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Australia fall eight runs short after a defiant 91 not out from Steven Smith

Tristan Lavalette28-Jan-2024
Shamar Joseph defied his injured toe and sprinted around the Gabba in jubilation after his remarkable seven-wicket haul powered West Indies to a monumental upset of Australia in a pulsating eight-run victory in the second Test.Shortly after dinner, Joseph knocked over Josh Hazlewod to cap his heroic performance and end West Indies’ two-decade Test drought against Australia.Steven Smith was the only batter who was able to thwart Joseph and struck his first half-century as an opener to finish unbeaten on 91 not out. He had a riveting battle with Joseph, who summoned speeds around 150kmh and bowled 11.5 overs straight before and after dinner.Australia resumed after dinner at 187 for 8 and still 29 runs short. In the first over after the resumption, Alzarri Joseph dropped Nathan Lyon in his follow through only to produce a thin edge off the next delivery to put West Indies on the brink of a famous victory.Related

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• Technique is the greatest weapon against the short-pitched delivery

With the field spread, a nerveless Smith unfurled an outrageous scoop for six that was more reminiscent of T20 cricket and reduced Australia’s target to 14 runs. But Joseph proved unstoppable as he finished his all-time great performance in style and with the figures of 7 for 68.It meant the series finished 1-1 and brought the curtains down on the Australian Test summer with the hosts surprisingly challenged by inexperienced Pakistan and West Indies teams on tough surfaces with none of the five matches going into the fifth day.Australia tasted defeat on home soil for the first time since losing to India at the Gabba in January 2021.Like Pakistan earlier in the summer, a youthful West Indies became a crowd favourite through their entertaining style of play and vivaciousness led by Joseph, who single-handedly hauled his team back in the contest.Australia appeared to be cruising towards the target of 216 at 113 for 2 until Joseph turned the match on its head with the wickets of Cameron Green and Travis Head in consecutive balls. He then dismissed Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey as Australia lost 4 for 23 and were still 80 runs short of victory.Joseph claimed his second five-wicket haul in as many matches by dismissing Mitchell Starc, who had briefly counterattacked, just before dinner as he sunk to his knees with his head on the ground.But he pushed through the pain barrier and exhaustion to nick off Pat Cummins.Shamar Joseph led the celebrations for West Indies•Getty Images

There had been grave doubt over whether Joseph could bowl after he was struck on the toe by an inswinging delivery by Starc late on day three that forced him to retire hurt.But he was cleared of a fracture and produced a spell in overcast and humid conditions that rocked Australia and set up a grandstand finish after dinner.There were fears of the day’s play being majorly interrupted after heavy showers lashed Brisbane overnight and in the morning. But the bad weather cleared and play resumed on schedule with Australia resuming at 60 for 2 and needing a further 156 runs.After starting aggressively late on day three, with his driving a standout, Smith focused on picking off the bowling for singles. But Green was anchored to the crease and intent on survival as Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph bowled on a dangerous length outside off stump.Green scored just 13 off his first 54 deliveries before he pounced on a rare Roach delivery that strayed on the pads to notch his first boundary. He was gifted three runs in the next over after a hash of a fielding attempt at mid-off from skipepr Kraigg Brathwaite.Smith looked comfortable until being squared up by a menacing delivery from Alzarri Joseph that flew through the vacant third slip to bring up the 50-run partnership.West Indies needed a spark and Shamar Joseph made an immediate impact when he came into the attack by producing a thick edge from Green that flew over the slips.Green started to settle until Joseph produced a rearing delivery that hit his back elbow and fell onto the stumps. He then on the next delivery delivered a scintillating yorker that clean bowled Head and left Australia stunned.It completed a king pair for Head, who suffered his third golden duck in his last six innings. Joseph was unable to complete a hat-trick, but soon had Marsh edging to second slip and clean bowled Alex Carey with another gem of a yorker.Starc decided to take on the bowling and it proved effective until he holed out. Play was extended by 20 minutes after Joseph dismissed Cummins, but he could not get through Smith and Lyon.But Joseph was not to be denied as he finished with one last epic celebration to wrap an astonishing debut series.

