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Chris Woakes has emerged as a new fitness concern for England ahead of the fourth Test in Southampton

George Dobell28-Aug-20181:10

Bairstow ‘desperate’ to remain England’s wicketkeeper

Chris Woakes has joined Jonny Bairstow as a fitness concern for England ahead of the fourth Test in Southampton. Woakes, who was player of the match in the second Test at Lord’s, has experienced a recurrence of “tightness” in his right quad and missed training with the rest of the squad on Tuesday afternoon.While Woakes played down the severity of the problem and had a gentle bowl in the nets on the nursery ground at the Ageas Bowl, it is an injury that has recurred a few times over the last couple of years and kept him out of all England’s white-ball games earlier in the summer. As a result, the England management may take a cautious approach to his involvement.With Sam Curran, who did not play in the third Test in Nottingham, already with the squad, England have decided there is no need to call-up another bowler as cover at this stage. Jamie Porter, who is on standby, is scheduled to start a Championship match for Essex (against Hampshire) in Chelmsford on Wednesday morning. He can be called out of that game by England if required.Moeen Ali is also with the squad and could come into the side either as a second spinner – an option that has not been ruled out – or to replace Bairstow.Bairstow, meanwhile, returned to training for the first time since breaking a finger during the third Test in Nottingham. While he remains insistent he wants to play a full part in the game as batsman and keeper, he had a relatively brief session with the gloves in training. Instead Jos Buttler, who took the gloves at Trent Bridge and is already England’s limited-overs keeper, spent around 30 minutes practising his keeping. Bairstow batted in the nets as normal.Despite Bairstow’s reluctance to give up the gloves, having worked hard to improve his keeping hugely over the last couple of years, it seems likely the England management will decide to appoint Buttler as keeper for this game in order to reduce the chance that Bairstow’s injury could be worsened by another blow to the finger.It was also noticeable that during England’s catching practice Joe Root slotted in to second slip. Buttler has fielded at second slip recently, with Root at mid-off. Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings remained as first and third slips respectively.”The finger feels good,” Bairstow said ahead of training. “The swelling’s gone down and it’s a lot better than I thought it was going to be.”I want to play so if I’m not able to keep wicket I’d like to think I can play as a specialist batsman. I’m still desperate to try to keep my place as the keeper.”Jonny Bairstow was attempting to prove his fitness to keep wicket•Getty Images

It could also be that the England management’s desire to strengthen the batting sees Ollie Pope, who bats at No. 6 for Surrey but has batted at No. 4 in his two Tests to date, dropped down the order a place or two – although Bairstow didn’t seem especially enamoured with the prospect of being promoted.”I’ve not really batted higher than five for Yorkshire,” Bairstow said. “If you look at the stats they suggest I’m better if I keep wicket as well. I’d like to keep my spot as keeper because I like to think it’s gone well over the last 38 or 39 Tests since I’ve been keeping for England.”There are obviously conversations to be had but, at this moment in time, I was asked if I was comfortable batting at five and keeping and it’s been successful.”The England coaches were assisted by Michael Yardy, James Kirtley (both formerly of Sussex and England) and Michael Bates (the former Hampshire and Somerset keeper) on Tuesday afternoon. The surface for the Test looked surprisingly green, though locals expect it to settled down and prove pretty good for batting. Root, who has been a little short of runs in the series, arrived early to have an extra session in the nets.Training was also noticeable for the sight of Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, being asked for ID and threatened with ejection by an enthusiastic steward. Bransgrove, who has invested – lost, might be a more accurate term – more than £10m into Hampshire and the Ageas Bowl ground, eventually proved his identify by pointing out a mural on the wall of the pavilion (the pavilion that bears his name) showing him holding aloft a trophy.

