Category Uncategorized

Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, has said new-ball bowler Zaheer Khan must continue to work on his fitness before the start of the Test series in Australia

03-Dec-2011Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, has said Zaheer Khan, India’s spearhead, must continue to work on his fitness before the start of the Test series in Australia. Zaheer was out of cricket between August and November due to injury, and was conditionally selected for the Australia series that begins with the Boxing Day Test.”I feel that Zaheer is still not 100% fit and we can’t afford to have a 50% fit Zaheer Khan in Australia,” Ganguly said during an event in Delhi. “For India, Zaheer still needs to play a lot more matches and for that he needs to be fully fit. One Ranji Trophy game is not enough.”There are still [some] days left [before the Tests] and I believe he will play another Ranji game as well as two practice matches in Australia. The BCCI has planned his schedule well, unlike ten years ago when I had to appear for a fitness test only ten days prior to an important tour.”Zaheer had injured his right hamstring on the first day of the England-India Test series this summer, before a recurring ankle injury re-surfaced later during the tour, forcing Zaheer out of the series. He underwent ankle surgery and made a return to competitive cricket on November 29, when he played a Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai in Cuttack. He bowled 22 overs in the match, over two innings, and took four wickets.Ganguly also said R Ashwin, the offspinner who took 22 wickets in his debut Test series, against West Indies, will face a much tougher challenge in Australia. “Ashwin is a gifted cricketer. But bowling in India with SG balls against an inconsistent West Indies batting line-up is completely different from bowling with Kookaburra balls. Also the quality of batsmanship will certainly be higher [in Australia].”India faced another injury setback with medium-pacer Praveen Kumar being ruled out of the Tests in Australia earlier this week because of a fractured rib. His replacement will be named on December 5, and Ganguly said the decision should be carefully weighed.”We should have a good young pacer whoever it is. As far as Irfan [Pathan] is concerned, I have heard that he is bowling well [in the Ranji Trophy] but my question would be whether he is good enough to get into the team on his bowling alone.”Ashish [Nehra] is also getting wickets which is a good sign. I don’t think that not being centrally contracted [Nehra was not in the BCCI’s list of centrally contracted players released in October] is an issue. He is only 32 and can still play for India for some time.”Ganguly scored his first first-class century in two years this week, for Bengal against Haryana in the Ranji Trophy. The four-day match, though, ended in a draw. With draws in the tournament not being uncommon, Ganguly said its structure could do with a review. “I know there are times when the second innings becomes immaterial. Certainly we need to look at the possibility of whether we can make it a five-day affair.”

Bermuda have been hit by the shock retirement of batsman Chris Douglas after an apparent falling out with the national coach David Moore

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2010Bermuda have been hit by the shock retirement of batsman Chris Douglas after an apparent falling out with the national coach David Moore according to the Royal Gazette newspaper.Douglas, a 21-year-old left hander, reportedly told Moore on Friday that he was leaving the international game and the newspaper suggests there had been signs of a clash between him and the coach for some time.Moore, an Australian who was a former coach of West Indies, had a strong fitness ethic which Douglas doesn’t appear to have accepted as part of the game. Douglas’s departure is a blow for Bermuda who are set to tour Dubai at the end of the year followed by World Cricket League Division 2 in April. The WCL event has grown in importance because the top two teams will take part in the expanded eight-team ICC Intercontinental Cup next year.However, it isn’t the first time Douglas has struggled to adapt to the demands of professional sport. Earlier this year he was left out of Bermuda’s squad to play in the ICC America’s tournament only to appear in club cricket three days later.Douglas showed his potential two years ago when he hit 53 against West Indies in King City during the Scotiabank Series – an attack featuring Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell – having made 69 on his debut against Canada.

