Bangladesh might pull out of NZ vs BAN Test series

Cricket West Indies fires senior men’s selection panel

In a very shocking set of events Cricket West Indies, the governing body of the sport in the group of Caribbean nations has decided to disband the current senior men’s selection panel with immediate effect. It has created an interim body headed by men’s head coach Phil Simmons as head and captains of all three formats as members till the time the next panel is formed. The board also informed that it will commence a new recruitment process for the new Men’s Selection Panel in January. “The recruitment will replace Lead Selector Roger Harper and fellow Selector Miles Bascombe, whose contracts will not be renewed when they come to an end on December 31,” the media release from CWI read. Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket, will oversee the recruitment process. “We want to thank Roger and Miles for their work and dedicated services to West Indies cricket in the last two years, as members of the Men’s Senior Selection Panel. Selecting West Indies teams for the international competition is a very challenging and thankless assignment, and both gentlemen performed their roles with unprecedented transparency and dignity,” Adams said. On the other hand, the outgoing chief selector Harper said, “I would like to thank CWI for the opportunity to serve West Indies cricket in the role of Lead Selector and I wish the organization the very best for the future. I would also like to thank all those whose efforts and cooperation helped me to perform my role efficiently. Special thanks to Miles for his professionalism and teamwork. God bless.” The West Indies Men’s next series is against Ireland at Sabina Park, Jamaica where they will play the three-match CG Insurance One-Day International Series on January 8, 11 and 14, and the one-off T20 International on January 16.

BCCI’s Chief Medical Officer Abhijit Salvi resigns abruptly

Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Chief Medical Officer Abhijit Salvi has resigned from his post after almost a decade of association with the board. Salvi informed news agency PTI that his notice period had ended on November 30, but he carried on till the end of the second Test match between India and New Zealand. “I thank the BCCI for giving me this opportunity. After 10 years in the organisation, I wanted to move on. It had become a 24×7 job in COVID times and I want to give time to myself and family," Salvi told PTI. ESPNcricinfo speculated that Slavi’s resignation comes at a very odd hour considering the timing of India’s Under-16 national championships, which begins on January 9, 2022. Salvi was in charge of verifying the player’s ages eligibility for the U16s, popularly known as the Vijay Merchant Trophy. BCCI have not made the announcement public and have not named any replacement for their Chief Medical Officer and it is unclear as to how BCCI are going to carry on with such a technical process. In normal circumstances, Salvi would be testing the players with the Tanner Whitehouse 3 method, which uses the bone density of the wrists to determine if the player is lying about their age or not.

The Ashes | Day-Night Test, Day 3: Batsmen let England down once again as Australia strengthen grip

There was a sense of inevitability about where this match was heading as soon as Steve Smith and company notched up a big first inning score and although the duo of Dawid Malan and Joe Root provided yet another resistance against their march, England were too brittle to stand up for longer periods of time and challenge the hosts on the third day of the Day-Night Test in Adelaide. Root and Malan were on a roll in the first session of the day and punished indisciplined Australian bowler who got desperate in search of wicket-taking deliveries. They cashed in on full deliveries and carried England to the 150-run mark and went past individual fifties to show some sort of spark just the same way they did in the second innings of the first Test. However, the script afterwards too turned out to be similar to what transpired on the fourth morning at the Gabba and as soon as they were dismissed in quick succession, there were no one to rescue England. Root could not convert yet another brilliant start into a three-figure mark and when Malan too suffered a similar fate, Australia knew they had the game in their control. Cameron Green turned out to be the point of difference once again as he worked over the England captain, who was going through a rather comfortable stay at the crease. He was threatening him around his off stump and got him out on two occasions on three balls before getting him nicked off to his counterpart in slips. Malan perished chasing an expansive shot of Mitchell Starc. England needed a clam head to balance the momentum shift but neither Jos Buttler nor Ollie Pope could stand up to the pressure that was being created from both ends by the experienced pair of Nathan Lyon and Starc. Lyon faux Pope while the right-hander was not looking too comfortable defending him on the front foot and eagerness to reach to the pitch of the ball and Lyon’s guile saw him going back to the pavilion for another disappointing score. Buttler has been hailed for batting with positive intent and taking the attack to the opposition but this time the rub of the green did not go his way and Starc found the outside edge of his bat to David Warner in slip. England slipped from a rather comfortable position of 150/2 to 236 all out in the span of a session went on to ratify the saying that an England collapse always lurking around the corner. Having gained a substantial lead of 237 runs, Australia did not go for the jugular and chose to wait for further deterioration of the pitch before asking England to bat once again. Australia doesn’t appear to be in hurry to force the result and level of assistance to both Lyon and Root suggest that the surface at Adelaide Oval has a lot in it to offer on the fourth and fifth day of the game. England needed a proper heroic performance with the ball to strike the hosts out of their comfortable position in the game but an in-form Warner and even a struggling Marcus Harris found their way to survive the last hour of the day. Warner could not end the day unbeaten although it was the failure of his own and partner's making than English bowlers inducing a mistake out of them. The hosts are way ahead in the game with a lead of 282 runs and as many as nine wickets including their stand-in skipper Smith and charismatic Marnus Labuschagne sitting idle in the dressing room to inflict more body flows on an already down and out England.

Women’s Ashes | England name 17 member squad, Maia Bouchier receives maiden Test call up

The England and Wales Cricket Board named a 17-woman strong Ashes squad for the Women’s Ashes starting late in January 2022. Maia Bouchier, who made her international debut against New Zealand Women this summer and played extensively in the Women’s Big Bash League has received her maiden Test call up and alongside her, Charlie Dean, another debutant from that new Zealand series has retained her place in the side. The Women's Ashes which unlike the Men’s not only compiles of Tests but rather has one-off Test and three T20Is and three ODIs, making it a seven-match series will begin from January 27 with the one-off Test in Manuka Oval, Canberra. This will be followed by three T20Is and as many ODIs which are being termed as ideal preparation for the upcoming Women’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand starting from March 04, 2022. "It's always exciting to head to Australia to take on the challenge of winning the Ashes, and we're really looking forward to going out there,” Heather Knight the England coach Lisa Keightley said in a press release by the ECB. Along with the main squad, an 'A' squad of England will also travel and will play three 20-over and three 50-over games against an Australia A side. "This is the first time we've taken an England Women's A squad alongside the senior team, which is a big step forward for us. Similarly, it's also a good chance to get more 50-over cricket under our belts ahead of our defence of the ICC Women's World Cup in New Zealand,” Keightley added. England squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt.