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Zimbabwe found an unlikely hero in Donald TIripano in their dramatic tie against West Indies as the bowler gave away three runs in the final four

Liam Brickhill In Bulawayo20-Nov-2016Donald Tiripano makes for an unlikely, everyday cricketing hero. Well under six feet tall, he occasionally tops 130kph with the ball and just about holds his own the bat, without getting too bolshy. But against West Indies at Queens Sports Club on Saturday afternoon, he showed his mettle as a cricketer and became just the hero Zimbabwe needed. With six deliveries in the final over Tiripano sparked the unlikeliest of comebacks, taking three wickets and giving away just three runs to help Zimbabwe tie.”To me, it was my dream,” Tiripano said, holding back welling emotions. “I was talking to myself, saying. ‘This is the chance I’ve been waiting for since I was a little kid’. I grew up playing cricket in the streets. I was just thinking about that. Thinking ‘Just be positive. Nothing to fear. Just express yourself’. That positivity and that faith … I just thank God for this. It’s great for me. It’s something that many wish for in their lives, to save a match for their country. It’s a blessing.”He had opened the bowling earlier, trapping Johnson Charles lbw with an inducker before the opener could really get going. His opening spell of 1 for 24 was useful, but not flashy – and certainly gave no indication of the heroics that would come later, when he was called upon by his captain Graeme Cremer to bowl the final over of this match, with just four runs to defend. With his second ball, he had the dangerous, World T20-winning Carlos Brathwaite caught at long on. With his third, he ran Ashley Nurse out by deflecting a firm drive from Jason Holder back onto the non-striker’s stumps.Suddenly, hope surged. After a leg bye, he might have had Jonathan Carter caught in the deep, but Chamu Chibhabha couldn’t quite get to the chance despite a stupendous effort. The batsmen crossed, levelling the scores. It all came down to the final delivery, and when Tiripano beat Holder’s drive with a full, wide slower ball and PJ Moor threw down the stumps, the Zimbabweans unleashed their unrestrained joy. This wasn’t a win, but it sure felt like one.”[Cremer] just said ‘Back yourself, and do what you’ve been doing before’,” Tiripano explained after the breathless finish to the game. “So I just backed myself to bowl that slower ball, that I usually know is difficult to hit. Keep it simple. I didn’t want to use too many variations, just that slower ball because there was assistance from the wicket. So I didn’t have to bowl yorkers or anything. Just use the wicket to help me.”I tried to bowl that last ball fuller, because there wasn’t much pace in the wicket so it would be difficult to hit over the top. I bowled it fuller, and he didn’t hit it. I’m just so happy we managed to pull out a tie, out of nothing.”Then there was his batting. Tiripano was the only member of Zimbabwe’s bottom seven to reach double figures, and he took them past 250 and to their highest ODI score this year with a clean six (his first in ODIs) off Shannon Gabriel, the quickest bowler in this tri-series. “I knew before he bowled that the ball would be fuller, because he’d bowled a few back-of-a-length deliveries,” Tiripano explained with nonchalance. “So I just anticipated before the ball was bowled. I was right there to hit it.”Tiripano’s resistance was emblematic of the spirit shown by the Zimbabwean side today, which left coach Heath Streak a very proud man. “I’m proud of the fact that they never gave up,” Streak said. “They managed to claw it back. It was excellent. Those last seven or eight overs were brilliant. The guys took it to the wire. Cricket is funny. If you take it into the last over, it’s amazing what can happen with that pressure.”Probably in the last three overs, I started thinking: ‘We can do this’,” Streak added. “We got a couple of wickets, and I knew Brathwaite and the skipper Holder can hit a long ball, so I was always worried about the damage they can do. But the wicket was pretty tough. It was gripping and I thought Mpofu and Williams bowled really well. And then obviously Donald bowled that last over really well under pressure. He bowled some superb balls. I’m very proud of how they fought.”Yet Streak was also realistic about the areas in which Zimbabwe fell short today. They missed three chances off centurion Shai Hope’s bat, and their fumbles in the field dissipated the pressure being built up on the batsmen.”We know that we’re better than what we showed in the field,” Streak said. “That’s the only disappointment. We dropped opportunities and we had a lot of fumbles. We know we’re better than that. It’s something I know the guys are going to have to work on, getting those fielding standards up, but the fact that we were able to tie and not have had our best day in the field is probably a good omen for us, because we know we’ve still got room for improvement.”Despite today’s tie, we’ve still got a lot of work to do to get ourselves to the final,” Streak added. “Monday (against Sri Lanka) is an important game for us. We’ve just to make sure we come out with that same positivity. We have a big game on Monday, but we’ve got to take it one over at a time, one ball at a time.”

