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After South Africa’s fast bowlers chiseled out their win in the first match, their batsmen and spinners crafted victory in the second to ensure a comprehensive series win over Bangladesh in their first preparatory outing for the World T20

The Report by Firdose Moonda07-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:10

By the Numbers – Spin does the trick for South Africa

After South Africa’s fast bowlers chiseled out their win in the first match, their batsmen and spinners crafted victory in the second to ensure a comprehensive series win over Bangladesh in their first preparatory outing for the World T20.Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers’ opening stand of 95, propped up by two middle-order partnerships in the 30s set up a total of 169 before debutant Eddie Leie stole the headlines with the best figures by a South African on T20 debut and shared six wickets with Aaron Phangiso to give the selectors another option for the future.South Africa had the better of challenging conditions, as Bangladesh’s plan to make homeground advantage count backfired on them. On a slow surface which offered significant turn, it became harder to bat as the match progressed, so that not even an improved batting performance from the hosts could see them salvage something from the contest.Evidence of turn and bounce appeared in the first over when Arafat Sunny surprised de Villiers with a delivery that spun square, kicked up dust and beat the bat. But the next ball went straight on and de Villiers’ hung back to produce a delicate late cut and begun to take control of the opening exchange.Nasir Hossain’s six wides in his first over and de Kock’s aggression against Sunny ensured South Africa had already wrested the advantage by the time Bangladesh brought on their first seamer in the fourth over. Mustafizur Rahman immediately opted for the offcutter to match the conditions but South Africa were wise to his plan. He also offered width, which de Villiers could not resist, and by the time the Powerplay ended, South Africa’s 50 was on the board.With de Kock and de Villiers playing confidently against both spin and seam – their footwork was a hallmark of their partnership – Bangladesh were staring at conceding more than 200 until de Kock misplaced one. He was trying to dig Sunny out over midwicket but did not find the gap and was caught by Sabbir Rahman.That sparked a mini-collapse through which Bangladesh dragged themselves back into the game. JP Duminy gave himself no time to get his eye in and immediately tried to sweep Nasir but got a leading edge and on the next ball, de Villiers was caught behind trying to guide the ball down to fine leg.South Africa had lost three wickets for seven runs in seven balls and their plight could have worsened when Nasir and Mushfiqur Rahim appealed for caught-behind off David Miller. There was no conclusive evidence of an edge on replays and with no DRS, Miller survived.Faf du Plessis and Miller managed just 33 from the next six overs as it became clear run-scoring was becoming more difficult. The lack of pace in the pitch meant the batsmen were occasionally playing too early and premeditated strokes were not paying off.Bangladesh’s lethargic fielding helped push the total along and Miller and Rilee Rossouw ensured a strong finish. They plundered 32 off the last two overs to give Bangladesh a tough task.Instead of the aggressive approach they employed in the first match, Bangladesh’s openers were more watchful and it served them well. They were able to capitalise on width – which both Kyle Abbott and Wayne Parnell provided – and anything too short – where David Wiese sometimes erred – to provide a solid start.But just as it seemed Bangladesh would put up a stern challenge, Tamim Iqbal was swung at a short, slow ball from Parnell, it went straight up and Wiese took the catch. In the next over, Leie’s first as an international cricketer, he deceived Soumya Sarkar with flight and had him stumped.Bangladesh used the next three overs to regroup but instead of absorbing pressure, they were consumed by it. Their next four wickets fell for 13 runs – Shakib Al Hasan holed out to Phangiso’s first ball, Sabbir slogged Leie to midwicket before Mushfiqur attacked a low full toss only to find a leaping Rossouw at short cover and Nasir sent Phangiso into long-off’s hands – to leave them 82 for 6.Abbott’s yorkers finished off the tail but not before Bangladesh pushed their total over 100, which they did not manage in the first game. Still, they would not have been pleased with the way they folded, especially after their recent record at home, and will aim to put that right in the ODIs.

