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Western Australia team-mate Ashton Agar has lauded the 20-year-old

Andrew McGlashan19-May-2020Allrounder Cameron Green has been termed a “scary” talent by his Western Australia team-mate Ashton Agar.Green, 20, who has been likened to Andrew Flintoff, is tipped as an international star in the making if he can overcome the back problems which prevented him from bowling for much of the 2019-2020 season.Playing as a specialist batsman, he scored three Sheffield Shield hundreds – joining Doug Walters as the only players to have three Shield centuries and two five-wicket hauls before the age of 21 – including a stand-out match double with undefeated scores of 87 and 121 against Queensland.”Greeny is an incredible player and the scary thing is he didn’t even bowl last year,” Agar said. “For a young guy to come in and handle pressure situations as a standalone batter and make big hundreds and important contributions in big games showed mental ability well beyond his years in cricket. I can only see him getting better and better with the bat and then with the ball.”Alongside averaging 43.84 in his 15-match first-class career, Green has taken 28 wickets at 21.53 which included debut figures of 5 for 24 against Tasmania in 2017, figures he bettered against the same team in 2018 with 6 for 30 in a match haul of 9 for 42.Cameron Green drills one down the ground•Getty Images

“When he’s in full flight, Greeny can bowl over 140kph and swing the new-ball,” Agar said. “He’s two meters tall and to have someone like that in your team, who’s got raw pace and can play as a specialist batter or a specialist bowler, that’s some pretty scary talent.”So, it’s just about him getting his body right, keeping his mind strong for he’s going to be under some pressure when people start talking about him. People already are and he’s handling that really nicely so we’re very proud of him here [at WA] and I think he’s going to continue on a nice path.”Speaking in the first part of last season, shortly before the back injury was confirmed, Green played down the hype that had been building around him including when Ricky Ponting suggested he should be around the Test squad for experience.”I think it’s still way too early to be taking those comments pretty heavily,” he said. “I’ve only played a couple of games as a batsman in the WA squad. I haven’t really got those runs on the board, to be honest. I may have got a couple of good scores out of the way, but I’m definitely a good few years off I’d say.”Australia have long-searched for an allrounder to balance their Test side. Mitchell Marsh was recalled for the final Ashes Test last year and took 5 for 46 at The Oval before breaking his hand punching a dressing room wall in the early part of the summer which ruled him out of contention for the series against Pakistan and New Zealand. However, he returned to the ODI and T20I sides earlier this year and was awarded a CA central contract last momth.

The head of NCA believes that come October, the Covid-19 impact will hit Indian cricket more

