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CSA’s acting director of cricket, Corrie van Zyl, said the selectors would look discuss white-ball captaincy as part of their strategy towards World Cup 2023

Liam Brickhill06-Aug-2019Faf du Plessis will captain South Africa’s Test side in India, but there may soon be a new leader in the South Africa’s white-ball sides as Cricket South Africa begins to chart a course for the next World Cup in four years’ time.CSA’s acting director of cricket, Corrie van Zyl, confirmed on Tuesday that du Plessis would remain in charge of the Test side, ending the uncertainty and speculation that had accompanied the major shake-up in South African cricket’s structures over the weekend. There had been a question mark over du Plessis’ reign when CSA released a statement suggesting that an “interim captain” might lead in India.”Faf will be the captain of the Test team and then we will talk about the white-ball strategy to 2023 and how that will affect decision-making,” van Zyl said, during a press briefing on Tuesday morning.”It’s important to look forward to 2023 as well. We need a strategy to 2023, so in terms of appointing the captain we will look at how we approach that. We are having a selection meeting in the next day and a half to confirm that.”For his part, du Plessis is still keen on leading South Africa, while remaining realistic on the inevitable need for change at some point. “I’m 35, I’ve probably got two or three years left, hopefully more. You can’t plan for that kind of thing, you have to try and plan for what every year looks like – and those are what the conversations with CSA will have to be,” du Plessis said after CSA’s awards ceremony on Saturday night, at which he was named one of the Cricketers of the Year. “What does year one look like? Year two? And then if there is a year three, what does that look like?””Even though I was disappointed after the World Cup, it is still special to play for this team,” du Plessis added. “I wasn’t thinking about quitting, it’s about weighing up what the next year looks like in terms of all three formats. It’s a lot of time away playing cricket. As you get older you have to start looking at other tournaments. That’s the balancing act that would need to happen.”A new short-format leader will be trialled soon, and the South Africa A team, as well as the senior men’s and women’s sides, are all due to travel to India in the coming months. The A squads were announced in June, with Temba Bavuma in charge of the 50-over side, while an interim selection committee – headed by van Zyl – will deliberate on the senior South Africa squads for India this week.Van Zyl added that he is already negotiating with an interim team director for the men’s tour, after coach Ottis Gibson and his staff were removed from their positions when CSA decided on a radical re-structure in the way cricket is run after the World Cup failure.The A tour kicks off at the end of August, while the senior men’s side will play the first of three T20Is on September 15 in Dharamsala. The Test series gets underway on October 2 in Visakhapatnam.

They played key roles in Sri Lanka not taking the field for two hours on the third day of the St Lucia Test and were hit with a Level 3 charge

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2018Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal, coach Chandika Hathurusingha, and manager Asanka Gurusinha have admitted to breaching the ICC Code that relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game” and could be suspended for two to four Tests, or between four and eight limited-overs internationals.They were charged with a level 3 offence by ICC chief executive David Richardson, after Sri Lanka refused to take the field on the third morning of the second Test against West Indies in St Lucia and delayed the start of play by two hours. Sri Lanka did this after the on-field umpires had informed them ten minutes before the start of play that they were changing the ball because they suspected its condition had been illegally altered.”This action was alleged to amount to a serious breach of the Laws of Cricket and to be contrary to the spirit of the game,” the ICC said.The ICC appointed Michael Beloff QC as the Judicial Commissioner to hear the case against Chandimal, Hathurusingha and Gurusinha to determine the appropriate sanction.Among the points the Sri Lanka camp is likely to make to Beloff is that the entire two-hour delay was not exclusively down to their reluctance to play. It is possible Sri Lanka’s team management believe that roughly midway through the scheduled morning session, they felt they had come to an agreement with the match officials, wherein although Chandimal would still have to face a ball-tampering charge at the end of the Test, the officials would refrain from imposing the five-run penalty and changing the ball. In fact, on the basis that there would be no immediate penalties, the Sri Lanka side did take the field at 10:50 am, an hour and 20 minutes past the scheduled start. However, to Sri Lanka’s surprise, the umpires changed the ball at this stage. It was at this point that the Sri Lanka team dug in its heels again. They left the field, returning only forty minutes later, to actually start play.It must be stressed, however, that there is strong disagreement about this sequence of events. There is another suggestion that no deal was actually struck; such a deal, it is felt, would effectively mean there was no charge to be laid, and that umpires were not following playing conditions. In this version of events, the false start is blamed on a misunderstanding between the match officials and the Sri Lanka team.When play did eventually begin on day three, Sri Lanka Cricket issued a release denying wrongdoing and said they were playing “under protest”. The Sri Lanka captain later pleaded not guilty to the charge of ball-tampering, but video footage suggested he had taken something from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and applied saliva to the ball only a few seconds later.The ICC match referee Javagal Srinath found Chandimal’s explanation unsatisfactory and gave him two suspension points – meaning he would miss the third Test against West Indies – and fined him 100% of his match fees. Chandimal, however, appealed the ball-tampering verdict and his case will be heard by Beloff on June 22.The ICC said Beloff would use Chandimal’s appeal hearing to “establish the procedural schedule on the Level 3 charges.” A person guilty of a level 3 offence could get between four and eight suspension points.

