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Johan Botha has vowed that he will not stand in the way of South Australia’s young spinners this summer despite being a guaranteed starter as the state’s new captain for the next two years

Brydon Coverdale02-Jul-2012Johan Botha has vowed that he will not stand in the way of South Australia’s young spinners this summer despite being a guaranteed starter as the state’s new captain for the next two years. Botha began pre-season training on Monday in Adelaide, where he will be based for three weeks before he flies out to prepare for South Africa’s tour of England and the ICC World Twenty20.The trips will be Botha’s last for his country before he focuses his attention solely on the Redbacks, who won the Ryobi Cup last summer but did not win a match in the Sheffield Shield. The state’s decision to bring in Botha to replace Michael Klinger as captain, which was announced in March, was a surprise and came after he impressed the state coach Darren Berry during his stint with the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League.Botha has not played first-class cricket since December 2010 but Berry said his solid record with both bat and ball was secondary to his fiercely competitive nature and international experience in the decision to hand him the captaincy. Botha said he was conscious that his role in the side would need to vary depending on who else was available in any given match.”If Nathan Lyon is there he will be the No.1 spinner. If there’s anyone else coming through, say if Cullen Bailey comes through and bowls well again, then he’ll be the No.1 spinner,” Botha told ESPNcricinfo on Monday. “I’ll be there for the support role and to help where I can. I can bat in the top six, so that helps the balance of the team. If there are guys who are bowling better than me then definitely they will be the No.1 spinner.”Botha’s versatility – he averages 34.60 with the bat and 31.75 with the ball in first-class cricket – will make him a handy addition for the Redbacks, whose players are largely familiar with him through his work with the Strikers last season. However, he conceded that stepping straight in as captain in the Shield and Ryobi Cup sides would be a very different scenario.”It is a challenge. But sometimes you just have to get out of your comfort zone,” Botha said. “I’m going to lean big time on Maxy Klinger and Chuck [Berry] and all the experienced players to help me through, especially the first few months and the first season. I’m not just going to take it on my own to run the show my way. I’m definitely going to lean on the other guys.”[My role is] just to give the players the freedom to express themselves. I think it’s important to let the players express themselves and tell them that it’s fine if you fail every now and then. On certain days one or two guys are going to perform and it’s going to be their day and some days it’s not going to be your day. It’s important just to let the players relax and understand that.”Botha will be in charge of a side boasting several men pushing for international honours, with Daniel Christian and Callum Ferguson expected to sign new contracts within the coming days. Phillip Hughes, who has joined the state from New South Wales, is another man who will remain in the minds of the Australia selectors but Botha said it was important Hughes focused himself solely on the task at hand.”He’s an exciting player and he’s the type of player who needs a bit of freedom to go out there and express himself,” Botha said. “I think he puts a lot of pressure on himself. I’m sure myself and Chuck will have to relax him and tell him to just get out there and play, and not to worry about the Australian squad at the moment. Those things will take care of themselves.”He’s got a different technique but he gets the job done. I’m always happy with that. I don’t necessarily want pretty looking guys in my team, I want guys who can get the results. He’s going to fit right in. We’re just going to let him go out there and perform for us.”Hughes and Botha will be the state’s two key imports this summer as they aim to find a way to succeed in the longer format, although Botha may miss the start of the Shield season if South Africa progress to the World T20 finals. Although Botha, 30, was expected to remain an important T20 player for South Africa, he said the national coach Gary Kirsten had been understanding of his decision to move to Adelaide.”It is a big decision but the last six months I’ve been training with the national side and sitting out of most of the games, especially in one-day cricket,” Botha said. “I spoke to Gary and he said I’ll be in the T20s but he can’t guarantee my spot in one-day cricket. That made my decision a little bit easier.”I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Myself and my family, we might never go back or we might go back after two years. It’s hard to say. You never know what’s going to happen in the future.”

