Indian players to get break between WTC and England series

London, June 8

The Indian team management has decided to give a three-week break to its players after the World Test Championship final in a bid to address the mental fatigue that might be triggered by lengthy spells in a bio-bubble. The WTC final against New Zealand will be held on June 18-22 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, after which the members of the Indian squad will disperse for close to three weeks (20 days) before regrouping on July 14 to prepare for the five-match series against England starting in Nottingham from August 4.

“As skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri had told the media at the pre-departure press conference, there will be a break. There is a six-week gap between the WTC final and the opening Test against England, so we had to address the issue of players’ well-being. Within UK, they can disperse off, go for a holiday, meet friends and family,” a senior BCCI official said. — PTI

England players accepted Robinson’s apology: Anderson

London: England players have accepted Ollie Robinson’s apology for racist and sexist comments he posted on social media as a teenager, fast bowler James Anderson said today. Robinson has been ruled out of England’s second Test against New Zealand starting at Edgbaston on Thursday after historic tweets came to light last week when he made his Test debut at Lord’s. The 27-year-old fast bowler had apologised “unreservedly” in the dressing room for the 2012-13 Twitter posts and Anderson, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, told reporters that was accepted. Reuters