The official broadcaster of the Champions Trophy, Star, has written to the ICC outlining its concerns regarding the uncertainty over India’s participation in the tournament

Nagraj Gollapudi04-May-2017The official broadcaster of the Champions Trophy, Star, has written to the ICC outlining its concerns regarding the uncertainty over India’s participation in the tournament and the consequences that could have on advertising revenue.In the letter to ICC chief executive David Richardson, Star said it needed clarity so that it could reassure advertisers who had paid money to buy space during the Champions Trophy, but were now worried that India would pull out.It is understood that Star asked the ICC to make a public statement to clear the air and state how it was trying to resolve the situation. Though the tone of the letter was not alarming, the ICC top brass is making sure Star’s concerns were dealt with. It is understood Richardson called up ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, who said he would speak to the broadcaster himself.In 2014, Star had won broadcast rights for 18 ICC tournaments between 2015 and 2023 in a deal understood to be worth in excess of $2 billion. The eight-year contract included two World Cups in 2019 and 2023, two Champions Trophies in 2017 and 2021, and two World T20s in 2016 and 2020.The uncertainty over India’s participation in the upcoming Champions Trophy stems from the BCCI missing the April 25 deadline to send its squad to the ICC. The BCCI said at the time that the delay was due to “operational” reasons, but the issue is also linked to the board’s unhappiness over events at the ICC Board meetings in April.At the ICC Board meetings, the BCCI was outvoted overwhelmingly by other ICC members and the new constitution, governance changes and financial model was approved. The BCCI’s biggest grouse was with the financial model, because according to the new one it stood to receive a significantly smaller share of ICC revenue. Since then there has been talk of the BCCI using the Champions Trophy as a bargaining chip to get a greater share of the financial pie.However, a day after Star sent the letter to the ICC, the committee of administrators appointed by the Supreme Court of India to supervise the BCCI sent an email to the board’s acting secretary asking it to convene a selection meeting immediately to pick the squad for the Champions Trophy.The BCCI is expected to take a final decision at a special general meeting (SGM) in Delhi on May 7. A part of the board, including its acting president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry, was in favour of revoking the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) signed with the ICC.If the BCCI does revoke the MPA, then India will not be able to play any ICC tournaments until 2023, when the cycle of rights held by Star end.The CoA, however, made it clear to the BCCI that the vote at the SGM needed to be unanimous, and if any decisions that were not in the “interests of Indian cricket” were taken, it would ask the Supreme Court to intervene.