Twenty20’s potential to be toxic for Australia’s Test match plans has been underlined by the decision to “quarantine” the Boxing Day Test squad from the BBL before the team convenes in Melbourne

Daniel Brettig19-Dec-2012Twenty20’s potential to be toxic for Australia’s Test match plans has been underlined by the decision to “quarantine” the Boxing Day Test squad from the BBL before the team convenes in Melbourne. Of the 13 only Peter Siddle is not presently signed up to a BBL team, but none of the other 12 will take part in any of the matches scheduled between now and the start of preparation for the second Test.Usman Khawaja will have a particularly focused lead-in to the Test, as he steels himself for the possible task of replacing Michael Clarke in Australia’s batting line-up. Clarke’s hamstring strain will be given every chance to heal in time for the MCG match, but in the meantime Khawaja has been seconded to Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane for intensive training sessions with the acting batting coach Stuart Law.Australia’s team performance regime has been stretched by the task of finding an adequate balance between the demands of T20 and Tests, especially during the period of the home summer when the national team plays the five-day game without any first-class cricket to buttress the reserves.Pat Howard, the team performance manager, has said that it will likely take at least another two years before teams the world over have found ways to deal effectively with the effects of jumping from format to format, and the coach Mickey Arthur said that there was no alternative to holding the squad out of the BBL this week, noting the injuries to the likes of Ben Hilfenhaus, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood that have already arisen this summer from the T20 riddle.”That’s always going to be a conundrum for us, who do we play, who don’t we play,” Arthur said. “We feel that the Test match is massively important on Boxing Day, we want to quarantine the 13 players. We’re sitting with enough injuries as it is. We want Usman to go back and work really hard on his red ball game. I want him to go and do some work on just tightening his game up again. He’s been practising with a white ball, and we want to give him every opportunity to make it a success if he gets picked.”Johnson didn’t play for Brisbane Heat [on Tuesday night], and that was really an issue between Mitchell and his franchise. Not a bad issue, there was just dialogue between them, Mitchell’s wife has just had a baby, so there was dialogue there. We just think it’s best now that we quarantine those 13 players, because once we start letting one off then there’s always the issue of why’s he playing, why’s he not playing. It’s in the best interests of the 13 to get ready for Boxing Day.”Khawaja’s looming return is a significant vindication for the left-hander, having changed states and worked assiduously at his batting since he was dropped from the Test team for the Boxing Day Test last year. The national selectors have sought improvement in the areas of fielding, running between the wickets and general team ethic, and Arthur said the panel was now convinced that Khawaja had gone a long way to meeting those marks.”I don’t think we would have picked him if he hadn’t shown that continued improvement that we wanted from him. I think Ussie’s done well,” Arthur said. “It’s no coincidence that you sit with Phil Hughes and Usman Khawaja at Nos. 1 and 2 in the amount of Shield runs. They thoroughly deserve their opportunity to come back.”It was just a year ago right here that both of them lost their places. So what they’ve done in a year to get back has been immense, and that’s a credit to both of them. So to welcome Ussie back into the fold is going to be quite exciting.”Should Clarke not be fit, an enormous amount of pressure will be placed on Australia’s recast top four to improve on a largely promising display in Hobart, when only Shane Watson of the quartet failed to pass 50. David Warner reached that tally in both innings of a Test for the first time, while Phillip Hughes looked the part at No. 3.”I thought our top six this game contributed immensely to the win,” Arthur said. “First-innings runs are always massive. We got first-innings runs, four out of six fifties from our Nos. 1, 2 and 3 which for me was really big. That was one area we wanted to be very consistent in, and then as far as Watto goes, he’s got a massive amount of quality, so pretty sure that he’s going to do the job for us at No. 4. So really happy with how our top six stacked up.”Another man likely to benefit from the “quarantine” is the left-armer Mitchell Starc, who showed evidence of his progress as a bowler by scything through Sri Lanka’s tail on the final afternoon at Bellerive Oval after an exhausted Peter Siddle had been withdrawn. Arthur said Starc’s gradually improving consistency was a source of some satisfaction ahead of the tours of India and England.”It’s just experience, just exposing him to situations like he was in Hobart,” Arthur said. “The more he’s exposed to those conditions, the better he’s going to become. There’s a massive amount of talent, and I think he’s just going to get better and better.”

Adrian Barath says West Indies’ improved batting performance in the second innings shows it was just a lack of application that let them down first time around

