All posts by n8rngtd.top

John Bracewell, Ireland’s new coach, “does not envy” Peter Moores’ task in trying to rebuild the England side and one of his first tasks will be trying to persuade Boyd Rankin to abandon his England ambitions

ESPNcricinfo staff07-May-2015One of John Bracewell’s first tasks as Ireland coach will be trying to persuade Boyd Rankin to abandon his England ambitions and resume his international career at home.Bracewell will not officially be in charge of Ireland in Malahide on Friday, as he awaits his work permit, but is already considering how to strengthen the team as they look to build on another impressive World Cup display. There is also the motivation of earning a potential Test at Lord’s in 2019 through the ICC Test Challenge, the culmination of the Intercontinental Cup which is about to start. The return of Rankin would be a major fillip for Ireland whose pace bowling is their weakest suit.There was a suggestion that Rankin was set to be included in England’s squad for this match before suffering a back injury playing for Warwickshire. Under current regulations, which were amended last year, a player can return to their Associate country after a two-year gap since playing for a Full Member. Rankin’s last England was an ODI against Australia on January 17, 2014.”I will be going to meet him and Dougie Brown. In the very near future, I will go and visit him face to face,” Bracewell said. “I am going to sit down with every Irish player currently in the English game, and with their coaches, and work out what is in the interest of both parties.”Whether Rankin would have any long-term part in England’s future remains a moot point, and neither is it certain that Peter Moores will be the man in charge of the team beyond this ODI in Ireland with the ECB’s new director cricket, favoured to be Andrew Strauss, due to be confirmed shortly and the potential for more fallout after the drawn series in West Indies.After this ODI, England are then faced with the challenge of a confident New Zealand side before the Ashes later in the summer. Bracewell sees more tough times ahead.”The New Zealand side are one of the better nations in the world in all forms of the game, and they will give England a tough road,” he said. “They are going to be under the pump right from ball one this summer – and I don’t envy his task at all.”They had a period of strength and domination for quite some time. He’s got to work out whether those players need to be moved on because they’ve become complacent, or they’ve lost their fight or their ambition – or they’re starting to try to protect their own personal statistics.”They’ve got some tough decisions to make over the next few months, because this is the start of what is a very, very tough summer for them.”England’s white-ball cricket remains in a more parlous state than the red-ball version despite the defeat in Barbados and Bracewell picked out a reasonably obvious reason for their inability to match most other nations in the ODI game.”They pick their side to par scores, and par score means the bowlers have to win more than 50% of the games – that’s too much to ask of them under the playing conditions that currently exist,” he said. “You have to have a batting line-up that’s actually going to get you above par. It’s as simple as that. They’ve failed to do that – and they can’t hide from that, because the statistics say that.”

Cricket Australia is keen to press on despite the situation unlikely to improve in the near future

Tristan Lavalette03-Jan-2022Adelaide Strikers
Strikers have had a disappointing season with just one win from eight games but have thus far not been impacted by Covid-19. They still suffered consecutive defeats to a weakened Sydney Thunder in recent days. Left-arm seamer George Garton will return to the UK as part of England’s T20I squad, but he was, in any case, left out for the loss to Thunder on Sunday after a run of poor form.Brisbane Heat
True to tradition, Heat have had an inconsistent season even though they appear to be rounding into form amid some stability, with no player testing positive to Covid-19. They did, however, lose English import Tom Abell to a knee injury sustained while fielding in his second BBL game of the season. To shore up their batting, Heat have signed Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman as they eye qualification for the playoffs.Joe Clarke is one of the Stars players to have tested positive for Covid-19•Getty Images

