It’s harder to be an international cricketer than we realise

Remembering Hick’s and Ramprakash’s potential, Shami could play the BGT, & Southee to retire.

Shami’s return makes it look easier than it is, but sometimes we forget how hard it is to make it as an impactful international cricketer.

Shami might play in Adelaide

Shami could play the BGT, Southee to retire, & AFG-W will play their first game in exile.

• Mohammad Shami could return for Team India before the third Test in Adelaide. Indian Express’ Pratyush Raj reports on the bowler’s successful return in the Ranji Trophy, while Cricbuzz has a roundup of the all the tournament’s action, including Goa’s unfathomable 727-2d against Andhra Pradesh.

• Tim Southee will retire after the New Zealand series against England.

• The IPL auction will have two sets of marquee players for the first time since 2018, while the BBL & WBBL have announced a new 10-day trading window soon after the leagues conclude.

• Afghanistan Women will have a chance to play their first match in exile in Melbourne, three years after fleeing the Taliban.

• The ICC has taken the World Cricketers’ Association complaints seriously, and are talking to national boards about completing payments to their players.

It’s harder to be an international cricketer than we realise

Remembering Hick’s and Ramprakash’s potential, Pooran’s 100th T20I, & Tendulkar’s last Ranji game.

• Arrangements of White on Green’s Jon Hotten writes about the fleetingness of potential as England look to re-haul their white ball side - by looking back at the fleeting international careers of Graeme Hick & Mark Ramprakash.

• ESPNcricinfo’s Mohammad Isam has two stories from Bangladesh; the sunset of first class legend 37-year old Farhad Hossain’s career as he never got an international cap, and the sunrise of 23-year old Amite Hasan’s journey as he fights to prove himself to the national team selectors.

• ESPNcricinfo’s Philip Spooner talks to Nicholas Pooran about reaching the 100 T20I mark.

• Sportstar’s Pranay Rajiv looks back at Sachin Tendulkar’s final Ranji game for Mumbai in October 2013, and how his surprise presence in (relatively) small-town Rohtak, Haryana affected everything from the stadium infrastructure to the media’s family members to his opponents’ cricket education.

From eating disorders to empathy

Ethan Bamber on how Covid hurt and helped him, & the best No.5 of all time.

• The Final Word’s Adam Collins talk to former Middlesex batter Ethan Bamber about the eating disorder he developed during the height of the pandemic, and how it made him a better person. [Apple Podcasts]

• Good Areas’ Jarrod Kimber takes a stab at identifying the best No.5 of all time.

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