Former Australia captain Michael Clarke diagnosed with skin cancer
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke took to Instagram on Wednesday (August 27) to share a post in which he confirmed that he underwent surgery to treat skin cancer. “Skin cancer is real! Especially in Australia, Another one cut out of my nose today. A friendly reminder to schedule a skin check. Prevention is better than a cure, but in my case, regular check-ups and early detection are key. So grateful that @drbishsoliman_ got it early. @australianskincancerfoundation,” captioned the post. According to 7news, the 44-year-old former Australian captain received his first diagnosis in 2006 and has had about a dozen cancers removed in the years since. He required surgery to remove a dangerous basal cell carcinoma from his chest last year. He had cancers cut out of his forehead and face on separate occasions in 2023. In 2023, he teamed up with the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation and told Sunrise that he tries to get checked twice a year. “Just about every time I need to get things zapped off my body, particularly my face, because I’ve spent so much time in the sun,” Clarke said. “I’ve probably had 20 skin cancers cut out of my body. I get nervous, but I think the advantage is I went from quite a young age, so now I know, minimum twice a year, I’ll make sure I go and get checked.” “Peace of mind is so important. Australian summer, this sun here is as strong as anywhere in the world.”
Allan Border remembers his ‘sergeant major’ after his demise on Saturday
Former Australian captain Allan Border hailed former captain and coach Bob Simpson as the “sergeant major and a disciplinarian”, which allowed him to do what he did best. Simpson passed away at the age of 89 in Sydney, according to a report by Cricket Australia (CA) on Saturday. Speaking to News Corp, as quoted by SEN Cricket, Border, who he coached for the majority of his international career, the high points of which were the 1987 World Cup and the 1989 Ashes series win in England said, “Behind the scenes, he was the sergeant major and disciplinarian, and that allowed me to do what I did best.” “Occasionally, I would blow up, but it never lasted for long. I suppose we were a bit of an odd couple, but it just sort of worked,” he added. Border recalled spending time playing golf with his coach and also spending time with Ian Chappell, who did not get along with Bob. “So I found myself in the middle of that one, constantly defending Simmo to Ian. I am not sure I got that far! Simmo was the perfect man for the time. He was not everyone’s best mate, but that was not his role. Everyone who played under him, whether they liked him or not, would accept that they were better players for his influence. He was as good as any coach we have ever had. He had a fantastic cricket brain,” he concluded. Simpson was a key figure in Australia’s rise to the top of the cricketing world in the 1990s, and his impact lasted long after he left as a head coach in 1996. Simpson became the full-time coach for the Aussies when the Allan Border-led side was facing a massive decline in fortunes and was in the middle of a winless run that stretched out for three years, as per cricket.com.au. It was the Simpson-Border duo that instilled their mindset in the upcoming crop of Aussie stars such as Steve Waugh, David Boon, Dean Jones, and Craig McDermott. Simpson’s commitment to training as a coach, in batting and in fielding, helped the Aussies eventually mark a turnaround and become one of the best sides in the game. According to Border, one of the biggest highlights of Simpson’s coaching tenure was winning the 1987 Cricket World Cup hosted by India and Pakistan, defeating arch-rivals England in a closely contested final by seven runs at the Eden Gardens. During his playing career from 1957 to 1978, he represented Australia in 62 Tests, scoring 4,869 runs at an average of 46.81, with 10 centuries and 27 fifties in 111 innings and a best score of 311. He also took 71 wickets with the best figures of 5/57. He led Australia in 39 Tests, winning 12, losing 12, and drawing 15. He also played two ODIs, scoring 36 runs and taking two wickets.
