South African speedster Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the forthcoming Test series at home against India because of a “persistent” injury to his hip. The 28-year-old will not take any part in South Africa’s quest to regain the Gandhi-Mandela Trophy, starting Boxing Day (December 26) in Centurion. Nortje had been battling the hip issue from the end of the men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE in October-November and hasn’t bowled at all since then. The pacer is in a tussle with an aggravated niggle. Recognising that Nortje hasn’t had sufficient preparations for the three-Test series, Cricket South Africa and selectors have…
Author: Kashish Chadha
Kashish Chadha
Kashish Chadha is a cricket analyst and writer by heart and profession. You can find his works featured on such websites as CricXtasy, Circle of Cricket, and Cricfit.
The first set of quarterfinals played for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 on December 21 saw Tamil Nadu winning over arch-rivals Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh coming out on top against Uttar Pradesh. The two games played in Jaipur saw two unexpected results as many felt Karnataka and UP are favourites to make it through to the semis. But Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh proved them wrong. In the first game played at the KL Saini Ground in Jaipur, TN absolutely dominated Karnataka, scoring a whopping 354/8 batting first and restricting the opposition down to just 203 in the second half. N Jagadeesan made a fantastic century…
Former England cricketer David Lloyd on December 21 put an end to his long standing commentary career after spending over two decades with UK-based leading broadcaster Sky Sports. Lloyd, who played nine Tests and nine ODIs from 1974 to 1980, had entered the coaching arena post his retirement. In 1999, he joined Sky Sports as a commentator and broadcaster and is now ending his tenure with the channel after entertaining fans with his amusing avatar and voice for 22 years. In a statement issued over social media, the ex England coach said it’s the “right time to pass the microphone”. The 74-year-old mentioned he finds the commentary box a “little emptier” now…
Former South African cricketers Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher will undergo a formal enquiry launched by the national cricket board after accusations of alleged misconduct during their playing days according to the Social Justice and Nation-Building report. The enquiry will be held in early 2022 and will be conducted by independent legal professionals who will review the content present in the SJN report. Till then, Smith and Boucher will continue to hold their current positions within the set-up and oversee the team’s series against India at home. Smith, the former captain, is currently the director of cricket with CSA and…
On December 20, CSA and BCCI announced jointly that the forthcoming India tour of South Africa, featuring 3 Tests and 3 ODIs, will be held behind closed doors in its entirety. No fans will be allowed to visit the stadiums in Johannesburg, Centurion, Cape Town and Paarl for India’s highly anticipated month-long series. The decision has been taken for health safety purposes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with special consideration given to the fourth wave in the rainbow nation since the emergence and spread of the contagious virus’ dangerous variant Omicron. “Regrettably, CSA wishes to inform the most ardent fans of cricket…
The Aussies once again proved too good for an England side lacking enough penetration with the ball in those conditions and not having enough depth and resolve with the bat. The tourists were no match for Australia in the Adelaide D/N Test, which recorded England’s 11th Test defeat Down Under in their last 12 encounters of an away Ashes. Despite arriving with great hopes of regaining the urn, Joe Root and company have been left with disappointment and despair and staring at another embarrassing series scoreline. Claimed to have overplanned and overthought this Ashes rather than working on the actual set of skills required…
19-year-old allrounder Yash Dhull has been appointed captain of India’s 17-member squad announced this December 19 for the forthcoming ICC U-19 World Cup in the Caribbean. The All-India Junior Selection Committee confirmed the squad for the next edition of the youth boys World Cup in the West Indies, with Dhull being named the skipper of the side. The 14th edition of the U-19 World Cup will be played in the Caribbean from January 14 to February 5. 16 qualified teams have been divided into four groups, with the top two from each making it through to the quarterfinals before the semi-finals and the…
The playoffs double-header on December 19 in the Lanka Premier League 2021 saw Dambulla Giants beat Colombo Stars in the Eliminator and Galle Gladiators defeat Jaffna Kings in Qualifier 1. Both the games were played at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota. In the first encounter, Stars won the toss and opted to bat first before some strong display with the ball from Giants kept them down to a modest 145/6. Stars skipper Angelo Mathews scored a fighting half-century (50), while Pathum Nissanka (42) was the second-best run-getter. But the rest failed to come to the party, which meant that Stars had to settle with a…
Former India cricketer Reetinder Singh Sodhi reckons the national men’s team’s upcoming tour of South Africa will be a big challenge for recently appointed head coach Rahul Dravid. Sodhi believes Dravid’s job will only get more difficult during the forthcoming series because of the recent controversies in Indian cricket. Dravid has taken over the head coach’s role at a time when Indian cricket is not short of contentious issues and potential rifts. A major one relates to Virat Kohli’s unceremonious axing as India’s ODI captain after he voluntarily gave up the T20I captaincy following the T20 World Cup. With Kohli offering a…
Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Vidarbha came out victorious in their respective pre-quarterfinals to progress deeper into the India’s premier domestic List A competition. The three teams defeated Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tripura, respectively, on December 19. In pre-quarterfinal 1 played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Vidarbha kept Tripura at bay despite the eastern rivals enjoying their moments against the western giants. Vidarbha scored only 258/7 in their 50 overs batting first but still won the knock-out by 34 runs. Half-centuries from Atharva Taide (51), Yash Rathod (57) and crucial forties from Ganesh Satish (40), Akshay Wadkar (41) propelled Vidarbha past the 250-run mark. M Murasingh (2/41) and Rana Dutta (2/47) picked up two wickets apiece for Tripura in their miserly spells. In the…