More than two-thirds of players polled in a recent survey believe the BCCI has an unfair influence on decision-making within the ICC

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2011More than two-thirds of players polled in a recent survey believe the BCCI has an unfair influence on decision-making within the ICC. The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) has renewed its calls for a review of the game’s governance after releasing the results of its 2011 player survey, which also revealed strong support for the decision review system and 50-over cricket.Despite overwhelming approval for how this year’s World Cup was run, the findings were not all positive for the ICC. Of the 45 players polled, only 6% believed that decisions at ICC board level were made “in the best interests of cricket”, while 49% felt decisions were made according to “party lines or best interests of the country that they are representing”. The remaining players were “unsure”.When asked if ICC decision-making was influenced unfairly by the power of the BCCI, 69% said ‘yes’, while 31% answered “don’t know”. None of the respondents gave a definitive ‘no’. Despite those concerns, 63% said they had confidence in the ICC’s ability to govern international cricket, although the FICA chief executive Tim May said the findings raised important issues, with 46% saying the structure and composition of the ICC executive board should be reviewed.”Players have highlighted that the governance of the game is a serious issue,” May said. “FICA have continually advocated for a review of the game’s governance. Its present structure is outdated, full of conflicts, cronyism and far from best practice. FICA does believe though that the ICC day-to-day management has improved considerably and are unfairly tarnished as a result of decisions of the ICC Chief Executive and Board Committees.”The call for a review of the game’s governance is not new. FICA have been pushing for change for several years, and the former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed this year said he would be in favour of an independent commission running the game, although he also said the idea that countries always voted in geographical blocs was, based on his time at the organisation, not accurate.The FICA survey did reveal some good news for the ICC, with 94% of players rating the recent World Cup as “good” or above, compared to only 11% giving the 2007 tournament that level of support. However, the event is still too long, according to 74% of those surveyed, while 72% backed the decision to reduce the number of teams in the next World Cup to 10, and 91% felt the Associate nations should have a chance to qualify.The majority (82%) of players said the DRS made for better decision-making from umpires at the World Cup, and 97% thought the DRS should be compulsory in all Test matches. Notably, FICA is not affiliated with players from India – the BCCI being the major opponent of the DRS – or from Pakistan or Zimbabwe.The survey also showed:

• 32% of players would retire prematurely from international cricket to play exclusively in the IPL and similar Twenty20 tournaments
• 40% said that given the magnitude of salaries being offered by the IPL, they could envisage a day where they would rank their obligations to IPL and other T20 events ahead of obligations to their home boards
• 94% believed that superior salaries offered by the IPL would motivate younger players to hone their skills principally to T20
• 40% said their board schedules too much international cricket
• Only 24% of players favour a change in the format of ODIs
• 39% believe boards schedule too many ODIs, reducing the public’s interest in the format

The Falkland Islands blew Costa Rica away on the second day of the Americas Division Four competition at the Reforma Athletic ground in Mexico City on Tuesday

Tony Munro16-Jun-2010

ScorecardThe Falkland Islands blew Costa Rica away on the second day of the Americas Division Four competition at the Reforma Athletic ground in Mexico City on Tuesday. A devastating spell of medium-pace bowling from Falkland Islands’ David Taylforth caused all the damage, as he picked up 6 for 14 and wrapped up the game with a four-wicket maiden which included a hat-trick.The day started with the Costa Ricans winning the toss and electing to field in cloudy conditions. In the third over, Sam Arthur bowled Falkland Islands’ opening batsman Mike Summers for just 2. Martin Collins then came to the crease and he faired a little better before he too was bowled the same bowler and Falkland Islands were up against it.The Falkland’s batsmen came to the wicket and left with great regularity and only Charles Hewitt, with a painstaking 21 from 50 balls, and David Pickup, with 24 runs from 53 balls, made any effort to occupy the crease.The Falkland’s innings folded for 131 runs with 11.3 overs remaining and the game looked all but lost at this stage. Ben Smith returned 4 for 32 from 10 overs to go with his century the day before. He was supported by Tim Baker who took 3 for 29 and Sam Arthur with 2 for 15.Playing in their first tournament of any kind, Falkland Islands never gave up hope, and the spirit in the team was further lifted in the first over when Taylforth had Tim Baker caught by Collins without a run on the board. Smith threatened to take the game away from Falkland Islands but he went, brilliantly caught at mid-off, to leave the Costa Ricans on 44 for 2.The Falkland players went to lunch believing they could conjure up an upset and set up a decider with the hosts in Wednesday’s game. After lunch the game swayed back and forth until the 29th over. With Costa Rica poised at 92 for 6 and still in need of 39 runs for victory, Falkland Islands needed a hero, and he duly stepped up.In what one spectator described as the most exhilarating finish to a cricket game, captain and Man-of-the-Match Taylforth came back into the attack from the northern end of the ground, and with his first ball of the over he had Richard Illingworth caught at gully by Ian Betts.This encouraged Falkland Islands to go on the offensive with two slips, two men in the gully and the rest of the fielders inside the circle. The second ball of the over brought Garth Tweedale forward only to be snapped up by Richard Marlor at one of the two gullies.This brought in Gary Sheriff with Taylforth on a hat-trick and a perfect, swinging delivery saw Sheriff groping forward and again Marlor in the gully did the honours. The Falkland Islanders jumped and screamed with delight for captain Taylforth but also at the sight of a well-deserved victory.The fourth ball was a dot ball to last man, Armando Foster, but the fifth was just short of a length and Foster went back but could not keep his hand down. The ball took the glove and looped to Marlor waiting in the same position as the previous two catches. Costa Rica’s innings ended with the score at 92 to give Falkland Islands victory by 39 runs.

