Head was a part of the Australian squad that lost the four-match Test series against India in 2018-19

 Sydney –

Ahead of the four-day practice-match between Australia A and India A, batsman Travis Head on Saturday said that Virat Kohli has an unbelievable bowling attack at his disposal.

Head will be leading Australia A in the practice match against India A, and he is looking to gain some much-needed time in the middle.

“They are a really important couple of games for us, not just as an Australia A squad but also an Australian squad and we want to start putting the Indian guys under pressure,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Head as saying.

Head was a part of the Australian squad that lost the four-match Test series against India in 2018-19. India had defeated the hosts 2-1 to gain their first-ever Test series win Down Under.

 “It’s the way they were able to back up and support each other, not dissimilar to how we are with our attack, you get through the new ball and someone like [Mohammed] Shami comes on and he’s just so relentless on his length. There was just no rest that, you had to be on for every bowler. That is expected of Test cricket but that was my first real look at a quality attack like that. Those next spells are as strong as their first so you have to be on 100 per cent of the time,” Head said.

“I think my game has developed a long way since then. You take confidence from everything you’ve done, you take experiences from every game you’ve played and every team you’ve come up against. Nice to have some memories from that series, but they are an unbelievable bowling attack and being well supported throughout,” he added.

Head has played 17 Tests for Australia, and he averages 41.96. The left-handed batsman recently recorded scores of 171 not and 151 in the four matches for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield.

Australia A will be led by Travis Head, and Test regulars Joe Burns and Tim Paine are a part of the squad. Australia’s senior team is led by Paine and the experienced campaigner will be looking to gain some game-time ahead of the four-match Test series against India.

The four-day practice game will be clashing with the second T20I between India and Australia. The Virat Kohli-led side may play some of their regulars in the practice match, and as a result, those players will miss out on the second T20I.

The practice match will be played at the Drummoyne Oval, Sydney. After this match, India will also get much-needed practice with the pink ball ahead of the first Test against Australia.

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Batsman Ollie Robinson has signed a contract extension with Kent until the end of the 2023 season, the club has confirmed.

Robinson graduated from the Kent Cricket Academy at the end of the 2017 season, signing his first professional contract after being named the Kent Cricket League Young Cricketer of the Year. Since his first-class debut, the wicket-keeper batsman has amassed 1,361 runs in 47 matches across formats, recording his maiden first-class century with a fantastic 143 at Edgbaston against Warwickshire in April 2019.

“I’m excited to see what the future holds for this fantastic group of players and I’m over the moon to extend my contract at my home county for at least another three years. I definitely feel that there is a trophy around the corner for us soon,” said Robinson in an official statement.

“Such is the strength of the squad here currently that all positions are up for grabs, and whilst I’m pleased that I’ve taken all the opportunities given to me so far, I can now knuckle-down and continue to improve my game,” he added.

With the gloves, he finished the 2019 County Championship with the most catches among wicketkeepers (54), also recording 22 catches in 2020’s Bob Willis Trophy.
“Ollie has been an integral part of our Championship side since the beginning of 2019. He has achieved a lot in a short space of time, including being selected for an England Lions tour,” asserted Kent’s Director of Cricket, Paul Downton.

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Australian Test spinner Nathan Lyon has been added to the T20I squad for the remaining two games against India.

Lyon has replaced injured left-arm spinner, Ashton Agar. The right-arm spinner has joined Mitchell Swepson, who played the first T20I against India on Friday. Meanwhile, all-rounder Cameron Green has been released to play for Australia A in their game against India A which gets underway on Sunday. Also, skipper Aaron Finch is awaiting scan results following injury concerns in the first match.

“With Ashton Agar out of the #AUSvIND T20I series with an injury, off-spinner Nathan Lyon has been added to the Australia squad!” ICC tweeted.
“Captain Aaron Finch is awaiting scan results following injury concerns in the first match,” it added.

On Friday, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the remaining series and pacer Shardul Thakur is added to the national squad.
Jadeja, who played a spectacular knock to power India to a defendable 161/7, was hit on the helmet in the final over of the innings and the BCCI medical team decided to assess the player before allowing him to get on with proceedings.
Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took the field in the second innings of the opening T20I against Australia.

“Ravindra Jadeja sustained a concussion after being hit on the left side of his forehead in the final over of the first innings of the first T20I against Australia in Canberra on December 4, 2020,” BCCI said in a release on Friday.

“The diagnosis was confirmed based on a clinical assessment in the dressing room during the innings break by the BCCI Medical Team. Jadeja remains under observation and will be taken for further scans if required based on the assessment on Saturday morning. He will not take any further part in the ongoing T20I series,” it added.

India made a winning start to the three-match T20I series as they beat Australia by 11 runs in the first T20I in Canberra on Friday. The second T20I between the two teams will be played at Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.

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Italian side Napoli’s San Paolo stadium has been renamed after Diego Maradona in memory of the late legend who led them to their only two Serie A titles during his seven-year run with Napoli from 1984 to 1991.

The Naples city council has unanimously approved a resolution that will change the name of Napoli’s home stadium from Stadio San Paolo to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona,” goal.com reported. Maradona had passed away on November 25 after suffering a heart attack at the age of 60.

