* India’s probable XI for tomorrow’s first Test
What will India’s much-awaited playing XI be for their first Test against England that starts tomorrow (4) at Nottingham?
“With Shubman Gill out of the series with injury, Virat Kohli (Capt.) and Ravi Shastri (Head Coach) have a big headache in terms of opening (batsmen). While Rohit Sharma is all set to open, the competition is between two best friends for the other … Mayank Agarwal and K.L. (Lokesh) Rahul are set to compete with each other…,” reported the Inside Sports yesterday (2).
The report also added that out of the two, Rahul has a better chance of playing tomorrow since the Karnataka batsman scored an unbeaten century against Select County XI in their run-up to the five-match Test series in England last month.
In India’s bowling department, there could be four pacers and a spinner in Ravichandran Ashwin, the report suggested. That means the batting all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will have to make way for a specialist pace bowler in Mohammed Siraj.
The UK meteorology department has predicted chances of intermittent rain in the next couple of days while the Trent Bridge pitch has a fair bit of grass too, strengthening chances for a four-pronged pace attack for India.
India’s probable playing XI for the first Test:
Openers: Rohit Sharma and Lokesh Rahul, No. 3: Cheteshwar Pujara, No. 4: Virat Kohli, No. 5: Ajinkya Rahane, No. 6: Rishabh Pant (wk), No. 7: Ravichandran Ashwin, No. 8: Mohammed Shami, No. 9: Jasprit Bumrah, No. 10: Mohammed Siraj, and No. 11: Ishant Sharma
* Australia in Bangladesh: Wade confirmed as Aus Skipper
The game of musical chairs in Australia’s T20I batting line-up will continue, with Matthew Wade set to play in the middle order during the series in Bangladesh, with that now being his likely position at the World Cup in October, reported Cricinfo yesterday. With Aaron Finch missing with a knee injury, Australia confirmed yesterday that Wade was their Skipper for the five-match T20 showdown with Bangladesh starting today (3).
It was on 26 July that Australia completed their T20I and ODI series in the Caribbean. They lost the T20s 4-1 before winning the subsequent ODI series 2-1.
SQUADS
Australia squad:
Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade (Capt.), and Adam Zampa (Travelling reserves: Nathan Ellils and Tanveer Sangha)
Bangladesh squad:
Mahmudullah Riyad (Capt.), Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Shaif Uddin, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam, Musaddek Hossain Saikat, and Rubel Hossain
Schedule:
All matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. All times in Sri Lanka time.
First T20I: 3 August at 5.30 p.m.
Second T20I: 4 August at 5.30 p.m.
Third T20I: 6 August 6 at 5.30 p.m.
Fourth T20I: 7 August at 5.30 p.m.
Fifth T20I: 9 August at 5.30 p.m.
* West Indies vs. Pakistan final ODI today
West Indies will take on touring Pakistan in the fourth and final T20I at the Providence Stadium in Guyana today (3), with the match starting at 8.30 p.m. Sri Lanka time. The first and third T20s of the series were washed off as Pakistan under Babar Azam (pictured) won the second one, by seven runs, in Guyana on 31 July. The two-match Test series between the two teams will begin on 12 August. Kieron Pollard leads the West Indies’ white-ball team while Kraigg Brathwaite is expected to lead their Test team.
Schedule of West Indies vs. Pakistan Tests:
1st Test: 12-16 August at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
2nd Test: 20-24 August at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
* Ian Chappell asks, ‘do we really need the Hundred?
Former Australia Captain and cricket commentator Ian Chappell: “To overcome the perceived problem of a public not fully conversant with cricket, they’ve concocted another form of the game - The Hundred. That’s right, they’ve reduced by a mere 20 balls a format (T20I) that was extremely popular with players and the public. At least previous changes to format options were substantial; from five days to 50 overs and then a further abbreviation to 20 overs. If you’re going to introduce reductions, don’t do it in half-measures. And don’t make changes simply for change’s sake; what cricket’s evolution needs is improvements. To make matters worse, the Hundred hasn’t so much made changes as it has engulfed the game in gimmicks.”
The inaugural The Hundred professional franchise 100-ball cricket tournament, involving eight men’s and women’s teams located in major cities across England and Wales, began on 21 July and is to end on 21 August. In men’s Trent Rockets under Lewis Gregory (in picture, in yellow) is leading the table with three wins out of four. Manchester Originals, Welsh Fire, and Birmingham Phoenix follow in the second, third, and fourth places respectively with two wins apiece. Southern Brave, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, and Trent Rockets are respectively in the first four places in the women’s segment.