After Cape Town defeat, Virat Kohli slips to 3rd place in ICC rankings

Agencies
January 9, 2018

New Delhi, Jan 9: After suffering a 72-run defeat at Newlands, Cape Town, India captain Virat Kohli dropped to the third spot with England captain Joe Root replacing him in the second position in the ICC Test batsmen rankings, released on Tuesday.

Kohli, who has recently returned for the national side after being rested for the series against Lanka, struggled to make runs like his teammates during his side's 72-run defeat against South Africa in the opening Test in Cape Town.

The Indian skipper has dropped 13 points after managed just five and 28 runs in the two innings of the match.

Meanwhile, Australia's Steve Smith is unchanged on 947 points in first position while Root has moved up to the second position with 26 points after contributing significant 141 runs in the Sydney Test.

Kane Williamson of New Zealand is standing at the fourth position followed by India's Cheteshwar Pujara, who has slipped from third to fifth.

Pujara's scores for 26 and four resulted in his total falling by 25 points.

South Africa's Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar have slipped three places apiece to finish in 10th and 16th positions respectively, but AB de Villiers has risen five places to 13th with a slot in the top-10 firmly within his sight.

South Africa opener Aiden Markram, who was the player of the tournament in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2014, and India all-rounder Hardik Pandya are the other big movers from the Newlands Test. Markram has moved up six places to 48th, while Pandya is now ranked 49th after rocketing 24 places.

India's Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have also lost ground. Vijay is now at the 30th after dropping five places; Dhawan has slipped three places to 33rd, while Sharma has ended up 44th after falling three places.

Meanwhile, Australian batsmen Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh have all achieved their career-best rankings after stroking excellent centuries in the Sydney Test.

Khawaja, who scored 171 in Australia's 649 for seven declared, has jumped eight places to the 19th after collecting 55 points; Shaun Marsh has earned 42 points for his fine 156 that has moved him from 31st to 20th spot, while his younger brother Mitchell has been rewarded for his 101 with a leap of eight places that has put him at the 57th position.

For South Africa, the victory against India in Newlands has seen their player Kagiso Rabada become the number-one ranked bowler in the rankings.

Rabada, who was one of the stars in South Africa's successful campaign in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in the UAE in 2014, returned figures of three for 34 and two for 41 against a star-studded India batting line-up.

For this effort, the 22-year-old has collected five points, while James Anderson, who had entered the Sydney Test as the number-one ranked bowler, dropped by the same number of points following the last Ashes Test. This 10-point swing means the South African has moved ahead of the Englishman by one point after nine points had separated the two fast bowlers leading into the two Tests.

A delighted Rabada said, "It's special to be ranked as the No. 1 Test bowler in the world. It is a surreal feeling. It's what you dream of achieving when you start playing the game."

"Cricket is ultimately a team sport and I'm thankful for the support from my team mates. It's a great start to the year personally and for us as a team, hopefully we can continue putting in winning performances."

Rabada is the seventh South Africa bowler to top the Test bowling rankings after Aubrey Faulkner, Hugh Tayfield, Peter Pollock, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander.

Rabada's team mate Philander is the other bowler inside the top-20 to make an impressive gain. For his match figures of nine for 75, which also earned him the player of the match award, the 32-year-old has earned 67 points, which, in turn, has lifted him from 12th to sixth position.

Philander now trails Australia's sixth-ranked Josh Hazlewood by eight points and has an opportunity to break into the top-five following the Centurion Test, which begins on Saturday, January 13.

Outside the top-20, India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pat Cummins of Australia have achieved career-high rankings.

Kumar has vaulted eight places to 22nd, following figures of four for 87 and two for 33, while Cummins has leaped eight places and is now on the 28th position after match figures of eight for 119, which also earned him the player of the match award.

There is no change in the top-five of the all-rounders' list, which is still headed by Shakib Al Hasan, with Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in second and third place, respectively.

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News Network
March 26,2020

New Delhi, Mar 26: As India continues its fight against coronavirus, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly pledged to donate rice worth Rs 50 Lakhs to the needy people.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), in its statement, said Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice will provide rice to people who have been put in government schools for safety and security.
"#Sourav to provide Free Rice to the Needy It is heartening to note that Sourav Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice has come forward to provide free rice worth Rs 50 lacs to the needy people who have been put in government schools for safety and security. Hope this initiative of Ganguly would encourage other citizens of the state to take up similar initiatives to serve the people of our state. #CAB," CAB said in a statement.
CAB President Avishek Dalmiya has also lent support to the needy people as he donated Rs 5 lakhs to the Government's Emergency Relief Fund.
"CAB President donates 5 lakhs to the Government's Emergency Relief Fund to fight against #CoronaVirus/#Covid19," CAB said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day nation-wide lockdown to contain coronavirus.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has slammed UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for not allowing recreational cricket to resume.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had described the cricket ball as a 'natural vector of disease' and ruled out recreational cricket's return in the country.

Hearing Johnson's argument, Vaughan tweeted: "Hand sanitiser in every players pocket. Use every time you touch the ball ... SIMPLE ... Recreational Cricket should just play from July 4th ... utter nonsense it's not being allowed back ... #Cricket."

Johnson was responding to a question from Conservative MP Greg Clark in the House of Commons, and it was then that Johnson said that it is too soon to lift current restrictions to allow the return of recreational cricket.

"The problem with cricket as everybody understands is that the ball is a natural vector of disease, potentially at any rate. We've been around it many times with our scientific friends," ESPNCricinfo had quoted Johnson as saying.

"At the moment, we're still working on ways to make cricket more COVID-secure but we can't change the guidance yet," he added.

Johnson had announced various relaxations on Tuesday, but the return of recreational cricket was not a part of them.

However, this statement given by Johnson will have no impact on the Test series between England and West Indies, scheduled to begin from July 8.

However, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said that it is looking to resume recreational cricket in the country around July 4.

The board has also said that cricket is a low-risk sport as it is a non-contact sport.

"We believe that cricket is a non-contact sport, with very low risks of exposure, and that it can be played as safely as many other activities being currently permitted," the ECB said in an official statement.

"It is our strong desire to work with Government to see the return of recreational cricket on or around 4th July, as they continue to lift other restrictions more broadly across society," it added.

All international cricket has also been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, it is set to resume to from July 8 as England and West Indies will lock horns in the three-Test series.

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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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