“He deserves his opportunity at the top of the order to try and make that spot his own”
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England head coach Trevor Bayliss has confirmed that Alex Hales will open the batting with captain Alastair Cook during the first Test against South Africa, which takes place in Durban on Boxing Day.
“It’s not something I’m thinking about to be honest”
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England batsman Joe Root has made it clear that he has no intentions of succeeding Alastair Cook as captain at the moment and is instead focused on the upcoming tour of South Africa.
Philander will not feature in the first two Tests against England
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South Africa pace bowler Vernon Philander will miss the first two Tests against England as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.
“I got to a stage where I was not concentrating and did not want to be there”
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England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler has revealed that “it was a relief to get dropped” for the third Test against Pakistan in Sharjah last month.
“It was clearly a difficult decision but he has struggled for runs in recent series”
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England batsman Ian Bell’s dismal run of form as of late has cost him dearly as he failed to make the cut for the upcoming Test series against South Africa.
The West Indies decided not to make any changes to their squad
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The West Indies have opted to name an unchanged squad for their upcoming tour of Australia despite losing 2-0 in their recent Test series against Sri Lanka.
Elliott will be sidelined for four to six weeks
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New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott has been ruled out for at least a month after he broke his arm in the nets.
“I can still remember what happened like it was yesterday, the way our home was caught up and lost”
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Boxing Day is usually associated with holidays, family and happiness. But, for Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal, December 26 has dark connotations as it was the day that he “lost everything” when a tsunami ravaged through his town in 2004.
Just like Bavuma (left), Rossouw (right) has yet to make his Test debut
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South Africa batsman Rilee Rossouw has been called up as a replacement for Quinton de Kock for the remainder of the Test series against the West Indies.
“He’s a simple guy that just loves playing the game”
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Queensland batsman Joe Burns is set to make his debut during the Boxing Day Test against India after he was included in Australia’s squad in place of the injured Mitchell Marsh.