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Ryan Maron has replaced Andre Coley as West Indies’ fielding coach. He joins the West Indies team in England ahead of their three-Test series which begins on August 17.Maron, the 42-year-old former opening batsman who played 18 first-class matches for Western Province in South Africa, has previously worked as fielding coach with Dolphins in South African domestic cricket as well as with the Afghanistan national team. Coley, meanwhile, has taken over as head coach of Windward Islands Volcanoes.”This is a massive privilege to be involved in West Indies cricket and I’m delighted to join the Windies coaching staff,” he said. “I have followed West Indies cricket over the years as a kid and then as a player and a coach and I’m just happy to be offered this opportunity to make a contribution as a coach.”The game in the West Indies has a great history and here in this group we have a young bunch of cricketers who will perform well. I’m also looking forward to working with the ODI and T20 sides as we look to climb back up the ladder in world cricket.”

Scorecard Mark Stoneman top scored with 86•Getty Images

Three of the contenders for a possible Test call-up – Keaton Jennings, Mark Stoneman and Nick Gubbins – all made half-centuries as England Lions pressed for victory against South Africa A in the tour match at Canterbury.Skipper Jennings and former Durham team-mate Stoneman passed 50 for the second time in the match before Middlesex’s Gubbins sped the Lions toward a declaration with 63 off 65 balls.England pulled out on 308 for 5 after scoring at nearly five an over on a slow pitch, leaving South Africa A with a target of 412 but they lost four wickets before the close, three of them to Somerset’s Jamie Overton in successive overs.Openers Adrian Markram and Heino Kuhn had put on 164 in the first innings but were parted with 8 on the board this time around when Essex’s Jamie Porter defeated Markram’s tentative defensive push. Overton then had Kuhn and Khaya Zondo caught behind and Theunis de Bruyn smartly held at fourth slip as South Africa A limped to 29 for 4 at stumps.A fortnight after he made his career-best 197 for Surrey in the Specsavers County Championship, Stoneman continued his impressive form with 86. He was dropped on 20 and 33 but the left-hander played confidently on both sides of the wicket with 15 fours and a six off offspinner Dane Piedt.Stoneman and Jennings came together after Haseeb Hameed had been dismissed cheaply for the second time in the match when he was squared up by Beuran Hendricks. The second-wicket pair put on 145 in 35 overs and Stoneman appeared to be cruising towards his fourth hundred of the season when he played on to Duanne Olivier after facing 129 balls in 163 minutes.Having hit nine fours in 122 balls, Jennings, one of only three players in this week’s squad who are in the party for the Lions game against South Africa next week, fell for 71 to a smart slip catch cutting against the spin of Piedt before left-hander Gubbins began England’s acceleration after tea.After Dan Lawrence had been caught behind off Hendricks, Gubbins and Ben Foakes, who made an unbeaten 127 in the first innings, added 69 in 7.4 overs with Foakes employing the slog-sweep against Piedt to good effect, twice clearing the midwicket boundary in the same over.Gubbins wasn’t afraid to employ the long handle either, depositing Hendricks over long-on for six. Foakes drove to cover after making 34 from 27 balls and England declared when Gubbins, who struck eight fours and a six, was out in similar fashion.Earlier, South Africa A had been bowled out for 283 – a deficit of 103 – in their first innings after their last three wickets added 46.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:35

