Category Uncategorized

World Cup winning captain Steve Waugh has said Australia are in with a chance to defend their World Cup crown despite inconsistent results since the start of 2010

Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai02-Feb-2011Steve Waugh, who led Australia to victory in the 1999 World Cup, has said Australia are in with a chance to defend their World Cup crown despite inconsistent results since the start of 2010. He claimed India and Sri Lanka will be strong contenders but didn’t rule out Ricky Ponting’s team. “Australia have an outside chance because they have matchwinners,” Waugh said at an event in Mumbai. “I don’t think this is a weaker Australian side.”It’s tough decision (to predict a winner). There are seven sides capable of winning but the side that has the momentum going into the quarter-final will be good. India are the slight favourites, as they know the conditions well and will have fantastic support. Sri Lanka have a very good chance too.”It might come as no surprise for Waugh to back the defending champions on a day when Australia pulled off their highest chase in ODIs, against England in Sydney. Australia had pocketed the seven-game series last week, and their dominant form in the ODIs after a humiliating Ashes drubbing only made Waugh confident about his countrymen. “Australia are still ranked No.1 in the world. In [Shaun] Tait, [Mitchell] Johnson and [Brett] Lee, they have the potential matchwinners. Their batsmen are also on top. Ricky is coming back from injury. Australian players are best when faced with adversity,” Waugh said.Austrlia’s winning percentage in 2010 in ODIs had taken a beating: of the 25 matches played, spread over seven series, they won 16 and lost eight including the series defeat to Sri Lanka at home. But the return to form of seniors like Michael Clarke and Lee, along with the matchwinning capabilities of Shane Watson, makes Australia a dangerous opponent. Waugh, a two-time World Cup winner including one as captain in 1999, said Lee would be the lynchpin for Australia. Lee returned for the England series after sitting out from October 2009 due to lingering elbow injury. But Lee has not compromised on pace and so far is the highest wicket-taker in the series with 11 wickets at an average of 24 in the six matches. “Lee will be my impact player. He has amazing resilience, he is bowling back at 150kph and he loves touring India” Waugh said.In the two World Cups held in the subcontinent (1987 and ’96), Australia have won 12 of the 15 matches they’ve played.

The same attack that had looked largely innocuous for the first two sessions suddenly found its bite post-tea, and India’s coach credited the bowlers for the remarkable turnaround

S Aga14-Feb-2010Just what is it with the Eden Gardens and dramatic collapses? Nearly a decade ago, in the match that few in this part of the world will ever forget, Australia were in complete command at tea on the opening day. Matthew Hayden had biffed his way to 97 in typically muscular fashion and the scoreboard showed 193 for 1. Four balls after the interval, he went to hit Harbhajan Singh against the turn and found Hemang Badani at deep midwicket. Six more wickets fell in the final session, with Harbhajan taking a hat-trick, as Australia closed on 291 for 8.On the final day of the same game, Waugh’s side plummeted from a relatively secure 161 for 3 at tea to 212 all out. That collapse changed the course of an enthralling series, but what we witnessed in 25 overs after tea today was an even more drastic reversal of fortune.Alviro Petersen’s debut innings had ended shortly before tea, but there’d have been few alarms in the dressing room with the score a rudely healthy 228 for 2. But two indiscreet shots, from the two men who were the foundation of the victory in Nagpur, and everything changed. Hashim Amla misjudged a pull off Zaheer Khan, and Jacques Kallis top-edged a slog-sweep off Harbhajan that VVS Laxman took brilliantly over his shoulder while running towards fine leg.”When you looked at it at tea, we were in trouble,” said Gary Kirsten, India’s coach. “Let’s be honest about that. All credit to the bowlers for turning it around. They showed tremendous resilience. They have bowled pretty well this series without the rewards. When you’re picking four bowlers every Test, it’s an enormous workload on them. We’ve got to give them credit for the way they run in Test after Test. This is our fourth on the trot.”Perhaps the key passage of play had come just before the tea break, when Ishant Sharma gave a glimpse of what he can do when the rhythm is right. He went wicketless in a four-over spell that cost 12 runs, but Amla, who had eased to a hundred with few alarms, suddenly appeared troubled. Zaheer, who replaced Ishant, continued the good work, putting together an outstanding spell either side of the interval – 6-3-11-2.”We’ve felt that he’s just on the edge of doing some good stuff again,” said Kirsten of Ishant’s spell. “We know that he’s an exceptionally talented bowler and he’s just coming back to some really nice form. He bowled a nice aggressive spell. He wanted to get his pace up closer to the 140s where he wants to be. He was letting the ball go beautifully today. It was a very important spell because more than getting wickets, it set the tone for what we wanted to achieve after tea.”Suddenly, the same attack that had looked largely innocuous for the first two sessions found its bite. More importantly, chances were grabbed, and the stumps hit to catch the dangerous AB de Villiers out of his ground. “If you’re not getting wickets because the ball’s doing a bit, you’ve got to build pressure,” said Kirsten. “And there’s no better way of building pressure than getting a few wickets.”It happened to us in the first Test. We were going nicely with the bat, we lost a wicket and pressure was created. We did that in this game. We mustn’t always be looking for assistance to get wickets. When you can create pressure by doing some creative things on the field, which I thought we did today, batsmen play very differently.”Harbhajan Singh’s pitch map from Hawk-Eye•Hawk-Eye Innovations