S Aga16-Nov-2011After subsiding meekly in the first innings, West Indies dipped in to the Bob Marley catalogue to get up and stand up the second time, progressing to 195 for 3, still 283 in arrears, by stumps. Adrian Barath and Kirk Edwards added 93 for the second wicket, preventing any repeat of the morning collapse that saw West Indies skittled out before lunch for just 153.”We did not bat as well as we should have in the first innings,” Barath said afterwards. “Basically we learnt from our mistakes in the first innings and we applied ourselves a bit more. It shows that as a team we are capable of playing spin well. I think it was just a matter of application in the first innings. The conditions were a bit difficult for the openers to bat in.”Barath said West Indies’ cause wasn’t helped by an early start after play had ended 50 minutes early on the second day. “The game starting at 8.30am, it’s probably the first time I have ever seen that. I think it was obviously difficult for us batting that early in the morning. Usually, the warm-up starts at 8.30 and we were facing the first ball at that time. It was something new for us.”He didn’t play the first Test and failed in the first innings here, and there was more than a hint of disappointment at the manner in which he was dismissed for 62 so soon after tea. “I went out there and tried my best to get West Indies off to a good start. Our objective was to go there and just apply ourselves once again. I have been away from international cricket for probably around a month. So it was important for me to get back in the groove. I am thankful for getting a half-century but I think I should have carried on and got a big one.”Barath became the youngest West Indies player to score a century in 2009 – beating George Headley’s record – when he hit a stroke-filled 104 in an innings defeat at the Gabba. Things haven’t been quite as easy since.”That’s something I have been trying to cope with in the past year or so where I have had good starts. Obviously it’s a very frustrating period in my career after just coming into the team and getting a century on debut and not playing as consistently as I should have after that.”The learning process has been helped by the presence of Desmond Haynes – one half of West Indies’ legendary opening partnership – as batting coach. “It is a privilege to have someone like Desmond Haynes as part of our team,” Barath said. “Being an opening batsman it is great for me because he has the experience of playing on different pitches around the world against different opposition. It’s obviously a work in progress and there is nothing he could do overnight as a batting coach.”Part of Haynes’ mandate has to be to change the mindset of the West Indies batsmen, especially against spin on the slow and low pitches of the subcontinent. Barath said Haynes has told them to be positive against spin. “He was the sort of guy that took the bowlers on. He definitely dominated some of the best bowlers in the world. He always tells us that we should be positive as batsmen and not allow bowlers to get on top of us. It’s all in the mind.”On the Eden Gardens pitch, chances of saving the game rest largely on Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the one individual in the batting line-up with more than 50 Test caps to his name. “He is the key player for us tomorrow. He can bat through tomorrow and make it difficult for the India bowlers and take the game into the fifth day and make them bat again. He looks very determined and he is eyeing 10,000 Test runs.”It’s important to make India bat again. It will be important tomorrow morning for [Darren] Bravo and Chanderpaul to continue. I think they just need to continue batting as long as possible and come back on the fifth day.”One man they’ll have to see off to accomplish that task is Umesh Yadav, who has impressed with his wholehearted attitude and bustling pace. “I think he’s bowling 90 miles an hour,” Barath, who fell to him in the first innings, said. “Any bowler who can bowl at that speed is special. There are not many around who bowl at that speed. He has what it takes, and these pitches can help him develop as a player.”After a frustrating period, Barath too is eyeing the next level.

Fast bowler Lasith Malinga has become such a precious commodity that Sri Lanka are considering not risking him in any of the upcoming three Tests against West Indies