For Australia this is a must-win game; for England, a victory would continue their winning momentum into the semi-finals, but their real incentive must surely be the chance to eliminate their oldest foe

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale 09-Jun-2017

Match facts

June 10, 2017
Start time 10.30am local (0930 GMT)2:28

Fleming: England have the resources to finish off innings

Big picture

Which was the only undefeated team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup? It wasn’t Spain, for although they finished the tournament as champions, they lost a game to Switzerland in the group stage. No, the only side that went through the 2010 World Cup unbeaten was New Zealand, who drew all three of their group matches but failed to progress to the knockouts. It is a piece of trivia that pops up frequently in quizzes, but why is it relevant to the 2017 Champions Trophy? Because it is just possible that Australia could find themselves the answer to a similar question. If their final group match against England is washed out, and should England then fail to win the tournament, Australia would emulate the All Whites in 2010 in achieving an equally underwhelming exit.Such has been the frustration for Australia throughout this competition. Since they secured victory over Sri Lanka in a warm-up game at The Oval, Australia have had three games washed out: one further warm-up, and two matches in the tournament proper. Their third match, against England, is at Edgbaston, where not a single game has yet been played in this tournament without being affected by rain. The forecast for Saturday suggests rain in the morning and in the evening, which could allow enough time during daylight hours to complete a match – if the Met Office knows its stuff. Then again, if the past couple of days in the UK have proven anything, it is that the art of prediction is difficult, even for the experts.The scenario in Group A is simple. England are through to the semi-finals no matter what, and so too will Australia be if they beat England in this game. In the event of Australia losing or the game being washed out, Bangladesh will qualify alongside England. So for Australia this is a must-win game; for England, a victory would continue their winning momentum into the semi-finals, but their real incentive must surely be the chance to eliminate their oldest foe before they’ve even got started in the competition.

Form guide

England WWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia LLWWW3:10

Fleming: Probably the right time to replace Jason Roy

In the spotlight

Who would you say is the leading ODI wicket taker of the past 12 months? Mitchell Starc? Kagiso Rabada? Nope. The answer is Liam Plunkett, the England fast bowler who is enjoying a career renaissance nearly 12 years after he made his debut for England. Plunkett is still only 32, with potentially several years of international cricket ahead of him, and in the one-day format he is peaking. Over the past year Plunkett has taken 43 ODI wickets, more than any other player (although Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, currently in the West Indies, might have overtaken him by the time this game starts). And a pair of four-fors to start the Champions Trophy means Plunkett is in fine form heading towards the business end of the tournament.Despite the wet weather, most of the Australians who have been selected in the first two games have either had a chance to bat or a decent spell with the ball, or in the case of Matthew Wade, kept wicket for nearly 90 overs. The exception is Glenn Maxwell, whose entire contribution so far has been a solitary over that cost nine runs against Bangladesh. If Plunkett has experienced a career renaissance over the past year, Maxwell has found himself at something of a career crossroads in the same period, struggling to hold his place in Australia’s side and in one case even being dropped by Victoria. And yet in the same time he has struck maiden centuries in Test and T20 international cricket. Maxwell has curiously been overtaken by Travis Head in Australia’s spin-bowling plans of late, and thus will be desperately waiting for a chance with the bat to – again – prove his value.

Team news

England appear unlikely to make any changes, with struggling opener Jason Roy strongly backed to retain his position. Jake Ball, under scrutiny following an expensive outing against Bangladesh, bounced back superbly against New Zealand, stepping into Chris Woakes’ new-ball bowling boots to claim the Man of the Match award.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Jake Ball.Having not completed an innings so far in the tournament, Australia have had limited chance to assess their batsmen. Chris Lynn could be in contention for a call-up, but less clear is who would sit out to accommodate him.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Moises Henriques, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Travis Head, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Pitch and conditions

Big runs have been on offer at Edgbaston in this tournament, and this match should be no different. The pitch is new and will be good – it had been earmarked for Wednesday’s clash between Pakistan and South Africa but was too damp for use at the time – but there will also be rain in Birmingham on Saturday, the question is whether it will come at game time.