For two sessions, with both spinners seemingly incapable of bowling a maiden, the decision to go in with two slow bowlers and leave Sreesanth out had looked decidedly dubious. Amit Mishra was unlucky with a couple of leg-before shouts, and Harbhajan far from amused after Laxman dropped a straightforward chance at slip when Amla had made just 60. But there were too many four balls, and too little pressure, especially with a debutant at the crease.”We’d always like to have a third seamer, and two spinners,” said Kirsten, explaining the omission of Sreesanth. “But the balance of our team doesn’t work that way. We either have to opt for three seamers and one spinner or two and two. We felt that an extra spinner on this wicket is going to be important.”And after the criticism that Harbhajan Singh has received in recent times, Kirsten was understandably delighted with his efforts after tea, with both Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy quickly joining Kallis in the pavilion in a passage of play that utterly changed the complexion of the game. “I thought Harbhajan bowled really well in the last game, and I thought the South Africans played him very well,” he said. “Even though he was in good rhythm, he needed to come up with ways to get wickets. I’ve been very confident that his rhythm has got better and better as the series has gone along. When the confidence is going and the rhythm’s good, he’s going to get wickets.”The [Dale] Steyn menace looms large on day two, but Kirsten was quietly confident that there was nothing in the conditions to worry his batsmen. “We didn’t feel it took too much turn,” he said. “We didn’t feel that it offered that much assistance to the seamers. There’s a long way to go in the Test, but it looks a fairly good wicket at the moment. There was a lot less grass on the wicket today than there was yesterday, otherwise we would have gone for three seamers.”There was little encouragement in the Nagpur pitch either, but Steyn still ended up with a 10-wicket haul. It’s advantage India for the moment, but on a pitch where there’s been enough bounce for those willing to hit the deck hard, it would be foolhardy in the extreme to discount South Africa. Back in 2001, India were dismissed for 171 after Waugh had stretched Australia’s innings to 445 all out. If Monday sees that kind of drama, the roof might just come off a stadium that’s already half rubble.