Both sides have batting line-ups with newcomers, an experienced seamer each and some fiery youngsters, and are desperate for WTC points

Firdose Moonda06-Aug-2024

Big picture: Where has the competition gone?

A rivalry that started with intensity in a one-off Test in 1992 has fizzled out into a one-sided affair with South Africa victorious in 22 out of 32 matches against West Indies, and vanquished in just three. They have never lost a Test series (the emphasis being on multiple matches in a tour) to West Indies, and last lost a match to them 17 years ago. But this is not the South Africa that bossed the away-from-home arena in the mid 2000s; and with inexperience laced through the visitors’ line-up, hosts West Indies will believe anything is possible in this series, ahead of the first Test in Port of Spain.It was only six months ago that South Africa lost a Test series to New Zealand for the first time, and though that was with a makeshift squad, it suggested something about the shifting sands of long-format depth. South Africa, whose provincial players only have seven red-ball matches a season, have chosen to invest the bulk of their resources into the kind of cricket that brings in, rather than costs, money. West Indies, on the other hand, continue to spend money developing the first-class game.Despite having a domestic system that costs more than anywhere else in the world to run because of their island geography, West Indies play red-ball cricket at the Under-17 and Under-19 levels, and at the academy level too; but whether they are reaping rewards remains up for debate.Related

• Injured Gerald Coetzee out of West Indies Tests

• Roach returns, Alzarri rested for WI's home Tests against SA

• 'Big, strong, strapping' Stubbs to be SA's new Test No. 3

This January, West Indies beat Australia in a Test for the first time in over two decades – for comparison, South Africa did not get a win in Australia in 2022-23 – but have not won a series against a World Test Championship (WTC) team since beating Bangladesh in 2022. Just before that, they beat England in a series, something South Africa have not managed since 2012.Pound for pound, the recent history of these squads suggests they don’t have much between them as they both enter yet another rebuild phase against the backdrop of continued T20 league expansion. In personnel terms, they are similarly matched too.Both have batting line-ups with newcomers hoping to establish themselves: Mikyle Louis for West Indies, and Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs for South Africa. Both sides have an experienced seamer – Kemar Roach and Kagiso Rabada – and some fiery youngsters in Shamar Joseph and Nandre Burger, although neither have made the final XIs. And both are desperate for points in this WTC cycle. At the least, that could mean we see the most competitive contest between these two sides in 30 years, which would be a very satisfactory outcome indeed.One of the positives from West Indies’ last two tours is Kavem Hodge, who scored 120 in Nottingham•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Form Guide

West Indies: LLLWL
South Africa: LLLWW

In the Spotlight: Kavem Hodge and David Bedingham

One of the positives from West Indies’ last two tours is the rise of Kavem Hodge, who scored 71 against Australia in Brisbane, and 120 in Nottingham and 55 in Birmingham against England. Given that the rest of the batters have struggled for regular runs, it’s easy to argue that Hodge has been West Indies’ most consistent recent performer, which could result in more pressure on his shoulders. But West Indies are actively working to reduce that. Head coach Andre Coley told ESPNcricinfo that he will not add to Hodge’s expectations, and has just asked him to continue playing the way he has done so far. Hodge has already stood up to Australia and England’s attacks, and it will be interesting to see how he performs at home against South Africa’s.His Test career is only four matches old, but David Bedingham is already been spoken of as a mainstay in the South Africa line-up. And it’s easy to see why. The runs have been coming in the county circuit since his century against New Zealand in February. With the Championship just over the halfway mark, Bedingham is currently the leading run-scorer with 926 runs in 14 innings for Durham. His haul includes five centuries, four of them scored in successive innings against Hampshire, Lancashire (two in two innings) and Somerset, and comes into this Test series in exceptional form. Bedingham had a slight hamstring injury heading into the West Indies tour, but scored 84 in the warm-up match and is expected to play a big role in this line-up.Conditions may dictate that Dane Piedt is preferred to accompany Keshav Maharaj•Getty Images

