Leicestershire’s early inroads thwarted as match takes place at Worcester’s New Road

ECB Reporters Network01-Aug-2020Lancashire 265 for 6 (Vilas 90, Croft 63) v Leicestershire A fifth wicket partnership of 130 between Dane Vilas and Steven Croft helped Lancashire recover after being reduced to 97 for 4 shortly after lunch on the opening day of their Bob Willis Trophy match against Leicestershire at Blackfinch New Road.Captain Vilas led the way for Lancashire, hitting 14 fours in going to 90 off 126 deliveries before edging a drive off the bowling of Tom Taylor to slip, where Hassan Azad hung on to the chance. It was redemption of sorts for Azad, who failed to pick up an earlier chance given by Vilas off the same bowler when he scored just 28.The morning had seen Leicestershire make Lancashire’s batsmen work hard for their runs after Vilas had won the toss and chosen to bat.Both sides fielded debutants. Batsman Ben Slater, signed on two weeks’ loan from Nottinghamshire, made his first start for the Foxes, while all-rounder George Balderson and bowlers Tom Hartley and Ed Moulton made their first start for Lancashire – the first time Lancashire had given three men a debut in the same match since 2002.Taylor made an early breakthrough, trapping opener Keaton Jennings leg before wicket with a full delivery that swung back in to the left-hander.Alex Davies and Josh Bohannon put together a partnership of 39 for the second wicket before Davies, who had hit five boundaries in moving on to 21, mistimed a pull at a sharp delivery from left-arm seamer Dieter Klein. The ball looped towards midwicket where George Rhodes took a fine low catch two-handed to his right.Klein then bowled Rob Jones with a quick yorker that swung back in to hit the right-hander’s off-stump, and then had Bohannon caught down the leg-side by wicket-keeper Harry Swindells, gloving an attempted pull at a short ball after playing impressively in going to 44.Lancashire looked to be in trouble, but Vilas led the fightback in typically belligerent style. The experienced Croft played the ideal supporting innings, but having reached his own half-century, was surprisingly dismissed shortly before the close when he went back to a delivery from off-spinner Colin Ackermann and was given out leg before wicket.Before the game started, everyone on the ground participated in a minute’s applause to pay tribute to those affected by the Covid pandemic. The players also took a knee to emphasise their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

White-ball captain got to interact with fringe players and was greatly impressed by them

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2020Players on the fringes of the South African men’s team were afforded an opportunity to integrate with senior stars at the recently completed culture camp. The squad of 32 included the 16 contracted members of the national side as well as the High-Performance unit and the white-ball captain Quinton de Kock highlighted exactly why it was important for them to mingle.”In this environment, even though you’re contracted, it doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed to play,” he said in a CSA press release on Thursday. “So I think it was important that the up and coming players needed to be there with the squad. This is professional sport and we’re trying to play the best team that we can. If a younger guy is performing and he gets an opportunity, it doesn’t help that he hasn’t been here and he doesn’t know anything.”We’ve seen what they’ve done in the franchise system and we know there’s a potential future for them in the team, so it was important for them to come here. It was great to learn some views from the younger guys and help them understand the situation with the Proteas and how we want to go about things.”South African cricket has recently been waylaid by stories of racial tension. This culture camp, which took place at Kruger National Park earlier this month, was a way to address that tension and at the end of it, it was decided that the South African team should never again be a place where players experience isolation or feel unable to express their feelings, and should foster respect, belonging and empathy. In service of that, their “Protea Fire” identity has been put on hold.”I think it’s been really good,” de Kock said. “We’ve had a lot of good chats which I think the team needed. Everyone is leaving feeling a lot better about the environment and about themselves. A lot of guys got things off their back. We feel a lot more comfortable as a team going forward, which was needed… we’re excited about going into the future now.”We are human and we make mistakes,” he continued. “We’re trying to get better in what we’re doing in our professions, that’s why we got together. I can’t promise results but I can promise that we’ll get better and we are learning, which will give us the best chance of getting better results.”Players who attended the camp: Aiden Markram, Andile Phehlukwayo, Anrich Nortje, Beuran Hendricks, Bjorn Fortuin, Daryn Dupavillon, David Miller, Dean Elgar, Dwaine Pretorius, George Linde, Glenton Stuurman, Heinrich Klaasen, Janneman Malan, Jon-Jon Smuts, Junior Dala, Kagiso Rabada, Keegan Petersen, Keshav Maharaj, Kyle Verryenne, Lungi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamla, Pieter Malan, Pite Van Biljon, Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Rudi Second, Senuran Muthusamy, Sisanda Magala, Tabraiz Shamsi, Temba Bavuma, Zubayr Hamza, Theunis de Bruyn.Faf du Plessis was unable to join the team due to the birth of his second daughter, Zoey.