Shashank Kishore31-Jul-2020Rahul Dravid, the former India captain, has all but ruled out the possibility of a full 2020-21 domestic season in India due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He stressed on the need for the BCCI to prioritise the tournaments they want to conduct in the limited time frame that could be available from after October-November.For context, a total of 2036 games, across various age groups in the men’s and women’s category, were played during the 2019-20 season. Under normal circumstances, July would have marked the start of the domestic season in India. Many associations, like TNCA and KSCA, have earlier used the window to conduct highly-competitive first-class matches in preparation for the domestic season.With India’s metro cities still under some sort of restrictions post the Covid-19 lockdown, associations have either indefinitely postponed or cancelled their tournaments, leaving hundreds of domestic cricketers uncertain. The National Cricket Academy, which Dravid heads, hasn’t resumed operations, and it’s unclear yet as to when a formal SOP will be released for the resumption of domestic cricket in the country.”Hopefully if we’re able to find a level of cure or vaccine even towards the end of the year, we’ll be in a position to be able to complete, even if not the whole domestic season, but large parts of it,” Dravid said in a webinar hosted by . “Obviously prioritising what that would be is important so that young boys and girls don’t miss out on cricket for a year. We’ve been lucky so far [that the pandemic started in March towards the end of BCCI’s domestic season], but come October, things might start getting stressful.”A few international tournaments have been cancelled and repositioned, and people can always find time and place for that, but once October comes around, that’s when I think it’ll start hitting us more. The next domestic season, for a lot of our young domestic players – juniors, Under-16s, Under-19s and women cricketers – start in October. If we aren’t able to get back to a level of normalcy from then – it could take longer – we’ll see the real impact on our domestic cricket and grassroots cricket. This year is probably more important for someone in his final year of Under-19s, than say for someone who is 23-24.”ALSO READ: England tour cancelled, T20 Challenge in doubt, no selection panel: What’s next for India women?Dravid welcomed the resumption of international cricket with the England-West Indies series last month, but emphasised it may not be easy to create similar biosecure bubbles in domestic or junior cricket. The senior men’s domestic calendar, for example, has 38 teams criss-crossing the length and breadth of the country for matches. In some cases, teams from the North East host matches at neutral venues citing infrastructural challenges. Such conditions will leave BCCI with several logistical challenges in hosting domestic tournaments.”It was nice to watch some live cricket with the England-West Indies series. They did a great job of ensuring the kind of environment they created,” he said. “I heard Jason Holder say much later that it was tough being in that [biosecure] environment for more than two months. But it was important that we got something going, and great that it got going without a hitch. But my worry is that in domestic or junior cricket, it [biobubbles] may not be easy to create.”Dravid also went to great lengths to explain the importance of IPL taking place for the well-being of the cricket ecosystem in India. He was specifically asked about the “BCCI’s desperation to host IPL” at a time when many world events, like the Tokyo Olympics, have been postponed.”I’m sure leagues like the IPL will be able to put in the kind of biosecure environments required, like what EPL, Bundesliga or what ECB did with the England-West Indies series,” he said. “I’m sure every effort will be made to do that. Let’s be honest. There is a lot of revenue that rides with tournaments like the IPL. I know if you’re cynical about it, you can only look at the money that the big players make or maybe the franchises or BCCI make, but where does that money go? It goes down to state associations, in conducting Under-19 and Under-16 tournaments, so a lot of the revenue associated with the game.”The fact of the matter is, none of the domestic sport actually generates any revenue. In fact, it costs a lot of money to hold. So if you want to give young boys and girls the opportunity to play, if you want to give them opportunities to express their talent, money has got to come from somewhere. The reality is, to conduct tournaments and develop high-class athletes, it costs money; there’s a financial element involved.”It’s easy to say we’re conducting [the IPL] it only because of the huge finances riding on it. I would like to think, without compromising on safety and ensuring all the SOPs are in place to conduct a safe and secure tournament, the money generated from the IPL filters all through our sport and helps fund junior and domestic cricket. That is why sporting organisations are keen to conduct these tournaments. They understand if we don’t have that revenue, not only will that tournament suffer but the ripple effect will be felt all the way down.”

De Klerk will join New Zealand duo Amelia Kerr and Maddy Green with the defending champions

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2020South Africa allrounder Nadine de Klerk, who impressed in the T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia, has signed for the Brisbane Heat ahead of this season’s WBBL with Cricket South Africa confirming their players will be allowed to travel to Australia for the tournament.De Klerk, who competed nationally as a javelin thrower before being selected for the 2017 World Cup as a 17-year-old, took 3 for 19 at the SCG in March but was unable to help South Africa into the T20 World Cup final as Australia won by five runs amid the drama of the rain. She will join New Zealand duo Amelia Kerr and Maddy Green as the Heat’s overseas contingent for the WBBL.”I’m pretty excited, it’s always been a dream and that’s what you work for,” de Klerk said. “It’s a really great opportunity and I’m really excited to play against some of my team-mates and alongside some legends.”Earlier this year was my first time in Australia but I loved every bit of it and there’s no better tournament than the WBBL. Hopefully I can perform well for the Heat.”Heat coach Ashley Noffke said: “Anyone who saw Nadine charge in and bowl without fear against the best team in the world would have been impressed. She’s got very good skills and is certainly a player who likes to lead by example. We’re very confident she will complement the squad we are assembling, and it will be exciting for our fans to see her in action when we get underway.”On Tuesday, CSA confirmed that individual athletes are able to get exemptions from the government to travel while South Africa’s borders are shut due to Covid-19. The national side had to cancel their tour to England in September due to the restictions.”National teams are restricted from travelling but individual players competing in events deemed as work are permitted to travel subject to them being COVID-19 compliant in the country they are travelling to and upon their return to South Africa,” the statement said.”This means that several Proteas will have opportunity to feature in this year’s Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) from 17 October until 29 November.”There are expected to be changes to the WBBL schedule due to various Covid-19 travel and border restrictions with the possibility that the tournament will be staged entirely in one state.”Everyone is quite eager to get out on the park, four months is a long time and we haven’t played any cricket,” de Klerk said. “It’s a great opportunity with the England tour being cancelled.”

