NEWSLETTER
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This has been quite a roller-coaster week of cricket. On one place, where there was a huge contract drama in Indian cricket, on the other end, the Chinnaswamy was buzzing with women’s cricket. There have also been some emotional retirements and some crazy quick hundreds.
But don’t worry. We have got you covered! And guess what?
This week, we are introducing a new section in this Newsletter called the Cricket.com Moment of the Week, where we’ll pick and tell you the most funny/ sad/ bizarre/ whacky/ absurd/ mind-blowing moment from the week gone by.
So why wait? Fasten your seat belts, remove parking breaks, and release that clutch because this zesty newsletter wagon must be off to the open country roads.
What’s happening OFF the field
> Ahead of the 2024 IPL season, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have confirmed that Pat Cummins would replace Aiden Markram as the new captain.
> Shardul Thakur, who played a blinder (109) in the second semi-final against Tamil Nadu in Mumbai, wants the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to look into the Ranji Trophy scheduling. Thakur shed light on that, stating that it is extremely ‘tough’ and injury-prone for pacers to play ten games with just a three-day gap in between.
> Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be without their opener Devon Conway, who has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) till May due to a small fracture in the joint of his left thumb, and his recovery is likely to take at least eight weeks.
> SRH were dealt with a blow when Dale Steyn, their bowling coach, pulled himself out of the tournament for personal reasons. In response to that news, the franchise have roped in New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin as their bowling coach for the upcoming season.
> Uncapped spinners Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar and Nangeyalia Kharote have been named in Afghanistan’s squad for the three-match ODI series against Ireland in Sharjah.
> Former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener will serve as Lucknow Super Giants’ assistant coach in the Indian Premier League 2024. This is the second time he will be acting as an assistant coach in the IPL, having worked with Mumbai Indians in the past.
> After a quadricep tendon injury ruled KL Rahul out of three Test matches against England, the Indian batter has decided to consult a specialist doctor in London. That means he will miss the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala, set to begin on March 7.
> BCCI are set to host a Women’s zonal red-ball tournament starting March 29 (Friday). The red-ball fixture will be a six-team tournament, with East, West, North, South, Central, and North East competing over five matches, played over three days each.
> Sri Lanka Cricket announced the squad for Bangladesh T20Is. The Island nation will travel to Bangladesh for three T20Is and as many ODIs before concluding the series with a couple of Tests.
> Bangladesh, on Tuesday (February 27), named former Glamorgan cricketer and Bermuda international David Hemp as the batting coach of the national men's team for two years. Former New Zealand all-rounder Andre Adams will join the team as bowling coach for the same duration.
> Mohammed Shami, who injured his ankle during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, has decided to go for surgery on his right Achilles tendon in London. That has effectively ruled him out of the impending Indian Premier League 2024, for which he was going to play a big role for Gujarat Titans.
> Former New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner has decided to hang up his boots from international cricket after he was left out of the squad for the series against Australia that starts in Wellington on February 29, 2024 (Thursday).
What’s happening ON the field
> The Women’s Premier League (WPL) has reached exactly the halfway stage of its second season, and its Bengaluru leg is ending today (March 4). The Delhi Capitals lead the points table with three wins in four games, with the caravan moving to New Delhi on March 5.
> Australia defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the first of the two Tests. Cameron Green was the Player of the Match for his 174.
> Ireland men won their first-ever Test match by defeating Afghanistan by six wickets in the one-off Test. Pacer Mark Adair was named the Player of the Match for his eight wickets in the game.
> Like the WPL, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has also reached the halfway stage and moved ahead, with the Multan Sultans winning six games out of seven, topping the points table, and making it to the playoffs.
> Mumbai defeated Tamil Nadu in the first semifinal of this year’s Ranji Trophy by an innings and 70 runs. Vidarbha have an edge against Madhya Pradesh in the first semi-final after the completion of both the first innings.
> Nepal and Netherlands will play the final of the tri-series they were involved in along with Namibia in Kirtipur, Nepal.
In the Spotlight
Nicol Loftie-Eaton
Namibia’s Loftie-Eaton not only lofted the Nepal bowlers out of the park but ate them as well, blasting his way to a T20I century in just 33 balls.
This is the fastest T20I century of all time, and Lottie Eaton achieved it by breaking Kushal Malla’s record by one ball, which he made during the Asian Games in China last year against Mongolia.
His innings included 11 fours and eight sixes, where he scored 92 runs through boundary alone.
Cameron Green
Cameron Green put on a master class on how to bat with the tail against New Zealand in the first Test.
He was on 73 when Pat Cummins was trapped LBW, and the eighth Australian wicket had fallen. Incredibly enough, Australia ended up posting 383 on the board, adding 139 more runs from the time of Cummins’s dismissal
Green finished on 174*, scoring 101 more runs with numbers 10 and 11. With the number 11 Josh Hazelwood, he had a record partnership of 116 runs.
Read the complete story by Anirudh Suresh.
Shardul Thakur
‘Shardulkar’ - people have started calling Shardul Thakur ever since he scored that fifty at Gabba along with Washington Sundar. He saved India with the bat by scoring vital lower-order runs and picking up key wickets.
This time, in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Tamil Nadu, he achieved a similar feat but took it a notch above by scoring a hundred on a proper turning track.
Mumbai were 106/7 when Shardul came into bat, trailing Tamil Nadu’s first innings score by 40 runs. The pitch was turning, and Sai Kishore was breathing fire. However, on a pitch where batters were finding survival tricky, Shardul scored at more than a run a ball, bringing up his century in just 89 balls.
Along with his 109(105), he also picked up four crucial wickets in the game and was adjudged the Player of the Match.
Chinnaswamy WPL crowd
People think that people don’t watch women’s cricket. But people thronged the Chinnaswamy when the world’s grandest women’s cricket league arrived on their shores.
Most tickets that were out for sale were sold even on weekdays. And if it was an RCB game or a weekend, you would find it hard to judge from the crowd if it’s an IPL game or a WPL game.
People cheered the few names of women’s players they knew when they came in, but when they went out, they knew a lot more names apart from the fact that women’s cricket can be fun to watch if the vibes are right.
From affordable ticketing to clean toilets and affordable and hygienic food at the venue, the Chinnaswamy Stadium have given a grand welcome to the WPL without any on-ground marketing.
If this isn’t a win for women’s cricket in India, I don’t know what is.
CDC Moment of the Week
Kane Williamson’s runout
No caption is needed for this tragicomedy that fell upon Williamson from heaven
Controversy of the Week
No central Contracts for Ishan and Iyer
The BCCI had given an ultimatum to the players not to take domestic cricket lightly, and it has acted upon its warning.
While announcing the central contracts for the upcoming financial year for the Indian men’s team, the board kept Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from those contracts under the BCCI radar for lack of commitment to red ball cricket.
While the BCCI is reportedly said to be unhappy with Kishan for his refusal to play domestic cricket — Kishan hasn’t played any professional cricket since December despite being fully fit — Iyer recently was accused of allegedly skipping the Ranji Trophy quarter-final due to injury despite being declared fit by the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
This drew many reactions, from people calling the board dictatorial to people standing behind the decision.
Picture of the Week
Sisters from different mothers
CDC Features of the Week
Jon Lewis Interview: Seamlessly juggling between Warriorz and England
New season, new Yastika, happy India
How Bazball has revolutionised Test cricket globally
When Meg Lanning rose from the shadows
UP Warriorz is where Grace Harris shines
Don't miss CDC Video Team's UNWIND!