Plans to revive the oldest international cricket rivalry have been confirmed with the USA and Canada set to play three 50-over matches on October 13, 14 and 16 in Los Angeles

Peter Della Penna29-Sep-2016Plans to revive the oldest international cricket rivalry have been confirmed with the USA and Canada set to play three 50-over matches for the KA Auty Cup on October 13, 14 and 16 at Woodley Park in Los Angeles. The Auty Cup has not been played since 2013, in King City, where Canada retained the trophy after securing first-innings points in the drawn two-day match before sweeping a pair of Twenty20s – there was no result in the one scheduled 50-over game then.The matches will serve as key preparation for USA ahead of their participation in ICC World Cricket League Division Four, which begins October 29 at the same venue. The Auty Cup had originally been slated for the weekend of October 22-23, but according to sources the series was mutually decided to be brought up a week in part so that USA can have an extra week of preparation after the Auty Cup and ahead of Division Four.The tentative plan is for members of USA’s squad based outside of Los Angeles to fly in on October 12 and depart the night of the 16th before returning to Los Angeles the following weekend on October 22 for seven days of training and warm-up matches against local Los Angeles club sides leading into their first match of Division Four on October 29. The top two teams in the tournament, which also features Bermuda, Denmark, Italy, Jersey and Oman, will be promoted to WCL Division Three, scheduled for early 2017.”Canada certainly have some very talented players,” USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake, who coached Canada at the 2011 World Cup, said in a press release on Wednesday. “This Auty Cup will be a very good test for our USA team. We are looking forward to the challenge.”For Canada, these are the senior team’s first international matches since the 2015 World T20 Qualifier in Scotland and Ireland, where they went winless to finish last in Group B. It is also the first 50-over matches for Canada since January 2015, when they finished in last place at the six-team Division Two tournament to be relegated to Division Three. Canada is joined in Division Three by Uganda, Singapore and Malaysia.”Cricket Canada is excited about the opportunity to take on the USA again,” Cricket Canada general manager Ingleton Liburd stated in a press release. “We are hoping for some quality 50-over cricket, and hope we can retain the KA Auty Cup while we are on US soil.”The ICC press release announcing the matches also declared that the Auty Cup matches, along with USA and Bermuda’s games at Division Four, will be used to help pick a 15-man squad for an ICC Americas Combined team to participate in the 2017 WICB Nagico Super50 regional tournament. The ICC Americas office had conducted an open trial in Indianapolis last September to help pick a combined team, which featured six USA and nine Canada players, for this year’s tournament.Following the Nagico Super50, six ICC Americas players received Caribbean Premier League contracts, an opportunity which is expected to be offered again for 2017.

Zimbabwe’s domestic season, due to start this weekend, has been postponed for logistical reasons and will now begin later this week

Firdose Moonda10-Dec-2016Zimbabwe’s domestic season, due to start this weekend, has been postponed for logistical reasons and will now begin later this week. Two matches of the Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s first-class competition, were due to start on Sunday but will now, according to Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), get underway later this week.Zimbabwe Premier League games – 40-over matches that form part of a club competition – were due to start Saturday but have also been moved back. “We regret to announce that unforeseen logistical challenges have forced us to postpone both ZPL and Logan Cup fixtures that were scheduled for this weekend,” the board told ESPNcricinfo in a statement. “We are, however, confident action will finally get underway this coming week.”Though ZC did not give a date, there were suggestions that the season may begin from December 15. One source close to the players confirmed they were informed of the decision via email and that the two matches, which were due to start on December 11 will now start on December 15.The statement came less than a week after ZC announced a bumper domestic season to run from December until August. The first-class competition is due to feature 12 rounds – each team plays the other four times – and is seen as crucial to keeping Zimbabwe’s hopes of being competitive in Test cricket alive.On Tuesday, a day after the announcement of the new season, players from two of the four provincial sides – the Eagles and the Mountaineers – refused to train in protest over unpaid salaries. Although contracts have been issued, provincial players have not been paid for November and were told to expect payment by next Friday, December 16. Nationally contracted players and administrative staff have been paid.

