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Marcus Harris, Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja will duel for a top order spot for the Pakistan Tests

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2019Jhye Richardson is set to be unleashed against the touring Pakistanis in Perth alongside fellow firebrand Riley Meredith for Australia A. Alex Carey will lead ahead of recent Test vice-captain Travis Head, and Marcus Harris, Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja will duel for a top-order spot.In one of the strongest Australia A teams chosen to face a touring side in quite some time, Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson will also take part, alongside a four-man pace attack that also features Sean Abbott and Michael Neser. The Australian team for the first Test at the Gabba will be named at the end of the match and the concurrent Sheffield Shield round.

Australia A squad for the tour game

Alex Carey (capt/wk), Marcus Harris, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Will Pucovski, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Sean Abbott, Riley Meredith

The selection could be an indication that Australian cricket is developing the sort of depth that the selectors have been seeking for some time. Cameron Bancroft is absent after playing two Tests on the Ashes tour, while Kurtis Patterson is still recovering from a quad injury. Tom Cooper, Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Hughes and Moises Henriques were also left out despite strong starts to the Sheffield Shield.Carey’s selection as captain underlines his leadership credentials, with the national selector Trevor Hohns recently telling ESPNcricinfo that he would “seriously like to see” the wicketkeeper leading South Australia.”Alex Carey has proven himself to be an exceptional leader in his role as vice-captain of the Australian men’s One-Day International and Twenty20 International teams,” Hohns said. “This fixture represents an opportunity to provide Alex with more leadership experience and he will be supported by two experienced vice-captains in Usman Khawaja and Travis Head.”In terms of the batting line-up, we were eager to give Khawaja, Head and Marcus Harris another opportunity to push their respective cases for Test selection this summer given all three were part of our winter Ashes campaign. Joe Burns was an unlucky omission for that tour to the UK and deserves a chance to push his case for Test selection in this tour match.”Additionally, Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson have started the season strongly for Victoria and we’re looking forward to giving them an opportunity to perform against a quality international team. Both are exciting batsmen whom we’ve had our eye on for some time.”Richardson was a standout performer in his first two Tests against Sri Lanka in Brisbane and Canberra last summer, before injury wrecked his Ashes chances. He now has the chance to push for a place in the Test squad alongside Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson.Abbott’s selection follows his call-up into the Australian T20I squad against Sri Lanka as a replacement for the injured Andrew Tye, and rewards him for a series of strong bowling displays under the tutelage of New South Wales bowling coach Andre Adams.”The pace attack is similarly strong. Sean Abbott has been a very good performer for NSW for the last couple of seasons and has improved with both ball and bat,” Hohns said. “Riley Meredith is an exciting young prospect and a wicket-taking option, while Jhye Richardson continues to improve in his return from shoulder surgery. And Michael Neser has started this season in excellent form after touring with the Ashes squad through the winter.”We’ve taken into account local conditions as well as individual requirements when selecting this Australia A XI. We have not selected a spinner because we felt they would receive limited opportunities in a three-day day-night fixture in Perth compared to a four-day Sheffield Shield match.”We will closely monitor performances in this match as well as the coming rounds of the Sheffield Shield before deciding upon our squad for the two-Test series against Pakistan.”

Bangladesh’s captain and coach feel the allrounder is fit enough to play; the player himself said he was only 20-30% fit; and the BCB says it has been put in an ’embarrassing’ situation

Mohammad Isam06-Sep-2018The BCB has been put in an “awkward and embarrassing” position by the confusion around Shakib Al Hasan’s fitness for the Asia Cup. Board director Jalal Yunus said Shakib should have informed the board rather than the media that he feels he is “20-30% fit” for the tournament that begins on September 15 in the UAE.

