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New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has been ruled out of the three-match Test series against India which begins on September 22 in Kanpur

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2016New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has been ruled out of the three-match Test series against India which begins on September 22 in Kanpur after a scan revealed a grade two ligament strain in his left ankle.

New Zealand’s Test squad

Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling
In: Matt Henry
Out: Tim Southee

Southee felt pain in his left foot during a training session and will now head back to New Zealand for rest and rehabilitation with a goal to be fit for the start of the five-match ODI series beginning on October 16 in Dharamsala.”Tim has been working hard in preparation for this tour, so he’s understandably very disappointed to be ruled out of all three Tests,” said New Zealand coach Mike Hesson. “The focus now is for Tim to give his ankle 7-10 days rest, before slowly building his bowling loads back up ahead of the ODI series.”The injury news robs New Zealand of their most experienced Test bowler, with Southee having taken 177 wickets in 52 Tests. Trent Boult is the next most capped New Zealand bowler, having played 43 Tests.Matt Henry has been drafted in as Southee’s replacement. Henry, 24, has played four Tests for New Zealand since debuting against England at Lord’s in May 2015. His last Test came in February against Australia at Christchurch where he finished with 0 for 134 in a combined 41 overs across both innings of Australia’s seven-wicket win. He was included in New Zealand’s Test squads for the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa but did not play in any of the four Tests.

England hand maiden call-up to Ollie Robinson as captain returns from paternity leave

Andrew Miller15-Jul-2020Joe Denly’s Test career would appear to be over after he was omitted from England’s squad for the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford, while James Anderson has been rested on his home ground alongside Mark Wood, in a rejig of their fast-bowling attack given the short turnaround between contests.Root missed England’s four-wicket defeat in the first Test at the Ageas Bowl, but returns to the fray as captain after attending the birth of his second child, as his team seeks a means to avoid their first home series defeat against West Indies since 1988.England did not confirm their final 13-man squad until late on Wednesday aftenoon, with Anderson understood to be sore after bowling 40 overs in his first match back after injury, and Wood also being monitored given his history of niggles. Sam Curran has been added to the squad, alongside the Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson, for whom this represents a first call-up to England’s senior squad.England’s preparations were hampered by rain in Manchester that forced the team to train indoors, and by a lively practice wicket on Tuesday that restricted their opportunities to assess the form and fitness of their quicks, and Root conceded there had been “a few areas to shore up” before any final decisions could be made.”We’ll have to have another look at the wicket, and there’s a few things we have to clear up in-house,” Root said in England’s pre-match press conference, prior to the squad announcement, “making sure everyone pulls up as we would like, and being really clear on what’s the best thing for the team over these five days.Anderson, who turns 38 at the end of the month, needs another 13 wickets to become the first seamer to reach 600 Test wickets. He was the pick of England’s seamers in the first innings at the Ageas Bowl, claiming 3 for 62 in 25 overs, but went wicketless second time around as West Indies sealed victory on the final day.Anderson’s omission for the first of two back-to-back games at his home ground means that he will have missed 10 of England’s last 14 Tests in the last 12 months, dating back to Ireland’s visit to Lord’s last July. Only once in that period has he attempted back-to-back games, the second Test against South Africa at Cape Town, where he broke down in the second innings after claiming 5 for 40 in the first.The situation means a probable recall for Stuart Broad, who expressed his displeasure at being overlooked for the first Test despite having been England’s stand-out seamer in both last summer’s Ashes series and the winter tour of South Africa where he claimed 14 wickets at 19.42 in the 3-1 series win. Chris Woakes could also make his first appearance of the summer, with all 22 of England’s players obliged to remain within the team environment due to the bio-secure arrangements for the series.ALSO READ: Broad ‘frustrated and angry’ at being left out of England side“I think there’s challenges that present themselves in this Covid era,” Root added. “With the games coming around quickly, managing bowlers is going to be quite important. Getting the balance right with a few of them coming back from injury, it’s about making the right calls at the right times. We are blessed with a number of guys who haven’t played or weren’t in the squad who’ve averaged 20 in the last couple of years in English conditions.”Anderson and Broad have played alongside one another for 116 Tests since 2007-08, claiming 883 wickets in tandem out of a combined total of 1072. But as both men approach the latter stages of their careers, Root conceded that their opportunities to extend that joint record could be limited in the coming months.”With Stuart and Jimmy, trying to maximise their careers is really important to make sure they are playing for as long as possible,” he said. “If that has to be slightly different to how it has been over the last few years, then we might have to think outside the box and not play them in every game or not play them together all the time.”That is not to say it won’t happen again. They are two world-class performers and we are very, very lucky to have them. I think to wish that away early or to push them to one side would be stupid, I really do. [But] I think we’ve got to deal with it well and be smart with it and we will find opportunities to play other guys, too.”James Anderson, with England bowling coach Glen Chapple, has been rested for the second Test•Getty Images