Team News: SA go with lone spinner, West Indies pick two

Alzarri Joseph has been rested for this series, but Roach is back as the leader of the attack after missing the Tests against England due to injury. Roach last played a Test in January but has been in action for Surrey, where he took 18 wickets in six matches. He bowled 13 overs in the warm-up match for the Champions XI against South Africa, with figures of 0 for 35.They have opted to take in a twin-spin attack with Jomel Warrican joining fellow left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie which means that Shamar misses out. Keacy Carty has been confirmed for his Test debut, likely at No. 3. Warrican has been preferred over the uncapped offspinner Bryan Charles.West Indies: 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Mikyle Louis, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Alick Athanaze, 5 Kavem Hodge, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 8 Gudakesh Motie, 9 Jayden Seales, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Jomel WarricanSouth Africa announced their XI on match eve. Lungi Ngidi is set to play just his second Test since December 2022, with Rabada and Wiaan Mulder the other two seamers. Dane Piedt missed out of the XI as the second spinner with Keshav Maharaj the lone spin bowler. Nandre Burger missed out too. South Africa have essentially included an extra batter in Ryan Rickelton to lengthen the batting and sacrificed a bowler as a result.South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Tony de Zorzi, 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Temba Bavuma (capt), 5 David Bedingham, 6 Ryan Rickelton, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Wiaan Mulder, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Lungi Ngidi.Kagiso Rabada needs nine wickets to get to 300 in Tests•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and Conditions: Expect rain in Port of Spain

“Everything tells us it’s going to spin. The question is how early or how late in the game it’s going to spin,” Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s Test coach said ahead of the game. Apart from seeing a surface that Conrad described as “devoid of grass”, West Indies have picked three frontline spinners in their squad, which South Africa have read as a clear indication to expect slow, dry pitches.That may negate the pace threat on both sides unless the weather offers some assistance. There are showers forecast for all five days of the Test, mostly in the later afternoon. Days one and five appear likely to be worst affected.

Stats and Trivia

• Rabada needs nine wickets to get to 300 in Tests. If he takes all nine in this Test, he will equal Allan Donald as the second-fastest South African to the landmark, and will get there in 63 Tests.
• The last time West Indies won a Test against South Africa at home was in 2001. Since then, South Africa have played nine matches in the West Indies, having won six and drawn three.
• Between them, the two squads combined have 21,652 Test runs – the second-least runs in Tests between the two after the XIs that played each other for the very first time in 1992.

Quotes

“These Test matches are going to be quite traditional because conditions don’t lend themselves to fast-scoring, and we don’t have bouncy or seamy wickets. It’s for us to stay in the fight and drag it out, and when those tough periods come, to be at our best.”
South Africa’s Test coach Shukri Conrad expects a slog

Senior batter helped repair a top-order wobble to put the hosts in a strong position in Dhaka against Ireland

Mohammad Isam05-Apr-2023Mushfiqur Rahim’s penchant for getting hundreds when Bangladesh are in trouble came to the fore again, against Ireland in the Dhaka Test. The home side made 369 but they had to be rescued from 40 for 3 at the start of the second day. The rest of the batters played around Mushfiqur to get them to a competitive total.Bangladesh are leading by 128 runs after Ireland crashed to 27 for 4 at stumps, but it wouldn’t have come together so well without Mushfiqur. He has now scored ten Test centuries, equaling Tamim Iqbal at second place on the all-time list for Bangladesh. This was also his fourth century at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, the most at this venue.”(Mushfiqur Rahim’s century) was amazing,” batting coach Jamie Siddons said at the end of play. “We were in a little bit of a trouble with him at the other end. Mushy generally comes good when the chips are down. He sticks in there and makes sure to get the score for us. He got the score going nicely. Again he was aggressive when it was required. When the ball was there, he put it away. He was very disciplined around his defence and his leaving game. We need to have that in Test cricket.”Bangladesh got their runs at a rate of 4.58 per over. They were similarly rapid in the white-ball leg of the tour as well, with Siddons saying that this is all part of a plan. “I think we have been building to that for a while now. Of course, we are playing against Ireland, so we were confident to go aggressively against them. Our challenge was to go big against Ireland. To make sure we got quick runs in the ODIs.Related