Bangladesh squad for Asia Cup

Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Nazmul Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Hider
Standby: Mominul Haque (back up for Shakib)

Shakib injured the little finger on his left hand in January, which forced him out of the home Tests and T20Is against Sri Lanka and the Pakistan Super League. He was supposed to undergo a finger surgery on return from the West Indies tour in the first week of August, and was named in the 16-man Asia Cup squad. It is understood that BCB president Nazmul Hassan suggested shakib could have surgery after the tournament, and skip the Zimbabwe series in October.However, Shakib contradicted himself in two recent interviews about his fitness, saying that top players can’t play with such low levels of fitness.”The board is put in an awkward and embarrassing situation,” Yunus said. “He didn’t tell us when the selection was being finalised, or at any other time. It would have been better if he had told us that he was 20-30% fit earlier. He didn’t say that he can’t play.”When asked if the BCB questioned Shakib about his statement, Yunus said that he had offered the board a clarification. “Shakib said that he was ‘misinterpreted’ in a recent interview. He said that he mentioned the 20-30% as he hadn’t trained since returning from the West Indies in early August. Shakib also said that he required some training in Dubai to find out where his match fitness lies. He also [said] he never mentioned anything about his bowling and batting [being hit] due to finger injury.”In a press conference earlier on Thursday, Bangladesh’s ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza and coach Steve Rhodes said that even a half-fit Shakib would be good enough to play the Asia Cup.”Since he played in the West Indies, I am sure he’d know his exact situation,” Mashrafe said. “His performance was very useful for winning there. I think it is more than enough if his fitness is at that level. But we can’t do anything about it. He took the decision and since he will play, I am sure he will give his 100%.”Rhodes had said Shakib’s statement was more headline-grabbing than anything else. “I don’t believe he is 20-30% fit. I think he is a lot fitter than that. That sort of statement has hit the headline. I am pretty sure Shakib is a lot fitter than that. He is in no real different state to the state in West Indies, where he played some fantastic cricket with bat, ball and in the field.”Everybody knows that he does need the operation. He has made that decision after speaking to the BCB president. Asia Cup is very important to Bangladesh. Even if Shakib was 60-70% fit, you’d get a lot of cricket out of Shakib Al Hasan.”Shakib is currently on vacation in the United States, and the BCB indicated he would be travelling from there to the UAE for the Asia Cup, and that Mominul Haque will be sent as cover for him.Rhodes said Shakib missing the training camp in Dhaka wouldn’t affect his performance. “It doesn’t make an impact on the rest of the team. Shakib is really, really respected by the rest of his colleagues in the dressing room. The time-off with family, I think it is important that everybody realises that Shakib plays a lot of cricket. He doesn’t just bat. He bowls and fields and captains as well. He plays all formats.”In making sure Shakib is playing at his best and freshest, we can give him opportunities to be with his family. It will make him a better player. He has done all the practice when he was younger. He did it out in the middle, bowling 50 overs every innings in Tests. It is not too necessary that he practices all the time. He showed in the Caribbean without much practice what a quality cricketer he can be.”

The India captain feels development of a tight-knit team is the biggest success of his captaincy apart from the rise to No. 1 on the rankings

Sidharth Monga in Galle25-Jul-2017On the eve of India’s first Test series since an acrimonious coach swap, Virat Kohli spoke of a tight-knit team as the biggest success of his captaincy apart from the rise to No. 1. He spoke of the “outstanding bond” when asked what satisfied him most apart from the obvious winning feeling.”Just to see the responsibility taken by such a young bunch of players; to go out there and make a difference for the team,” Kohli said. “Even the substitutes that sit on the sidelines, their efforts, their energies, their concerns for the team when they are running in to provide to with the essentials… It’s great to see them also almost feeling like they are part of the playing XI that’s on the field.”That’s the kind of culture that has been created. It’s taken a while. Whoever steps into the dressing room, immediately feel comfortable because of the way they are embraced and how people are taking responsibility to maintain that culture. The bond within the team is outstanding and that is something that makes me really proud that we are all really close to each other and really enjoy playing alongside each other. That for me stands out the most because that shows on the field. Even in the most difficult of situations all guys believe that we can do it together and we have been able to overturn situations more often than not just because of that belief and the trust that we have between the players. So, that for me is most special thing apart from cricket performances.”That is perhaps why Kohli sees not many weaknesses in his side. “Well I don’t think there are any massive areas of concern for us,” he said. “We’ve been looking to fine-tune smaller areas during the course of the games, which probably people might not be able to pick up. [Areas] that can lead us into a situation which is not ideal. We have given responsibility to the players to identify those areas and work on those areas themselves. We have been able to put ourselves in a position in games, 80-85% of the games, where there’s only one winner left.”That’s the kind of sustained pressure that we’ve been able to build. But the key, as I said, is to go out there and repeat those things again and again. You can’t expect things to happen by themselves. You need to work hard every ball that you play on the cricket field and that applies to batsmen and bowlers collectively. So, the smaller areas we keep identifying and keep working on them.”With the confidence running that high, there is an obvious danger of letting the guard drop against Sri Lanka, who have not had the best of time in Test cricket of late. “For us we are playing a game of cricket, it doesn’t matter which opposition we are playing against,” Kohli said. “For us it’s all about identifying the players that they have, their strengths, their areas of weakness and focussing really on our performances and what we can do as a team. The moment you start focussing on the opposition and try to adjust your intensity according to who you are playing against, then that’s a very dangerous thing to do because if you don’t respect the game the game will sort you out and expose you.”We totally respect the game, we totally how hard we need to work to win every Test match, every situation, every session and every ball is an event for us. So we are willing to put in the hard yards for that and something that everyone in the team respects. As I said it’s something that is built as a culture and I am proud of it and the whole team is proud of it. We take a lot of pride in playing Test cricket for India and doing the hard yards that win the games.”

