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“Shane Warne Bought His Last House From My In-Laws,” Pakistan Great Shares Unheard Tale

admin — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 13:05:16 +0000

File photo of Shane Warne.© AFP

Legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has heaped praises on spin great Shane Warne and also talked about the equation he had with the late Australian player. Despite playing for different countries, Wasim and Warne were close friends. Warne was a family friend of Akram’s Australian wife Shaniera Thompson. Akram, who married Shaniera in 2013, also revealed that Warne bought a property that belonged to the Pakistan great’s in-laws Tony Thompson and Greta. He added that Warne lived at a close distance to his house.

“Players and leaders like Shane Warne are not born everyday in this world. I knew him personally very well. He used to live just two minutes away from my house. In fact, I’ll tell you another interesting thing. Shane Warne bought his last house from my in-laws – Tony Thompson and Greta. He bought their house,” Akram told Sportskeeda.

It is worth noting that Warne holds the world record of picking second-most wickets in Test cricket. He claimed 708 wickets in 145 matches in the format of the game.

What made him special was some surreal amout of spin Warne extracted from the surface. Facing him was nothing less than a nightmare for many batters.

The spin great, who also led Rajasthan Royals to Indian Premier League title in the inaugural edition in 2008, died in March 2022.

“There was only one Shane Warne. The passion, the knowledge about the game, the involvement in the game, the energy he brought, I don’t think it is easy to match that. If I remember correctly, he even led Rajasthan Royals to the IPL trophy in the inaugural season,” Akram said.

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Snubbed For Central Contract, Marcus Stoinis’ Clear T20 World Cup Message To Australian Selectors

admin — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 02:19:07 +0000

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) all-rounder Marcus Stoinis revealed that he was aware of not getting Cricket Australia’s central contract for the 2024-25 season but he is keen to feature and contribute for the Baggy Greens in the T20 World Cup 2024. Last month, Stoinis was one of the biggest names who was snubbed from CA’s contract list of 23 players. One month later, Stoinis broke records at Chepauk against the Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

He silenced the jubilant yellow waves in Chepauk’s stands with his record-breaking 124* which sealed a 6-wicket win for LSG.

As teams are supposed to submit the list of players till May 1, Stoinis made a strong bid to feature in Australia’s 15-player squad for the marquee event which will kick off on June 1.

Stoinis expressed his ambition to contribute to Australia’s hunt for another trophy, and said, after the game, “I’ve got a great relationship with the coach (Australian Head coach – Andrew McDonald), me not getting a contract, I knew that long ago. It’s great to let the kids come in and get an opportunity, I’m happy to let them take my spot. But on the playing front, I’d like to play and contribute.”

Stoinis paced his knock according to the situation of his team. He waged a lone war but the support he got from Nicholas Pooran was crucial in changing the momentum of the game.

While talking about his approach, and the change that has been witnessed in the T20 cricket in the ongoing IPL, Stoinis added, “In these competitions, there are plenty of better opening batters better than me so I’ll leave it to them. It’s not just go go go, there were some bowlers we wanted to target and some bowlers we wanted to be more cautious against. There was a phase where I wasn’t able to hit the boundaries so it was great Pooran could come in and take the pressure off. Lots of ebbs and flows, just tried to keep it in control.”

“You’re planning and structuring, you’re not liking certain bowlers and you’re liking others more. I do think T20 cricket is changing, the scores that have been scored, the impact player role and how teams are taking on the bowlers,” he added.

Coming to the match, after putting CSK to bat, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (108*) and Shivam Dube (66) powered the hosts to a competitive total of 210/4.

In reply, the opening pair of Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul fell early. Stoinis took on the bowlers and helped LSG chase down the highest total at Chepauk.