Two key figures on either side were backing their team to claim the final day

Cricinfo staff14-Dec-2009At the end of rain and bad-light hit fourth day’s play, in which Pakistan erased a deficit and eked out a 99-run lead while New Zealand managed four wickets, two key figures on either side were backing their team to claim the final day.Faisal Iqbal, whose chancy 67 was one half of a crucial third-wicket partnership which helped Pakistan take the lead, put faith in the batsmen to follow. Martin Guptill, whose first chance to bowl in Test cricket snapped a century opening stand, believed New Zealand could dismiss Pakistan as cheaply as possible before allowing their batsmen chase down a hopefully-small total.After the early loss of the well-set openers Imran Farhat and Salman Butt, both to the innocuous offspin of greenhorn bowler Guptill, the onus fell on Faisal and his captain Mohammad Yousuf to carry on the good work. That they did, adding 128 even though it wasn’t always a convincing effort. Yousuf had a let-off when Guptill missed a run-out chance after a suicidal call for a single and Faisal was reprieved after a caught-behind decision was reviewed. Hot-spot supported on-field umpire Billy Doctrove’s verdict that the noise was ball on the batsman’s thigh pad.”That was a critical partnership during that period between me and Yousuf ,” said Faisal. “It has set a better milestone for the batsmen to come tomorrow and settle down for a long innings.””At the moment we are in a very good position. Tomorrow is very crucial, especially in the first two hours. The way Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar [Akmal] batter before stumps showed that if they hang in their for at least two hours we can be in a good position. If we bat all day it will give a good result. It was a very good day for our team, especially [because] the batsmen did well. They put in their heart and soul and batted the whole day.”According to Guptill, New Zealand could “definitely” win this Test. “They are 100 ahead but you just put a couple wickets in early and they’re under the pump,” he said.Guptill, had never bowled a ball in Test cricket and had just a solitary first-class wicket, opened the bowling and removed the openers in quick succession to leave Pakistan wobbling. It was a surprise for Guptill, who was told about five minutes before he went out that he would get the ball.”We just needed to fill an over because Chris [Martin] wanted to come from the other end, then I got a wicket so just kept going,” he said. “Once I got the first couple [overs] out of the way I was alright. I’m pretty stoked to be able to get two wickets in Test cricket. I’d like to say I just did them in the air, but that’s probably not the case.”

Allrounder takes four in each innings as Madsen battles to 95 not out for Derbyshire

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay02-Jul-2025 Lancashire 367 (Green 121, Jennings 106) and 406 for 6 dec (Turner 121, Balderson 82, Jones 63) beat Derbyshire 261 (Andersson 79, Madsen 70, Balderson 4-71) and 251 (Madsen 95*, Guest 46, Balderson 4-54) by 261 runs George Balderson ended Lancashire’s red-ball drought when he bowled them to a crushing 261-run victory over Derbyshire in the Rothesay County Championship match at Chesterfield.The all-rounder took 4 for 54 and eight in the game as the Red Rose finally celebrated a first Championship victory of the season with Derbyshire dismissed for 251 which ended their unbeaten run in Division Two.Set an improbable 513, skipper Wayne Madsen made an unbeaten 95 and Brooke Guest 46 but once the fourth wicket pair were parted, the hosts collapsed with Tom Bailey taking the last two wickets to finish with 3 for 39.The grey clouds over Queen’s Park suggested the conditions were good for the bowlers, especially Jimmy Anderson, and although the bat was beaten, Derbyshire survived the first hour in relative comfort.Madsen eased Anderson to the cover boundary on his way to his second fifty of the match which came off 86 balls and when the former England fast bowler failed to take a wicket in his four over opening spell, Derbyshire had achieved their first objective of the morning.With Anderson out of the attack, Madsen and Guest kept the board ticking over without taking any risks and the stand was worth 127 in 18 overs when Lancashire finally broke through.The decision to bring on Chris Green at the Lake End was rewarded when Guest tried to shovel the off spinner through mid-wicket, missed, and was lbw.That would have come as a relief to Lancashire who might have been starting to get a little anxious but they were soon celebrating again.Martin Andersson had top scored in the first innings but this time he got a good ball from Balderson that straightened to take the off stump.The morning got even better for the visitors when Anuj Dal, who has figured in several Derbyshire rearguard actions, tried to whip Green off his legs and was bowled.When Balderson again found just enough seam movement to bowl Zak Chappell, Madsen was in danger of being stranded and he saw another wicket fall in the last over of the session.Ben Aitchison edged Balderson low to second slip where Green took a good catch which meant Derbyshire had lost 5 for 33 in 11 overs.Madsen went into lunch unbeaten on 78, his eighth 50 in 15 innings this season, and it was now a question of whether he could convert that into three figures.He was denied by Bailey with the new ball which accounted for Blair Tickner and Jack Morley with Anderson taking the catch at third slip which sparked Lancashire’s long awaited celebrations.

All eyes were on Glenn Maxwell after his heroics at the World Cup, but he could produce only a brief flurry in visible discomfort