• Mushfiqur and Shakib lead the way as Bangladesh dominate Ireland

“We can’t afford to make 230-250 in the World Cup. We have to make 300-plus. We have to get 200-plus against good teams as well. It is a good time. We batted really well.”Siddons had praise for Shakib Al Hasan, who made 87 off 94 balls, as well but felt that he could have done a little more with the ball that got him out – he tried to sweep a very wide offbreak from Andy McBrine against the angle and the turn and ended up top-edging to the wicketkeeper.”He scored quickly but he didn’t hit the ball in the air a lot,” Siddons said. “He was the pick of the batsmen today. He was very disciplined. We lost three early wickets today, but he held up really well. Put a big partnership together to put us in a really good position in the end of the day.”I guess he kept playing the way he wanted to play. He played the sweep shot quite well throughout the innings. It was probably the wrong shot with that tactic employed. You make one mistake and you get out.”I don’t think it has anything to do with getting towards a hundred. He was only 80-odd. He was a little bit closer in the ODIs. I am sure he’d love to score a hundred but we are happy with his contribution in the team.”Shakib, Mushfiqur and Litton Das scoring quickly also meant that Mehidy Hasan Miraz had time to get a fifty for himself. Siddons enjoyed his innings as well. “I think Mehidy is a batsman now. He has proven that in ODIs and Tests. His fifty today was really well timed. He was aggressive but still working the ones and holding up the end. He protected the bowler at the other end. He is seen as one of our key batters as far his hitting abilities are concerned. He is batting beautifully at No 7. What’s happening under him is a little bit thin.”

Captain defends players saying the departed coach leaves a ‘significant legacy’ but they need a ‘new style of coaching’

Alex Malcolm09-Feb-2022Australia Test captain Pat Cummins says Justin Langer should not be surprised that the players asked for a coaching change when they were consulted on his contract extension.Cummins spoke on Wednesday for the first time since Langer resigned on Saturday after declining a six-month contract extension, just an hour after releasing a strong statement that defended his and the players’ role in Langer’s exit after four years as coach.Cummins confirmed that the players had felt it was time for a change of voice on the back of some of the feedback that had been provided to Langer in several reviews following a turbulent 12 months that included a home Test series loss to India and two away T20I series losses to West Indies and Bangladesh prior to the T20 World Cup and Ashes triumphs.”I don’t think he should be surprised,” Cummins said. “I think two years of evaluations in our environment at Cricket Australia, it’s probably pretty boring, but we get 360 [degree] reviews all the time. So we get our strengths and weaknesses poked, prodded, always trying to learn. I think it’s become more public probably in the last week or two, but I don’t think there are any big surprises.”I think he tweaked and changed a lot and was brilliant. He made some really big changes and deserves a lot of credit for that. I guess the question, after the success last couple of months became, do we think it’s sustainable? And, again, it’s probably a matter of varying opinions. But we thought it’s the right time to make a change.”Cummins gave an insight into the type of environment that the players had asked for during those review sessions with Langer last year.”We had a couple of instances where we wanted to really flesh out our team culture and what we think is important and what we think is going to get the best out of our group,” Cummins said. “A few of those things that came out really strongly was owning your own space, and having a really calm, consistent, composed environment in which to operate.”Tim Paine and Pat Cummins had given Justin Langer feedback last year•Getty Images

Cummins said he had been in contact with Langer in recent days and that the players still cared for him and were appreciative of his guidance over a four-year period.”We’ve had a few messages over the last few days, and we’re all good,” Cummins said. “From my viewpoint, I’ve got huge respect for the man and I love what he’s done. I owe him a lot. He’s been brilliant, not only for the team but for me individually. He’s given me a lot of opportunities, backed me in a lot. So yeah, that’s probably more or less what I passed on. We’re all good. And hopefully, we can catch up soon and talk about it. He’s someone I’m sure in the future I’ll keep leaning on.”A raft of former players, many of whom are Langer’s former team-mates have criticised Cummins for his role in the saga after Langer noted in his resignation letter that media reports had suggested “several senior players and a couple of support staff” did not support him continuing on as coach and that he accepted that decision.Former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson wrote in a column for the newspaper that Cummins had failed his first big test as captain and described his media performances prior to Langer’s resignation as gutless.Cummins was diplomatic in his response to Johnson and the criticism in general.Related

