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South Africa skipper replaces Mohammad Nabi for remainder of the competition

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2019Kent have announced the signing of Faf du Plessis for the run-in of the Vitality Blast.Du Plessis had been expecting to play in the Euro T20 Slam, but after the tournament’s inaugural season was cancelled, has signed for Kent instead.He replaces Mohammad Nabi in Kent’s squad, who is on international duty for Afghanistan’s tri-series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.”I really look forward to joining up with Kent for the last part of the Vitality Blast,” said du Plessis. “I will do my best to contribute to the already successful team and hopefully help them to lift a trophy.”I’ve played with some of the squad members in the past and look forward to joining up with all the guys again.”Du Plessis has some experience of county cricket, having spent two seasons with Lancashire on a Kolpak deal in 2008 and 2009. He will go straight into the squad to play Gloucestershire on Thursday night and then Essex on Friday, as Kent look to secure qualification to the quarter-finals.Kent sit third in the South Group, though have stuttered after a strong start, with two abandonments and three defeats in their last five games.They have recently welcomed captain Sam Billings back into their squad after a serious injury, who shares a dressing room with du Plessis at Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Last season, Billings spoke about taking previous overseas signings Marcus Stoinis and Adam Milne out for breakfast or coffee when on international duty to try and convince them to join the club, and it is entirely possible that he had a similar influence on this deal.”We’re really excited to be able to bring in a world class player such as Faf for the rest of the Vitality Blast,” said director of cricket Paul Downton.”He is a world-class batsman and, along with his leadership skills, he will be a major asset to our young side, as we seek to progress to the quarter-finals and beyond in this year’s competition.”

The newly appointed Zimbabwe captain says he will try to block out all of his side’s off-field troubles in the tri-series against Pakistan and Australia

Liam Brickhill30-Jun-2018Throughout his career, Hamilton Masakadza has complemented his brawny batting on the pitch by being a calm, amiable presence off it amid sometimes tempestuous times for Zimbabwe. Considering the ongoing brouhaha between the board and the absence of Zimbabwe’s senior core of players, his first press conference since being named captain could well have been laden with tension. But if there was any, it was immediately dissipated by his warm laughter when one of the Zimbabwean press corp suggested: “I don’t know whether to offer you congratulations or condolences.”This isn’t Masakadza’s first crack at the captaincy, and he’s led Zimbabwe in all three formats, but in the past he has served in the role usually only in an interim capacity. He has only led Zimbabwe once at home, in a Test against Pakistan that Brendan Taylor, who was captain at the time, missed to be present for the birth of his son Mason. Masakadza only found out he was to captain in that game when he got to the ground in the morning. This time around he was given 24 hours to ease into the role when his captaincy was announced on the eve of the tri-series opener, but in typical fashion Masakadza seems to be taking it all in his stride.”I’m very excited to be back at the helm and leading the team again,” he said. “There’s been a bit of stuff going on around the team, but the key is just to try and focus on the job at hand now and go out there and do a job for the team. And do a job for the country.””There’s actually been a lot of excitement in the camp, with a few guys coming back that haven’t played for a while and a few new guys making their first strides. It’s upbeat in the camp.”Masakadza’s level-headed optimism seems to have been amplified by the positive mental attitude of new coach Lalchand Rajput, something which has also rubbed off on the rest of the squad. “He’s a very positive guy, that’s the main thing that’s really stuck out, though we haven’t been with him for very long,” Masakadza said. He’s a very positive individual and he’s encouraged the guys a lot and got us thinking positively, which is very important for us.”Though the absence of Taylor and several other senior players has left a huge hole in Zimbabwe’s resources, the squad is not without its veterans and Masakadza welcomed the return of Elton Chigumbura to the national fold. Chigumbura, himself a former captain, last played an international for Zimbabwe 18 months ago, but returns with the experience of 205 ODIs and – vitally, for a team that doesn’t play much Twenty20 cricket – 47 T20Is.”There’s a lot of experience there, and that’s something I’ll be able to use and bounce ideas off him,” Masakadza said. “He’s still got a lot of international cricket left in him, and for me right now it will be important to have guys like that in the changing room. Guys like him and Chamu [Chibhabha] that have some experience behind them, it will really help my job to have guys like that around.”For all their positivity, Zimbabwe face a steep challenge in trying to better two teams that, on paper, vastly outgun them, but Masakadza insisted that “anything can happen” in T20 cricket.”When we play against these bigger teams we’re always underdogs. It’s not the first time that we’ve been here. The guys just have to understand that in T20, anything can happen and anyone can turn a game on their day.”His words were echoed by Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed, who would not get ahead of himself despite the fact that he is leading a team rated No. 1 in the world in this format, having won a world record eight T20I series on the trot, and seven T20Is in a row in 2018. Sarfraz insisted that a “favourites” tag had no place in T20 cricket.”In Twenty20, nobody is the favourite,” he said. “No team can be underestimated. Zimbabwe still have good players [despite missing some big names], and we’re not taking anything lightly.””Every game is important, and especially the first of the tour,” Sarfraz said. “Wherever you go, it’s not easy. The conditions here are not easy, especially early on. So the toss will be important as well.”