Root’s pre-match press conference was pushed back by 90 minutes, partly to enable the captain to have a bat given the weather restrictions, leading to speculation about England’s selection issues. However, all the signs in the build-up to the match had pointed to Denly being dropped. His scores of 18 and 29 at the Ageas Bowl were the 23rd and 24th occasions in 28 Test innings that he has reached double figures, but he has converted those starts to just six fifties in 15 Tests, with a highest score of 94 and an overall average of 29.53.”Over a period of time Joe has done a brilliant job for us,” said Root. “He has helped show the identity of our side, how we want to play moving forward. He has laid the platform for guys behind to go on and make big scores.”I think he’ll be just as frustrated as anyone that he’s not managed to quite convert those opportunities,” Root added. “But certainly the door’s not closed. He’s been a big part of our squad for some time now. He gets if he gets an opportunity to come back again, then I’m sure he’ll be desperate to take it.”Zak Crawley, by contrast, has improved his career-best score in each of his five Tests to date, and top-scored for England in the first Test with a second-innings 76. At 22, he is a full 12 years younger than Denly, and is set to make his first start for England at No.3, having debuted in New Zealand at No.6, featured as an opener in South Africa, and slotted into Root’s No.4 berth at the Ageas Bowl.”You watch Zak’s progression since he’s been involved in the team, his game has continued to get stronger,” said Root.England squad for second Test: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes.

Returns from his ban in style

Mohammad Isam20-Jan-2021On the eve of the first ODI against Bangladesh, West Indies captain Jason Mohammed was asked about the threat posed by Shakib Al Hasan in his first international match since his ban. Mohammed – himself returning to top-flight cricket after two years and leading a relatively inexperienced side – had a straightforward answer.”We have to play [Shakib] as we see it. We know he is one of the best going around the world,” he said. “We just have to stay positive against him. If there are balls that we can score off, we have to score. If it is good balls, we have to defend.”Easier said than done. Shakib broke the spine of West Indies’ batting, as he finished with the cheapest four-wicket haul in Bangladesh’s ODI history. In the process, West Indies couldn’t score off 35 out of his 44 deliveries.Related

• Shakib Al Hasan being 'treated and reviewed' for fresh injury in his left thigh

• Shakib's 4 for 8 leads Bangladesh to comfortable win

• Shakib back to middle order, new role for Soumya

• Tamim: 'My style of captaincy will grow with time'

Shakib was in his element from his second ball, when he nearly had the debutant Andre McCarthy caught at slip. Bowling from a slightly straight run-up with an unmistakable loop and drift towards the right-hander’s middle stump, Shakib, still among the top four allrounders across formats, was back. It helped that he had the bite to snatch the ball away from the batsman.McCarthy was eventually his first wicket back in international cricket, which was also his 150th at home, an enticing full ball from Shakib that he was unable to connect with a sweep shot. Mohammed fell in the 17th over, stumped to another that turned away and dragged him forward just enough. Nkrumah Bonner was lbw in Shakib’s next over, pressing forward but unable to remove his thrusting front pad, thus giving Shakib figures of 7-2-8-3 in his first spell.Shakib then returned to pack up the West Indies innings inside two balls, clean bowling Alazarri Joseph to get his fourth wicket. There is always the temptation to find some fate in Shakib’s performance. But great cricketers like Shakib write their own scripts through sheer hard work, patience and – as his mentor Nazmul Abedeen Fahim explained shortly after his four-wicket haul – the often undetected “hunger and desire”.Fahim and Mohammad Salahuddin are among the leading coaches in Bangladesh who are known for their mentorship of cricketers like Shakib, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and many others.Shortly before his one-year ban was lifted, Shakib had returned to Bangladesh in September to prepare for the Test series against Sri Lanka, which was scheduled to be held in October but was later postponed. Shakib went straight to BKSP, his alma mater, where Fahim and Salahuddin helped him through fitness and skills.Fahim, who is now BKSP’s cricket advisor, said that Shakib’s hard work over the last few months was exactly for this type of return to international cricket.”It is not much of a surprise,” Fahim told ESPNcricinfo. “I mean, I didn’t expect him to concede just eight runs, but certainly I expected him to bowl well, having seen how hard he has worked recently. He has brought on some changes to his bowling, which we started seeing when we worked together in BKSP. Salahuddin worked on his bowling too.”Fahim explained how Shakib has started to reinvent his bowling by bringing on a lot more than what he had been doing in the last few years. “[Shakib] used to mostly bowl flat and side-arm. His strengths were pace variation, angle and not much of turn. I don’t know what he did during his break, but now he can bowl more vertically as well as side-arm,” he said.”He can bowl slowly, he can extract bounce and also better turn the ball. He has bowled a lot, but he started from the basic. He went step by step before reaching what he wanted to do.”Fahim also said that Shakib’s greatness invariably lies in his “wonderful attitude”, which is missed by most observers. “It shows that he wants to develop himself more. It shows that he knows there is room for improvement. This is a sign of a player who is always striving to do better. It is a wonderful attitude.”He is exceptional in his desire and hunger, which doesn’t meet our eyes. We only see him playing well. He was waiting for this moment and this platform,” Fahim said.It is now a well-established fact that Shakib’s reticence to engage in conversation, which was seen as shyness in his early days and standoff behaviour more recently, has nothing to do with his on-field drive to be the best.In the core of Shakib Al Hasan is a cricketer who seeks greatness. What Fahim meant by “waiting for this platform” was not Shakib being eager to take wickets against a relatively weaker batting line-up. Rather, Shakib’s wait was to prove that he will now be remembered for performances like his 4 for 8 in Mirpur.

