Kane WilliamsonHe was born on 8th August 1990 and is regarded as the best cricketer from New Zealand. He made the fastest 6000 runs in the traditional form of the game. He is the youngest player from New Zealand to have scored a century. He is currently the captain of the New Zealand cricket team and he even plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL. The player was positioned no. 1 on the ICC World Test rankings in 2015. He has even received the prestigious ‘Bayleys Real Estate Sportsman of the Year' award in 2015.Steve SmithHe was born on 2nd June 1989. He is an Australian international cricket player who is even the former captain of the team. He is known as the best batsman in the World in 2015,2016&2017 due to his countless remarkable performance. He has an amazing Test batting average of 61.37. It was in 2010 that Steve made his international debut. He is the only ODI player to have scored five consecutive 50s in the history of the World Cup. He was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and is the youngest to have received the honor. He was even named ICC Test Player of the Year in 2015&2017.David WarnerHe was born on 27th October 1986 and is the former captain of the Australian national cricket team. He made his international cricket debut in 2009 and is the first Australian batsman to have scored 7 ODI centuries in a single year. He is also an exceptional IPL player. David during his career has played 106 international matches till date and has scored 4343 runs. In 2018 due to the ball-tampering scandal, he was banned from playing domestic and international cricket for a year. After this, he returned in full form in the IPL team of Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019.Chris GayleHe was born on September 21, 1979. He is a Jamaican player and plays cricket for West Indies along with IPL for Kings XI Punjab. He is the only player to have hit six off the first ball of a test match. He made his international cricket debut in 1999 and in 2005 he became the first player to score a Test triple century against South Africa. In 2007 World 20-20 he set the first record of being the highest scorer. In 2009 in a match against Australia he became the fifth-fastest century scorer in a test match. He has played a total of 50 T20 test matches till now with a run score of 1519 and in ODI he has scored 9727 runs in 284 matches.Brett LeeHe was born on 8th November 1976 in Wollongong, New South Wales. He was an Australian cricket player who played for the Australian cricket team and New South Wales Blue. During his career, he has taken more than 300 wickets and is one of the fastest cricketers World has known with fastest bowling delivery of 161.4 km/h. He has received the Donald Bradman Young Player of the Year award in 2000.Muttiah MuralitharanHe was born on 17 April 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He was a Sri Lankan cricketer whose unorthodox delivery made him one of the most effective and controversial spin bowlers in history. He became the second bowler in 2007 to have collected 700 test wickets. With his 709th wicket, he became the most prolific bowler in the history of test cricket. In the final match that he played, he took his 800th wicket and with this, he became the first bowler in history to reach that seemingly unreachable mark.Brian LaraHe was born on May 2, 1969, and is popularly known as the ‘Prince of Trinidad’ and ‘Prince of Port of Spain’. He played for the West Indies cricket team and is among the seven players who have scored more than 10000 runs in both Test and ODI. He is a legendary cricketer who gained prominence for playing big knocks and holds many records. He holds the record for an individual test score of 400 not out. The player has scored nine double centuries in test cricket and was even inducted into ICC Hall of Fame in 2012. In April 2006, Lara was appointed as the captain of the West Indies. The player is an honorary member of the Order of Australia.Wasim AkramHe was born on June 3, 1966, in Lahore. He is a Pakistani cricket player who is generally regarded as the greatest left-handed bowler of all the time. He is the one who leads Pakistan to the World Cup championship of ODI cricket in 1992. He has seized 414 wickets in test cricket out of which 192 were clean bowled which is the highest of any cricketer. With 23 four-wicket hauls in ODIs, he is the only bowler. He was even signed in as the bowling coach for 2010 IPL and mentored the franchise for 5 years. He continues to serve as a mentor for KKR in IPL.Shane WarneShane Keith Warne, an Australian cricketer was born on September 13th, 1969. He was one of the most effective bowlers in history. he became the first bowler to take 700 test wickets in 2006. His success brought the art of leg-spin which was dominated by fast bowling. In 2000 Warne was named one of the Five cricketers of the century by Wisden cricketers’ Almanack. In his career, he has taken a total of 708 test wickets. He took retirement from test cricket in 2007 but continued to compete on the club level until 2011.Jacques KallisHe was born on 16th October 1975 and is a former South African cricketer. Kallis was one of the world’s leading all-rounders between 1998 and 2002. At the age of 23, he led South Africa to the ICC Champions Trophy title with two “Man of the Match” and the “Player of the Series” performances. He has even played for KKR in IPL. He is the only cricketer to score more than 10000 runs and took over 250 wickets in both ODI and test match cricket along with 131 ODI catches. He finally retired in 2014.Read More: IPL 2020 Auction: Date, venue and auction purse available for all eight teams