Stats and trivia

• Against Bangladesh, David Warner became the fastest Australian to 4000 ODI runs and the equal third among all-comers, behind Hashim Amla and Viv Richards
• Eoin Morgan in this match will move into equal second on the list of ODIs captained for England; this game will take him to 62, alongside Andrew Strauss, and behind only Alastair Cook (69)
• Australia could be forgiven for expecting the worst from this game: of their past six ODIs at Edgbaston (a period stretching back to 2005), five have been washed out.

Quotes

“Our motivation is purely on keeping momentum going and playing well. We think we’re still learning, still trying to be as good as we can be. Who we’re playing on Saturday is irrelevant. It’s case of us continuing to do well.”
Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, hopes his team can focus on performance rather than the identity of their opponents.“You can’t do much about it. You can’t control the weather, so for us it’s simple. We have to win the next game. That’s all we can do”

Marcus Stoinis made a fighting hundred but after two days in Alice Springs, Victoria had a mountain of work still ahead of them in their battle with New South Wales for a place in the Sheffield Shield final

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2016
ScorecardMarcus Stoinis scored the third century of his first-class career•Getty Images

Marcus Stoinis made a fighting hundred but after two days in Alice Springs, Victoria had a mountain of work still ahead of them in their battle with New South Wales for a place in the Sheffield Shield final. At stumps, the Bushrangers were 8 for 239 in reply to the 341 scored by the Blues, with Chris Tremain at the crease on 6 and Jon Holland yet to score.Victoria had been in early trouble at 2 for 4 but Stoinis, batting at first drop, steadied the innings in a series of partnerships that culminated in a 132-run stand with Daniel Christian. Stoinis scored his third first-class century and was eventually out for 107 – one of three wickets for Nathan Lyon – while Christian fell for 53.It was a busy day for Lyon, who began the morning unbeaten on 7 with New South Wales on 8 for 262. He took an aggressive approach to his tail-end innings and struck five sixes and seven fours on his way to 75 from 46 deliveries – the first half-century of his first-class career.

SLC have named the Sri Lanka A squad for the series against New Zealand A and the side includes Nuwan Pradeep, Kusal Perera, Kaushal Silva and Kithuruwan Vithanage, among others

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2013

New Zealand A’s schedule in Sri Lanka

1st 4-day match: September 17-20, Pallekele
2nd 4-day match: September 23-26, Dambulla
1st one-dayer: September 29, Pallekele
2nd one-dayer: October 1, Pallekele
3rd one-dayer: October 3, Dambulla

Fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep has been named in Sri Lanka’s A team for the forthcoming series against the touring New Zealand A side. Pradeep, who last played for Sri Lanka in January this year, had been sidelined with a back injury he suffered in March. Wicketkeeper-batsman Kaushal Silva, batsmen Kusal Perera, Kithuruwan Vithanage and Angelo Perera, and slow bowlers Seekkuge Prasanna and Akila Dananjaya are among the other high-profile inclusions in the 22-man squad.Pradeep has played four Tests and two ODIs for Sri Lanka, his most recent game being the New Year Test against Australia. One of the fastest bowlers on the island, Pradeep’s career has been constantly plagued by injury and he missed the A team’s tour of West Indies after suffering an injury during Sri Lanka’s first-class season.Dimuth Karunaratne, who captained the side during that West Indies tour, has not been named in this squad, though he is part of Sri Lanka’s preliminary squad for the tour of Zimbabwe. Silva, Vithanage and Prasanna are the other Test cricketers in the squad, while Dananjaya, Angelo Perera and Mahela Udawatte have played limited-overs matches for Sri Lanka.Twenty-year-old offspinner Tharindu Kaushal, who took 55 wickets at 19.56 in his debut first-class season, is also in the A squad. He was a part of the Test squad for the last two home series in Sri Lanka but was not given a chance. Kaushal was also omitted from the 27-man preliminary squad for the Zimbabwe tour.Sri Lanka A will play two four-day matches and three one-dayers against New Zealand A. The first-class matches will start on on September 17, and all five games on the tour will be split between Pallekele and Dambulla.Sri Lanka A: Kithuruwan Vithanage, Kusal Perera, Kaushal Silva, Udara Jayasundera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Mahela Udawatte, Ashan Priyanjan, Angelo Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sachithra Serasinghe, Niroshan Dickwella, Madura Lakmal, Lahiru Gamage, Nuwan Pradeep, Vimukthi Perera, Lahiru Jayaratne, Malinda Pushpakumara, Tharindu Kaushal, Chaturanga de Silva, Seekkuge Prasanna, Akila Dananjaya

