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Australia in need of a new Test sponsor
In 2013, Cricket Australia announced a four-year deal worth $50 Million with Commonwealth Bank. Name sponsorship rights for the Australian team playing home test was a critical component of the deal. Reports have now emerged that this deal will not be renewed after July next year.
This, coupled with Commonwealth Bank's three-year $15 Million deal to aide diversity in the game means that Cricket Australia faces a financial shortfall.
Commonwealth Bank's new deal will focus on women's cricket, indigenous players, players with a disability and local clubs. Unless the next Test match naming sponsor matches the Bank's 2013 deal, Cricket Australia faces an uphill battle.
Suresh Raina resumes training with the India team
Fans of star left-hander Suresh Raina rejoiced when he was picked to play the ODI series against New Zealand. Their joy was shortlived, however, as Raina was sidelined due to a bout of viral fever and ended up missing the first ODI.
But the BCCI has now revealed that Raina has resumed his training with the India team. In images Tweeted by the BCCI, the left-hander seems to have recovered and on course for a comeback.
Raina hasn't played ODI's for India in over a year now and every game would prove to be vital for his career.
Click here for images of Raina in training.
While joint army exercises between two countries is now a common practice, what is anything but common is two army units squaring off for a game of cricket.
This unusual match-up will take place at Lahore with the Australian Army Cricket team having arrived in the country for the first of three T20s matches. They will play the Pakistan Army team and the Pakistan Cricket Board young team in T20s scheduled on October 18th, 21st and 22nd.
The Australian cricket team is a part of a larger 25 member squad that will participate in the first-ever Physical Agility and Combat Efficiency System (PACES) competition.
A team from Sri Lanka has already arrived for the event that will witness teams from 16 countries. The Pakistan Army is hosting the event from October 18th to 22nd at Lahore.
Former Australian World Cup winning captain Steve Waugh has showed interest in applying for the post of selector after outgoing selector Rod Marsh vacates his post after the end of this season. Marsh decided not to renew his contract after Australia were trounced 5-0 against South Africa in the recently concluded ODI series, the first time they suffered a whitewash in a five-match series.
Ever since retiring from the game in 2004, Waugh hasn't been involved at all with the Australian national side, except for sharing insight with the team prior to the 2015 World Cup, a tournament that the team eventually won.
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England will not be easy pushovers, says Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin is taking a well-deserved break after wrecking New Zealand in the recently concluded Test series. But that isn't quite stopping him from ideating about upcoming matches and series'.
While speaking to the media at a promotional event in Chennai, the off-spinner spoke about England as an opposition. "England is a very good side. It is not going to be easy to put it past them. I will do my homework and try ensuring that I stick to good lines and lengths and get my rhythm going. That is going to be the most important thing,"
Speaking about the break, he said, "I think I needed this break more than anybody else. I wanted this break and I needed to be really fresh." Despite being in stupendous form, Ashwin refuses to think far ahead. "As of now, I am not looking at any numbers or chasing any targets. I am just enjoying the space I am in. When you are really doing well, you don't think about how well you are doing as that can lead to losing out on enjoyment. So, at the moment I am not really looking too far ahead."
Despite sitting out of the ongoing ODI series, Ashwin continues to think about the game. "Of course, I have been deeply thinking about my game. I am trying to grasp as to what has gone right and what went wrong. But what I have understood is that rhythm is very important. Sometimes, it is difficult getting into the rhythm and it takes some time. Throughout this series against New Zealand, I was settling into a nice rhythm," he said.