MatériaMais Notícias

da 888casino： Adversários na Supercopa do Brasil, Palmeiras e Flamengo serão “inimigos íntimos” neste sábado, às 16h30, no Mané Garrincha. E isso não se deve apenas à rivalidade recente entre as equipes. As delegações dos clubes estarão, literalmente, lado a lado durante este período em Brasília. Os hotéis escolhidos pelas diretorias são vizinhos e separados apenas por uma rede de fast-food. Veja acima!

RelacionadasFlamengoFlamengo divulga relacionados para a Supercopa do BrasilFlamengo27/01/2023PalmeirasDirigente que trabalhou com Abel em Portugal elogia técnico do Palmeiras: ‘Nada é só aparência’Palmeiras27/01/2023

da bet7k： Uma caminhada de 300 metros é suficiente para ir do hotel onde Abel Ferreira, Dudu e companhia ficarão hospedados para o local que acomodará Vítor Pereira, Gabigol e os demais rubro-negros. No trajeto, apenas uma famosa rede de fast-food os separa. O local, no Setor Hoteleiro Norte de Brasília, foi escolhido pela proximidade do Estádio Mané Garrincha, que fica a menos de 1,5 km dali.

MatériaMais Notícias

da bet nacional： O jovem atleta Kevyn foi anunciado oficialmente pelo Barra FC. O jogador de apenas 20 anos chega para reforçar o clube na disputa do Campeonato Catarinense de 2023. O atleta vinha de três temporadas no América-MG. Kevyn falou sobre essa nova oportunidade na carreira.

-Estou feliz pela oportunidade de poder jogar mais um campeonato estadual profissionalmente. Para mim, é mais um passo rumo ao meu objetivo que é atuar no mais alto nível possível. Teremos um campeonato difícil, com grandes equipes e agradeço demais a oportunidade de vestir essa camisa- disse.

RelacionadasCruzeiroCruzeiro conhece rival da 1ª fase eliminatória da CopinhaCruzeiro10/01/2023CruzeiroBruno Valdez diz estar mais perto de fechar com o CruzeiroCruzeiro10/01/2023Atlético MineiroPatrick chega a Belo Horizonte para assinar com o Atlético-MGAtlético Mineiro10/01/2023

da betobet： Ao todo foram 63 partidas pelo América-MG, onde foi capitão da equipe Sub-20. O jogador tem no currículo um título do Campeonato Mineiro Sub-20 além de uma classificação para as semifinais da Copinha de 2022.

O jogador também estreou pela equipe profissional do Coelho em 2022, ao qual jogou duas partidas do estadual. Kevyn também acumula uma passagem pela base do Palmeiras. Em 2019 realizou 30 partidas pelo Verdão e conquistou a Copa do Brasil Sub-17.

O jovem chega para acumular experiência em uma competição profissional, visto que o atleta tem contrato com o América-MG até dezembro de 2023 em contrato que foi renovado ainda em julho do ano passado.

Matthews’ 82 and Wellington’s four-for the highlights in narrow win over Amazon Warriors

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-2023

Hayley Matthews’ all-around heroics helped Barbados Royals beat Guyana Amazon Warriors by eight runs in the final as Royals clinched the Women’s Caribbean Premier League title in Tarouba on Sunday. The Royals captain scored a 59-ball 82 to take the team to 169 for 7 and then picked up two wickets with her offspin.Chasing a competitive total, Amazon Warriors started off well, scoring 47 runs for the loss of one wicket in the powerplay. While Sophie Devine made 22, her opening partner Suzie Bates scored a run-a-ball 36. But Shemaine Campbelle and Natasha McLean picked up pace in the middle order, hitting 47 not out and 28 respectively, with the equation coming down to 29 off 15 balls.However, McLean’s run-out triggered a collapse as Warriors went from 141 for 3 to 161 for 8. Australia legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington’s crucial 19th over fetched her three wickets, with all of Shabika Gajnabi, Shreyanka Patil and Sheneta Grimmond getting stumped in the same over. Wellington finished with excellent figures of 4 for 23, which includes the wicket of Stefanie Taylor just after the powerplay.Earlier in the game, Royals lost their opener Gaby Lewis for 21 in the fifth over, bowled by Shabnim Ismail, which propelled Matthews to take charge. She hit ten fours and two sixes in her innings and stitched a match-saving stand of 108 runs with Rashada Williams for the second wicket, with the wicketkeeper contributing 36 runs from 23 balls. Ismail then struck twice in the 17th over to remove Williams and Laura Harris as Royals lost four wickets for five runs in 11 balls. Wellington then smashed ten runs in four balls to lift Royals at the end. Ismail added one more wicket to her tally to finish with 4 for 30.Devine was adjudged the Player of the Series for 253 runs and five wickets in five innings. Shreyanka, the uncapped Indian allrounder, ended the competition as the highest wicket-taker with nine scalps.