David Miller struck his first international fifty since February last year and his career-best T20I score to guide South Africa to the highest successful chase at Kingsmead

Firdose Moonda04-Mar-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsImran Tahir continued his impressive form with three wickets•Gallo Images

David Miller struck his first international fifty since February last year and his career-best T20I score to guide South Africa to the highest successful chase at Kingsmead and a lead in the three-match series against Australia. Miller’s return to form came at an opportune time – South Africa were 95 for 6 in their reply and needed a lower-order surge to ensure their efforts with the ball were not wasted.On a dry, cracked pitch, they pulled Australia back in an innings that was destined for over 200. Imran Tahir led the strangle to pull Australia back from 69 for 1 in the PowerPlay. South Africa took 6 for 45 between the sixth and 16th over and not even Mitchell Marsh’s cameo at the end gave Australia enough to defend.Neither side will be entirely happy with their batting performance but Australia will have cause to question their composition more. For the first time in T20I cricket, they chose to bat David Warner down the order and used Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja upfront and may reconsider that going forward.Finch’s aggression was obvious was from the start. He took on Kagiso Rabada in his opening two overs but South Africa regained some control when Rabada removed Usman Khawaja.Instead of keeping Rabada on, du Plessis gave the ball to JP Duminy and Finch had a field day. He sent the first three balls for six over deep midwicket and the fourth delivery bounced just a few metres short of the deep cover rope. Duminy’s over cost 24 runs and gave the early advantage to Australia.Chris Morris did not fare too much better with an opening over of 15, as he veered between short and full and Warner used placement over power to cash in. David Wiese, who could have bowled with the fielding restrictions in place, was brought on immediately after they were lifted and had success by having Warner caught at backward point to stem the tide. Imran Tahir, who could also have bowled in that period if du Plessis felt he needed spin, came on in the next over and had Finch caught off a full toss to remove the biggest threat.Tahir should have added Glenn Maxwell with the next ball but Quinton de Kock, who had taken over the keeping duties from AB de Villiers, spilled the catch. Maxwell lasted for long enough to see his captain, Steven Smith, scratch around and then edge Wiese to de Kock and then tried to hit Morris over cover but got a leading edge which du Plessis snaffled.South Africa would have felt they were into the lower order with Peter Nevill, the specialist gloveman, at the crease and even more so when Tahir trapped him lbw and bowled John Hastings with a googly in his next over. Australia had tumbled to 114 for 7 and South Africa were in control.Marsh struck the ball cleanly to ensure Morris’ figures did not improve and even got stuck into Kyle Abbott. He finished with 35 off 25 balls when he fell in the final over to give Australia a fighting chance.They were off to the perfect start when Nathan Coulter-Nile had AB de Villiers caught behind off the first ball of South Africa’s reply. With Hashim Amla sitting out, South Africa seemed vulnerable, more so when Quinton de Kock misread the slower ball and offered Coulter-Nile a return catch.Australia copied South Africa’s approach and used their back-up spinner, Maxwell, in the PowerPlay and du Plessis tried to do as Finch did. He took 16 runs off Maxwell’s over but South Africa were set back again when Duminy picked out midwicket. South Africa were 45 for 3 at the end of the PowerPlay.Marsh and Adam Zampa kept South Africa quiet before Marsh removed Rilee Rossouw and next ball du Plessis was run-out, as Nevill completed a sharp piece of work after running round from behind the stumps, to leave South Africa 73 for 5 at the halfway stage with only the lower order to come.Miller was the striker again when Wiese charged down for a single that was never on and it was left to Miller and Morris to win the game.Both regard themselves as finishers. Morris has proved himself in the recent limited-overs matches against England, but it was Miller who took on the task of winning the match this time. He was particularly severe on Andrew Tye. His two sixes in Tye’s third over brought South Africa’s requirement down from 45 off 30 balls to 29 off 24.Morris fell in the next over – Finch taking an excellent running catch – but Miller kept going. He sent Hastings through the covers and over deep square leg to leave just ten to get off the last two overs. Fittingly, Miller and his Dolphins team-mate Abbott were at the crease and after Miller brought up his fifty off 33 balls, Abbott hit the winning runs.

