tim paine: Ex-Australia test captain Paine back in 1st-class cricket

Former Australia captain Tim Paine is playing first-class cricket for the first time since he resigned as Test captain in April 2021. To play Queensland in a four-day Sheffield Shield match at the Gabba. Tasmania lost the toss and elected to bat first, with Paine listed in the middle order.

Paine, 37, took a long break from the game but has been training with the Tasmania team and made a successful return to Hobart grade cricket last weekend.

He took an indefinite mental health break in the lead-up to the 2021 Ashes series against England after the sexting scandal became public.

Cricket Australia, which chose pacer Pat Cummins in place of Penn as Test captain, said in November last year that Paine had advised him that he would “be away from cricket for a while”.

“We recognize this is an incredibly difficult time for Tim and his family and are determined to support them,” Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said in a statement at the time.

“We respect and understand Tim’s decision to take a break at this time to focus on the well-being of himself and his family.”

Originally published at Pen 18

ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Team India led by skipper Rohit Sharma departs for Australia

Originally published at Pen 18

lamichhane: Nepal cricketer Lamichhane to return to face rape charges

Former Nepal cricket captain Sandeep Lamichhane will land in Kathmandu on Thursday morning to face rape charges in his home country.

In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, the former cricketer said in a Facebook post on Thursday morning, “As per my commitment to present myself for the authority of Nepal, I am landing at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Qatar Airways at 10:00 am.”

The 25-year-old former national team captain has again denied any wrongdoing, declaring to seek legal backing against the wrongful prosecution and charges.

“I am sure that I will get justice and I will return to the cricket field soon to make the name and fame of my beloved country and I pray for a speedy trial. I will fully cooperate in all stages of investigation and legal battle.” I will fight. To prove my innocence. Let justice be done.”

A 17-year-old girl alleged that Lamichhane took her to various places in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur on August 21 and took her to a hotel in Kathmandu’s Sinamangal where she was raped the same night.

A diffusion notice has already been issued from Interpol (International Criminal Police Organisation) as he was unknown from his location since the case was registered against him.

The Kathmandu District Court has issued an arrest warrant against her for raping a 17-year-old minor as well as blacklisting her by Nepal’s immigration department.

With the issuance of the arrest warrant, the police have already dispatched their personnel to arrest Lamichhane wherever he is seen. Upon his arrival on Thursday, the cricketer accused of rape will be detained by the immigration desk and handed over to the police, from where he will be taken to the district police range Kathmandu.

Bharat Bahadur Bohra, Senior Superintendent of Police, District Police Range, Kathmandu, told ANI, “We are probing the matter. On his arrival, further investigation will be done based on the prevailing laws and regulations.”

Within 25 days of his formal arrest, a case is required to be filed in court through the District Attorney’s office. The police will investigate further and then submit their report to the lawyer’s office and then a formal case will be filed in court when the report states the incidents mentioned in the complaint and the police investigation matches.

After the hearing of the case, it will be decided whether to grant bail to Lamichhane on the date of the court or to be taken on remand. It may take weeks for them to get the first hearing from the judicial body.

Last year, leg-spinner Lamichhane was appointed captain of the Nepal cricket team.

He captained the Nepal Under-19 team first during the Asia Cup in 2016 and then for the Asian Cricket Council World Cup Qualifiers in 2017.

Originally published at Pen 18

t20 world cup: India bowlers must start delivering in final overs: Rahul Dravid

The bowlers need to lift their game in the final overs, head coach Rahul Dravid has said, after an injury to pacer Jasprit Bumrah ruled him out of this month’s T20 World Cup.

Rohit Sharma’s men have scored at the end of their recent T20I series against South Africa and Australia, conceding 73 runs in the last five overs of their loss to the Proteas in Indore on Tuesday.

“We have to see how we can get better,” Dravid told reporters after the match. “Certainly this is an area we want to improve on and get better because margins can be really small in these big tournaments, and every boundary counts.”

Bumrah’s back injury is a major setback for India ahead of the showpiece T20 tournament in Australia, which begins on October 16.

Dravid said that the team will miss the fast bowler but he is in no hurry to replace him.

Dravid said, Bumrah’s absence is a big loss, he has been a great player but it happens, it is an opportunity to stand up for someone else.

He said Mohammed Shami would be an “ideal” replacement, but it is too early to tell whether the pacer has recovered from his recent bout with Covid. “We will have to take a report on how he is recovering and what is his condition… and we will take a decision,” he said.

Unparalleled speed and bounce

Dravid said getting used to the “unique” pace and bounce in Australia will be the primary objective of the Indian team at the preparatory camp in Perth ahead of the T20 World Cup.

He said the idea behind arriving in Australia ahead of the World Cup was to familiarize the players with the conditions, especially for those who haven’t played Down Under.

The team will leave for Perth on Thursday morning. The team will play a few practice matches before heading to Brisbane for practice games. India will start their World Cup campaign against Pakistan on 23 October.

