Unstoppable Jamieson gives New Zealand clean sweep over Pakistan and no. 1 rank

Match Report: Rising Scorchers burn Sixers in Perth's furnace

Perth Scorchers have definitely turned a corner in the ongoing season of the Big Bash League (BBL), winning their third match in a row, by beating Sydney Sixers, who are at the top of the table, by a big margin – 87 runs. The domination of Scorchers, playing on their home surface, can be gauged by the fact that they bowled out the Sixers for just 97. Andrew Tye bowled magnificently to pick up four wickets while Jhye Richardson took three. It were the Sixers that won the toss and decided to put the Scorchers in. The opening pair of Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone didn’t fire as expected. Livingstone was out in the fourth over while Roy took his time today. Colin Munro, batting at no. 3, though, was in full flow and batted in an attacking manner. Still, the run rate after the first 10 overs was just over 71. After the drinks break, Roy and Munro decided to speed up but both got out in the process. Munro scored a half century, 50 off 34, while Roy, surprisingly, took 31 balls for 27. At 99/3 in 14 overs, the situation looked a bit worrying for the home side. But then, local boy Mitchell Marsh stepped up to the challenge. His big hits provided just the impetus needed in the power surge, taken in the 15-17 overs. Overall, 30 runs were scored in these two overs. Marsh kept going and the bowlers were either missing the yorker length or pitching short without getting the extra bounce expected on the Perth pitch. Marsh ended up with 57 off just 27 balls, taking his team to a very impressive score of 183/4. In reply, the Sixers were never in the game. Early wickets prevented any momentum and they never regained it. Both Richardson and Andrew Tye were in great form. Tye, especially, was bowling with venom, getting good bounce of the wicket. Same was the case with Richardson. Mitchell Marsh also bowled well. He did get a little away swing but mixed it up with good bouncers. Even Fawad Ahmed, who has been underwhelming this season, bowled nicely today, flighting his deliveries nicely and bowling good googlies also. The first two wickets fell for the Sixers inside three overs, Josh Phillippe and James Vince, being dismissed by Jason Behrendorff and Richardson respectively. A partnership of sorts developed between Jack Edwards and Daniel Hughes but was broken by Tye when a shortish delivery was cut to the point fielder by Hughes. Then, wickets came like a torrent. Jordan Silk and Daniel Christian were both dismissed for a duck. Steve O’Keefe tried to fight back but was done in by a tremendous yorker by Tye. The collapse was unabated. Only Edwards offered some resistance, scoring 44. Eventually, the visitors were dismissed for 97 with Tye having figures of 4/20 and Richardson finishing with 3/15. Fawad’s figures of 1/17 in three overs are also very encouraging.

BBL10 Match Preview: Heat look to continue momentum against rhythm-searching Stars

