Shelley Nitschke and India run riot at Kotla

Can you identify this person and why is she in news now ??

 

Ever had a Parker pen when you studied ?  -  Parker Pen Company is an American manufacturer of luxury writing pens, founded in 1888 by George Safford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin, United States.  When we grew up there was Ramath Parkar, Ghulam Parkar and then Zulfiqar Parkar – playing for Bombay .. .. now another one is in news –  enjoying a sensational start to his career at this level, Suved Parkar became just the 12th Indian batsman and only the second from Mumbai to have hit a double hundred on his First-Class debut. The youngster was unlucky to miss out on breaking his coach Amol Muzumdar's record (260 against Haryana in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at Faridabad in 1993-94) for the highest score by a debutant for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, and by a debutant in the knockouts, by eight runs. 

It was such a lop-sided match that the margin was 725 !!   - Mumbai beat Uttarakhand in the Quarter finals of Ranji trophy eclipsing the   685 runs deficit - New South Wales in the 1929-30 Sheffield Shield game when Queensland were bowled out for 84, chasing a target of 770.  Elsewhere 9 Bengal players scored 50+   in Bengal's first innings against Jharkhand, the first ever instance in first-class cricket. There has been only one previous instance of more than seven 50-plus scores in a first-class innings - eight by the touring Australians against Oxford and Cambridge Universities way back in 1893. 

Likely that you are watching India vs South Africa T20I at Delhi .. .. India has a young team and lost  Captain KL Rahul and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav on the eve of the series due to injury, South Africa were left without Aiden Markram for the first match following a positive Covid-19 test. The series is being played without pandemic-related restrictions and will continue as usual, with all other players testing negative.  India welcomed back Dinesh Karthik to the middle-order, after  more than three year absence from the team. 

Perhaps only occasion of 3 wicket keepers in the team – Captain Rishab Pant, who is keeping, Ishan Kishan and Dinesh Karthik.   It is absolutely wrong and too early to predict  the result after the 1st innings, more so, in a T20I – yet, India’s score of 211 looks mammoth.  Indian Openers Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad batted briskly and scored 57 in 6.2; Gaikwad was out after making 23; Ishan Kishan made 76 off 48; Shreyas Iyer 36; Rishab Pant 29 off 16 and Hardik Pandya unbeaten 31 off 12. Ishan Kishan was given out LBW after scoring 20 runs in an over off Keshav Maharaj, reviewed and it displayed that he had a nick ! but was out the next ball, holding to long on. 

Pakistan captain Babar Azam became  the first player in cricket history to score three consecutive ODI centuries on two separate occasions. Babar made 103 on Thursday as Pakistan beat the West Indies by five wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series. Babar shared a 103-run partnership with Imam-ul-Haq (65) and a 108-run stand with Mohammad Rizwan (59) as Pakistan chased down a target of 306 in Multan to go 1-0 up. The 27-year-old's century was his third in three matches after two against Australia in April. 

Closer home, in Srilanka, Steve Smith's place in Australia's T20 side is under fresh scrutiny after he lasted just four balls in the second game against Sri Lanka.  The former Aussie captain has struggled for runs in the T20 format, with many calling for Smith to make way and focus on Tests and ODIs.  Those  calls will only grow louder after he made just five on Wednesday night in the second T20. 

Smith was trapped lbw by Nuwan Thushara and to add insult, he reviewed – was found that all 3 parameters were against him as Aussies lost review too.   The 33-year-old hasn't scored a 50 in a T20 international since 2019, averaging just 23 last year. His inclusion in the first two games of the series came at the expense of Western Australia's Josh Inglis, who averages 35.8 after six T20Is and is yet to post a score under 20.

 

Poaching is common in employment !  -  Overseas raids on Australia's women's cricket coaches have continued with assistant Ben Sawyer to take up the top job with New Zealand. Sawyer was confirmed as New Zealand's new women's coach on Monday, after three years serving as Australia's bowling coach. The news comes just weeks after Australia's former head coach Matthew Mott moved on, taking charge of England's men in white-ball cricket. It leaves Shelley Nitschke whose picture you saw at the start,  as a near certainty to replace Mott on a full-time basis. 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
9^th June 2022.