Usman Khawaja wins the inaugural Shane Warne Men's Test Player of the Year award

Usman Khawaja has been named the men's Test player of the year with 22 votes at the Australian Cricket Awards ceremony in 2023.

Abishek Goswami

Jan 30, 2023, 4:22 PM

Named in honor of the legendary spinner Shane Wrane, who passed away last march, Usman Khawaja got 22 votes and defeated Marnus Labuschagne (20) and Steve Smith (16) in the race. He was the favorite after an impressive year in the Test Format. He has been exceptional after rejoining the Test team in January 2022.

Shane Warne Men's Test Player of the Year: Usman Khawaja

Shane Warne Men's Test Player of the Year: Usman Khawaja | Sportz Point
Usman Khawaja
Image -
Cricket Australia

Usman Khawaja entered the squad during the Ashes series due to Travis Head's injury. During his acceptance speech, Khawaja thanked Travis Head for making way from the Australian team in a sarcastic way. Since Ashes, Khawaja has been brilliant for Australia. He is Australia's Top Run Scorer in the 5-day format in 2022 with 1020 runs at an average of 78.46.

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Usman Khawaja in SCG
Image - Getty Images

He smashed an Undefeated 195 runs against South Africa in the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) & ended the voting debate. This was his third consecutive Test Century there. The Queenslander was unstoppable in Pakistan, his country of birth, registering scores of 97, 160, 44 not out, 92 and 104 not out during the historic tour.

Khawaja was also selected for the ICC Test Team of the Year alongside his teammates Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon & Marnus Labuschagne.

Read Also: The New Brand Ambassador of Puma: Harmanpreet Kaur

The votes contain the votes from the players, umpires, and Media. Australia played 17 matches during the voting Period. This award was the first major honour presented at the 2023 Australian Cricket Awards.

Khawaja earlier in the night also won the Community Impact Award for his work off the field. The Australian opener's Foundation helps young people from disadvantaged communities by providing educational and cricketing opportunities.

Shane Warne Test Player of the Year: Last 5 Years Winner

  • 2018 – Steve Smith
  • 2019 – Nathan Lyon
  • 2020 – Marnus Labuschagne
  • 2021 – Pat Cummins
  • 2022 – Travis Head
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Eden Gardens soon to be renamed after India legend Jhulan Goswami

According to ICC, the Block B Gallery of Eden Gardens will be renamed in her honor. This stand will be inaugurated during the Indian women's team's first T20I match against England on January 22 next year.

Payal Debnath

Nov 21, 2024, 11:59 AM

Eden Gardens soon to be renamed after India legend Jhulan Goswami

A stand at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata will soon be named after India's legendary fast bowler Jhulan Goswami

According to ICC, the Block B Gallery of Eden Gardens will be renamed in her honor. This stand will be inaugurated during the Indian women's team's first T20I match against England on January 22 next year.

Also Read: 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup stats: Most Wickets and Everything

Stands have also been built at Eden Gardens in the names of former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, former Indian cricketer Pankaj Roy, and former BCCI presidents Jagmohan Dalmiya and Biswanath Dutt.

Highest wicket-taker in women's ODI

Jhulan Goswami retired two years ago after an illustrious 20-year career with the Indian women's team. She was considered one of the best fast bowlers in women's cricket. Her career is still reflected in the impressive record that she maintains even after her retirement. Goswami holds the record for taking the highest number of wickets (255) in women's ODI.

Jhulan Goswami ended her career after appearing in 12 Tests, 204 ODIs and 68 T20Is and taking 355 wickets across all formats. In the women's Test format, Goswami has taken 44 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 17.36 and an economy of 2.02.

Goswami has 56 wickets to her name in the women's T20I format, with an average of 21.94 and an economy of 5.45. In the ODI format, she has taken 255 wickets in 204 matches at an average of 22.04.

Also Read: All the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup winners

Working as bowling coach of MI

The 41-year-old Goswami is currently working as the bowling coach and mentor of the Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League (WPL), which won the inaugural season of the league. Earlier this year, Goswami was the team mentor at the Women's Caribbean Premier League franchise Trinbago Knight Riders. 

After retirement, Goswami has worked as a mentor for the senior Bengal women's team and has also been involved in the Women's Premier League.

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Matthew Wade retires, joined Australian coaching team

On Tuesday, Matthew Wade, the Australian wicketkeeper batter, announced his retirement from international cricket. However, he will join the men's team's coaching unit in the upcoming T20 series against Pakistan.

Ritwika Nag

Oct 29, 2024, 7:43 AM

Matthew Wade retires, joined Australian coaching team

Matthew Wade, the Australian wicketkeeper batter, has announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday. However, he will join the men's team's coaching unit from the upcoming T20 series against Pakistan.

Matthew Wade career

Matthew Wade-sportzpoint.com

Matthew Wade played 225 matches for Australia, featuring in 36 test matches, 97 one-day internationals, and 92 T20 internationals for Australia. He last played the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies in 2024.