• 'The boys absolutely love him' – Pat Cummins praises interim coach Andrew McDonald

• Pat Cummins is golden – for now at least

• Andrew McDonald 'never seems to get flustered' – Aaron Finch

• Bailey and Khawaja call for an end to speculation on Langer

• Langer apologises for being 'too intense' in resignation letter

“He’s just standing up for his mate,” Cummins said. “I absolutely disagree with what he said. No, he hasn’t reached out. But that’s fine.”I haven’t really had much [criticism] before so it’s actually been good to get it out of the way early in the captaincy. I knew when I took on the job it was going to come with added scrutiny and so the last week has been good to know that I’ll cop it, but I’m absolutely fine with it. I know a lot of it’s come from the right place. We all want to do what’s best for Australian cricket.”I think the reality of some of those comments as well, is the Aussie cricket team is full of cricket players. It’s our job and in fairness, the 11 players, they’re the guys who are out there on the field so absolutely I think it’s fair that we get a say.”Cummins was far more forthright in his written statement earlier in the day that was issued by Cricket Australia just over an hour prior to his press conference.”For good reason, I haven’t made public comment before today,” Cummins said in the statement. “To speak about a decision, which was yet to be made and which is for Cricket Australia to make, would have put Cricket Australia and the team in an impossible position. I’d never do that. I believe in respecting the sanctity of the change room and proper process.”Now that a decision has been made by Justin to resign and given his own public comments and others by Cricket Australia, I can provide some clarity.”Justin has acknowledged that his style was intense. And it was. He has apologised to players and staff for his intensity. I think the apology was unnecessary. Because the players were ok with JL’s intensity. It came from a good place – his fierce love of Australia and the baggy green – something which has served Australian cricket well for three decades.Cummins went on to explain why he had requested to CA that the players wanted a fresh voice as coach moving forward.”We have been very well schooled in how to play cricket in the right way – in the correct Australian way. We understand the importance of always playing to the highest ethical standards. And the players need no motivation as I’ve never played with more motivated cricketers. To be better players for Australia, from this solid foundation, we need a new style of coaching and skill set.”CA have made a brave call to transition, given the team has been winning. Finally, we are custodians of cricket, with one very big thing in common: our first duty is to Australian cricket, which is bigger than any one of us. I take this responsibility seriously. I live and breathe it. We also have a duty to our mates. Many former players have reached out to me and silently offered me their advice which is welcome.”Some others have spoken in the media – which is also welcome and comes from a love of the game and their support of a mate. To all past players, I want to say this: Just as you have always stuck up for your mates, I’m sticking up for mine.”

Tom Taylor’s debut fifty seals 192 chase to overshadow Adam Hose’s maiden T20 ton

