It has been recently announced that Harmanpreet Kaur, the current captain for India T20I, will now be playing for the Lancashire Thunder during this year’s season for the Kia Super League. The news was released on June 29th by the club. While this is big news for Kaur, she will also serve as being the second Indian player in the Lancashire’s history to play in the league – the first being Smriti Mandhana.

Though there is a reason for her signing. Kaur is a phenomenal cricket player that made history in 2016 as she became the 1st Indian player ever to sign a contract with Sydney Thunder, a praised league in Australia. This happened after she impressed thousands with her strong performances during India’s Australian tour. This was also the time where Kaur made a shocking 31-ball 46 all while during the highest recorded T20 chase. Although she did have to take a temporary break from playing as she sustained a shoulder industry during the 2017 World Cup.

Kaur is Back in Action

Now Kaur is back in action and is already making waves in the cricket world. She expressed her excitement with the decision during one of her interviews as she stated that she is pleased to be signed with the women’s league. She continued on as she expressed how she watched the KSL (Kia Super League) for a while and finally being able to play in it and at an esteemed stadium like Old Trafford has always been a dream for the player, Kaur finished her sentiment as she reflected back on her days playing while in England fondly as it is the time where she scored her highest international score during the ICC Women’s World Cup.

Once Kaur travels to meet the Lancashire team, she will be flanked by the Sydney Thunder Captain Alex Blackwell. The former vice-captain of the team will be a part of the coaching stint after she announced her retirement from playing International cricket earlier this year in February.

Kaur is not the only player feeling excited regarding the transition. Blackwell expressed her own glee as Kaur will be a part of the team. She reminisced about playing against Kaur during the international matches, as well as playing alongside her in the Big Bash league previously. Blackwell truly believes that she is a superb addition to the team due to her experience and dedication to the game and can also be a needed helping hand during upcoming KSL.

It is expected that Kaur will be leaving to go to England during the middle of July to participate in the competition. The tournament is going to run from July 22sn through August 27th and will show six teams playing against one another in a new format – home-away. The Lancashire Thunder will be playing against Loughborough Lighting on an opening day.

As they eased to the highest one day run score, England got even more determined to close with a historic 5-0 whitewash. Johny Bairstow hit 79 for England as Roy scored his terrific century. Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh hit hundreds for the Australian team, although the result was never in doubt as Bairstow and Roy, openers for England put on 174.

The victory sealed by Jos Buttler, as he smashed 54 from 29 balls, and this excitement was happening right there since England have never managed to beat Australia 5-0 in any international one-day series. The score before entering the final game stood on 4-0, and every fan can simply not wait for the final taking place on Sunday at Old Trafford.

Bairstow and Roy Became England’s Favourite Opening Pair on Tuesday

On Tuesday after 481-6 in the third game of the series, it is understandable that Australia already expected the worse as Bairstow and Roy plundered their bowling attack again in what can only be described as a devastating hitting display. England’s second-highest run chase was the 311 chased by a team that took no or very few risks.

Australia Had No Answer to The Powerful Opening Partnership

The Australian team had no answer to the powerful partnership of the opening pair which quickly claimed the title as the best in modern cricket. In only sixteen games their fifth century stands together, surpasses that of Nick Knight and Marcus Trescothick, which held the previous first-wicket record.

Marsh and Finch Hit Tons

Australia well short even though Marsh and Finch hit tons when they chose to bat after winning the toss. This choice later proved to be a mistake on the Australian side as England remained positive to claim their world-record score. Big shots came from Finch and Marsh as they approached their centuries, their innings laid the foundation for an onslaught in the final overs. Both players were removed once they passed 100.

Pretty Solid Performance All Round

Eoin Morgan, Captain of the England team, feels it was a solid performance all round in which the team kept their control of the run-rate exceptionally well. Australia simply never got away and for England winning against a good side holds more significance as the 5-0.

Tim Paine, captain of Australia, feels there was a patch where the team finally got themselves back into the game but then dropped a catch and England took the game away from them. He said in a press conference that Australia arrives with an inexperienced side and that England is the best team in the world and therefore hard to beat, although it is still not an excuse.