Not only that, he played a crucial role in Australia's T20 World Cup victory in 2021 in Dubai.

Wade' Retirement

Matthew Wade-sportzpoint.com

The 36-year-old Matthew Wade ended his 13-year long playing career.

"I'm officially retiring," Wade, who retired from first-class cricket last summer, was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. "It's been an ongoing discussion for pretty much every tour or every World Cup that I've been on in the last three or four years.

"It's been a really fluent conversation that I've had with George (Bailey, chief selector) and Ronnie (coach Andrew McDonald) over the last six months or since the last World Cup finished. Even leading into the last World Cup, we've been really open and had really great communication around where I'm at with my career.

"If we went into the last World Cup and I managed to get some runs and we won that, then things would look maybe a little different and maybe I'd keep going... it was just kind of an understanding from all of us," Wade added.

Matthew Wade in coaching

Matthew Wade-sportzpoint.com

Matthew Wade will kick off his coaching career with the national team from its upcoming outing in the T20 Series against Pakistan. He will travel under the leadership of Andre Borovec.

Later, the team will regroup for the ODI Series, which starts in Melbourne next week.

Wade, however, is not new to coaching. He has been in this role during the winter while coaching the Tasmanian youth and second XI.

Well, Wade will continue playing for his Big Bash League side, the Hobart Hurricanes, for at least the next two summers.

Also, he will continue playing for his domestic team, Tasmania.

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Border-Gavaskar Trophy: This player once lost 17kg to play cricket, is now set for India Test debut vs Australia

Harshit Rana, after battling multiple injuries and shedding 17 kg, earns his maiden Test call-up for India’s series against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Ritwika Nag

Oct 28, 2024, 6:44 AM

Harshit Rana in Duleep Trophy

Harshit Rana who was selected in India's senior team squad against Australia has early struggles with injuries.

On October 25, BCCI announced the squad for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, which includes Harshit Rana's name. The 22-year-old fast bowler had earned the limelight after a stellar season in the 2024 Indian Premier League for KKR, is now tying his laces for the maiden call test call.

Earlier he toured with the senior team in the T20I series against Zimbabwe. He was a part of the team in the home series against Bangladesh. Not only that, he was on the reserved bench in the test series against New Zealand.

With the call against Australia, it's high time to count days for his debut in the whites anytime soon.

Harshit Rana faced injury before he was 20

Harshit Rana is on the cusp of a promising career as he gears up for India’s five-match Test tour of Australia. Despite a meteoric rise, Rana has faced considerable setbacks due to injuries. By the age of 20, he had already endured multiple stress fractures, sidelining him from the sport for extended periods.

Initially, it was his back, then it was his groin, then his calf and a niggle in the shoulder. His father Pradeep Rana informed that he took Harshit to many hospitals and even to an Ayurveda facility in Najafgarh. 

When playing cricket looked impossible, it was the inspiration Harshit drew from Navdeep Saini who bowled with his injured groin. Moreover, the 2020-21 Australia tour played a huge role in fuelling Harshit Rana's courage.

A bruised team battled to the winning position in the 2020-21 Australia tour. The injured duo Vihari and Ashwin who batted throughout ensuring a draw at Sydney, and Cheteswar Pujara who took 11 blows on his body at Gabba inspired him more than anyone can imagine.

Harshit Rana dedicates his maiden test call to his Father

Harshit Rana-sportzpoint.com
Photo Credit: Harshit Rana official Instagram

Harshit Rana's Pradeep Rana, who once represented CRPF in hammer throw has never left his side. The senior Rana would pull him out of sleep at 4 am, to make him watch India playing in Australia on television.

His father made it a morning routine in winter, in Delhi for a six-year-old Harshit Rana. He even threw tantrums because he wanted to continue sleeping.

It was Pradeep Rana who knocked on all possible doors to keep his son fit for the game. He not only visited doctors but read articles, watched videos and tried applying everything to help his son play on the big stage.

In an interview with the Indian Express, Harshit said, "he told me that it was okay even if I don’t become a professional cricketer. Whatever I am today, it is because of my father.

The Journey of Shedding 17 Kilograms

During the 2023-24 period, he suffered from a hamstring injury. As a result, he missed that entire session of the Ranji Trophy. 

From November 2023 to the pre-IPL period, he worked hard on his fitness shedding 17 kilograms. This significant weight loss not only improved his performance but also helped him remain injury-free for the next seven months, a crucial period leading to his maiden Test call-up.

Harshit credits the Indian team management for monitoring his workload as he focuses on playing across all formats—Tests, ODIs, and T20s. 

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Most consecutive test series win at home: India at top

Indian men's cricket team have the record for most consecutive test series wins at home. Since 2013, till now they have won 18 consecutive series in India.

Ritwika Nag

Oct 27, 2024, 10:10 AM

Most consecutive test series win at home: India at top

The Indian Men's Cricket Team have already lost their series to New Zealand after losing the first two tests. With that, India's home test series wins ended. However, India still tops the list with 18 home series wins.