Pakistan’s ODI captain Azhar Ali and allrounder Mohammad Hafeez have agreed to ‘unconditionally’ return to the ongoing conditioning camp in Lahore, two days after they chose to stay away due to Mohammad Amir’s presence at the camp

Umar Farooq26-Dec-2015Pakistan’s ODI captain Azhar Ali and allrounder Mohammad Hafeez have agreed to ‘unconditionally’ return to the ongoing training camp in Lahore, two days after they chose to stay away due to Mohammad Amir’s presence at the camp.Amir, who is in the selection mix after serving a five-year ban for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, was one of the 26 probables named for the pre-season conditioning camp in the build-up to the New Zealand tour. On Thursday, both Azhar and Hafeez were scheduled to join the camp after completing their domestic matches, but they did not do so. Azhar went on to state that he would not attend the camp “as long as Amir is there.”The players, however, decided to join the training camp after meeting with PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan.”They both met and decided to join the training camp,” Khan said, after a final meeting with the players. “I do respect their concerns but some of them, I told them, are not acceptable. So they understood and confirmed that they are on the same page with us and now we are looking forward to the success of the team.”Amir had been allowed to return to cricket ahead of schedule by the ICC in January this year and has impressed in Pakistan’s domestic first-class competition and in the Bangladesh Premier League. He was also signed up by the Karachi Kings franchise for the upcoming Pakistan Super League. Khan urged both players to respect Amir and extend their full support to the bowler who has completed his punishment. Apart from the five-year suspension, Amir was given a six-month jail sentence and he served half of it at the Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset.”We have also conveyed that for a while we have only selected Amir in the training session and he has not been selected in the national team so far,” Khan said. “But if so [Amir is selected] then they both have to stand with him and should not see him with suspicion or behave badly with him. It is now their responsibility – Azhar as captain and him [Hafeez] as a senior player – to take him like a family. We, at the same time, will ensure that Amir stays on course and does not commit any mistake in future.”Hafeez was happy that Khan had agreed to listen to his reservations and said he will continue to oppose corruption on principle.”My stance has been simple all the way, that anyone who damages the pride and integrity of the country should not be given a chance again,” he told the media, after agreeing to return to the camp. “It was my principle stance and will remain the same throughout my life.”I am happy that the PCB chairman heard my reservations and agreed to safeguard our concerns for the sake of Pakistan cricket. Playing cricket is my passion and I don’t need to convince people about my talent. I know I am an average player but I won an honour to represent Pakistan and I vow to contribute to the success of Pakistan. I will, in my humble capacity, continue to support every player.” ‘In November, Hafeez had reportedly turned down an offer in the Bangladesh Premier League from the Chittagong Vikings franchise, which had enlisted Amir. Hafeez told ESPNcricinfo that he could not play “with any player who has tarnished and brought a bad name to the country”.On Saturday, Hafeez stressed his stance was not directed at a particular individual.
“I also want to clarify that my stance wasn’t against any one individual but it was for all who have committed [corruption],” Hafeez said. “I have forgiven all who have damaged the integrity of the Pakistan cricket through corruption but I, in principle, am against corruption and will keep holding this stance forever. I hope people will understand and support me.”