CSA has also made fresh appointments for bowling lead, academy lead and U-19 coach

Firdose Moonda10-Sep-2020Neil McKenzie has been appointed South Africa’s “high performance batting lead” and will work across the men’s, women’s, Under-19 and academy structures. McKenzie, who resigned as Bangladesh’s batting coach last month was named alongside bowling lead Vincent Barnes, national academy lead Malibongwe Maketa and Under-19 coach Shukri Conrad, as CSA added to the number of employees under director of cricket Graeme Smith’s portfolio.The new appointments mean CSA is unlikely to make use of consultants in the coaching structures, thereby avoiding controversy over its affirmative action policy. Last week, CSA confirmed that they would look to engage people of colour in consultancy roles in an attempt to redress racial discrimination. Their stance attracted a complaint from the Institute of Race Relations, who wrote to the ICC alleging government interference in the running of the board. That letter has been received but has not been acted on yet and, since then, CSA has clarified that the policy is not set in stone and announced the appointment of two white coaches and three coaches of colour.On Tuesday, Dillon du Preez was unveiled as the women’s national team’s assistant coach and two days later, McKenzie’s new role has also been revealed. This will be his second stint with South Africa, after working with them under Russell Domingo for a year from 2016.While McKenzie will not work exclusively with the men’s national team, it is likely he will have a significant presence there because the side currently does not have a permanent batting coach. Jacques Kallis was in the job as a consultant over the 2019-20 summer but has not been re-engaged. McKenzie will also be involved with developing batsmen in the pipeline and believes his experience in the subcontinent will allow him to help more batsmen.”I was with Bangladesh for two years and went to the World Cup with Bangladesh, so I have come back more rounded as a coach. I’m looking forward to doing my bit,” McKenzie said.Barnes, who was previously South Africa’s assistant coach and has since worked in the High Performance Structure, will mirror McKenzie from a bowling perspective. Because Charl Langeveldt is permanently with the national men’s team as their bowling coach, Barnes is more likely to work with players in the national academy and with Maketa in the A team.ALSO READ: South Africa players demand CSA action before ‘the game we love may be irreparably damaged’Maketa, who is the only black African appointment, is also a former national assistant coach, having worked under Ottis Gibson between 2017 and 2019. When Gibson’s contract was not renewed, Maketa found himself out of a job too and was only brought back into the system when Smith asked him to work with the Under-19 side ahead of this year’s World Cup.That brings Maketa back to senior cricket where his international experience will be called on to help players prepare to make the step up to the national side. “Malibongwe is quite an experienced coach with a Proteas background and a high level of franchise experience, and it’s important that a guy like that is working across our next-best talent. He will also be assisting the national women’s team where and when his expertise will be required,” Smith said.At the Under-19 level, Conrad, who has coached the Cobras and the Lions franchises, the National Academy and the Uganda national team, takes over from Lawrence Mahatlane, who in turn has left for Uganda. Under Mahatlane, the Under-19 team finished eighth at this year’s World Cup, a dizzying fall from winning the tournament in 2014.”I like Shukri’s style – he’s old-school, he’s to the point and gets the job done,” Smith said. “I think at that level, his coaching expertise and knowledge of the game are going to be key. The other thing is talent identification, I think that’s a real strength of Shukri’s ability as a coach and he’s got good support in the form of scouts.”The only outstanding role left to be filled is that of national convenor of selectors. Interviews were conducted in April and the incumbent Linda Zondi is among the candidates who are being considered.