Hobart Hurricanes
One of the fancied teams ahead of the season, Hurricanes have only shown glimpses of their potential in a patchy performance so far. They at least don’t have any Covid-19 drama to deal with and their side is stable in what could be an opportunity for them to finally strike consistency.Melbourne Renegades
Renegades have escaped the Covid-19 upheaval engulfing crosstown rival Stars, though they are waiting on a test result for James Pattinson ahead of tonight’s Melbourne derby at the MCG – which is traditionally the highest-attended BBL game annually.The bottom-placed Renegades have received a much-needed boost with Shaun Marsh set to make his season debut against Stars after recovering from a calf injury. Skipper Nic Maddinson will also return after having briefly been part of Australia’s Ashes squad as cover for Travis Head, who tested positive for Covid-19. But they will soon lose Reece Topley, who is part of England’s T20I squad, although he had claimed just two wickets in his last four games.Melbourne Stars
Stars have been clearly the most-affected team, with openers Joe Clarke and Tom Rogers the latest players to test positive for Covid-19. They now have 12 players, who have returned positive tests, while eight staff members remain in isolation. Victoria coach Chris Rogers has had to take the reins alongside Stars WBBL coach Jarrod Loughman and former wicketkeeper Adam Crosthwaite.In their loss to Scorchers on Sunday, Stars played without T20 World Cup heroes Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Joe Burns and Beau Webster. They have also lost star import Andre Russell, whose five-game stint ended against Heat on December 27.It led to the unusual situation of a desperate Stars needing to rush in a host of reinforcements plucked from local cricket in a bid to field a team against Scorchers as their sidelined players undergo a seven-day stint in isolation as per government rules.They gladly welcomed the season debut of Haris Rauf, who claimed 2 for 40 having been a late signing. Former Victoria Sheffield Shield-winning skipper Travis Dean and Pakistan quick Ahmed Daniyal have been named in Stars’ squad of 13 for the derby.Tymal Mills, who has nine wickets from five games, will be returning home•Getty Images

Perth Scorchers
Having been forced to stay permanently on the road because of Western Australia’s strict border controls, Scorchers appeared the team set to be most compromised this season. The recent league-wide developments have changed that, although Scorchers have not been unaffected, with batter Nick Hobson testing positive and quick Matt Kelly omitted as a close contact.It threatens to unsettle the three-time champions, who stormed to the top of the ladder with seven wins from eight games despite just one fixture at their Optus Stadium fortress. And their depth will be further tested with star quick Tymal Mills, who has claimed nine wickets from five games, part of England’s T20I squad, while Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis have been called into Australia’s Ashes squad.Sydney Sixers
Sixers have not been hit like the other Sydney team, Thunder, with none of their players currently sidelined. But the two-time defending champions, currently second on the ladder, will bid farewell to James Vince, who is part of England’s tour of the Caribbean. However, he has had a lean season with just 144 runs from seven innings and a top score of 44 achieved in the season opener against Stars. Jackson Bird is available again after injury.Sydney Thunder
Thunder have been the second-most-affected team with key players Alex Hales, Alex Ross, Tanveer Sangha and Sam Whiteman testing positive. It forced them to bolster their squad with the additions of former Thunder player Arjun Nair and NSW Sheffield Shield batter Lachlan Hearne. Thunder have also been further shorthanded by Sam Billings and quick Saqib Mahmood heading home to the UK.They did receive a boost with Pakistan import Mohammad Hasnain starring in his BBL debut with a triple-wicket maiden in his opening over in the win over Strikers on Sunday. Despite the adversity, as they proved in consecutive wins over Strikers, Thunder loom as the team best placed to challenge league leaders Scorchers and Sixers.

South Africa’s Dewald Brevis scored a match-winning hundred against Uganda, while Afghanistan bowled PNG out for just 65