The end came sooner than the clouds. West Indies began the day needing 71 with six wickets in hand, but there were no twists as the hosts knocked off the required runs in just over an hour and secured a 2-0 series win

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran05-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKemar Roach and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were involved in a half-century stand (file photo)•DigicelCricket.com/Brooks LaTouche Photography

Smart stats

• West Indies won two Tests in a series against a major Test team (excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh) for the first time since the 2-1 win against India at home in 2002.

• West Indies completed their first series win against New Zealand since the 1-0 win in 1995-96. West Indies had gone on to lose three of their past four series against New Zealand.

• There has not been a single draw in the last 12 matches in Jamaica. Only two other venues (Headingley and Melbourne) have a hundred-percent result record since 2000 (min 10 matches).

• For only the fifth time since 2000, West Indies completed a successful chase of a 200-plus target. Their highest chased in the same period is 418 against Australia in Antigua in 2003.

• Kemar Roach, who picked up four wickets in New Zealand’s first innings, made his highest Test score of 41. He went past his previous highest of 29 against Pakistan in 2011.

• The 70-run stand between Roach and Shivnarine Chanderpaul is West Indies’ best for the fifth wicket in the fourth innings against New Zealand and level fifth overall for the fifth wicket (fourth innings stands).

The end came sooner than the clouds. West Indies began the day needing 71 with six wickets in hand, but there were no twists as the hosts knocked off the required runs in just over an hour and secured a 2-0 series win, their first against a team other than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the last three years. There were fears that the tropical storm, Ernesto, would wash away the last two days of the Test, but much to the relief of the home side the players woke up to clear skies. Kemar Roach and Shivnarine Chanderpaul played contrasting knocks but extinguished any fears that West Indies could capitulate in the anxiety of pushing for that elusive series win.Roach, who came in as the nightwatchman, was the revelation, outscoring Chanderpaul with enterprising shots. West Indies had the edge by the end of the third day but given their propensity to collapse, a couple of early wickets would have redressed the balance. The aim would have been to dislodge Chanderpaul early, but New Zealand found Roach a handful. His plan was to be positive and he wasn’t afraid to drive on the up. New Zealand, expectedly, set attacking fields but he managed to find the gaps.Roach got the chase rolling with a fierce straight drive off Tim Southee, and later in the over smacked a short one over point. Roach’s aggression took the pressure off Chanderpaul, who dropped anchor at the other end and didn’t give the bowlers an inch. Roach rubbed it in further by slapping a short delivery from Neil Wagner past cover to bring up the fifty stand. The writing was on the wall for New Zealand.Roach missed out on a half-century, though, when he drove hard at Kane Williamson and got a thick outside edge to point. When he departed, West Indies were just 23 away from victory. Narsingh Deonarine, who gave New Zealand headaches with his off spin, unleashed a couple of boundaries to take West Indies closer just as the clouds started to appear. The final honours went to Chanderpaul, who dabbed Williamson to third man to bring up West Indies’ first series win against New Zealand since 1996, and their first clean sweep since the 2002 series in Bangladesh.New Zealand, though, failed to give their outgoing coach John Wright a winning farewell. Defeat rounded off a difficult tour, in which they lost the T20s 2-0 and the one-dayers 4-1. They won’t have much time to rectify those errors, with the tour of India coming up in a few weeks.