With both Sri Lanka and West Indies gaining bonus points from their opening wins, Zimbabwe have their work cut out if they are to stop this tri-series becoming a two-horse race

The Preview by Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo18-Nov-2016

Match facts

November 19, 2016
Start time 0930 local (0730 GMT)

Big Picture

If off-field distractions have followed West Indies to Zimbabwe, their performance in their first game of the tri-series did not show it. They brought a largely young, inexperienced squad here but their win on Wednesday suggested depth and quality nonetheless, and they will arrive in Bulawayo a confident group.West Indies’ three debutants in the first match helped to shape their win, with Shai Hope and Rovman Powell both making 40s before offspinner Ashley Nurse chipped in with three wickets. Nurse has insisted that rankings are not foremost in West Indies’ game plans, but their current position of ninth in the ICC rankings suggests a serious malaise that needs tackling.With a forward-looking squad and the necessity for general improvement in one-day cricket, it’s hard to dismiss the feeling that West Indies are focussed on their future. They have already missed out on qualification for the Champions Trophy next year, and if they are to avoid the ignominy of having to play in a qualifying tournament for the 2019 World Cup, they will have to continue to build on performances such as those in their tour opener. This game offers their next opportunity to do just that.The increased pace and menace with which West Indies’ quicks will operate brings with it myriad dangers for Zimbabwe’s batsmen. Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder will not only gain extra lift from a traditionally dull surface, but Bulawayo’s drier pitches and outfields will also likely bring reverse-swing into the equation, as they did last year when Afghanistan’s Dawlat Zadran picked up nine wickets at 16.66 in five ODIs at Queens.Dawlat’s pace and swing meant he was able to strike upfront with the new ball, and then again with the old to help Afghanistan win the series 3-2. The bowling stats from that series offer further clues as to which bowlers might prosper in Bulawayo: Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chisoro and Amir Hamza – all spinners – were the other leading wicket-takers. Genuine pace, accompanied by spin, will form a potent attack.With both Sri Lanka and West Indies gaining bonus points from their opening wins, Zimbabwe have their work cut out if they are to stop this tri-series becoming a two-horse race.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe: LLLLL
West Indies: WLLLL
Sean Williams seems to relish batting against West Indies – in two World Cup matches against them he averages 146•AFP

In the spotlight

Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak called for more energy and aggression from his team after their defeat to Sri Lanka, and one player who normally has both in spades is Sean Williams. This is a player who spanked Zimbabwe’s fastest Test hundred while seriously ill with the flu earlier this year: he has clearly got the sort of fight Streak is looking for. Williams made starts in both Tests against Sri Lanka, so he’s in some nick, and he averages 40 at Queens Sports Club – his home ground. Williams also seems to enjoy batting against West Indies – in two World Cup matches against them he averages 146, with a pair of 70s in 2007 and 2015.Given the advantages of his height and long fingers, Sulieman Benn‘s one-day bowling average of 46.38 is surprisingly high. Benn was part of the squad that lost to Pakistan last month, taking 2 for 158 in the series, and West Indies will want him to improve on those returns in Zimbabwe. Benn, 35, is of an age where consistency in performance is vital to continued selection. He should find Bulawayo’s pitches to his liking, and if he hits rhythm he will help West Indies retain control of the middle overs.