Sreshth Shah19-Jan-2022England became the first team to confirm their spot in the quarter-finals of the main competition after their batters, led by captain Tom Prest, flexed their muscle to post an imposing 320 against Canada. That set up a comprehensive 106-win.Prest then took three wickets with his right-arm offbreaks while Joshua Boyden, the left-arm seamer, picked up a four-wicket haul for the second game in a row.Prest made 93 in 93 balls, an innings packed with innovative shots like the paddle and sweeps off seam bowlers. He crunched ten fours and looked all set for a century but was stopped by Canada legspinner Kairav Sharma, who got him lbw in the 37th over.His 90-run second-wicket stand with George Thomas (52) set the base for a strong finish from England’s middle and lower order. William Luxton hit two fours and two sixes to make a 32-ball 41, George Bell hit 57 in only 35 balls, and No. 8 James Sales crunched 23 off 18 deliveries.Canada’s bowling was decent in spells but missed the bite to cause any trouble, allowing England’s batters to pick their spots. Sharma’s legspin was the only standout, his wrong’un dismissing Thomas and his flipper removing Prest as he finished with 3 for 51. England scored exactly 100 runs in the last 10 overs to finish with 320 for 9.The chase began with a rain delay that was short enough to ensure no overs were lost. Boyden, who took 4 for 16 against Bangladesh, used his swing-bowling skills to pick off Canada opener Siddh Lad in his opening spell. Anoop Chima (38) and Yasir Mahmood (25) then built a careful but solid partnership of 60 for the second wicket before Mahmood top-edged a sweep off a tossed-up Prest delivery.Left-arm spinner Jacob Bethell then got among the wickets, getting Chima and Sharma lbw with balls that went with the arm. Prest trapped Arjuna Sukhu lbw too, to leave Canada reeling at 109 for 6 in the 32nd over.Like in England’s first game, offspinner Fateh Singh controlled the middle overs with his tidy bowling but had no wicket to show for it. This time, he conceded just 12 in his seven overs.Canada’s seventh-wicket stand proved difficult to break, as Ethan Gibson and Gurnek Johal Singh counterattacked, adding 74 in 11.4 overs to take Canada past 180. They negated England’s three-pronged spin combination, but had no answer when Boyden returned with his left-arm seam and dismissed both with pinpoint yorkers. In between, he sent back Sheel Patel with a sharp caught-and-bowled.Prest capped off a brilliant day by returning to the attack and getting last man Harjap Saini out stumped to finish with figures of 3 for 38.Dewald Brevis drives through the off side•ICC via Getty Images

The versatile Dewald Brevis scored a century to set up a 121-run win over Uganda in South Africa’s Group B match in Port-of-Spain.Brevis followed up his 65 against India last week with a 110-ball 104 to lift South Africa to 231 for 9, after which their bowlers shared the spoils to bowl Uganda out for 110. Brevis struck 11 fours and one six. He found support only from captain George Van Heerden (36) in a 74-run third-wicket stand, and wicketkeeper Kaden Solomons (27), with the rest of the batters failing to make significant contributions. Juma Miyaji and Uganda captain Pascal Murungi took three wickets each to restrict South Africa to below 250.However, the target of 232 was too much for Uganda. Fast bowler Aphiwe Mnyanda removed both openers, left-arm spinner Liam Alder removed Uganda’s top-scorer Isaac Ategeka (29), and Brevis picked up two lower-order wickets. Four other South Africa bowlers shared a wicket each to finish the rout by the 34th over. Uganda could have finished with a sub-100 score if it wasn’t for the 27 extras conceded by South Africa.Afghanistan bowled out PNG for 65•ICC via Getty Images

Afghanistan began their U-19 World Cup campaign with a comprehensive win over Papua New Guinea, their spinners leading the way to bowl Papua New Guinea out for only 65 after being dismissed for 200 themselves.Afghanistan recovered from 40 for 3 on the back of a 105-run fourth-wicket stand between the captain Suliman Safi, who struck nine fours in his 62, and Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai who made 45. That lifted them to 145 for 4, but Afghanistan only managed to add 55 for the loss of their last six wickets. Katenalaki Singi took 4 for 18 in only five overs for PNG.However, figures of 3 for 14 from legspinner Izharulhaq Naveed and 2 for 18 from left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad wrecked PNG in their chase of 201. Seamer Naveed Zadran picked up 2 for 9, Nangyalai Khan took 2 for 5 and Bilal Sami took one wicket to ensure PNG’s innings lasted only 20.5 overs.PNG had ten single-digit scores with No. 8 Aue Oru being the highest contributor with 13.