The 18th win came against Bangladesh after a 2-0 whitewash against them.

Here's the list of the top five teams with the most consecutive Test series wins at home

series win-sportzpoint.com

India leads the chart with 18 series wins, followed by Australia twice in the list, having 10 wins each time. 

Rank Team Consecutive Series Wins From To
1 India 18 February 2013 October 2024
2 Australia 10 November 1994 November 2000
2 Australia 10 July 2004 November 2008
4 West Indies 8 March 1976 February 1986
5 New Zealand 8 December 2017 January 2021

New Zealand | 8

NZ-sportzpoint.com

New Zealandstanding 5th in the table, has 8 home series wins to their name. Starting from December 2017 to January 2021. The team led by Kane Williamson had a perfect combination with the likes of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Ross Taylor, perfectly complementing the spin-friendly pitches, allowing the team to capitalize on the home advantage.

West Indies | 8

WI-sportzpoint.com

Once a terror in World Cricket, the time span of West Indian dominance in test cricket clearly defines the legacy of the team.

The Clive Lloyd-led team, having shoulders of greats like Viv Richards and bowling legend Malcolm Marshall, had its winning streak of 8 series at home from March 1976 to February 1986.

Australia | 10 each

Aus-sportzpoint.com

Another ruling team in World Cricket that successfully carried forward their once-created legacy is Australia. Australia is in the chart twice, having 10 consecutive home series wins.

The first phase started from October 1994 to November 2000. A little gap in between, and then the winning streak continued from July 2004 to November 2008.

India | 18

IND-sportzpoint.com

After the Kanpur test win against Bangladesh, for the first time after 92 years of Test cricket history, India had more test wins than losses.

Not only that, India's series winning streak at home increased to 18, making it an undisputed contender amongst the world giants.

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The Craziest Collapse in Cricket History: Western Australia vs. Tasmania

The One Day Cup in Australia has experienced one of the craziest collapses in the Western Australia vs. Tasmania match at Perth, with the former shattering within 54 runs,

Ritwika Nag

Oct 25, 2024, 10:05 AM

Jhye Richardson was part of Western Australia's batting collapse against Tasmania. Photo Courtesy: Will Russell/Getty Images

The One Day Cup in Australia has experienced one of the craziest collapses in the Western Australia vs. Tasmania match at Perth. The star-studded squad of Western Australia crumbled down to just 53 runs, that too losing 8 wickets in the last 1 run.

Western Australia vs Tasmania match registers a Record-Breaking Downfall

Western Australia was going through a disaster management period while having a stable score of 52-2 unless the real disaster hit them. Within just 20.1 overs, the team's entire batting lineup shattered, with the score reaching 53.

All the middle-order batsmen from the team were dismissed without scoring. The only run that came during the collapse was due to a wide delivery.

This unprecedented collapse saw them record the second-lowest score in One-Day Cup history, only behind South Australia’s 51 runs in 2003. 

This remarkable turn of events set a new record for the worst eight-wicket collapse in Australian domestic cricket.

Read Also: Who is next after Warner? Cricket Australia finds it difficult to choose their test opener

Lowest team totals in Australian domestic one-day cup

51 - South Australia vs TAS in Hobart, 2003

53 - Western Australia vs TAS in Perth, 2024

59 - Western Australia vs VIC in Melbourne, 1969

59 - CA XI vs NSW in Sydney, 2015

Stars in Trouble: The Players’ Dismal Performance

Cooper Connolly of Western Australia. Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images-sportzpoint.com
Cooper Connolly of Western Australia. Photo Courtesy: Will Russell/Getty Images

The catastrophic defeat's courtesy goes to star players such as Hilton Cartwright, Ashton Turner, and Jhye Richardson, who all went for ducks.

D’Arcy Short was the highest scorer in the team, with 22 runs, with Cameron Bancroft the only other player to reach double figures.

D’Arcy Short-sportzpoint.com

Tasmania’s Beau Webster was the standout performer, claiming 6 wickets for just 17 runs, and Billy Stanlake contributed with 3 wickets for 12 runs. 

Tasmania’s Quick Victory: A Record Chase

Beau Webster took career-best figures of 6 for 17 on an incredible day  •  Getty Images-sportzpoint.com
Beau Webster took career-best figures of 6 for 17 on an incredible day. Photo Courtesy: Getty Images

Thanks to Western Australia’s historic collapse, Tasmania registers the record for fastest runs chased in the Australian domestic one-day.

Chasing down 54 runs in just 8.3 overs, Tasmania won the match by seven wickets. 

Fastest successful run chases in Australian domestic one-day cup

51 balls - Tasmania vs WA in Perth, 2024

67 balls - Victoria vs CA XI in Sydney, 2015

91 balls - Western Australia vs TAS in Brisbane, 2014

102 bals - Western Australia vs NSW in Perth, 2022

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