Liam Dawson cracked an unbeaten 76 before starring with the ball to hand Hampshire a rare Natwest T20 Blast win as they beat high flying Glamorgan by 25 runs

ECB Reporters Network14-Jul-2016
ScorecardLiam Dawson top-scored then took four wickets in an outstanding all-round display•Getty Images

Liam Dawson cracked an unbeaten 76 before starring with the ball to hand Hampshire a rare Natwest T20 Blast win as they beat high flying Glamorgan by 25 runs.Dawson hit the first Twenty20 fifty of his career before spinning out Glamorgan with 4 for 23, flanked by fellow twirlers Shahid Afridi and Brad Taylor.The win, just their second in 11 attempts in this season’s competition, brightened a difficult day for Hampshire following the news Michael Carberry has been diagnosed with cancer – after a specialist discovered a tumour during tests this week.”We are a little bit numbed by it, which you could see from the crowd which was quite flat,” Giles White, the Hampshire director of cricket, said. “The players did a good job today to go out there under the circumstances. An hour or so before the start Carbs wanted to tell the players. It was quite an emotional time for everyone.”Carbs has been at the club for 10 years or so and is a popular member with all those guys and the response of the players was fantastic. They stuck to their job brilliantly. We have struggled with injuries and other stuff this year and I think the way the players went out there and performed was fantastic.”After being stuck in by Jacques Rudolph, a new look opening pair of Tom Alsop and Adam Wheater stuttered with a flurry of wickets.
Graham Wagg’s second over swung the early momentum towards the inform hosts – Alsop nicked to slip while advancing down the pitch before Sean Ervine’s leading edge looped to cover two balls later.Wheater was the next to offer a simple catch, Wagg failing to stay out of the game in the covers, Michael Hogan grabbing his first scalp.It required an international intervention to stop the slide and Dawson and Afridi provided it with a steadying 46 runs partnership. Afridi fell to a stunning Wagg pounce and the England star was close to following him when he was shelled on 29 by Shaun Tait.But Dawson made up for his good fortune with Hampshire’s highest individual score of the season – his half century bought in with 42 balls, including just three boundaries.Dawson, along with academy star Joe Weatherley, added another 78 for the fifth wicket to continue the recovery.Weatherley, hitting a personal Blast high of 43, with two six, particularly impressed but played one shot too many to the deep – wicketkeeper Lewis McManus soon following him.But 17 from the final over, Dawson crunching 14 of them to take himself to 76 not out, handed Hampshire a defendable total of 167.
The chase had the feel of a glide to victory, with timed cuts and drives from David Lloyd and Mark Wallace the order of the evening.The pair appeared to be in little trouble but that changed when left-armer Dawson stamped his mark on the game for as second time, striking with his first ball to bowl Lloyd for 18.Dawson continued his one-man show against Glamorgan when he had the tournament’s master six hitter Colin Ingram caught behind four deliveries later.Glamorgan collapsed, Aneurin Donald bowled for a duck to give legspinner Afridi his moment and he ended up with impressive figures of 1 for 16 before Taylor caught and bowled Rudolph.The visitors, who would have gone top with a victory, had won six of their last seven games on the road – but their record was dented when Wallace picked out cover Ervine – continuing the trend of wickets to slow bowling.Dawson had his second when Craig Meschede picked out a sprawling Weatherley at long-on, and a third as Wagg sliced to Gareth Andrew.From that point the win was secure, with 35 needed from the final over, to lift spirits a little at the Ageas Bowl.

