South African cricketer AB de Villiers wants to make a comeback and compete with top players Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli. De Villiers, known for his exceptional skills, has accumulated 5162 runs in 184 matches with an average of 39.71 while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He retired from international cricket in 2018 and bid farewell to the Indian Premier League in 2021.
In a recent interview, De Villiers expressed his willingness to play again, emphasizing his desire to challenge players like Yadav and Kohli. However, he admitted that his drive has diminished over time. Not playing international cricket in the last four years made him realize he hadn’t played enough in the latter part of his career.
De Villiers disagrees with the concept of being an Impact Player, as he believes playing only a few months a year would hinder his goal of being the best in the world. Practice alone cannot match the thrill and competition of being on the field. He questioned his path in the last few years and acknowledged that while he could still deliver exceptional performances, he didn’t want to settle for sporadic brilliance.
In a shocking turn of events, Afghanistan player Usman Ghani has taken an indefinite break from cricket. He touted corrupt leadership in the Cricket Board as a reason behind him taking a step back and taking a sabbatical.
Usman Ghani although will continue to work hard but was bold to remark that he will be waiting for the right management before he makes a comeback to the team. The opening batter exposed the management on his Twitter account.
“After careful consideration, I have decided to take a break from Afghanistan Cricket. The corrupt leadership in the cricket board has compelled me to step back. I will continue my hard work and eagerly await the right management and selection committee to be put in place,” Usman Ghani tweeted.
After careful consideration, I have decided to take a break from Afghanistan Cricket. The corrupt leadership in the cricket board has compelled me to step back. I will continue my hard work and eagerly await the right management and selection committee to be put in place. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/lGWQUDdIwJ
Usman Ghan last represented Afghanistan in the T20I series against Pakistan earlier this year. But didn’t have a good outing. After that, he hasn’t been part of the team and also missed out on the squad for the upcoming white-ball series against Bangladesh.
BAN vs AFG: “I couldn’t meet the chairman as he remained unavailable,” Usman Ghani On his Break
Usman Ghani further went on to say that he will proudly return to Afghanistan when the correct management returns. He revealed that he tried to meet Chairman but he didn’t meet. He also lashed out at the chief selector, saying that he didn’t have a satisfactory response for his exclusion. He said:
“Once that happens, I will proudly return to play for Afghanistan. Until then, I am backing myself from representing my beloved nation. Despite multiple visits, I couldn’t meet the chairman as he remained unavailable. Moreover, the chief selector had no satisfactory response for my exclusion from all formats.”
Usman Ghani has so far represented Afghanistan in 17 ODIs, scoring 435 runs at an average of 25.59 to go with 1 ton and 2 half-centuries. He last played this format in January 2022. In the 17 T20Is, he has 786 runs along with 4 half-centuries.
Former England National Cricket Team captain Michael Vaughan has made a bold remark, stating that Ben Stokes & Co. exposed the vulnerabilities of the Australia National Cricket Team despite losing the second match of the ongoing Ashes 2023 series.
Australia won the second Test at the Lord’s Cricket Ground by 43 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the series. The Aussies gave England 371 runs to chase in the final innings. Ben Stokes played a sensational 155-run knock but lack of support from the other end meant the Three Lions were bundled for 327.
In his column for The Telegraph, Michael Vaughan stated that the short-pitched bowling tactics of England exposed Australia. However, the Ashes-winning captain was disappointed that England batted for 76.2 overs and scored 325 runs. He felt that the Ben Stokes-led side had the opportunity to bat for a longer period. He elaborated:
“At Lord’s, England did expose some cracks in the Australians. Their short-pitched bowling tactics exposed some real vulnerabilities. But ultimately to only bat 76.2 overs in the first innings is what’s created the problems for England. With England 188-1 at Lord’s in the first innings, a sunny day and good batting conditions and Nathan Lyon injured, England had a real chance to bat big.
“They should have been thinking – let’s bat 120, 130 overs here, get lots of overs into their seamers. It actually cost them in the second innings too. Had England batted longer in the first innings, Australia’s seamers wouldn’t have been as fresh in the second innings and it would have been much harder for them.”
You can’t afford to be so generous against a team as good as Australia – Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan further lashed out at England players for their poor fielding in the second Test. He said that England can’t afford to be generous against a dangerous team like Australia. Vaughan also felt that England lost the first two matches of the series due to their own mistakes.
“It’s not just the sloppiness with the bat. There’s also been too many dropped catches and sloppiness in the field. Australia scored 74 extras this Test match – that’s far too many. You can’t afford to be so generous against a team as good as Australia.
“When you lose by such small margins – two wickets at Edgbaston, 43 runs at Lords – the team aren’t doing their jobs if they don’t highlight and address those little mistakes that they’re making. That’s what should really frustrate England – they’ve almost been defeated by themselves more than the Australians.”