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Rashid Khan Fires Warning To Cricket Australia, Threatens To Opt Out Of BBL

admin — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 16:08:22 +0000

Rashid Khan will reconsider participating in the 2025 edition of the Big Bash League.© X (Twitter)

Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan will reconsider participating in the 2025 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL). This comes after Cricket Australia (CA) indefinitely postponed their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which was scheduled for August at a neutral venue. CA later clarified that they made the call after consultations with the Australian government because of “a marked deterioration in human rights for women and girls” in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Breaking his silence on CA’s stance, Rashid said he was ” really hurt” by the board pulling out of the T20Is.

“It does hurt you. You do want to play against the best teams and that’s where your cricket is going to improve more and more. You only get the opportunity playing against them [Australia] in the World Cups, but not in bilateral series,” Rashid was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Rashid felt that the series would’ve been a big learning curve for Afghanistan as playing against top-ranked teams would be hugely beneficial for the growth of the sport in the country.

“Recently, we played three T20s against India, and it helped us a lot. We nearly chased 200 [212] against India. Imagine if you wouldn’t have played that, where would the confidence come from? Playing against big teams is huge for us,” he added.

Rashid also opened up on his BBL future. He said: “You don’t want to play with my colleagues and you want to play with me. So what’s the difference? It means I’m putting my colleagues down as well. My country down as well.”

For the unversed, this was the third time CA had chosen not to honour a bilateral engagement with Afghanistan.

In 2021, what would have been the first Test match between Australia and Afghanistan, was postponed. Last year, an ODI series was called off.

Meanwhile, Rashid is currently playing for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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Bruce Lehrmann Sex, Drugs, And Shocking Revelations In This Australian Defamation Trial

admin — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 13:01:02 +0000

Bruce Lehrmann has consistently pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

Shocking revelations have unfolded in a defamation case involving Bruce Lehrmann, a former Liberal Party political aide in Australia. The case, which centres on allegations of rape against Mr Lehrmann, has dragged prominent media networks into the spotlight, particularly the country’s Seven West Media and its Seven network.

This started back in 2021 when Mr Lehrmann’s co-worker, Brittany Higgins, another political aide, accused him of raping her in Australia’s Parliament House in 2019, as per the Guardian.

The report added that Ms Hinggins’ interview with Channel 10 created much buzz back then during the #MeToo movement in Australia.

Mr Lehrmann, after facing charges, has consistently pleaded not guilty to the allegations, the report added. His trial faced delays, first due to a public speech given by one of the journalists involved in Ms Higgins’ interview, and later disrupted by juror misconduct.

When the trial was eventually abandoned, prosecutors decided against pursuing a re-trial, because they were worried about Ms Higgins’ mental health, the report stated.

In response, Mr Lehrmann took legal action against Channel 10, suing them for defamation over the interview. Despite not being explicitly named in journalist Lisa Wilkinson’s report for Network 10, Mr Lehrmann claimed he was easily identifiable. Even before the interview aired, Mr Lehrmann had already taken legal action against Network 10 and Ms Wilkinson. He claimed that the alleged assault never happened and accused them of irreparably damaging his reputation, reported BBC.

This move marked the beginning of a legal battle that would uncover further controversies and bring scrutiny upon various media networks involved.

Rival Network Seven’s former producer Taylor Auerbach’s testimony painted a troubling picture.

“Mr Lehrmann had over dinner purchased a bag of cocaine while we were dining at Franca and when we got upstairs to the room he pulled that out and started to put it on a plate and then started talking to me about a prospective ‘Spotlight’ story and his desire to order prostitutes to the Meriton that night. And he began googling a series of websites to try and make that happen,” Mr Auerbach alleged in court, according to Variety.

He also revealed he was promised promotions and pay raises in exchange for catering to Mr Lehrmann’s demands, which included using a company credit card to get Thai massages and other unauthorised expenses, totalling over $10,000, the report mentioned.

In response to the allegations, Network Seven released a statement saying they were “appalled by the allegations made in recent days. We do not condone the behaviours described in these allegations. They do not reflect the culture of Seven,” as per BBC.

