Australian Cricket Team

Jake Fraser-McGurk’s time will come: Josh Hazlewood on DC opener’s T20 World Cup snub

Danijones8 months ago04 mins

Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood opened up on Jake Fraser-McGurk’s snub from the T20 World Cup 2024, saying that the DC opener’s time in Australian colours will come. However, Hazlewood lamented that neither he nor Steven Smith could be included in Australia’s 15-man T20 World Cup squad, admitting that Smith’s leadership and experience will be sorely missed in the Caribbean. Australia’s selectors sparked a debate last week by leaving Fraser-McGurk and Smith out of the 15-man squad. The Australian fans were furious that the 22-year-old T20 sensation had been overlooked despite his outstanding IPL performance. Notably, Fraser-McGurk has scored 259 runs in the first six innings of the IPL 2024, at an average of 43.16 and a strike rate of 158.56, with three half-centuries to his name. On his IPL debut, the 22-year-old hit a phenomenal 55 off 35 balls against LSG before going on to score an incredible 84 (27) against MI. “The way he goes about it is quite special, just the ball striking,” Hazlewood said. “Where do you fit him in? It’s so tough to fit into that top order with what we’ve got there with experience with Travis [Head], Mitch [Marsh] and Davey [Warner] in the top three, and then the middle order’s pretty good as well. “He’ll definitely get his time. He’s only young. He’ll be in the team sooner rather than later, I think.” IPL 2024 Full Coverage | IPL 2024 Points Table and Standings | 2024 IPL Full Schedule Hazlewood thought Smith was unlucky to miss out, given his batting ability in spinning circumstances and leadership experience. “Probably someone like Marshy will miss him being captain and just having another player on the field like Smudge [Smith] who you can just turn to at any time and get his advice,” Hazlewood said. “Obviously his batting and fielding as well. The conditions potentially could have suited his game and it’s always like picking up the pieces from a bad start is his job, but I think the way we’ve seen him bat for the Sixers [in the BBL], there’s a spot at the top as well, but again, you just can’t squeeze everyone in.” Hazlewood has been absent from the IPL this year, despite being a highly sought-after bowler in previous years. He was not selected at the auction because his availability was limited, and he wanted to be home for the birth of his son during the early stages of the tournament. He continued to bowl while at home in the hopes of being called up as an injury replacement in the IPL, but no such opportunity arose. Published By: Saurabh Kumar Published On: May 6, 2024

India retains top spot in white-ball formats, Australia reclaims world no. 1 rankings in Tests

Danijones8 months ago04 mins

According to the ICC annual rankings, India retained their top position in ODIs and T20Is but slipped to second place in the men’s Test team rankings. India have retained their top position in ODIs and T20Is but slipped to the second position in the men’s Test Team Rankings in the latest ICC annual ranking update issued on May 3. India conceded the top spot in the five-day format to Australia, the reigning World Test champion, following the annual update that drops results from the 2020-21 season and reflects all series completed since May 2021. India (120) are just four points behind Australia (124) and 15 points clear of third-placed England. South Africa are the fourth team above the 100-point mark with 103 points. India slipped mainly because their 2-1 series win in Australia in 2020-21 has dropped from the rankings. The order of teams ranked from third to ninth remains the same. Only nine teams are now ranked as Afghanistan and Ireland have yet to play sufficient Tests, while Zimbabwe too are out as they have played only three Tests over the past three years. Teams need to play a minimum of eight Tests over a three-year period to get on the rankings table. India, however, remain atop the ODI and T20I rankings after the annual updates, that weight matches completed prior to May 2023 at 50 per cent and subsequent matches at 100 per cent. India may have lost the ODI World Cup final to Australia but have increased their lead over them from three to six points, leading the table with 122 points. There are no changes in the top 10 but Ireland have overtaken Zimbabwe to 11th position. Third-placed South Africa have closed the gap with Australia from eight to four points, while Sri Lanka are just two points behind fifth-placed England. The T20I rankings see Australia move ahead of England to second place but they are seven points adrift of India, who lead with 264 rating points. South Africa are just two points behind England after leapfrogging two places from the sixth position that they had before the update. New Zealand also have 250 points like South Africa but behind on fractions, while the West Indies are at 249 points, which means that just three points separate third-placed England from sixth-placed West Indies. In other movements, Pakistan have dropped two places to seventh, while Scotland have overtaken Zimbabwe to 12th position.