The Ashes | Covid rules David Boon out, Steve Bernard to be match referee of Sydney Test

Rizwan, Buttler, Hasaranga and Marsh fight for ICC Men's T20I Player of the Year award

The International Cricket Council announced the nominees for the Men's T20I Player of the Year award 2021 and it was no doubt that the best performers of the year found a place in the four-member list. Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan was accompanied by Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasarang, Australian T20 World Cup-winning batter Mitchell Marsh and England’s talisman Jos Buttler on the list. The Pakistan wicketkeeper was the highest run-scorer in the calendar year 2021 across all formats and to say that 1326 of his total 1915 runs came in T20Is, is just an understatement of how strong his candidature is for the award. In 29 matches, the 29-year-old has an average of 73.66 with one century and all his runs coming at a strike rate of 134.89. To go with all this, he also has 24 dismissals. Wanindu Hasaranga, the bowling all-rounder from Sri Lanka was at peak of his bowling form as he scalped 36 wickets in 20 matches at an amazing average of 11.63. Not only that he also scored crucial 196 runs with one half-century to his credit. His stocks so much so after him becoming the leading wicket-taker with 16 scalps in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 that the 24-year-old is now the number one ranked T20I bowler in the world ad would end the year like that. He is also the world number five in T20I all-rounder’s rankings. However, the icing on the cake for the islander would be his World Cup hattrick against a strong Proteas side. He dismissed two set batters in Aiden Markram (19) and Temba Bavuma (46) before dismissing Dwaine Pretorius to complete a hat-trick that made the game a very close encounter. But South Africa eventually prevailed thanks to David Miller’s hitting. Next on the list is the Australian Mitchell Marsh, who led his team to their first-ever T20 World Cup title. However, in the entre 2021, he was the best Aussie batter by a huge margin. In fact in West Indies and Bangladesh, when David Warner and Steve Smith chose not to tour. In total, the 31-year-old scored 627 runs in 27 matches at 36.88 and also took 8 wickets at 18.37. However, his best knock would have to be the 77 against New Zealand in the final which came off just 50 deliveries and consisted of six fours and four sixes. And last but not least in the list of best T20I players of the year 2021 is England’s wicketkeeper batter, Jos Buttler. The 31-year-old has 589 runs in 14 matches at an average of 65.44 with one century to his credit. Along with that he also has 13 dismissals. The year had a great start for Buttler as he hit two blistering knocks, both half-centuries against India away from home. He played well against Pakistan and Sri Lanka at home too. But it was his knock against Australia in the T20 World Cup that made all the headlines. He literally blew the arch-rivals away, chasing a 126, he ended the game in the 12th over itself as he scored 71 unbeaten off just 31 balls. However, his best was yet to come as he hit a century in Sharjah, also known as the graveyard of batters against spinners. And he hit the century against Sri Lanka, probably the best spin bowling lineup in the tournament. His unbeaten 101 came in only 67 deliveries and consisted of six fours and six sixes. Buttler's knock allowed England to post a competitive score of 163/4 and win the game that got them through to the semi-finals. In total Buttler ended the tournament as England's leading run-scorer with 269 runs. The winner will be announced at the annual ICC Awards ceremony.

BCCI set to overlook age law in U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be overlooking age restrictions in the U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy, reported Cricbuzz. Starting from January 9, 2022, the Vijay Merchant Trophy is a key tournament for BCCI for the U-19 World events to bring up a strong talent pool that can take over the Indian cricket team over the years. Each year, ahead of the tournament, BCCI ‘bone tests’ kids scheduled to play in the tournament to confirm if the players are inside the limitations. Given the complexities of the year with the pandemic in full effect, BCCI first had to postpone the tournament to the January window against September, when it is usually held. Cricbuzz has quoted an official letter sent from the BCCI to all state associations which stated that BCCI would be overlooking the age factor of 60 players who have passed the age bracket due to the four-month delay to the tournament. It should be noted that this development comes right after the resignation of BCCI’s chief medical officer who vacated his post after a long tenure of 10 years.

SA vs IND | 1st Test, Day 5: What weather conditions await sides on final day?

The first Test of the series between India and South Africa was at an enthralling stage with the hosts needing more than 200 more runs to win the game compared to the requirement of six wickets for India to win the game and go 1-0 up in the series. However, what will determine the course of the game and result be the weather conditions in Centurion. According to the weather channel Accuweather, there is a 65 per cent chance of rain playing spoilsport on the final day of the Test while there is a 39 per cent chance of thunderstorms throughout the day. As per their analysis, as a man as two hours of the final day can be lost due to bad weather. India had set South Africa a stiff target of 305 runs to chase in the final hours of the fourth day of the game. Proteas fought well on the back of their skipper Dean Elgar scoring a gritty half-century, the Virat Kohli-led sid kept on chipping away at wickets and gave them a real chance of winning the game and taking a lead.

BBL 11 | Covid postpones Melbourne Stars vs Perth Scorchers fixture

The Big Bash League clash between Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers has been postponed after a supports staff in the Stars’ camp tested positive for Covid-19 on the day of the game itself. The fixture which was scheduled to take place on Thursday, December 30th at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne would now be played on some other date in future, which ash yet not been decided. The players and staff of the Stars’ squad in contact with the Covid positive member have now undergone PCR tests, results of which will only come late night Thursday and hence the organisers had no other option but to postpone the fixture. Australia is also suffering from the third wave of the Coronavirus and this game which was supposed to take place in Perth originally was moved to Melbourne owing to border restrictions and quarantine measures. But as fate would have it, Victoria and New South Wales also recorded a surge in Covid cases with more than 17,000 new cases reported in the two states on Wednesday.