Nottinghamshire sign Ben Slater until 2021

Nottinghamshire have announced the signing of opening batsman Ben Slater from Derbyshire on a three-year deal promises to keep him at Trent Bridge until 2021.

The 26-year-old will be available for Notts on loan for the rest of this season.

“I’m looking forward to joining with Nottinghamshire and having the chance to play at Trent Bridge week in week out,” said the Chesterfield-born batsman.

Slater has made 3,614 runs, at an average of 31.42, since his first-class debut in 2012.

Mitchell Johnson retires from all forms of cricket

Australia's left-arm speedster Mitchell Johnson has announced his retirement from all forms of competitive cricket.

The 36-year-old pacer had wished to play Twenty20 leagues until the mid of 2019.

His fitness problems forced him to make this decision. He had some severe back issues during Indian Premier League 2018. He further indicated that he is always open to coaching or mentoring role and other activities related to the game.

Johnson made the decision through an article that he wrote on Perth Now.

“My competitive urge hasn’t left me and hopefully, that’s something I can use to channel into a coaching or mentoring role in the future.”

Johnson played the last two seasons for Perth Scorchers in Big Bash League following his retirement from international cricket in November 2015 and was instrumental in their BBL|06 title.

Five Indian cricketers who might miss out on World Cup 2019

Here are the 5 players who might miss out on the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, to be held in England.

1) Ravichandran Ashwin 

Due to a downfall in Ashwin's performances over the past couple of years, selection to 2019 World Cup looks in jeopardy and the 31-year-old will most likely make it to the squad in case of any injuries to either of Yuzvendra Chahal or Kuldeep Yadav.

2) Ajinkya Rahane

India's No. 4 position, Rahane has found himself out of the limited-overs squad and is facing stiff competition from the likes of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.

Rahane has scored 279 runs at an average of 46.50 in just 7 innings since 2016.

3) Mohammed Shami

Shami has had struggled with fitness issues throughout his career which has led to his dip in the pecking order of seamers in the playing 11.

With the availability of fast bowlers such as Shardul Thakur, Siddharth Kaul, Umesh Yadav in the limited overs format has made it difficult for Shami to get his place back in the squad.

Even if the 28-year-old stays fit in the coming months, his selection will completely depend upon the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuwneshwar Kumar who have been leading the Indian attack.

4) Rishabh Pant

With sharp batting skills as well as superb displays behind the stumps, Rishabh Pant has taken a huge lead in his small career, making it to India's Test Squad for India A under the guidance of the legendary Rahul Dravid.

Pant, 20, can be an ideal contender for the No. 4 position if given a chance. However, no matter how good he performs domestically, he probably won't get a chance.

MS Dhoni will be the first choice wicket keeper-batsman till he retires, which has eventually blocked Pant's ticket to World Cup for time being.

5) Ambati Rayudu

Over the past couple of years, Ambati Rayudu has failed to cement his place in the Indian squad. The time is running out of his hand, if the right-handed middle-order batsman couldn't prove his fitness before Asia Cup, it would prove too costly for him.

Hat Tip: https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/5-indian-players-who-might-miss-out-on-2019-world-cup-team

Twitter reacts to England's dramatic win against India by 31 runs

England have registered a 31-run victory against India on the fourth day of their first Test at Edgbaston.

The visitors were soon all out for 162 in chase of England's 194.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes scalped three crucial wickets on Saturday, that included the dismissals of Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami ending with a figure of 4-40 in the second innings.

The victory gave Joe Root's side a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series.

The second Test gets underway at Lord's on August 9.

He might be a pal but I am not bias in saying @root66 Captaincy this morning was fantastic ... Tactics and mindset spot on ... #ENGvsIND

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) 4 August 2018

Indian batting just can’t depend on Virat every now & then Indian batting got to perform better then this ..
I hope Hindustan make a strong come back in series ..

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) 4 August 2018

LOVED IT. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏏#TestCricket #England #India #EngVsInd pic.twitter.com/g0CbMFxnja

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) 4 August 2018

Ferocious @benstokes38 was brilliant today, but @CurranSM won this Test for England.
His gutsy, resilient & finally swashbuckling innings turned the game on its head. pic.twitter.com/sEE5KOSF1I

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) 4 August 2018

Credit to Ben Stokes, that's what great players do. They own the situation. Kohli did that as long as he was there and it was Stokes who turned it around for him and England. Well deserved!

— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) 4 August 2018

Asia Cup 2018: Pakistan vs India in Dubai (Sept 19)

Arch-rivals Pakistan and India will face off in Dubai in this year´s Asia Cup, the ICC announced Tuesday.

The 14th edition of the Asia Cup was initially supposed to be held in India but later it was moved to the United Arab Emirates because of strained relations between the two countries.

The 13-match tournament (50-over ODI format) will gets underway on September 15 with Sri Lanka take on Bangladesh, the ICC said.

Schedule:

Sept 15 – Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16 – Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17 – Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18 – India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19 – India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20 – Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21 – Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21 – Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23 – Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23 – Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25 – Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26 – Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28 – Final (Dubai).

Indian cricket's WAGs in the UK

Indian cricket's WAGs are out in full fashion in the ongoing India tour to England. Their presence did help in the T20 series but not in the ODI series.

India skipper Virat Kohli’s wife Anushka Sharma joined the 29-year-old batsman in Ireland.

"Day out with my beauty," the elegant right-handed batsman shared a picture on Instagram.

Anushka attended all three T20 matches and was seen in the company of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's wife Sakshi Dhoni, his daughter Ziva and the wives of other India players.

Dhoni's wife had shared a photograph on her Instagram account.

“#bleedblue #goindia #happiness” the 29-year-old captioned the photo.

Ashish Nehra’s wife Rushma 👇

Krunal Pandya's wife Pankhuri Sharma 👇

Sri Lanka Test squad against South Africa

Sri Lanka have announced their 15-man squad for the two Test match against South Africaw hich will be played from July 12 onwards.

The first test will be held in Galle (Jul. 12-16) and the 2nd in Colombo (Jul. 20-24), followed by the five ODIs. There will also be a single Twenty20 International that will be played on Aug. 14.

1.  Dimuth Karunaratne (Left-Hand Batsman)
2.  Kusal Mendis (Vice-Captain)(Right-Hand Batsman)
3.  Dhananjaya de Silva (Right-Hand Batsman)(Right-Arm Off-Spin)
4.  Lahiru Thirimanne (Left-Hand Batsman)
5.  Roshen Silva (Right-Hand Batsman)
6.  Dasun Shanaka (Right-Hand Batsman)(Right-Arm Medium)
7.  Niroshan Dickwella (Wicket-Keeper)(Left-Hand Batsman)
8.  Akila Dananjaya(Left-Hand Batsman)(Right-Arm Off/Leg-Spin)
9.  Rangana Herath(Left-Hand Batsman)(Left-Arm Orthodox)
10. Lahiru Kumara (Right-Arm Fast)
11. Suranga Lakmal (Captain) (Right-Arm Medium-Fast)

Bench-
12.Kasun Rajitha
13.Lakshan Sandakan
14.Asitha Fernando
15. Dilruwan Perera / Wanidu Hasaranga