Australia opt to manage Smith’s ongoing elbow problem with rest. Meanwhile, legspinner Mitchell Swepson called into the squad to bolster the bowling stocks

Alex Malcolm26-Mar-2022Steven Smith has been ruled out of Australia’s upcoming limited-overs matches with Pakistan due to discomfort in his previously troubled left elbow.Australia’s selectors believe they have enough batting in the squad to cover Smith’s absence but have opted to add legspinner Mitchell Swepson to the squad as another bowling option.Smith will fly home from Pakistan alongside Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and David Warner with all four resting following the 1-0 Test series victory. Glenn Maxwell is also absent from Australia’s white-ball squad after getting married last week.Smith, who became the fastest player to score 8000 Test runs during the Test series, has been managing his elbow over a lengthy period of time and Australia have opted for a cautious approach.”It’s disappointing to miss these matches against Pakistan but after chatting with the medical staff I can see the need to take a break at this time,” Smith said.”I do not regard this as a major issue but by staying on top of things now, we can ensure that it doesn’t become something more significant further down the line.”Smith was not bought in the IPL auction and will get a chance to rest for over two months as Australia’s next assignment is a three-format tour of Sri Lanka starting on June 7.Related

• Ashton Agar ruled out of ODI series after testing positive for Covid-19

• Depleted Australia look to make up ground in Super League against formidable Pakistan

• Injured Mitchell Marsh to miss opening ODI; Inglis tests positive for Covid

• Zampa not worried about three-month break: 'There's definitely enough cricket before it gets real again'

• Kane Richardson ruled out of Pakistan tour with hamstring injury

Chairman of selectors George Bailey said there was no need to risk Smith in the next four matches given the amount of cricket Australia is set to play from June onwards.”With the significant amount of cricket to come over the next 18 months, and the fact he has had an issue with the same elbow previously, it is appropriate for Steve to return home at the end of the Test series in Pakistan,” Bailey said.”We have opted not to name a replacement batter as we feel we have options within the existing squad, and Steve’s absence offers up additional opportunities to players within the group.”We are excited because with a T20 World Cup later this year and a 50-over Cricket World Cup in Asia next year, these four matches against a quality Pakistan team are a great chance for players to stake their claims for places in those tournaments.”We have decided to include Mitchell Swepson in the white ball squad because it will offer us additional options in the bowling department on surfaces that may well assist spinners.”Mitchell was part of our Twenty20 International squads in both the West Indies and Bangladesh last year, as well as at the T20 World Cup, and having been in Pakistan for the past month he is familiar with conditions. We know if called upon he will do an excellent job.”The three-match ODI series between Pakistan and Australia starts on Tuesday with the only T20I to be played on April 5. All four matches have been moved from Rawalpindi to Lahore due to political issues.Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Adam Zampa

There was 24% fall in participation during the pandemic hit 2020-21 season

Andrew McGlashan04-Aug-2021Inevitably Covid-19 had an impact on grassroots participation in Australian cricket last summer, and is likely to do so for another season, but the decline was mitigated somewhat by growth in the female game.Cricket Australia released its annual participation figures on Wednesday with an overall drop of 24% from approximately 710,000 registered players to 539,000.However, there was a 2% increase in children playing the game. That was powered by 17.5% growth among girls registered to clubs and the Woolworths Cricket Blast programme in the first summer after Australia’s T20 World Cup success, which finished with the final at the MCG with a crowd of over 86,000 just days before the pandemic shut down global sport.”We were really fortunate with some timings and there’s no doubt the impacts we felt last season will be a similar story this year,” James Allsopp, Cricket Australia’s executive general manager of community cricket told ESPNcricinfo. “Cricket really did reconnect communities last year after missing winter sports, that’s seen in the junior numbers, so we are really pleased with the way the game came out of it. We are also really mindful that the impacts won’t be a one-off thing, we’ll be navigating it this summer as well.”The areas hit hardest by the pandemic were indoor cricket, schools and social competitions. Overall, Cricket Australia said there were 170,000 games played last season largely thanks to the efforts of volunteers who adapted to the new normal.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Around the country, particularly Melbourne but everyone went through it at some stage, they had to do their version of biosecure plans,” Stuart Whiley, Cricket Australia’s head of participation, said. “There were Covid-safe plans, cricket club will never have spent more money on sanitiser, there were check-in, check-out systems.”For a club volunteer who is trying to do that as well as living with everything else going on that’s a lot of additional work. First and foremost, we are just really appreciative of the volume of work volunteers picked up to get those games to happen.”While trying to see through another season that appears likely to face disruption, an area of continued focus for CA is to ensure there are pathways into cricket outside of the club structure both for the multi-cultural communities and also those for who the traditional route is not the best fit.”We know that South Asian communities love their cricket so we are really sharply focused on how we are integrating those communities into our clubs,” Allsopp said. “We need to really understand their culture, what are the barriers to them participating and making sure we an inspiring them to play the game.”That’s something we are really mindful of as we start to work through the new strategic design. How do we continue to support the traditional club structure but how do we diversify the cricket offering so they are flexible, more social, you can opt in and out, to make sure there’s a format of cricket to suit everyone.”

