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Ashes Test: England nose ahead after Archer heroics

Agencies
September 14, 2019

Oval, Sept 14: Jofra Archer took his second six-wicket haul of the series as Australia were bowled out for 225 despite Steve Smith's record-breaking 80 to hand England a 78-run first innings lead at stumps on Day 2 of the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval on Friday.

At close of play, England were 9/0 in their second innings with Rory Burns (4 batting) surviving a knock to his helmet and a decision review to keep going. At the other end, Joe Denly (1 batting) was dropped by Marcus Harris when he was on a duck.

Archer, who returned figures of 6/45 in the Leeds Test, had a similar 6/62 to show for this time as he rattled the Australian batting order. He was ably supported by Sam Curran (3/46), whose haul included a two-wicket burst in two deliveries.

But none of them could get Smith out as he brought up his 10th consecutive Ashes fifty. Smith was dropped by England captain Joe Root at slips when he was on 66. Smith, who slammed 211 in the last Test to help Australia retain the Ashes and go 2-1 up, hit Jack Leach for a four to bring up his half-century off 91 balls, thus becoming the player with the most successive 50-plus scores against a single opponent.

Smith surpassed former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-Ul-Haq who hit nine hal-centuries in a row, also against England.

Just when Smith was looking set for a hundred, Chris Woakes (1/51) came back for a second spell and trapped him in front with a straight delivery that the talismanic batsman missed. Smith faced 145 balls for his 80 and hit nine fours and a six.

Besides Smith, Marnus Labuschagne missed out on a half-century as he was dismissed for 48 just after lunch. Smith and Labuschagne shared a 69-run stand for the third wicket before Archer trapped the latter plumb in front. Labuschagne faced 84 deliveries and his innings was laced with 10 fours.

Curran, playing his first Test in the series, got rid of Time Paine (1) and Pat Cummins (0) off successive deliveries but failed to bag a hat-trick. Archer then removed the tail although Nathan Lyon fought well for his 25 to trim the deficit down to below hundred.

Earlier, David Warner failed once again, as Archer had the out of sorts southpaw caught behind by Jonny Bairstow for just five.

Harris too was dismissed for three after he edged Archer to Ben Stokes at second slip, leaving Australia reeling at 14/2.

In the morning, England resumed at 271/8 with Jos Buttler batting on 64 and Leach on 10. Buttler could only add eight runs to his overnight score as he was castled by Pat Cummins for 70 off 98 balls (4x7, 6x3).

Leach (21) was clean bowled by Marsh who finished with career best Test figures of 5/46, playing his first Test in the series.

Australia have already retained the Ashes after winning the fourth Test and now lead the five-Test series 2-1.

Brief scores: England 1st innings: 294 all out; Australia 1st innings: 225 all out (Steve Smith 80, Marnus Labuschagne 48; Jofra Archer 6/62); England 2nd innings: 9/0 (Joe Denly 4 not out, Rory Burns 1 not out)

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News Network
March 29,2020

Sydney, Mar 29: Steve Smith's two-year leadership ban ended quietly Sunday, leaving him eligible again to captain Australia at a time of uncertainty over when international cricket will resume.

Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned from leading Australia for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal in South Africa. His sentence ended Sunday and he can again captain Australia if called upon.

Australian players were due this week to conclude a series of matches in New Zealand and, for some, to join the Indian Premier League. But it wasn't clear Sunday if the IPL will take place this year and when international matches will resume. Australia's scheduled mid-year tours to England and Bangladesh are in doubt.

Smith told Channel Nine television's Sports Sunday he is doing his best to stay mentally and physically fit, training in his home gym, going on 10 kilometer (6 mile) runs and practising the guitar.

"It's obviously not looking likely (the IPL will go ahead) at the moment," Smith said. "I think there might be some meetings over the next few days to discuss what the go is with it all.

"I'm just trying to stay physically and mentally fit and fresh and, if it goes ahead at some point, then great. And if not, there's plenty going on in the world at the moment. So just play it day by day."

It seems unlikely Smith will return to the captaincy when cricket resumes. Tim Paine is firmly established as Australia's test captain and at 35 is not immediately considering retirement. Aaron Finch has captained Australia successfully in white ball cricket.

The conclusion of Smith's ban ends the period of upheaval in Australian cricket that followed the ball tampering incident in the second test at Cape Town in 2018 when Cameron Bancroft, with the knowledge of Smith and his vice-captain David Warner, used sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.

Smith and Warner received one-year bans from international and most domestic cricket and Bancroft was banned for nine months. The scandal also resulted in the resignation of coach Darren Lehmann and the departure of Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland.

Warner remains under a career-long leadership ban.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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News Network
May 21,2020

Mumbai, May 21: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has chosen legendary Sachin Tendulkar over current skipper Virat Kohli as a better batsman in the ODI format, considering the changed rules of the game and the Mumbaikar's longevity of career.

Tendulkar, who retired in 2013, played 463 ODIs and amassed 18, 426 runs with 49 hundreds at an average of 44.83.

Kohli, on the other hand, has played 248 ODIs and scored 11, 867 runs with 43 tons at an average of 59.33.

"Sachin Tendulkar, because probably with one white ball and four fielders inside the circle, not five fielders outside, it will be Sachin Tendulkar for me," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

Nowadays, a one-day innings is played with two white balls and with three powerplays.

In the first power play (overs 1-10), two fielders are allowed beyond the 30-yard circle, while in the second powerplay (overs 10-40) four fielders are allowed. In the last powerplay (overs 40-50), five fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.

Gambhir, who was the star performer in 2011 ODI World Cup final which India won, feels that the change in rules has helped batsmen.

"It's difficult because Virat Kohli has done phenomenally well but I think the rules have changed as well, which has helped a lot of new batters," elaborated Gambhir, who played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs.

"The new generation, with 2 new balls, no reverse swing, nothing for the finger spin, five fielders inside for the 50 overs, probably that makes batting much easier.

He said he would also go with Tendulkar, considering his longevity and flow of the ODI cricket format at that time.

"Probably I’ll go with Sachin Tendulkar if we see the longevity and flow of the one-day cricket format.

"Look at how Sachin Tendulkar has played, different rules, that time 230 to 240, was a winning total," Gambhir signed off. 

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