India and Pakistan have a storied rivalry, but recent contests in global tournaments have been one-sided in India’s favour. Will the latest chapter in the tale be a gripping one?

The Preview by Sidharth Monga03-Jun-2017

Match facts

June 4, 2017
Start time 10.30am local (0930 GMT)
3:11

Fleming: In-form Wahab Riaz inspires everyone

Big picture

Somewhere between what many see as a war and players say is just another game, somewhere between a classic and a dud, somewhere between a non-international becoming massive organically and the ICC planning draws to make sure this cash cow is flogged at every world event, lies the hard-to-define, often mundane but sometimes magical India-Pakistan cricket rivalry, which renews itself in the teams’ first game of the 2017 Champions Trophy.Aside from the heightened nationalism surrounding it, this match comes with less baggage than India-Pakistan fixtures of old. Largely because Pakistan have fallen behind, the last five “big” matches between these sides – 2012 World T20, 2013 Champions Trophy, 2014 World T20, 2015 World Cup 2015 and 2016 World T20 – have been quite one-sided. There were flashes of competition in their last ICC encounter, but few are expecting a high-quality thriller. There are no chances of an anti-climax, because the bar is set low.Once the – a collective term for Indian and Pakistani expats – enter Edgbaston, though, they will transform this match from being just another match. In 2009, when Pakistan and India played a World T20 at The Oval, the atmosphere there was more electric than the tournament final. Expect more.On the field, Pakistan will look to catch a team that has had other issues on the hop. The last time there was such unrest between an India coach and the senior players – as we are being told – was in the 2007 World Cup. There is bound to be insecurity in the camp, with people looking over their shoulders, but sometimes a high-profile cricket match forces players to put their energies in the same direction.Pakistan’s challenge is more cricketing. They have fallen behind Bangladesh in terms of being in touch with modern limited-overs cricket. Pakistan’s Test cricket has coped, but limited-overs cricket is where their isolation has hurt them the most. The PSL is the youngest of the T20 leagues, and their players don’t get too many contracts in other leagues. They are not part of the conversation. They are not always abreast with the latest tactics, which are ephemeral in modern limited-overs cricket. Once innovators, Pakistan have been left behind. They will need every bit of regeneration, and unrest in the other camp, to beat an opponent they have beaten only four times in their last 15 attempts.

Form guide

India LWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWLLL

In the spotlight

Not that there was any danger he would not get it, but now more than ever Virat Kohli will be in the spotlight. In 10 ODIs, he has scored two hundreds against Pakistan, averaging 41.44. In 14 ODIs in England, he has one century and an average of 38.54. Acceptable numbers, but not quite in the stratosphere that Kohli exists elsewhere and against other opponents. Add to it the attention he has attracted through his role in the appointment of India’s next coach.Higher the par score the smaller the chance Pakistan have of winning. Against the top-eight teams, they have won only once in the last 13 times their bowlers have conceded over 250. While a lot depends on conditions, the one force that can keep the par score down is Pakistan’s bowling. In Australia, their last series again a top-eight opponent, they lost all the high-scoring games, and won only when their bowlers bowled Australia out for 220. Even then they sweated in the chase. If Pakistan are to cause an upset, their bowlers will have to do it.

