WI vs AUS | Australia to monitor Finch's knee injury, Wade expresses 'love' for captaincy

Ben Stokes looks back on 'ridiculous pain' while leading England against Pakistan

England all-rounder Ben Stokes conceded that his finger has not healed perfectly and that he would not have come back so quickly into the England team in “normal circumstances”. Stokes was hurried back to lead the side against Pakistan in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis in England camp that forced the entire squad including the skipper, Eoin Morgan, into quarantine. Writing a column for The Daily Mail, Stokes has said that his finger has healed “structurally” but he had to endure all the “ridiculous pain” to lead the England team. "It was a totally unexpected set of games for me and the truth is I would never have played under normal circumstances due to how much pain I was in with my left index finger. The surgery was a success after I had broken it at the IPL, but it was still so painful,” Stokes wrote in his Daily Mirror column. "Sometimes though you just have to grin and bear it, and captaining England is one of those reasons. The finger has healed structurally, but the pain was just ridiculous for where it should be so that is why I have now had an injection to ease it for the rest of the summer. Stokes went back to rest while Morgan has returned to lead the side in the T20 series against Pakistan and the all-rounder has expressed hope that the pain will not come in between him and The Hundred. He also expressed “desperation” to do well against India in the series starting early next month and said that he hopes the pain will subside by the time series will start. "I've got a bit of a break now, which should give the steroids time to take effect and allow me to play pain-free in the Hundred and then against India. Hopefully, my finger won't be a problem by the time the India Test series comes around, because that is a huge series and one we are all desperate to perform well in,” Stokes added. Notably, Stokes had fractured his finger while fielding for the Rajasthan Royals in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League earlier this year.

Team India regroup in Durham ahead of warm-up game

Team India has regrouped in Durham after an extended period of break and has started preparation for what will be a gruelling Test series against the hosts England. The members of the squad were given permission to go on their own to spend some time with their friends and families in England. In a video posted by the BCCI on its Twitter timeline, all big players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane were seen coming back to the groove. Notably, the team was without the two wicketkeepers, Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha. The team also celebrated the birthday of the fielding coach R Sridhar. India are slated to play a three-day game against a selected county side from July 20 in Durham before the start of the actual action from August 04 in Trent Bridge. India had already suffered a big setback in the form of injury to Shubman Gill and the Covid-19 crisis in the camp after infection to Pant and throwdown specialist that put another wicketkeeper Saha and backup opener Abhimanyu Easwaran in isolation have only made the matter worse for the Virat Kohli-led side. The team management would be hopeful of Pant’s swift return to the field so that they won’t have to find his replacement behind the wicket and also with the bat in the big series against England.

SL vs IND | 1st ODI Preview: On downward curve, hosts face uphill task against high-spirited India