Kane Williamson savoured the “unique” experience of scoring a Test hundred at Lord’s but admitted he could not really soak up the generous applause he received when eventually dismissed for 132

Andrew McGlashan23-May-20151:26

Williamson praise for Gillespie

Kane Williamson savoured the “unique” experience of scoring a Test hundred at Lord’s but admitted he could not really soak up the generous applause he received when eventually dismissed for 132 because he was feeling “brassed off” at not being able to extend his innings.Williamson was 92 overnight and quickly moved to his hundred in the second over of the day but from there on, as the cloud cover rolled in, life became much tougher. He had built an important 50-run stand with BJ Watling, after England had struck either side of a rain delay at lunch, when he feathered a catch to leg slip against Moeen Al having weathered some testing overs from the quicks.”I was a bit brassed off to be honest,” he said. “It’s so unqiue how you walk through so many different people – it’s very different to anywhere else. Coming off I was pretty frustrated to get out at that time after such a tough period where England bowled extremely well under cloud cover.”Overnight, knowing you are really close to three figures and the much spoken-about honours board, it plays your mind a little but to be honest was just trying to put that to the back and get on with the job at hand. It was nice to cross the line, with all the history here at Lord’s and there a lot of great names on the honours board.”Much had been made of the lack of preparation Williamson had heading into the series after an IPL stint largely sat on the bench. He had batted just twice since the World Cup final – and his last innings was on April 13 – but on the second day he progressed so serenely that it was as though he had never been away from Test cricket: his last five-day innings was the small matter of 242 not out against Sri Lanka.In Williamson’s favour was the fact he has played county cricket for Yorkshire and in the Test here two years ago made 60 in the first innings of a bowler-dominated match.”Towards the end of the IPL when I wasn’t looking like playing my focus was very much to prepare for Test cricket as it was so soon,” he said “I was able to prepare although it would have been nice to have the odd warm-up game, but I could draw on experience I’ve had here before. The most important thing is actually the mental transition and not letting little things disturb you.”

Harry Pilling, the former Lancashire batsman, has died at the age of 69. A right hander, he played for the county from 1962 to 1980