Eight months after wondering whether or not his career might be over, Ryan Harris is ready to press his Test claims for Australia

Daniel Brettig23-Aug-2011Eight months on from surgery and wondering whether or not his career might be over, Ryan Harris is ready to press his claims as a senior member of Australia’s Test bowling attack in Sri Lanka. Though he had been primarily concerned about the longevity of a battered knee, it was a fractured left ankle that ended Harris’ Ashes summer in the fourth Test at the MCG, following a nine-wicket haul at the WACA that demonstrated his value.Since returning to cricket via the IPL, 31-year-old Harris has been earmarked as a Test match bowler, and was not selected for the Twenty20 or limited-overs legs of the Sri Lanka tour. He has been able to prepare with longer spells in mind, an approach advocated for Australian fast bowlers in the Argus review.”I’ve bowled a fair bit in the nets over the last four to five weeks, probably 40 to 50 overs a week,” Harris said after Australia’s training session at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. “It’s been good to know I was in the mix for selection, so I could prepare for it.”Michael Clarke, Australia’s captain, has a bevy of bowlers he will want to play in the three-day tour match against a Sri Lankan board president’s XI from Thursday, and Harris is in need of some match practice to build up ideal rhythm for the first Test in Galle that begins on August 31.”Personally I haven’t played any longer forms of cricket since I broke my ankle, so if I play [the tour game], I just want to get out there and get a few longer spells under my belt.”I’ve played a lot of Twenty20 cricket in the last three or four months, so I’m just looking at it as a good opportunity to get out and get more fit, and hopefully do enough to secure a spot [in the Test XI]. But I’m not putting a lot of pressure on myself by saying it’s an audition.”The pain of the MCG injury was compounded by the doubts that followed it, as, not for the first time, Harris wondered if his journey from the fringes of the South Australian state team to Test cricket via Queensland had reached an abrupt end.”[It was] very frustrating, doing that in Melbourne and having surgery virtually the next day,” Harris said. “I spent the next few days laid up, thinking about whether or not I’d get back. The negative thoughts go straight to your mind, but I always thought deep down I’d get back. It just took a lot of hard work and patience.”At times, when I felt I was ready the physio just held me back and the bonus is where I am now, rather than rushing it and getting injured again. The first few outings definitely [you worry about an injury relapse]. I probably came in a week early for the IPL – I really wanted to get over there and use it as a launching pad. I went there with a bit of tenderness where the surgery was, not so much the break. I was told by the physios that it would just be a bit of stiffness and scar tissue. I got through that period and the pain went away.”Harris has also been pleasantly surprised about the strength of his problem knee, which has clearly benefited from the rest a broken ankle necessitated. “My knee is surprising me every day – it has not blown up the day after a big session and it’s not sore. How that’s working I’m not sure, but let’s hope it stays that way.”It had a good rest [because of the ankle injury], but I’d rather be resting in four or five years’ time when I’m retired – I don’t want to be missing too much more cricket.”

Pakistan could be forgiven if they slept a little uneasily tonight after Australia battled back at Headingley

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan22-Jul-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRicky Ponting began compiling another captain’s innings as Australia hauled themselves back•Getty Images