Sa'adi Thawfeeq13-Nov-2010Fast bowler Lasith Malinga has become such a precious commodity that Sri Lanka are considering not risking him in any of the upcoming three Tests against West Indies. The spearhead of the Sri Lankan bowling attack in one-dayers along with Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga was left out of the first Test in Galle starting Monday. He may not play in the rest of the series because Sri Lanka intends keeping him injury-free, fit and fresh for the 2011 World Cup which begins next February.”With the injury he has, it could easily come back,” Mahela Jayawardene said. “It’s a very rare injury on the knee and him playing three Tests against West Indies would definitely hamper him. I don’t think we’ll risk playing him in Test cricket just before the World Cup. The selectors [will] probably play him in a few of the one-dayers against West Indies.”Malinga, who bowls with a slinging action, is the third highest wicket-taker in Tests for his country with 101 wickets from 30 Tests. In the last Test series Sri Lanka played at home against India in June, Malinga played in the first and third Test and was rested for the second. He played a stellar role in Sri Lanka’s historic 2-1 maiden one-day series victory in Australia this month winning the Man-of-the-Series award for his contribution with the ball as well as the bat.”We’ve got enough ammunition now with Dilhara [Fernando] and Dammika [Prasad] who bowled really well in Australia, Thilan Thushara coming back from injury and playing in the three-day game, and [Chanaka] Welegedara as well,” Jayawardene said. “Plus, the two young boys, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep, who bowled really well with the A team. It’s a great opportunity for these guys to show what they are capable of.”Jayawardene said that after the World Cup Sri Lanka will have to assess whether they could play Malinga in Test matches depending on his work load. “We’ll have to monitor him and Lasith could think why risk bowling a lot and get injured again and be out for a year and a half. It’s a career-threatening injury where he might not be able to bowl again. It’s a bit too early for us to totally write him off from Test cricket but we have to manage him, that’s how I would put it.”The West Indies series is the first that Sri Lanka will be going in without the redoubtable Murali, who retired earlier this year. “I don’t think you can replace guys like Murali who’s taken 800 Test wickets and [Chaminda] Vaasy 355 wickets. That’s going to be a tough one.”It can be very exciting as well because rather than depending on one of the bowlers now we have to play as a unit of five bowlers who are going to take 20 wickets rather than one of them picking up eight or 12. What we have to realise is that it is quite difficult to replace players just like that but given opportunities and having a lot of faith we’ve seen in the last year or so it has happened in one-day cricket where all the youngsters have delivered. We have to have the same plan of pacing them in Test cricket as well and give them enough opportunities and encourage them to do things with a free mind.”Jayawardene said that the best thing to happen to Sri Lanka cricket was the advent of young allrounder Angelo Mathews. “If there is an allrounder (we never had a genuine allrounder for a long time) like Angie who could deliver with the bat and the ball for us, it makes a huge difference,” said Jayawardene. “The confidence he shows and the way he learns about the game everyday is good for us and for the future of cricket. There are a few other younger boys who are doing very well like Jeevan Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal who’s been used as well in the system. If these guys make the rapid progress that Angelo has done, in another four-five years time when the senior boys leave these guys will be quite adequate to take those roles and take Sri Lanka cricket forward which is the most important thing.”Looking at his future, Jayawardene said, “Honestly I haven’t thought about it. But this is going to be a very big World Cup for me. I’ve just kept everything for that. After the World Cup we got two years (with) a lot of Test cricket ahead of us. I just need to refocus and see what my priorities are going to be.”I am not going to be very selfish. It’s going to be what the team requires and how we need to progress. Definitely after the World Cup I need to sit with the selectors and discuss those options of what plans they have, where we need to go and depending on that I’ll make my decision.”

Mark Lane, the England women’s coach, was named UK coach of the year and high performance coach of the year at the UK coaching awards ceremony in London on Tuesday.

Cricinfo staff09-Dec-2009Mark Lane, the England women’s coach, was named UK coach of the year and high performance coach of the year at the UK coaching awards ceremony in London on Tuesday.Lane, 44, has overseen a memorable year for England, guiding them to the World Cup, the World Twenty20, a 4-0 triumph over Australia in the Natwest Series and a draw in a one-off Test to retain the Ashes.Hugh Morris, the ECB managing director, said the dedication Lane has shown since taking up the position alongside the money put into Women’s cricket has been behind England’s success.”Mark has been working with the England women’s team since April 2008 and his passion for the game and the hard work of all involved have helped the team achieve a huge amount in the last 18 months.”This, coupled with the increased investment into women’s cricket particularly in the last four years, has helped England become the dominant force in the game.”Clare Connor, ECB’s head of England women’s cricket, said that the team were looking forward to building on this year’s success next season.”I know that Mark, the rest of the management and the entire team are already focussed on 2010 and beyond and ensuring that the team maintains its position as the best in the world and continues to inspire girls to play the game.”Cricket received a third accolade at the ceremony, winning the coaching intervention of the year award.
This was for ‘cricket’s education offer’ in the form of eight members of the England women’s team working as coaching ambassadors for the ECB’s Chance to shine programme.

Wicketkeeper insists team will continue to ‘inspire and entertain’ despite insipid Ashes showing

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2025Amy Jones has insisted there’s still a “lot of love” for Alex Hartley within the England Women’s squad, as she sought to play down the row over Hartley’s claims that she has been “given the cold shoulder” by certain players during her duties as an Ashes broadcaster.England go into Thursday’s second T20I in Canberra needing nothing less than a win to maintain their hopes of salvaging a drawn series after four consecutive losses. But their on-field struggles have been overshadowed by the team’s alleged response to Hartley’s criticism of their fitness levels, which began with their T20 World Cup exit in October.Speaking on a BBC podcast on Monday, after Australia’s 57-run win had confirmed that they will maintain their decade-long hold on the Ashes, Hartley claimed that Sophie Ecclestone had refused to do a TV interview with her, and that other members of the squad were no longer talking to her on the boundary edge.”The reason I said that they were not as fit as Australia is because I want them to compete with Australia,” Hartley had added. “I want them to be better than Australia, and I want them to win Ashes and World Cups. I’m giving my opinion, and I’ve been given the cold shoulder from the England team ever since.”Replying to the row, Jones acknowledged that the squad had fallen well short of its own expectations during the Ashes, but denied that the players had taken Hartley’s comments personally.”I don’t think it is the case,” Jones said. “I think we all respect that commentators have their own opinions and it’s Alex’s job to say how she feels. And I think we all respect that. Hartley’s a great personality, and we have a lot of love for her within the group. So, I definitely don’t think that’s the case.”Jones herself has been a qualified success in a misfiring batting line-up, making three 30-plus scores in four innings to date, including an unbeaten 47 in a low-scoring ODI in Melbourne.Related