“Seven did not offer a promotion or pay rise to Mr Auerbach in November 2022, nor did it do so at any time after that,” they added.

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“We Will Go Into The Series With…”: R Ashwin Confident Of India’s Show In Upcoming Test Series vs Australia

admin — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 02:36:45 +0000

File photo of Ravichandran Ashwin.© AFP

Star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is confident of India’s performance in the upcoming five-match Test series against Australia Down Under, starting late this year. Cricket Australia recently released the schedule of their upcoming home summer, which includes the visit of India for a five-match Test series with Perth to host the opening game. The series will commence on November 22, with further Tests to be held in Adelaide (day-night), Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney right up until the start of the New Year.

It will be the first time since the summer of 1991/92 that Australia and India have played a five-match series as part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will provide both teams with a good opportunity to further cement their place in next year’s ICC World Test Championship final.

“Look, you want to stay in the contest all the time. You might not begin a series very well. You still need to be able to dig into that mental resolve to come back. The one thing I would say about Australia is that, like England, all these venues are standard venues. Like Melbourne, like Sydney. We know what to expect from there. Sometimes it can be challenging. Look, I think… this part of Indian cricket doesn’t do as well as it must in a way that we don’t welcome you to conditions that are extremely hard. That’s exactly what Australia are trying to do it. They are putting us in Perth first up. Because the change of pace is going to be different,” Ashwin said on Club Prairie Fire podcast.

“We will go into the series with the best possible intent. They are doing all it takes to start off the series. So, you never take an Australian team lightly. That’s because of the kind of experience they are going to have. Their bowling attack would probably have 500 Tests between them. We (the Indian team) might not have that sort of experience, but still I think the belief that we will take them on is going to be pretty high,” he added.

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Plenty Of New Faces In Australia’s Central Contract List As Marcus Stoinis Misses Out

admin — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 03:36:37 +0000

Cricket Australia (CA) announced the names of the 23 players who earned the new central contracts on Thursday, with veteran all-rounder Marcus Stoinis being the biggest name missing from the list. Stoinis has battled back injuries in recent times, but he was also part of Australia’s winning ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup winning squad last year and is an integral part of the short format team ahead of June’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.

Stoinis is joined by fellow all-rounder Ashton Agar, opener Marcus Harris, pacer Michael Neser and recently retired star David Warner as players to miss out on fresh contracts, with CA instead opting to provide deals to a handful of new faces, as per the ICC.

All-rounders Matt Short and Aaron Hardie win new deals after they were upgraded to the contract list during the summer, as does fast bowler Nathan Ellis, while young right-armer Xavier Bartlett also wins a full-time contract after impressing with the ball against the West Indies earlier this year. He took two four-wicket hauls in ODIs against the Windies and 2/37 in the solitary T20I that he played.

Cricket Australia selection chair George Bailey expressed confidence that the players with new deals have long international careers ahead of them.

“Matt, Aaron and Xavier have been extremely impressive in the early stages of their international careers. Their performances and the way they have embraced the international stage have been exciting to watch,” he said, as quoted by the ICC.

“The panel believes they have strong futures and deserve their contracts as they work towards striving to become regulars in the Australian setup,” he added.

Cricket Australia contracted men’s players 2024-25: Sean Abbott, Xavier Barlett, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Jhye Richardson, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.

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Cricket Australia CEO Desires To Host India-Pakistan Bilateral Series

admin — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 09:11:27 +0000

Cricket Australia (CA) has expressed the desire to host a bilateral series between India and Pakistan if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) agree to clash in a bilateral contest in future for the first time in 12 years. India and Pakistan Cricket Team are set to visit Australia for their respective series in November. Where on one side India will travel to play a five-match Test series starting on November 22 at Perth and on the other hand Pakistan’s side will play a three-match ODI and T20I series against the Men in Yellow.

