For orangutans, scratching is contagious – but unexpectedly, the behaviour is transmitted more between individuals that do not know each other well

After locking down the nation with just four hours notice on March 24 and leaving lakhs of migrant workers high and dry, the Centre on Friday launched Shramik Special trains to transport these workers and other stranded people home.

Indian Railway appealed to people not to crowd stations as the trains are only for those screened and registered by state governments. “No one should come to the station looking for trains. We will not issue tickets or entertain request from any group or individual. We will allow only those passengers whom state officials bring. The State is the final authority on deciding who travels,” an Indian Railway spokesperson said. The first train from Maharashtra, Nashik-Bhopal Shramik Special departed from Nashik station at 9:30 pm on May 1 as scheduled.

These special, non-AC trains will run from point to point. There will be different fares for sleeper and general class. The Railways and states shall appoint senior staff as Nodal Officers for coordination.

Migrants onboard a train for Hatia, Jharkhand at Lingampally, Telangana. Pic/PTI

Passengers have to be screened by states sending them and only asymptomatic people would be allowed to travel. Sending states have to bring these people in batches to the designated station in sanitised buses following social distancing norms and other precautions. It will be mandatory for every passenger to wear face masks. Meals and drinking water have to be provided by the sending states at the originating station. Railways said they will ensure social distancing, hygiene and provide a meal on longer journeys. On arrival, the home state has to screen, quarantine passengers if necessary and arrange further travel from the station.

Nine-point plan

Maharashtra’s Minister of Transport Anil Parab gave the following guidelines travellers must follow:

• Those willing to leave Maharashtra should fill forms and submit them to local police stations through their group leaders.
• The form will require basic details like name, address in migrant and home state, Aadhar card, mobile number. Each train will carry 1,000 passengers.
• Each migrant must get a certificate from a doctor stating that the traveller does not have COVID-19 symptoms.
• Based on this information, state will decide on booking tickets and make a list based on the applications.
• After preparing list, state will seek permission from the home state. After receiving NoC, action will be taken by district collectors to help passengers reach home.
• A section of the form will ask the traveller to choose the mode of transport — rail or road.
• Those wishing to travel by bus can form groups of 25, arrange a bus and inform the local police. Each state and district will have nodal officers.
• There is no restriction of movement within the state. Those who have gone out of Mumbai and are stuck can return. No restriction on people returning from Green Zones.
• However, people residing in Red Zones, especially in containment zones, cannot move.

No respite for Red Zone migrants?

People stranded in Containment Zones and Red Zones are likely to be prevented from leaving. This means many migrants in MMR, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Nagpur, Yavatmal and other affected districts stand no chance of leaving. Nodal officers at the district and state headquarter levels have started getting requests from people.

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The Mumbai Police’s social media pages are gaining popularly among netizens for their epic memes during the lockdown imposed due to Coronavirus outbreak. After taking inspiration from Bollywood and popular series streaming online for some of their recent memes, the police department has now turned to Potterverse for some meme-spiration to explain their followers why it is important to stay at home.

In the Mumbai Police’s recent post on their Instagram account, they have shared what Hermoine Granger would say in her sassy way to explain the necessity to stay at home. The caption for the post read, “You already know Hermione's reaction if you step out unnecessarily during the lockdown,” while asking the ‘magical folks of Mumbai’ to stay at home. The message displayed in the clip will make you think twice step out of the house

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

You already know Hermione's reaction if you step out unnecessarily during the lockdown. Just #StayHome magical folks of Mumbai to win 'The Battle' against corona #BattleOfMumbaikars

A post shared by Mumbai Police (@mumbaipolice) onMay 1, 2020 at 10:26pm PDT

The clip shared on Saturday managed to garner 61,407  likes with many Potterheads relating to the post and calling the Mumbai police’s social media page the ‘coolest’. A user said, “Mumbai's Auror Department got no muggles.” Another user said, “Wish we could just expeliamus the virus. One more user said, “Harry Potter post on the day of Battle of Hogwarts?! You guys won my heart!”

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Six new cases of Corona were found in the Panvel Municipal Corporation jurisdiction on Wednesday taking the count to 113 under the PMC. Among the new cases are two APMC staffers, a police officer, a kidney patient, a homemaker and a BEST employee.