Everything you need to know about Rafael Leao's salary details playing for AC Milan

Rising through the ranks at Sporting CP, Rafael Leao made headlines during his debut season with Lille in the 2018-19 campaign. It didn’t take long before AC Milan swooped in and brought the young Portuguese talent to San Siro.

Since his arrival in Milan, Leao has established himself as one of the club’s undisputed stars and one of the best players in the league.

The Portuguese winger played a pivotal role in leading Milan to a Scudetto win in the 2022-23 season — their first league title in over a decade.

Leao is well compensated for his contributions to the Rossoneri’s success and his status as the team's main man. He signed a contract in 2022, keeping him at the San Siro until 2028, and is among the highest earners in the squad.

But exactly how much does he earn?

GOAL delved into the numbers with Capology and found out!

*

• Rafael Leao's wages at AC Milan in numbers

  Rafael Leao, under his current Milan contract, stands as the top earner in the AC Milan squad, drawing a weekly salary of £105,960 ($139,998). His impressive annual earnings reach £5.5 million ($7.2m).

  Player	Nationality	Weekly wages in GBP	Weekly wages in USD	Annual wages in GBP	Annual wages in USD
  Rafael Leao	Portuguese	£105,960	$139,998	£5,509,933	$7,279,913

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Top earners at AC Milan

  As highlighted earlier, Rafael Leao stands as AC Milan's highest-paid player, leading the earnings chart.

  Trailing closely behind is Tammy Abraham, the former Chelsea and AS Roma striker, with seasoned fullback and ex-Roma star Alessandro Florenzi securing the third position.

  In fourth place is the recent addition, Youssouf Fofana, while American international Christian Pulisic completes the top five earners.

  Player	Nationality	Weekly wages in GBP	Weekly wages in USD	Annual wages in GBP	Annual wages in USD
  Rafael Leao	Portuguese	£105,960	$139,998	£5,509,933	$7,279,913
  Tammy Abraham	English	£95,381	$126,020	£4,959,800	$6,553,057
  Alessandro Florenzi	Italian	£91,909	$121,434	£4,779,827	$6,314,558
  Youssouf Fofana	French	£91,909	$121,434	£4,779,827	$6,314,558
  Christian Pulisic	USA	£84,801	$112,042	£4,409,666	$5,826,022

• Top earners in Serie A

  While Milan players enjoy lucrative salaries at the San Siro, led by Rafael Leao, they still trail behind the league's top earners. Not a single Milan player makes it to the highest-paid list, unlike their fierce competitors Juventus and Inter, who boast players with significantly higher earnings.

  Leading the pack is Juventus' Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic, with Argentines Lautaro Martinez and Paulo Dybala securing the second and third spots.

  Italian midfielder Nicolo Barella ranks fourth, while Hakan Calhanoglu completes the top five.

  Player	Nationality	Weekly wages in GBP	Weekly wages in USD	Annual wages in GBP	Annual wages in USD
  Dusan Vlahovic	Serbian	£321,352	$424,581	£16,710,313	$22,078,237
  Lautaro Martinez	Argentine	£275,563	$364,083	£14,329,265	$18,932,316
  Paulo Dybala	Argentine	£214,235	$283,054	£11,140,208	$14,718,825
  Nicolo Barella	Italian	£199,027	$262,961	£10,349,391	$13,673,970
  Hakan Calhanoglu	Turkish	£183,653	$242,649	£9,549,978	$12,617,758

• AFP
  

  Highest paid players in the world

  Serie A players, despite their high earnings, are not among the top five highest-paid footballers globally.

  The top five are all from the Saudi Pro League, with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr earning the most.