The allrounder made 100 of 133 runs scored while he was at the crease

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2019Simon Milenko scored a brilliant maiden first-class hundred as he hauled Tasmania up to 254 on the opening day against South Australia.Milenko, who came in at No. 7, hit 100 of the 133 runs made while he was at the crease as first Lawrence Neil-Smith then Gabe Bell hung around with him. He was on 95 when Bell edged to slip, but No. 11 Riley Meredith survived long enough for him to reach three figures before he dragged on against Will Bosisto’s second ball of the innings.Until Milenko’s display it was a story of Tasmania’s top order wasting starts against some probing bowling from South Australia who had suffered further Shield heartache in the previous match against Western Australia when they lost with eight balls remaining.Joe Mennie claimed the first three wickets to fall – starting with Jordan Silk who was given lbw padding up after waiting an age for the umpire’s decision – then Chadd Sayers trapped George Bailey lbw in what will be his final first-class match before becoming an Australian selector after the BBL.Jake Doran and Ben McDermott both fell to Wes Agar to leave Tasmania 6 for 150 and seemingly struggling to reach 200.However, Milenko took charge although it was only after reaching his half-century – which he brought up with a six off Agar – that he changed gears as his second fifty took just 33 deliveries.Left with 12 overs to face before stumps, Jake Weatherald and Henry Hunt made it through without loss.

The 23-year old batsman from Tamil Nadu took India Red from 205 for 9 to 383 to give them a chance in the Duleep Trophy game against India Blue

Deivarayan Muthu15-Sep-2017Double-hundred in maiden Duleep Trophy match. First Indian to hit a double on pink-ball debut. Rallying India Red from 205 for 9 to 383. Dominating the highest tenth-wicket stand (178) in the tournament, and the second-highest in Indian first-class cricket. B Indrajith could not have asked for a better start to the 2017-18 first-class season.The 23-year old batsman from Tamil Nadu was in his sixties when the ninth wicket of the innings fell. Scoring a hundred, let alone a big one, seemed far fetched.But Indrajith combined with Vijay Gohil and blunted the India Blue attack under the floodlights to lead a remarkable recovery. “This is a very, very special innings for me,” he told ESPNcricinfo from Kanpur. “I did not expect to score a hundred after we were nine down. To reach a double-hundred from there is very special. Vijay Gohil defended tightly and I found a rhythm. Without his support and partnership, it would not have been possible.”After closing the first day at 120 off 181 balls, Indrajith reached his 200 off 280 balls, smashing 20 fours and six sixes. This despite India Red captain Suresh Raina posting five men on the boundary as soon as the batsman had moved past his century.”I later took calculated risks when the ball was in my area,” Indrajith said. “I hit out against the spinners and targeted some medium-pacers. I told Vijay ‘I will face the first three balls of the over and then try to turn the strike and give it to you’. I asked him to push for two and run hard whenever he found the gap in the outfield and dealt with the situation. He also showed good application, defended tightly, and left balls outside off.”In addition to the match situation, which was complicated enough, Indrajith had to deal with a couple of issues with the pink ball. “At times, it is hard to spot the seam,” he said. “I usually play the red ball looking at the shine, I could not do the same against the pink ball. It swung in the first five-six overs; once you see that off and settle down, you can score runs.”I did not find it easy to pick the spinners, too, particularly under lights. Wristspin is more difficult to pick but India Blue did not have a wristspinner. At the nets, I found it difficult to pick my team-mate Karn Sharma under lights… The trend has been that wickets fall to the new pink ball under lights. But me, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi and Vijay Gohil hung on.”Indrajith is into his fifth season as a first-class cricketer. In 2015, two years after his debut, he was named the Tamil Nadu vice-captain but a sharp decline in form forced him out of his leadership position. Able to concentrate solely on his batting again, he struck 697 runs from 14 innings in 2016-17, playing a vital part in Tamil Nadu’s run to the Ranji Trophy semi-final. He was selected to play for India A against the touring Australians on the back of that performance.Indrajith starting the new season with a back-to-the-wall double-century was the result of his preparation leading up to it. His personal coach and former Railways player S Balaji said: “He has been working hard at training before the season and there a few aspects to it.”Firstly throwdowns, sometimes we use a steel pipe instead of the bat – the pipe is roughly the same weight as that of the bat. Then visualisation: what length the bowler might bowl and respond to various situations. Then during 22-yard practice, we ask for certain wickets, whether seaming pitches or turners. We also practiced at [team-mate] Vijay Shankar’s terrace, where one end of the make-shift indoor pitch has tiles. The ball turns madly and sometimes jumps from there. It has helped all three [Indrajith, his twin brother Aparajith and Shankar] of them deal with uneven turn and bounce.”Balaji hoped the Duleep Trophy innings was the start of a Indrajith rectifying a flaw in his career so far: “I have been telling him in the last few years the impact innings haven’t been coming and that he needs to improve. He is due for bigger call-ups. He has been hitting fifties and hundreds in Ranji Trophy, but there weren’t many high-impact innings. In fact, 10 days back, VB Chandrasekhar called me and asked ‘why he hasn’t been scoring big’? Hopefully, this turns out to be that innings.”