The rain, which is threatening to turn this series into a non-event, prevented Australia from taking advantage of a strong start at Edgbaston after they had removed Australia’s top order

The Report by George Dobell at Edgbaston11-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMichael Carberry was run out in the first over of the match•Getty Images

The rain, which is threatening to turn this series into a non-event, prevented Australia from taking advantage of a strong start at Edgbaston after they had removed England’s top order.Rain delayed the start by 20 minutes and then returned after one ball of the 16th over to force the sides off the field. Although the umpires finally called the game off shortly after 7pm it had long been clear that there was little chance of a result as Edgbaston suffered from the weather again. Spectators will receive a 50% refund on the value of their tickets – it is only 100% if fewer than 10 overs have been bowled – and Warwickshire had an insurance policy to cover lost retail sales.Australia certainly fared better of the two sides in the first hour or so of play. Mitchell Johnson, again bowling at a pace in excess of 90 mph, was arguably the most eye-catching of the bowlers but gained good support from his colleagues.While Kevin Pietersen flicked his first delivery, the fourth of the game, through midwicket for four, he was involved in a run-out two balls later for which he would have to accept much of the blame.Struck on the thigh pad, Pietersen called Michael Carberry for a sharp single. Carberry had backed up some distance but, despite bellowing “no,” then had to watch in horror as Pietersen ran past him to the safety of the non-striker’s end while the bowler, Clint McKay, completed the run out. It appeared both batsmen accepted that sacrificing Carberry was the lesser of two evils, though for a man playing in just his third ODI and with limited opportunities to shine, it may prove to be a significant blow.The incident appeared to unsettle Pietersen. He played and missed at both McKay and Johnson and then pulled a sharp short ball from Johnson to square leg.After Pietersen’s early boundary, England failed to hit another until the 10th over. While Jonathan Trott produced a couple of characteristic flicks off the hip, England reached an underwhelming 43 for 2 by the end of the Powerplay.Joe Root produced one sweet on-driven four off Josh Hazlewood, who replaced Fawad Ahmed for Australia, in the next over but, no sooner had Adam Voges been introduced into the attack, than Root pushed one that may have gripped in the pitch back to the bowler.It could have been worse for England. Trott, falling to the off side as he tried to play a straight one off his legs, was given out lbw when he had scored 13 by umpire Michael Gough. Trott, in hope more than conviction, eventually called for a review of the decision which showed the delivery from Johnson had pitched fractionally outside the leg stump.It was not Trott’s only nervous moment. Australia utilised their only review on another leg-before appeal, with ball-tracking technology suggesting the delivery from Johnson would have narrowly passed over the stumps – the review upheld Gough’s not-out decision on the basis of umpire’s call. Two balls later, Trott sustained a crunching blow as a short ball from Johnson crashed into the grill of his helmet.”It’s definitely a plan to target Trott with the bouncer,” Matthew Wade said. “It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to work that out. Any batsman getting bouncers at the pace Mitch is bowling them is going to find it quite difficult and we’ll target that and try and mix his feet up and get him caught behind”There were a couple of nicely timed boundaries off his legs but, when the time the rain came at 3.34pm, England would have been the happier of the sides to get back to the dressing room. Despite criticism about the balance of their side, England named an unchanged XI, meaning Ben Stokes continued as third seamer and No. 8 batsman. The balance of their side will remain a talking point over the final two matches of the series – weather permitting.”It’s really disappointing that the rain came in,” Wade added. “We started so well. But we’re 1-0 up and we’re looking to push-on.”Mitch is one of the quickest I’ve kept to for a while. More importantly, his accuracy is second to none and he is swinging the ball nicely, too. When you move the ball back in at 90 mph it is tough for any batsman. One of our aims is to take early wickets and he is doing that for us.”He probably feels a lot fresher. He got away from international cricket for a while. The scrutiny and pressure he was under is hard work for anybody. So to come in with a fresh mindset is probably the key to his success.”If you’re picking the Ashes team tomorrow he would definitely be in it. We don’t have a lot of available fast bowlers right now. But if he bowls like this, he’ll be in the mix for sure.”