England will be looking to bounce back in the series in the third Test, which is set to be played from July 06 to 10, 2023, at the Headingley in Leeds. Both teams have already named their squad for the third Test.
The third edition of the ICC World Test Championship kickstarted with the Ashes 2023. Australia won the first game at Edgbaston and then won the second match at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
England produced a staggering effort in the second Test and played like champions, but ended up on the losing side. Opting to field first, they were put under pressure as David Warner (66) and Usman Khawaja (17) took their team off the flier and looked good.
After that, it was all about Steve Smith (110) as he smashed his 32nd Test and was complimented well by Travis Head (77) as Australia piled up a first-innings total of 416 runs on the board. For England, Ollie Robinson and Joshua Tongue were the picks of the bowlers with three wickets each.
England then had a great opening stand as Zack Crawley (48) and Ben Duckett (98) stitched a 91-run partnership for the first wicket. Ollie Pope (40) and Harry Brook (50) too chipped in with crucial knocks but the hosts fell short of 93 runs in the first innings. For Australia, apart from Steve Smith, every other bowler chipped in with wickets and helped their side take a mammoth lead.
Australia in their second innings struggled with the bat as English bowlers were right on the money. Usman Khawaja (77), along with Marnus Labuschagne (30) and Steve Smith (34) played handy knocks as the visitors posted the second innings total of 279 runs, setting the target of 371 runs to chase. Stuart Broad was the star bowler in the second innings as he picked 4 wickets.
Chasing the target England were clueless as they lost 4 quick wickets and were tumbling at 45/4. But after that, it was all about Ben Stokes as he batted exceptionally well and first stitched a 132-run partnership with Ben Duckett (83) but once he lost his partner followed by Jonny Bairstow (10), he pressed the accelerator and smashed the Australian bowlers all over the park.
Ben Stokes ended with the knock of 155 runs and brought his team close to the target. The onus was then on the English bowlers to take their team home. However, the tailenders failed to do the job, and the Three Lions were bundled out for 327, losing the match by a margin of 43 runs.
Updated ICC World Test Championship Points Table After England vs Australia 2nd Test
Updated ICC World Test Championship Points Table After England vs Australia 2nd Test [PC: ESPNCricinfo}
The third edition of the ICC World Test Championship will be similar to the last edition. The teams will be ranked on the percentage of points.
Win for the team will earn them 12 ( 100%) points, 6 (50%) points for a tie, and 4 (33.33%) points for a draw. Also for slow over-rates teams will lose one championship point for each over short.
Former Pakistan National Cricket Team player Saeed Ajmal has said that he felt robbed after MS Dhoni was given the Player of the Match award for his performance in the 3rd ODI match of the series between India and Pakistan in 2013.
The Pakistan tour of India 2012/13 consisted of a two-match T20I series and a three-match ODI series. The T20I series ended in a draw as Pakistan won by 5 wickets in the first game and India won by 11 runs in the second game.
Speaking of the ODI series, Pakistan won the first game by 6 wickets and the second game by 85 runs to seal the series. They were on the verge of claiming a whitewash over the Men In Blue on Indian soil, but they failed to do so as India won the low-scoring third ODI by 10 runs.
During an interaction on the Nadir Ali podcast, the host mentioned how Ajmal never won a Player of the Match award despite being the top-ranked bowler in ODIs.
Meanwhile, Saeed Ajmal recalled the match between India and Pakistan from January 06, 2013, at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi and said he should have won the PoTM award in that game.
“I think it was my bad luck. Against India in 2013, I bowled an outstanding spell in the first two ODIs. We won those games. In the third match, we dismissed India for 175. I took five wickets. Chasing a total of 175, we touched 100 with lots of wickets in hand, but still, we lost,” he said.
How did MS Dhoni get Man of the Match? I should have received it – Saeed Ajmal
Saeed Ajmal claimed being robbed of the Player of the Match award and said that Dhoni didn’t deserve to win the award in that game as he didn’t perform well. The former Pakistan spinner added that he was the best performer in that game and should have been given the award.
“MS Dhoni got the Player of the Match award in that game. Dhoni scored 18 runs and dropped 2 catches, still got Man of the Match. So that’s wrong. You tell me what is the meaning of Man of the Match. The player who performs the best in the game gets the Man of the Match,” he added.
“I took five wickets in that match, but India won the match, so they gave the award to Dhoni. He scored only 18-20 runs and dropped catches. How did he get Man of the Match? I should have received the Man of the Match award in that game,” the former Pakistan spinner concluded.
In the third ODI between India and Pakistan, the Men In Blue got bundled out for 167 after Ajmal bagged a brilliant 5-wicket haul. MS Dhoni actually top-scored for India in the match with 36 runs under his belt off 55 balls, including 1 four and 3 sixes. Dhoni also executed a stumping behind the stumps of Umar Akmal and grabbed the catch of Ajmal in the match.