Team news

In a rare occurrence, India have four deserving fast bowlers to choose from to fill two or three spots. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav all have legitimate claims to make the XI. The last time India faced Pakistan in an ODI, Umesh and Shami did the job, but Bhuvneshwar has a great record against them and Bumrah is a special death bowler. There will be a temptation to play all four, and Hardik Pandya as the seam allrounder.India (possible) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9, 10 and 11 three out of R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh YadavAzhar Ali, who was removed as Pakistan captain recently, might struggle in the modern game, but the overcast weather forecast might call for an old-fashioned opener. Shadab Khan’s legspin will be tempting, but Pakistan might go for the extra batting of Faheem Ashraf.Pakistan (possible) 1 Azhar Ali, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Wahab Riaz/Junaid Khan, 11 Hasan Ali

Pitch and conditions

The pitches at Edgbaston are true, as seen in the match between Australia and New Zealand, but the overhead conditions matter more. The initial forecast was for showers in the morning and afternoon, but that seems to have improved.

Stats and trivia

• In five ODIs against Pakistan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar averages 21.55 and concedes runs at 4.21 an over, compared to career numbers of 39.62 and 4.95.
• Shoaib Malik fancies India. He averages close to 50 against them, as against a career average of 35.50. However, it has been four years since he played India, having missed the 2015 World Cup.
• India last lost to Pakistan in an ICC event in the 2009 Champions Trophy.
• Both these sides hold a negative record against top-eight sides since the last World Cup: India have won nine and lost 12, Pakistan have won six and lost 18.
• India, though, have better stats against top eight sides in this period. Their batting average is better (38.9 to 31.9), their batting strike rate is better (5.89 to 5.39), and their bowling average is better (37.55 to 44.36). Only their bowling economy is marginally worse: 5.97 to 5.96.
• Junaid Khan has bowled 22 balls to Kohli in ODIs for two runs and three wickets. All three dismissals came in the 2012-13 series in India.

Quotes

“If you perform in an India-Pakistan match, you become a hero.”
“Nothing different, to be honest. I know it sounds pretty boring, but this is exactly what we feel as cricketers. We’re not saying anything different to what we feel.”

Four good years have culminated in Australia’s rise to No. 1 in the Test rankings, but their task now is to extend the lead without the likes of Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson and a few others

Brydon Coverdale24-Feb-20163:18

‘No. 1 a big motivation for us’ – Smith

A small crowd, a quiet Christchurch day in the last week of February, an Australian rise to No.1. It could have been Allan Border overtaking Sunil Gavaskar 23 years ago to become the leading run scorer in Tests. Instead it was Steven Smith’s men nudging ahead of India to become the top-ranked Test side in the world. For Border, it was the culmination of 14 years as a Test batsman; for Smith’s team it feels like the result of four good months.In fact, it is the culmination of four years of cricket, under not only Smith but his predecessor Michael Clarke. The current rankings stretch back to 2012, so they include Australia’s home Ashes whitewash in 2013-14 and their series win in South Africa that followed. After those triumphs Australia briefly jumped to No.1 under Clarke but that lasted a matter of months, and their task now is to not only hold their lead but extend it.And they must do so without Clarke, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Chris Rogers and Ryan Harris, all of whom retired over the course of 2015. Those departures have left Australia with a significantly different looking side under Smith, and while they have started well by winning at home to New Zealand and West Indies and now away in New Zealand, other challenges await.They include a series in Sri Lanka later this year and then home Tests against South Africa and Pakistan, followed by arguably world cricket’s toughest challenge: an away Test series in India. How long Australia can hold the No.1 position remains to be seen, but under Smith and vice-captain David Warner, the initial signs have been good.”A lot of credit has got to be given to the guys who have recently retired as well,” Smith said after winning the second Test at Hagley Oval. “The ranking system goes for quite a while and those guys were quite a big part of our success as an Australian team. Having said that, the guys that have stepped up to the plate since those six big retirements have been outstanding and I’m really proud of the way the boys have been performing.”Such has been the success of Australia this summer that all members of their top five are averaging 50-plus since Smith officially succeeded Clarke as captain. The stars have arguably been Adam Voges and Usman Khawaja, but in the second Test against New Zealand it was Joe Burns who stepped up, earning his first Man-of-the-Match award for his 170 and 65.The value of his patient first-innings century should not be underestimated, given that New Zealand had made such a remarkable start to the Test through Brendon McCullum’s record 54-ball century on the first day. New Zealand reached 370 in their first innings, and it was the first time under Smith that the Australians had needed to fight back from being behind in the match in the early stages.”We did have to fight,” Smith said. “I thought that probably on the first day somewhere around 250-300 would probably be par on that wicket and they really took it away from us in that second session. That’s a credit to the way that both Brendon and Corey Anderson played.”They came out and really took the game on and we didn’t know what to do for a period of time there. But, credit to the guys the way we were able to fight back scoring 500 in our first innings again, I think that really sets the game up for you and I thought the guys responded really well.”Smith was also key to the turnaround, accompanying Burns for much of the second innings and registering his third century of the Test summer. Although Smith was charged with a Code of Conduct breach for his remonstration with umpire Ranmore Martinesz on the fourth day at Hagley Oval, the retiring McCullum said he believed that under Smith the Australians focused on “positive play” rather than verbals.”I think the team plays slightly differently to what they have done previously,” McCullum said. “Most Australian teams play the way their leader is. If you look at Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, they always take on a slight twist. Under Steve Smith, we’ve seen a very similar thing.”This series has been played in great spirits, I think, and the one back in Australia. I think Steve Smith has been a catalyst for that. He plays the game for the right reasons as well. He plays with his heart on his sleeve but he’s a very respectful guy and a wonderful cricketer. They’re No.1 in the world now and a lot of that is to do with his leadership and Darren Lehmann’s as well.”They probably skin the cat slightly differently. The majority of their focus is on positive play rather than necessarily some of the semantics of past eras. They go about their work in a nice manner and they play hard cricket but in the series that we’ve had, I don’t think they’ve ever looked to step over the line.”As a result of the victory in Christchurch, Smith remains undefeated as Test captain, with seven wins and four draws from his 11 games in charge – including when he was standing in for the injured Clarke in 2014-15. Under Smith, Australia have beaten New Zealand in four of five Tests this summer, and McCullum said Australia had the potential to remain at No.1 for some time.”I think so because they’ve got depth as we’ve seen in these two series,” McCullum said. “The bowling line-up in this series is quite different and they’ve all stepped up and that’s the beauty of Australian cricket. They’ve got so much depth that if they can get everyone heading in the same direction and their game-plans are simple, then they’re going to be dangerous no matter what.”That’s why they’ve been able to rise to No. 1 in the world. They’ve also got some outstanding batters, not necessarily the flashiest batters that Australia has produced but they’re churning out runs and when you do that your bowling attack becomes a lot more potent.”

