Watch: Steve Smith’s wife catches him shadow batting at 01:00 AM in the morning

The Ashes | Commentary crew gives birthday surprise to Ricky Ponting ahead of 4th Day

It is hard to say whether he knew he had that coming or not, but former Australia captain and currently part of Channel 7’s commentary panel for the Ashes 2021-22 between Australia and England, Ricky Ponting was given a surprise on his 47th birthday. To celebrate the birthday, the entire commentary crew included Ponting’s long time teammate Matthew Hayden and Damien Fleming as well as English legend Sir Ian Botham. Ponting was presented with a gree pitch cloured towering cake with a bat in it by Hayden and asked to speak a few words on the occasion, to which Punter obliged. Ponting, who made his debut for the Aussies in an ODI in February 1995 against South Africa at Wellington New Zealand, went on to play 375 ODIs, 168 Tests and 17 T20Is for the Kangaroos before hanging his boots on a 17 year-long international career in December 2012. In his career, Tasmania born scored a total of 27,483 runs in all formats combined, hitting a total of 41 centuries on his way to those runs.

Watch: Ignoring storm, Ellyse Perry leads Victoria women players to help groundsmen cover pitch

It was during the Women’s National Cricket League match between Victoria and New South Wales that the weather at the CitiPower Centre also called the Junction Oval in Melbourne suddenly changed. All of a sudden it was rain all over the place and the ground not being a top-rated international venue, did not have proper covers, nor enough staff to cover the pitch as early as possible. It was at this moment that Victoria players, led by their skipper Ellyse Perry and even the members of the New South Wales team came running on the ground with the ground staff and helped them cover the pitch so that it can be used post the weather storm. After their tremendous job and spontaneity to help the ground staff, the players were cheered on by the little crowd that had gathered for the game. Perry received the cheer with a beautiful bow. As far as the match was concerned, even after Perry’s belligerent hundred where she scored 120 off just 94 balls while chasing 256 in 35 overs, the Victorian team fell short by 26 runs. However, Perry was given the Player of the Match award for her efforts.

Watch | Why is the Ashes hundred most special? Travis Head explains George Bailey

Australian middle order dynamite Travis Head teed off in the 2021-22 Ashes with a brilliant hundred at the Gabba. The fiery innings of 152 runs came at a rapid strike rate of over 100 and set the tone for the Australians in the series. He proved that the hundred was not just an one off incident by notching up a half century in the second innings of the pink ball Test, currently being played at the Adelaide Oval. Once again a fast paced innings that relentlessly attacked the English bowlers, Head hit seven boundaries on course his 51 off 54 balls. Speaking to national selector George Bailey on Sunday, 19 December, Head provided an insight of his journey. Head spoke about his experiences as the youngest captain of South Australia, the domestic team that he plays for and how that shaped his career. “It was a pretty quick one for me, going from the young kid in the dressing room who sort of tried to keep the tempo in the room, build relationships and keep the vibe up on bad days and good days, to then try and think about what I had to speak in the morning to the boys and a couple of experienced guys. I think the lessons I learned was how to build relationships with guys and how to communicate with guys.” Asked about how special the Ashes century was, Head stated that it was one of the most special moments in his career. When Bailey pitted the Ashes hundred against Head’s last ball century for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, the left hander took a little time and argued that the Ashes hundred holds the edge over the franchise one, but ever so slightly.

BCCI announces appointment of various committees

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the appointment of various committees after the 90th AGM that was held earlier this month. “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced the appointment of the various committees following the 90th AGM of the BCCI held earlier this month,” the BCCI said in a statement. The biggest development came in after the board formed a formal committee for Differently-Abled cricket which comprises Ravikant Chauhan, Sumit Jain and Mahantesh Kivadasannavar. Apart from this, the BCCI announced the appointment of Tours, Fixtures and Technical Committee which has Amitabh Vijayvargiya, Jayendra Sahgal, Raghuram Bhat, Prabir Chakrabarty and Hari Narayan Pujari, Senior Tournament Committee comprising Vishal Jagota, Vikas Katyal, Rajesh Garsondia, Surendra Shewale and Lalrothuama. The board also announced the appointment of Umpires Committee which has Amiesh Saheba, Krishna Hariharan and Sudhir Asnani.