Joe Root climbs to second spot in Latest ICC Test rankings, Kohli and Rohit hold onto their spots

Feel proud of this bowling unit: Waqar Younis after Pakistan’s fight in one-wicket loss vs West Indies

Pakistan bowling coach Waqar Younis feels that his bowlers did extremely well to almost defend the total of 168 in the fourth innings against West Indies, during the first Test of the two-match series at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. “The bowlers gave it their all, hats off to them. I feel proud of this bowling unit, the way they fought in this Test match,” Waqar was quoted as saying to ESPNCricinfo. However, in the same breath, he also criticised the fielding of the team which let go of many chances and that eventually led to the loss of the match. “It's the work of the bowlers to create opportunities,” he said, before going on to explain the mistakes that happened in the field. “Of course, mistakes happened, which is why we came second. We were poor with the catching - if you let go of catches in tense moments then they'll hurt you. They were 114 for 7 and there were three opportunities after that. If we cannot grab that as a unit then it will hurt us," said Waqar. The 49-year-old further called the thrilling game the perfect advertisement for Test cricket. "It was a very good Test match, couldn't have had a better advertisement for Test cricket. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of the result, but that's the way cricket goes,” he said. The two teams will now face each other in the second game which starts on August 20 at the same venue.

Smriti Mandhana bats for 6-team women's IPL as men's competition expands

Indian women’s team opener Smriti Mandhana is of the opinion that there is enough talent and depth in Indian women’s cricket for the introduction of a six-team IPL. She feels that like the IPL has helped in forming a huge pool of players in the Indian men’s circuit, it will also help the women’s national side to improve their bench strength. Mandhana who is one of the most stylish batswomen and a prolific run-scorer going around stated that the quality of domestic players has improved immensely after getting the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best in the game in the IPL and that could also be the case for women’s cricket. "There are same number of states for men and women. So, when they started men's IPL, there were same number of states. But the quality went higher and higher as the years passed by," Mandhana said on Ravichandran Ashwin's YouTube channel. "What IPL is today, it wasn't the same 10 or 11 years back. I think it's the same for women's cricket. We have same amount of girls playing cricket. For now, I think we will have good five or six teams to start with and probably grow to eight teams in one or two years. But till the time we don't start, we don't know," she added. Unlike the men’s cricketers, the women’s cricketers are allowed to ply their trade across the globe. Five of the Indian women’s players including Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur recently plied their trade in the Hundred. Mandhana has also been part of the Women’s Big Bash and she hopes that unless the tournament starts, it won’t give enough exposure to the girls to turn their dreams of becoming a cricketer into a reality. "Five-six teams, we are good to go with. But eight teams, I am still not sure how it will look like. But I think we really need to start with five or six teams so that we can actually get to eight teams very soon. "I think till we don't start, we are not giving exposure to our girls to turn their cricket into a really different level," she said. Mandhana who has played in the Big Bash League feels that the tournament has helped Australia in churning out quality players and has helped their bench strength immensely. Mandhana feels that it can be actually replicated in the Indian circuit as well. "I played in Big Bash four years back and now the quality is very different. You can see that in Cricket Australia where they have 40-50 cricketers ready to play international cricket any day. "So, I really want that to happen in Indian cricket. I think IPL will play a huge role in that," Mandhana concluded.

BCCI treasurer Arun Dhamal confirms that 2022 edition will be a 10-team affair

The second phase of IPL 2021 is around the corner with arch-rivals Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings locking horns in the opener slated to be played on 19th September. While UAE will host the remainder of this season, preparations are in full swing for the 2022 edition as well where we are all set to witness a 10 team competition as confirmed by BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal. He said that the work is currently in progress and this is surely the last time the IPL will feature eight teams. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was optimistic about adding two more teams in the 2021 edition. However, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the plan had to be halted. Though the threat still remains with the third wave still to hit India, BCCI is still hopeful of the fact that they can make the cash-rich league a ten-team event from 2022. “Everybody is looking up to the IPL now; we believe it will be an exciting tournament in UAE. This would be the last season of IPL with eight teams. Surely there will be 10 teams next time. We are working on that,” Dhumal was quoted as saying by Inside Sport. However, when asked about the stipulated time by when the two teams will be seen in action, the treasurer decided to remain silent and didn’t delve in further details. Pune, Lucknow and Ahmedabad are among top contenders to join in from 2022. Meanwhile reports also suggests that cities like Kanpur, Indore, Guwahati, Kochi, Raipur and Thiruvananthapuram are also in the pipeline to get the remaining two spots. The BCCI is also optimistic of holding the full 2022 season in India after this edition was suspended midway after COVID-19 breached through the bio-bubbles and it became almost impossible for the organisers to continue. The induction of two new franchises will also bring in more money in the tournament but the format of the tournament is yet to be finalised.

Star performer Megan Schutt misses out as Australia Women announce squad for series against India

The Australian Women’s selection committee announced an 18-member squad for their home series against India Women which begins on September 19 with the first of the three ODIs at North Sydney Oval. Star performers Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen along with Belinda Vakarewa will miss this important series for the Southern Stars. While Schutt and Belinda asked not to be considered for the series due to personal reasons, Jonassen seems to be still nursing her Tibia injury. To cover those gaps, the selectors have given maiden national call ups to Stella Campbell and Georgia Redmayne while Maitlan Brown makes a return to the national set-up after a long layoff due to injury. National selector Shawn Flegler admitted that the board is in full support of Schutt and Belinda and accepted their request for non-consideration. "We're fully supportive of the requests from Belinda and Megan to not be considered for selection. As the leader of the bowling attack, Megan's absence will provide the opportunity for someone else to lay the type of role she has so well over a lengthy period." Talking about the new entrants in the team, Flegler said, "Stella is yet another young fast bowler to have come through the pathway and adds another layer of depth to an emerging pace-bowling group.” “Georgia's selection is recognition of the strong couple of domestic seasons she's produced, and it's been pleasing to see her really start to expand her game in recent times,” he added. After the ODIs, the lone Test at the WACA in Perth would be played from September 30 while the tour will end with a three-match T20I series, starting with the first match in Sydney on October 7. Australia squad: Meg Lanning, Rachael Haynes, Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.