Yorkshire Bank 40 Group B leaders Durham cruised to victory in a rain-affected game against Scotland in Glasgow

11-Aug-2013
ScorecardMark Stoneman ensured no alarms in Durham’s chase•Getty Images

Yorkshire Bank 40 Group B leaders Durham cruised to victory in a rain-affected game against Scotland in Glasgow.Scotland made 161 for 6 in 37 overs and Durham were set a revised 104 from 20, Mark Stoneman’s unbeaten 54 leading them home with almost four overs to spare.The hosts won the toss and after they chose to bat first, their top order all got starts but failed to either push on to a big score or get any momentum going.Opener Hamish Gardiner and Freddie Coleman took 13.3 overs to compile a half-century stand before Coleman was the first man dismissed, bowled by Gareth Breese for 24. Another spinner, Scott Borthwick, accounted for Gardiner but Richie Berrington and Calum MacLeod came together in a resolute third-wicket stand.The scoring rate was still not up to scratch, though, and after a stand of 62 MacLeod was bowled by Ben Stokes for 33, made in 42 balls with three boundaries. The usually belligerent Berrington found the ropes just once in his top score of 39 before hitting his 62nd delivery, from Paul Collingwood, to Stokes.The two allrounders picked up a further wicket apiece, Stokes finishing with 2 for 22 and Collingwood 2 for 25, before wicketkeeper Craig Wallace at least gave Scotland’s total a late boost with 17 at a run a ball.Rain restricted Durham’s reply to half the standard allocation of overs, and a required scoring rate just above five an over was never likely to test them unduly. Captain Stoneman put on 86 in 13.2 overs with wicketkeeper Phil Mustard to take the visitors within sight of victory.Mustard hit three sixes and a four in his innings of 30, from 38 balls, before being bowled by Moneeb Iqbal – who had Gordon Muchall stumped without scoring two balls later.But Stoneman reached a 45-ball half-century containing nine fours, finishing 54 not out from 49, and Stokes came in to hit 13 from eight balls, rounding off victory with his second boundary.

Angelo Mathews has said dropped catches have cost Sri Lanka the ongoing ODI series against India

Abhishek Purohit in Pallekele03-Aug-2012Angelo Mathews has said dropped catches have cost Sri Lanka the ongoing ODI series against India. Suresh Raina, who was involved in match-winning partnerships during the third and the fourth ODI in Colombo, was put down at crucial stages in both games. Virender Sehwag was dropped on zero in the opening game in Hambantota before he made 96 as India posted a winning 314. “Against the Indian batting line up, you can’t drop that many catches,” Mathews said. “If you take from number one to seven, they’re all are very good batters.”The series has been played on largely flat batting-friendly pitches so far. Mathews said he favoured “sporting” wickets, especially against a strong Indian batting line-up. “I’ve always fancied good sporting tracks, rather than playing on dead tracks. We all know that they [India] have a very strong batting line up. We need to come up with ideas, if we’re to win against them. Preparing certain wickets also will help.”Sri Lanka have not beaten India in a bilateral ODI series since 1997. Mathews said Sri Lanka had made more mistakes than India had, and cited the example of the current series. “It happened three times so far in this series. If we make more mistakes, we’re going to get more penalised. I’m sure the guys are aware of that and if we’re to win, we need to me more positive and aggressive.”Sri Lanka have had a heavy workload since the 2011 World Cup while India have had a two-month break. Mathews said that professional players could not cite fatigue as an excuse, but admitted that India’s break had helped them. “We’re all professionals and we play the game with busy schedules. It’s certainly not an excuse. It’s always better to have a few days off. We really haven’t had a long break in the last one and half years. Yes, I think it [the break] has helped them [India] to freshen up.”With tomorrow’s game of little consequence, Mathews said Sri Lanka might consider giving fringe players a chance. Batsman Chamara Kapugedara and offspinner Sachithra Senanayake are yet to play a game in the series.Mathews also backed young batsman Dinesh Chandimal, whose highest score in the series has been 28, to come good. “We don’t try to distract him with too much talking. He’s a player who can always come back and do his part. He’s shown lots of character. A player can fail in three four innings but a guy like Chandimal will always come back.”

Zimbabwe XI ground their way to 206 for 6 on an attritional first day against Australia A at the Country Club in Harare

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill15-Jul-2011
ScorecardVusi Sibanda held Zimbabwe XI’s batting together with 91•Zimbabwe Cricket

Zimbabwe XI ground their way to 206 for 6 on an attritional first day against Australia A at the Country Club in Harare. Vusi Sibanda’s patient 91 held the Zimbabwean top order together before Australia’s spinners struck repeatedly in the afternoon to dent the hosts’ gains. Jason Krejza and Michael Beer shared four scalps after the three frontline seamers had been frugal but wicketless.Sibanda, in charge of the team in the absence of Brendan Taylor, who is out of action after undergoing nasal surgery, put together an opening stand of 117 with Tino Mawoyo, both batsmen digging in with limpet-like tenacity to see off the new ball. The ability to play long innings against quality opposition is a skill that Zimbabwe’s budding Test batsmen desperately need to master and survival, rather than dominance, was clearly their goal in the morning as Mawoyo crawled along at less than half of his career first-class strike-rate in a 177-ball 39.The tactic did work to deny Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and Trent Copeland any entry to a potentially fragile middle order, and it was not until the 55th over of the day that Beer finally broke the stand, sneaking one past Mawoyo’s bat to have him stumped by Tim Paine. Hamilton Masakadza’s entry briefly lifted the tempo, but when he was run out for 12 – a fate that befalls Sibanda’s partners with worrying frequency – Australia began to chip away at the middle order.Sibanda gained in fluency and confidence as he neared a century, but fell nine runs short of the mark when he presented Siddle with a catch off the impressive Krejza. Regis Chakabva and Craig Ervine’s fourth-wicket partnership was just beginning to show promise when Krejza struck again, bowling Chakabva for a patient 28 shortly after the score had passed 200.With minutes to go before the close, a couple of quick wickets put Australia firmly on top. Allrounder Keegan Meth fell to Krejza for a duck and Ervine was then prised out by medium-pacer Mitchell Marsh as Zimbabwe XI slipped to 205 for 6. Former national captain Elton Chigumbura and Malcolm Waller held firm until the close but there isn’t a great deal of batting to come and the Zimbabweans will hope that Chigumbura can replicate his form from the two-day match at Kwekwe, where he boosted the total with a bellicose 95, as they push for a respectable first-innings total.