Sri Lanka collapse sensationally after Kusal Mendis’ 20-ball fifty

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Jul-2025Left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam ripped out Sri Lanka’s middle order after Bangladesh’s batters had scrapped together a workable 248, thanks to gritty half-centuries from Parvez Hossain Emon and Towhid Hridoy.The defining period of Sri Lanka’s chase was the patch between the tenth and 30th overs, when they lost five wickets for 57 runs off 122 balls. Although Janith Liyanage produced a valiant 78 off 85 balls, the lower order was simply left with too much to accomplish. They eventually fell short by 16 runs.Sri Lanka’s loss was despite a scorching 56 off 31 balls by Kusal Mendis, who had smote his way to a 20-ball fifty – the fastest ever for men’s ODIs at this venue, and the fourth fastest ever by a Sri Lanka batter (Kusal is also third on this list). Seam bowler Asitha Fernando had also been impressive, taking 4 for 35 in his nine overs. In fact, Sri Lanka had bowled out Bangladesh as early as the 46th over.But ultimately, Bangladesh put on the more impressive team performance. Though their best batting partnership was worth only 63, Emon, Hridoy and later Tanzim Hasan Sakib made valuable contributions that kept the total ticking even while wickets fell. Sakib’s contribution, a stroke-filled 33 not out off 21 balls, proved invaluable in the end.All told, it was Sri Lanka’s middle-order collapse that defined the outcome. Tanvir, the hero of that passage, had in fact begun quite poorly, conceding 22 runs in his first two overs with Kusal hitting him for three fours and a six. But captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz persisted with him inside the powerplay, and Tanvir rewarded him with Nishan Madushka’s wicket in the tenth over, as the batter sent an outside edge aerially to backward point after Tanvir had beaten him in the flight.His work through the middle overs was much more impressive. He took the key wicket of Kusal, who came down the track hoping to clip through midwicket, only for Tanvir to slip one into his front pad. The lbw appeal was turned down on the field but was reviewed successfully by Bangladesh. Kusal had been easily the most fluent batter on this track.Asitha Fernando picked up 4 for 35•AFP/Getty Images

Next over, Tanvir had Kamindu Mendis chipping tamely to midwicket, the ball perhaps stopping on the batter. Then later, in his final over, he had Dunith Wellalage caught bat-pad. In between the Tanvir wickets, Mehidy and offspin allrounder Shamim Hossain also imposed themselves. Shamim’s economy rate was especially impressive – he gave away only 22 in nine overs, and took the wicket of the in-form Charith Asalanka.Later, Liyanage began to hit out in the company of the tail and found success with his big hits, much to the Khettarama crowd’s joy. He even struck two death-overs sixes down the ground to keep the required rate manageable. Had he batted till the end, Sri Lanka may have won, but Mustafizur Rahman duped him with a slower one and had him caught and bowled with 21 runs to get off 17 balls. Though Dushmantha Chameera had protected his wicket well until that point, this was too much for the last pair.In Bangladesh’s innings, their best partnership came early on. Tanzid Hasan was out edging an Asitha slower ball in the third over, but Emon took the reins in a brisk 63-run partnership to which Najmul Hossain Shanto’s contribution was only 14. Emon preyed on errors of length especially. He hit three sixes, two of them over deep midwicket, and scored 72% of his runs on leg side.Hridoy was more cautious than Emon had been, with Asitha, in particular, taking out other batters in the middle order. But he still prospered mostly square of the wicket, hitting just two offside fours in an innings in which he struck at 73.Shamim and Jaker Ali also scratched out 20s, as Wanindu Hasaranga, Asitha, and Chameera combined through the late middle overs to make regular breakthroughs. No. 8 batter Sakib struck the ball most cleanly of all Bangladesh’s batters as Sri Lanka hunted for the final few wickets. He hit two sixes down the ground off Hasaranga, before Hasaranga caught Mustafizur in front, later in that 46th over of the innings.The victory brought Bangladesh level with Sri Lanka in the three-match series. The decider will be played in Pallekele on Tuesday.

Scorchers’ late season slump continued against Heat with a ragged bowling and fielding effort proving costly