Teams news

Zimbabwe will probably look to bring in an extra spinner in these conditions. A debut for Tarisai Musakanda would offer an injection of youthful hunger into the batting, though that would also necessitate a re-shuffle in the batting order.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Brian Chari, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Sean Williams, 6 PJ Moor(wk), 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Graeme Cremer (c), 9 Tendai Chisoro, 10 Carl Mumba, 11 Tinashe Panyangara.With two spinners already in their line-up on Wednesday, and momentum with them following their win, West Indies may well go into this match unchanged.West Indies (possible): 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Evin Lewis, 4 Shai Hope(wk), 5 Jonathan Carter, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite, 8 Jason Holder (c), 9 Ashley Nurse, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Shannon Gabriel.

Pitch and conditions

Situated in the drier south of the country, Bulawayo tends to produce flatter pitches with less grass than Harare. Spin will be an important factor in the game, while inclement weather is less likely to feature – though when thunderstorms do brew they can be cataclysmic. Fortunately, Saturday should be sunny and dry.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies’ last tour of Zimbabwe was nine years ago, and none of West Indies’ squad have played at Queens Sports Club before.
• Zimbabwe have played 45 ODIs against West Indies, losing 35 of those. Their last win against West Indies was in Guyana in 2010, when Zimbabwe clung on to defend 254 and win by two runs.
• The first List A game to be played at Queens Sports Club in the independent Zimbabwe was between West Indies and Zimbabwe in October 1981. Zimbabwe overcame a young West Indies side containing Desmond Haynes, Faoud Bacchus, Gus Logie, Jeff Dujon, Malcolm Marshall and Wayne Daniel by 53 runs, with Dennis Streak – current coach Heath Streak’s father – taking 4 for 45 with his medium pace.

Quotes

“I had a chat with Marlon Samuels [who has been to Zimbabwe before], but apart from that we’re just pulling out all the data we can possibly find from the analysts in terms of the ground stats and the opposition. But cricket is cricket at the end of the day, you just have to play as you see it, and assess the conditions as quickly as possible.”
“We know their batsmen are pretty fearless. We know they like to hit boundaries. We’ll try and stop that, and starve them of the boundary option to put them under pressure.”

Five more new signings for tournament after injury, international and Covid restrictions

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2021Hayley Matthews, the West Indies allrounder and T20 World Cup winner, has signed for Welsh Fire, while Colin de Grandhomme will continue his stint at the Ageas Bowl after replacing Andre Russell on Southern Brave’s list of overseas players.Matthews, who was Player of the Match when West Indies won the 2016 World T20 in Kolkata, was unveiled by Welsh Fire after it was confirmed that Suné Luus has returned a positive Covid-19 test and is not able to travel.Meanwhile de Grandhomme, who made a career-best 174 not out for Hampshire on his LV= Insurance County Championship debut, and was part of the New Zealand squad that claimed the World Test Championship mace against India last month, takes over from Russell who has been ruled out due to international commitments and Guyana’s status on the UK red list.
Marchant de Lange will start the competition for Trent Rockets after Wahab Riaz’s arrival was delayed by visa issues, while the New Zealander Glenn Phillips will now play the entirety of the tournament for Welsh Fire in place of Kieron Pollard, who has pulled out due to injury.Adelaide Strikers batter Katie Mack has been signed by Birmingham Phoenix as a replacement for Ellyse Perry who has withdrawn from the competition due to personal reasons. Amy Jones will now captain the side.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

It has also been confirmed that Ollie Pope will miss the start of the Hundred as he recovers from a quad injury, while Alice Monaghan replaces Hannah Jones at London Spirit.”When I got the call to join Southern Brave it was an easy decision,” de Grandhomme said. “I’ve settled in really well at Hampshire and I’m hoping to create some more fantastic memories at the Ageas Bowl. I’m really looking forward to linking up with Devon Conway again and all of the guys can’t wait to get going.”Hayley Matthews added: “I’m thrilled to be taking part in The Hundred this summer. It’ll be a lot of fun to play in Cardiff alongside the like of Sarah Taylor in front of big crowds. The Hundred can help move women’s cricket forward and it’ll be great to take part.”Beth Barrett-Wild, Head of The Hundred Women’s Competition said: “I’m gutted for Suné Luus, I know how excited she was about playing for Welsh Fire in The Hundred this summer, but we all wish her a very speedy recovery. In Hayley Matthews we have a big stage player, in brilliant form, coming in, and I’m sure she will be looking forward to the opportunity to show off her skills.”