Pakistan could be forgiven if they slept a little uneasily tonight after Australia battled back at Headingley. It started with Shane Watson taking career-best figures for the second match running, as his 6 for 33 removed Pakistan for 258 to limit the lead to 170, then Ricky Ponting dug deep into his resolve to compile a battling half century during which he passed 12000 Test runs.Ponting and Michael Clarke settled Australia after both openers departed for 55, carrying the total to 136 for 2 when bad light brought an early close with 26 overs remaining in the day. Even though they remained 34 behind there was a growing feeling that the momentum was beginning to tilt Australia’s way as Salman Butt seemed happy to set his field deep. Pakistan’s players will have to be mentally strong to prevent their minds from wandering back to what happened at Sydney at the start of the year where they tossed away an invincible position, but Australia can use it as inspiration.Particularly ominous for Pakistan on this occasion is that Ponting is starting to look as settled at the crease as at any time during this short series. Pakistan will rue that he survived a very close lbw shout first ball when he padded up to an inswinger from Mohammad Aamer. But from that moment he started growing in confidence and when he steered Aamer to third man to reach 40 he became the second batsman to cross 12,000 Test runs and a short while later notched fifty from 73 balls.Clarke formed a solid ally and was quick to use his feet against Danish Kaneria, but was also fortunate to survive a torrid working-over from Mohammad Asif shortly before the light closed in. He was beaten on three occasions by perfect outswingers and the final one brought a huge appeal, but Rudi Koertzen correctly ruled bat had clipped pad, and he might also have been given out padding up to one that came back in.Pakistan’s last five wickets were blown away for 36 after lunch as Watson found himself on a hat-trick, but his success only went to confirm that conditions remained heavily in the bowlers’ favour. It made the 170-run advantage substantial and Pakistan began with high hopes of making inroads. Aamer found immediate movement with the new ball and slanted one behind Simon Katich’s pads to take out leg stump, but Asif couldn’t quite conjure the same threat as the first innings during his first eight overs.However, for the second time in the match, Butt pulled off an inspired change when he threw to ball to Umar Amin and the part-time medium-pacer forced Watson to play into his stumps. Still, it was slightly odd when Butt persisted with Amin after tea and that allowed Ponting and Clarke to ease into their task during the evening session as the pace of the game plateaued after a manic five sessions.Watson’s full swing, delivered at a fairly gentle pace, was too much for a string of batsmen as he produced a performance that had been out of reach for the frontline pacemen and edhis figures from Lord’s. Kamran Akmal, who was dropped on 10 by Mike Hussey in the gully, edged low to first slip where Marcus North took the catch inches off the turf then Aamer was given a taste of his own medicine when he padded up to an inswinger. It looked out on first impressions, but Hawkeye said it was missing off stump.There was no stopping Watson as a full, straight delivery demolished Gul’s stumps and Shoaib Malik, left stranded as wickets tumbled, top-edged a slog to Tim Paine before the innings ended with the slightly comical run out of Kaneria.The day had begun in equally chaotic style with Umar caught off a no-ball from the fourth delivery when he had an almighty mow across the line and skied a catch to cover off Mitchell Johnson. It’s hard to believe he had time to hear the call – which replays suggested was harsh – and it was clear Umar was in no mood for consolidation.Predictably, he didn’t survive long as Johnson located the right line outside off and found the edge, but Australia’s early bowling was again varied. Ben Hilfenhaus strayed onto leg stump which allowed Amin to collect easy runs through the on side while Johnson struggled to maintain a consistent line.Amin had battled hard to lay a foundation which made his dismissal more disappointing when he failed to pull his bat down as he ducked a Hilfenhaus short ball and a catch flew off the toe end to square leg. Maybe it was a sign that Australia’s fortunes had turned in this match and they, more than most sides, know how to pull themselves back from the brink.

Ash Gardner threatened to revive the chase for Sixers but couldn’t get the side home