India and Australia last played a bilateral series in 2012-13 and since then both teams have locked horns against each other either in the Asia Cup or in the ICC events.

Following the mega success of the 2022 T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where 90,293 fans witnessed a last-ball thriller which saw Virat Kohli play an iconic knock of 82*, CA, the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCG operators), and the Victorian government have now expressed interest in two teams at the MCG, which could be a great move for them financially.

Cricket Australia (CA) CEO Nick Hockley opined that they would be happy to host the bilateral series between India and Pakistan at the iconic MCG if they get an opportunity.

“I think anyone that was here for the India-Pakistan game at the MCG, it will go down as one of the most memorable occasions, not just sporting occasions, that I’ve ever been to. So people want to see that contest. We would love to host that if the opportunity arose. If we can play a role, we’d love to play a role,” Hockley stated as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“We’re so excited to host Pakistan. We’re so excited to host India. If we can help, that’s great. But I think in many ways, that’s a bilateral series. It’s really for others to make that happen,” the CA CEO added.

CA’s head of scheduling, Peter Roach, admitted on Tuesday that Australia would also be interested in hosting a tri-series, which last occurred between India and Pakistan during the 1999-2000 season, rather than just a neutral bilateral series, but he noted that there was not sufficient space in the current Future Tours Programme (FTP).

“We haven’t got a tri-series in the FTP. Going forward we’re always interested in opportunities for matches and contests that will engage our fans. It’s fair to say every country in the world would love to see India and Pakistan compete in their country,” Roach asserted.

“We’re on record as saying we’re one of those countries that has asked the question. There’s no room in the schedules to do that at the moment. We’ll keep talking to them in any other opportunities that arise, but in this specific example there are not going to be any changes to the schedule,” he concluded.

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India’s Tour Of Australia Test Schedule Announced, Perth To Host Opener Of 5-Match Series

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 08:45:11 +0000

Australia has released details of the schedule for their upcoming home summer, which includes the visit of India for the five-match Test series with Perth to host the opening Test. The five-match Test series against Rohit Sharma’s side will commence in Perth on November 22, with further Tests to be held in Adelaide (day-night), Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney right up until the start of the New Year. It will be the first time since the summer of 1991/92 that Australia and India have played a five-match series as part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will provide both teams with a good opportunity to further cement their place in next year’s ICC World Test Championship final.

Australia claimed bragging rights when winning the most recent World Test Championship final at The Oval last year, but India has held the coveted Border-Gavaskar trophy since 2017 on the back of consecutive series triumphs away from home.

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley is looking forward to welcoming India to Australian shores later this year and is predicting a tight contest between the evenly-matched sides.

“This is one of the most highly anticipated summers of cricket in memory with the eyes of the cricket world focused on the extended Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and the multi-format Women’s Ashes,” Hockley said as quoted by ICC.

“Fittingly, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been put on the same footing as The Ashes with a five match Test Series for the first time since 1991-92 and we’re confident the schedule will maximise viewership and attendances and there will be a tremendous atmosphere in stadiums across the country.”

The visit of Pakistan will commence Australia’s home summer, with the Asian side to play three ODIs and three T20Is at the start of November, before the action hots up even further with the Test series against India.

India’s women’s side will be in Australia at the same time as their male counterparts, with three ODI matches planned to take place at the start of December as part of the women’s schedule also announced by Cricket Australia on Tuesday.

Australia will take on New Zealand in three ODIs in September following the Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, before three games against India in Brisbane and Perth on December 5.

Australia’s attention will then turn to the multi-format Women’s Ashes series against England, which consists of three ODIs, three T20Is and a historic day-night Test match at the MCG at the end of January.