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However, England’s missed opportunities in this series were epitomised by Jones’ glaring lack of game awareness at the culmination of that Melbourne innings, when she failed to run on a free hit that could have kept her on strike going into the penultimate over of the innings. No.11 Lauren Bell was bowled one ball later to condemn England to a 21-run loss.”That one in particular was hard to take, for many reasons,” Jones said. “I felt emotionally drained afterwards [because], with the obvious mistake at the end, you definitely feel responsible for the loss. But the support from all the girls and the staff emphasised that long games don’t often come down to one specific moment, so I guess that definitely helped.”I’ve obviously made contributions along the way, but as a player, you definitely judge yourself on matchwinning contributions. I’ve been lucky to be in a position where I could have really helped influence a few of those games, especially in the ODIs, and I’m disappointed not to be able to get the team over the line. There’s a lot of learnings in there.”Alex Hartley claims she has been given the ‘cold shoulder’ by England players•Getty Images

Even with the series all but lost, Jones says that the squad will be sticking to the same mantras and methods that have been in place since the start of Jon Lewis’ tenure as head coach, in particular their desire to “inspire and entertain” – traits that have arguably been in scarce supply in a dispiriting campaign.”We’re still working hard at training and in team meetings to try and put our best foot forward,” Jones said. “We’ll be very excited to come out play tomorrow, and hopefully get some points on the board.”There was a bit of reconnection after the second ODI about how we want to play, making sure we’re still trying to inspire and entertain,” she added. “That’s worked really well for us in the past, and it’s something that all of us connect to really well.”It brings out more of a fearless playing style, which suits us. I think we’ve lifted a bit away from that, and so reconnecting to that is important for us. We play our best when we take the game on, put their bowlers under pressure with the bat, and have a wicket-taking mindset with the ball. In the field, it’s around energy and enjoyment. When all those things come together, we’re obviously a very good side.”

Zampa enters top five and Kuldeep the top ten for bowlers; Bavuma has shot up to a career-best No. 11 in the batters’ list after a string of good scores

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2023Shubman Gill has moved up to a career-best No. 2 in the ICC ODI rankings for men’s batters, with only Babar Azam ahead of him.Gill scored 58 and stitched a 121-run opening partnership with captain Rohit Sharma in the Asia Cup Super Four fixture against Pakistan, which helped him move up one spot despite just 19 against Sri Lanka in the next game.Virat Kohli, who hit an unbeaten century against Pakistan, and Rohit, who has hit 53 and 56 over the past week, after 74 not out against Nepal on September 4, have gained two places each and occupy the eighth and ninth positions, respectively.

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This is also the first time since September 2018 that three Indian batters are in the top ten of the ODI rankings. Four years ago, Rohit, Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan were all in the top six.Pakistan also have three batters in the top ten, with Babar still at the top with a lead of more than 100 rating points over Gill, while Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman are fifth and tenth, respectively.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Elsewhere, Temba Bavuma has advanced 21 places to reach a career-best No. 11 after scoring three centuries and two half-centuries in his last eight ODIs. In the past week, he has hit an unbeaten 114 against Australia, followed by scores of 46 and 57. His previous best position was 25th.Among the other major gainers were David Warner, who has risen from fifth to fourth, Travis Head (jump of six places to 20th) and Marnus Labuschagne (up 24 places to 45th).KL Rahul is also ten places up to 37th, while Ishan Kishan has moved to 22nd, gaining two spots.Related

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Among bowlers, Trent Boult has moved up to joint-second with Josh Hazlewood after picking up 3 for 37 in his 100th ODI, also his first in almost exactly a year, while Adam Zampa has entered the top five for the first time after picking up four wickets in the second match against South Africa.Kuldeep Yadav’s nine wickets in the last two Asia Cup matches has helped him rise five positions to seventh.Haris Rauf has gone up eight spots to 21st, while Jasprit Bumrah (up eight places to 27th) and Hardik Pandya (up 21 places to 56th) have also gained. Hardik has also moved up four places to sixth among allrounders.