Lawrence’s 147 follows five-wicket hauls for Jamie Porter and Sam Cook as Ryan ten Doeschate remains 78 not out

David Hopps at Chelmsford17-Sep-2019Essex 302 for 6 (Lawrence 147, ten Doeschate 78*) lead Surrey 174 (Porter 5-62, Cook 5-53) by 128 runs
Dan Lawrence has fallen off the England radar somewhat since he caused so much excitement as a 17-year-old with a maiden Championship hundred against Surrey. More than four years on, he treated the same county to a reminder of the talent that might yet win him England recognition and quickened Essex’s Championship challenge in the process.While county matches around the country were careering ahead at a startling rate on mid-September surfaces, Lawrence produced one of the more considered innings seen at Chelmsford late in a season that has been largely fought out in bowler-orientated conditions.After Surrey lost their last six wickets for 22 in 61 deliveries to be dismissed for 174, many wise observers, the guru himself, Keith Fletcher, among them, felt that an Essex first-innings lead would be a challenging proposition, and when Alastair Cook became the third wicket to fall on 53, it did nothing to assuage the feeling.But Lawrence shared partnerships of 72 in 24 overs with Ravi Bopara and 173 in 40 with Ryan ten Doeschate as Essex reached the close at 302 for 6 with a lead of 128. Even the loss late on of Lawrence for 147, caught at second slip off Morne Morkel, as the light faded could not temper Essex’s satisfaction. Ten Doeschate remains on 78 and has alighted on some batting form when it matters most.Such was Lawrence’s influence that this match might actually go into the final day, a requirement so rare this season that it would be no surprise to discover that Chelmsford Produce Association have already booked the outfield.He had few moments of alarm, although Surrey will rue the chance missed at short midwicket when he was only 9. On 50, he chopped the offspinner Amar Virdi uncomfortably into the leg side and it invited speculation that a pitch which has been designed for the offspin of Simon Harmer was about to grip.But Virdi found little purchase in 24 wicketless overs as Essex took control of the match and Surrey even turned to the leg spin of Scott Borthwick, who had only bowled 15 Championship overs all season – he strained a side while batting in a pre-season match against Durham UCCE – and is still awaiting his first victim after another seven overs here.Reputations are hard to shake off and it was no surprise to find that Lawrence’s thoughtful hundred was marked by a photo of him working a ball to the leg side: it is his stock in trade.But this innings had a different flavour. Surrey examined his off side game and as he reached his first hundred by sweeping a leg side gift from Borthwick through square leg it was only his third leg-side boundary. At that point, 11 fours and a six had come through the offside, 63 runs in all, with Liam Plunkett one of the chief seamers to suffer.Surrey’s ambitions were initially whetted by three wickets for Jordan Clark. Nick Browne was bowled by one that straightened from around the wicket shortly just before lunch, and then saw Tom Westley depart to the first ball after the interval, lbw as he played all around one that might have clipped leg stump. Clark had his third wicket when he swung a ball back into Cook’s back pad: there will have been no need for dressing room replays of that one.Surrey’s innings lasted just 70 minutes on the second morning as they crashed from their overnight 137 for 4 to 174 all out. Jamie Porter and Sam Cook both returned five-wicket hauls as they pounded a better length than they had on the opening day. Surprisingly, Porter’s 5 for 62 was only his second of the season; Cook has had three five-fors in his last four inningsSam Cook celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Ben Foakes was the most unfortunate Surrey batsmen as he got one from Cook that kept low, but Will Jacks poked at a wide one and Clark’s attempts to produce some 10th-wicket mayhem came to grief with an ugly leg-side slog.Nine Championship hundreds at 22 is a tidy record – Jason Roy has the same number, at 29, and it didn’t prevent him from a place in England’s Test side in the Ashes series. For Lawrence, still only 22, and having recently committed himself to Essex until 2021, there remains time to win that England place.This was a day, though, when for the media at least a hundred also had to share the acclaim with a 50. For half-a-century, Nigel Fuller has followed the affairs of Essex and that landmark was recognised with a lunchtime presentation. Fuller’s assessment is that both Cook and Bopara outdid Lawrence for their potential as a young player; the reputation that Lawrence must live up to, it appears, is not quite as onerous as he might imagine.Fuller also tells that according to no lesser judge than Trevor Bailey, a fixture in England’s side in the 1950s and later a commentator with Test Match Special, believed the finest young Essex-based batsman he ever saw was Stewart Robson, as a 13-year-old in the Essex League at Ilford. Robson turned instead to football with Arsenal and West Ham United. One can only speculate what he might have achieved.