Virat Kohli continued to be imperious, and Irfan Pathan impressed once again, as India’s completed a successful limited-overs campaign in Sri Lanka with a comfortable win in the only T20 international on the tour

The Report by Siddhartha Talya07-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Virat Kohli made another half-century•AFP

Virat Kohli continued to be imperious, and Irfan Pathan impressed once again, as India completed a successful limited-overs campaign in Sri Lanka with a comfortable win in the only T20 international on the tour. Kohli was in complete command, picking gaps at will, finding boundaries with minimum effort, even off the occasional mistimed shot, and helped take India to 155. Irfan, who found considerable swing, undermined a Sri Lankan fightback with the ball in the death overs by dismissing three senior Sri Lanka batsmen and was backed up by a containing effort by the rest.The game began brightly for Sri Lanka, with Shaminda Eranga completing a unique achievement; his wicket off Gautam Gambhir meant he’s now picked up a wicket in the first over of his debuts in Tests, ODIs and T20 internationals. But Kohli’s entry to the crease ensured that early high was short-lived.Sri Lanka’s bowlers targeted the off side, Kohli’s preferred areas being through square leg and midwicket, and bowled to their field, but such was his dominance that no part of the ground was secure. A short ball from Angelo Mathews was clubbed over midwicket, a good length delivery next ball was guided through point and Eranga was taken for fours to each part of the off side – point, extra cover and then mid-off, though two of those shots were mistimed.When Thisara Perera was brought on in the sixth over, he made the mistake of bowling too straight and was promptly struck for three fours in a row, two past short fine leg. His low backlift helped Kohli to adapt easily to deliveries that were pushed in fuller and his wristwork, as always, was his primary weapon. Thirty-six off his first 38 runs came in boundaries.The introduction of spin after the field restrictions slowed India down, and accounted for Rahane’s wicket as he drove one straight back at Jeevan Mendis. Overs nine to 12 yielded only 25, though they included a six and a four from Kohli as he charged out of the crease on each occasion.Suresh Raina walked in ahead of Rohit Sharma and picked up a couple of neatly-clipped fours off Eranga and Perera through the leg side. Kohli survived a close run-out chance but following a stand of 48, he timed one shot a touch too well, smacking a slower one from Eranga straight to deep midwicket. There were some hits and misses from MS Dhoni that gave him some frustrating moments and even though Raina dispatched Lasith Malinga over long-off, the Sri Lankan seamers were largely accurate in their lengths in the final few overs. Only 31 came off the last five, but India were not made to rue that slip.Irfan was off target on occasion – his first ball was wide and cut for four – but got the ball to move in through the air and castled Tillakaratne Dilshan in the first over. The ball curved away from the left-handed Upul Tharaga and he chased a wide one in Irfan’s next over to be caught at slip. Mahela Jayawardene, who opened the batting, threatened a counter-attack, targeting Umesh Yadav. He used Yadav’s pace to guide him for fours through third man and point, then cut and whipped him in the same over to collect 17 runs off it. But his stay, too, was ended by an Irfan inswinger in the fifth over. Jayawardene moved back and closed the face but was struck on the pads just in line with leg stump.Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews tried to maintain the tempo, stepping out and going over the top and adding 33 in quick time. But Thirimanne’s attempt to reverse-sweep a straight ball from R Ashwin failed and cost him his wicket. The run-rate slipped, the pressure grew and wickets continued to tumble. Mathews nicked Ashok Dinda – who also cleaned up the tail to finish with four wickets – to the keeper, Jeevan Mendis spooned a catch to extra cover and Perera was run out by a direct hit from Manoj Tiwary, all in a space of 15 deliveries.Seven down and with 54 needed off 28, Sri Lanka had to attack and their efforts to do so hastened their end. They’ll now look to the Sri Lanka Premier League to sharpen their T20 skills while India await New Zealand before they return to this country for the World T20.

Sixteen wickets fell in the day – almost half of them during a career-best
spell of 7 for 21 by Darren Stevens – as Kent fought back strongly on the
second day of their County Championship match with Surrey at Canterbury