  Karim Benzema, formerly of Real Madrid, is second, and Riyad Mahrez, now with Al-Ahli, is third.

  Sadio Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly, both from Senegal, are fourth and fifth, respectively.

  Player	Club	Weekly wages GBP	Weekly wages USD	Annual wages GBP	Annual wages USD
  Cristiano Ronaldo	Al Nassr	£3,216,155	$4,210,425	£167,250,468	$218,942,120
  Karim Benzema	Al Ittihad	£1,608,178	$2,105,213	£83,625,234	$109,471,060
  Riyad Mahrez	Al Ahli	£839,469	$1,098,921	£45,652,372	$57,43,893
  Sadio Mane	Al Nassr	£643,271	$842,085	£33,450,094	$43,788,424
  Kalidou Koulibaly	Al Hilal	£558,038	$730,509	£29,017,956	$37,986,458

Sajid and Noman shared 19 out of 20 wickets to leave their batters chasing a target of only 36

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Oct-2024Pakistan 344 (Shakeel 134, Sajid 48*, Noman 45, Rehan 4-66, Bashir 3-129) and 37 for 1 (Masood 23*) beat England 267 (Smith 89, Duckett 52, Sajid 6-128, Noman 3-88) and 112 (Root 33, Noman 6-42, Sajid 4-69) by nine wicketsThe wait is finally over. For the first time since 2021, Pakistan have won a Test series at home, coming back from 1-0 down to confirm a 2-1 success over England.A comprehensive nine-wicket win on day three of the third and decisive Test in Rawalpindi arrived before lunch, achieved with so little fuss that England’s victory by an innings in the opening match feels like it belongs in a different series altogether. It is only the second time Pakistan have come from behind in a series and the first time they have done so at home.Just as it was in the first innings, and indeed the victorious second Test at Multan, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan ran riot, bagging all 10 wickets as England were snuffed out for 112 in a listless second innings performance. It was Noman’s turn to pocket the match ball with 6 for 42, a sixth five-wicket haul, while Sajid’s 4 for 69 registered a second 10-wicket match of his 10-Test career after 6 for 128 on the first day.That left a nominal chase of 36 on the table, which was still enough for beleaguered home skipper Shan Masood to indulge in a cathartic 23 from six deliveries. He clouted four successive fours against Jack Leach upon his arrival to the crease after Saim Ayub was trapped leg before, then sealed victory with a towering six off Shoaib Bashir.Prior to Masood walking off with Abdullah Shafique, Noman and Sajid had done so hand in hand, basking in the glory of instigating England’s day three collapse in which the final seven wickets fell for just 46, and the fact their introductions turned the series on its head. Since being drafted into the squad after the tourists took a 1-0 lead, they have managed 39 wickets between them – Noman’s left-arm spin taking 20 at 13.85, Sajid’s off breaks 19 from 21.01.And yet, things began serenely enough for England. They started Saturday 53 behind on 24 for 3, but in Root and Brook, they had two batters capable of chipping off that deficit, and then some.Related

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Sajid Khan claims Urdu misdirection aided his batting exploits

When Brook began the 13th over by striking Sajid for back-to-back fours – first through cover, then over mid off on the charge – the more pessimistic Pakistan fans might have been wondering if the Yorkshire pair were about to embark on another match-tilting partnership. After all, it was these two who combined for all of 454 in the first Test at Multan.However, that was before Sajid and Noman entered the series. And after the former adjusted his line to keep Brook honest, the latter followed up a slow delivery with one far quicker that was cut late into the gloves of Mohammad Rizwan. Pakistan’s lead had been cut to 11, but the first domino had been toppled. Others duly followed.Stokes’ troubles against spin continued, inexplicably leading a straight delivery from Noman, expecting turn from over the wicket that never came. Jamie Smith’s charge to Sajid was almost as bad, bowled off stump through a wild swing that belied the sensibilities he had displayed with a load-bearing 89 in the first innings.It was only four balls after Smith’s dismissal that England went ahead, and what hopes they had of extending that in a meaningful way ended when Root was snared by a pearler from Noman with a lead of eight. Perfect dip onto a length to drag the right-hander forward from around the wicket, before just enough spin – it was a delivery the 38-year-old had served up a few times but only Root was good enough to nick. ASajid tagged in to lop off the tail, yorking Gus Atkinson before knocking back Rehan Ahmed’s leg stump for his second 10-wicket match haul. And he looked to have bagged a second five-for in the match when Shoaib Bashir was given out LBW on the sweep.A cursory DRS review came back in the No.11’s favour, with the impact onto the pad coming outside off stump. The reprieve only brought an extra two runs, as Noman caught Leach lacking on the charge, firing one wide of the advancing left-hander, stumped smartly by Rizwan.A lead of 35 was always going to be light work on a pitch that was far from demonic, but it was Masood’s introduction that ensured formalities were completed inside 3.1 overs. Ayub began the chase with a brace of fours at the end of the first over before Leach pinned him in front, confirmed via DRS after another erroneous call from umpire Sharfuddoula.But even his dismissal brought some icing to the cake, as Masood took the team charging over the line for his first series win as captain. After starting his tenure with six straight defeats before the second Test of this series, It was hard to begrudge him that honour.