The PMC, which falls under the Raigad district, was initially declared an orange zone, as was the entire Raigad district but within 24 hours, the collector put PMC areas in the red zone.

Ramesh Lengarekar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, PMC, informed mid-day that PMC was a part of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), like Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan and Dombivli, etc, and considering the entire MMR is in the red zone, PMC, too, falls under the said category. "While the government has the power to decide the zones (red, orange, green), the collector has been empowered to list a zone from orange to red or green to orange."

12L population in PMC
So far, two deaths have been reported from the PMC region, which has a population of 12 lakh. The number of positive cases in Raigad district, excluding PMC, is lesser and is, therefore, in the orange zone.

Areas under the PMC — Panvel, Kamothe, Kalamboli, Kharghar, Ulve and Taloja — will follow the national lockdown period till May 17 with prohibitory orders under Section 144 (no assembly of more than five people) in force.

"As per the central government directives, we are making an attempt to keep some additional shops (five) other than medical and general stores open. A decision on this will be taken soon," a senior PMC official said.

Infection from Mumbai
The BEST staffer who tested positive is attached to the Govandi bus depot, and the police sub-inspector is attached to a police station in the Central Mumbai region.

The kidney patient was undergoing his dialysis treatment in a private hospital in Sanpada while the two APMC staffers are residents of Kamothe and Kharghar.

Mangal Kamble, founder president of Swachh Kharghar Foundation, said, "People working in Mumbai have been travelling daily between Mumbai and the PMC area, and have caught the infection in the city."

Cases spike in APMC market
"Also, our concern is that most of the vegetables, fruits, and grains are being transported all over the MMR region from the APMC market, which is already seeing an increase in the number of positive cases. A thorough screening of every vehicle entering and exiting APMC should be done and at every entry point within the PMC area. This needs to be done to curtail any community outbreak of the virus," Kamble added.

Over 100 COVID-19 cases in APMC
Dr Satish Choudhari, nodal officer for COVID at Gram Vikas Bhavan, Kharghar said, "At present, we have around 24 positive cases in the quarantine centre here. All those people who have a cold, cough, fever for more than three to five days are sent to the Gram Vikas Bhavan for quarantine and are referred to sub-district hospital Panvel or to MGM hospital in Kamothe if they need further treatment."

Twelve new cases have been detected in the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) market taking the tally there to over 100.

The market, however, continues to function as per the guidelines of the committee appointed for monitoring the situation.

113
Total no. of COVID cases in PMC area

2
No. of novel Coronavirus deaths in PMC area

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Dear Diana,
I have been married for eight years. We are a middle-class family. We have a daughter who is six years old. Life is tough, but we are managing. Things were fine till about four months ago, when my husband started behaving strange. He would come home late night almost every day. Even though he has weekends off, he would say he has work and not return till late night. This has been going on for a while and my husband is not saying what is going on. Last week, around 2.30 am he suddenly got up from sleep. He woke me up to say that he was feeling hungry. He said he felt like eating a cheese sandwich. I quickly rushed to make him a sandwich. But by the time I returned, he was getting ready to leave. He said he was going to Pune for a meeting. He told me to pack the sandwich along with tea in a flask. He left and did not return for three days. Whenever I would call on his cell phone, he would say he is busy. He is back home, but refuses to say for what he travelled to Pune. I think something is amiss. What should I do?
— Sagarica

Dear Sagarica,
It is rather strange that your hubby is hiding things from you. He needs to tell you what is going on. It is clear that something is troubling him. It could be on the workfront, but there is no reason to be evasive. He does not care for you even though you are worried sick. Your husband seems to be the least concerned about you. He knows that what he is doing is wrong, yet he continues with his strange behaviour. He cannot just disappear and then appear in your life. It is his duty to tell you his whereabouts. There is no point jumping to conclusions and falling prey to idle talk. There could be a genuine reason that is causing havoc in his life. Tell him that you need to know the truth and may be he needs help.

With over 12,000 active cases of COVID-19 in the country that resulted in the nationwide lockdown getting extended till May 3, the government had on Wednesday issued a set of fresh guidelines till May 3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised speech on Tuesday announced measures that the government would undertake to tackle the pandemic.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry have also earmarked the districts in the country into three categories –red, green and orange zones as per the frequency of the cases reported from the areas. 