Why should the world focus on a six-match series against a Sri Lanka side that have become a walkover over the last few years? Specifically, for India and their fans, why should they shift their focus on a six-match series sandwiched between the big ICC World Test Championship final and a big Test series against England? Why should Indian fans worry so much about a series that will not help selectors in finding clarity of a lot of their doubts leading up to the ICC World T20? Well, they should shift their focus on the upcoming series between India and Sri Lanka because a lot of the players who will feature in the series will go on and write the future path of Indian cricket. And, they can see no other place than Sri Lanka to make sure they don’t go down the route the Sri Lankan side has gone after the departure of their star players. India will be without some of their best match-winners over the last many years such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah but that gives a window of opportunity for the players to step into their shoes and show they are ready to earn promotion whenever there is an opportunity. So, if not the whole world, the series is critical for the fortunes of these Indian players to establish their credentials while in Indian jersey. For Sri Lanka, it has been a free-wheeling downward slide after the departure of their big names and the process of transition is becoming too long to be tenable. Their batsmen have failed to put up consistent performances both home and away while the bowlers have not been able to put their hands up with discipline. There is no dearth of talent though as the side has shown remarkable performances to win a Test series in South Africa which is one of the most daunting tasks in the world of cricket. They were also the lone team that defeated an all-strength Indian side in the group stage of the ICC Champions Trophy. However, these performances have been very far and few and most recently the side slipped to their maiden series loss at the hands of Bangladesh. There have been revolving doors for the leadership as Sri Lanka Cricket has not given a longer rope for individuals to shape the team as per their understanding of the game. The selectors can be blamed for impatience but an ever so degrading level of performances really test their nerves as Sri Lanka have slipped from a formidable side to win the ICC World T20 2014 to a side forced to qualify before advancing into the main round of the World T20 later this year. The extent of their slide, especially against India, can well be established by the fact that their last win over them in ODIs at home came way back in 2012 when India were captained by MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma was yet to arrive at the international stage as a world-beating batsman. For this series too, the selectors have gone ahead with Dasun Shanaka as the leader of the pack although the move has to do with Kusal Perera’s injury. So, when Shikhar Dhawan and Dasun Shanaka will walk out for the toss at the R Premadasa Stadium tomorrow, the players in both the dressing rooms will have their objectives and ambitions clear in their heads irrespective of how little or more the world is giving their attention to the series. Sri Lanka vs India: Match Details Date – Friday, July 18, 2021 Time – 03:00 PM IST Venue – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Broadcast: Sony LIV, Sony Sports Network Pitch report The pitches at the ground have been supportive to batsmen with the true nature of bounce and pace. There will be a delayed start and hence the role of dew can’t be downplayed completely. There could well be some swing on offer under lights but the team bowling second will be wiery of the detrimental effects of dew on spinners. India won’t mind batting second as they can bank on combatting Sri Lanka’s new-ball bowlers while allowing their spinners to come in the game in the afternoon phase of the game. Team News Sri Lanka Sri Lanka are already without their skipper Kusal Perera and a pacer Baniru Fernando for the series. Apart from the duo, there are no reports of injury from the camp and the hosts are all set to field an all-strength squad to face India. Captain Shanka along with the vice-captain Dhananjaya de Silva, Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando and all-rounder Wanindu Hassaranga will take the batting responsibility for the hosts. On the other hand, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Isuru Udana and Chamika Karunaratne will form the pace department of the side. Lakshan Sandakan and Akila Dananjaya will take the onus of spin bowling against Indian batting order. India India have a full squad available to choose from for the first ODI and the team management led by Rahul Dravid and Shikhar Dhawan will have to make tough choices. Prithvi Shaw is certain to partner Dhawan at the top of the order likely to be followed by Suryakumar Yadav at the number three position. There will be a toss-up between Sanju Samson, Manish Pandey and Ishan Kishan for the fourth and fifth position in the batting order. However, Pandey and Samson are likely to get the nod ahead of Kishan at the start of the series. Pandya brother Hardik and Krunal will feature at the number six and seventh position while the team will have to take a call on the number of spinners they want to field. Bhuvneshwar kumar will spearhead the bowling attack in a possible three-man pronged pace attack comprising Navdeep Saini and one among Chetan Sakariya and Deepak Chahar. Strongest XI Sri Lanka Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama India Shikhar Dhawan(C), Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson(WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal Sri Lanka vs India 1st ODI: Dream XI/ fantasy XI Sanju Samson (WK), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Dasun Shanaka, Avishka Fernando, Hardik Pandya, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Navdeep Saini Captain: Shikhar Dhawan Vice-captain: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The Hundred | Team Preview: London Spirit face resource constraints in first shot at history