ECB Reporters Network20-Sep-2020Northants Steelbacks booked their place in the Vitality Blast quarter-finals with a stunning three-wicket victory over Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston, who missed out on the last eight on net run-rate after their defeat.A wildly fluctuating match was yanked the Steelbacks’ way in the closing stages when a violent assault from debutant Tom Taylor, who hit 50 not out off 26 balls and Graeme White, whose 13-ball 37 included two fours and four sixes, saw them collect an unlikely 73 from the last six overs.The Bears had posted a hefty 191 for 5 having been rescued from 20 for 4 by a fifth-wicket stand of 171 from 99 balls between Adam Hose and Dan Mousley. Hose blasted his maiden T20 century, making 119 from 64 balls with nine fours and seven sixes, while 19-year-old Mousley struck a T20-best 58 not out.The Steelbacks reply hit trouble at 28 for 3 and 71 for 6 but Taylor, making his debut after moving across the East Midlands from Leicestershire, and White hit cleanly to see their side home with seven balls to spare.The Bears chose to bat but the Steelbacks quickly took control by taking two wickets in the third over and two more in the fourth. Taylor’s first ball for Northants was lifted for six by Rob Yates but his second had the batsman caught at mid-on. Will Rhodes was then bowled, first ball.Ben Sanderson followed up with two quickfire blows with successive balls as Bears linchpin Sam Hain was trapped lbw and Michael Burgess edged to Richard Levi at slip.That was 20 for 4 but Hose and Mousley rebuilt, first carefully and then with increasing aggression. Hose reached 50 from 37 balls and then galloped to his century in just another 17 balls to become the third Bears T20 century-maker alongside Brendon McCullum and Ian Bell. Mousley played the perfect supporting role, posting his maiden T20 half-century from 37 balls.Northants’ reply suffered early damage as three wickets fell in the first 20 balls. Jake Lintott was involved in them all, taking smart catches to remove Richard Levi and Adam Rossington off Tim Bresnan and ousting Josh Cobb via a catch by Mousley at extra cover. Lintott swooped again, this time at mid on, to dismiss Procter to leave Bresnan with 3 for 16 from his first three overs.Paul Stirling’s dangerous innings – 38 off 23 balls – was ended by a gloved pull at Liam Norwell and when Saif Zaib became the fourth batsmen caught by Lintott, the Steelbacks were 71 for 6.But Taylor and Rob Keogh clubbed a stand of 69 in 34 balls to keep their side in contention and then White arrived to crown a stunning fightback with a blitz of boundaries to seal the Steelbacks’ place in the last eight.For the Bears, meanwhile, there was heartbreak, not least for club legend Jeetan Patel whose great Warwickshire career, which brought so much joy and success, had concluded with a devastating defeat.Vitality Blast quarter-finals:Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire
Surrey v Kent
Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire
Sussex v Lancashire

A good start with the bat was wasted as Pakistan could only put up 147, which was chased down with 80 balls remaining

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2019A clinical bowling effort, headlined by Masabata Klaas’ 39th-over hat-trick, was followed by Laura Wolvaardt’s 14th 50-plus score in ODIs as South Africa trumped Pakistan by eight wickets to level their three-match Women’s Championship series at 1-1.The first game of the series was all about Sana Mir, the veteran offspinner taking 4 for 11 to shoot the home side out for 63 in 22.5 overs before the chase was wrapped up in 14.4 overs. Pakistan started this game well too, Nahida Khan and Sidra Ameen giving them a first-wicket stand of 50. But it slipped from their grasp after that, and they were bundled for 147. With Wolvaardt in charge, South Africa pulled off the chase in 36.4 overs.
Lizelle Lee and Wolvaardt had both been sent back inside two overs in the first game, but this time they made amends in style. Lee was the more aggressive of the two, as she usually is, scoring 40 in 43 balls, but she was also the first to fall, caught at the long-off boundary by Mir off Umaima Sohail.Andrie Steyn couldn’t hang around for too long, Nashra Sandhu catching her off Mir for 9, but Wolvaardt and captain Sune Luus kept things steady after that, the opener hitting an unbeaten 74 in 104 balls, and Luus ending on a 46-ball 21 not out.Batting first after losing the toss, Pakistan got a good start courtesy Nahida and Sidra. But Nahida, who was scoring at upwards of a run a ball, was sent back by Tumi Sekhukhune for 37, with the scoreboard reading 50 in the 12th over, and the slowdown began.Sidra (25 in 59 balls), Javeria Khan (20 in 35) and captain Bismah Maroof (32 in 49) all got starts, but couldn’t really provide the innings with the thrust it needed. Sekhukhune sent back Sidra to finish with 2 for 20, and while Luus and Marizanne Kapp also picked up two wickets apiece, Klaas grabbed the limelight with three in three, accounting for Aliya Riaz, Umaima and Sidra Nawaz.It was only the tenth hat-trick in women’s ODI history and the second by a South African after Dane van Niekerk achieved it against West Indies in Basseterre in 2013.

The heartbroken allrounder used his platform while accepting his trophy in Harare to say that it would remind him of the “15 million dreams that we crushed”