Tristan Lavalette29-Nov-2023
Grace Harris smashed a half-century to deflate Perth Scorchers before offspinner Georgia Voll claimed four wickets as Brisbane Heat stormed into the WBBL final after a commanding performance at the WACA.Having flown cross-country before playing on consecutive days, an indefatigable Heat relished a fast surface to post the highest score in a WBBL final. They then bowled and fielded with discipline in a superb defence to stun a crowd of 2226 fans.Heat will play Adelaide Strikers in Saturday’s final at Adelaide Oval. They’ve had to do it the long way after a convincing 44-run victory over Sydney Thunder in the elimination final at the WACA just a day earlier.”It’s always a great match-up when we play them. It’s going to be a great final,” Voll said with Heat and Strikers having split their two games this season. “It’s going to be an awesome atmosphere and hopefully we can knock them over one more time.”It was a disappointing end for Scorchers, who sat on top of the ladder before losing their last three matches of the regular season. Their slump continued against Heat with a ragged bowling and fielding effort proving costly.”Definitely a tough one, pretty stunned for words. But the dust will settle and we can celebrate what’s been a really great season,” Scorchers legspinner Alana King said.Harris vindicated captain Jess Jonassen’s decision to bat first in sunny conditions with a whirlwind in the powerplay. She had emerged from a form slump with 45 off 22 balls against Thunder and continued the momentum with a second ball boundary after charging offspinner Amy Edgar.Harris was equally destructive against pace and thumped quick Chloe Ainsworth through the covers in the next over.Harris scored 33 of Heat’s 41 runs in the first four overs with struggling opener Georgia Redmayne intent on turning over the strike. The end of the powerplay did little to curb Harris, who continued her aerial assault including a six over long-on that thundered into the mammoth sightscreen under the ground’s famous light towers.She fittingly reached her half-century with a boundary off seamer Piepa Cleary, who in frustration bowled a bouncer that flew way over Harris for a no ball.Scorchers resorted to allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was playing her last game of the season regardless of the result. She stood up with the key wicket of Harris by trapping her lbw in a decision that was upheld after an umpire’s call on review.Georgia Voll grabbed 4 for 19•Getty Images

Without Harris, Heat were pinned down in the middle overs with Sciver-Brunt bowling an accurate full length, while King was a constant wicket-taking threat.Heat were in danger of again falling away in the latter overs much like against Thunder, but Laura Harris stepped up with consecutive sixes off seamer Sophie Devine in the 17th over.Charli Knott, on her 21st birthday, then took over with 32 off 14 balls as Heat had one foot in the final.Devine did not take up her favoured position at the top alongside Beth Mooney. Instead, Lauren Winfield-Hill held onto her opener’s role and smashed 15 runs quickly before falling to quick Nicola Hancock.It wasn’t long before Devine came to the crease at No.4 alongside Mooney as the pair briefly provided a flicker of hope for Scorchers. But they fell in quick succession with the burden on Sciver-Brunt, who attempted a rally against the odds.But when she fell lbw to Jonassen on 36, it was only a matter of time before Heat wrapped up a memorable trip to Perth as they kept alive their bid for a third WBBL title.

Between them, Markram, van der Dussen and Verreynne scored 46 runs in first Test at Lord’s

Firdose Moonda24-Aug-2022South Africa’s middle-order batters are “under pressure” to score runs at Old Trafford after none of them got an individual score over 25 at Lord’s. While Test captain Dean Elgar supports backing the same batters who did duty in the first Test, he acknowledged that there needs to be more runs from them if South Africa are to play to their full potential.”As long as we are still getting the results on our side, backing is extremely important for those guys. We have given them a decent run of late and I am sure they know they are under pressure to perform,” Elgar said. “They are proper batters. They are here for a reason.”If they are firing in the middle order and we conduct ourselves like we have been doing of late, our Test side can only grow. But they are here, they are being backed. I don’t see a change. Consistency is key to success, and even consistency in selection. It’s a tough series playing against England away from home. You need to back your horses that you’ve been backing for a while now.”South Africa have opted for Aiden Markram at No.4, Rassie van der Dussen at No.5 and Kyle Verreynne (who batted lower at Lord’s after his grandfather took ill in the stands) at No.6. Between them, they scored 46 runs and, with Test vice-captain Temba Bavuma due to return from an elbow injury later in the year, could end up competing for two spots. The choice could become between Markram and van der Dussen, who have both had lean runs, and who selection convener Victor Mpitsang is particularly concerned about. Earlier in the week, Mptisang told South African media: “If they are putting up big numbers, and contributing it would help the conversation around them.”Related