Naples mayor Luigi de Magistris on November 26 had urged Napoli to rename the San Paolo Stadium after legendary footballer Maradona.
“Diego Armando Maradona, the most immense footballer of all time, died. Diego made our people dream, he redeemed Naples with his genius. In 2017 he became our honorary citizen. Diego, Neapolitan, and Argentine, you gave us joy and happiness! Naples loves you!,” Magistris had tweeted in Italian.

In another tweet, Magistris had said: “Let’s name the San Paolo Stadium after Diego Armando Maradona !!!”

Maradona is a revered figure in Naples as led the city’s club to two Italian league titles.
“With his immense talent and his magic, he honored the Napoli shirt for seven years, giving it two historical championships and other prestigious cups, and receiving in exchange from the whole city an eternal and unconditional love,” goal.com quoted a statement from Naples city council as saying.

Maradona captained Argentina to victory at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and was widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Maradona had begun his professional career with Argentinos Juniors at the age of 16 and he went on to become one of the greatest players to ever play the game of football.

He represented Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, and Newell’s Old Boys as a player. Diego was considered the main player in taking Argentina to their second World Cup title in 1986.

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Russia’s previous record of 28,145 new cases was reported on December 3

Russia (Moscow)-

Russia has registered a new single-day record of 28,782 COVID-19 cases, up from the 27,403 new positive tests recorded the day before, bringing the country’s case total to 2,431,731, the federal response center said on Saturday.

The previous record of 28,145 new cases was reported on December 3.

“Over the past 24 hours, Russia has confirmed 28,782 COVID-19 cases in 85 regions, of which 5,867 (20.4 per cent) were detected actively, with people showing no clinical symptoms,” the response center said, adding that the case count has reached 2,431,731.

Moscow has confirmed a record 7,993 new coronavirus cases over the preceding 24 hours, up from 6,868 the day before.

The Russian capital was followed by St. Petersburg with 3,726 cases, up from 3,694 the day before, and Moscow region with 1,246 new cases, up from 1,223 the day before.

The response center also reported 508 coronavirus-related fatalities, a decrease from the 569 deaths reported the day before. Russia’s COVID-19 death toll now stands at 42,684.

In total, 27,644 coronavirus patients were confirmed to have recovered, a slight fall from the 28,901 the day before, bringing the total to 1,916,396.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his earlier remarks on farmers’ protests

Canada (Ottawa) –

Despite India’s warning to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his earlier remarks on farmers’ protests, the PM has once again commented that he “will always stand up for the right of peaceful protests”.

Speaking at a press conference after the External Affairs Ministry issued a demarche to Canadian High Commissioner, Trudeau said, “Canada will always stand up for the right of peaceful protests anywhere around the world.”

Meanwhile, the Sikh Council UK has demanded the political leaders to support the Canadian PM.

“Political leaders should stand alongside @JustinTrudeau to oppose human rights violations by the Indian authorities & not bow to bullying,” the Sikh Council UK said in a tweet.

Farmers are protesting in Delhi and its border areas against the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a demarche to Canadian High Commissioner, saying that the remarks made by the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, some Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament on Indian farmers’ protest will have “seriously damaging impact on ties between India and Canada“.

According to an official statement issued by the MEA, “The Canadian High Commissioner was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs today and informed that comments by the Canadian Prime Minister, some Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament on issues relating to Indian farmers constitute an unacceptable interference in our internal affairs.”

Such actions, if continued, would have a seriously damaging impact on ties between India and Canada, the Ministry further said.

“These comments have encouraged gatherings of extremist activities in front of our High Commission and Consulates in Canada that raise issues of safety and security. We expect the Canadian Government to ensure the fullest security of Indian diplomatic personnel and its political leaders to refrain from pronouncements that legitimize extremist activism,” the statement added.

On December 1, India reacted sharply to the “ill-informed” comments by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on farmers’ protests in India and said the remarks are “unwarranted” especially when pertaining to internal affairs of a democratic country.

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Android’s ‘Nearby Share’ feature will soon let users share the app with nearby user

Washington [US]: After introducing its file transferring feature Nearby Share in August, for all devices running Android 6+ or a later build, tech giant Google on Friday announced that the novel addition will soon let users share apps listed on the Google Play Store.

According to Mashable, as was the case with regular files, the user does not need an internet or Wi-Fi connection to send an app to another Android device. The feature will be added via an update that will start rolling out in the coming weeks. “An upcoming update to Nearby Share will let you share apps from Google Play with the people around you with an Android phone, even if you don’t have a cell or Wi-Fi connection.,” the company said in a blog post.

As reported by Mashable, in order to share an app with another user, one has to open the Google Play Store app, go to ‘My Apps & Games’ menu by tapping on the hamburger menu in the top left corner, and select the ‘Share Apps’ option. From there, a user can pick the apps that one wants to share with someone.

As of now, the Google Play app does not have a ‘Share Apps’ option, and if a user opens the ‘My Apps & Games’ section while offline, it shows a ‘You’re offline’ error message, instead of the library of apps installed on the phones.
One of the best features to come out of the company’s mobile OS lately, ‘Nearby Share’ is quite easy to use as well. Google has planned to bring the ‘Nearby Sharing’ feature to Chromebooks as well.

However, it is unclear how long it will take for the feature to enable app sharing between an Android smartphone and a Chromebook, especially considering the fact that ‘Nearby Share’ was still a work in progress for Chrome OS months after it went live on smartphones.

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