Half-centuries for du Plooy, Godleman and Hosein leave Worcestershire ruing drops

ECB Reporters Network15-Apr-2021A Matt Critchley century and 98 from Leus du Plooy put Derbyshire in a strong position after day one of the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Worcestershire at Derby.Critchley followed his two half-centuries at Edgbaston last week with 109 as Derbyshire closed on 360 for 8, which also included an unbeaten 65 from Harvey Hosein and 50 by Billy Godleman.Worcestershire spilled five catches but they fought back after tea with Ed Barnard and Alzarri Joseph both taking two wickets in two balls.Their decision to put Derbyshire in on a green pitch looked a good one when they struck in the first over but poor bowling and dropped catches allowed the home side to prosper. Dillon Pennington was the pick of the pace attack and Brett D’Oliveira’s legspin demanded respect but Joseph struggled on his debut.The West Indies fast bowler was wayward in his opening spell as du Plooy and Godleman rebuilt following the loss of Luis Reece who played across the line in Leach’s first over.Pennington saw du Plooy missed low at fourth slip before he had scored and the South African edged the same bowler through the hands of third on 14. Worcestershire were left to rue those lapses with du Plooy reaching fifty off 78 balls and Godleman accelerated after lunch until he edged Leach and Ben Cox took a fine diving catch.When Pennington surprised Wayne Madsen with bounce and movement, Worcestershire were back in the game but inconsistent bowling allowed du Plooy and Critchley to restore Derbyshire’s initiative.Du Plooy looked certain to celebrate a century until he missed a pull at D’Oliveira and was bowled through his legs but Hosein joined Critchley to take Derbyshire past 300.Worcestershire’s frustration increased as Leach twice saw Hosein missed, on 41 and 46, but Critchley did not offer a chance and deservedly reached his fourth first-class hundred, off 137 balls, by driving Leach for his 10th four.He was lbw driving at Barnard who removed Anuj Dal first ball before Joseph had Fynn Hudson-Prentice caught behind and Michael Cohen lbw but it was still an excellent day for Derbyshire who were playing at home for the first time since September 2019 as their Incora County Ground headquarters was used as a bio-secure international venue last season.

Death-bowling specialism encourages Rajasthan to pay huge sum for allrounder

Andrew Miller19-Feb-20210:40

‘We’ve rebalanced our side, Chris Morris fills an important role for us’ – Royals CEO McCrum

Rajasthan Royals were willing to break the bank to secure the right fast-bowling support for Jofra Archer, according to their director of cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, after the franchise put in the highest bid in IPL auction history on Thursday to sign the South Africa allrounder Chris Morris for INR 16.25 crore (US$2.2 million).Although Morris is highly rated as a tall fast bowler and hard-hitting lower-middle batsman, Rajasthan’s bidding war with three other franchises – most notably Punjab Kings – was one of the big surprises of the auction, particularly given Morris’s past injury record, and the fact that he will turn 34 midway through this year’s competition.However, speaking to the media on Friday, Sangakkara justified Morris’ selection in light of Rajasthan’s lop-sided display in the most recent IPL. They finished bottom of the table in the UAE in November – albeit one win from reaching the play-offs – despite the stellar efforts of Archer, who was named the tournament’s MVP for his haul of 20 wickets at 18.25, including an economy rate of 6.55 that no seamer who bowled more than 15 overs in the tournament could match.Chris Morris opened the bowling in his first game of the season•BCCI