• Kyle Verreynne's grandfather in hospital after falling ill in stands during Lord's Test

• Lord's haul pushes Rabada to No. 3 on Test bowlers' table

• Ollie Robinson's 'extreme' hard work earns him chance to exploit Manchester bounce

• Brendon McCullum told you there'd be days like these

• Five years on, South Africa look to new beginnings at Old Trafford

Markram has only recently moved into the No.4 role after effectively being dropped as an opener in New Zealand following a poor run. He had scored 140 runs at 15.56 in five Tests before that. But, Keegan Petersen contracted Covid-19 and missed the trip, which opened up a spot for Markram to bat at No.3. He scored 76 runs in four innings on that tour and 16 runs at No.4 at Lord’s. Van der Dussen has done better, but only slightly. He has scored 233 runs in his last six Tests at 23.30 and has not scored a half-century since his unbeaten 75 in West Indies last year.Verreynne is the player with a lot more slack. Not only is he the wicketkeeper and likely to be in that role for the long haul but he is one of only four South African batters to score a century in their last 11 Tests. His only serious competitor at the moment is Ryan Rickelton, though he is not thought to be South Africa’s first-choice gloveman. While South Africa have won eight of those matches, they remain concerned with the line-up, especially in difficult conditions.Though he has not said it outright, that was one of the reasons Elgar chose to bowl in cloudy, humid conditions at Lord’s, even though he is usually a bat-first captain. England are expecting Old Trafford to present more challenges for batters with Ben Stokes explaining Ollie Robinson’s selection as being due to extra pace and bounce in Manchester.Elgar brushed that off as tactical talk, and, as he so often does, leaned on South Africa’s stronger suit to counter that. “I love the mind games,” he said. “If there is going to be extra pace and bounce, I am pretty sure our fast bowlers will extract it.”

Ireland’s captain is also impressed with Ben White, the uncapped legspinner who has replaced the injured Gareth Delany

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2021When Ireland play the first of three ODIs against Netherlands on Wednesday, their line-up is likely to include a familiar name in an unfamiliar role. George Dockrell is their second-highest wicket-taker in all international cricket, but his left-arm spin is set to become his second string now, in his second coming as a batting allrounder.Dockrell’s ODI numbers with the bat aren’t flash – 579 runs in 87 matches at an average of 16.54 – but having slipped behind Andy McBrine and Simi Singh in Ireland’s spin hierarchy, he’s reinvented himself in remarkable fashion, forcing his way back into the ODI side for the first time since May 2019 with the weight of his run-scoring. He topped the charts in this year’s Inter-Provincial Limited-Over Cup, scoring 364 runs at an average of 121.33 and a strike rate of 87.92.With allrounders Curtis Campher and Gareth Delany missing the series against Netherlands with ankle and knee injuries respectively, Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie has said Dockrell will most likely come into the side as a No. 5 batter who can bowl a few overs.”Yeah, I think George is probably going to slot in at five,” Balbirnie said in a media interaction on Monday. “He’s been really good in the Inter-Pro games he’s played so far, and he’s played like a batter, he’s not looked out of place whatsoever; in fact he’s been the best batter in the competition, so unless something drastic happens he’ll probably play at five.”He obviously gives us a bit with the ball as well, but what’s been really impressive is, having had the setback at the start of the year, not being given a contract, what he was told to do was go away, work on his batting, and he’s done exactly that, and we’re just hoping that he could bring that forward into the one-dayers come Wednesday.”As Dockrell’s team-mate at Leinster Lightning, Balbirnie has kept a close eye on the work he’s put in behind the scenes to lift his batting to its current level. He pointed to two ODI half-centuries against Afghanistan as proof of the potential that Dockrell has always had, and suggested the expansion of the Inter-Provincial tournament from three teams to four also helped him get in more games to hone his skill.”He’s obviously played a lot of international cricket, he’s played quite a lot of county cricket, so he’s been exposed to pretty good bowling, albeit batting down the order, but I vaguely remember him doing a bit of nightwatchman for Somerset and Ireland, so he’s technically always been quite good,” Balbirnie said.Gareth Delany has been ruled out of the Netherlands tour with a knee injury•Getty Images