The fast bowler could add to his two Test caps against England in the Ashes

AAP19-Nov-2021Jhye Richardson couldn’t help but doubt whether he would return to Australia’s Test squad during the past two and a half years of injury hell.Richardson need worry no longer, having demanded selection in a 15-man Ashes squad named on Wednesday with his eye-catching match haul of 8 for 61 at the Gabba last week.He made his Test debut at the same ground in 2019, taking the new ball while enhancing his reputation as the nation’s most exciting young paceman.Richardson was earmarked for big things at both the 2019 ODI World Cup and Ashes, only to dislocate his right shoulder while landing awkwardly during a fielding mishap in Sharjah.Related

• Khawaja and Travis Head set to compete for Australia's final batting spot

• Cummins won't ask for rest 'unless I've got something going wrong'

• Matt Prior: England have the fast bowlers to replicate 2010-11 Ashes success

The 25-year-old weathered several setbacks but is now back to his best, looming as the most likely fast bowler to step up whenever selectors opt to rejig the triumvirate of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.”An injury like that, that sets you back for so long. There’s certainly some of those negative thoughts that come in,” Richardson told reporters in Perth. “Whether or not I’m going to get back to where I was.”Or could I swing the ball or have my variations or whatever? Getting consecutive games in, it makes it all worth it…to know that I can bowl that many overs, relatively unscathed, I think it puts me in a good place.”Jhye Richardson celebrates the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne•Getty Images

Richardson has snagged 16 wickets at 12.50 this Sheffield Shield season, delivering 85.2 overs in total. He spooked selectors and medicos in October, suffering a back spasm while warming up during a match in Perth.But he quickly got the green light to resume bowling then made a big impression on George Bailey last week, when the chairman of selectors was in the stands as Richardson bowled his side to a Shield victory.”Getting pretty excited by Jhye,” Bailey said. “Physically I think he looks as strong as I’ve seen ever seen him…he’s starting to build some resilience into his body.”One particular spell was really impressive. He ended up getting the wickets of Marnus [Labuschagne] and Joe Burns, who both commented that it was impressive quality.”Bailey shared news of Richardson’s call-up with the fast bowler during that same game, putting him on the cusp of fulfilling a childhood dream.”It’s one of the biggest series that you can possibly be involved in. Super exciting,” said Richardson. The focus is, if I do get a game, to just make sure that I’m doing everything that I have done up until this point. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself.”