England, Australia players to isolate themselves for a period between one and six days after landing in the UAE

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Sep-2020The 21 players travelling from the England-Australia limited-overs series into IPL will need to isolate themselves for a varying period ranging between one and six days once they land in the UAE on Thursday evening.For the group travelling to Dubai, comprising 18 players from six teams, the quarantine period would be one day while the remaining three – Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan and Tom Banton – who all are part of Kolkata Knight Riders, will need to the undergo six-day quarantine before they are available for selection.ALSO READ: IPL-bound England players counselled to be on guard against burnoutThe development means all the players are likely to be available for their franchises’ first match as the tournament gets underway on Saturday. This also means the pair of Josh Hazlewood and Sam Curran would be available for selection for Chennai Super Kings, who will play the tournament opener against defending champions Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi, subject to them clearing the one mandatory test on Friday.ESPNcricinfo understands that the IPL has prepared set of exclusive standard operating procedures for the group which makes it mandatory that the players are dressed in a Personal protective equipment (PPE) kit once they disembark in the UAE late on Thursday. The group of players that will be based in Dubai would need to head to their room in the team hotel and get tested in their room on Friday. If the result comes out negative, the player can then start training.As for the three Knight Riders players, it is understood they would need to be in their rooms for the first six days and once they clear the required testing process, they can join rest of the squad on the seventh day. Cummins, Morgan and Banton would be available for selection for the Knight Riders’ first match, which is on September 23 against Mumbai in Abu Dhabi, where both teams are based.All the 21 players were part of the limited-overs series between England and Australia, which concluded on Wednesday in Manchester. This group is scheduled to land in the UAE on Thursday night after the respective franchises they are part of had arranged for a charter flight from Manchester.Considering they players would be commuting between the biosecure bubble in England to that in the UAE, franchises had asked the IPL to relax the quarantine norms in order for players to be available for selection and training immediately.However the IPL was constrained by the protocol imposed by the local government authorities which is different for the two emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. While there is no mandatory quarantine period for anyone flying into Dubai (barring if a person tests positive), Abu Dhabi government has imposed 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the Emirate from outside the country. A special concession has been made in the case of the IPL to bring that down to six days quarantine, keeping in mind the teams are operating within a bubble.

Fast bowler emboldened by displays from Archer, Nortje, Rabada in the UAE this year

