07/06/2025

SPORTS SATURDAY | JUNE 7, 2025

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Big shoes to fill Australia struggle to fill gaping opener hole left by Warner F ILLING the giant shoes of David Warner continues to be a headache for Australia 17 months after the bombastic Test opener retired, with Marnus Labuschagne shaping as the latest contender in the World Test Championship final against South Africa. from back surgery. “I have just got a bit of a feeling that Marnus Labuschagne might be pushed up the order to open the batting with Khawaja,” Australian great Ricky Ponting said on the ICC Review . “I think Green will bat at three and Steve Smith will be at four. Then it’s Travis Head at five.”

SHORTS

Warner pulled stumps on the red-ball game in January last year after 112 Tests and 8,786 runs, long accompanied at the top of the order by Usman Khawaja. Khawaja will open again in the blockbuster clash at Lord’s starting on June 11, potentially with a fifth different partner since Warner called it quits. Steve Smith initially plugged the hole, but only lasted four Tests before dropping back down to four and giving Nathan McSweeney a chance. McSweeney struggled against the Jasprit Bumrah-led India late last year, with gung-ho teenager Sam Konstas then thrust into the limelight in spectacular fashion during the home series. With Head set to revert to five, the chatter is that it’s now a toss-up between Konstas, who has been working on technical aspects of his batting, and Labuschagne to open against the Proteas. But the experienced

Since Ponting commented, Australia skipper Pat Cummins has confirmed that Smith will bat at four, but added: “Everyone else, I’m not willing to (say).” Josh Inglis has not been discounted to open either with chief selector George Bailey insisting the position does not need to be a specialist role. “I do think it’s a role that more people could do,” he said. Australia could be searching for yet another new opener sooner rather than later with uncertainty over whether 38 year-old Khawaja will continue after the home Ashes series against England beginning later this year. But fellow veteran Smith, 36, shows few signs of slowing down. He has hit four hundreds in his past five Tests and often excels in English conditions. Australia’s selectors also face a decision on whether Josh Hazlewood or Scott

Indian cricket captain Shubman Gill (left) and head coach Gautam Gambhir. – AFPPIC

Gill ready to lead the way INDIA’S new Test captain Shubman Gill knows he has big shoes to fill after the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but he wants to develop his own style of leadership, he said yesterday. Rohit and Kohli, former skippers and batting mainstays of the team, both quit Test cricket weeks before the start of India’s five Test series in England. Gill, 25, impressed as captain of Indian Premier League (IPL) side Gujarat Titans, leading them to the playoffs. “The pressure comes with every tour. The two big players have served us for so long, it is not easy to fill that space,” Gill told a news conference in Mumbai. “My style of captaincy will be my own, it will develop with experience. I like to communicate with the players. I would try to

get them comfortable with their strengths and weaknesses. The players should feel secure, only then will they perform well.” Gill was picked as captain ahead of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in two recent Tests in Australia. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar cited workload management concerns over the 31-year-old Bumrah who will not play all five Tests in England. Gambhir condemns ‘roadshows’ AUTHORITIES in Bengaluru shouldn’t have allowed mass celebrations if they weren’t prepared, India coach Gautam Gambhir said yesterday, a day after 11 cricket fans were killed in a stampede. Hundreds of thousands packed the streets in the southern Indian city on Wednesday to welcome their hero Virat Kohli and his Royal Challengers Bengaluru after they won their maiden Indian Premier League title. But the euphoria ended in disaster as fans, most aged between 14 and 29, were crushed to death in a stampede near M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the winners were parading the trophy. “I was never a believer that we need to have roadshows, never,” Gambhir told journalists in Mumbai ahead of the Indian Test team’s departure for England. “Every life matters and if we were not ready to hold the roadshow, we shouldn’t have done that,” he added. “I think we can be more responsible.” Kiwis name Walter as new coach SOUTH AFRICAN Rob Walter was appointed New Zealand coach in all formats in the wake of Gary Stead’s decision to stand down after seven years in charge. Stead announced on Wednesday that he would be leaving the job of Test coach at the end of the month, having already relinquished the short format roles in April. Walter, 49, was most recently coach of South Africa’s one-day international and Twenty20 teams but knows New Zealand cricket well after stints in charge of provincial teams as well as his time overseeing a Black Caps “A” tour of India in 2022. “The Black Caps have been a successful and highly regarded team on the world scene for some time now and it’s a real privilege to be given the chance to add to that,” Walter said in a New Zealand Cricket statement. “It’s an amazing opportunity to work with such a talented group of players and support staff through a period of time in which so many global events, as well as massive bilateral series, will be conTested.” Walter, who led South Africa to the semifinals of the 2023 World Cup and final of last year’s Twenty20 World Cup, is contracted through to the end of the 2028 World Cup, which New Zealand is co-hosting with Australia.

Boland will be the third member of their seam attack alongside

Labuschagne has struggled for form at No. 3 and is under threat from Cameron Green, who has been in magnificent touch since returning

Cummins and M i t c h e l l Starc. – AFP

David Warner. – REUTERSPIC

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