#COVID19 containment starts with the identification of hotspots and their categorization into Red, Orange & Green Zones: Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs pic.twitter.com/FbWUlfcyCd

— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2020

The BMC will also come up with red and orange zones in Mumbai to mark containment zones for stricter implementation of the lockdown. While the plans are still being drafted, areas with a high number of positive cases of COVID-19 will be put in the red zone and will have no external essential service providers. Let's know more about these zones.

Red zone

According to the Union Health Ministry, the districts identified as hotspots are marked as red zones. These districts have reported a large number of Coronavirus cases and need focused attention. As much as  170 districts in the country have been marked as hotspots, which is further divided into two groups: (a) 123 districts where a large number of cases have been reported and  (b) 47 districts where cases were reported in clusters.

According to the Health Ministry, the districts contributing to more than 80 per cent of the cases reported in the country, the districts contributing to more than 80 per cent of the cases in a state or districts with doubling rates reported to be less than four days, can be classified as a 'hotspot' or a 'red zone'. The ministry also said that the government will provide door-to-door facilities and undertake containment activities in these districts for the next 14 days. Mumbai,  recording the highest number cases in the country with 3,081, has been declared a hotspot by the government.

Orange Zone

The districts that had reported less number of Coronavirus cases or not seen a surge of positive cases in the area have been marked as 'orange zone'. In these zones, limited services of public transport, farm harvesting activities and functioning of small scale industries manufacturing essential items such as flour, pulses, and edible oils have been permitted. A hotspot district can be declared an orange zone if cases reported in 14 days is less or none.

According to the health ministry, 16 districts in Maharashtra have been declared as an orange zone. The districts are Gondia, Washim, Yavatmal, Buldhana, Hingoli, Akola, Beed, Amravati, Jalna, Latur, Osmanabad, Satara, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri and  Sindhudurg

Green Zone

According to the Union Health Ministry, the districts that have not reported positive cases of Coronavirus are classified as green zones. In these zones, essential items that generate state revenue would be given an extension. Small scale industries manufacturing essential items will be allowed to function freely, but with strict maintenance of social distancing.

Hotspots have to undertake effective containment activities to flatten the curve and bring the number of Coronavirus cases down in order to qualify as an orange zone and subsequently as a green zone in 24 days.

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Giving a huge relief to people stuck in various states, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday allowed movement of such people - including migrant labours, workers, students, tourists and others - and also provided the procedure for the same. MHA has included a sub-clause regarding the movement of people who are stranded due to lockdown announced last month due to coronavirus outbreak.

"Due to lockdown, migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons are stranded at different places. They would be allowed to move as under," MHA said while asking States to designate nodal authorities to facilitate the process.

"All States/UTs should designate nodal authorities and develop standard protocols for receiving and sending such stranded persons. The nodal authorities shall also register the stranded persons within their States/UTs. In case a group of stranded persons wish to move between one State/UT and another State/UT, the sending and receiving States may consult each other and mutually agree to the movement by road," read the order.

"The moving person (s) would be screened and those found asymptomatic would be allowed to proceed. Buses shall be used for transport of groups of persons. The buses will be sanitized and shall follow safe social distancing norms in seating. The States/UTs falling on the transit route will allow the passage of such persons to the receiving State/UT," MHA said in its order of inclusion of movement of stranded people in different places.

Laying out the procedure on the arrival at the destination, MHA has asked to keep the people under home quarantine. "On arrival at their destination, such person(s) would be assessed by the local health authorities, and kept in home quarantine, unless the assessment requires keeping the person(s) in institutional quarantine. They would be kept under watch with periodic health check-ups. For this purpose, such persons may be encouraged to use Aarogya Setu app through which their health status can be monitored and tracked," MHA said.

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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday issued an order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to further extend the lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond May 4.

The current lockdown period is scheduled to end on May 3.

"After a comprehensive review and in view of the lockdown measures having led to significant gains, the COVID-19 situation in the country, Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, today, to further extend the lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond May 4, 2020," read the order of the Home Ministry.

The Central government also listed 319 districts of the country as green zones, 284 as orange and 130 as red zones. This classification, which will come in force for a week after May 3, is multi-factorial and takes into consideration incidence of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback to classify the districts.