Hogg: Wretched show but Kings XI were also unlucky

Rising Pune Supergiant stormed into the playoffs, earning at least two more matches, and the opportunity for an IPL title before signing out of franchise cricket. They demolished Kings XI Punjab in a knockout match at home to book a spot in the first qualifier against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday. Kolkata Knight Riders will take on defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator in Bengaluru on Wednesday.The Kings Paupers XI
Steven Smith made a mention of the moisture in the Pune pitch, and his bowlers made excellent use of it with cross-seamers that tempted the on-the-up drive. On a bare surface, those deliveries come on nicely and batsmen can hit through the line. On this one, offering more purchase, such shots were ill-advised. The ball zipped through or bounced extra, and Kings XI were 32 for 5 in the Powerplay. They were then all out for their lowest total in the IPL – 73.The surprise strike-force
Jaydev Unadkat started it all, having the big-hitting Martin Guptill caught at short cover off the first ball of the game. He ran out Eoin Morgan with a direct hit from mid-on. A little later, he pulled off a smart, diving catch at short fine leg. Finally, he finished with 2 for 12, only four wickets behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the most successful bowler in IPL 2017, having played three fewer matches. Unadkat’s strike-rate of 10.8 is the second-highest among anyone that has taken 10 wickets in the tournament.The partner-in-crime
“My palms were sweating when I was in the bus,” Shardul Thakur admitted in a mid-innings interview. But once he took a look at his workplace, he quickly perked up. “When we started, it [the ball] was sticking [in the pitch] a bit, and the cross-seamers worked.”He had Shaun Marsh spooning a drive to mid-off in his second over, forced Rahul Tewatia to top-edge a pull to the wicketkeeper, and finally had Glenn Maxwell flicking a leg-stump half-volley into the hands of long leg. The Kings XI captain, who had pushed himself down to No. 6, finished IPL 2017 having played only 18 balls in the Powerplay and lost his wicket thrice.A little batting practice
Prior to Sunday, Ajinkya Rahane averaged 19.07, his lowest in a season since 2008, when he played only two matches. A target of 74, whilst being too little for a batsman to sink his teeth into, can still give him the opportunity to spend time at the crease. Rahane made sure to last the entirety of the chase, and hit the winning runs too, a six over long-on. Pune will want as many of their gun players in form to fill the hole that will be left by Ben Stokes – 316 runs and 12 wickets in 12 matches – who leaves for England tonight.

ScorecardAlex Hales powered the early stages of Nottinghamshire’s chase•Getty Images

Billy Root held his nerve to steer Nottinghamshire to a four-wicket victory over Derbyshire at Derby that keeps their Royal London Cup hopes alive.Nottinghamshire were starting to unravel chasing a revised target of 286 from 47 overs but Joe Root’s younger brother made an unbeaten 23 from 25 balls to see his side home with four balls to spare.They had been cruising at 242 for 3 through half-centuries from Alex Hales, Riki Wessels and Samit Patel but a rain break allowed Derbyshire to regroup and give themselves hope of an unlikely victory.Derbyshire recorded their highest one-day score against Notts of 303 for 4 with Billy Godleman top-scoring with 90 and Ben Slater and Wayne Madsen passing 50 but it was not enough.The game was played on the same wicket that yielded over 600 runs on Sunday and there was little in it for the Nottinghamshire attack as Godleman and Slater played positively from the start.Slater just cleared mid-on off Harry Gurney but Nottinghamshire rarely looked like taking a wicket until a mix up resulted in Slater being run out for 72 after he and Godleman added 148.Shiv Thakor was caught at extra cover trying to force James Pattinson but Madsen made the most of a dropped catch by Michael Lumb when he was 12 to score an unbeaten 66.He twice hit Patel for straight sixes on his way to a 42-ball 50 and although Pattinson induced a leading edge from Daryn Smit, Gary Wilson helped Madsen provide late acceleration by taking three consecutive fours off Jake Ball.It was the first time Derbyshire had scored 300 in consecutive one-day games and their hopes of defending it were raised when Madsen had Lumb caught at long-off in the second over but Hales and Wessels turned the game with some thrilling strokes.Hales was severe on Tom Milnes, taking five fours from six balls in a three over spell that cost 34 and after reaching 50 from 35 deliveries, he drove Jeevan Mendis for the first of two sixes.Nottinghamshire were well ahead of the game when Hales attempted a reverse swipe at Matt Critchley and lost his middle stump, but Wessels maintained the tempo until he tried to drive Mendis for another six and was superbly caught by Alex Hughes diving forward at long-off.But after struggling with his timing early on, Patel found his fluency and took three fours from a Ben Cotton over and drove Thakor for a big six before rain stopped play for 20 minutes.A revised target of 49 from 10 overs should have been straightforward but Brendan Taylor miscued a drive before Madsen was brought back and had Patel caught at long-off.Chris Read played on to Thakor but Root emerged from a nervous start to end a run of two North Group defeats and assistant coach Paul Franks said: “It’s by no means the perfect performance and it does need some polish but we’re delighted to get the win.”I’m not sure Duckworth/Lewis is doing us any favours, that’s twice in the space of a week where we feel the rain has come at the wrong time. I thought we were owning that run chase comfortably but then we had a 20 minute break and the momentum was back with Derbyshire.”