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2024Key performances from in-form duo Heather Knight and Samantha Bates earned Sydney Thunder the first derby bragging rights of the season over Sydney Sixers with an 18-run win at the SCG.Knight’s fluent 50 off 31 balls, a continuation of the impact she has had this season, led Thunder to a total that appeared around par on a good batting surface and a strong Thunder attack defended it expertly. The result kept Thunder top of the table and strongly placed to push for a home grand final with five games remaining.Sixers fell to 63 for 5 in the 10th over but Ash Gardner was keeping them in the contest with a timely return to form after her previous four innings in the tournament had brought 24 runs. But with 28 needed off 14 balls she was deceived through the air as she advanced at Bates and with her went the home side’s hopes.Bates took her wicket tally to 11 from the last three games and was back at the top of the season charts ahead of Alana King. Shabnim Ismail, despite being wicketless, also played a key role as she conceded just five an over and was also superb in the outfield with four catches on a blustery afternoon.With the bat, Chamari Athapaththu, well supported in the crowd by a strong Sri Lanka presence, helped lay a solid base and the acceleration came in the second half of the innings from Knight and Phoebe Litchfield. The pair took 30 without loss off the two power surge overs and though they couldn’t stay to close things out Thunder had enough.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s Roelof van der Merwe, the joint-leading wicket-taker of the last season, makes himself unavailable

Hemant Brar03-Aug-2023The SA20 mini-auction ahead of the 2024 season will take place in Johannesburg on September 27. On the day of the auction, a total of 21 slots are to be filled, six of those reserved for rookie players. A rookie player is someone who is a South African under the age of 22 and has not played in the SA20 previously.Overall, in a squad of 19, each team is required to have a minimum of ten South African players, a maximum of seven overseas players and a rookie player. The teams will have an additional R5.1 million (USD 274,000 approx) added to last time’s purse of R39.1 million (USD 2.1 million approx).Defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape will be without Roelof van der Merwe this time as he has made himself unavailable. Van der Merwe was the joint-highest wicket-taker last season with 20 scalps.Related

• SA20 2024 starts on January 10, will clash with Test series in NZ

• Moeen Ali moves to SA20 as teams announce retentions, fresh signings

• SA20 teams given R39.1 million salary purse to build squads

In another update, Paarl Royals have contracted Kwena Maphaka. At 17, the left-arm seamer from Johannesburg becomes the youngest player to be signed in the league.Most teams have retained their core from the inaugural season. Durban’s Super Giants have the fewest slots to fill, two, and they have R1.675 million for that.Runners-up Pretoria Capitals have to sign the most number of players – five, out of which four could be overseas – and also the biggest purse available (R9.737 million).In addition to 21 picks on the auction day, four teams – Super Giants, Capitals, Royals and Joburg Super Kings – need to pick their wild-card players as well, as they either incorporated their season 1 wild cards into the main squad or, in the case of Super Giants, released them. The last date to do so is December 30. The wild-card players’ salaries are over and above the team purse.Here is how the squads line up before the mini-auction.

Durban’s Super Giants

Squad: Prenelan Subrayen, Quinton de Kock, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kyle Abbott, Heinrich Klaasen, JJ Smuts, Wiaan Mulder, Matthew Breetzke, Junior Dala, Keemo Paul, Naveen-ul-Haq, Kyle Mayers, Reece Topley, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dilshan MadushankaSquad size: 16 (10 South Africans, 6 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 2
Purse available: R1.675 million (USD 90,000 approx)

Joburg Super Kings

Squad: Gerald Coetzee, Faf du Plessis, Reeza Hendricks, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Moeen Ali, David Wiese, Zahir Khan, Sam Cook, Leus du Plooy, Donovan Ferreira, Aaron Phangiso, Sibonelo Makhanya, Kyle SimmondsSquad size: 14 (9 South Africans, 5 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 4
Purse available: R6.1 million (USD 327,000 approx)

MI Cape Town

Squad: Dewald Brevis, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Delano Potgieter, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Beuran Hendricks, Duan Jansen, Grant Roelofsen, Jofra Archer (wild card), Rashid Khan, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Tom Banton, Olly StoneSquad size: 15 (9 South Africans, 6 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 4
Purse available: R5.05 million (USD 271,000 approx)