Tristan Lavalette07-Dec-2023Opener Colin Munro smashed an unbeaten 99 before Brisbane Heat overcame a brief flurry from an injured Glenn Maxwell to thump Melbourne Stars in the BBL season opener at the Gabba.After a gutting defeat in last season’s BBL final, Heat produced an almost flawless performance in front of 20,000 satisfied fans. Munro gave them the perfect start by batting through the innings in a belligerent 61-ball knock that lifted Heat to a massive total of 214 for 3.But Stars couldn’t be discounted of producing a record chase on the ground with a powerful batting line-up led by Maxwell. All eyes were on him after his heroics at the World Cup, and he came to the crease early after openers Tom Rogers and Sam Harper fell to quick Michael Neser in the first over.Heat were suddenly anxious after Maxwell produced an extraordinary attack on left-arm quick Spencer Johnson in the fourth over. He smashed 18 runs in the span of four deliveries, but a wispy whip to the boundary caused him visible discomfort, although he hit the next ball for six over backward square leg.Maxwell sort medical attention twice, and had his forearm taped. He eyed producing another match-winning knock while batting in pain, but fell on his first attempt of the reverse sweep when he hit legspinner Mitchell Swepson straight to deep cover. The pressure fell on Marcus Stoinis, who had played in the first three T20Is against India in the aftermath of the World Cup, but he hit left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann to short extra cover.The dismissal left Stars in tatters at 52 for 4 in the seventh over, and they never recovered despite some lusty hitting from Hilton Cartwright. It was a forgettable start for Stars, who have been determined to rebound from last season’s wooden spoon as they bid for a drought-breaking title. The result leaves Stars already on the back foot, and they will be sweating on Maxwell’s fitness.Mitchell Swepson got 3 for 23•Getty Images

Stars must have entered the game confident, with Heat heavily impacted by the Prime Minister’s XI ongoing match against Pakistan in Canberra. They were without wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson and top-order batters Nathan McSweeney and Matthew Renshaw, but had the services of Neser, who had pulled out of the Prime Minister’s XI line-up due to soreness.Maxwell elected to bowl, but expectations of a two-paced surface didn’t eventuate as Munro and captain Usman Khawaja tore into Stars’ attack in perfect batting conditions. Khawaja, in what will likely be a rare appearance this season, had a let off in the first over after a leaping Rogers dropped a rocket at point.It was a bitter disappointment for England quick Olly Stone, who was a late addition to the Stars squad. Left-arm quick Joel Paris, recruited from Hobart Hurricanes, fared worse and was belted for 13 runs in his first over. With pace bowling having no impact on a hard surface as the batters looked to go aerial on almost every ball, Maxwell brought himself into the attack in the fourth over, something he has sometimes been reluctant to do in the BBL.But Munro was ruthless, and treated Maxwell’s offspin with disdain in an over leaking 19 runs as Heat ended the powerplay at 43 for 0. However, Maxwell provided a much-needed breakthrough when Khawaja holed out on 28 in the seventh over. Munro then took over with muscular batting and reached his half-century in style with a six off Pakistan legspinner Usama Mir.Stars were left to rue Rogers dropping another catch when he fumbled a high ball after running in from the boundary when Munro was on 58. Marnus Labuschagne, also playing a sporadic BBL match this season like Khawaja will be, was intent on turning the strike over to Munro, who continued to successfully target the straight boundaries.Labuschagne never quite got into rhythm, unable to enhance his reputation in a format he has been least successful in, but it didn’t affect Heat, who were aided by wayward bowling from Stone and quick Nathan Coulter-Nile at the death.Max Bryant finished with three straight boundaries, but Munro was left agonisingly short of his second BBL century. Heat posted their second highest total, and the momentum carried over in the field.

Captain thanks team for following his lead, calls on media to recognise entertainment focus

Andrew Miller12-Sep-2022Ben Stokes said that he felt “blessed” to be able to call upon the enduring class and experience of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, while thanking his entire team for their collective buy-in to his new proactive approach to Test cricket – one that has culminated in a remarkable run of six Test wins out of seven this summer, including Monday’s nine-wicket victory against South Africa at the Kia Oval.Stokes himself was named as Player of the Series against South Africa, after a haul of 149 runs at 37.25, including a match-defining hundred at Old Trafford, and ten wickets at 15.70, more often than not key breakthroughs such as the two in three balls either side of tea on the second full day of the Oval Test that ended South Africa’s hopes of a defendable total.More than anything, the award was a testament to the manner in which Stokes has led from the front since taking over from Joe Root at the start of the season, at which stage England had won just one of their previous 17 Tests in the space of 18 months. However, speaking to Sky Sports’ Mark Butcher during the post-match presentations, Stokes made it clear that the manner in which his team had followed his example was the defining aspect of their summer-long success.”It’s been a great series for us as a team,” Stokes said. “We’ve had no real individual standout performances, but different people throughout the whole series have put their hand up in crucial periods for us and, in a team sport, that’s what you want. You want to be able to turn to different people at different times and hope that they can break the game open for you with the ball and bat, and that’s definitely what we’ve managed to do this whole series.”Ollie Robinson – whom Stokes promoted to a new-ball role for his return to the side at Old Trafford – was named as the Player of the Match at The Oval following his five-wicket haul on the opening morning. But Stokes reserved his most fulsome praise for the old guard of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who picked up 27 and 29 wickets respectively across the summer to reaffirm their pre-eminence, following the controversial decision to omit both men from the preceding tour of the Caribbean.”They are just phenomenal,” Stokes said. “To have two of the great seam bowlers of world cricket in your team … I feel very blessed to be in the dressing room with them. We’re very lucky as a nation to have two sporting greats still going out and doing what they’re doing. I mean, I’ve been called old at 31, I’m not quite sure what you can call Jimmy at the moment being 40, but they just keep turning up day in and day out.Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad and James Anderson – pictured during the first-day wash-out – ensured three days was ample for victory•PA Images via Getty Images