“We’ve always felt that he was good enough, and if we look back over the last couple of years, I can remember a game in Dehradun where he came in and batted maybe at six, and he got a fifty (54 in a successful chase of 257); he got a fifty batting at about eight or nine in Sharjah in 2017, I think it was (an unbeaten 62 off 48 balls), so we’ve always known he’s got the ability and the talent.”I suppose what’s helped is the restructure of the Inter-Pros. So having four teams with the best players playing, so George now not batting at eight for Leinster but batting five and getting more chance to spend time in the middle, and his statistics in the competition are ridiculous. He’s gone away and he’s been told that he needs to work on his batting, and that’s an area that he could potentially get in the team as, and he’s done exactly that, so a lot boils down to his work ethic and his frame of mind, and getting his head down and working as hard as he can on his batting. I think we’re going to see the rewards over the next six to 12 months.”With Delany ruled out just before the squad departed for the Netherlands, Ireland have included the uncapped legspinner Ben White as a replacement. While White is unlikely to get his chance immediately, Balbirnie is impressed with what he’s seen of the 22-year-old so far.”He’s someone that’s been on the radar for a year or two now that we’ve kept an eye on,” Balbirnie said. “He’s really impressive. He bowled really well this morning. I got a good 20 minutes at him. He’s a bit different to what we have, he’s not your kind of classical legspinner. He’s tall, he kind of fires it into the pads, but he can get a bit of spin if it’s there, so he’s someone that I think will be in and around the squad for the next period of time if he keeps up his performances.”It’s obviously an area that’s so crucial to white-ball cricket around the world, the legspinner. We probably haven’t had the legspinner that we’ve wanted over the last couple of years, Gareth has done a pretty good job whenever required but he’s been more of a batter who bowls, so Ben White is someone that can give us that complete legspinner, and he’s just come into the squad for the first time and hopefully he can take strides forward and potentially be that legspinner that we’ve been looking for.”

“Sky is the limit” for talented young batsmen Shaw and Gill, says the India head coach

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2020The objective in the two-Test series in New Zealand is to “play like the world’s No. 1 Test team” and collect full points – 120 of them – “to be in contention to play at Lord’s” in the World Test Championship final in 2021, according to India head coach Ravi Shastri.India are currently on top of the championship table with a full 360 points after beating West Indies 2-0 away and then South Africa and Bangladesh 3-0 and 2-0 at home respectively. Winning two Tests out of the ones in New Zealand, which starts February 21 in Wellington, or the four in Australia later in the year should put India in a good position to make that trip to Lord’s.”We need 100 points to be in contention to play at Lord’s. Two overseas wins out of six Tests will keep us in good stead. We play six Tests overseas this year (two in NZ and four in Australia). So, that’s one objective,” Shastri was quoted as saying by the . “The other is to play like the world’s No. 1 Test team – because that’s what this team believes in more than anything else. On the Test front, that’s what we’re looking at.”India swept the five-T20I series in New Zealand before being blanked 3-0 in the ODIs, and Shastri called the ODIs “relatively irrelevant” in what is a T20 World Cup year, and that the Tests “matter more right now”.ALSO READ: Hanuma Vihari presents India with left-field choice for openerAs for the Tests, India are without Rohit Sharma with a calf injury, and have Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill as the opening options in New Zealand.”Both [Shaw and Gill] are supremely exciting talents,” Shastri said. “Regardless of who gets into the XI in Wellington, the fact of the matter is they’re here, part of India’s national squad, and from here on they should know that the sky remains the limit.”Speaking specifically about Gill, Shastri said, “He’s phenomenally talented. His approach to batting is very clear and he exhibits a very positive mindset. That’s very exciting for a boy who’s just 20 going on 21.”In their first innings of the only three-day tour game before the first Test, Shaw and Agarwal opened and scored 0 and 1 respectively, while Gill, batting at No. 4, scored a duck too, all of them falling to Scott Kuggeleijn.”They’re all from the same school, you know. They love facing the new ball, enjoy a challenge,” Shastri said. “Rohit is unfortunately out so that puts Shubman and Prithvi in contention to open with Mayank. That competition is necessary and that’s what makes a bunch of 15 look strong and stable.”India are also without Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma, who will be undergoing a fitness test in Bengaluru on Saturday to see if he can join the touring party.

