Cricket news round-up – January 3: Rory Burns to miss remainder of South Africa tour due to football injury

Rory Burns has been ruled out of the remainder of England’s tour of South Africa after sustaining ligament damage in his ankle on the eve of the match playing football. Elsewhere, New Zealand started a depleted side in Sydney, with illness afflicting their big trio, while Ish Sodhi joins Rajasthan Royals, as a spin consultant and operations executive.

Rory Burns out of South Africa tour with ankle injury

England opener Rory Burns was ruled out of the remainder of England’s tour of South Africa after he sustained an ankle injury while playing football during the practice session on the eve of the second Test in Cape Town.

Burns sustained ankle ligament damage, and it is now expected that Zak Crawley will take up his position at the top of the order, alongside Dom Sibley.

England are yet to name a replacement for Burns.

New Zealand miss key trio in final Test

All of Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls and Mitchell Santner were missing from the New Zealand XI for the final Test against Australia in Sydney.

The players were all afflicted by viral infections, and while Williamson and Nicholls both missed two days of training in the lead-up to the match, Santner was the affected by it late on the eve of the match.

Glenn Phillips was flown in as cover. “We’ve obviously got a few balls up in the air at the moment and we want to be on the safe side and have options,” head coach Gary Stead said. “Glenn has been in terrific form this season and has good versatility with where he can bat and the roles he can play.

Ish Sodhi joins Rajasthan Royals as spin consultant

New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi may have gone unsold in the IPL auctions 2020, but he has joined Rajasthan Royals as a spin consultant for the upcoming season.

He will also fulfil the role of ‘operations executive’, and is understood to be keen to get into the management and business side of things.

“Ish was very keen with the managerial side of things, and was particularly interested in how things work behind the scenes, so we thought while we bring him on board in an operational capacity, he can also double-up on the coaching front by assisting our spin coach Sairaj Bahutule,” a Royals official told ESPNcricinfo.

Australia, New Zealand wear black arm bands during Sydney Test

Players from both Australia and New Zealand will wear black arm bands during the Sydney Test as a mark of respect to the fire and emergency personnel who have been dealing with the waste fire disaster in Australia’s history.

Tim Paine, the Australia Test skipper, said the match would be a distraction to the people affected by the fires. “At times, for us, it’s important to look outside the bubble that we live in as international cricketers,” he said.

“The way we look at it is it might be an opportunity for us to provide a distraction for people and a bit of happiness if we can by playing a brand of cricket that Australians are proud of.