11-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Sixteen wickets fell in the day – almost half of them during a career-best
spell of 7 for 21 by Darren Stevens – as Kent fought back strongly on the
second day of their County Championship match with Surrey at Canterbury.Stevens’ haul helped Kent dismiss the visitors for a paltry 127 inside 44 overs
and secure a surprise first innings lead of 139, only for the hosts to then lose
six wickets of their own during a chilly final session which lasted 45.4
overs.Kent went in at stumps on 167 for 6 and holding an overall advantage of 306
at the midway point of the game. The hosts had captain Robert Key to thank for their position of strength – his watchful, unbeaten 70 is the only half-century to date in this Division Two
tussle to date.Having been completely outmanoeuvred on day one, Kent’s seam attack led their
worthy fightback by making the most of a cross wind and a thickening bank of
late morning cloud cover. Once the sunshine disappeared Kent’s Pakistan paceman Wahab Riaz formed a dangerous ‘little and large’ partnership with swing bowler Stevens that saw
Surrey slip from 54 without loss to 127 all out.Their capitulation started with the loss of five wickets for 10 runs in the
space of 37 deliveries in the face of some excellent bowling, particularly by
Stevens.He started the rout by having Steven Davies caught low at second slip for 23 by
Martin van Jaarsveld. In the next over Mark Ramprakash attempted to get off the mark with a risky single off Riaz, only for Joe Denly to swoop in from cover point and run out
Rory Hamilton-Brown (34) with a direct hit at the striker’s end.One run later Zander de Bruyn followed a Stevens’ awayswinger to guide a simple
catch to Key in the gully and depart for one. Then, without troubling the scorers, Ramprakash nicked a lifting awayswinger to keeper Geraint Jones to give Stevens a third, highly-prized scalp.Surrey’s demise gathered momentum when Jason Roy also went without scoring
after spooning a simple cut off Riaz to Denly at cover point. A short but heavy shower led to a 30-minute interruption and an early lunch, yet Surrey were still unable to stave off their collapse come the resumption.Tom Maynard’s hesitant shuffle at a Stevens’ off-cutter saw him perish leg
before wicket for 16 and though Gareth Batty and Zafar Ansari both limped into
the 20s, Kent and Stevens in particular were unstoppable.Ansari holed out in the deep off Adam Ball, leaving Stevens to mop up the
tail. He trapped former team-mate Yasir Arafat leg before wicket and had both Tim
Linley and Jade Dernbach well held low at third slip by Matt Coles.Further showers led to the loss of five overs after tea and the break in
concentration led to the demise of Denly, caught on the crease and leg before
wicket to Linley’s second ball after the resumption.Linley had Sam Northeast caught behind and returned for a third stint to snare
Jones lbw, despite the hint of an inside edge, for a plucky 22. However, there were no mitigating circumstances for Stevens, van Jaarsveld and James Tredwell, who all fell to ill advised shots late in the day.

Leicestershire’s James Taylor posted his third century in four matches against Middlesex to leave this County Championship clash at Lord’s intriguingly poised

11-Aug-2010

ScorecardLeicestershire’s James Taylor posted his third century in four matches against Middlesex to leave this County Championship clash at Lord’s intriguingly poised going into the final day.
The 20-year-old right-hander occupied the crease in NW8 for a shade over six hours in reaching an unbeaten 106 with only eight fours to help his side reach 282 all out, a useful first-innings lead of 63.Batting again by 2pm, Middlesex made a good start with an enterprising opening stand worth 119 in 33 overs either side of tea between Scott Newman and John Simpson. Former Surrey left-hander Newman counter attacked with 11 fours in his 110-ball half-century, but was first to go soon after tea for 70 when his top-edged cut to a turning, lifting ball from Claude Henderson looped to Jacques du Toit at slip.Left-arm spinner Henderson struck again in his next over when Simpson (44) walked across his stumps aiming to work through the leg-side only to fall lbw. Attacking with spin at both ends, Leicestershire struck again through Jigar Naik when he tossed one up from the Pavilion End to draw Dawid Malan into an ill-advised drive that he edged to slip.Three overs from the close, home skipper Neil Dexter (18) was trapped on the crease by a Nadeem Malik offcutter to go leg before but nightwatchman Toby Roland-Jones (one) and Owais Shah (25) survived until stumps to reach 168 for 4, a lead of 105 to take into the fourth and final day.The third day of this fluctuating tussle had started with Leicestershire on 186 for 5, still trailing by 33 runs after a rain-ruined Tuesday. Unbeaten on 65 overnight, Taylor soon lost sixth-wicket partner Naik (36) when he played back to the sixth ball of the game by occasional legspinner Malan to go leg before to a quicker delivery.In tandem with Henderson, Taylor added 57 for the sixth wicket and ground his way to a fifth career hundred and his second off the Middlesex attack this summer. His unbeaten 106 here followed his 206 not out against them at Grace Road in May.In the past three seasons the former England Under-19 batsman has amassed 483 runs against Middlesex at an amazing average of 161. The Leicestershire innings then tailed off badly when Roland-Jones made good use of the second new ball to claim three wickets for two runs from 26 balls either side of the lunch interval.He got Henderson to edge behind on 31 before trapping Nathan Buck (one) lbw and having Matthew Hoggard (four) caught by Shaun Udal. He finished with 4 for 52 and Pedro Collins 4 for 72, yet neither of them could dislodge the obdurate Taylor who marched off with a smile after his
230-ball study in concentration.

