Cecil Wright retires playing cricket at the age of 82

You heard it right the Jamaican fast bowler known as “Cec” is still playing First Class Cricket and has no plans to quit the game any sooner. Although he has lost a great deal of pace over the years, but is still hitting the right areas of the pitch and making the young batsman a run for their money. He has taken over 7,000 wicket in his career span of 57 years.The 82 year old made his first class debut for Jamaica against Barbados which boasted of legends Wes Hall and Garfield Sobers in 1959. His love for cricket is undying and is the reason why he is continuing it where players are retiring at an age of 34.

Wright is still pretty impressive, giving the batsman hard time to the pitch playing for his current club side Uppermill. He is still opening the bowling and leading the attack from the front. He picked up two wickets for eight in just nine overs which also included four maidens. He can still hit the right areas playing against Milnrow in Pennine Cricket League 2nd XI Championship last saturday. Wright has also represented Crompton in Central Lancashire League.

In an interview with The Sun he said,”I still feel fit and my passion to play the game certainly has not dwindled with each passing year.I feel great and I feel that I can still compete and offer something with the ball – I can still get people out. I can still teach these young batmen a thing or two (laughing). He added,” Once a fast bowler, always a fast bowler – sure, I’ve lost a lot of pace, but hey, I can still make it tough for batsmen.They have to work hard for their runs against me, even if I am old enough to be the grandfather for a lot of them!”

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Posted in: cecil wright,Jamaican,retires,WI

Providing Good Pitches will help making Test Cricket more interesting - Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar, who is the highest run-scorer in Tests with 15921 runs from 200 Tests, emphasised the need to prepare "interesting tracks" to revive interest in the longest format.

"I think Test cricket is going to revive if we produce interesting tracks, but if the tracks are flat and dead then Test cricket is going to find its challenges. I know this World Test Championship has been announced but even to have this World Championship, you've got to make cricket interesting, just by having another championship, cricket is not going to get interesting.

Tendulkar also stressed on the art of leaving and defending the ball while heaping praise on Australia's Marnus Labuschagne. After his defiant 59 at Lord's coming in as Smith's concussion substitute, he made a well-crafted 74 and 80 at Headingley, pulling Australia out of trouble on all three occasions.

"I have been watching a little bit of Ashes and I thought someone like Marnus Labuschagne has left the ball brilliantly, which is something that you don't get to see in Test cricket. Normally you tend to glide those balls to third man and pick [up] a single. But the kind of surfaces they are playing on, if you steer the ball you go to the dressing room.

"You need to leave those balls or defend solidly. And the guys who have not been able to do that, they have been watching the game from the dressing room."

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Posted in: Ashes,ICC,Pitch,Sachin,Test Championship

Misbah-Ul-Haq might be next pakistan coach

Former captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Tuesday has emerged as the favourite to take over as Pakistan's cricket coach after Mickey Arthur was axed following a disappointing World Cup.

Misbah, Pakistan's most successful Test captain, has stepped down from the Pakistan Cricket Board's executive committee to clear the way for his application. "I have resigned from the cricket committee and have applied for the post of Pakistan's head coach," said the former batsman, describing the position as a "dream". The four-member executive committee declined to renew Arthur's contract after Pakistan failed to reach the semi-final of the World Cup in England and Wales. The PCB did not reveal whether anyone else had applied for the post. However, Pakistani media said former Australian batsman Dean Jones and ex-West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh were among the applicants. Misbah said competition for the job would be tough. "It is interesting to see my name emerging in the media even before I had applied... I envisage there will be a few more very competent and highly qualified people applying for one of the most challenging jobs in the game," he added.



Misbah totalled 26 wins in 56 Tests as captain, with 19 losses and 11 draws. He retired in 2017. Pakistan are likely to announce their new head coach ahead of the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka starting in Karachi from September 27.

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Posted in: Coach,Misbah,Pakistan,PCB

Jasprit Bumrah and late away movement

Jasprit Bumrah is all about breaking records. The run up towards the bowling crease, the flaying limbs and the open-chested thrust behind his delivery - how Bumrah makes everything work for himself consistently at the highest level is difficult even for the best experts. From a death overs specialist with the white ball to a lethal new-ball bowler in Test cricket, Bumrah's rapid evolution was there in Antigua against West Indies for everyone to see.

Bumrah is now the only Asian bowler to have five-wicket hauls in England, West Indies, Australia and South Africa. Bumrah's emergence has literally catalyzed the fast-bowling revolution in India. Since Virat Kohli took charge as full time Test captain in 2014 december, he laid emphasis on raw pace through Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and bhuvneshwar Kumar too pushed himself to bowl consistently over 135 kmph.

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Posted in: bumrah,india,outswing,west indies

life beyond MS Dhoni

 Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has said that Team India will have to get used to the fact that Mahendra Singh Dhoni will not be around for too long.

"He is at that stage of his career where he has to evaluate where he stands. He has to decide if he can win matches for India... if he can continue to contribute like Dhoni, not someone else. "Because with players like Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, till they play, there will be expectations that they will win matches. I think Dhoni has to make this decision. Only a player knows how much fuel is left in the tank and how much of his match-winning ability is intact," he said.

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Posted in: Dhoni,Ganguly,MSD,Team India

Legendary batting from Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes Shines in England first 350+ target to keep Ashes series alive.

England have evened the Ashes series at 1-1 after one of the most tremendous matches in Test history by an unforgettable match-winning innings of 135 from Ben Stokes. England were bowled out for 67 in the first innings, achieved their highest-ever winning total by scoring 362 for nine thanks to a last-wicket partnership of 76 of which Leach made a single run. Australia dropped glorious chances to retain the Ashes in the final moments of incredible drama at Headingley before Stokes and his unlikely partner saw the hosts home.Down there in the black, where people lose their careers, Stokes looked around and found, deep within himself, the resolve to lead his team right back up and out again.

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Posted in: Ashes,Australia,England,Stokes