The two teams are scheduled to play a World Test Championship series in Sri Lanka starting October 23

Mohammad Isam14-Sep-2020Disagreements over Covid-19 protocols continue to dog Bangladesh’s World Test Championship series in Sri Lanka, which is scheduled to begin in late October. Last week, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that the Bangladesh players would need to be in quarantine for one week upon landing in the island, before being able to train.SLC has now increased the quarantine period to 14 days, and BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said it won’t be possible for his players to be confined to their hotel rooms for that long. Immediately after the BCB had spelled out its stance, Sri Lanka’s sports minister Namal Rajapaksa tweeted that he has asked the SLC to consult the Covid task force to reconsider the matter.After an emergency board meeting, Hassan said that they had been working on a schedule with a seven-day quarantine in mind. But a 14-day period would mean that the Bangladesh Test squad, all of whom haven’t played a competitive match in six months, will get just one week to prepare for the first Test scheduled on October 23.”We cannot play World Test Championships with these term and conditions,” Hassan said. “Until their letter yesterday, both boards were having discussions along the lines of a seven-day quarantine,” Hassan said. “But now their terms and conditions are nowhere near those discussions, and neither are they anything close to what other countries hosting cricket in the pandemic are doing. There are three or seven-day quarantines in those places where the players can either train among themselves or use the gym.Hassan said that the SLC’s limiting of their entourage, while at the same time refusing to give them net bowlers, would be further troubling for the touring side.”[SLC] have told us that our players can’t even step out of the hotel room. Not even for food. They have also chosen Dambulla as the venue for the initial training camp which would leave us isolated in any case. They can have the domestic league with so many players nationwide but we have to face such tough restrictions. I have found out that other teams haven’t faced such conditions. We are astounded.” When the tour was first agreed upon, the BCB had planned to send their High Performance team over as well so that they can play the Test team and help them prepare over the first two weeks of their tour. The BCB would bear all costs even if it meant at least a 60-member contingent traveling together from Dhaka, and then returning from Colombo, after both teams’ tour ends in mid-November. Bangladesh’s first two practice matches were also scheduled against the HP side, after which the SLC was supposed to take over and host one practice match before the Test series. But the SLC was handed these stricter conditions by the country’s health authorities this week, which they conveyed to the BCB.”Seeing that they started domestic cricket, we informed the SLC that we are coming with a big squad so that we can have our training camp there,” Hasan said. “But they will not allow us to train when our players have been inactive for seven months. They won’t even let us take net bowlers and neither are they going to provide us with any net bowlers. How can we play World Test Championship without any training? So it is not possible for us.”Bangladesh were scheduled to leave for Colombo on September 27, with the first Test slated to begin on October 23.

While not mathematically out of the race yet, Dhoni’s team faces a tough road to make the playoffs

Debayan Sen22-Oct-20208:40

Should Chennai make wholesale changes? Do Mumbai need Pattinson back?

Big picture

Captain MS Dhoni and head coach Stephen Fleming may have sounded unusually downbeat after Chennai Super Kings put in a below-par performance in their previous match against Rajasthan Royals, but mathematically the Super Kings are still in the race to maintain their record of qualifying for the playoffs every season. This despite losing the services of allrounder Dwayne Bravo to injury, and with Dhoni’s selection choices coming under fire from various quarters. The fact that even three wins from their four remaining games could just sneak them into the top four – provided other results go their way – should give them the necessary spark with the death of the round robin games approaching.ALSO READ: Fantasy-team suggestions for Super Kings vs MumbaiTheir immediate opponents Mumbai Indians have suffered a couple of hiccups along the way, but look on course to making the playoffs yet again. They have had an extra day’s rest compared to the Super Kings, and considering the drama of their epic encounter with the Kings XI Punjab, they would be thankful for it. Captain Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan appeared to suffer injuries during Sunday’s match, and their non-availability might not be such a bad thing. With just 13 players used from their roster yet, Mumbai wouldn’t mind valuable match practice for those having warmed the bench thus far, especially looking at the business end of the tournament.

In the news

• The 2020 season remains the only time when Dhoni is yet to register a score of 50 or more while his average of 27.30 is his lowest for the Super Kings in any season. Dhoni’s strike rate of 125 is also the second lowest for the franchise – he had struck 372 runs at 122 in 2015 – and with the middle order a weak link for the Super Kings, Dhoni hitting form is not just crucial but also imperative for their playoffs hopes to stay alive.
• If Mumbai choose to rest Rohit, Kieron Pollard can step into the role of captain, as he has in the past for them. This can also allow Chris Lynn and Dhawal Kulkarni – both unused so far – to play at the expense of a foreign seamer. Pollard’s form with the bat has been key for Mumbai’s continued form this season. After falling to Lungi Ngidi for 18 in the first match of the season, he has rattled up 190 more runs at a strike rate of 211 in six innings without being dismissed. Owing to Pollard, Mumbai average 10.60 in the last 10 overs while batting, and have smashed 20 or more runs in an over at the death for as many as seven times.