Pakistan battled through an absorbing third day, but defeat is only a matter of time

The Report by Andrew Miller05-Jan-2019At the fourth time of asking, Pakistan’s batsmen found the grit, resolve and flair required to compete with a pumped-up South African attack in their own conditions. But, despite a fine century stand between Asad Shafiq and Shan Masood, and a doughty 72 from Babar Azam, their opponents could not be denied forever, as South Africa’s pace quartet closed ranks in the evening session to put a crushing victory beyond doubt.By the close, Pakistan had at least staved off the prospect of an innings defeat, with Babar’s hard-fought half-century providing the lower-order with backbone as Dale Steyn in particular rolled back the years in a venomous short-pitched onslaught on any tailender who strayed into his sights. But, with a target of 41 when play resumes on day four, a swift kill and a 2-0 series win is surely a formality.In fact, the match might yet have been wrapped up this evening, but for some farcical scenes in the closing overs of the day. With a lead of 25, and the prospect of an extra half-hour for South Africa to gallop to the finish, Vernon Philander looked to have finished the innings when Mohammad Abbas slogged to mid-off. But with the players already sprinting from the field – not least Quinton de Kock, who had clearly been primed to give it some humpty as a pinch-hitter – replays showed that Philander had overstepped.Back came South Africa’s fielders – de Kock still pulling his gloves back on with a look of misery on his face – whereupon Shaheen Afridi served up another over of mayhem, mowing 12 vital runs off Steyn, including a top-edged four, a straight six, a dropped catch and a thump on the helmet. By the time his fun was eventually ended to give Kagiso Rabada his fourth wicket of the innings, the moment had passed, and de Kock decided that a 20-minute timeframe in which to slap his side to victory was too tight an ask, and the umpires said that was that.The scenes in those closing overs epitomised an engrossing day’s play, and one in which Pakistan actually made much of the running. This came principally through Shafiq and Masood’s enterprising third-wicket stand of 132 – their team’s first three-figure partnership of the series – and so well did they play that, for as long as it lasted, a Headingley or Kolkata-style miracle could not be entirely ruled out. This is Pakistan after all, the team that is never more dangerous than when they have been completely written off.And that was pretty much the situation when Shafiq and Masood came together at 27 for 2 in the 11th over of Pakistan’s second innings, following the dismissal of Azhar Ali to a shooter from Rabada that pinned him plumb on the front pad for 6. In the first hour of the morning, South Africa’s tail had biffed a quick 49 runs to take their lead to a daunting 254, and that surely seemed enough to see off a side that had not passed 200 in any of its previous three innings of the series.But Masood and Shafiq had other ideas. Masood had been promoted to open in place of the misfiring Fakhar Zaman after making an attractive 44 in the first innings, and responded with another unruffled performance that was at odds with the skittish efforts around him. But it was Shafiq’s injection of intent after the lunch break that turned Pakistan’s innings from one of dour survival to something approaching a genuine counterattack.Shafiq had to ride his luck early on, with both Philander and Duanne Olivier finding awkward lift from a good length to threaten his gloves and ribs. But, having laced a brace of enterprising cuts for four through backward point, his innings went into overdrive after taking on an Olivier bouncer, and top-edging a six over fine leg.Suddenly, all short balls were being treated as an opportunity for runs, and with South Africa maintaining their attacking fields with a big deficit still to be written off, there were plenty of gaps to be exploited. At the close of the second day, Mickey Arthur had made some damning comments about the state of the pitches for this series, but Shafiq’s shift in mindset seemed more than enough to transcend the apparent demons, as he rattled through to a 56-ball half-century.At the other end, Masood grew in stature as the partnership progressed. He had the closest shave of the innings when, on 24, he successfully overturned an lbw decision that was shown to be missing leg, but aside from his defensive purity, it was the quality of his strokeplay that stood out, in particular a laced drive through long-off that was little more than a push.His fifty came up from 98 balls with a flick for four off the pads against Steyn, and he had just passed 100 runs for the match when Steyn extracted his revenge, finding a perfect length outside off to draw a fatal nibble.Enter Babar, who lived dangerously in the opening moments of his innings, edging low through the slips to get off the mark before wearing a nasty lifter from Rabada on the body two balls later. But he drilled the final two balls of the session for four to sign off in style, and send a signal to South Africa that there’d be plenty more hard yakka to come in the evening session.And so it proved, although perhaps not in the manner anticipated. Shafiq continued to take on the short ball with aplomb to move to within touching distance of a richly deserved century, when the persevering Philander induced a decisive nick in the channel outside off, to send him on his way for 88 and leave Pakistan’s innings in the balance once again at 194 for 4.Fakhar, making his belated appearance at No. 6, was in no mood to restore that balance. His grim tour continued when he made an utter hash of a cross-batted mow at Rabada, who ran back in his follow through to complete a steepling catch, and when the skipper Sarfraz Ahmed was done in by Olivier – his lbw adjudged to be clipping the bails by roughly the same margin that Temba Bavuma’s had been missing in the first innings – Pakistan were 220 for 6 and freefalling.South Africa saw their opening, and went for it, with Mohammad Amir subjected to a fearful peppering – first from Olivier, who slammed him on the gloves two balls in a row, and then Steyn, who ripped a bouncer through his defences for de Kock to wrap up a savage five-ball duck. The same approach soon did for Yasir Shah too, the substitute Zubayr Hamza making a tough chance look easy at an old-school long-stop position on the boundary, but not before Babar had taken the attack back to his opponents, motoring to his half-century with four fours in an over off Olivier.He did not hold back after that, either. Another top-edge for four took Pakistan into the lead, and he managed four more boundaries – all full-blooded, not all middled – before chancing his arm once too often to give Rabada another breakthrough. From then on it was merely a race against time for South Africa to earn themselves an extra day on the golf course. Afridi’s defiance ensured one last moral victory for Pakistan but a series defeat was all but sealed.

