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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News Network
June 13,2020

Mumbai, Jun 13: Vasant Raiji, who was India's oldest first-class cricketer at 100, died in Mumbai in the wee hours of Saturday.

Raiji was 100 years old and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

"He (Raiji) passed away at 2.20 am in his sleep at his residence in Walkeshwar in South Mumbai due to old-age," his son-in-law Sudarshan Nanavati told PTI.

Raiji, a right-handed batsman, played nine first-class matches in the 1940s, scoring 277 runs with 68 being his highest score.

He made his debut for a Cricket Club of India team that played Central Provinces and Berar in Nagpur in 1939.

His Mumbai debut happened in 1941 when the team played Western India under the leadership of Vijay Merchant.

Raiji, also a cricket historian and chartered accountant, was 13 when India played its first Test match at the Bombay Gymkhana in South Mumbai.

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and former Australian skipper Steve Waugh had paid a courtesy visit to Raiji at his residence in January when he had turned 100.

It has been learnt that the cremation will take place at the Chandanwadi crematorium in South Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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Agencies
May 22,2020

India's cricket board will not push for the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia to be postponed but would consider staging the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October/November slot if it becomes available, a senior BCCI official has told Reuters.

This year's IPL, which is worth almost $530 million to the BCCI, has been indefinitely postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic while the World Cup, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 18, is also in jeopardy.

Reports in Australian media have suggested India's influential board may look to push for the World Cup to be postponed to open up a window for the IPL.

World Cup contingency plans are on the agenda at next week's International Cricket Council (ICC) board meeting but BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal said India would not be recommending it be pushed back.

"Why should the BCCI suggest postponing the Twenty20 World Cup?" Dhumal told Reuters by telephone.

"We'll discuss it in the meeting and whatever is appropriate, (the ICC) will take a call.

"If the Australia government announces that the tournament will happen and Cricket Australia is confident they can handle it, it will be their call. BCCI would not suggest anything."

While Australia has seen new infections of the novel coronavirus slow to a trickle and is gradually easing travel curbs and social distancing restrictions, hosting a 16-team World Cup would be a Herculean task for Cricket Australia.

Dhumal questioned whether the tournament should go ahead if it had to be played without spectators and said the Australian government would play a key role in any decision.

"It all depends on what the Australian government says on this - whether they'd allow so may teams to come and play the tournament," he added.

"Will it make sense to play games without spectators? Will it make sense for CA to stage such a tournament like that? It's their call."

Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts was guarded about the prospects of staging the tournament as scheduled on Friday.

"We don't have clarity on that one, yet. But as the situation continues to improve, you never know what might be possible," he said.

"It's ultimately a decision for the ICC."

The ICC has said it was unlikely to make a final call on the fate of the World Cup until August but some boards are in the process of making contingency plans in the event of a postponement.

While the BCCI recognised an open October-November window would suit the IPL, Dhumal said there was no point in making plans until there was some certainty about the World Cup.

"If we have the window available, and depending on what all can be organised, we'll decide accordingly," he added. "We can't presume that it's not happening and go on planning."

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