Previous meeting

It was the very first game of the season in Abu Dhabi. Dhoni used his resources expertly to ensure no Mumbai batsman scored more than 42, as all his bowlers chipped in with wickets and restricted the defending champions to 162. Despite early jitters, Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis spearheaded the Super Kings’ reply to bring them their first win against Mumbai following a 4-0 wipeout last season.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Shane Watson, 3 N Jagadeesan/Ruturaj Gaikwad, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Karn Sharma/KM Asif, 11 Josh Hazlewood/Imran TahirMumbai Indians: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma (capt)/Chris Lynn, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan/Saurabh Tiwary, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Nathan Coulter-Nile/Dhawal Kulkarni, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Strategy punts

• The Super Kings promoted Sam Curran to open the batting against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and while they won that match, his strike rate of 108 at the top pales in comparison to the 219 he was going at previously this season. Curran also strikes at 190 against spin, as opposed to 127 against pace.
• Similarly, Ravindra Jadeja currently averages 48.50 and strikes at 164, both being his best returns with the bat in an IPL. Curran and Jadeja can both be employed as floaters – especially keeping the smaller boundaries of Sharjah in mind – to motor along in the middle overs.
• Typically, Mumbai use one over of Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay and another around the 11th or 12th over mark, before holding back two overs for the death. However, his recent form has been terrific – his average and economy have dipped to 11.50 and 5.80 in the last four matches, as opposed to 25.1 and 8.80 in the first five. Besides, his match-ups with Shane Watson (who averages 23.5 and strikes at 87), Dhoni (average 15.7 and strike rate 92) and Curran (dismissed both times they’ve met while averaging seven) could encourage a break from the norm and more overs in the first half of the innings.

Stats that matter

• Matches in Sharjah have followed no set pattern that the teams can go by. If the first four games produced an average first innings total of 219 with four successive teams batting first and crossing 200, that number has dipped to 182 and zero respectively, in the four matches that have followed. Similarly, the economy rate for spinners went from 10.5 in the first four matches to 7.5 in the four played since.
• This will be the 200th T20 match for the Super Kings, who have 118 wins from 199 games till now. They will join Mumbai, the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Kolkata Knight Riders as teams with 200 T20 matches, with only Mumbai (126) having won more matches.
• Dhoni needs one six to reach 200 sixes as captain in the IPL.
• Bumrah needs three wickets to reach 100 wickets in the IPL and 200 in all T20s.
• Krunal Pandya needs 27 runs to reach 1000 IPL runs.

David Warner and Pat Cummins both miss the series while Australia have a few other niggles in the squad

Andrew McGlashan03-Dec-20207:50

Moody: India should expose Sundar, Agarwal to T20I cricket

Big Picture

A very quick change of format and into one where there is a little more urgency to get things right ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup. As per the ICC rankings, this series pits second against third, so it has the makings of a good contest on surfaces that are likely to favour the bat.Australia were the top-ranked side earlier this year but lost that tag during the 2-1 series defeat in England: last summer they won five out of their six matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, peaking nicely for the home World Cup that was ultimately postponed due to the pandemic.In this series they are already without David Warner and Pat Cummins while Marnus Stoinis is recovering from a side strain, Mitchell Starc missed the last ODI with a back niggle and Ashton Agar appeared to pick up a calf strain. Mitchell Marsh is also missing from the side that finished the series in England, so there will need to be some new allrounders in the middle order.ALSO WATCH: Pandya, Jadeja and the quicks give India first win of the tour (Indian subcontinent only)
India’s players (as with a number of the Australians) are coming off the IPL, albeit with a gap of a few weeks, so their T20 games should be in decent order. They could feature a couple of players who were not part of the one-day series and there will be eyes on what combination they go with at the top of the order. With the first of the Test warm-up matches overlapping with the second two matches, it could be some players are released for that contest.