Hamilton Masakadza is unperturbed by Zimbabwe’s massive loss against Bangladesh in the first ODI, and is looking ahead to the final two games in the series

Mohammad Isam04-May-2013Zimbabwe batsman Hamilton Masakadza has said that the home side is not under pressure playing at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, a venue where they have lost to Bangladesh seven times in nine matches. He was the top-scorer in the first ODI, but was one of four batsmen to fall when the score was on 93.”I think we just had a bad start in Bulawayo,” Masakadza said. “We couldn’t fight like the way we were supposed to. I think 260 was a par-score on this wicket, which is batting friendly, but we just didn’t bat well enough to chase it down.”I think they (Bangladesh) had a few good games here where we haven’t played so well ourselves. We don’t really think there is a jinx. We chased 300 runs against New Zealand in a one-day game.”Masakadza fell trying to work Ziaur Rahman on the leg side. He was batting on 38 and was looking increasingly fidgety after the dismissal of Brendan Taylor a few overs earlier. He was ultimately adjudged leg-before and the collapse continued as Elton Chigumbura followed him back to the pavilion in the same over.”The mistake was that we kept playing across the line to Zia and gave him five wickets. This is a simple mistake, but I think this broke the back of the batting. So the guys had talked and thought about it. We had sometime in the nets today so I think it will be fine tomorrow (Sunday).”Masakadza wasn’t pressing any panic buttons yet, despite the big loss in the first game, but is looking forward to some more contributions from the rest of the batsmen. “We still have two more games to go. I believe we are capable of bouncing back and are looking forward to the game tomorrow.”There are guys in the middle orders who are also scoring runs, and they did it in [the] West Indies. So I think it’s not [just] relying on [a] few people. The whole thing is a team effort, and I think as a team we just didn’t come [out] right yesterday.”

Media giant Star enters rival Max’s territory with on-field advertising during the IPL

Amol Karhadkar03-Apr-2013Last week the BCCI and Star India, a Murdoch-owned, TV-centric media conglomerate, announced the latter’s association with IPL as an “official partner”. The announcement indicated that Star India was just another sponsor of the tournament but didn’t mention the significance – it had effectively entered the territory of one of their key competitors using the same platform and possibly changed the rules of the high-stakes advertising game.Multi Screen Media are the IPL’s official broadcasters through Max, their Hindi film channel, and their recently launched 24-hour sports channel. The broadcast rights deal, revised ahead of the 2009 IPL, is worth around Rs 900 crore ($165 milion) per year till 2017.Star India, on the other hand, have tied up with IPL to primarily promote their flagship channel, Star Plus. “We saw a great opportunity to use this platform to communicate our brand promise of [same relationship, new idea],” Uday Shankar, CEO of Star India, said in a statement following the deal.The significance of Star’s entry into a property owned by one of its competitors goes beyond the boundary signage that was shown frequently and prominently on the screen during Wednesday’s opening game. While not being seen as ambush marketing, it has created ripples in the media and entertainment industry. “We view it as an act of desperation by Star to be part of the biggest sporting entertainment event,” Manjit Singh, CEO of MSM, told , a business daily. “Star’s decision to be part of IPL simply validates our strategy of having bagged the telecast rights”.Some industry experts are looking at the deal as an innovative method of branding. “It could be a trend-setting deal in Indian advertising, where a company enters into a property owned by one of its competitors,” says Kiran Khalap, a brand consultant. “It is kind of a steal for Star to use a platform as big as IPL in such a manner.”The Star India deal is believed to be worth at least Rs 50 crore (approximately $10 million) per year. Even though both Star India and IPL have kept the form of the association under wraps, it is understood that the former plan to have characters from their 33-odd daily soaps attending most of the matches. After the first match against Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils on Wednesday night, one of the female actors from Star’s soaps handed out a Star Plus Award at Eden Gardens. In fact, the unique partnership has also left franchises wondering “whether the players will be asked to make a guest appearance in Star’s reality shows, just like film stars”.MSM’s tetchiness – as revealed by Singh’s unusually aggressive statement – is understandable, say industry experts. “It may turn out to be a profitable move, but Star India’s partnership with IPL is certainly not in a good taste,” a media buyer said on condition of anonymity. “It may start a vicious war between television media majors, similar to the ambush marketing campaigns run by the cola giants over sponsorship of cricket events in the late 90s and early 2000s.”Khalap, however, says this isn’t ambush marketing. “I can’t call it an ambush. It’s effective deployment of resources by a media conglomerate to use a property that’s as big and reach out to the target audience in one more way.”Ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar speaks from a financial perspective. “Cricket is the biggest money-spinning factor in India. The IPL is the second-most followed cricket event after the World Cup,” Kakkar says. “So it doesn’t matter whether it’s ambush or not. Any association with a property like IPL is going to surely help a brand in a much bigger way.”