The CPL could be the reason behind Heinrich Klaasen, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Tabraiz Shamsi’s exclusion

Firdose Moonda14-Aug-2024Fast bowler Kwena Maphaka, who was the Player of the Tournament at this year’s Under-19 World Cup, is in line for a senior international debut after being included in South Africa’s squad to play West Indies in three T20Is later this month.The call-up tops a stellar year for Maphaka, who helped South Africa U-19 to the semi-final of the World Cup, where he took 21 wickets at an average of 9.71. He also made his provincial debut for Lions just before that, and was picked by Mumbai Indians for IPL 2024, all in the space of three months.”Kwena has been identified as a player with significant potential, and this tour presents a great opportunity to include him in the Proteas environment, and gain valuable international experience,” South Africa’s white-ball coach Rob Walter said.Related

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In his short career so far, Maphaka has shown a remarkable level of maturity in balancing pace and control against some of the best young batters in the game. He is completing his final year at school, with matriculation examinations imminent, but will take some time away from the books to possibly make his international cricket bow.Jason Smith, a middle-order batter who was Dolphins’ top-scorer in the CSA T20 challenge in 2023-24, is the other new name in South Africa’s playing group.With T20I cricket taking a backseat after the recent World Cup, and with the next one two years away, South Africa’s squad contains a mix of old and new names, and is without several regulars. Quinton de Kock is perhaps the most notable absentee from the T20 World Cup squad – he has not confirmed his international retirement, although it has been widely speculated.De Kock had stepped away from Tests in 2021, from ODIs in 2023, and had indicated that the T20 World Cup in June this year would be his last international assignment. However, he has not made a definite announcement yet, and will be playing for Barbados Royals in the CPL, which starts on August 30, three days after the third and final T20I against West Indies.The CPL could also be the reason behind the exclusion of Heinrich Klaasen, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Tabraiz Shamsi, although Tristan Stubbs, who has been signed by St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, has been included in the squad. Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen are being rested, while Nqaba Peter, the legspinner who made his T20I debut against West Indies in May, could not be considered as he continues rehabilitation after a shoulder injury.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

That will leave the main spin-bowling duties to Bjorn Fortuin, who was a reserve player at the T20 World Cup.Lungi Ngidi will lead the pace pack, with Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger and Lizaad Williams alongside, while Wiaan Mulder and Patrick Kruger will provide seam-bowling allrounder options. Rassie van der Dussen has been recalled after missing out on the T20 World Cup, but there is no room for Matthew Breetzke. Aiden Markram, meanwhile, will continue to captain the side.”This tour allows us to continue developing our player pool whilst maintaining the core of experienced players,” Walter said. “It will also expose our emerging talent to quality international opposition, similar to the last time we played against West Indies in May.”The three matches will all be played at the Brian Lara Stadium from August 23-27. South Africa had also toured the West Indies for three T20Is in May, just before the T20 World Cup, but lost that series 0-3.