“They leave everything out there,” he added. “They are just phenomenal. They’re a huge credit to themselves. They’re a huge credit to this game. And I’m sure a lot of young cricketers around the world who want to be fast bowlers will look up to them.”Stokes’ management of his bowlers has been a defining aspect of the summer’s success – not simply with his willingness to back them up at all times with packed slip cordons and innovating attacking field placings, but his determination to save their strengths for the critical passages of play, particularly the new ball. To that end, his own bowling role has been about producing impact moments, often when the ball has been at its oldest, but he insisted that the balance he had hit upon was the right one.”When you’ve got the bowlers like Jimmy, Broady and Robbo, with the skill they possess, it’s trying to manage them at the start of an innings when the ball’s doing the most,” he said. “You don’t want to [take] too much out of them at the start, so we try to have a short spell from one of the opening bowlers, and then bring them back again with one of the opening bowlers bowling a longer spell.”Then it’s about bringing myself into the game at an appropriate time really, when the big lads have had a few good spells. It’s about understanding when I need to get the most overs out of the three big lads, and they’ve managed to do that in the whole series. They’ve been absolutely phenomenal.”If there has been a criticism of England’s ultra-aggressive approach, then it has arguably centred around Stokes’ own batting, with Butcher questioning whether he was “selling himself short” with his desire to dominate from the outset – a policy that backfired in his only innings at The Oval – rather than batting with the sort of patience that set up his Old Trafford hundred.Stokes, however, was unrepentant about his desire to take the attack to the opposition bowlers, adding that the team success was of far greater consequence than his own numbers.”It’s fine, you can keep criticising me if we’re going to win six out of seven games,” he said. “For me, it’s about the clarity of messaging. Me and Brendon [McCullum] are the guys who were sending this message to this group of players, and I said to the lads in the dressing-room the other day that the person who’s delivering the message can only do so much.”I thank all my team, my backroom staff, coaches, that they’ve really bought into this,” Stokes added. “There’s a reason why we’ve been able to perform with confidence with each other. And that’s something that’s very rare.”Stokes’ own bowling has been limited to key passages of play•AFP/Getty Images

Stokes said he was particularly grateful to his friend and predecessor, Root, in that regard – one of the key influences with the bat, as shown by his three centuries in four Tests against New Zealand and India, but also as a senior man in the dressing-room who bought into the new approach with visible enthusiasm – even saying after the victory over India at Edgbaston that he had channelled his inner “rock-star”.”Joe’s got to take a lot of credit as well. After captaining the side for six years in a way that he did, to then buy into something completely different to how Joe wanted to operate in the team,” Stokes said.”When I’m not England captain, someone else is going to come in and they’re going to want to operate in a different way. But everyone’s really bought into it. And honestly I’ve just been very thankful and grateful that I’ve had a group of lads who have who have bought into that and really understood the bigger picture of what me and Baz are trying to achieve.”This game was shortened, and our main goal was to make sure that it ended in a result,” Stokes said of the three-day window for the Oval Test, following a first-day washout and the subsequent day of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.Related

• Joe Root channels inner 'rockstar' as England learn to enjoy Test cricket once again

• England frustrated but phlegmatic as bad light defers their moment of victory

• England's young punks riff off classic set from old rockers Anderson and Broad

• Broad proud to have been part of a 'celebration of Queen's life' as 17 wickets fall at The Oval

• Ollie Robinson reinforces faith with career-best five-for

“We felt we owed it to ourselves, we owed it to the nation who have shown the support throughout this whole summer towards us, and we will always continue to play in a way that we feel is going to entertain people. And always try and look at the positive side of cricket.”Speaking later in the post-match press conference, Stokes went further about the need for collective buy-in, arguing that the media also had a duty to convey the team’s new message, and temper the criticism when the approach goes wrong – such as it did in the first Test at Lord’s – for the sake of encouraging the next generation to see the exciting, entertaining merits of Test cricket.”I feel there’s also an added responsibility on the people who comment on the way we play as well,” he said, “because we’re in the day and age now where social media is so accessible to people that, if we’re playing in a certain way and we’re saying this is what we want to do and we believe in it, to be criticised for that, what type of message is that sending to the next generation of people?”We have a responsibility to go out there and perform in the way that we want to perform, and I feel that people who write about the game or talk about the way in which we play, they should understand as well that they’ve got a huge influence on the next generation of cricketers.”Because people do listen to what they say about the game, which sometimes contradicts what we’ve got to say, and at the end of the day, the important thing is what is said, and what is spoken about in the dressing-room. Sometimes you feel what we’ve done can get overlooked, because it gets criticised every now and again when things don’t go well, but when it does go well it’s great.”