Two teams that have found momentum late in the 10th edition of the BBL are Brisbane Heat and Perth Scorchers. While one of it continued by beating the table-toppers Sydney Sixers in their last game, the Chris Lynn led side too would be looking to take it forward when they faced Glenn Maxwell led Melbourne Stars at the Carrara Oval. Stars though on the other hand have found a little bit of a rhythm winning against Hurricanes, having lost three games in a row. Few things went right for them in that game which included the form of their star campaigners Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa along with Hilton Cartwright and the two blinders from the Specimen Andre Fletcher. The Joe Factor In their last game, it was Joe Burns, who joined the Heat team after getting released from the Australian Test squad due to poor form. The opener struggled in the game against the Sixers, however, he kind of found his ‘hands’ against the Thunder and the Heat unit would hope that the form continues. Along with him is the overseas signing Joe Denly who has been terrific in the two games that he has played so far, scoring a fifty in the last game. The two Joes would give enough confidence to skipper Lynn along with late order hitters in Lewis Gregory and Jimmy Pierson. With Mark Steketee and Mujeeb in the kind of form that they are, it shouldn’t really be a matter for the Heat to give the toughest of the fights to the Stars. Stoinis could be the shining 'Star' Stars are looking to find momentum and one win in the kitty would have done a tremendous amount of good for the team, especially in the way that victory came about. The usual suspects Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran did not fire and it was Stoinis and Cartwright that came to the rescue. Similarly in the bowling, even after being without Nathan Coulter-Nile, an unknown gun in Sam Rainbird delivered. It is these performances that would lift the spirits of the team. Among them, Stoinis finding form and hitting a brilliant 97 not out has been the biggest plays and the Stars team would like him to continue with this form and also contribute with a few overs in bowling to take the team balance a notch above. Heat vs Stars: Match Details Match Number- 32 Date and Time: 07th January 2021, 08.20 pm local, 03.50 pm IST, 10.20 am GMT Venue: Carrara Oval, Brisbane Broadcast: Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV Pitch Report The pitch at Carrara Oval has been generally good in this BBL season offering good pace and bounce. Good pace and bounce in Australia are actually batting friendly. However, that doesn't mean flat deck either as bowlers, if they try, can get purchase off the surface if they hit the right lengths. It is expected to behave the same in this game as well. Weather and Bat Flip The weather has been really put off in matches at the Carrara oval with rain intervals halting games. For this match, the forecast is that rain would disturb the proceedings this time as well. With 55% chances of rain in the night and 78% cloud cover, captains could do nothing but win the toss and field first. Heat Strongest XI Chris Lynn, Max Bryant, Joe Burns, Joe Denly, Jack Wildermuth, Jimmy Peirson (c & wk), Lewis Gregory, James Bazley, Mark Steketee, Xavier Bartlett, Mujeeb Ur Rahman Stars Strongest XI Marcus Stoinis, Nick Larkin, Hilton Cartwright, Nicholas Pooran, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell (c), Seb Gotch (wk), Adam Zampa, Liam Hatcher, Sam Rainbird, Billy Stanlake

Daily Round Up | Jan 6: Navdeep Saini set to make Test debut for India

India have announced the playing XI for the third Test against Australia in Sydney while New Zealand have attained the top spot in the ICC Test rankings. Here are the latest updates from the day. India announce playing XI for third Test The Indian team has made a couple of changes for the third Test against Australia slated to begin from Thursday in Sydney. Rohit Sharma who earlier named as the vice-captain of the side will be opening the innings with Shubman Gill. Apart from this, fast bowler Navdeep Saini is set to make his Test debut for India replacing injured Umesh Yadav. The four-match series is levelled at 1-1 with the third and fourth match scheduled to take place in Sydney and Brisbane respectively. Sourav Ganguly to be discharged on Thursday BCCI president Sourav Ganguly will be discharged from the hospital on Thursday. The former skipper was scheduled to be discharged on Wednesday but he had decided to stay back for one more day. "Ganguly will be discharged tomorrow as he wants to stay back one more day,” the hospital said on Wednesday. New Zealand move to number one spot New Zealand have attained the helm spot in the ICC Test rankings after completing a clean sweep in the two-match Test series against Pakistan at home. New Zealand defeated Pakistan an innings and 176 runs in the second encounter to seal the series. Kyle Jamieson followed his fifer in the first innings with a six-wicket haul in the second. Spectator at Boxing Day Test tests positive for COVID-19 A spectator at the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne has tested positive for COVID-19. “The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), as ground managers of the MCG, is aware that a person who attended Day 2 (Sunday, December 27, 2020) of the Boxing Day Test has since tested positive to COVID-19,” a statement said. “The MCG is being investigated as a potential source for the infection,” Victoria’s Department of Health said. “We’re encouraging anyone who was in The Great Southern Stand, zone 5 of the MCG between 12.30 pm and 3.30 pm on 27 December, to get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.” Pravin Amre appointed Delhi Capitals assistant coach Pravin Are has been appointed as the assistant coach of the Delhi Capitals. “I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Pravin Amre back to the Delhi Capitals side,” said CEO Dhiraj Malhotra, on the latest development. Are thanked the franchise. “I am grateful to the Delhi Capitals management for having me on board. With the team having reached its very first IPL final in 2020, this is certainly an exciting time to be back there. I look forward to working with Ricky again, and all the players,” said Amre.