South Africa squad for T20I series in the West Indies

Aiden Markram (capt), Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger, Donovan Ferreira, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams

Injury, as well as an abundance of caution, have seen him play just four Tests in the last two years

Andrew McGlashan14-Jun-2023History could be about to repeat itself for Josh Hazlewood as he waits to see whether his services will be required for the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. But while he accepts playing the whole series is unlikely given his recent injury record, anything fewer than three appearances would leave him disappointed.One of Hazlewood (222 Test wickets at 25.83), Mitchell Starc (310 wickets at 27.64) or Scott Boland (33 wickets at 14.57) will not make Australia’s side on Friday, with the decision likely to be between the two senior quicks after Boland’s impact in the World Test Championship final against India added to his fairytale start in Test cricket.Neither Hazlewood or Starc made Australia’s starting XI four years ago with James Pattinson and Peter Siddle joining Pat Cummins. Hazlewood, who had missed the preceding ODI World Cup through injury, would go on to play the remaining four games, taking 20 wickets at 21.85 in the 2-2 draw where Australia retained the urn.”If we go back a few years, I would have said [I expected to play] all six [Tests]. But I guess it’s a little bit different now, based on the last two years of history,” he said. “I think three would be nice pass and four is probably a tick. Any more than that is great. Any less then I am probably a little disappointed again.”But I think when you have that depth for each game you [can] really go as hard as you can and then reassess after the game because you always have someone of high quality sitting on the pine and ready to go. So it’s a great position to be in for the team.”

Two years, four Tests for Hazlewood

A very cautious approach was taken with Hazlewood for the Test Championship final after two years which has seen him play just four Test matches. He returned home from the tour of India with an Achilles injury caused by soft run-ups at the SCG in his previous comeback Test in January and was then withdrawn from the final after leaving the IPL early with side soreness.”I think if it was a one-off game I probably could have played,” he said. “[But] with what’s coming up now, it just would have been too big of a risk. This sets me up nicely if I’m selected for game one, then we have a nice rest after and we’ll take it from there.”Captain Pat Cummins has stated that he wants to play all six Tests on this trip. Meanwhile, Scott Boland believes that it will be tough unless a couple of the games have early finishes. Having missed so much Test cricket of late, Hazlewood is desperate to get his place back but also has tempered expectations.”Think having those [fast bowling] options helps that mindset,” he said. “No doubt you still want to play every game and it’s hard to sit on the sidelines and watch. No shying away from that.”But potentially if you [have] back-to-back Tests and you bowl 50 overs and you’ve someone [like] Boland, Starc or myself on the bench, fresh and ready to go for the next Test, it makes those conversations a little bit easier. The guys are a little bit more open to it to create that longevity. Perhaps the all-format guys are more open to it than others.”He also acknowledged the depth of Australia’s attack means that bowlers don’t push themselves beyond breaking point. “You might miss one or two games with a niggle rather than pushing it and missing three or four months,” he said.Josh Hazlewood presents Test debutant Scott Boland with his ‘Baggy Green’ cap•CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Hazlewood’s outstanding English record

With 222 Test wickets and 36 at 23.58 in England, Hazlewood does not need to prove his credentials, although there are perhaps questions marks around his durability even though coaches and medical staff have been at pains not to link his run of injuries (four of the Tests he missed were also due to conditions in Pakistan and Sri Lanka).He admitted to wanting to make statement when he returned against South Africa in January where he bowled impressively and found reverse swing, only for his exertions as part of a two-man pace attack to sideline him again, but now the overriding emotion is one of anticipation.”I probably felt that maybe a little bit more in Sydney leading into that game. I think in England, my record is pretty good. Pretty confident in these conditions,” he said. “What’s exciting is probably what England have done the last 18 months. It’s what a few of us need to get the best out of ourselves.”

England still get out the same way

With India having been dealt with to secure the World Test Championship, Australia’s quick bowlers will sit down over the next 48 overs to map out their plans for England’s Bazballing batting line-up but they won’t be reinventing the wheel. They are familiar with the majority of the players, although the statistic about Ben Duckett only leaving eight deliveries so far in his Test cricket pricked Hazelwood’s interest.”That’s a quite amazing,” he said. “Obviously he likes bat on ball. So [we will] try and use that to our advantage as best we can.”While we are bowling at their batsmen it’s about sticking to that six to eight metre length. Think what we’ve seen through the numbers in the last 18 months to two years, they are still getting out in similar ways, they are just scoring more runs quickly in between. So it’s about sticking to that line and length. If they hit us off that for five Tests then that’s good for them.”