‘This is a great leadership opportunity for David, he has really embraced his role as vice-captain and we are confident he will do a great job in Steve’s place’.
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Dilshan will bid adieu from ODIs after the third game against Australia in Dambulla on Sunday and the second T20I in Colombo on 9th September will be his last in the shortest format of the game.
West Indies faces India in two Twenty20 Internationals in Florida at the weekend in a litmus test for both cricket’s future in the United States and Carlos Brathwaite’s credentials as Caribbean skipper.
Clarke questioned why if Smith needed a rest, he didn’t return to Australia after the test series. There’s a lot at stake for an opener and not many players excel in that discipline.
Former Australia captain Clarke tweeted his agreement to a comment from Slater saying that the captain should be there to the end of the series.
“We respect our former captains and former greats who have an opinion”, Lehmann said before tomorrow’s third ODI. There’s no dramas, they’re entitled to that.
“Nathan had been experiencing a gradual increase in lower back pain which is now preventing him from bowling at match intensity”, Australia physiotherapist David Beakley said. But a losing 3-0 series there has led to Smith’s team dropping to No.3 on the ICC rankings.
One of the very few cricketers to have a stroke named after him, “Dilscoop”, Dilshan scored 5,492 runs at 40.98 with 16 centuries and 23 half-centuries in Test cricket. Pakistan’s plans to host the day-night Test were made after they agreed to play Australia.
While acknowledging that Steven Smith “took some convincing” to sit out the remainder of the Sri Lanka tour in order to rest and re-charge for Australia’s forthcoming fixtures, coach Darren Lehmann has strongly defended the move as being in the team’s best interests. Australia will then tour New Zealand and India early next year.
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The Australians remain well rewarded financially in terms of base contracts and match payments, with players pocketing a fixed percentage of between 24.5 and 27 per cent of annual revenue depending on performance. Kevin Roberts, a former board member turned administrator, will lead CA’s negotiations.