Australia received a hostile reception from South Africa’s supporters earlier this year and du Plessis is relishing the prospect of a backlash from fans and the media in Australia

Liam Brickhill23-Oct-2018Brace yourselves. South Africa are on their way Down Under for their first games against Australia since the epoch-ending ball-tampering scandal earlier this year.Australia received a hostile reception from South Africa’s supporters during a bad-tempered tour leading up to the Newlands incident that resulted in bans for Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, and South African captain Faf du Plessis is relishing the backlash he expects to receive from fans and the media in Australia.”Australia is our favourite team to play against, all the stuff that comes with playing them, on and off the field, I love that and I feel that brings the best out of us as a team and even us as South Africans, we love that fiery competition,” du Plessis said on the day of South Africa’s departure for a limited-overs tour that includes three ODIs and a T20I.”It will be nice and hostile. The last two tours home and away, it’s certainly been very entertaining off the field. We are not expecting anything less. Zunaid our security officer has been working hard in the gym, he’s prepared for whatever lies ahead,” du Plessis said, possibly only half-joking. “It is a bit of a poker game as well. We expect them to try and unsettle us as a team when it comes to the media space, obviously with myself being at the forefront of it, but we see it as part and parcel of touring Australia.”It’s definitely not an easy place to travel. The crowds do play their part, they’re like a 12th man. Your mental capabilities and strength is just as important as your skill. For a lot of the new guys it will be the first time where they field on the boundary and they hear just how good they are as human beings.”That will be a new thing for them. You don’t get much of that anywhere else in the world anymore, it is the one place where you still feel like the crowd gets on top and really behind the home team.The fact that du Plessis has himself twice been found guilty of ball-tampering in the past won’t escape the attention of the media, and he suggested that the entire squad would be under increased scrutiny. “I do think this time round there may be one or two more traps for the players to try and stay away from,” he said. “But at the end of the day we want to go there and play a brand of winning cricket.”Injuries have presented a further challenge, stripping South Africa’s squad of batting experience and stalling the next stage of Vision 2019 – their blueprint for the World Cup. Du Plessis had wanted to be more settled on his World Cup probables by the time the team left for Australia, but injuries to Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Wiaan Mulder have necessitated further tinkering.”We were looking to fine-tune our balance a little bit more in this series, but then the JP injury is a big one for us, because he is a two-in-one player and we don’t have a lot of them,”du Plessis said . “So now you’re almost looking at two players instead of one in his place, so there are a few more new faces than anticipated for this series.”Mulder and Duminy have both recently had surgery, Mulder on his ankle and Duminy on his shoulder, and both are expected to be out of action for at least three months. Amla’s recovery has taken longer than expected, and the finger tendon injury he picked up during the Caribbean Premier League has affected his ability to grip the bat handle.Team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee confirmed, however, that Amla is still expected to be fit to play as Durban Heat’s marquee Protea player in the Mzansi Super League in November. “Hashim picked up a finger tendon injury, which you need to treat very delicately,” Moosajee said . “He’s doing well, he’s in a brace at the moment. We’re hoping that with another three weeks of rest he should be fit to play in the T20 league.”At the other end of the spectrum, South Africa are also welcoming one player back from injury. Allrounder Chris Morris last played international cricket against India in February before injuring his back during the IPL. He has since returned to form and fitness in South African domestic cricket, and du Plessis looked forward to the “X-factor” that a fit and confident Morris might bring to his team.”He’s got so much X-factor as a white-ball cricketer, and this is an important tour for him to make sure he starts getting it right in terms of consistency,” du Plessis said of Morris. “We know on his day he’s as good as any player in the world. Something that’s always been important for him is that a confident Morris is a very good cricketer, and he’ll have some confidence from his [domestic] performances. Fitness wise, I hear he’s been working really hard.”

