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Disgraced Australia Steve Smith begins comeback in Global T20 Canada league

Agencies
June 30, 2018

King City, Jun 30: Steve Smith made his comeback from cricket exile on Thursday in front of a sparse crowd in a sleepy, rural town north of Toronto where the former Australia captain helped kick off the inaugural Global T20 Canada league.

Smith, playing for the Toronto Nationals, showed few signs of rust in his 41-ball innings of 61, which included eight fours and a six, before being stumped and leaving the field to a standing ovation.

"I didn`t feel as good as I would`ve liked but it`s nice to score runs when you`re not feeling good," Smith told reporters.

The match, played before a mostly docile crowd at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club about 50 km (31 miles) north of downtown Toronto, was far from the hallowed venues he was used to but Smith was just happy to be playing again.

It was Smith`s first match since he, vice-captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were banned by Cricket Australia in March for conspiring to scuff up the ball with sandpaper during the third test against South Africa. [nL8N1RA2WF]

Smith`s 12-month ban, however, does not extend to domestic tournaments outside Australia and so he was eligible to play in the six-team Canadian league.

The 29-year-old Australian, who apologised for the ball-tampering incident at a March news conference during which he broke down in tears, said the scandal was not on his mind during his first game back.

"Honestly when I am out in the middle everything else is a blur. Just concentrate on what I am doing and it`s almost like my haven I guess," said Smith.

"I`m not going to lie, its been a difficult time in my life, there`s no doubt about that.

"But I`ve accepted my punishment, I`ve accepted what I`ve gone through and I`m moving forward and part of my rehab is playing cricket as well and that`s what I love doing."

Clad in the two-tone blue of his Toronto team, Smith`s side won the toss and elected to bowl first.

He showed some early rust when he got under a ball hit by Vancouver`s Evin Lewis that was swirling away from him and was unable to take the catch.

Lewis top-scored with 96 for Vancouver in their 227 for four from 20 overs.

Smith, who was frequently practicing his batting strokes while in the field, came in at number three for Toronto and played and missed at his first ball before ultimately finding his groove.

When he was stumped by Vancouver wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton, Smith enjoyed a standing ovation from the crowd as he made his way back to the Toronto dressing room.

"It`s nice to hear people supporting you," said Smith.

"It`s great to have the support so I am thankful that everyone has been supportive since I`ve been here."

Toronto won the match by six wickets after former New Zealand international Anton Devcich anchored their chase to score 92 not out as they reached 231 for four in 19.2 overs.

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News Network
May 8,2020

Karachi, May 8: A cricket museum based in India has bought a bat auctioned by Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali to raise funds for the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Azhar had put two of his precious belongings -- the bat he used to score 302 runs against the West Indies in a Test in 2016 and the jersey he wore during the 2017 Champions Trophy final win over India -- on an online auction to raise funds for the people affected by the deadly disease.

Both the bat and jersey were signed by members of the Pakistan team.

Azhar announced on social media that he had kept a base price of one million each for the bat and jersey and they had sold for 2.2 million.

He confirmed that Blades of Glory Cricket Museum based in Pune bought the bat by making a winning offer of Rs. 1 million for the bat.

Azhar said that the auction of the shirt also generated a lot of interest and Kash Villani, a Pakistani based in California, came up with the highest bid of Rs. 1.1 million for the shirt before the conclusion of the auction.

Another Pakistani based in New Jersey, Jamal Khan also donated Rs. 100,000 for the cause.

"I put two of my closest belongings on auction with base price of 1 million PKR each to support people suffering due to ongoing crisis. Auction starts now and will close on 11:59 PM 05 May, 2020," Azhar had tweeted.

Ali became the first international player to score a test triple century in Day/Night Test when he scored an unbeaten 302 against the West Indies team in UAE in 2016.

"The shirt is from 2017 Champions Trophy which we won, it has the signature of all the players which were present in the squad," Ali said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Both these things are close to my heart but if it can be used in the difficult times for the benefit of the people I will more than happy."

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Agencies
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Indian pacer S Sreesanth has slammed England all-rounder Ben Stokes for questioning MS Dhoni's intent during a World Cup match, saying that the former captain will end Stokes' career.

Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' had questioned Dhoni's intent during India's 31-run defeat at the hands of England in the premier tournament last year.

"For Ben Stokes, I will only say that you should pray that Dhoni does not play against you in the future. Dhoni does not forget things easily," Sreesanth said during a Live session on Helo.

"I wish Stokes all the best for whenever he faces Dhoni again, be it IPL or an England vs India match. You must be earning in millions now, Dhoni Bhai will end your career. Dhoni will strike the ball everywhere and he (Stokes) can never dismiss Dhoni. Before he (Stokes) opens his mouth, he should make sure to wear a helmet," he added.

Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding had also come out in support of Dhoni and said that the wicket-keeper batsman wanted to win the match against England.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding had said on his official YouTube channel.

"...It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 percent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," he had added.

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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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