Martin Williamson24-Sep-2012Harry Pilling, the former Lancashire batsman, has died at the age of 69. A right hander, he played for the county from 1962 to 1980 and was a key member of the side which dominated domestic one-day cricket in the first half of the 1970s.Standing at 5ft 3in, Pilling never took a backward step and one of his more famous innings came in the 1970 Gillette Cup final at Lord’s when he struck an unbeaten 70 to guide Lancashire home against Sussex.Pilling’s lack of height was inevitably what headline writers concentrated on – and perhaps accounted for him never being selected by England when far inferior batsmen were – but it underplayed his bravery and ability. Given his lack of reach he was not a great driver, but his ability to nudge and nurdle made him well suited to the limited-overs format which started around the same time as he did. He was, unsurprisingly, unfazed by short-pitched bowling.At the start of his career he was an offspinner but he soon graduated into a specialist No. 3, passing 1000 runs in a season for the first of eight times in 1965. Although he went on to make 25 hundreds he never passed 150, and despite his early potential as a bowler he took just one first-class wicket.But one-day cricket was his forte. In 1970 he was the first player to pass 1000 runs in the fledgling John Player League, and after his success in that year’s Gillette Cup final he was in the side that retained the trophy in 1971 and 1972.In first-class cricket, Pilling made 15,279 runs at 32.23 in his 333 matches. Off season, as David Frith recalled, saw him make ends meet in a wide variety of ways. “For a while [he] had been a coffin salesman. His … earnings over the years came from an extraordinary variety of means: apprentice butcher, toolmaker, coalman, general labourer, lorry driver, and ‘an umbrella-handle putter-onner’.””He should have played for England,” former Lancashire team-mate Farokh Engineer told the Manchester Evening News. “He was a really good cricketer, but more than that he was a good team man and a real character. He was one of the first people I met when I arrived at Lancashire from India and he greeted me with a traditional ‘alreet lad!’ I will never forget it, I didn’t have a clue what he was saying..”We used to call him Mr Reliable in the dressing room because we knew that whatever happened at one end, he would be at the other steadily going along making runs, whatever the wicket.”Former Lancashire captain Jack Simmons, who went into business with Pilling after they had retired, told the newspaper that “he could just bat and bat … and he would guarantee you 1,000 almost every year. When he was in nick, which was most of the time, he never went in the nets he just used to put bat on ball. But if at any stage he was struggling, he would be the first in the nets and the last one out.”But the greatest thing was that wherever I went in the world, whether it be in England, Australia or the West Indies, people always asked me how ‘Little Harry’ was.”Lancashire’s outgoing chief executive Jim Cumbes said: “We are greatly saddened to hear about Harry’s passing. He was a stalwart of the Lancashire side in the 1960s and 1970s and was a key member of the successful one-day teams from that era.”

A dominant performance by the Warriors helped them win their second match in three days, this one a composed and clinical victory over South Australia

The Report by Firdose Moonda25-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details JJ Smuts made an aggressive 88 to lay the foundation for Warriors’ win•AFP

A dominant performance by the Warriors helped them win their second match in three days, this one a composed and clinical victory over South Australia. JJ Smuts’ smashing 88 propelled them to an imposing total that proved too much for South Australia to chase. Smuts batted for all but seven balls of the innings and shared in two meaty partnerships, with Colin Ingram and Mark Boucher, that formed the foundations of their innings. The Warriors bowlers had plenty of runs to play with and, unlike their opponents, made good use of variation on a slow, dry pitch to frustrate the South Australia batsmen.South Australia had early success when Ashwell Prince was bowled by the pacy Shaun Tait in the second over. But they were unable to build on that, as Smuts and Colin Ingram hit top gear in the Powerplay. Smuts dispatched Adil Rashid, who opened the bowling, and showed no fear in taking on Tait, regardless of whether he bowled full or short. Ingram swept impressively, particularly against Nathan Lyon, and the pair raced to 59 from six overs.Lyon and Aaron O’Brien gave away only one boundary from the next two overs, but it was when Harris came on that the runs dried up. He bowled a good wicket-to-wicket line and frustrated Ingram, who tried to take him on at the start of the 11th over. The South African latched onto a short ball but didn’t have enough on it to carry cow corner and was caught.With Smuts tiring and Boucher battling to find his feet upfront, Christian and O’Brien pulled the run-rate down to under eight an over. Smuts continued to punish the short balls and Boucher finally got going with a lofted shot over O’Brien’s head that went for four.Tait’s inconsistency allowed both Smuts and Boucher to ready themselves for an innings-ending burst. Smuts dealt with his full deliveries in smashing style and Tait bowled a no-ball, sprayed five wides down the leg-side and battled to get the yorker right consistently. It was into Tait’s hands that Smuts eventually fell though. He looked well placed to get a century, but was dismissed trying to play an innovative scoop over short fine leg off Harris. Christian took two wickets in the final over to stop the Warriors from exploding at the end.Against a dynamic attack, South Australia never really looked in the chase. Lonwabo Tsotsobe was able to get a hint of movement and angled the ball across the right-hander. Daniel Harris was uncomfortable with the angle and when he tried to bash one through the covers, got a nick and was caught behind. Tsotsobe’s accuracy earned him a second wicket, that of Tom Cooper, who fed a simple catch back to him.Rusty Theron was at his best, mixing up the yorkers and slower balls with ease. He was rewarded when Callum Ferguson failed to read the change of pace and hit a slower ball straight to Ingram on the edge of the circle. With South Australia falling far behind the required run-rate, the captain Michael Klinger decided to take the on the spinners. He smacked Nicky Boje over long on but was trapped lbw by a sharply turning Johan Botha delivery.Cameron Borgas looked to do the same thing and cracked Smuts for a four and a six, before holing out to long-on, where Tsotsobe took the catch. Wayne Parnell was only introduced in the 11th over and continued in the same vein as his colleagues, making good use of the short ball. In his second spell, he started with a good length ball and bowled Tim Ludeman. Christian hung on until the end but was unable to pull off the spectacular as Parnell and Botha wound the match down and the Warriors completed a comfortable win.