The left-hander’s boundary-laden assault gave Heat an improbable victory from 21 for 4, after AB de Villiers’ unbeaten 93 had lifted the Spartans to 188

The Report by Akshay Gopalakrishnan12-Dec-2018There were two no-balls, two dropped catches, and two breathtaking innings, each playing a decisive part as the league stage of the 2018-19 Mzansi Super League ended with a stunning chase at Centurion.First, a no-ball from Kyle Abbott paved the way for a masterpiece from AB de Villiers. Abbott’s transgression gave a second wind to an innings that should have ended on 22 off 21 balls. Instead, de Villiers raced to an unbeaten 93 off 52. It meant that Heat, ready to tighten the choke were instead left to scale down a colossal 189.Then came the second special knock of the evening. Heat were meandering in the chase. They had lost four wickets inside the first five overs. At the 15-over mark, they required 67 off 30 balls and were six down. Spartans were on course. De Villiers’ effort wasn’t to go waste. He was going to have a memorable end to the season – which had been a quiet one, both with the bat and as captain of the side.But Albie Morkel was lurking. He was waiting. For the right moment. The right bowler. That arrived in the form of Rory Kleinveldt in the 18th over. Heat needed 41 off 18 balls. Morkel swung wildly at the third ball of the over. He found an outside edge that flew past to the left of the keeper. It was the shot that opened the gates. Fourth ball: on a length and swung over midwicket; fifth ball: too full outside off and tonked over long-on; even a yorker, the last ball of the over, was squeezed away with force sufficient to beat deep backward point diving to his left. With 24 coming off that over, for the first time during the chase, the pressure was on the Spartans.With 17 needed off 12, it came down to who would blink first. Then, de Villiers put down Morkel. It was a tough chance. Morkel had received one on the pads. He swung with the angle and whipped it forcefully. De Villiers flew to his right at short fine leg, but the ball wouldn’t stick on. Three balls later, a six off a yorker gone wrong rubbed salt into the wounds and narrowed the equation to six off seven.With five to defend, Eldred Hawken began in excellent fashion, giving away just three singles in the first four balls. And then came the second big no-ball of the match, when Abbott drilled Hawken straight into the hands of cover. Instead of bringing a new man out, Abbott stayed on, and the scores were level. Abbott drilled the next ball down the ground for a single, and his own no-ball earlier in the night was forgotten.Earlier, it was Abbott’s no-ball that awoke the beast within de Villiers. Until Wednesday, de Villiers had endured an unusually low-key tournament, with four single-digit scores in nine innings. The indifferent form continued into his last game of the season. But after the life, de Villiers was a different batsman.Immediately, he began taking the toll, slashing wildly at the free-hit delivery and sending an outside edge flying to the third man boundary. Thereafter, Abbott unravelled quite spectacularly. Ball after the free-hit: overpitched outside the off stump and nailed through extra cover. Abbott even did the right thing for once, firing in a yorker outside off, only for de Villiers to get an inside edge down to fine leg. In between the two, Morne van Wyk let one slip through his legs for four byes. Abbott then sent down a second no-ball, and de Villiers had another four off the free-hit, with a mow over cover.Back-to-back sixes off Heinrich Klaasen in the next over, which went for 18, gave de Villiers a 29-ball fifty and further reinforced his unrelenting mood. Keshav Maharaj, who had returned 3-0-16-2 was given a hostile send-off, de Villiers clattering him for a four and a six in his last. By then, de Villiers was back to doing what he usually does best: moving around the crease, maintaining a steady base, and unfurling trademark improvisations behind square on either side of the wicket.Only Rashid Khan managed to gain a measure of restraint against de Villiers. But his figures were somewhat upset as Heat’s day of overthrows and dropped catches ended with Khaya Zondo dropping an easy de Villiers offering at the cover boundary and letting it go through for four off the innings’ last ball. In a game of such narrow margins, it could have cost Heat on another night.