The ICC in Wednesday authoritatively affirmed that groups will be granted normalized 12 focuses for a success, four for a draw and six for a tie during the subsequent World Test Championship cycle which starts with the five-match series among India and England in August. The ICC further said that level of focuses won will be utilized to decide standings in the 2021-23 cycle. Prior, each Test series conveyed a worth of 120 focuses which prompted a certain imbalance in the table as a group winning a Test in a two-match series got 60 focuses contrasted with five-game series where a Test win is esteemed at 24 focuses. PTI had last month announced that ICC was set to present the new normalized focuses framework for the subsequent WTC cycle soon. ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said the progressions were made to work on the focuses framework while taking learnings from the interruption last year. "We got criticism that the past focuses framework should have been improved. The Cricket Committee thought about this while proposing another, normalized focuses framework for each match. It kept up with the guideline of guaranteeing that all matches in a WTC series tally towards a group's standing while at the same time obliging series fluctuating long between two Tests and five Tests," Allardice said in an ICC proclamation.Also Read: India To Send A 228 Strong Contingent To Tokyo Olympics With 119 Competitors In It"During the pandemic, we needed to change to positioning groups on the focuses table utilizing the level of accessible focuses won by each group, since everything series couldn't be finished. "This assisted us with deciding the finalists and we had the option to finish the title inside the planned time span. This strategy likewise permitted us to think about the general execution of groups whenever paying little heed to the number of matches they had played." Aside from the India-England series, the Ashes in the not so distant future will be the solitary another five-match issue in the second cycle which will end in June 2023. Australia's visit through India one year from now is the lone four-Test series in the forthcoming cycle. The nine Test groups will play an aggregate of six series - three home and three away actually like the past version. India chief Virat Kohli said after losing the debut WTC last to New Zealand, he anticipates that his side should refocus with "new energy" in the new cycle, which starts with the primary Test against England beginning August 4. "It was extraordinary to have played the last of the ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand in what was a noteworthy challenge. Not simply the last, we saw the assurance of players all through the principal version of the title," Kohli said. "The accompanying of cricket sweethearts also was incredible to see, and I am certain they will all be standing by enthusiastically for the subsequent release. We will pull together with new energy for the following cycle beginning with our series against England." Defending champ New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said WTC has restored individuals' advantage in the conventional organization of the game. "It was clearly beautiful uncommon to win the debut ICC World Test Championship in Southampton last month and it's invigorating to now look forward to the subsequent version. Also Read: What Daily Inside Tokyo Olympic Village Will Resemble"The WTC has absolutely added more setting and carried new importance to Test cricket and it was marvellous to see the premium that was created around the Final against India," he said. "We know attempting to shield the title will be a gigantic test, however, our attention will be on ensuring we get ready also as we can for the visits ahead and attempting to keep up with our degree of execution." Britain chief Joe Root portrays the impending five-Test duel against India as a "fascinating test". "We start our mission in the second release of the ICC World Test Championship against the finalists of last time, which is an intriguing test straight away," he said. "India is a fine all-round side and it is nice to test them in our home conditions. We barely passed up fitting the bill for the last time and are hoping to improve this time."