There have been only two inconsequential games in this Champions League. Central Districts and Wayamba, two teams that have already been knocked out, clash at Port Elizabeth in the second such match.

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit21-Sep-2010

Match facts

Wednesday, September 22
Start time 1330 (1130 GMT)

Big Picture

Jamie How has almost single-handedly carried the Central Districts batting•AFP

How competitive this year’s tournament has been can be gauged from the fact that it has taken the last league fixture in each group to decide the semi-finalists. That has resulted in very few inconsequential games, in fact, only two. Central Districts and Wayamba, both of whom have already been knocked out, clash at Port Elizabeth in the second such match.Of the three sides that have lost all their games to this point, Central Districts have been the most impressive, but a lack of depth has hurt them. Jamie How, the captain, has been inspirational, being dismissed once in three innings for his 178 runs. However, he has lacked support, with Kieran Noema-Barnett’s 66 runs coming a distant second-best. All the bowlers have leaked runs, which has meant that when the batsmen have put up competitive scores, like they did against Victoria and Warriors, the chasing side has been under no pressure.Wayamba’s struggles have been well documented. The insipid manner in which they have played their cricket has given some the feeling they are in South Africa only to make up the numbers. A squad that boasts of eleven players with international experience had no business losing three consecutive matches without putting up a semblance of a fight. They will start as underdogs in this battle to avoid the wooden spoon in Group A.

Team news

Doug Bracewell was smashed all around the ground by the Warriors. Left-arm pacer Mitchell McClenaghan could get a game in his place. Peter Ingram, meanwhile, has made six runs in three innings. Will How persist with his opening partner?
Central Districts: (possible) 1 Peter Ingram, 2 Jamie How (capt), 3 Brad Patton, 4 Mathew Sinclair, 5 George Worker, 6 Kieran Noema-Barnett, 7 Brendon Diamanti, 8 Bevan Griggs/Tim Weston (wk), 9 Doug Bracewell/ Mitchell McClenaghan, 10 Adam Milne, 11 Michael MasonFarveez Maharoof, if he has recovered from injury, should replace Chanaka Welegedera who has gone for almost eleven runs an over in the tournament.Wayamba: (possible) 1 Mahela Jayawardene, 2 Jeevantha Kulatunga, 3 Mahela Udawatte, 4 Jehan Mubarak (capt), 5 Kushal Perera (wk), 6 Shalika Karunanayake, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Isuru Udana, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Ajantha Mendis

Watch out for …

Mahela Jayawardene was Wayamba’s highest run-scorer in the Sri Lankan domestic Twenty20 event. He will fancy his chances against Central Districts’ weak bowling attack, after showing glimpses of his silken touch against Victoria.
Jamie How has been another one of the successful batsmen-captains in the tournament and will be crucial to his team’s fortunes again.

Key contests

Wayamba spinners v Central Districts batsmen: Both Victoria and Warriors struggled to score against Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath, and it will be interesting to see how the New Zealand batsmen tackle them.

Stats and trivia

• Doug Bracewell’s return of 1 for 54 off 3.1 overs against Warriors is the most expensive in this Champions League.
• Five Wayamba batsmen were out without scoring against Victoria. Only Kenya and Zimbabwe have managed more ducks in a T20 innings.

Quotes

“We had two good warm-up games. Ever since then we haven’t been able to string two or three decent partnerships with the bat which is vital in T20 cricket.”