Gavaskar to Raj: “Body language is very important – look at Virat Kohli, he stares at opposition and the rest of the team does that”

PTI24-Apr-2021India Women’s ODI captain Mithali Raj wants the 2022 50-over World Cup in New Zealand to be her “swansong”, bringing the curtain down on a career spanning over two decades.”It’s been 21 years of international cricket and I know 2022 is my swansong, the World Cup,” Raj said during a virtual book launch on Saturday. “The last year was equal to the 20 years of my international cricket.”I know we are in difficult times but it takes a lot out of me to keep working on my fitness. I am not getting any younger and I know the importance of fitness. It is important to be in a good emotional and mental set-up, knowing that there will be very few tours before the World Cup.”Related

• Mithali Raj: 'I don't seek validation from people'

• Mithali Raj moves on from 2018 spat with Powar – 'We can't be living in the past'

• India 'have to start from scratch', says Raman

• Raj's 10,000-run milestone: 'You've inspired a generation of cricketers'

• India women just lost a year, but not all the blame goes to Covid

India Women are set to play at least two bilateral series – away in England and Australia – before the World Cup.”Every tour (from now on) is important for me as a batter to know how I am going to get the team to regroup and build a side for the World Cup,” Raj said. “Yeah, I am optimistic, looking at the manner in which the girls have been working with whatever facilities they have in these times and the enthusiasm they have been showing for an upcoming series.”Raj admitted that fast bowling was one area the team needed to improve, especially because mainstay Jhulan Goswami has also hit the final lap of her career. “We definitely need to look at a few players and prepare them for New Zealand,” Raj said.Sunil Gavaskar, a co-panelist at the discussion, felt that Raj and her players could take a leaf out of Virat Kohli’s playbook of looking at an opponent’s eyes and giving it back without getting intimidated.”I was with my wife at the Lord’s watching the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup final. What I saw was that, English girls came hard at your lower order and intimidated them with their attitude,” Gavaskar said. “I would want our girls to glare back at the opposition instead of looking down. I feel body language is a very important aspect. Look at Virat Kohli, he stares at opposition and the rest of the team does that.”

England’s comprehensive series win in South Africa was made possible by a variety of big performances

Firdose Moonda28-Jan-2020After a rousing start to their campaign with a memorable win at Centurion, South Africa’s lack of batting depth and bowling penetration was ruthlessly exposed in a trio of defeats at Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and the Wanderers. One man, however, showed fight with ball and bat to hint at a more promising future. Here are their marks out of ten.9Anrich Nortje

South Africa’s find of the series ended as the highest wicket-taker overall, ahead of his own team’s spearhead Kagiso Rabada and England’s Stuart Broad. Nortje bowled at a consistently high pace in the upper 140s throughout the four Tests, used the short ball to good effect and showed an ability to deliver long, pressure-building spells which bodes well for the future of South Africa’s attack. He collected his first five-wicket haul at the Wanderers and also put in two lengthy vigils as nightwatchman, one of which gave him his highest Test score of 40 and formed part of a match-winning partnership at SuperSport Park.7.5 Quinton de Kock

A class above the rest of South Africa’s batsmen, de Kock finished as the leading run-scorer among both teams, 56 runs ahead of Dom Sibley, and scored a half-century in every Test. De Kock seemed to be operating on different surfaces to the rest, took the attack to the opposition bowlers and scored quickly. What he needs now is to develop the nous to switch gears and play the long game by batting time, which will help him convert his fifties into hundreds at a better rate. His work behind the stumps was tidy, apart from the occasions when he dived in front of first slip and catchable chances went a-begging. As South Africa’s new ODI captain and Test-captain-in-waiting, de Kock has shown he has the form to take on more responsibility.6.5 Rassie van der Dussen

Van der Dussen enjoyed a satisfying debut series where he demonstrated composure and maturity in a batting line-up sorely lacking in experience. He scored fifties in three of the four Tests, including sharing in a match-winning partnership in Centurion and falling two runs short of a maiden century at the Wanderers. Most impressively, he coped well with being moved from No.5, where he played the first three Tests, to No.3 in the finale, where he made a career-best 98. His versatility has given South Africa’s top order options for the future. Though he dropped three catches, he took eight and proved himself a competent slip fielder.6 Keshav Maharaj

Tasked with the often thankless job of holding up an end, Maharaj bowled more overs than anyone else despite being benched for the final match, and was mostly successful in his containing role. At Newlands, in particular, he allowed South Africa’s quicks to rotate while keeping runs down, but in all three matches, he struggled against Ben Stokes. After playing some rash shorts early in the series, Maharaj bedded in when it was too late in Port Elizabeth and scored a free-spirited second Test half-century to again show that he has something to offer with the bat.5.5 Kagiso Rabada