Men’s Schedule:

Australia vs India Test schedule:

First Test: November 22-26, Perth

Second Test: December 6-10, Adelaide (d/n)

Third Test: December 14-18, Brisbane

Fourth Test: December 26-30, Melbourne

Fifth Test: January 3-7, Sydney

Australia v Pakistan white-ball schedule:

First ODI: November 4, Melbourne

Second ODI: November 8, Adelaide

Third ODI: November 10, Perth

First T20I: November 14, Brisbane

Second T20I: November 16, Sydney

Third T20I: November 18, Hobart

Women’s Schedule:

Australia vs New Zealand, T20I series

First T20I: September 19, Mackay

Second T20I: September 22, Mackay

Third T20I: September 24, Brisbane

Australia vs India, ODI series

First ODI: December 5, Brisbane

Second ODI: December 8, Brisbane

Third ODI: December 11, Perth

Australia vs England ODI series

First ODI: January 12, Sydney

Second ODI: January 14, Melbourne

Third ODI: January 17, Hobart

Australia vs England T20I series

First T20I: January 20, Sydney

Second T20I: January 23, Canberra

Third T20I: January 25, Adelaide

Australia vs England Test

Only Test: January 30-February 2, Melbourne (d/n).

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“Rahul Dravid Must Be Waking Up Really Excited” Australia Great On His Possibility Of Coaching Indian Team In Future

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 16:14:33 +0000

Team India in action© AFP

Justin Langer got a ‘probing delivery’ on his possible future as coach of the Indian national team but the former Australian opener like his playing days, judged it perfectly and left the one bowled on the “corridor of uncertainty”. Langer, who took a two-year-break after his much publicised acrimonious exit from Australian team’s head coach’s position in 2022, is back as the head coach of IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants. He got a straight question first up.

Will he be considering a possibility of coaching Indian team in the near future? He first laughed as the franchise very rightly wanted to keep it strictly about themselves but the gritty Aussie very nicely skirted the question.

“I was talking to Ricky Ponting and I cannot believe depth of talent in India. My mind is blown away. India is blessed to have so much of talent and Rahul Dravid must be waking up really excited with amount of talent that he gets to work with,” said Langer, carefully side-stepping the issue.

For the record, Dravid’s extended contract tenure runs till end of T20 World Cup in June.

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Cameron Bancroft Suffers Accident, Ruled Out Of Sheffield Final Against Tasmania

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 03:31:14 +0000

File image of Cameron Bancroft© AFP

Ahead of the Sheffield final against Tasmania on Thursday at WACA, Australia batter Cameron Bancroft was admitted to hospital as he fell from his bike and has been ruled out of the event. Western Australia skipper Sam Whiteman said that Bancroft is alright and out of hospital. Further, he talked about the condition of the cricketer where he said that the 31-year-old has got plenty of scratches on his body. Bancroft’s loss is a huge blow for the Western Australia side as he is the second-highest scorer for the team in the tournament. The opener has scored 778 runs at an average of 48.62.

“[I’m] pretty gutted, but nice to hear he’s okay and out of the hospital. I think it’s pretty lucky that it wasn’t much worse. He’s got plenty of scratches. Hopefully, we’ll see him around the WACA this week, I know that he’s gutted to miss it, but he’ll get around the team. He’s done a lot of heavy lifting this year to get us into the final,” Whiteman told reporters on Wednesday.

In Bancroft’s absence, D’Arcy Short will open the innings and Jayden Goodwin could be promoted to No. 3. Teague Wyllie is likely to replace Bancroft in the playing XI.

Short has only played one Shield match this season where he made 49 batting at No.5 against Queensland on a difficult WACA surface earlier this month.

Goodwin, the son of former Zimbabwe Test batter Murray Goodwin, has had an outstanding season, scoring his first-class century against Queensland to cement his place as Western Australia’s number three. He also struck 85 in challenging batting circumstances at Bellerive Oval against Tasmania last month.

Wyllie has not competed in the Shield since early February, having struggled this season with an average of 17.80 from six matches. He opened the season with a brave 94 off 251 deliveries at No.3 against a full-strength Victorian attack but faded and was unsuccessfully moved down the order.

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