Andrew Miller03-Nov-2020Mark Wood says he is looking forward to spending more time out in the middle and less time “counting pictures on the walls”, after being named in both squads for England’s forthcoming limited-overs tour of South Africa – a trip on which he hopes to reaffirm the value of raw pace in T20I cricket, following the stand-out performances of Jofra Archer, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada at this year’s IPL.Wood, 30, endured a frustrating home summer in 2020, in which he featured in just the first of England’s six Tests against West Indies and Pakistan, and was subsequently overlooked for a Test contract at end of September. Addressing that issue last week, he warned that he may have to consider becoming a white-ball specialist in order to manage his priorities in the latter part of his career, especially given his long history of ankle injuries.However, speaking at the launch of #Funds4Runs, a new ECB and LV= grassroots initiative, Wood insisted he was relishing the return to England bubble life – with the players set to arrive in South Africa on November 17 ahead of three T20Is and three ODIs from November 27 to December 9 – and that he was still committed to all three formats despite missing out on a red-ball deal, particularly with England’s next Ashes tour looming in just under 12 months’ time.”I obviously love playing for England,” Wood said. “But at the minute, that’s the route they’ve gone down, and I’ll have to prove again that, if selected, I can do the business. Hopefully in the future the rewards come, and if they don’t, then I’ll reassess and see where my cricket lies.”I’d like to play all three formats, but [white-ball only] is something in the future I might have to think about,” he added. “Looking at my body … I’ve got a young family, spending time away from home … things like that. But growing up, I always wanted to play for England across all formats, no matter what it was, so I’m still trying to chase that dream.”Although there was never much doubt that Wood would get the call for South Africa, he did admit to a degree of relief when the selection was announced, given that his last white-ball display in the country, back in February, didn’t go entirely to plan. Coming off the back of his successful return to the Test team, in which he was named player of the match after a rapid nine-wicket display in the series decider at Johannesburg, Wood’s four wickets in the T20Is came at a cost of almost two runs a ball as he struggled to make the adjustment from red ball to white.”Sometimes you have to sacrifice little bits of training because, if you’re solely focused on one format, then you can put all your effort into that,” Wood said. “I didn’t bowl well in South Africa last time, so I’ve got a point to prove this time and, hopefully, I can keep up with the battle-hardened players that have been in the IPL.”Few are as battle-hardened as the trio of quicks who have lit up the tournament in the UAE. With a focus on speed over variations at this year’s event, Rabada and Nortje have formed an at-times irresistible alliance for Delhi Capitals in their run to the play-offs, claiming 25 and 19 wickets respectively, while Archer has taken 20 wickets at an economy rate of 6.55, a return that kept Rajasthan Royals competitive to the bitter end despite them finishing at the foot of the table.And while Wood opted out of any involvement in this year’s IPL, due to his lengthy time in the English summer bubbles, he admits he has half an eye on the next event in the New Year, and recognises that a big performance this winter could well earn him a lucrative call-up, given how in vogue 90mph-plus bowlers currently are.ALSO READ: Archer, Curran, Stokes rested for England ODIs in South Africa“To have two English lads come across, me and Jofra, against the two South African lads in the upcoming series, I think it’ll be quite exciting to see how we both combat each other,” he said. “The game has moved on so much. You need the variations but ultimately, if you get it right at that speed, then it’s hard to deal with. Of course, if you get it wrong at that speed, it can go very wrong, so it is fine margins, but it’s nice to see it’s not just the spinners that can have a massive impact on T20 cricket.”Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje compare notes•BCCI

Wood’s only previous involvement in the IPL was a one-off outing for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians in the 2018 event – he conceded 49 runs in four wicketless overs and did not feature again. But given that the 2021 IPL may yet have to take place in the UAE as well due to Covid-19, he knows the franchises could yet come calling in the new year.”The pace lads have had a great impact this IPL,” he said. “I had a small chance to go this year but the timings didn’t quite fit. But if it comes around again, I can maybe prove my worth better than the one game I had for Chennai a couple of years ago.”It’s very hard to get into the IPL because there’s so many good local players, never mind international players,” he added. “It is the hardest competition, but if I can get in, it’ll only help me for England as well, because it’s all about pressure situations. Regardless of whether it’s in India or the UAE, it’s still a fantastic competition to be a part of and one which I hope I can be.”However, any such ambition further down the line will doubtless depend on Wood making his mark for England once again, as he braces for a return to life in the bubble.”We were looked after brilliantly in Southampton and Manchester, and I’m sure South Africa will be just the same,” he said. “Mental health is very important, but now we know what it’s going to be about, we can hopefully cope with it. It will help being in sunny weather in a nice hotel, I’m sure, but if we see someone struggling, the support network is there.”I’m ready to go back in, I think,” he added. “Previously it was a bit into the unknown, but you get used to it. I know now what to take, and what will keep us occupied, so I’m looking forward to getting back out there and trying some cricket, and hopefully not counting too many pictures on the walls this time.”#Funds4Runs is a £1million investment pot jointly funded by ECB and LV= General Insurance which will help support grassroots cricket communities impacted by COVID-19. Register your interest at ecb.co.uk/funds4runs or more info at https://www.lv.com/gi/cricket