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Agar ready for another spin tilt in Sydney

Agencies
December 31, 2017

Sydney, Dec 31: Ashton Agar said on Sunday that he was ready for another crack at England after being called into Australia's squad as the second spinning option for this week's final Ashes Test in Sydney.

Whether Agar plays alongside first-choice spinner Nathan Lyon depends on the state of the Sydney Cricket Ground pitch, which in the past has earned a reputation as a turning wicket.

Agar shot to Test fame when he made a record score of 98 while batting at number 11 against England at Trent Bridge in July 2013.

However Agar, 24, has played only three Tests since then after he managed just two wickets at 124 in two matches in that series more than four years ago.

He played in both Tests against Bangladesh this year and said he was ready to take on England if he got his chance in Thursday's Sydney Test.

"I feel better coming into a Test match now. It doesn't feel too fresh or too out of the blue," Agar told reporters.

"Playing the one-dayers in India (this year) was a pretty whirlwind experience. So I certainly feel a lot better walking out onto the SCG now."

Skipper Steve Smith said he was unsure what to expect from the SCG pitch following Saturday's attritional fourth Test draw on a lifeless Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch.

The hosts have already clinched the Ashes with an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series ahead of the final Test in Sydney.

Pace spearhead Mitchell Starc, who missed the Melbourne Test with a bruised heel, was bidding to play in Sydney and it was likely either Agar or Starc would replace Jackson Bird in the final Australia XI.

Agar insisted he was a far more consistent bowler than the one who made his stunning Ashes debut in 2013.

"I don't look back on that (Trent Bridge) too much. They are great memories but I've definitely moved forward since then and I feel like I've improved as a player," Agar said.

"I was a kid. I was 19 ... I'm certainly better for the experience.

"I've grown up a lot since then. Life experience and cricket experience.

"I'm still reasonably young, but the time is now so I'm just going to give it a good crack."

Agar has worked with mentor John Davison and former India spinner Sridharan Sriram to prepare better for Test cricket.

"We've worked on my action a little bit a few years ago. It's just been a lot of bowling and self-confidence," Agar said.

"All you've got is yourself out there and it's certainly grown."

Smith, who hit an unbeaten 102 to play out a draw against England in Melbourne, said he did not know what to expect in Sydney.

"We'll turn up there and see what the wicket is," Smith said after Saturday's Test draw.

"You don't know what you're going to get in Sydney. One day it could be green, one day it could spin a bit.

"We've got all options there. We'll wait and see how we go."

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Agencies
January 26,2020

Chennai, Jan 26: Former India cricketer Kapil Dev on Saturday said that it will be a big loss for the Indian side when MS Dhoni decides to hang up his boots.

"I think he has served the country so well and nobody has done it like him. Everyone has to retire sooner or later. He is not playing matches currently. So I don't know when he will come out one day and say -- I have had enough. I think it will be our loss because he is such a fabulous cricketer," Dev told reporters here.

In the recently released BCCI contracts list, Dhoni did not find a place for himself. The former World Cup winning captain Dev said that it is unfortunate that Dhoni was not included in the contract list.

"I feel sorry that they have not included him. 

Tendulkar, Gavaskar had to witness the same. It's not my job and I am not there to give the contract to anyone. It is the job of the cricket board. So, I don't know. You can ask this question to the cricket board. They will be able to answer this question," Dev said.

The 38-year-old Dhoni is currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches in the tournament. 

Especially in the games against England and New Zealand (semi-final), he had to bear the brunt of netizens, who deemed him as the reason for the Men in Blue's loss.

BCCI released the list of central contract list of players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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Agencies
February 7,2020

Sydney, Feb 7: "I received a message from Brett Lee," said former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Friday when asked as to who recruited him to take part in the Bushfire relief fundraiser match.

Tendulkar will be coaching the Ponting XI in the upcoming Bushfire Bash on Sunday, February 9 at the Junction Oval.

"I received a message from Brett Lee. Brett said that Kevin (Roberts, Cricket Australia's chief executive) would like to be in touch with you. It was a no-brainer. From the moment I was asked, I said, 'yes I'm more than happy to come here," cricket.com.au quoted Tendulkar as saying.

Bushfire Bash was originally slated to be played at Sydney on Saturday but weather forecast prompted Cricket Australia to reschedule the game to ensure the best possible pitch and outfield conditions for the final of Big Bash League.

The match will be played to raise funds and all match profits will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

"This is an alarming situation, it's catastrophic - that's an understatement. You see the number of lives it has affected, not only humans but also wildlife which sometimes people don't talk about. That is equally important. I'm so happy I'm here in whatever way to support the cause, to raise money," Tendulkar said.

Ponting XI: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (c), Elyse Villani, Brian Lara, Phoebe Litchfield, Brad Haddin (wk), Brett Lee, Wasim Akram, Dan Christian, Luke Hodge. Coach: Sachin Tendulkar

Gilchrist XI: Adam Gilchrist (c & wk), Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, Yuvraj Singh, Alex Blackwell, Andrew Symonds, Courtney Walsh, Nick Riewoldt, Peter Siddle, Fawad Ahmed (one more to be announced). Coach: Tim Paine

The Bushfire Bash exhibition match will be a 10-overs-per-side contest, with a five-over Powerplay, no bowling restrictions, and batters unable to get out from the first ball they face.

Bowlers will not have over limits, fielders can sub on and off as it suits, while captains will have the ability to sub batters in and out during an innings.

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