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2018Heartbroken allrounder Sikandar Raza used his platform while accepting his Man-of-the-Series award at the World Cup Qualifier in Harare that the trophy would be a “painful reminder” of how Zimbabwe could not make it to the 2019 World Cup, which will feature 10 teams compared to 14 teams of the 2015 event.After accepting the award at the post-match presentation – one that included ICC chief executive David Richardson – following Afghanistan’s win over West Indies in the final, Raza poured out his emotions while also throwing his support behind the Associates teams.”Certainly, not happy at all,” Raza said in response to commentator Pommie Mbangwa asking if he was “happy” with the award. “I think this trophy will serve as a painful reminder of the dreams that we had and we couldn’t get it done. This trophy will also serve as a reminder for the 15 million dreams that we crushed.”When I started playing cricket, I thought it was to unite countries, players of different background coming together to play this beautiful sport. Unfortunately, you’ll see that’s not going to happen in next year’s World Cup. It’s certainly quite a tough pill to swallow.”After winning two of their four matches in the Super Sixes stage of the tournament, Zimbabwe had to win what turned out to be their last match, against UAE, to seal a World Cup berth along with West Indies. They restricted UAE to 235 for 7 in 47.5 overs but a rain interruption revised Zimbabwe’s target to 230 from only 40 overs. Zimbabwe came agonisingly close to lose by only three runs.Rather than reflect on his own performances during the tournament – which included 319 runs at 53.17, a team-best 15 wickets at 17.60 and three Man-of-the-Match awards – Raza went on to praise the hard work of some of the Associate teams and captains who also bowed out of the tournament.”This trophy will also serve as a reminder of the hard work that Peter Borren and his Dutch players, Kyle Coetzer and his Scottish players, Rohan Mustafa and his UAE players, and all the other countries that came and couldn’t make it to the World Cup,” he said.The heartbreak of Scotland’s slim loss to West Indies by five runs was also magnified in their chase of 199 by an iffy lbw decision of top-scorer Richie Berrington when he was given out just before a rain break which placed Scotland behind the par DLS score.Raza, however, hailed Nepal’s rise to ODI status at the tournament as a result of their eighth-place finish, but called attention to the fact that Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong had lost ODI status. This is in part due to the ICC’s recent decision to limit ODI status to 16 countries. Since 2005, a minimum of six Associate countries had maintained ODI status, but the decision meant that now only four countries have that designation and Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong were stripped of that status due to finishing in the bottom two of the World Cup Qualifier.”Yes there were some good things as well,” Raza said. “Congratulations to Nepal and to have their ODI status for the first time but this trophy will also serve as a painful reminder that two of our brother countries lost their ODI status as well and I wish them the very best of luck. Not much to say to be honest, Pommie, just a whole lot of emotions. Just a painful reminder to be honest.”The 2019 World Cup will be the first time that Zimbabwe will not participate in a World Cup since 1979. As an Associate nation, Zimbabwe qualified for the World Cup in 1983, 1987 and 1992 by winning the respective ICC Trophy tournaments for Associate countries that preceded each of those World Cups. After being elevated to Test status, Zimbabwe received automatic entry to the following six World Cups beginning in 1996 through 2015.

Cobras continued their strong show in the second half of the Sunfoil Series to complete a 151-run win over Knights in Paarl inside three days

Firdose Moonda04-Feb-2017Cape Cobras‘ stunning second-half-of-the-season surge continued as they beat log-leaders Knights in Paarl to lie in second-place with one round to play. Cobras were last on the points table at the halfway stage, with little over half the points of their nearest rival, but have reeled off three wins in a row under new coach Ashwell Prince and new captain Dane Piedt, and are now serious title-contenders.On a juicy surface, Cobras chose to bat against the competition’s best attack and struggled to cope. Duanne Olivier (4 for 43) and Shadley van Schalkwyk (4 for 40) sliced through them to dismiss the hosts for 154 in 52.2 overs. Justin Ontong’s 38 was the top score with only four other batsmen getting into the 20s.Knights’ joy was shortlived, though. They finished the first day on 137 for 6 with wickets shared among four of Cobras’ frontlines including franchise debutant Kyle Simmonds. Things did not get easier for Knights on the second morning – they lost their last four wickets for 16 runs and were bundled out for 153, giving Cobras a one-run lead.Play was briefly interrupted by smoke from a nearby bush fire which allowed Cobras to compose themselves after they slipped to 22 for 2 in their second innings and they went on post the highest total of the match. Kolpak signings Stiaan van Zyl and Dane Vilas made 106 and 62 respectively and contributions in the 40s from Ontong and Jason Smith pushed their total over 300.Olivier was among the wickets again and finished the match with seven to extend his lead at the top of the bowling charts but Knights were given a tough target of 332 to win. With more than a day to play, time was on their side but Piedt had other ideas. He took 6 for 87, while Simmonds chipped in with the other four, to dismiss Knights for 180 on the third afternoon and dent their hopes of claiming the first-class cup.