Australia remove both India openers to take charge of WTC final
LONDON :Australia racked up 469 in their first innings and reduced India to 37-2 at second day's tea to take charge of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval on Thursday.
Scott Boland Sport News
Watch: Mohammed Shami Rattles Marnus Labuschagne's Stumps With A Ripper On Day 1 Of WTC Final
The World Test Championship final between India and Australia kicked off at the Oval, London on Wednesday. India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first against the Pat Cummins-led side. The Rahul Dravid-coached team went in with a four-pronged pace attack and preferred Ravindra Jadeja over seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as the lone spinner. Mohammed Siraj dismissed Usman Khawaja to give India a really good start before David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne stitched 69 runs for the second wicket for Australia. Shardul Thakur got better of Warner and then Mohammed Shami produced a ripper to get rid of Labuschagne.
India elect to field in WTC final v Australia
LONDON : India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval on Wednesday.
Setback for Australia as Josh Hazlewood ruled out of WTC final against India
Australia suffered a significant setback on Sunday after it was announced that fast bowler Josh Hazlewood had been ruled out of the World Test Championship final against India.
Watch: "If He Wasn't Allowed To..." Team Australia Reveals Worst Present For Steve Smith
India and Australia are gearing up to face each other in the most-awaited World Test Championship final at The Oval from June 7. Both the teams are busy sweating it out in the nets as they aim to add another coveted ICC trophy to their name. With only three days left for the marquee event, ICC had a fun activity with Team Australia, where all the players were asked to name the worst gift which they would like to give their star batter Steve Smith.
World Test Championship Final 2023: Scott Boland Will Be Part Of Australia's playing XI
Right-arm fast-medium bowler Scott Boland has been given the big responsibility to fill the gap of injured Josh Hazlewood in the Australian Playing XI for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India starting from Wednesday at the Ovals in London. Australian captain Pat Cummins confirmed that Scott would be given preference over Michael Neser in the final side. "We're big on kind of everyone bowling slightly differently, Scott is a seam bowler on a good length, but he just offers something slightly different to Joshy Hazlewood, and Starcy being a left hander is bit different. So I don't think there's ever a pecking order. You think about the three guys that you want to go out and play," Cummins said as quoted by cricket.com.au.
Australia Pacer Josh Hazlewood Ruled Out Of WTC Final Against India, Michael Neser Gets Call-Up
Australia suffered a big setback after senior fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the upcoming World Test Championship final against India, having failed to recover from a side strain picked up during his IPL stint in India. The WTC final is scheduled at the Oval from June 7-11. Australia included fast bowler Michael Neser in the squad with Hazlewood reportedly being given furthermore time to recover and prepare for the Ashes in England. Neser has been playing in the County Championship for Glamorgan this season and has been in fine rhythm, having taken 14 wickets in his last three games which includes 7/32 against Yorkshire. He has played two Tests for Australia and has got seven wickets.
'Slightly Concerned About Future Of Test Cricket': Steve Smith Ahead Of WTC Final
Star Australia batter Steve Smith on Monday expressed his concerns over the future of the five-day game ahead of the World Test Championship final against India beginning at The Oval on Wednesday. The rapid growth of franchise cricket around the world has put pressure on the international schedule. The smaller nations are not playing enough Test cricket, with India, Australia and England effectively driving the longest format. It was, though, ironical that Smith spoke about the uncertain future ahead of the biggest game in Test cricket -- the WTC final.