John Hastings sends social media into a frenzy after bowling a bizarre 18-ball over
Former Australia all-rounder John Hastings sent social media into a frenzy after bowling a bizarre 18-ball over during a World Championship of Legends (WCL) match against the Pakistan Champions on Tuesday. Chasing 75 for the win, Pakistan were cruising at 55/0 when Hastings was brought into the attack. In total, Hastings bowled 12 wides and one no-ball. In fact, he couldn’t complete his over as Pakistan won the game after the fifth legal ball, What followed was one of the longest overs in recorded cricket history. Hastings started with five wide deliveries, all well outside the off-stump to right-hander Sohaib Maqsood. After a change in strike, Sharjeel Khan put the next ball away for a boundary. Hastings followed with a no-ball and a wide bouncer outside the leg-stump, before a leg-bye changed the strike once again. Desperation took over as he changed angles again, only to fire more deliveries far from the stumps. In total, the over included 12 wides and one no-ball, and was never even completed, as Pakistan reached the target before it ended. Pakistan will now take on India in the semi-final on Thursday, while Australia will also face South Africa for a place in the final. Earlier, the India-Pakistan league stage clash was officially called off, following strong objections from Indian players and a principal tournament sponsor in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year, which escalated military tensions between both nations. Earlier, Pakistan had bundled out Australia for just 74 in 11.5 overs after electing to field. Sohail Tanvir and Sohail Khan removed the openers before Saeed Ajmal ran through the middle and lower order with an outstanding spell of 3.5-0-16-6. Imad Wasim provided able support with 2-11 in three overs. Australia’s innings never really took off. Ben Dunk (26) and Callum Ferguson (10) were the only batters to reach double figures. Such was the collapse that Australia lost their last eight wickets for just 25 runs in 39 balls. In the second innings, John Hastings, who had come on as a substitute for Chris Lynn, was handed the ball when Pakistan needed only 20 runs in seven overs. But the over turned into a comedy of errors, including five consecutive wides to start and three more later after he tried switching to round the wicket. The over ended with Pakistan comfortably reaching the target. Hastings’ outing was best summed up by the numbers: 18 balls, 12 wides, 1 no-ball, and just 5 legal deliveries.
Stuart MacGill breaks silence after cocaine case, says he is anxious only about his children
In his first interview after his conviction in the drugs case, former Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill has said that he gets “very anxious” and has been struggling to get work and is worried about the mental impact on his kids. ‘”I don’t care what people are saying about me, but I do care what was happening to the kids, and I know it has been very difficult for them,” MacGill told the Howie Games podcast. MacGill had to serve a community sentence after being convicted of a cocaine deal. The 54-year-old McGill had been accused of facilitating a cocaine deal between his partner’s brother and a dealer. MacGill was the link for a $330,000 exchange for a kilogram of cocaine and had arranged for a meeting under his restaurant on Sydney’s north shore. However, the former Test leg-spinner had denied knowing that a deal would take place and admitted that he regularly purchased half a gram of cocaine for $200 from the dealer. “I am very lucky because depression has never been a big thing for me. I get anxious. I won’t lie about that. I get very anxious. People talk about the half-full, half-empty situation – well, I’ve always said I’m neither of them, I’m completely empty. And the reason I say that is because if today is the worst day of your life, tomorrow is going to be slightly fuller.” MacGill, who took 208 from 44 Tests for Australia, said he is leaning on the skills learnt from playing cricket to try to get his life back on track. “If you hit rock bottom, there is sunshine ahead,’ MacGill said. If anything particularly bothers me, I just don’t think about it. I learned that through playing Test cricket. If you have a bad day, don’t buy a paper. If you have a good day, buy every paper in the stand.” He worries about the mental impact of the legal troubles on his children. “My kids have had to put up with it. I can just turn the media off, but… it is very difficult for kids to turn social media off.”
Football-wealthy Italy on the verge of qualifying for the T-20 World Cup!