The result ended Mumbai’s three-match winning streak while Royals notched just their second win of the season

The Report by Peter Della Penna13-Apr-20191:11

Jos is a special player, he changed the momentum of the game – Kulkarni

Just two matches after recording the best figures in IPL history, Alzarri Joseph found himself on the receiving end of a brutal assault from Jos Buttler, whose 89 off 43 balls spearheaded a successful chase in a four-wicket win for Rajasthan Royals over Mumbai Indians. The result ended Mumbai’s three-match winning streak while Royals notched just their second win of the season.Set a target of 188 on a batting road, Royals coasted to 100 for 1 in 10 overs as Buttler brought up a 30-ball half-century at the halfway point of the innings. The Englishman had already starred in the field taking three sharp catches on the boundary having given up the gloves to Sanju Samson and seemingly had far more energy as a result.Having brought up his third fifty of IPL 2019, Buttler unleashed himself on Joseph in the 13th. With 70 needed off 48 balls, Buttler brought the required rate down to a run a ball by the end of the over. He began lofting a full toss over long-on for six before driving wide of mid-off and cutting behind point for a pair of fours. Joseph tried to counter with a pair of yorkers on the next two balls, but each was stabbed out between the wicketkeeper and short third man for two more fours. Buttler then heaved the final ball over midwicket for six to end a demoralising sequence for Joseph and the hosts.Buttler fell on his next ball in the following over to legspinner Rahul Chahar, but the damage was done by that stage. Despite several hiccups in the final stages of the chase that saw four wickets fall in the space of nine balls, Royals were still far enough in front thanks to Buttler. Shreyas Gopal eventually sealed it with three balls to spare with a four driven off Hardik Pandya just wide of mid-off.Jos Buttler lines up another big hit•BCCI

Ro’s hits The Mumbai XI was boosted by the return of captain Rohit Sharma, who had sat out the last match due to injury. He found his groove in the fourth over against Dhawal Kulkarni with three boundaries, including an exquisite square drive through point. He eventually made 47 off 32 before falling to Jofra Archer in the 11th miscuing a drive to Buttler at long-on.Inconclusive Poll DataKieron Pollard did his best Superman impression in Mumbai’s last-ball win in their previous match against Kings XI Punjab when he smashed 83 off 31 balls including 10 sixes. He was decidedly human against the Royals bowling unit though, struggling to make a 12-ball 6 after entering in the 14th over before skying a short ball from Archer over the circle. Shreyas took a sensational over-the-shoulder catch running back from midwicket in the ring.It was a crucial blow as Mumbai stuttered to the finish without Pollard’s firepower. Despite 16 struck off the final over with some lusty blows from Hardik, who finished with an unbeaten 28 off 11 balls, Mumbai’s 187 appeared well-below par after the start they had. Quinton de Kock top-scored with 81 off 52 balls, but ran out of steam towards the end of his knock. The physio came out to attend to him at one point as he struggled in the afternoon heat and he eventually fell in the 19th over to give Archer his third wicket off a third phenomenal diving catch by Buttler at long-off.7:36

Deep Dasgupta: The team that made less mistakes won

Buttler’s chargeRoyals went into the match without Ben Stokes, who sat out the encounter with an undisclosed injury. Yet Royals still had another Englishman with firepower to call on as Buttler teamed with Ajinkya Rahane in a brisk 60-run opening stand.Rahane was actually given out lbw for 4 to end the first over, but the decision was overturned on DRS after hawkeye showed the good length ball from tall left-armer Jason Behrendorff would have comfortably cleared the stumps. Buttler also survived a tight DRS moment in the fourth when he missed a reverse sweep to Chahar’s legspin. Given out on field, the replay showed the ball crashing into off stump but that impact with the pad took place on the fringe of the off stump line and the decision stayed on field with umpire’s call.Joseph’s first wave of punishment came from Rahane in the fifth when he was driven for four, flicked over midwicket for six, then ramped over the keeper for another boundary. Once Rahane got out top-edging a sweep to deep midwicket off Krunal Pandya’s second ball in the seventh, Buttler took over and put his stamp on the chase. He charged Krunal’s first ball in the ninth to bash him for six over wide long-on and by the end of the next over had brought up his fifty, setting the stage for his scintillating spree against Joseph in the 13th that put Royals firmly on course for a win.