A fourth demerit point in a 24-month period meant that Rabada’s series was blighted by his ban from the finale at the Wanderers and highlighted his continued disciplinary issues, which have seen him miss a second Test in less than three years. Still, Rabada remains South Africa’s poster-boy and was their leading wicket-taker until his suspension. He showed glimpses of his best at SuperSport Park, where he took seven wickets in the match. His dismissal of Joe Root in Port Elizabeth, where his celebration breached the ICC Code of Conduct, revealed both how much he values big wickets and how big the burden on him has been in an attack that lacks the bite of old.Beuran Hendricks

South Africa’s search for variation, particularly now that Vernon Philander has retired, may have found an answer in left-armer Hendricks. On his home ground, the Wanderers, he was fairly impressive on debut, especially in the second innings where he took 5 for 64. Hendricks has enough domestic experience to have gained a good understanding of his game, and how to vary his lengths, and could be a handy bowler for South Africa to keep around.Quinton de Kock and Vernon Philander leave the field after the 3rd day of the 3rd Test•AFP / Getty Images

5Dwaine Pretorius


A dependable allrounder, who offers consistency with the ball and stoicism with the bat, Pretorius had a decent first series without offering anything exceptional. His economy rate of 3.15 speaks to the containing role that South Africa were looking to fill with a fourth seamer, and he played a part in some important lower-order partnerships. Whether Pretorius has all the skills to succeed Philander is doubtful, but South Africa deemed him important enough to stop him from signing a Kolpak deal on the eve of the series, so we can expect to see more of him in the future.Pieter Malan

A resolute start on his debut, where Malan scored 84 in the second innings at Newlands, gave way to a forgettable final two Tests. Malan was out twice to spinners in Port Elizabeth, got a good ball from Mark Wood first-up at the Wanderers and then played a nothing shot off Chris Woakes in the second innings. All-in-all, it would appear Malan has wasted the opportunity to have a long run in the Test team, especially with South Africa desperate to find a permanent partner for Dean Elgar. On the evidence of this series, Malan is not it.Dean Elgar

Elgar has escaped a certain degree of scrutiny because the other end of the opening partnership has been so problematic but it won’t be long before the spotlight turns to him. Although he scored 88 in Cape Town, the shot he played to be dismissed (a mow to mid-off against Dom Bess which Elgar described as a “brainfart”) was a microcosm for a serious flaw in his game. Elgar’s shot selections were not those of a senior player – from his playing across the line in Port Elizabeth to him flashing a short, wide ball straight to point and then pulling like a No.8 in Johannesburg – and underline what has become a problematic period in his career. South Africa needs players of Elgar’s ilk to do better and overall, he had a disappointing series.4.5 Vernon Philander

Philander bowed out with South Africa at an all-time low but at the right time for himself. Though his 4 for 16 at SuperSport Park made it seem as though he still had years left in him, a disappointing performance in Port Elizabeth, where he went wicketless and only bowled 16 overs, made it clear that his time was up. He finished 10th on the overall wicket-takers’ list in the series. In his final outing, Philander took two wickets in the first innings and then send down nine deliveries in the second before tearing his hamstring. He was also fined 15 percent of his match fee for giving Jos Buttler a send-off and a further 60 percent as part of South Africa’s slow-over-rate penalty. Philander again showed with the bat that he had what it took to contribute more to the line-up, and he may look back on that as potential unfulfilled.3.5 Dane Paterson

His new-ball performance in Port Elizabeth can best be described as flat, which did not give Paterson the best start to his Test career. An honest trier, Paterson does not appear quick enough to merit a place in the attack long-term, unless he can bring in some of his other much-talked about skills to the table. At domestic level, Paterson is known to move the ball off the seam and is vaunted for his accuracy, some of which we saw in the second ininngs at the Wanderers.Faf du Plessis

In what could prove to be his last series, du Plessis was under immense pressure and it showed. His poor form from the India series bled into this one and he top-scored with 36, making it a year and 11 innings since he last scored a half-century. Usually, du Plessis has been to hide poor form behind strong leadership but even that let him down. His captaincy in the first innings in Port Elizabeth and during the tenth-wicket partnership in the first innings at Wanderers left him looking strategically wanting and has only increased questions over his future. Du Plessis’ usually pleasant media mannerisms became visibly tetchy as the matches wore on, and he notched up a third successive series defeat.Zubayr Hamza

An eye-catching 39 at SuperSport Park suggested Hamza has the technique to develop into a strong No.3 for South Africa but perhaps not quite yet. He appeared tentative against teasing lengths in Cape Town and visibly afraid of the short ball in Port Elizabeth, where Mark Wood had his number. Hamza was left out of the Johannesburg Test and will need to find form domestically before he can be reconsidered.3 Temba Bavuma (33 runs at 16.50)