Maharashtra, which accounts for the highest number of cases and deaths, has 14 red zones which include Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Pune, Thane, Palghar, Nashik, Nagpur, Solapur, Yavatmal, Aurangabad, Satara, Dhule, Akola, Jalgaon.

Uttar Pradesh has 19 red zones,  followed by Tamil Nadu with 12 red zones and 11 in Delhi. The national capital has no orange and green zones but only red zones.

In red zones and outside containment zones, certain activities including plying of cycle rickshaws and auto-rickshaws, taxis and cab aggregators, intra-district and inter-district plying of buses and barber shops, spas and salons will be prohibited in addition to those prohibited throughout India.

A limited number of activities will remain prohibited across the country, irrespective of the zone, including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions, the order said.

This came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with chief ministers of several states last month where some of them suggested extension of lockdown.

Highlights of lockdown 3.0

• MHA issues new guidelines to regulate activities during extended lockdown based on risk profiling of districts into red, orange, green zones.
• Travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road and schools, colleges to remain shut during extended lockdown
• Educational, training, coaching institutions and hospitality services including hotels and restaurants to remain close during lockdown
• Places of large gatherings such as cinema halls, malls, gyms and places of political, cultural gatherings to remain shut, says MHA
• Movement for all non-essential activities will be prohibited between 7 pm and 7 am.
• People living in COVID-19 containment zones must download 'Aarogya Setu' app 
• Religious places and places of worship will remain shut during lockdown
• In all COVID-19 zones, people above 65, those with comorbidities, pregnant women to stay at home, except for essential works
• OPDs, medical clinics shall be permitted to operate in red, orange and green zones with social distancing norms during lockdown
• In COVID-19 red zones and outside containment areas plying of cycle-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, taxis, opening of salons prohibited
• Sale of liquor, paan, tobacco to be allowed in green zones after ensuring minimum six-feet social distancing; not over 5 persons at one time at shop
• In COVID-19 red zones movement of individuals, vehicles allowed only for permitted activities during lockdown
• Maximum of 2 persons, besides driver, in four wheelers, no pillion rider on two wheelers

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a meeting to deliberate on the issues and reforms required in the agriculture sector. At the meeting, special emphasis was given on reforms in agricultural marketing, management of marketable surplus, access of farmers to institutional credit and freeing agriculture sector of various restrictions with appropriate backing of statutes, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India recorded 37,776 confirmed cases and 1,223 deaths on Saturday.

Raj sends 2,400 migrants
Two special trains were started from Jaipur to send around 2,400 stranded students and labourers back to their homes in Bihar and Jharkhand. While one train departed for Ranchi (Jharkhand) from Kota on Friday night, another train left from Jaipur to Patna (Bihar) with about 1,200 labourers
on Saturday.

It was an emotional affair at the railway station where these migrants were given a warm send off by railway officials and other senior personnel who continued clapping as the train left the station. Additional chief secretary Subodh Agarwal, who is also the Chairman of the Committee formed to resolve issues of workers and migrants in the state, said that five special trains will be operated daily from Saturday.

Migrants from Jaipur arrive by 'Shramik Special' train at Danapur junction in Patna on Saturday. Pics/AP AND PTI

He further said that 38,000 labourers and migrants have been sent to their native states so far. These include 27,000 people from Madhya Pradesh, 6,197 from Punjab and 2,387 from Haryana. Apart from this, 25,259 students belonging to several states, including UP and studying in Kota have been sent back to their homes. On Friday, around 200 students of Odisha were sent to home in eight buses.

Need 400 trains: Kerala CS
Kerala Chief secretary Tom Jose on Saturday said it might take about a month to send back all the migrant labourers who are in the state presently. "On Friday night the first train left, on Saturday there are more trains and on Sunday even more. It might take a month and about 300 to 400 trains to send back all the migrant workers who are here," said Jose.

On Friday night around 10.30 pm, the first train with 1,148 migrant labourers left from Aluva to Bhubaneswar. Since the lockdown began in March, 3,61,190 migrant labourers have been put up across 20,826 camps in Kerala, the State labour department said on Saturday.