Paarl Royals

Squad: Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Vilas, Bjorn Fortuin, Mitchell Van Buuren, Wihan Lubbe, Ferisco Adams, Codi Yusuf, Evan Jones, Jos Buttler, Obed McCoy, Jason RoySquad size: 15 (12 South Africans, 3 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 3
Purse available: R8.865 million (USD 475,000 approx)

Pretoria Capitals

Squad: Migael Pretorius, Anrich Nortje, Rilee Rossouw, Colin Ingram, Senuran Muthusamy, Wayne Parnell, Theunis de Bruyn, Eathan Bosch, Shane Dadswell, Corbin Bosch, Jimmy Neesham, Adil Rashid, William JacksSquad size: 13 (10 South Africans, 3 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 5
Purse available: R9.737 million (USD 522,000 approx)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape

Squad: Ottniel Baartman, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs, Sisanda Magala, Simon Harmer, Temba Bavuma, Sarel Erwee, Jordan Hermann, Aya Gqamane, Liam Dawson, Brydon Carse, Dawid Malan, Adam Rossington, Tom Abell, Craig Overton (wild card)Squad size: 16 (10 South Africans, 6 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 3
Purse available: R1.865 million (USD 100,000 approx)

Alex Lees, Keegan Petersen and Ned Eckersley help give Durham solid base

ECB Reporters Network19-May-2022Durham 256 for 5 (Eckersley 57) vs MiddlesexBen Stokes was one of two victims for Luke Hollman on an absorbing opening day of the LV = Insurance County Championship clash between Middlesex and Durham at Lord’s.Two weeks away from leading out England in his first match as Test captain and fresh from hitting 17 sixes against Worcestershire a fortnight ago, Stokes was clearly in the mood to make a statement. But Hollman, who’d been on the receiving of a tousing not once but twice in last week’s draw with Nottinghamshire, took his scalp for just 15 in surely the biggest moment of his young career so far.The legspinner would return figures of 2 for 49 while Toby Roland-Jones took 2 for 40, but Ned Eckersley made an unbeaten 57 against the county of his birth to guide the visitors to 256 for 5 and leave the game delicately poised.For much of the morning Middlesex’s decision to bowl first looked a strange one with the ball barely deviating off gun-barrel straight, meaning Alex Lees, in a dress rehearsal for the first Test, and fellow opener Michael Jones got off to a quick start. Save for one lbw shout and a loose drive that flew wide of second slip Lees looked in good touch in making 44 before, returning for his second spell, Roland-Jones trapped him lbw, though the England man’s reaction suggested he’d hit it.Jones, who’d begun fluently, straight driving Roland-Jones for four and twice sending Ethan Bamber deliveries to the fence, was increasingly becalmed as the home bowlers dried up the runs. Reward came soon after lunch when Jones pushed tentatively at Tim Murtagh and inside edged on to his stumps.Then Hollman took centre-stage, enticing Durham skipper Scott Borthwick to injudiciously cut one too close to him and lose his stumps. That brought Stokes to the crease and he signalled his intent to dominate immediately by reverse sweeping the legspinner to the third man fence.He muscled his way to 15 in the blink of an eye, but Middlesex skipper Peter Handscomb stuck by his bowler and was rewarded for his bravery. Stokes gave Hollman the charge, but the allrounder tossed one a little wider with the result the lofted drive got more height than distance and Roland-Jones gobbled up the catch at deep mid-off.At the other end, South Africa batter Keegan Petersen nudged and deflected his way his way into the 40s almost unnoticed, but two short of 50 his first loose shot saw him slash Roland-Jones into the hands of Josh De Caires at backward point.His departure left Eckersley as the senior batter and the wicketkeeper set about frustrating the hosts. His cover-drive off Roland-Jones just after the second new ball was taken was a candidate for shot of the day and he reached a deserved 50 shortly before stumps. His partner Liam Trevaskis was granted a life on 21 when Sam Robson grassed a difficult chance low to right at second slip, but scare survived he and Eckersley’s sixth-wicket stand had realised 73 by the close.