In the absence of Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada will lead the bowling attack, which also includes allrounders Wayne Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2017Faf du Plessis’ first assignment as ODI captain will see him take charge of a squad sans several senior bowlers for three matches against Bangladesh, starting next Sunday. With Morne Morkel joining the list of those unavailable through injury earlier in the week, Dane Paterson earned a maiden call-up after he was also included in the Test squad as Morkel’s replacement.Paterson, a fast bowler from the Cobras, has played four T20Is for South Africa, most recently in England over the winter. He took a career-best 4 for 32 in the final match, but his ability to execute during the end overs impressed the selectors.

Ins and outs

Ins: Temba Bavuma, Dane Paterson
Outs: Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Keshav Maharaj

“Dane did very well in the T20 International Series against England earlier this year, particularly when it came to death bowling. We now want to see if he can do a similar job in the 50 overs format,” Linda Zondi, South Africa’s convener of selectors said.Kagiso Rabada will lead the bowling attack, which also includes allrounders Wayne Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo. Imran Tahir is the only specialist spinner in the group. Chris Morris, who was part of the Champions Trophy squad, was not available for selection as he continues to recover from a back problem, while Keshav Maharaj was left out.The batting line-up takes on a more familiar look, especially as it sees the return to international action of AB de Villiers, who last played for South Africa during the England tour. De Villiers will make himself available across all three formats from mid-October and is also due to play a four-day first-class match to get himself ready for Tests. He will spend this season as a player only, having stepped down from all forms of leadership.JP Duminy, who recently retired from Tests, will be part of a middle order that also included David Miller and Farhaan Behardien. Temba Bavuma has also been included in the fifty-over side. Bavuma has only played one ODI, last September against Ireland, where he opened the batting and scored a century.South Africa could see this series as the start of their preparations for the 2019 World Cup. South Africa lost the ODI series against Bangladesh the last time they played in the format.ODI squad: Faf du Plessis (capt.), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada

India have displaced Pakistan as the No. 1-ranked Test team in the world, following their 178-run win against New Zealand in the second Test in Kolkata

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-20162:25

Rankings just an incentive to do well – Kohli

India have displaced Pakistan as the No. 1-ranked Test team following their 178-run win against New Zealand in the second Test in Kolkata, which gave them an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series. India had begun the three-match series trailing Pakistan (111) by one point.With 11 more home Tests scheduled until March 2017, India have a chance to consolidate their position. If India draw the Indore Test or sweep the three-match series, the top position will be out of Pakistan’s reach even if they beat West Indies 3-0 in the UAE.In August, Pakistan achieved the top ranking for the first time since the existing system was introduced in 2003. They had moved up to second position after their 2-2 draw in the away series against England, and Sri Lanka’s 3-0 sweep of Australia. At the same time, India had moved to the No. 1 after beating West Indies in St Lucia for a 2-0 lead in the four-match series; they had to win the final Test, in Port of Spain, to hold on to the ranking, but the match was drawn after weather and outfield issues forced play to be abandoned after the first session. This helped Pakistan become the fifth team – after Australia, England, India and South Africa – to top the Test rankings table.The No. 1 ranking has been in flux in 2016, with several teams occupying the position for brief periods. In January, India took over from South Africa after the latter’s 0-2 defeat to England at home. The following month, Australia shot to the top after beating New Zealand 2-0, and maintained the spot until their 3-0 defeat in Sri Lanka. This is the fourth time India have claimed the top spot since 2003.Matches played over the previous four years are taken into consideration as per the ICC’s ranking system, with the oldest matches in the cycle being left out in May of every year. For the current cycle, matches played from May 2013 to April 2015 carry 50% weightage, while matches played since then carry 100% weightage. The No. 1 team in the world as of April 1, 2017 will receive $ 1 million from the International Cricket Council.