Virat Kohli picks Hanuma Vihari to play pivotal role in the Test series

Front press: The reason behind rising cases of concussion, says Gavaskar

Former India opening batsman and a batting legend, Sunil Gavaskar has called the batsmen’s trigger movement of going forward at the time of delivery of the ball as the reason behind rising cases of concussion or the ball hitting players in the head. During a discussion with AllanBorder on Sony Six channel, Gavaskar said, "It's more to do today with the fact that everybody has got this front press, where they are technically moving forward, which is a little bit difficult, which is the reason why on bouncy pitches you have [batsmen struggling]." "They are so much onto their front foot, they are not able to transfer their weight and then get out of the way. As a batsman you tend to get a little bit locked," added the 71-year-old. Calling it a technical fault, Gavaskar who played without a helmet throughout his career explained saying, "Most of the times batsmen getting hit on the helmet are in between the crease: where their front foot is outside the crease and their back foot in the crease. You will very seldom find a batsman getting hit if both his feet are inside the crease, near the stumps, because it has given the batsman that extra yard to either duck under the ball or sway out of the way. But that is not what is happening and that is the reason I believe they are getting hit." Giving examples of how those batsmen who are generally playing back and across agave more time in hand, the septuagenarian said "See, Virat Kohli plays [the] bouncer so well. Why does he play the bouncer so well? Because he has got that back-and-across movement, so he is sort of waiting on the back foot for that short ball.” The man who played 125 Tests for India and was the first batsman to get past 10,000 runs in International cricket gave another example from which cricketers of the present generation can learn. “Rahul Dravid, he used to wait on the back foot [to play] back-and-across. Sachin Tendulkar had a minimal front press, not a big front press. Therefore, he was still balanced when he played the short ball," He said.

AUS vs IND: Tim Paine banking on 'willing' teammates to trump Virat Kohli and team

The test series between Australia and India will be different in so many ways and it is evident even before any ball has been bowled in the series as the hosts which used to reveal their playing XI have opted to keep their cards close to their chests while the touring Indians have made revealed their playing XI for the Adelaide Test in a move not commonly associated with them. There are troubles for the hosts' captain Tim Paine with many players battling injuries and some lack of form. The absence of David Warner and Will Pucovski has made the selection calls complicated for Paine and Langer who are now weighing options of trying options such as the promotion of Matthew Wade to top of the order. Paine did not disclose the exact tactics the team was willing to walk into the Test but hinted strongly at giving Wade a go to open the innings. He praised the left-hander for showing a perfect attitude of a team man and pointed out the fighting spirit Wade had shown in the Test series against New Zealand when the Victorian had to put his body on the line against the barrage of short balls bowled by the Kiwi bowlers. "Look, he's (Wade) certainly an option to open the batting. No doubt about that. I think we've got a number of guys who are willing to open the batting. That says a lot about our group, not just Wadey. But Wadey in particular, we saw against New Zealand last year with the short-ball stuff, he's willing to put his body on the line for his team. We know he's as tough as nails and he'll do a good job no matter where he bats. It's been nice. Obviously, we have got a scenario where we could have a different opener and we've had a number of guys put their hand up to do it if that's the best thing for the team. That's a great thing for us as a side," Paine said on Wade’s credentials to open the batting for Australia in Tests. Concerns do not end here for Paine as the other opener who was a starter to the playing XI for the Adelaide Test, Joe Burns is horribly out of form but is not short of support from his captain and the leadership group that includes coach Justin Langer. Joe Burns was out of form in the first round of Sheffield Shield and hence was included in the Australia A team to find form but instead, the Indian pacers have been able to dent his confidence further by dismissing him cheaply in all the four innings he batted against them. But, captain Paine has reiterated his confidence in Joe Burns and said that the right-hander might be short of runs with the bat, but not lacking anywhere in terms of building up towards the first Test. Paine said that Burns averaged more than 40 runs per innings in Tests and it speaks of his class and consistency over a sling period of time. "Speaking to Joe, I don't think he is (lacking confidence). He's been looking forward to this Test match. His build-up in terms of runs hasn't been great but if you look at the work he's done solely in Test cricket for this team, it has been very, very good. He averages just over 40 in Test cricket," Paine added. Although Paine did not confirm that Burns will be included in the playing Xi, he dropped the strongest hint that the right-hander may well get a look in, saying that the team will back him to come good in Adelaide. He al;so said the selection of Burns will provide stability to the team selection and ultimately will benefit the team in the long run. "If Joe walks out to bat tomorrow we have full confidence in him doing the job, there's no doubt about that. Stability in good cricket teams, in good sports teams, is really important. That's something we've tried to build over the last two years is try and have that stability around selection, it takes the worry out of it for certain players," Paine added. The cricket fans and pundits were wondering what could have been the reason behind Steve Smith’s return from the nets on Tuesday. In the end, it turned out the right-hander was feeling soreness in his back but the team management was relieved that Smith came back to train on Wednesday. Paine confirmed that there were no injury concerns about Smith and that he will certainly play and also be an important factor for the Aussies’ batting line up. "He's played all the one-dayers. Once we got to Adelaide he batted for four days straight so his preparation has been pretty good... very good actually. He's been out in the middle of Adelaide Oval, batting under lights. We expect him to play. He's had a stiff back before. Yesterday was more precautionary; he's in to train today, so we'll see how he goes but yeah come tomorrow, whether he's fit and sore in the back, or stiff in the back - I think he normally gets up, gets through it and finds a way to score runs like he always does," Paine said on Smith’s batting form and injury concerns around him. Time Paine had said that the loss in the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar series was hard to swallow for both him and the team and that they were looking for opportunities to get back on a strong momentum against the Indian team which has won the last two Test series between the sides. Paine would need his team to put up a strong performance to ward off the bad record in the recent past against the Virat Kohli’s team.