Only hours after the match ended news headlines over the weekend announced that Scotland stuns England. Scotland celebrated its biggest victory in its cricket history as they beat England in the one-day international by six runs, the number one-ranked side looked dejected on Sunday.

England was certain of a victory as the one-day international nearer and started Sunday’s match in Edinburgh with confidence. Jonny Bairstow took advantage of short boundaries and a good pitch, which put Scotland in danger. It was the middle order collapse that renewed Scotland’s hope. Paceman Sharif was the one that sealed the victory for Scotland since he had seven balls spare when he got Mark Wood out.

Scotland’s First Win Over England in International Cricket

Scotland was denied a place in the World Cup, and that made the victory on Sunday means so much more. Sky Sports interviewed Shariff, in which the Scotsman was so happy that he was, lost for words. He said England was a bright side and that is the reason why Scotland had so much to celebrate. Scoring 371 against England is what the Scottish team have been waiting for.

Sharif added that he is not going to say anything about the International Cricket Council’s decision to decrease the World Cup participating teams from 14 to 10, he feels they saw it all on Sunday. The match and victory are better than any message he could send the ICC. The ICC gave been criticised by heavily for their decision to shrink the International Cricket World cup teams to just 10.

Embarrassing 2019 Reverse for England

In an interview with England’s Morgan, he told reporters that Scotland was indeed a dangerous side, who played at their best on Sunday, while England did not. It was the highest total at their level for Scotland as they surpassed their 341 for 9 against the non-test nation Canadian team, 4 years ago in Christchurch.

England team fans were shocked as Joe Root was run out and then England lost Alex Hales and Morgan. For the Sole family, which includes the caption of the Scotland rugby union in the 1990s that beat England in Murrayfield, he enjoyed this victory and could watch his son Chris on the field as a new-ball bowler for Scotland.

England said it’s not the end of the world, although it was an embarrassed reverse for the World Cup 2019 hosts just before their upcoming five-match series against Australia.

The non-test Scotland team believed they had the potential to beat the sport’s elite in Edinburgh, it is the exposure they desired and proofed again showed just how competitive the team is.

The 27-year-old, D’Arcy Short has played for major teams such as Western Australia, Northern Territory, Rajasthan Royals and the Hobart Hurricanes, his rise from the Australian domestic scene best described, as a whirlwind since now he is pushing for his place in next year’s World Cup squad. During the Australian season he helped Western Australia enjoy victory at the JLT one-day cup, D’Arcy also enjoyed a productive Big Bash as part of the Hobart Hurricanes as he became the leading scorer in the tournament, while he also earned an IPL deal and made his T201 debut.

By far the favourite to step into the shoes of David Warner, an ODI debut is on the horizon for D’Arcy Short to play alongside Aaron Finch in the one-day series soon to start against England. It is indeed a significant achievement for a player who first started playing state cricket in 2011. After training at Lord’s, Short shared that he was contemplating on giving up cricket for a while after his 12-month whirlwind experience.

D’Arcy Short achievements earned him call up

Short’s BBL achievements earned him a call-up for the Australian T20 tri-series involving New Zealand and England as well as an IPL contract with the Rajasthan Royals. He became an instant international hit after 196 runs in just five innings, 76 off 44 balls in the Eden Park world-record run. He struggled a bit in the IPL, in which he proved somewhat less successful, Short said his run out twice, made the start challenging while he learnt a lot and had a great experience towards the end.

By working with Warne, Short developed his left arm wrist-spin, he now feels confident after his progress, and it could be a hint of great things to come during the one-day series. Justin Langer, now in charge of the Australian team played a significant role in the revival of Short’s career as he implored him to get fit and is responsible for him playing on the WA side in the JLT Cup.

D’Arcy Short’s sports career is significant for several reasons apart from the fact that he rejuvenated his cricket career, he is the first indigenous batsman to represents Australia. His story offers indigenous players a bit of belief into themselves, and Short feels making his way into the Aussie side shows others how to reach a good pathway towards the opportunity to play for Australia. At the end it was playing for the Australian Indigenous XI in Brisbane a year ago that got Short’s career back on path after he did at one stage came close to giving up on cricket.