England have signalled their intention to place Jamie Smith at the heart of their revival across formats, handing him a lucrative two-year ECB central contract that will commit him to their plans for both next year’s Ashes tour of Australia and the 2026 T20 World Cup.Smith, 24, was one of the breakout stars of England’s home Test summer, scoring a maiden Test hundred against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, before being named as the PCA’s Young Player of the Year at their annual end-of-season awards dinner.Though his opportunities in white-ball cricket have so far been limited by his workload, Smith showed glimpses of his potential in the recent home ODI series against Australia, and though he is due to miss the Test tour of New Zealand as he goes on paternity leave, he looks set to be a central figure in England’s plans for their white-ball tour of India in January and the subsequent Champions Trophy.Fast bowler Gus Atkinson, another impressive addition to England’s plans across formats, has also received a two-year deal (a one-year extension of his existing offer) while Joe Root, Harry Brook and Mark Wood have been retained on the second of the three-year deals that they signed in the last round of contracts for 2023-24.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With Brendon McCullum already secured as England’s head coach across formats for the next three years, England have now tied both their red- and white-ball captains, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, to two-year deals. As reported last week, Stokes has agreed to extend the one-year deal that he signed last year, having then taken a punt that his value to the team would rise in the interim.Buttler’s deal, meanwhile, is a show of faith in England’s white-ball captain despite an absence from professional cricket that has now extended to five months as he recovers from a persistent calf injury. It comes on the same day that his long association with Rajasthan Royals was ended by his omission from their list of retained players for the 2025 IPL.England rejigged their contracts system in September 2023 to reflect the mounting pressure on international cricket from the T20 franchise circuit, with 18 of those initial 26 offers being multi-year deals. That policy came in for criticism, however, particularly in the wake of England’s disastrous 50-over World Cup defence, because it limited the potential to overhaul an under-performing squad. Notably, 19 of this year’s 29 deals are for one year only, including that of Jonny Bairstow, who was dropped from all three formats earlier this year, midway through his two-year deal, and seems unlikely to feature in England’s plans in the near future.Related

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In addition to Smith, four other players have signed their first central contracts: Shoaib Bashir, Phil Salt, Olly Stone and Will Jacks, who was the notable omission from England’s plans last time around. Three further players have been handed development contracts, including two new additions in Jacob Bethell and Josh Hull, and John Turner, the fast bowler who could make his England debut in the Caribbean this week.Seven players have been cut from England’s list for 2024-25, including Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan and James Anderson, who have retired from international cricket, and the fast bowlers Matthew Fisher and Saqib Mahmood, who had been on development contracts after making their Test debuts in the Caribbean in 2022.The most notable absentees, however, are Ollie Robinson and Ben Foakes, the Test wicketkeeper who made way for his Surrey team-mate Smith in the summer. Both men last featured on the tour of India in February, and their hopes of a recall in the current regime would now appear to be over.”The strength and depth of talent across England Men’s red and white-ball cricket is clear in the quality of players who are centrally contracted,” Rob Key, England men’s managing director, said. “These contracts reward the players we believe will play an important role for our England Men’s teams. Both our captains, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, have signed two-year central contracts that showcase the commitment of all the players to prioritise playing for their country.”I want to congratulate all the players who have signed new central contracts ahead of what is set to be an exciting period for England Men’s cricket.”