Virat Kohli is undergoing treatment after suffering a strain in his right shoulder on the opening day of the Ranchi Test and is expected to continue playing the Test, the BCCI has said. The board also stated that “there are no serious concerns which will hamper his speedy recovery” and he will continue to receive treatment, which will assist him to play the match.Kohli suffered the injury in the 40th over of the day, when he chased a drive from Peter Handscomb off Ravindra Jadeja. Sprinting from mid-on towards the long-on boundary, Kohli dived to pull the ball back before it reached the rope, tumbled, and landed on his right shoulder as he did so.He went off the field immediately, and did not return for the rest of the day, with Ajinkya Rahane standing in as captain. Kohli watched the rest of the day’s play from the dressing room with an ice pack strapped to his shoulder.Given that the injury is an external one, India have been told that Kohli can bat at any position he chooses to.The ICC’s playing conditions state that if a player is absent from the field for longer than eight minutes, the player, “shall not be permitted to bat unless or until, in the aggregate, he has returned to the field and/or his side’s innings has been in progress for at least that length of playing time for which he has been absent or, if earlier, when his side has lost five wickets.”However, the clause does not apply if the player has suffered “an external blow (as opposed to an internal injury such as a pulled muscle) whilst participating earlier in the match and consequently been forced to leave the field. Nor shall it apply if the player has been absent for very exceptional and wholly acceptable reasons (other than injury or illness).”Soon after the day’s play ended, India’s fielding coach R Sridhar had said Kohli had suffered a shock on the shoulder after landing badly and he was rested as a precautionary measure.”Virat Kohli’s injury, the exact status of it will be known by tomorrow morning,” Sridhar had said at the time. “He’s going to undergo some scans later today and we’ll know the exact status of it tomorrow morning and what happened today is that we took a precaution to make sure he doesn’t aggravate that injury.”And as far as the technique of the dive is concerned I think it was quite an intense chase to the boundary line and in his intent to save that one run he stopped the ball and landed on his right shoulder when he rolled over. Impact was quite heavy because of the momentum he was carrying and so there was a shock on his right shoulder. That is the current status.”

Ten days after announcing that it was his decision to drop Mahmudullah for the Colombo Test, BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said he was behind the decision to pick Mehedi Hasan for the ODIs against Sri Lanka.Mehedi had returned to Dhaka from Colombo on March 20 with the other Test players who were not part of the ODI squad that was announced the previous week. But three days later he was added to the ODI side, for the first time in his career.Hassan said that he first called chief selector Minhajul Abedin, telling him to include Mehedi in the ODI squad, before calling the player himself to ask him to make plans to return to Sri Lanka. He said Mehedi’s inclusion in the playing XI for the first ODI was only decided on only after the team arrived at the Dambulla ground; there was discussion around whether left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam could be added to the XI instead.”I called up [Minhajul Abedin] Nannu to send over [Mehedi Hasan] Miraz,” Hassan said. “I found out he is in Khulna, and told him that he must get back to Sri Lanka. Basically we wanted to keep him as an option because they have a number of quality left-hand batsmen. Miraz had been bowling well in the Tests and this is a very important series for us. But when I sat with the team that morning [of the ODI], it still wasn’t decided if Miraz or Sunzamul [Islam] would be playing. It was finalised after coming to the ground.”Mehedi opened the bowling in the chase of 325 in Dambulla, sending down all ten over for figures of 2 for 43.Last week when Hassan had spoken about his role in the Mahmudullah exclusion, he said that he takes “all the decisions”. He has been vocal about selection decisions since the Afghanistan ODI series last September, and during the Bangladesh Premier League too. Incidentally, in June 2016 Hassan had said that the revamped selection committee would cut down his role in selection decisions.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a nutshell
T20 run fests are great fun, but nothing quite beats a nail-biter, specially when a team has something at stake. This was the format at its raw, cruel best, where one swing of the blade meant wildly fluctuating fortunes for Pakistan cricket’s two biggest powerhouses. Two swings of the blade, actually. Karachi Kings’ Kieron Pollard, who hadn’t fired in the tournament until today, struck two sixes off the last two balls of the match to ensure his side’s hopes of making it to the playoffs were not yet extinguished. In doing so, he left Lahore Qalandars on the verge of first-round elimination again.