However, that disparity was particularly stark within Rajasthan’s own ranks. Ten of Archer’s wickets came in the Powerplay, in which he returned a remarkable economy rate of 4.34, the best by a distance in the tournament. However, the remainder of the Royals’ attack managed six wickets at an economy of 9.93 in their own Powerplay overs, and Archer himself ended up being stretched across too many roles, with his economy rate ballooning to 10.08 when asked to bowl at the death.Hence Rajasthan’s exhaustive pursuit of Morris, whose own Powerplay economy for Royal Challengers Bangalore last season was a very respectable 6.26, but whose death-over figure of 7.03 was the best among those who bowled 50-plus balls in the season, ahead of Delhi Capitals’ Anrich Nortje, at 8.44.”For us, it was a case of getting some support for Archer, to get him to be as effective as possible,” Sangakkara said. “We considered the all-round abilities that Morris has, but focused on his bowling because he actually has one of the best economy rates at the death. He’s at the top of the tree in terms of positively impacting side’s performances.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Morris has a very specific role for us to play in supporting Archer,” Sangakkara added. “It gives us a lot more flexibility, because it frees us to use Archer in other ways. We also have AJ Tye, Mustafizur [Rahman] and young Indian quicks to support us, so it gives us a few more combinations that we can play with.”Sangakkara acknowledged that Rajasthan had had their eye on further pace-bowling options to supplement their squad, including Jhye Richardson, Adam Milne and Kyle Jamieson, the New Zealand allrounder who would prove to be out of reach as he went for a bid of INR 15 crore (US$2.05million) to RCB.”The high price is just the nature of the auction’s supply-demand dynamics,” he said. “If you really want a player and you’re competing against someone with a huge purse, you have to stretch yourself. We would’ve liked to have got [Morris] for much less, but Mumbai and Kings were as interested in him as we were, and we had to push through that upper limit.”Addressing the issue of Morris’ injury record – he sustained a side strain during the last IPL campaign that caused him to miss the first three weeks of matches – Sangakkara said that the prospect of a reduction in the number of internal flights between venues, due to Covid, could help to preserve his 6ft 4in frame from wear and tear.Jofra Archer celebrates a wicket with his team•BCCI

“Questions will be asked about his training, load management – everything’s been taken into consideration,” Sangakkara said. “Regular flying, packing bags and leaving has a significant effect of injuries on players. Yes, there’s a trend for him to get injured but it’s hard to predict who gets injured and who doesn’t. The key is to have cover in your squad if the unthinkable happens.”As for the burden of coming into the squad with such a heavy price tag, Sangakkara insisted that Morris would be valued as a player and a person more than a “commodity”.”Managing his mindset, in terms of stepping up and trying to justify an auction price is one thing, but then getting him to concentrate on what we really want him to do, and what we expect of him in terms of our side and our strategies [is another],” he said.”It affects various players in different ways. Some really take that pressure on and it helps them to perform even better, others can at times wilt, but Chris is a very mature guy.Related

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“The auction price is the auction price, whether we buy someone for a very small amount of money, or a very high amount of money, our job is to get them prepared to do the job for us on the field.”There are no guarantees in cricket, even the best players can have deep ruts and bad performances, but the key for Rajasthan is building that culture where, irrespective of your auction price, you have a role. We want you to execute it, and we will give you that support and that preparation to do it.”But in terms of executing your role, you are free to take a calculated risk, go that extra yard and really commit to the role. And that’s going to be good enough because if the processes are right, the results come. You can’t worry about all the noise that you can’t control.”

South Africa’s centurion accepted the reality of sport after Pakistan beat them off the last ball, but he was still disappointed