Form guide

Australia WLLWL (last five completed matches)
India WT (won Super Over) T (won Super Over) WW

In the spotlight

Glenn Maxwell is in a bit of form. The one-day series brought 167 runs at a strike rate of 194.18, which followed on from his successful series in England. Between that was a very lean IPL where he did not manage a single six. The interesting part about this series will be how Australia use him in the batting order given how well he has struck the ball in the one-dayers. There could be a temptation to give him as much time as possible, but he also has the ability to play a role few others can in the latter overs. Don’t be surprised to see him bowling in the powerplay, either.Jasprit Bumrah looked as though he was getting his mojo back in the third ODI after a slow start to the tour. He claimed the decisive wicket when he speared one into the base of Maxwell’s stumps and, importantly, was playing with a smile on his face again after letting some frustrations become clear in Sydney. His IPL form was outstanding – 27 wickets with an economy of 6.73 – but it remains to be seen if he plays this whole series before focusing on Test cricket.

Team news

When Warner was rested for the last T20I against England, Wade took his place so that could be the route again this time, although D’Arcy Short has been added to the squad. The absence of Mitchell Marsh and probably Stoinis opens slots in the middle order. Alex Carey was dropped for the last match against England but could regain his spot. The bowling could be a range of combinations depending on the status of various niggles.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Matthew Wade, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Moises Henriques, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 AJ Tye/Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood Does KL Rahul move up the order? All his runs in IPL came from top of the order, and he opened in his last T20I series. If he moves up the order, India will have to decide between playing a specialist batsman in Manish Pandey and allrounder Washington Sundar. Given the batting form of Hardik and Jadeja, they may well look towards an extra bowling option in Sundar, who has had decent IPL form coming into the series. Also, T Natarajan could be handed a T20I debut.India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Manish Pandey/Washington Sundar, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 T Natarajan, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Pitch and conditions

It has the makings of a high-scoring contest. In the BBL, Manuka Oval has the highest run rate (8.56) of any ground to have hosted more than a single game. It has only hosted one T20I – last year between Australia and Pakistan – when the home side comfortably chased 151.The forecast is for a fine evening.

Stats and trivia

• In 20 T20Is between the two countries it is 11-8 in favour of India although Australia won the previous series 2-0 in India
• Since January 2019, Australia has the highest batting average in T20Is

Quotes

“I’m going to be hanging around the T20 group, try and put my hand up for selection. Also at the back of my mind there is a Test series coming up, so preparing for that. But you’ve got to prepare for where you are right now and that’s the T20 guys.
Allrounder Cameron Green, who debuted for Australia during the ODIs

The Renegades remain stuck at the bottom despite Shaun Marsh’s 87

Andrew McGlashan01-Jan-2021The Melbourne Renegades remained at the bottom of the BBL table as a strong performance from the Sydney Thunder top order took them to a rain-curtailed seven-run victory on the Gold Coast, their fifth in a row to put them at the top of the ladder, on an evening interrupted and ultimately ended by rain.A power-packed start by Alex Hales put the Thunder well ahead of the rate in what looked a demanding chase of 173 after Shaun Marsh’s 87 had anchored the Renegades’ innings either side of the first rain interruption. He fell to one of the catches of the tournament – and certainly the catch of the year so far – from MacKenzie Harvey, but the innings was then kept on course by the cool head of Usman Khawaja.Alex Hales and Usman Khawaja’s attacking knocks secured a win for the Sydney Thunder•Getty Images