Odisha turns to K'taka, AP
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, on Saturday, took up the safe return of Odia migrants with BS Yediyurappa and YS Jaganmohan Reddy, his counterparts in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, respectively. Patnaik interacted with them separately through video link. While thanking them for taking care of Odia migrants, the Chief Minister requested their cooperation for their safe return.

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As part of Hollywood studio's scheduling changes due to the coronavirus crisis, the release of 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' has been delayed. Marvel's sequel to the 2016 Benedict Cumberbatch film, has been pushed back from November 5, 2021, to March 25, 2022, cited The Hollywood Reporter. The Sam Raimi directed film is being delayed for the second time.

It had already been pushed once because of the crisis from May 2021, to the early November frame. This change in the release date makes the movie the latest one to move out of scheduled dates due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Earlier, owing to the global coronavirus crisis, Sony Pictures has pushed back two of its untitled 'Spider-Man' sequels. Meanwhile, the theatrical release of the much anticipated two chapters in actor Tom Cruise's action franchise - 'Mission: Impossible 7' and 'Mission: Impossible 8' has been delayed by the Paramount pictures.

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After the decision to postpone the event due to the coronavirus crisis, the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards on Saturday, rather, held a virtual telecast which was no short of slime and the awards.

On Saturday a virtual show was hosted by the 'Victorious' star Victoria Justice of the event, whic was originally scheduled to take place on March 22 in Los Angeles.

The star-studded awards show had specials appearances of 'The Avengers' cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner.

The team's big hit superhero film 'Avengers: Endgame' won favourite movie, and 'Spider-Man' actor Tom Holland was voted favourite superhero.

Netflix's 'Stranger Things' grabbed the favourite TV show awards, meanwhile, the young star Millie Bobby Brown took home the favourite female TV actor award for her role as Eleven.

In the music category, artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, and BTS took home the glory.

Reported by Variety, the show also made USD 1 million donations to No Kid Hungry, a national campaign to help end childhood hunger and support people affected by coronavirus crisis.

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Pune police arrested an estranged lover on Tuesday in a murder case of a transgender woman at Mohammadwadi. The accused has been identified as Arbaz Ahmed Shaikh,20, and is a resident of Laxminagar, Yerawada.

As per the police, the accused and the victim were in a relationship. The accused allegedly decided to end the relationship because he wanted to marry another woman. The victim was enraged and threatened him to go public. In order to put an end to the threats, the accused killed her by slitting her throat. The victim, Nazab Abid Shaikh was a resident of Sadashivnagar.

Inspector (crime) Raosaheb Bhapkar of Wanowrie police station told Hindustan Times, “Arbaz killed Nazab as she threatened to spill the beans about their relationship” he said.

A case has been registered at Wanowrie police station under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

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Arti Singh was one of the most popular contestants of Bigg Boss 13. The actress who is comedian Krushna Abhishek's sister had a rather interesting journey while inside the house and even made it to the top 5.

Arti's marriage was one of the most discussed topics on the show. She had expressed her desire to get married by the end of the year. The viewers started pairing her with some of the co-contestants and her sister-in-law Kashmera Shah also suggested that she explore her friendship with fellow contestant Sidharth Shukla.

Talking to a daily, Arti Singh said that she is searching for the right man. She said that she would prefer a love marriage but is open to an arranged match as well.

Arti said that she wishes to meet someone during the lockdown because they will then get ample time to chat with each other, even if they cannot physically meet.

ALSO READ: Arti Singh shares a jaw-dropping before and after picture of her physical transformation

On a Wednesday morning, the cottages that line St Roques Road in Bandra bask in the winter sun. The lane is quiet, except for the occasional bark of a pet or scooters zooming off into the nearby Ranwar village. As a taxi driver wipes the dust off his kaali peeli, Jay Weinstein approaches him with a camera in tow. He doesn't ask for his name, ethnicity or life story; only for a couple of photographs. Seeing him puzzled, the Australian-origin photographer breaks into crisp Hindi, "Main kahin bhi jaata hoon, anjaane logon ki tasveer banata hoon [Wherever I go, I make images of strangers]."