Abbas’ sensational six-wicket haul was not enough to deny the hosts, with Rabada and Jansen sealing the victory

Firdose Moonda29-Dec-2024South Africa have qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final after beating Pakistan by two wickets in a high-drama encounter at SuperSport Park. Set a modest but challenging target of 148 to win, they were 99 for 8 just before lunch and it was left to Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen to score the remaining 51 runs in a tense ninth-wicket stand against a Pakistan attack with their tails up.Mohammad Abbas, on a comeback from a three-year absence from the Test side, bowled a marathon 19.3 overs spell from the Hennops River End and took a career best 6 for 54 but could not end Pakistan’s lean run in South Africa. This is the eighth successive Test they have lost in the country, dating back to 2007.Pakistan gave themselves every chance by running through South Africa’s middle order on a morning of mayhem, where South Africa lost 5 for 37, including four wickets for three runs in 12 balls, which put the onus on the bowlers to finish the job.Related

• 'You just can't script that' – SA breathe easy after a 'Camel classic' in Centurion

• Stats – Jansen, Rabada and SA's ninth-wicket partnership for the ages

• Abbas, Shahzad give Pakistan hope of defending 147

• Jansen urges SA to be 'disciplined' as WTC final beckons

• The tale of a Babar fifty that could have been so much more

Jansen and Rabada are both capable with the bat but with the pressure turned up fully, every ball was an event, from the second one Rabada faced, that he hit up and over point for four, to the final one, steered delicately by Jansen through point to secure the winning runs.Those strokes are also screenshots of the way the pair approached the chase: Rabada backed himself to play his strokes while Jansen was more conservative and happy to wait for scoring opportunities.Between them, they offered only once chance, when Rabada, on 12, fished outside off and edged but the chance fell short of Mohammad Rizwan. That came post-lunch, the break South Africa went into needing 32 to win.By the time Abbas found Rabada’s edge, they needed 28. Rabada went on to score five boundaries in his 31, the third-highest score by a batter at No.10 or lower in a successful chase.A normally nervous character, Jansen, who spoke about his game plan on the third evening, was solid in defence and then struck two of the sweetest fours of his career, first when he got on top of the bounce from Abbas and then to seal a famous win.While Rabada and Jansen held their arms up in celebration on the field, South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma and coach Shukri Conrad embraced in the changeroom. The pair came together at the end of the last WTC cycle to lead South Africa through this one. Mission accomplished.Mohammad Abbas ran through South Africa in the morning session•Gallo Images

Bavuma would have also been a relieved man after he worked his way to 40 and then walked when he did not hit the ball. He was given out off what seemed to be the inside-edge and walked. Replays showed the ball had brushed a part of his clothing and, with all three reviews available, South Africa could have asked for a second opinion.Instead, Bavuma, who had received treatment on his elbow shortly before that, left the middle order to finish the job.This is the second time Bavuma has walked at SuperSport Park – in 2020 against Sri Lanka, he was on 71 when he thought he had under-edged Dasun Shanaka and left the field before the umpire had raised the finger. This time, Alex Wharf had given Bavuma out but he chose not to review to the surprise of the South African changeroom. His dismissal triggered the collapse that left the tail at the crease.Kyle Verreynne could not get behind the line of a Naseem Shah delivery and chopped it onto his stumps. In the next over David Bedingham chased an Abbas ball and was caught behind, and Corbin Bosch did almost exactly the same thing to give Abbas his sixth wicket and South Africa had crumbled from a position that felt comfortable: 96 for 4 after teetering precariously on 27 for 3 overnight.Bavuma got the first runs of the morning, and his first runs, off the fifth ball, off a Abbas half-volley that he clipped through square leg. Abbas adjusted to back of a length and in his next over, thought he had found Bavuma’s edge. Rizwan indicated the ball had brushed Bavuma’s thigh but Shah Masood reviewed anyway. Rizwan was proved right and Bavuma, on 5, could continue.Aiden Markram looked slightly more in control but got a streaky boundary off the edge before Bavuma creamed Khurram Shahzad through mid-on to leave South Africa with 100 runs to get.Off the next ball, Bavuma, on 13, was given out lbw to Shahzad but reviewed immediately. Replays showed an inside edge and Bavuma survived again.South Africa scored just three runs off the next 27 balls before Bavuma released the pressure with a hook shot off Abbas that Naseem thought he could get under. Naseem got hands under the ball but the momentum carried him over the boundary rope and not only did Bavuma get away with the shot he has fallen to several times this season but he got six for it.Temba Bavuma pulls away a short one•AFP/Getty Images