SA vs SL: Migael Pretorius gets maiden call up for the Proteas squad

The Knights pacer Migael Pretorius has received his maiden call up to the Proteas squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka series. Pretorius has taken 25 wickets in six matches, the ongoing South African First Class season. "We're pleased to include Migael in the Proteas Test squad for the Sri Lanka series. We're big on rewarding consistently good work and the player has done a lot to make a case for himself," Victor Mpitsang, CSA convenor of selectors said in a statement. The 25-year-old has so far played 34 first-class matches and taken 141 scalps in them. He isn’t a mug with the bat either, having scored 865 runs in 42 innings with an average of 25.44 including five fifties. "We hope that this experience will be a great learning one for him and that can serve as encouragement for players across the country, showing them that their chances may not be as far off as they think," Mpitsang added. Earlier Sarel Erwee, Kyle Verreynne, and Glenton Stuurman have been given their maiden call-ups as well. The Test series against Sri Lanka begins with the Boxing Day Test in SuperSport Park in Centurion. South Africa Squad Quinton de Kock (capt, wk), Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Beuran Hendricks, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Sarel Erwee, Anrich Nortje, Glenton Stuurman, Wiaan Mulder, Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne, Migael Pretorius

BBL | Scorchers vs Stars: Match gets abandoned after great showing from Scorchers

It proved to be a tame end to the 8th encounter of the Big Bash League as the match between the Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars was abandoned and both the teams shared points. What proved to be a fascinating first half and had every prospect of becoming another nail-biting encounter fizzed out in the latter half as the rain gods had different ideas. Just like the previous match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Hobart Hurricanes yesterday, the pitch had enough on offer for the fast bowlers. However, unlike the Adelaide Strikers’ bowlers, the Perth Scorchers relied more on 'hit the deck' approach and didn’t pitch it up on a consistent basis. They didn’t really make full use of the movement with the new ball and the pitch gradually allowed the batters to hit freely and get off the hook. The Perth Scorchers started off cautiously and lost Josh Inglis in the third over at the score of 14. The partnership between Colin Munro and Joe Clarke again changed the complexion of the match. Both then players looked in great touch and yet again, Munro showed why he is one of the most feared T20 batsmen in the world. The duo shared a 49 runs partnership before Liam Hatcher bagged back to back wickets in the form of Joe Clarke and Mitchell Marsh. Marsh, in particular, was pretty unlucky as replays showed that the ball would have missed the leg stump. Despite the loss of two quick wickets, there was no pressure on Munro and Ashton Turner what so ever. While Munro steadied the ship with some sensible batting, it was actually Turner who actually turned the game on its head with some exceptional power-hitting. Munro and Turner shared a stand of 70 runs before the dismissal of Turner in the 13th over. The latter scored a whirlwind 39 off 17 deliveries which included 5 maximums and by the time he departed, the Scorchers were well and truly on top with the score reading 133/4 in just the 13th over. However, Munro departed soon after and the run rate was bound to come down a bit. With rain being a possibility from the start of the match, it was a dubious decision from the Perth Scorchers to delay their power surge despite Munro being one of the most dominant batters in their line-up. And in the end, they didn’t get the opportunity to use the complete power surge as the rain started tumbling down at the conclusion of the 17th over and the umpires had to take the players off the field. For yet another, Cameron Bancroft never looked in any rhythm what so ever despite remaining unbeaten on 15 of 12 deliveries. Ever since the sandpaper gate scandal, Bancroft hasn’t quite managed to make a mark in any forms of cricket and his place has been grabbed with both hands by Marnus Labuschagne across formats. Meanwhile coming back to the 2nd innings, the match was halted for more than 1 and a half hours and when the match did resume, it was reduced to a 6 overs affair with the Melbourne Stars needing 78 to win from 6 overs. However only a solitary over was possible and the showers returned again only to bring down curtains on the 8th encounter. Powered by Froala Editor