“We will get to spend a few sessions in Perth and then there will be a couple of matches. Australia is quite unique in terms of pace and bounce and not many of our players have played much T20 cricket in Australia. It’s important (go early) because We have a young team that hasn’t played a lot of cricket in Australia. Hope this helps us,” the head coach said.

Originally published at Pen 18

Football: Barca finding European ghosts hard to vanquish

It all seemed too good to be true for Xavi and Barcelona.

His summer spending spree was validated by La Liga and his new signings, including Robert Lewandowski, hit the ground running.

The overhaul sent them back to the top of La Liga for the first time since June 2020, and the “Zavineta” (Xavi truck, as their project is affectionately known in Catalonia) picked up new passengers in a heap, at Camp Nou’s. Attendance was booming once more.

But the thorn in their side, their Champions League failure over the past seven campaigns, remains. And after last year’s humiliating group stage exit, Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat by Inter Milan put Barcelona in a precarious position.

They welcome the Italians at the Camp Nou next week, a match they will have to win, with Bayern Munich leading Group C on nine points, Inter on six, Barca on three and down futile Viktoria Plzen.

After lavish investments in Lewandowski, Rafinha and Jules Condé, among others, there is no excuse for failure – although Barcelona left the San Siro with plenty of ammunition.

On Monday, Xavi insisted that La Liga was a better competition than the Champions League, which comes down to a few key moments, small details, and had proved faster than he expected.

A goal was harshly rejected for handball by Barcelona and was denied a penalty when Inter defender Denzel Dumfries handled the field late.

In a game of few clear chances, these moments were decisive.

In a tight defense by Inter Milan, the Catalan crashed into a brick wall, leaving little room for Gavi and Rafinha.

It didn’t help that Ousmane Dembele, who has had a stellar run this season, was at his inconsistent worst, his crosses messed up. It was only when he got a right that Barcelona posed a threat.

Andre Onana was drawn out and could only deflect the ball into Pedri’s path to tap the midfielder home. However, the goalkeeper patted the ball into Ansu Fati’s hand on the way to Pedri, and after seeing it again, Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic disallowed the goal.

Barcelona left the pitch furious as Dumfries was handled in stoppage time, but this time the official did not replay the incident on the pitch-side VAR screen.

“I’m angry. It’s an injustice,” said Javi. “The referee has to come out and explain himself because I don’t understand anything. (He) didn’t want to give me an explanation after the game.”

Regardless, the points are now on the board and it turns the return to the Camp Nou into a winning game for Barcelona. Any other result would require them to beat Bayern, a team they have lost five times in a row, including the infamous 8-2 Lisbon batting line-up in 2019-20.

Barcelona were hopeful that the squad’s remodeling could lead to the European ghosts of their past being forgotten, but their trip to Milan shows that it will not be as easy as it seemed.

Originally published at Pen 18

Table Tennis: Indian women’s team knocked out of Table Tennis World Championship

The Indian women’s team’s campaign at the World Table Tennis Championships ended with a 0-3 pre-quarterfinal loss to Chinese Taipei here on Wednesday. The trio of Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula and Diya Chitale lost their singles to win the round of 16 match.

Manika, whose form has been poor throughout the tournament, was no match for world number 22 Chen Soo-yu as the Indian suffered a disappointing 0-3 (7-11, 9-11, 3-11) loss. faced.

With India trailing 0-1, Birmingham Commonwealth Games mixed doubles gold medalist Sreeja could not beat world No. 35 Ching I-Ching and 1-3 (8-11, 11-5 6-11, 9- 11) lost.

Chitale fought hard and came close to giving India their first win in the tie but lost to teenage veteran Liu Hing-yin 2-3 (6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 8-11 7-11) Went.

The Indian team had defeated Czech Republic and Egypt after losing to Germany in the group stage.

The Indian men’s team will take on China in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday. PTI APA PDS PDS

Originally published at Pen 18

shami: India monitoring Shami’s fitness ahead of Twenty20 World Cup

India head coach Rahul Dravid said the team management is monitoring pacer Mohammed Shami’s recovery from COVID-19 as they look to replace injured Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup.

The Cricket Board of India (BCCI) on Monday confirmed that pacer Bumrah was ruled out due to a back injury, in a major blow to the team, which is also without injury all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

Shami, Deepak Chahar and Mohammad Siraj are leading in place of Bumrah. While Siraj and Chahar were part of India’s 2-1 T20I series win over South Africa, Shami was ruled out after failing to recover from Covid in time.

“Shami is obviously on standby but unfortunately for us he could not play this (South Africa) series, which would have been ideal from that point of view,” Dravid told reporters on Tuesday.

Shami is recovering at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. The Indian team management and selectors have till October 15 to name the replacement.

Captain Rohit Sharma said the team will focus on players who have previous experience of bowling in Australia, where the World Cup starts on October 16.

“I don’t know who that guy is yet. There’s a few people for this, but we’ll make that call once we get to Australia,” he said.

Originally published at Pen 18