Mumbai play three of their four remaining games at home, while RCB only play one at home

S Rajesh08-May-2023Mumbai Indians

Royal Challengers Bangalore
With only 17 games left in the league stage, it’s still impossible to separate most of the teams on the IPL points table. Five are locked on 10 points eac, and two on eight each. The overall points distribution makes this one of the closest IPLs ever. The standard deviation, which is a measure of how dispersed or clustered a set of data is around the mean, for the points table this season is 2.366; only once in the previous 15 seasons has it been smaller after 53 games: 1.984 in 2020.With five teams on 10 points, every match that pits two of them against each other will have a huge bearing on the fortunes of the teams and the table. Tuesday’s match is one such, with Mumbai Indians locking horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Both teams are on 10 from 10 games, with net run rates that are quite close as well. Both teams also have games to come against Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad.One crucial difference, though, is that Mumbai have three home games to come, compared to just one for Royal Challengers. Both teams have 50-50 win-loss records at home this season, with Mumbai winning two and losing two and RCB winning three and losing three. Towards the business end of the tournament, however, more home games might yet prove to be a crucial advantage for Mumbai Indians.Sixteen points is said to be the magic number for qualification, but as things stand, as many as six teams can finish on 16 or more points. That means the winner on Tuesday will still have plenty of work to do, though it will still be a significant step towards qualification.On the other hand, if a couple of teams – Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings – break away from the pack with wins in their remaining games, then even 14 might be enough for qualification for two of the remaining teams. For instance, the loser of Tuesday’s game can finish on 14 and still qualify even without net run rates coming into play.

Smith insisted he had not requested a move back down the order but rather just told Andrew McDonald his preference

Alex Malcolm21-Oct-20241:36

What’s the logic of moving Smith back down the order?

Steven Smith has said Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne “hated” him opening the batting in the Test team, and believes it was a key driver behind his return to No. 4, but has insisted he did not request the move and would have continued to open if asked to.Australia’s chair selectors George Bailey confirmed last week that Smith would not be opening against India saying Smith “had expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position” and that captain Pat Cummins and Andrew McDonald had made the decision.McDonald stated on ABC Radio at the weekend that he and Cummins were the key decision-makers in the move, playing down Smith’s influence.Related