BCCI awaiting exemption for family members of squad

Nagraj Gollapudi17-May-2021The Indian contingent that will head to the UK for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England this summer will undergo a hard quarantine, spanning two weeks, starting May 19. Also part of this plan will be the Indian women’s squad, which is scheduled to play a one-off Test followed by three ODIs and three T20Is. Both the Indian squads will assemble in Mumbai and are likely to fly out together on a charter flight to London on June 2.As per the BCCI’s plan, the 20 players in the men’s Test squad, excluding those residing in Mumbai, will start their quarantine at the team hotel from Wednesday. The BCCI has arranged charter flights that will pick up all the players, coaches and support staff from different parts of India and bring them to Mumbai.From May 24 onwards the rest of the squad and members of the team management residing in Mumbai, including Indian captain Virat Kohli, his deputy Ajinkya Rahane, senior batsman Rohit Sharma along with head coach Ravi Shastri, will enter the bio-secure bubble at the Mumbai team hotel. The Mumbai group will also serve a strict home quarantine starting on May 19.To ensure the bubble is completely secure, the BCCI has arranged for all members – both the men’s and women’s squads – to get three negative tests before they board the flights to Mumbai. There will be further testing done at the team hotel in Mumbai before they embark on the London flight.Saha to join Mumbai bubble later
Wriddhiman Saha, who is one of the two wicketkeepers along with Rishabh Pant for the WTC final and the England series, will join the Mumbai bubble in the week leading to the England departure. Saha had tested positive for Covid-19 during his stay in the Delhi leg of the IPL where he plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Saha, who has been in quarantine for two weeks, has got the BCCI permission to visit his family in Kolkata before he heads to Mumbai to join the Indian Test squad.Related

• India players' families given clearance for England tour

• WTC final: India and New Zealand to share trophy in case of a draw or a tie

• Wriddhiman Saha, Amit Mishra, Prasidh Krishna recover from Covid-19

• Sunrisers' Saha tests positive for Covid-19

• Rahul to undergo surgery for appendicitis

Saha was one of the three players, along with KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna, whose availability, the BCCI had said while naming the squad, was subject to fitness. Rahul had undergone surgery to treat appendicitis during the IPL where he is captain of Punjab Kings. Krishna, who plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders, had tested positive for Covid-19 a day after returning from the IPL to his home town Bengaluru recently.Ten-day quarantine in Southampton
The men’s squad will head directly to Southampton where India will play New Zealand in the inaugural WTC final between June 18-22. ESPNcricinfo understands that as per the permission sought from the British government by the ECB, which will coordinate with the ICC in hosting the WTC final, the Indian Test squad will undergo a 10-day quarantine at the team hotel which is located within the ground premises in Southampton. However unlike the hard quarantine in Mumbai, the Indian squad would be allowed to train in a controlled fashion within the Southampton bubble, which will comprise the team hotel and the ground and training facilities.BCCI awaits exemption for family members
One significant question still facing the BCCI is getting exemptions for the family members of the Indian contingent. It is learnt that the ECB is working with the UK government on seeking these exemptions.With the number of Covid cases nearing 25 million overall, India is only behind the US globally and also has the third-largest death count since the pandemic hit. Recently the UK government had put India on the red list of countries for travel – both outbound and inbound.
Despite most of its adult population having received at least one shot of the vaccine, the UK government has been cautious about incoming travellers from India mainly due to concern over the growing number of cases related to the coronavirus variant, B.1.617.2, which originated in India. On Monday, Matt Hancock, the British Health Secretary said there were about 2,323 cases of the Indian variant.At present, the BCCI has allowed family members to be part of the Mumbai bubble. The family members will undergo the same bio-safety protocols meant for the team while living in the bubble.