Hearing the familiar language, the driver is game to play the subject. First, he's asked to wipe the expression off his face and stand next to his cab. Satisfied with the shot, Weinstein tells him, "Ab muskuraiye [now smile]," and captures his wide grin on camera. The interaction lasts only for a few minutes but we spot the driver smiling even after Weinstein's DSLR is back in his bag.

Jay Weinstein documents  the smile of a taxi driver in Bandra. Pics/Bipin Kokate

This connection forms the essence of the 38-year-old's ongoing photography project, So I Asked Them to Smile (SIATS). Over the last two years, Weinstein has shared 250 portrait pairs - non-smiling and smiling frames of kids and adults from all walks of life - on digital platforms. Next week, he will display 30 most compelling frames for the first time at an exhibition.

The photographer shows the images he takes to each subject

The backstory
It was a trip to Bikaner in 2013 that gave birth to this project. When Weinstein raised the camera to photograph a man with a wispy beard, he was greeted with a stern look. Miffed, he turned away, only to hear the man urging him to take his picture. "We make judgments about strangers in binaries as friendly-unfriendly or good-bad. These are rarely accurate. The idea is to change the way we view a stranger, and see how their smile changes our assumptions," says the US-born photographer, who spent his growing up years in Vrindavan, studied recreational sports coaching in Australia and returned to Mumbai in 2004 to pursue acting.

"He was jumping around in the water with a friend one afternoon, as I wandered down Juhu Beach," says the photographer

Soon, he ventured into advertising, and rekindled his love for travel and photography. "It gave me a reason to notice things that we walk past, and start conversations with strangers," says Weinstein, who considers the art meditative. "The calmer you are, the more of the outside world you notice."

"She was exploring the stunningly restored Kaiyuan temple complex one evening, with her daughter in Quanzhou, Fujian, China"

Say cheese
For the last few years, he has turned a full-time traveller and spends most of his time in India. "I love Mumbai but when you step out, you realise how different the rest of India is," shares Weinstein, who has visited Meghalaya, the interiors of Maharashtra, Orchha in Madhya Pradesh and the coast of Kerala, where he found his subjects to be camera-shy. "In rural areas, I also had to translate 'smile' as 'daat dikhaao' since they don't understand the meaning of muskurana."

Language also poses a barrier in non-English speaking countries. "In China, instead of 'say cheese', they say 'chetz', which means eggplant," he laughs. What's the next country on his wishlist? "Pakistan. The project's initial followers were Pakistanis. I assumed they wouldn't be happy seeing these photographs but realised where else would they have seen images of Indians as humans, without an agenda. Indians don't get to see their photographs this way either."

From: December 20 to 26, 11 am to 7 pm
At: Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda
Call: 8828472412

Go click-happy here
>> Homi Modi Street in Fort
>> Industrial estates in Lower Parel 
>> Village neighbourhoods like Chuim and Chimbai in Bandra West

Portrait-making tips
While there is enough information about how to get your technique right, I'd suggest you interact with your subjects and treat them with dignity

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England's Ben Stokes has said his Australian rival and IPL teammate Steve Smith is a "genius" as well as "strange" as he hailed the number one Test batsman. "He's still strange to play against and he's still strange to play with. And the best thing about it is that he admits it," Stokes said in a podcast broadcast by their Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. "But I feel to be a genius you have to be a bit strange and you know he's certainly both," Stokes said from Britain. "Personally, I could not think about cricket in the way that he does when it comes to batting.

I could never be like that. Obviously, he's on all the time but that's why he averages 60-plus in Test cricket." The 30-year-old Smith averages over 62 in 73 Tests and improves to 65.11 when playing against arch-rivals England. Smith was the leading scorer in the 2019 Ashes in England, retained by Australia after the series finished 2-2, with a whopping 774 runs in four matches.

Ben Stokes

"Even though he plays for Australia, biggest rivals England and Australia, you've just got to hold your hands up sometimes to players like that and go 'yeah you're on a different level when it comes to batting,'" said Stokes, who scored 441 runs in five matches during the series. "You have to be on a different level with something to be like those guys when it comes to batting." The flamboyant all-rounder also threw his backing behind Test cricket, saying the five-day format is the "pinnacle" for him and there is no room to tinker with it.

The International Cricket Council has floated the idea of four-day Tests to deal with the cluttered cricket calendar, but the plan met with intense criticism from many within the game.

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