‘Matter of making contact and keeping calm’

Kieron Pollard, who struck two sixes off the last two balls of the match to keep Karachi Kings’ chances of a playoff spot alive, stressed it was important to keep a cool head in such situations and back yourself. The allrounder made 45 off 20 balls against Lahore Qalandars, finding form after a middling run in the tournament, and steered the side through a last over from which they needed 14 runs.
“First of all, to keep a cool head. We’re just trying to make contact with the deliveries first,” he said. “To get runs, you have to make contact with the ball and it’s just a matter of making contact and keeping calm. When you look at it, it’s just a cricket match at the end of the day. Yes, if we had lost we would have got knocked out but it’s not a life-or-death situation, so it makes no sense stressing too much about it. There’s so many things in life to stress about than stressing in a cricket match.”
Asked about the pressure he faced after the equation came down to 10 off two balls, Pollard said, “A game is never over until it’s over. One coach coming through school always told us that, and ten in two, that’s two boundaries – two sixes is 12, a six and a four, 10. So the game would have not been dead if it was one ball and ten runs. Once there is a situation there is belief and deep down inside we had a bit of belief and luckily enough tonight it came off.”

The run chase of 156 had looked comfortable at the start for Karachi. Babar Azam paired up first with Mahela Jayawardene – who replaced Chris Gayle in the starting XI – and then with Kumar Sangakarra to ensure they were in control of the required rate, and had wickets in hand. But accurate bowling from Lahore’s spin pair of Sunil Narine and Yasir Shah starved Karachi of boundaries, and as the asking rate began to rise, so did the tension. Sangakarra’s men lost their heads in the middle briefly, with Ravi Bopara and Shoaib Malik running themselves out in a space of a few overs. Pollard and Imad Wasim then came together in a partnership that always seemed like they had slightly too much to do, never more so than when they needed 10 to win off the last two balls. Pollard was up to the task and took 12 runs.Lahore will rue their own batting performance – an innings that never quite managed to gain momentum, for which the batsmen had only themselves to blame. Poor shot selection at inopportune times kept pegging them back, with Brendon McCullum, Umar Akmal and Grant Elliott falling in similar fashion, slicing the spinners up in the air. Shoaib Malik deserved credit for his 2 for 21, which helped ensure Lahore’s total was just within reach.Where the match was won
Lahore had a decent platform of 68 for 2 at the end of their first nine overs, with McCullum appearing to ease himself back into form. Then, between the 10th and 15th overs, the innings completely unravelled as Lahore lost four wickets for 29 runs in 28 balls. Their most threatening players were back in the pavilion just when the innings should have begun to take off. It wasn’t down to outstanding bowling, either; with the exception of Shoaib Malik, no Karachi bowler really bowled out of their skins. Instead, they waited for Lahore to make mistakes and the batsmen did just that.The men that won it
Karachi had made it hard for themselves by losing five wickets for 103 by the end of the 15th over, three of them to run-outs. With the asking rate hovering over twelve for the last four overs, it increasingly appeared that the only thing standing between Karachi and elimination was the burly figure of Keiron Pollard. He hit at least one boundary in each of the last four overs, ensuring that even though the required rate was steep, it did not become insurmountable. Imad played a diligent hand, ensuring Pollard got as much of the strike as possible. The partnership kept Karachi in the game even when 10 required off the last two balls. The hapless Aamer Yamin slightly missed his yorker in both deliveries on both of them.Moment of the match
If it wasn’t for Pollard’s late show, this game would likely have been remembered for McCullum’s tactics in the field. He was unusual, at times downright funky, with his bowling selections. Fakhar Zaman was handed the ball for the 13th over with Babar Azam in good touch, and three balls later, the batsman holed out on the boundary. Two overs later, McCullum brought himself on, presumably for no other reason except to have someone to turn the ball away from the left-handed Imad. That over went for 13, and half an hour later, McCullum suddenly didn’t look quite so clever.Where they stand
Karachi pipped Lahore to fourth place, and, unless they lose by a massive margin to Islamabad United tomorrow, they will go through to the playoffs. Lahore, who have dropped down to fifth, are staring at the likelihood of first-round elimination for the second successive season.