Firdose Moonda02-Apr-2021″”
Rassie van der DussenLike the moment he outside edged Shaheen Shah Afridi wide of second slip and the ball beat Asif Ali’s dive. Van der Dussen was on 0 at that point and went on to score an undefeated 123, his first international hundred and one ensured South Africa had something to defend against Pakistan in the Centurion ODI.Or the moment in the penultimate over when Shadab Khan skied the ball in van der Dussen’s direction at deep midwicket and he made good ground to get there but could not hold on. Khan went on to correctly ask for the next ball – a waist-high full toss – to be looked at and called a no-ball – which it it was – hit four off the resultant free hit and took three off the final ball to leave Pakistan needing three runs off the last over.Asked if he would rather score the hundred or take the catch to win a game, van der Dussen wished both were possible. “I’d do both,” he said. “That catch was a half chance that could have gone our way had I got under it a little earlier. But in the twilight, I never got in a good position to catch it and I barely got a fingertip to it. A hundred overs can come down to one moment. That’s not cruel. It’s just sport; it’s just life. As a professional sportsman you’ve got to be ready for that moment every time.”Van der Dussen recognised that the first ODI was a “game of fine margins,” but said the toss played a bigger role than usual on the Highveld, given the time of year and that all the matches are being played as day games because of South Africa’s Coronavirus-necessitated curfew. “We all know the toss plays a big role in day games here. After losing the toss we were always under pressure,” he said. “The pitch gets a lot better to bat on as Imam (ul-Haq) and Babar (Azam) showed. The pitch became more true and consistent.”He stopped short of apologising to South Africa’s attack, who clawed them back into the game after Azam’s century, and kept them in it until the final ball but praised them for their resilience. “Credit must go to the bowlers. It’s disappointing for us not to get over the line because I feel like they deserved it,” van der Dussen said. “The bowlers fought brilliantly to give us a chance to come close. The way Anrich (Nortje) came in and the team rallied behind him was really positive.”Nortje took four wickets for six runs in 18 balls to give South Africa a chance before Lungi Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo fell just short of defending 19 off the last three overs. Van der Dussen thought their fielding performance, rather than batting effort, was more reflective of the overall mood of the South African camp, which is under new leadership in Temba Bavuma, who has his vote of confidence.”It is a bit of a clean slate, with Temba coming in,” van der Dussen said. “The guys are hungry to win games and to perform. That’s what makes it very disappointing tonight. I’ve played under Temba for a long time. He is a brilliant captain and leader. The guys respect him a lot. He leads from the front and he will just ge better and better.”As for van der Dussen himself, he described reaching his first century as a “relief,” after it came in trying circumstances. “I’ve been playing for two-and-a-half-years and had a few chances (to score a hundred) and didn’t quite get there. I was relieved. As a player you want to perform under pressure and we were under pressure early,” he said.South Africa went from 34 for 0 to 44 for 3 and then 55 for 4 and that is a margin too big to satisfy van der Dussen. “Losing three wickets in a cluster is something we don’t want to do. We are all aware with the ODI championship, you play for points. To lose at the end is disappointing.”

CSK captain issues mock warning to quicks: “They will have to be ready to play under a new captain – it will be my second warning and I’ll be off”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2023MS Dhoni isn’t happy about the number of no-balls and wides his fast bowlers have bowled in Chennai Super Kings’ two IPL 2023 matches so far. In their second game itself, against Lucknow Super Giants on Monday night, Super Kings’ quicks sent down 13 wides and three no-balls.”We are bowling too many extra deliveries,” he said after the 12-run win on Monday night at Chepauk, and even mock-threatened his bowlers that “they will have to be ready to play under a new captain”.Deepak Chahar, the experienced name in the pace attack, bowled five wides (including three in a row in the 17th over) in the game against Super Giants, but didn’t concede any extras in the first game, which Super Kings lost to Gujarat Titans. The two less-experienced quicks, Tushar Deshpande and Rajvardhan Hangargekar, have been consistent in giving away extra deliveries: Deshpande has a tally of five wides and four no-balls over two games, and Hangargekar six wides and one no-ball. No-balls, of course, come with free hits, and oppositions have slammed two fours and a six off those so far.Related

