win, some you lose. We need to find a way to win,” Pollard said. The fourth encounter of the series will take place on Thursday (July 1, 2021) at the same venue.