The much-ambitious pet project of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)—The Hundred is almost upon us. They had to wait for longer than they would have liked but a sustained period of hype and excitement would not have allowed them to complain a lot. However, they have suffered a wee bit by some international stars pulling their hands away in the year of an ICC World T20. The ECB should be elated to finally have a go at the idea and they would want their poster boy and most successful product manager—Eoin Morgan to show it to the world how it is done. Morgan has been tasked with the leadership of London Spirit and both the side and the ECB would want nothing less than what he has been able to achieve with the England team come to the tournament from July 21. The Hundred is an absolutely new concept and the teams might find it difficult to lock in tactics that can prove successful over a length of a tournament and here Morgan will have the luxury of having Shane Warne in the leadership group. Warne is one of those few men who has been there and done that in the first edition of the then very new concept called the Indian Premier League. London Spirit Men's squad Overseas players: Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Mohammad Amir (Pakistan) Local icon players: Eoin Morgan, Mark Wood Domestic players: Roelof van der Merwe, Joe Denly, Mason Crane, Kyle Abbott, Adam Rossington, Zak Crawley, Jade Dernbach, Luis Reece, Dan Lawrence, Rory Burns, Ravi Bopara Coach: Shane Warne English and batting heavy side The Spirit squad is full of English batting talents. From Rory Burns to Zak Crawley and Dan Lawrence, the fortunes of the Spirit will by and large hinge heavily on these batsmen who have been touted as the stars of the future. Eoin Morgan, Joe Denly, Ravi Bopara and Josh Inglis will do the heavy-duty in the middle order but the format would demand a lot of contribution and heart from the players at the top. Morgan, Wood hold key Morgan has been the most important talisman for England cricket over the last five years and the role and expectations will be nothing dissimilar to what he has been for England. He will have to take the leadership role in batting as well to add impetus to the Spirit batting and his never play defensive attitude will come in handy for the side in The Hundred. Mark Wood has been one of the most improved bowlers in world cricket at this stage and Morgan would back him to come at the top of the batsmen in the shortest acceptable format of the game. Chances are that England Test players such as Crawley, Burns and Lawrence will be called up by the senior men's side for the Test series against India and Morgan will have to lift the side by extra effort and zeal. Experienced bowling The bowling attack will be spearheaded by Mohammed Amir and the Pakistani left-armer has a lot to prove after missing out on the selection in the national side. He was a force to be reckoned with before Pakistan gave up on him and the pacer will be eager to prove his worth in an even shorter format. Mark Wood will be the perfect partner for Amir and both can send serious tremors in the opposition camp with swing and pace. The spin department will be led by Mohammad Nabi, an Afghan who has been a frequent world traveller in the T20 competitions. Nabi has excelled in the T20 format and won’t find himself out of his comfort zone in the tournament. An enterprising Englishman in Mason Crane will look forward to supporting him with his uncanny leg spinners. However, he has been guilty of providing boundary balls and it would be interesting to see if Morgan shows faith in him like he had shown in Adil Rashid at the start of his England captaincy days. A never growing old Roelof Van Der Merwe will accompany him with an astute left-arm spin and Morgan would back the bowling unit to bowl their heart out irrespective of conditions and quality of batting they come up against. Chances of a shot at the title The London Spirit will bank on the Morgan-Warne duo to bring the killer instinct but the team might miss the X-factor of Glenn Maxwell. England's young players have not established themselves in the T20 and at the same time, their departure midway through the tournament can create chaos which could derail their growth. A majority of workload will come on Morgan’s shoulder if the Spirit have to go all the way to establish their name as the first champions of The Hundred and the journey looks ominous from the outset. Probable Playing XI Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence, Joe Denly, Josh Inglis (wk), Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Wood, Mason Crane, Mark Wood, Mohammad Amir London Spirit Women Squad Tammy Beaumont (wk), Heather Knight (C), Deepti Sharma, Deandra Dottin, Susie Rowe, Chloe Tryon, Grace Scrivens, Charlie Dean, Danielle Gibson, Freya Davies, Sophie Munro Coach: Trevor Griffin Batting heavy, like the men Tammy Beaumont has been one of the best batters going around the world at the moment and she along with the skipper Heather Knight, West Indies’ Deandra Dottin and India’s Deepti Sharma will form a daunting quartet for the opposition attack. Middle order-batswomen like Amara Carr and Aylish Cranstone can also chip in with the bat but the above four will have to make life easier for other batters. The bowling department looks thin in resources with only Charlie Dean and Danielle Gibson being the prominent names and hence if the London Spirit Women have to go all the way, the batters will have to take the onus upon themselves. Chances of winning the title It appears tough for the London Spirit Women to go all the way in the inaugural edition of The Hundred but oppositions can’t be reckless against them especially with the presence of Beaumont, Knight and Dottin in the playing XI. Probable Playing XI Tammy Beaumont (wk), Heather Knight (C), Deepti Sharma, Deandra Dottin, Susie Rowe, Chloe Tryon, Grace Scrivens, Charlie Dean, Danielle Gibson, Freya Davies, Sophie Munro