Mark Greatbatch, the New Zealand coach, has singled out fast bowler Ian Butler as the “unluckiest player to miss out” on a central contract for the upcoming term

Cricinfo staff20-Jul-2010Mark Greatbatch, the New Zealand coach, has singled out fast bowler Ian Butler as the “unluckiest player to miss out” on a central contract for the upcoming term. Butler was among five players who were on the list of contracted cricketers last year but missed out this time.”If I have to say who was the unluckiest, it would be Ian,” Greatbatch told the . “He has put in some world-class performances for us over the last 12 months, but he’s been a bit inconsistent with it and that’s hurt him.”Butler has had some impressive performances in the recent past, with rich hauls in the Champions Trophy last year as well as a match-winning spell against Pakistan at the World Twenty20 in May. However, New Zealand placed much more emphasis on results in Tests, a format Butler hasn’t featured in for almost six years. According to the new system of ranking the top 25 cricketers in the country, the selectors reportedly assigned two points for Test performances, and one each for ODIs and T20 internationals; last year Tests were worth 1.25 points, and ODIs one.New Zealand play seven Tests and up to 25 ODIs, including the World Cup, and fewer T20s in the coming year, and that could have affected Butler’s chances.”Another area that’s hurt him is the fact he doesn’t play Test cricket,” Greatbatch said. “With the system we use, he’s handicapped there. He’s missed out, not by very much, and you’ve got to feel for him. He hasn’t been available for Test cricket because there was the feeling his body wouldn’t cope with all three [formats]. He is playing first-class cricket this summer, which we feel is a very positive step.”Another player to miss out was allrounder James Franklin. “James is unlucky but he had the opportunity over a certain amount of games to nail it and he didn’t,” Greatbatch said.Andy McKay, the left-arm fast bowler, is one of the newer players to be handed a central contract and he told the he was itching to make his Test debut. He is currently preparing for the tri-series in Sri Lanka next month and Tests against Bangladesh and India. “I’ve been hearing some pretty scary stories from the other quicks. I haven’t had the luxury of playing there [subcontinent] yet,” McKay said. “To get my first Test cap would be a dream come true. I’ve played more domestic cricket in the longer version so I’m looking forward to that.”McKay has played three ODIs and two Twenty20s for New Zealand. He represented Auckland for five seasons before making a switch to Wellington during the 2009-10 season. McKay impressed captain Daniel Vettori with his pace during his debut ODI series against Bangladesh earlier in the year, but missed the Tests against Australia due to an injury.”I haven’t been radared since the Bangladesh series but for me it’s just a timing thing. It’s feeling good at the moment, the more I bowl the better it gets,” McKay said. “That’s my niche, that’s what the selectors have told me, to bowl with pace and try to run in and take wickets and just be aggressive.The tours to the subcontinent, McKay admitted, would be challenging in terms of keeping fit. “It’s been a really big push. We had a big chat in Miami [after the World Twenty20] about the importance of fitness levels, considering we’re playing a lot in the subcontinent. You have to be a lot fitter in that heat to compete and we really want to start competing over 100 overs rather than 80.”

T20s will feature at the Olympics’ next edition, which will be in Los Angeles in 2028

PTI11-Aug-2024Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting feels that cricket’s return to the Olympics in Los Angeles in four years’ time [LA28] will be beneficial to the game.”It can only be a positive thing for our game. I’ve sat on various committees over the last 15 or 20 years, and it’s always been on the top of almost every agenda – how do we get the game back into the Olympics? And finally, it’s there,” Ponting said on . “It’s only four years away. I think it also gives cricket a chance to break into the grassroots level in the US.”Cricket is returning to the Games after 128 years, with the only time it featured previously being in 1900, with two teams – Great Britain and France – participating, and the former winning gold.”The thing about the Olympic Games, it’s not [about] the host nation. It’s about the audience that it opens up,” Ponting said. “The Olympic Games being viewed by so many people all around the world, it just opens up completely different audiences to our game that’s seemingly growing on a daily basis anyway. It can only be a real positive thing for the game.”Ponting said infrastructure and qualification pathways would still need to be appropriately figured out but, with its inclusion, the game is moving in the right direction overall. “Facilities and infrastructure and those things are going to be key, and how many [participating] teams they actually decide on. I think it’s only six or seven teams that they’re talking about, so qualification is going to be at a premium – how you actually qualify to get into the Olympic Games.”So all those are things to think about, [but] I’m really excited about where the game’s headed and the growth of different markets that we’re seeing emerge.”Cricket at LA28 will be played in the T20 format, with both men’s and women’s teams set to feature.The game had been in the spotlight in the USA earlier this year too, when the country co-hosted the men’s T20 World Cup with the West Indies.