Italy, a country famous for producing legendary footballers, may have failed to qualify for the last two editions of the Fifa World Cup, but the Azzurri are now on the cusp of making cricket history. The Italian minnows are just one win away from punching their ticket to the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka following their 12-run win over Scotland on Wednesday in the European qualifying tournament. All they need now is a win over the Netherlands on Friday in their final qualifying game to earn a historic berth at a cricket World Cup. Even a narrow defeat to the Dutch could be enough for them to qualify for the global T20 showpiece, thanks to their superior net run rate in the qualifying tournament. Outside of the full-member ICC nations from Europe, only the Netherlands and Scotland have qualified for the cricket World Cups in the past. If the Italian team manage to hold their nerve in the final qualifying game on Friday, it will be a historic moment for the International Cricket Council (ICC), which made considerable investments in developing the sport at the grassroots level across the world. Leading the Italian bid for a World Cup berth is Joe Burns, a former Australian batsman who scored four hundreds in 23 Test matches. Last year, Burns, whose grandparents were Italian, decided to move to Italy. After becoming eligible to play for Italy, the elegant opening batsman was named the captain of the team. His experience and leadership skills have now kept the great Italian cricket dream alive. The 35-year-old believes earning a spot in the T20 World Cup will be a groundbreaking moment for a country that still doesn’t have proper turf wickets. “It’s not lost on us the magnitude of the impact we can have on Italian cricket. We talk a lot as a team about creating a legacy for the generations to come after us,” Burns told the BBC. “To wear the Italian cap at the World Cup would make us a groundbreaking team. And we think we’ve got the team to get there.” Burns’ maternal grandparents left Italy for Australia following the First World War. But Italy always remained close to his heart, even as he made rapid strides as a cricketer in Australia. “I often reflect on the bravery and commitment it must have taken my grandparents when they left Italy to start a new life in Australia,” he said. “They found a way to make it work through adversity, and this has always given me solace through life’s lessons. “Now I’m so proud to represent Italy on our path to the 2026 World Cup.” On Friday, Burns will hope to lead from the front and pay the perfect tribute to his late brother, an amateur cricketer who died in 2023, by taking Italy to the World Cup.
Sujata Kujur’s gain from the Australia series: Advice from her idol Sushila Chanu and appreciation from Savita Punia
Sudeep Pakrashi: Sujata Kujur added a feather to Bengal’s hockey legacy, becoming the first female field hockey player from the state to have represented the senior Indian team. The 22-year-old midfielder made her debut in one match only against the Australia-A team in the five-test series held from 26 April to 4 May. Three tests were played against Australia’s senior women’s squad. Previously, the midfielder had represented the country in the Junior Asian Cup in Japan in 2023, in Four-Nation junior tournament and in Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile in 2023. Sujata is now at her home in Sundargarh, Odisha. She has been given only a four-day rest before joining the women’s national preparatory camp in Bangalore for the national team’s European Leg of FIH Pro-League this year, set to be held in June. But the midfielder who originally played as a defender did not sound much elated, speaking over the phone from her home. She also smilingly disclosed that some of her neighbours and local friends were even aware that Sujata Kujur, the first India international from her village, returned home! When asked about the gain from her maiden international competition, she stated, “I have always idolized Indian international Sushila Chanu, and I was fortunate to have her with me on the trip. She gave me crucial advice and motivated me also before the match.” Sujata continued, “Secondly, I should mention Savita Punia’s name. Initially, I was slightly nervous after being selected for the team. But during the training period, Savita inspired me a lot, telling me, ‘enjoy the match’. More importantly, after the match, she appreciated my performance. Appreciation from such an experienced and renowned player will work as motivation for me.” When asked about the lesson she got on the field, Sujata explained, “I need to improve my speed and sense of positioning.” Sujata’s hockey journey, however, wasn’t an easy one. Growing up in Sundargarh, she looked up to Deep Grace Ekka and began playing hockey at the age of 10. Despite financial constraints, her determination never wavered. “I started playing in my hometown’s academy when I was quite young. At first, I didn’t even have my hockey stick or shoes, so I would borrow from my teammates. There were times I had to play barefoot because my shoes were torn, but I never stopped playing,” she recalled. The youngest of three siblings, Sujata says that support from her family has always been unwavering. “My parents have always stood by me. Not once did they say that I shouldn’t play hockey. They always encouraged me to give my best and work hard,” she said. Sujata, who expressed thankfulness to her SAI coach Mohanty for having nurtured her for the last nine years, is now eyeing a berth in the senior Indian squad for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