Inside out | Australia series is Rohit Sharma's moment of reckoning in unfulfilled Test career

Rohit Sharma has made yet another comeback in the Test team, and once again, the right hander’s return to the team and playing XI has created a bit of buzz about the handling of players by the Indian team management. That Rohit is a gifted cricketer is an argument that has been used repetitively to defend the backing he has got from the Indian team management under different captains but he could not nail down his spot in the squad until the promotion to the top order in a similar fashion to his white-ball career, where h started looking coming to his won with his eye-catching strokes and big hundreds. Rohit played his last Test against Bangladesh in 2019 in India, and in that home season, he was sizzling with bat and scored daddy hundreds at the top of the order to deflate the opposition teams, and all looked settled for both him and the team at the top of the order. But, another hiccup occurred on the tour of New Zealand and he could not play the Test series against New Zealand. When Rohit was smashing the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje on the Indian pitches, there was a sense of awe about him that the Rohit Sharma the world had expected was finally arriving on the big state in the longest format, but deep down there must be thinking among all pundits and fans that bigger tests were waiting overseas to examine him on the basis of skills and technique to combat and dominate pacers on foreign soils. In this regard, the absence in New Zealand could not quite give him the chance to stamp his authority on the team and establish his position among the other contenders for the opening slot. What made matters worse were the events that followed the New Zealand tour as India were starved off any cricket for months and when the Indian Premier League started, Rohit defied all odds of rustiness and looked set to grab the opportunity that was to follow in Australia. However, an episode of serious miscommunication happened in which Rohit looked like preferring playing for his franchise Mumbai Indians in IPL, instead of looking beyond the spectacle of the cash-rich league and subsequently jeopardizing his chances to play in Australia. Rohit Sharma’s career has been marred by injuries at perfectly wrong times. He was all set to replace an injured VVS Laxman in Nagpur way back in 2010, but he ended up injuring his ankle playing football in the warm-up session before the toss and the rise of other batsmen such as Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara around him meant that he got the chance to break into the playing XI only at the number six position below the likes of other younger batsmen in 2013. He announced his arrival on the big stage in a grand fashion, hitting two back to back centuries against West Indies, but failed miserably in the stern examination taken by Dale Steyn and Company in South Africa. On the next overseas tour to New Zealand, Rohit could score one fifty in four innings but was again guilty of throwing away his starts but his partners in Kohli and Rahane notched up centuries to never stay out of the contention. His rising stocks in the early part of career started tanking by the tour of England in 2014, but when India gave up the idea of playing Stuart Binny as the fifth bowler, Rohit was inducted back as the sixth frontline batsman in the line up in Southampton, but the match turned out to be an infuriating one for both Rohit and the team management. He was persisted with the team on the tour of Australia that followed the same year, but runs did not come and whenever he got off to a good start, he was guilty of throwing it away in signs of not being a batsman who was willing to wait for his time. Meanwhile, he kept on performing in Tests played in India, but his away numbers never improved. On the back of strong numbers in home Tests, and due to Ajinkya Rahane’s horrible run of form in that phase, Rohit was promoted as one of the five batsmen in the team on the tour of South Africa where his great unravelling as a Test batsman began five years ago. He failed with the bat in both the Tests, and it forced the team management to come back to seven-four combination and the emergence of an all-rounder in Hardik Pandya meant there was no place left for Rohit in the team and he was subsequently dropped from the team for the tour of England. However fragile his body and inconsistency with the bat have been over the years, he never dropped out of the radar of the team management and it underlines the trust and confidence he enjoys among the leadership group. When the BCCI announced the replacement for Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami before the third Test at the SCG, Rohit’s name was suffixed with the vice-captain tag, which in many ways was a massive revelation about the place of Rohit in this team set up. Before Rohit’s arrival, it was Pujara who was the deputy to Ajinkya Rahane who was leading the team in absence of Virat Kohli. This long thread of vice-captains shows nothing but the standings of players among the Indian team management, and it now shows that Rohit is rated very highly, in fact maybe more than Cheteshwar Pujara who has been one of the mainstays of the Indian batting line up, and it was more than certain that he would walk back into the Test team for the SCG Test. The remaining two Tests will be followed by nine Test matches against England at home and away and he would be itching to make his mark in the upcoming two Tests to silence the critics and stake a full and final claim on one of the opener’s positions in the batting order. Rohit would know that these two Tests will serve as a litmus test of his batting in overseas conditions and that the four Tests against England back home is a kind of territory he has already dominated against South Africa. If he wants to seal a spot for himself on the tour of England in the summer later this year, the time to put his head down and pile on the runs is now, when the pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood is all in readiness to test all aspects of his batting with the new ball.