To add insult to injury, Markram smashed the second ball of Naseem’s next over over extra cover for four. Fourteen dot balls followed before a Markram single took South Africa to the first drinks break with no damage done and 35 runs scored in the first hour.Three balls after the interval, Markram was bowled by an Abbas delivery that kept low as he tried to jam his bat down and keep it out. That ended a 43-run fourth-wicket stand between Bavuma and Markram and brought Bedingham, who has a top score of 35 this summer, to the crease.He started with a wristy flick for four before Bavuma reeled off an exquisite cover drive but the eye-catching shots were followed by risky ones.Bavuma could not resist another hook, despite not being able to extend his elbow fully, but the chance fell safely. He went on to advance on Shahzad, brought back to replace Naseem, and hit over the covers but could never get comfortable.Two balls later, Shahzad thought he found his outside edge but Rizwan saw it was pad and Masood listened. Bavuma faced eight more balls before he required treatment on his right elbow – the left was injured before this season – but continued. In the next over, he drove expansively and loosely against Abbas and walked but his team-mates had enough in the tank to guarantee South Africa’s place at Lord’s next year and take a 1-0 series lead. South Africa will play one more Test in this cycle, against Pakistan, at Newlands next week.

Revamp of central contracts system comes as part of bid to prevent talent drain to global T20 franchise circuit

Vithushan Ehantharajah22-Sep-2023The ECB has offered unprecedented three-year contracts in a bid to quell the threat of franchise teams co-opting England’s best and brightest cricketers.The deals are a revamp of the pre-existing central contract structure which solely featured year-long deals, and come at a time when IPL ownership has spread into other T20 competitions around the world, allowing franchises to recruit players solely for their purposes all year round.It is understood 26 contracts have been offered, an increase from the 18 full and six incremental contracts handed out last October. Of the 26, around 20 are multi-year deals, with a group of top players including Ben Stokes, Harry Brook and Mark Wood in receipt of three-year packages.Jonny Bairstow is understood to be one of the majority offered two-year contracts. Single-year offers are on the table for those not featuring on the franchise circuit, such as Jack Leach, and others at the back end of their careers, like James Anderson, who recently turned 41.It is perhaps with regard to fast bowlers that the protection of assets is most evident. Young quicks like Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson, who made their international debuts this summer, are expected to sign multi-year contracts. Similarly, Jofra Archer, 28, could be in line for a three-year deal having reportedly been subject of much interest from Mumbai Indians looking to recruit him full time. Archer played for MI Cape Town in the SA20 at the start of the year ahead of his IPL season with Mumbai, which ended prematurely through injury.England’s players will now decide whether to accept the contracts. While the basic remuneration has been agreed upon, those offered multiple years may request 12-month deals to give themselves greater flexibility.These contracts, which will come into effect from the start of October, represent a significant step forward for the ECB after a month of back and forth with the England team. There will inevitably be kinks to iron out and disgruntled players who have narrowly missed out on the initial batch. But by and large, the situation is regarded as more beneficial, particularly for those who go on to sign lengthier contracts.”It’s certainly not negative, it kind of gives you a bit of security,” Ben Duckett, who is understood to have been offered a two-year contract, said ahead of England’s second ODI against Ireland. “I think it’s great that they’re offering these contracts.”The security of players wanting to keep playing for England is perfect. For me the main thing is walking out and representing my country, it’s not really a contract but that’s a bonus.”The number and size of the respective contracts are possible through an additional £3.4million added by the ECB to the collective pot, with the split among the 26 players decided by a performance rating points system. The system awards points relating to all three formats, ranging from whether a player is likely to feature in Test and white-ball squads to “recognition of extraordinary performance” in the previous 12-month cycle. These will be re-assessed annually.Finer points are still to be ironed out, notably insurance pay for injury and other such clauses.