$1000 for a six, Starc out of India tour and more - Cricket News Today, 7th February 2019

We're back with another edition of Cricket News Today, your daily dose of trending news from the cricketing world.

The Kiwis have gone one-up in the T20I series, with the second match set to be played tomorrow. Elsewhere, the Big Bash is on in Australia, while the Pakistan-South Africa T20I series ended with Pakistan winning the last game.

At Sportskeeda, fans will always be in touch with the sport. Be it match day or even a boring, non-match day, there's loads to catch up on the cricketing front.

Here are some of the headlines from the world of cricket:

# $1000 per six for charity in Big Bash

It's heartwarming when athletes combine together to create a difference outside the playing field, through their feats on it.

With help from Cricket Tasmania, the Tassal Tasmanian Salmon's started a new initiative that ensured a $1000 contribution per six, during the Hurricanes vs Renegades BBL game, for the Victoria Bushfire appeal.

Staff at the Blundstone Arena went around the ground with collection tins to raise funds during the game.

“We’re very happy to partner with Tassal on this initiative through our Hurricanes Foundation, as we know the devastating effect the fires have had across the State and many members of the Tasmanian Cricket Community have been impacted,” said Cricket Tasmania CEO Nick Cummins, according to the Hobart Hurricanes website.

A total of 10 sixes were hit in the game, four of which came from Matthew Wade's bat.

# Mitchell Starc out of India tour

Mitchell Starc (left)

Australian speedster Mitchell Starc has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series against India, owing to a pectoral muscle injury. The pacer sustained the injury during the recent Sri Lanka series.

“Unfortunately, scans have revealed that Mitchell Starc sustained a substantial tear to his left pec muscle while bowling on the final day of the test match in Canberra. This means he will be unavailable for the tour of India, but we will instead target a return to play for the ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE in March,” said national selector Trevor Hohns.

Australia Squad: Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (VC), Pat Cummins (VC), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa, D'Arcy Short (cover for Marsh)

# Tendulkar believes Prithvi, Shubman should enjoy their game

Sachin Tendulkar

India's upcoming stars Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill might be creating waves already, but Sachin Tendulkar believes that the duo must enjoy their game at the moment, even though they have started playing for the national side.

“I’ve spoken about Prithvi earlier as well, having watched him bat in the nets as a little boy, all of 8-9 years of age, he had something special even back then. I knew instantly that he would play for India,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying in the Timesofindia.com.

“Shubman also played a crucial role in last year’s U-19 World Cup and has had a good domestic season, so both of them (Prthivi and Shubman) have a lot of potential. Having said that, these boys have just started playing for India and they should enjoy their cricket,” Tendulkar added.

# Steve Smith eyeing IPL as part of injury return

Steve Smith

Steve Smith, who injured his elbow during the Bangladesh Premier League, is eyeing the IPL as a pathway to make a comeback before the 2019 World Cup.

Smith's manager Warren Craig, while speaking about the recovery of the batsman, told the Cricket Australia website:

“The intent is that he will play in the IPL (Indian Premier League) and then the World Cup and then the Ashes.”

“Until the brace comes off we don’t know for sure but all current opinion is that he’ll then have about three-and-a-half weeks (before being ready to play)".

Smith, along with David Warner, was banned for one year by Cricket Australia starting March 2018.