Both sides were hampered by a wet ball at stages, but the Renegades needed the game to go the distance having fallen behind on the DLS due to Hales’ onslaught. Despite narrowing the gap somewhat, they were unable to take the wicket that could have made the difference. Captain Aaron Finch gambled by holding his senior seamer Kane Richardson back, as the rain fell with a view to using him in the Power Surge over and the death.Khawaja guiding hand
Khawaja was impressive both on the field and during the rain break. Having been content to watch Hales do his stuff at the other end – he made 5 off 7 balls in their 52-run opening stand that came in four overs – he was then taking charge of the latter part of the chase when the asking rate had nudged back above ten an over following some good work by the spinners. He took consecutive boundaries off Imad Wasim in the tenth over to give the Thunder even more breathing space on the DLS and dispatched Will Sutherland over mid-on moments before the rain got too heavy.Meanwhile, during the first break for rain, Khawaja had given an illuminating interview to the host broadcaster about dealing with the pressures of professional cricket and lessons he has learnt during his lengthy career. There is a long future for him around the game when he does finally put the bat away,Perry’s debut over, Harvey’s worldie
It was a daunting prospect for 20-year-old Mitchell Perry to start his BBL career bowling to an already-set Hales. Sending down a length perfectly in Hales’ arc, he was treated with disdain for five deliveries including two sixes over long-on. Aiming for a wide yorker with the last delivery, he sent down a big full toss outside off stump which again flew off Hales’ bat, but a split second later it was intercepted by a flying Harvey – nephew of former Australia allrounder Ian Harvey – another of the Renegades’ youngsters who is lauded as one of the best fielders in the game.There was a look of giddy astonishment on everyone’s face, not least Perry. On the first day of 2021, it certainly set a high bar in the catch-of-the-year race. However, there were suggestions the delivery should have been checked for a front-foot no-ball.Marsh’s efforts in vain again
For the second game running, a well-constructed innings from Marsh ended on the losing side. His 87 off 48 balls included five sixes – his half-century coming from 29 deliveries – and he was able to find his stride again after the rain break as the Renegades added 67 off the final five overs of the innings. Finch said the team’s plan was to come out very aggressively and he set that tone himself, but at 3 for 58 in the seventh over, it could have gone wrong.Marsh and Mohammad Nabi added 90 in nine overs to propel the innings forward, Nabi overcoming a sluggish start where he was 4 off 14 balls to finish on 33 off 24, but the Renegades’ season is still threatening to go the same way as the last one.

If the visitors manage to pull it off, it will be the highest successful chase in Pakistan

Firdose Moonda07-Feb-2021Stumps On a day when West Indies completed the highest successful chase in the subcontinent to win the first Test against Bangladesh, South Africa put themselves in a position to pull off the best effort by a visiting team in Pakistan. Set 370 to win the Rawalpindi Test, South Africa finished the day 242 runs behind, with nine wickets in hand and set batsmen at the crease.Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen’s second-wicket partnership is worth 92 and demonstrated the kind of application South Africa’s line-up have lacked for large parts of the series so far. Although the surface has become easier to bat on, with little sign of the turn that was noticeable on the first day, and no reverse swing yet, both batsmen made noticeable adjustments to their technique. Markram’s improved footwork against spinners saw him record his second half-century of the tour while van der Dussen countered the low bounce with a substantial stride forward stride and by playing the ball close to the body as often as possible. He is two short of his own second fifty of the series.The pair came together after Dean Elgar, whose first 16 runs came from four boundaries, got carried away by his aggressive approach and chased a wide Shaheen Shah Afridi delivery only to edge to Mohammad Rizwan. Television cameras caught Elgar flinging his bat in frustration once he had reached the dressing room.At that stage, Markram had only just found his rhythm after seeing off 22 dot balls, 18 from Afridi, before taking on the spin. In one over, Markram took 14 runs off Nauman Ali and survived a review for lbw after UltraEdge showed he had inside-edged the ball onto his front pad. Markram continued to play Nauman and later Yasir Shah with confidence but also pounced on loose spells from Hasan Ali, who struggled to find the right length. Markram’s fifty came off 71 balls, at better than a run-a-ball after his initial scoreless vigil.Van der Dussen had a little more trouble against Nauman and was twice beaten by flighted deliveries outside off but quickly adjusted to playing the ball as close to the body as possible. He punished Faheem Ashraf for poor lines, leaving Babar Azam with no option but to go back to Afridi and the spinners, neither of whom were able to make a breakthrough.Pakistan may still feel they have enough, both because the highest successful chase in the country is Sri Lanka’s 220 at the same venue 21 years ago and because South Africa have not successfully chased a total over 200 in almost a decade. The last time they achieved the feat was when they scored 236 for 2 to beat Australia in Cape Town in 2011. Since then, South Africa have been set targets of over 200 on 20 occasions, and have lost 17 of those matches , including six in the subcontinent.But this Pindi surface has not deteriorated enough to make it unplayable and, as Pakistan showed in the third innings, run-scoring remains free-flowing. Rizwan was the most fluent of the home batsmen as he scored his first Test century and led a lower-order fightback. Pakistan’s last five pairs put on 222 runs including 53 between Rizwan and Yasir and 97 between Rizwan and Nauman, and continued the trend of the home side getting valuable rearguard contributions. At the same time, their stubborn resistance told the story of the problems South Africa have encountered in dismissing the tail throughout the series. In Karachi, Pakistan’s last five stands were worth 252 in the first innings, setting up a lead that laid the foundation for the win.Despite that, South Africa took pride from how they controlled the run-rate. Even that failed them in the post-lunch session in Rawalpindi. They conceded 81 runs in 17 overs, at a rate of 4.76 as Rizwan and Nauman took advantage of a weary attack. There was some consolation for South Africa’s bowlers. George Linde, bowling with heavy strapping around his lacerated left little finger, took his first five-for, joining Nortje and Hasan as the bowlers who have prospered on this pitch.South Africa’s spinners fared better than their seamers overall with Keshav Maharaj finishing with three wickets. Kagiso Rabada only bowled seven overs on the fourth day, while Nortje’s bouncers were not enough to unsettled Rizwan, who was strong on the back foot and the pull. Since his comeback in November last year, Rizwan has played 12 Tests and scored six fifties and a hundred and he averages a shave under 45.