After the double blow of losing Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw to Kolpak deals, South Africa can console themselves with Russell Domingo’s assurance that offspinner Dane Piedt is not looking to go the same way.Piedt has lost ground to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj in South Africa’s Test plans and according to his agent Francois Brink was, “considering all options including Kolpak” a few weeks ago but Domingo denied that despite Brink saying that he had not stopped the search altogether.”He said by no means was he ever signing Kolpak,” Domingo said. “He said he felt Cricket South Africa (CSA) have been really good to him.”Piedt has played seven Tests between August 2014 and 2016, a period of time during which he also suffered a serious shoulder injury. He was out of action for several months but when he regained fitness was considered for national selection again and Domingo said Piedt was happy with the way he had been treated. “He was injured for a long period of time and we told him to go on an SA A tour, play well and then he will make it into the national side. He has done that,” Domingo said.But he has not stayed there, prompting suggestions he may look for opportunity elsewhere. Piedt was not picked for the tour to Australia last November – left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi also went ahead of him as the second spinner – and was not considered for the ongoing series against Sri Lanka, primarily because the selectors feel he is too inconsistent. His average of 36.04 is one measure of that, Maharaj’s ability to tie up an end is another – he has an economy rate of 2.81 – but Domingo stressed that Piedt understands why he was left out and what he needs to do to get back in.”He has done okay without setting the world alight and we just feel right now that Keshav is the guy that we are looking at. But he is very comfortable where he is.”Piedt was named interim captain of his franchise, Cobras, who have undergone an overhaul in the last week. Their season began with players calling for Paul Adams to be removed as coach because they were unhappy with his handling of the team but the board backed Adams. Cobras did not win any of their first five first-class fixtures and several players, including Piedt, were sent on loan to other franchises in the T20 campaign, where they fared slightly better. Piedt was given to Titans but only played two matches for them and that is when talk of his exit started.Cobras have since redeployed Adams to a role in high performance and appointed Ashwell Prince as caretaker coach. Piedt has returned, along with batsman Omphile Ramela, who was captaining the first-class side in the first half of the season, but has handed over the reins. As far as Domingo is concerned, Piedt’s focus remains on getting the franchise back on track and trying to stake a claim for an international recall.”He has got a good challenge with the Cobras captaincy and he knows he is one of three or four options for us in the spin bowling world. As far as I know, he is not signing Kolpak.”Piedt’s agent, though, has not had any firm communication to stop looking for a deal in the UK but admitted they were not having much luck anyway. “I haven’t spoken to him about what the effects of him being made captain at Cobras will have on his mindset but he hasn’t instructed me to stop looking,” Brink told ESPNcricinfo. “We haven’t had any enquiries in a while. He understands that it’s difficult for an offspinner to get a deal in England.”Should Piedt stay, that would be a victory for South Africa’s administrators, who recognised that he needed an incentive and provided one. But it is not a reason for them to stop searching for ways to prevent other players from leaving. Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association, joined Faf du Plessis in calling on CSA to provide more certainty – be it financial, contractual or something else – to the country’s players.”It’s disappointing to lose players of the calibre of Kyle and Rilee, but you can’t blame these players, or any of the Kolpak players, for going this route. They are going to environments where they believe they will be more secure in their careers,” Irish said. “The global cricket landscape offers alternative markets for players these days and this is a reality we must deal with. We need to look more critically at how we can make players more secure in the South African environment. This is not just about money but also about other issues that matter to players. Our top players are scarce resources in which CSA has invested and we have to look at a more effective retention strategy for them in South Africa.”

Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan have earned the right to decide when to leave the game, according to Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur.The senior batsmen were dismissed in the space of five overs on a rain-shortened first day of the Boxing Day Test, leaving Pakistan on 142 for 4 when play was stopped shortly before tea.Younis underwent a stern examination by Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird, the former thinking he had Younis lbw when he was on 3, only for the decision to be overturned on review. Another lbw appeal four overs later was turned down, as Younis went through a 26-ball scoreless spell. He settled after the afternoon drinks break, only for Bird to find a gap through his defence to dismiss him for 21.Misbah fell to the same bowler, a brief 13-ball stay which was difficult to present as any kind of a form guide.The dismissals continued a run of low scores for both; Younis now averages 12.75 from his last eight innings and Misbah 22.43 from his last seven. Both have a solitary half-century in that run, and Younis’ did come in his last innings in Brisbane.Given their ages, however, pressure will mount quickly on both, especially if results do not go Pakistan’s way.”Only they would know [what the future holds],” Arthur said. “But we back them massively in the dressing room. That’s all I can say. Ultimately they will decide when they think the time is right.”But within our dressing room they are held in such high esteem and we back them every time they go out and play. There’s no doubt in our dressing room about Younis and Misbah.Younis Khan was bowled between bat and pad for 21 at the MCG•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Arthur said the pair had earned the right to go when they felt it was time. “One’s been an inspirational leader for the last six years and the other guy is closing in on 10,000 Test runs. They’ve earned the right in a massive way. And again the esteem they are held in within the dressing room is second to none.”The situation Pakistan want to avoid is both leaving at the same time. The conversation about Misbah’s future, in particular, has been going for some time. Though he has refused to be drawn on whether this is his last series, Pakistan are not scheduled to play another Test series until March next year, when they travel to the West Indies. Misbah will be nearly 43 then.Younis, 39, has not spoken of his future plans in any definitive sense. He has often expressed his ambition to become the first Pakistan batsman to 10,000 Test runs, a landmark that remains 235 runs away.Arthur said, in an ideal world, he would want them to stagger their exits so that the impact on younger batsmen in the side can be more carefully managed. The pair has had a significant influence on the progress on more junior partners, including Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq.”Yeah, I mean in an ideal world, you will,” Arthur said about staggering their exits. “But ultimately that decision rests with them. They’ve earned the right so if they want to continue, fantastic, because that’s what we want as a cricket team. If they don’t, we feel we are starting to make enough ground in terms of bringing other players through.”I want to reiterate there’s no doubt surrounding those two whatsoever. They are still model professionals and they train, they are fit, they practice and they are inspirational around the dressing room. The longer they can be around that dressing room the better it is for the Sami Aslams, the Babar Azams, the Azhar Alis, the Sharjeels, the young guys who are with us.”

Stephen Cook will be in the spotlight in the second Test against Australia in Hobart as the only South African batsman still to prove himself on this tour. Apart from Amla, Cook was the only other member of the line-up who did not get a score over 20 in the first Test in Perth. Fellow opener Dean Elgar believes Cook will be desperate to set that straight.”I’m sure if I was in that position I’d be a bit frustrated because as a player in this environment you want to make a contribution. And I know a guy who’s just started his international career wants to make a big play for South Africa,” Elgar said. “Everybody shares his frustrations. As his opening partner, I share his frustrations with him. I am frustrated on his behalf. Hopefully he can feed off the good form of us winning the first Test and make a big play for us in the second Test.”Cook’s problem is not so much the lack of runs as it is the method of dismissal. In the first innings, he fronted up to a hostile opening over from Mitchell Starc and was caught in the slips off the fourth ball. In the second, he lasted an hour and 13 minutes before pulling a bouncer to short midwicket.Starc exploited a weakness that has showed in Cook’s game throughout this tour. In the two warm-up matches before the series, too, Cook was dismissed caught behind, prompting work on his trigger movement and foot positioning. Neil McKenzie, South Africa’s batting consultant and a long-time team-mate of Cook’s at the Lions domestic franchise, worked with the opener on staying on the ball of his front foot, so that he would splay the foot, open the back hip and not get caught playing down the wrong line. Cook was unable to rectify that in time for Perth but is likely to get another chance in Hobart, despite the presence of Rilee Rossouw in the squad.Rossouw’s fine form in the one-day series at home against Australia – he scored 311 runs in five matches – earned him a spot in the Test touring party but it is unlikely he will play unless there is an injury. “Rilee is a different dynamic player. He’s a bit more of a middle-order player. He’s not really an opening batsman. His role is a lot different to Cookie,” Elgar said. “He will bring in another dynamic of aggression. That’s the way he approaches his cricket. I don’t think Rilee is going to be needed just yet.”Another option before South Africa is to push Quinton de Kock up and use Rossouw in the middle order but they may be wary of adding to de Kock’s workload or making a rash decision on Cook. The 33-year old waited more than a decade to play international cricket and has only played in four Tests. After a century on debut, he also scored fifty against New Zealand in August and is likely to be given a longer run to show what he can do.It helps that Elgar has cemented himself in the role and has graduated to some level of seniority. No longer seen as the new kid, he has even earned the respect of the Australia side after his Perth hundred. Josh Hazlewood called him “a bit of a grinder and very patient” and put him in the category of batsmen whose wicket you have to work for. Elgar will take that. “That’s just my nature, to try and irritate the opposition. I’m not practising it. It just comes naturally,” he said. “If that’s the way they feel about it, it’s not a bad thing.”