Cricket has evolved over the years and so is batting. Only Test cricket existed before the 70’s when batters were required to show reliance and stay at the crease for long. However, the introduction of limited-overs cricket enhanced the significance of the run rate. With a certain limit in the number of deliveries, batters started focusing on scoring runs at a brisk pace alongside keeping their wickets safe.The need to run fast also motivated hitters to play big shots and hit sixes in international cricket. Hitting the ball on the strings is definitely not bread and butter, because hitting the ball with a six takes strength and timing. In the old days, players didn't really insist on taking the regional path. However, modern cricket is fast approaching and the sixth play is becoming mainstream.It wouldn't be wrong to say that the introduction of the T20 format made six hits popular. However, there were players who did not mind sending the ball over the ropes even in the longest form. In particular, the red ball speaks more than the white ball. However, in the midst of any challenge, a certain breed of hitter would support his impressive hitting skills. As of now, former New Zealand captain Brendon McCollum (107) and former Australian goalkeeper Adam Gilchrist (100) are the only two players to hit the 100 Six in Test format.Most sixes in Test matches:NameTeamSixesMatchesRunsBrendon McCullumNew Zealand1071016453Adam GilchristAustralia100965570Chris GayleWest Indies981037214Jacques KallisSouth Africa9716613289Virender SehwagIndia911048586Big hits and smashing sixes have definitely become an important aspect of batting in today's cricket. However, one must not forget that the international bowlers' confrontation with the cleaners requires batting. Therefore, taking six races out of one go requires some skill and skill. However, current players like Rohit Sharma, David Warner, and Ben Stokes have tasted success in all forms with their aggressive approach.Most sixes in international cricket:NameTeamSixesMatchesRunsChris GayleWest Indies55047819548Shahid AfridiPakistan47652411196Rohit SharmaIndia43837914900Brendon McCullumNew Zealand39843214676MS DhoniIndia35953817266Speaking of the most sixes in international cricket, universe chief Chris Gayle tops the list with 550 six across all three formats. Notably, this West Indies player is still an active cricketer and has all the potential to increase his numbers. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi (476) and Indian opener Rohit Sharma (436) are the only other two players to hit the 400+ sixes in international cricket.Also, Read - Who are The Best Cricketers in the World | Pitch High
Ravichandran Ashwin's retirement could mark the beginning of a significant transition for the Indian cricket team. As per a report by Cricbuzz, this shift might begin during the England tour scheduled for June-July next year. The ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, India's last red-ball series of the year, might also signal the end of an era for India's "OG generation," a term used by Ashwin during his retirement announcement at the Gabba in Brisbane on December 18.Ashwin was a key member of a group that included Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ravindra Jadeja—players who became the backbone of the team following the retirement of legends like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and VVS Laxman between 2012 and 2013. The fact that Ashwin is the first among this core to step down has taken many by surprise.Indirect signals of a new phase for Team IndiaWhile Ashwin's decision appears voluntary, there is speculation that subtle indications may have influenced it. According to Cricbuzz, the upcoming transition could gain momentum during India's next Test series in England, beginning in the summer of 2025. Though no official directive seemed to prompt Ashwin's retirement, the team’s choices in recent matches might have sent an indirect message. This situation draws parallels with the 2008 transition when multiple senior players retired in quick succession.Ashwin’s omission from the playing XI in the Perth Test, where Washington Sundar was chosen over him and Ravindra Jadeja, raised eyebrows. This marked a significant shift, as Ashwin, India’s second-highest wicket-taker with 675 scalps, has seldom been overshadowed by another off-spinner. While Ashwin has often been benched in overseas Tests in favor of Jadeja, being overlooked for Sundar was seen as a more pointed message.A similar path for other senior players?The murmurs around Ashwin’s performance, particularly after a lackluster series against New Zealand, were likely noticed by the spinner himself. While there’s no confirmation that selectors directly pushed him toward retirement, such developments would not have gone unnoticed by a seasoned professional. With India’s chances of making the WTC final now slim, other senior players might also face similar circumstances.The next Test cycle, beginning with a five-match series in England, could see the baton being passed to a younger generation. Leadership changes may also be on the horizon, potentially marking a new chapter for Indian cricket.Also Read: Ravindra Jadeja Scores 22nd Half Century in Ind vs AUS Test Series