The most-talked about man in the series, especially when he was not there, Bavuma was unable to repeat the heroics of four years ago, when he scored his only Test hundred to date against England. But he dominated the conversation nonetheless. He was injured for the first match and dropped for the next two, but made a career-best 180 to force his way back in for the finale. He was out for 6 in the first innings but struck a positive 27 off 29 balls in the second before receiving a snorter from Stuart Broad. Curiously, Bavuma’s social media throughout the last four weeks has suggested he feels hard done by and has a point to prove. Now we have to wait for him to do that.2Aiden Markram (22 runs at 11)

After recovering from a broken hand (the result of punching something in the change-room during the India tour), Markram was strangled down the leg-side for 20 at Centurion, then struck on the pads for 2 before fracturing a finger and being ruled out for the rest of the series. The injury is not his fault but his lack of form is cause for concern. Markram has not scored fifty in seven innings and last scored a century almost two years ago. South Africa have big plans for him but they can’t be fulfilled if his trajectory continues like this.

The India captain’s comments come with the Australian team facing an uproar over their on-field behaviour in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-20184:02

‘We believe we have the quality to win in Australia’ – Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli has made it clear that he, and his side, will be drawing their own “line” about behaviour on their tour of Australia, and will not stand for conduct that goes against their “self-respect”.”Aggression depends on the situation on the field. If the opposition is aggressive towards you, then you counter it,” Kohli said on the eve of the first T20I in Brisbane. “We have never been a team that started something, but we always draw a line at our self-respect. If we feel that someone is crossing that line, then we stand against it.”But aggression can also mean how much effort you are putting in for each wicket as a team. Aggression is shown through your body language on the field, or for bowlers how long they can keep bowling in the same area. For batsmen, aggression can definitely be there in your body language, without saying a word or doing anything. For me, aggression is a passion for winning, and an obsession that I have to win every ball for my team. People have different meanings for aggression, but as far as I’m concerned, for me it is winning the match come what may, and giving 120% for my team every ball. Whether I’m on the field, or sitting outside and clapping for someone else, or batting, whatever it is.”Kohli’s comments come, with the Australian team facing an uproar over their on-field behaviour, in the aftermath of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal that resulted in bans for Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. In that series in South Africa where the scandal exploded, the first two Tests had been marked by heated exchanges between players even before the ball-tampering incident happened. At the time, the Australians had talked about the ‘line’ and how they always pushed it but never crossed it.Kohli’s words could ignite the debate again, with the India captain firm that his team would have its own code.Aaron Finch, the Australia captain, said that his team would focus more on being intense with their actions rather than words, echoing Kohli’s comments on aggression. “Going hard doesn’t mean being verbal or in people’s faces,” Finch said. “It can be about your body language, your presence at the crease, when you’ve got the ball in your hand. How you move around the field as a team, diving in the circle and cutting off ones. That’s presence and fierceness and that’s tough cricket. The verbal stuff’s the easy stuff, and that gets lost sometimes.”We’re still as intense and desperate to win no doubt. It’s about going about that the right way and playing hard is part of the Australian way of doing it. For different people that means different things, it might be the intensity you go about it, it might be your body language. It’s not all about verbal and things like that, which people tend to get confused with sometimes. They talk about being tough and aggressive and that means verbal, but I don’t see it that way. It’s about your presence on the ground.”On Monday, fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile had said that he hadn’t been sledged by India on the field, and that he, personally, wasn’t one to indulge in chatter on the field. “I’ve never been sledged by them,” he said. ” [In] T20 it’s a little bit hard to sledge, you don’t have that time in the field to really get angry, so I don’t think you’ll see too much of it during the T20s. I don’t talk to any of the batters personally, in T20s I don’t think people have too much to say. If they get an opportunity, I don’t think that’ll happen, it’ll just be talk with the ball, talk with the bat.”

The second Test was delicately poised after a oscillating day with West Indies taking a lead of 169 before Mark Stoneman and Joe Root led England’s reply

The Report by Andrew McGlashan27-Aug-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWest Indies remained in a position to push for their first Test victory in England since 2000, in no small measure due to the all-round efforts of their captain Jason Holder, but Joe Root carried his team’s hopes of being able to set a testing chase having been reprieved by West Indies’ fielding for the second time in the match. England closed on 171 for 3, a lead of two, on a surface offering some assistance for the spinners and the occasional sight of uneven bounce.Mark Stoneman’s maiden Test fifty, completed after he suffered a dislocated little finger on 35, was an encouraging innings but, when he was dismissed, England were 94 for 3 and still 75 behind. It could have been better for West Indies had they spotted a thin edge from Dawid Malan when he had 4 and, more importantly, not dropped Root on 10 – this time by Kyle Hope at gully – with the fourth-wicket pair having added 77 by the close.It had taken Root 21 balls to get off the mark against some excellent pace bowling, and it was a rare jittery innings from the captain, but he started to find more fluency after the life. Holder thought he had cut him off on 35 when he was given lbw, but the DRS saved Root – as it did Kraigg Brathwaite twice yesterday – with the ball shown to be missing leg stump. While Holder was excellent with bat and ball, it was odd captaincy that he only gave legspinner Devendra Bishoo two overs on a dry surface, the second of them five minutes before the close.