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Smith wanted it on the record that he had not explicitly requested to move back to No. 4 but had rather been asked by McDonald what his preferred batting spot was. He also added that Khawaja and Labuschagne had both expressed their discontent at him opening.”I got asked where I’d prefer to bat, and I said four. I didn’t ask [to move] though,” Smith said. “I also said I’m happy batting wherever. I’m not really too fussed. I got asked where my preference would be, and I said four. I saw a few things last week saying that I’ve requested to bat at four. That wasn’t the case. I said I’m happy to bat wherever you’d like me to bat but, yeah, four would be my ideal position.”Asked what had changed since earlier this year, he said: “Obviously there’s a spot there now with Greeny [Cameron Green] out. And I think just conversations we had after New Zealand with particularly Marnus and Uzzie, they hated me up top, to be honest. They wanted me behind them.”They just like the…they call it security behind them, in a way. They were pretty strong on me not batting there. So that was a big part of it. And then obviously, I’ve got a decent record at four.”It was good fun having a crack at something new, batting up top. I still feel like I could do a job there for sure. It was a pretty small sample size. But I’ve done pretty well at four for a number of years now. I feel like it’s probably where I can have my best input for this team at the moment.”Smith was set to move regardless of Green’s injury as the conversations had taken place prior to the limited-overs tour of England.He was asked whether he felt like he could have continued in the role longer term given his average of 28.50 in the four Tests in the job was not that bad as no opener averaged more than 32 across those four Tests.In his own style: Steven Smith leaves the ball alone•Getty Images”Honestly, I’m not that fussed,” Smith said. “I said it when I took that job, I’m not really fussed where I bat. The conversations I had with the other guys, they didn’t like it at all. They wanted some security, I suppose, behind them, where I’ve done really well for a number of years, and I can understand that as well. So it is what it is and I’m not going to be opening this summer. That’s it.”Smith made 3 off 29 balls for New South Wales against Victoria in his first red-ball innings since the New Zealand Test series in March and his first Sheffield Shield match since 2021.On a day when 15 wickets fell at the MCG in difficult batting conditions, Smith was upbeat about the innings despite being caught down the leg side off Fergus O’Neill.”I actually felt pretty good out there, to be honest, for the three that I scored strangely enough,” Smith said. “I felt like I was moving well. I was leaving well, and got a little bit unlucky with the one that sort of took off a little bit down the leg side. And that can happen. But I actually felt like I was getting in nice positions. My bat path was good and felt pretty good. So happy with that.”Meanwhile, Smith has been impressed with his limited time watching 19-year-old Sam Konstas who was lbw after 10 balls on the second day at the MCG”He got a bit unlucky there I reckon,” Smith said. “It looked like it might have been just darting down leg a little bit. I haven’t seen a lot of him. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of him out here in the middle for sure. But from what I have seen in the nets, he’s got a lot of time.Steven Smith threw in Nic Maddinson’s name as a potential opening option•Getty Images”He’s very organised. He plays fast bowling and spin well from what I’ve seen in the brief couple of times I’ve seen him bat, it’s looked really good. He’s a bright prospect. We’ve got to remember he’s only 19 as well so you he’s got plenty of time. But what I’ve seen so far, it looks promising”He’s got all the makings to definitely be a really good Test player. That’s for sure. Whether it’s now or in the future, time will tell.”Smith also threw Nic Maddinson’s name in the mix as a possible candidate to open the batting for Australia against India given he is a similar type of player to David Warner.”There’s a few really good candidates, guys that have, done really well the last few years,” Smith said. “[Cameron] Bancroft and the usual suspects that have been talked about. Maddo I think is also another really good candidate. He’s had a good couple of years. If you’re looking for someone similar to a Davey replacement, he gets after the ball and can score really quickly.”So he’s someone who probably hasn’t been spoken about a great deal from all you guys in the last little bit, but I think he’s someone that could definitely play test cricket and have a similar impact to what Davey sort of had at the top, the way he plays. So plenty of options. We’ll wait and see.”

The Melbourne Stars allrounder caused a scare in the opening game of the BBL season

AAP27-Dec-2024

Hilton Cartwright has revealed he had fears of being left paralysed while laying prone on the Optus Stadium turf in the BBL season opener.Cartwright sent a scare through Australian cricket last week, after falling awkwardly in the field in Melbourne Stars’ season-opening loss to Perth Scorchers.He was taken from the field in a neck brace and medicab, before being quickly cleared of any serious damage in hospital and being released back to Melbourne. Incredibly, the former Test representative returned to play for the Stars just three days later against Brisbane Heat, and has not missed a game yet this season.Related

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Speaking for the first time since the injury, Cartwright admitted his mind had spiralled quickly while laying on the turf with what was ultimately a case of whiplash.”It was an extraordinary series of events. It looked worse because there was no information surrounding it,” Cartwright said.  “My neck pain had subsided quite a lot by the time I was on the sidelines, it was all on one side. Needless to say the doctors did a great job with how they handled it.”But my mind spun to the worst-case scenario about being paralysed, or strokes. My mind was completely spinning. But thankfully I was home that night and I haven’t had any serious repercussions from it.”After diving for a ball in the outfield, Cartwright’s neck snapped back quickly and he was left to lay on the ground for close to five minutes while receiving medical attention. Adding to the concern was that the 32-year-old became a father for the second time in October, with another toddler also at home.”As soon as all that pain subsided I started thinking around all the short-term side effects,” he said. “Am I going to be in a neck brace for a couple of months whilst we have a newborn? It would not only be tough on me, but tough on my partner. Thankfully everything got cleared and there were no issues. So far so good.”Cartwright said he had been able to class the incident as a “freak” accident, helping it not play on his mind while in the field since.His comments came as Stars slumped to a fourth straight loss to start the season, with Sydney Sixers chasing down 195 against them with 11 balls and two wickets to spare at the SCG.Stars will now likely need to win at least five of their last six to have any hope of making the finals, beginning with Saturday night against the Sydney Thunder. Otherwise, they risk missing for a fifth straight season.”If we’re being true to ourselves we want to win all six games to give ourselves a chance,” Cartwright said.