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Agarwal, Patel and Starc nominated for ICC Player of the Month award
Agarwal made the most of chances when fellow openers Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul missed Tests against New Zealand and South Africa at some point. In the two Tests at Mumbai and Centurion, he scored 276 runs at an average of 69.00, which included two fifties and a century.
Ashes, 4th Test: Khawaja slams another century as Australia take control
Thanks to Khawaja's second century in the fourth Test, Australia declared early on 265/6 in 68.5 overs, giving England a 388-run target to win. At stumps on Day 4, England were 30 for no loss. The day again belonged to 35-year-old Khawaja as he joined just five other Australian batters to score twin tons in a single Ashes Test. Hitting 10 fours and two sixes with a mix of touch and occasional force in his 138-ball essay, Khawaja made runs through an array of shots all around the wicket.
ANALYSIS: Postponement of domestic tournaments throws careers and livelihood in limbo
The Ranji Trophy was supposed to be held for the first time in two seasons, following its cancellation for the first time in its 85-year history in 2020/21 also due to the pandemic. The men's domestic first-class competition was scheduled to start on January 13 at multiple venues across six cities -- Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai.
COVID UPDATE: All Big Bash teams to relocate to Melbourne
Seven BBL clubs have been affected by the virus and the schedule thrown haywire, with the worst sufferers being Melbourne Stars who reported 13 COVID-19 positive cases, including that of their captain Glenn Maxwell. BBL has issued a revised schedule from January 10-16, which will see seven of the 11 scheduled matches played in Victoria. Some key games, though, will be played interstate, with teams to fly in and out on chartered flights, according to cricket.com.au on Saturday.
Melbourne Summer Set: Halep books final berth; injured Osaka pulls out
Halep will face Veronika Kudermetova of Russia in the final, after top seed Naomi Osaka of Japan withdrew from their semifinal due to an abdominal injury. "I'm really happy that I can play the final for the first tournament of the year," Halep said after her win. "I'm feeling good, and I'm happy with the way I played. I'm really happy with the way I bounced back," Halep, who struggled past Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in a three-set quarterfinal on January 7, told wtatennis.com.
Invest some time and faith in opener Crawley: Michael Atherton
While none of the England openers have fared well in the series so far, Atherton felt that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) could "invest some time and faith" in the 23-year-old Crawley. Burns and partner Haseeb Hameed disappointed in the first two Tests, forcing coach Chris Silverwood to include Crawley in the playing XI for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG at Burns' expense.
Monchengladbach shock front-runners Bayern in Bundesliga
Bayern Munich started 2022 with a defeat after Borussia Monchengladbach clinched a 2-1 comeback victory, riding on goals from Florian Neuhaus and Stefan Lainer in the curtain raiser to the second half of the season. "The victory feels great. It is an unexpected win after a winless run, but the team fully implemented our strategy. Compliments to my team," Borussia Monchengladbach's head coach Adi Hutter said.
Hazlewood ruled out of fifth Ashes Test, confirms Australian selector
Hazlewood had suffered a side strain in the opening Test at the Gabba, Brisbane and hasn't featured in the series since. The pace bowler had hinted that he would try to return for the fourth Test at SCG, currently underway, but there is still some progress to be made on the fitness front.
Djokovic breaks silence, thanks fans amid Australian visa row
Djokovic in his Instagram post on Tuesday said that he will be travelling to Australia with an 'exemption permission'. But he was denied entry upon landing in Melbourne late on Wednesday and authorities cancelled his visa. The player's lawyers then launched an appeal seeking to overturn the federal government decision, with a court agreeing not to deport him before a full hearing scheduled for Monday.
Football: Rape-accused Benjamin Mendy released on bail
The 27-old accused of attacking five women between October 2020 and August 2021, was freed after a bail hearing at Chester Crown Court. He has been in custody for 134 days, since first being arrested and charged on August 26 last year. The French international was granted bail by Judge Patrick Thompson at a private hearing from which the press was excluded, while bail was discussed. The defendant had been due to go on trial this month, but the trial has been put back to June 27 at the earliest.
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