West Indies’ unbeatable lead

• 133 – Highest first innings lead for West Indies after which they lost a Test, coming against England at Lord’s in 2000. They earned a lead of 169 in this Test. They have gained a first innings lead of 150 or more 117 times and never lost.

• 2009 – The last time England overturned a lead in excess of 150 to win a Test – 179 versus New Zealand at Old Trafford.

• 3 – Five-wicket hauls for James Anderson in the last two Tests at Headingley. He had taken 5-fors in both innings against Sri Lanka last year and took another 5 for 76 in the first innings of this match. In his first seven Tests at Headingley he had picked up only 19 wickets at 41.36 with not even a single four-for. He’s now three short of 500 Test wickets.

• 2014 – Last instance of West Indies scoring a 400-plus total, which came against Bangladesh in Kingstown. Their last away from home was in Dunedin in 2013-14 when following-on.

West Indies’ lead was swelled by a crucial stand of 75 between Holder and Jermaine Blackwood after James Anderson had struck with the first two deliveries of the day to give England hope of swiftly beginning their second innings. However, the stand could have been broken with just four added but Moeen Ali spilled a simple chance at mid-on when Blackwood had 21. They could yet be vital runs.Stoneman and Alastair Cook began solidly after the lunch break, bringing up just England’s second fifty opening stand of the season, before two wickets for Holder in an impressive 12-over spell either side of tea shored up West Indies’ position. Holder found increasing movement during his burst and beat Cook twice in three balls from round the wicket before finding the edge when the former England captain was threatening one of his long-term stays in the middle.Tom Westley’s immediate Test future was then plunged into further doubt when he played a horrid, wild drive at a wide delivery and sent a thin edge to Shane Dowrich. It came the over after there had been a horrendous mix-up between him and Stoneman, which should have left Westley run out. However, there was a poor return from the deep and Bishoo couldn’t complete the opportunity. The shot that followed was of a slightly frazzled mind.The debates around Westley will continue to swirl ahead of the final Test at Lord’s, but Stoneman will be causing the selectors fewer headaches – for a short while, at least – after an accomplished 124-ball stay. He got his innings underway with three boundaries in four balls off Kemar Roach and kept his composure after taking the blow on his left little finger in the first over after tea which required the physio to pop his digit back into place. Given the problems trying to find an opening batsman, the selectors could have felt the position was cursed had they lost their latest candidate to an injury.Stoneman’s half-century came from 107 deliveries but, for the second time in three innings, he was on the receiving end of a gem of a delivery. After Roach took his off stump at Edgbaston, Gabriel did the same here with a wonderful ball which straightened from round the wicket – although Gabriel was mighty close to overstepping on a day where he delivered five no-balls (with others not called). Millimetres, at most, saved him.From there, England held firm to end the day positively – as they had started it. Shai Hope had resumed on 147 but didn’t make it past the first delivery of the morning when he nibbled at one outside off from Anderson and feathered an edge to the keeper. One ball later, England thought they had hauled themselves back into the match when Dowrich edged to second slip, giving Anderson his third five-wicket haul in as many innings at Headingley, where he had previously taken none in seven outings.However, Moeen’s drop knocked the stuffing out of England. Blackwood was always going to play positively, but having reached 10 off 20 deliveries Holder also cut loose with three consecutive boundaries off an agitated Broad with increasing style: a swivel-pull behind square, a back-foot drive through the covers and then the best of the lot – a glorious cover drive which any batsman in the world would be happy to claim.Blackwood didn’t find scoring as easy and found a variety of ways to add to his boundary count. There was a leading edge over Ben Stokes at gully (after his demerit point last night, Stokes needed to keep his thoughts to himself) and then another four to third man when he ducked a bouncer, but left his bat in the air, the ball flying off the toe end.The lead was quickly approaching 150 – the mark that Anderson said last night would make the game very difficult to turn around for England – when both batsmen fell in the 40s. Holder tried to take the aerial route down the ground, a shot he had played well previously, but was well held by Moeen running back from mid-off to give Chris Woakes his first wicket. Blackwood was then run out one short of fifty by a strong throw from Stokes and a good gather at the stumps by Bairstow.