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“It’s the fast bowling that needs to slightly improve, and they need to bowl according to the conditions. Maybe, even if it’s on the flatter side, have fielders and try to bowl in the areas where you are pushing the batsmen to hit over the fielders,” Dhoni said in the post-match presentation on Monday. “Especially what is important is: keep an eye when we’re batting, keep an eye what the opposition bowlers were doing, so it gives you an idea of what can be done, ‘what can be my plan according to the strength I have or the pace I have’.”One more thing is they will have to bowl maybe no no-balls and less wides. Because we are bowling too many extra deliveries. Or they will have to be ready to play under a new captain at some point of time. It will be my second warning and I’ll be off,” he said with a grin.The message seems to have gone across loud and clear. When Deshpande spoke at the post-match press conference, he said, “Bowling a no-ball is a crime in T20 cricket.”On Monday, Dhoni used a total of seven bowlers, including one over each from Ben Stokes and Ravindra Jadeja, and Super Kings gave away 205 after putting up 217. In the first game, though, he had used only five bowlers, not trying Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube (who didn’t bowl in the second game either) or Stokes, who is still not 100% bowling fit. Hangargekar has played in both games ahead of swing bowler Simarjeet Singh, who had impressed in the six games he played last year.”I feel he [Hangargekar] is very good potential, he has a bit of pace and the more exposure he gets the better he will get. So overall not disappointed,” Dhoni had said after the first game. “I feel the bowlers did quite well looking at the conditions overall. No-ball is something, you know, they should try not to bowl. Because in modern cricket, no-ball is something that’s in your control. And at the end of the day, it hurts you really bad. So it’s important to control the no-balls.”

Will Leach or Bess play? Who will go out to make room for Anderson and Broad?

Andrew McGlashan14-Dec-2021Joe Root has admitted that England are facing some “tricky decisions” over the make-up of their XI for the day-night Test in Adelaide, largely centred on the balance of the attack and the role spin might play.Related

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The three quicks on display in Brisbane – Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson – were impressive during much of the second day before tiring under the onslaught by Travis Head. However, James Anderson and Stuart Broad are both expected to play in the pink-ball encounter having sat out at the Gabba, while there is the looming decision on the position of left-arm spinner Jack Leach after he went for 102 off 13 overs.Four years ago, England had Moeen Ali to provide the spin – though he went wicketless through 29 overs – and played four specialist quicks, all of whom are part of this tour. Whether they feel able to include Leach or offspinner Dom Bess this time around may come down to Ben Stokes’ bowling ability following his jarred knee at the Gabba.Nathan Lyon has an impressive record in day-night Tests with 29 wickets at 27.41 (19 at 25.78 in Adelaide) and Head, who plays his domestic cricket for South Australia, expects spin to be a key element on a surface he called “thatchy”. The forecast for Friday, the second day of the Test, is also for an expected high of 35 degrees.As for Root, “[Spin] has generally played a good factor in recent times on this ground, especially as the game progresses, so it’s something we’ll have to look at. [We’ll] see where we are physically as a bowling group and how we can be balanced out.”It would be a brave decision to play Leach again although Root reiterated what he said in the wake of the Brisbane defeat in terms of the fields he set and how he used the spinner.”A lot of that does come back on me. It was a risk, it could have created a couple of chances and put a dent in their innings,” Root said. “I’m sure he [Leach] will want to respond and get back into the series. I don’t think it’s as straightforward as looking at that as a concern. Actually, if you look at it, they [Australia] took an opportunity, played it pretty well, and if they try to do that on a wicket that’s a bit more responsive then it brings him into the game even more.”James Anderson and Stuart Broad are both expected to come in after sitting out the first Test•Getty Images

If Leach does play, it would mean two of the quicks from the opening Test missing out if Anderson and Broad both return. “It wasn’t for our bowling display why we didn’t win that game,” Root said. “They have set the standard for the tour now.”England have only won one out of their four day-night Tests – against West Indies at Edgbaston – and were bowled out for 58 by New Zealand in Auckland and then lost in two days in the extraordinary match against India earlier this year.Root cautioned about getting too wrapped up in the night-time element of the Test but focussed on having the awareness of when conditions might require a change in approach. The one moment England got themselves into the Test four years ago was when Anderson, with his only five-wicket haul in Australia, and Woakes made the most of the night session on the third day of the game.”From our point of view, it’s not over-thinking that [night-time] part of it,” he said. “There will be two sessions of the game where the sun will be out, then it might not do as much. [It’s about] not falling into the trap where it will swing around corners for five days, understanding the different challenges that a pink-ball Test at this ground takes. Also, as a batting group, managing those different phases and finding ways to make big totals.”The most important thing from a batting element is recognising when those periods come along. It could be very good for batting, sun out, for large portions of the day then it’s making sure if it does start moving around you adapt and don’t lose three wickets in ten overs and let the turn Test on its head.”