The former BCB general secretary had been battling with Covid-19 since late December

Mohammad Isam20-Jan-2021Raisuddin Ahmed, the former BCB general secretary who was instrumental in Bangladesh taking their first steps in international cricket, passed away in Dhaka on Wednesday. He was 82. Ahmed had battled with Covid-19, having been admitted to a hospital in Dhaka since December 25.Raisuddin Ahmed was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the 2017 Prothom Alo Sports Awards•Prothom Alo

Ahmed was the board’s general secretary from 1975 to 1981, a period during which the MCC toured Bangladesh for the first time – in 1977 – and the team gained Associate status and participated in the 1979 ICC Trophy. Ahmed was a central figure in regularly communicating with Lord’s in those days, ensuring Bangladesh were a presence in the cricketing landscape. As a director of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national carrier, Ahmed also roped in Biman as cricket’s first major sponsor in the country.During his time as the BCB’s vice-president from 1991 to 2001, Bangladesh took even more significant strides, as they won the 1997 ICC Trophy to qualify for the 1999 World Cup, as well as gain Test status in June 2000.Born in 1939, Ahmed went to the three most prestigious educational institutions in Dhaka – St Gregory High School, Notre Dame College and the Dhaka University. He played first-class cricket for Dhaka University in the 1957-58 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, and was a regular in the Dhaka league during the East Pakistan period, regularly opening the batting and bowling legspin. Ahmed was also East Pakistan captain in basketball, and later served as the vice-president of Pakistan Basketball Federation.BCB president Nazmul Hassan paid respect to Ahmed, hailing his contributions to Bangladesh cricket at its formative stage.”Raisuddin Ahmed served Bangladesh cricket at a time when the game was struggling to take off. It is due to the selfless efforts of people like him that our cricket is where it is today. On behalf of the board, I extend condolences and sympathies to his family.”

Test opener returns to club where he earned his route back to Australia squad in 2019

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2021
Cameron Bancroft, the Australia Test opener, will return to Durham for the 2021 season, the club has announced.Bancroft captained Durham in both the County Championship and One Day Cup in 2019, prior to his call-up for that summer’s Ashes squad, and was described by the club’s director of cricket, Marcus North, as having a “positive influence” during his time with the club.Bancroft scored 726 runs at 45.37 in nine Championship games that season, and a further 377 runs at 94.25 in List A cricket, performances that helped to smooth his way back into the Test set-up after serving a nine-month ban for his role in Australia’s ball-tampering scandal in 2018.After missing out on the 2020 season due to the Covid-19 outbreak, Bancroft will return to Chester-le-Street once he has completed his Sheffield Shield campaign with Western Australia.”We are really pleased to welcome Cameron back to Emirates Riverside this summer,” North said. “He had a positive influence on and off the field during his time with us in 2019.He is currently having a fantastic summer down under for Western Australia and we look forward to him having a big impact for Durham when he re-joins the squad in May.”