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West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo has revealed that his exclusion from the squad for the World Cup did not come as a surprise

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Jun-2015West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo has revealed that his exclusion from the squad for the World Cup did not come as a surprise, and he and Kieron Pollard were expecting the axe – which he called a “big joke” – from the West Indies Cricket Board selection panel, headed by Clive Lloyd. He also said the team management was prepared to lose the World Cup before it started and instead build for the next tournament.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Bravo said the pair “laughed” when Lloyd sat down the pair in Cape Town in January to explain the reasons he felt they were not fit to be part of the World Cup squad. “We actually laughed when he said it to us. To be honest, we knew it was coming. We know the type of people in charge of our cricket are actually mature enough to make sensible decisions and the right decisions for the benefit of cricket,” Bravo said. “If we had got selected we actually would have been surprised. We expected it. There was nothing that shocked us.”The explanation that they gave us was too many allrounders or they want to try young players, whatever the case might be… Kieron Pollard is 27, I am 31. Also as far as our form was concerned, as I said, the last 12 months I had been West Indies’ best player. So to be left out with those explanations, obviously, all we could have done is laugh. It was a big joke.”Bravo has endured a tough time in the last eight months since he led West Indies’ player boycott on their India tour, during which the team abandoned the series mid-way over a contracts dispute involving the WICB and the players. Subsequently, Bravo was axed as ODI captain and dropped from the World Cup squad despite being one of the top performers in the team in the preceding 12 months before the selection. In January, he announced his Test retirement at the age of 31.Citing West Indies’ poor performance at the World Cup as a shame, Bravo said that the management had gone into the tournament prepared to lose, even as a more senior group had worked for the tournament for three years.”Another World Cup come, finish. They (were) happy with their decision. They were prepared not to win this World Cup,” he said. “It is a shame that before the World Cup even started, they were already prepared to lose and look forward to building for the next World Cup, whereas in the last three years we were building for this World Cup. But it is all water under the bridge now. I am not someone to hold on to anything.”The allrounder finished as the highest wicket-taker in IPL 2015 but said that the performance was not meant to prove a point and he still considers himself “one of the better allrounders in the region”. Bravo welcomed West Indies head coach Phil Simmons’ move to keep the Test team’s doors open for IPL returnees, including Pollard, Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell. Bravo said that he was not currently open to the idea of returning to Test cricket.”No. There is a lot more that needs to be changed in order for me to even think of coming back into Test cricket. At the moment I am happy with my decision and I don’t see it changing anytime soon unless something drastic changes.”

Moments after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra called off a match that produced 1443 runs for the loss of 13 wickets without a single first-innings being completed, the UP coach Venkatesh Prasad waged a scathing attack on the pitch

Amol Karhadkar in Pune12-Nov-2012Moments after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra called off a match that produced 1443 runs for the loss of 13 wickets without a single first-innings being completed, the UP coach Venkatesh Prasad waged a scathing attack on the pitch. The track produced five centuries – including a triple-century – and all five turned out to be personal-best scores in first-class cricket. However, the most talked-about feature of the Group B tie at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune was the pitch.All one had to do was to remind Prasad that he had said two evenings ago that he would be in a better position to comment on the wicket at the end of the match and what followed for the next four minutes was a monologue.”It’s a pathetic wicket for a four-day match. Why I am saying this is because there were close to 1500 runs scored and still nobody could get the first-innings lead,” Prasad said. “The first innings itself didn’t get completed. That shows the unsportiveness of this pitch. I have been hearing that there is a directive from the BCCI to prepare sporting wickets and if this is the case, I don’t know what to say, honestly.”If a similar thing happens in a knockout game, obviously the game will be extended by another day. Why should a player be penalised? As it is, there are a lot of injuries. And playing on such a wicket on the sixth day, especially in the knockouts when the first innings doesn’t get completed, we are unnecessarily penalising a player and on top of that, the injuries are going to increase that much more.”I think the people who should be penalised are the [host] associations. That’s something which they need to bring in. That’s when we can start preparing good tracks, no matter who you favour. This is basically just not cricket. When you are playing on this sort of a pitch, you are killing the game, killing the interest as far as the spectators are concerned, and it gives false confidence to the batsmen. On top of that, the bowlers start doubting their abilities by playing on this sort of a track. So it is not going to help anybody. It’s not going to help the batsmen or the bowlers, and on top of that, the game itself.”Prasad wholeheartedly backed the UP captain Suresh Raina, who had criticised the wicket after the penultimate day’s play. “I completely second what Raina has said as far as the pitch is concerned and this is exactly my point of view. We need to play on wickets like how the Ghaziabad pitch was. We knew that Delhi was playing with a full-strength team and they had the best of the bowlers, but still… the whole thing is about the mindset and that’s where you create a winner. That’s very important. I am extremely unhappy with the way this game has gone as far the pitch is concerned.”Prasad also expressed concern on how the batsmen’s scores on such a track could end up overshadowing others who have scored less in difficult conditions. “By scoring triple-hundreds and stuff like that, they will straightaway claim places in the India A squad, the Duleep Trophy squad, that when the actual thing is that it’s a belter of a track. That doesn’t make any sense. Unnecessarily, scores like 300 here are putting pressure on those batsmen who are scoring 100s or 120s or 150s on really challenging tracks. He is going to lose his chance, that’s the whole point. Just imagine those players who are playing on challenging tracks – whether seaming or a turning track – and gets a 150, this one is going to overshadow that. But nobody knows the exact worth of his knock.”Prasad then criticised Maharashtra’s tactics of batting 35 minutes into the third day before declaring. “I am really unhappy with the unsportiveness of the [Maharashtra] side as well. They took their own sweet time to declare. It is just too difficult for me to understand. And if that is the mindset of the players, then I am sorry to say that they are not going to go anywhere from here.”Maharashtra’s young captain, Rohit Motwani, however, defended his team’s tactics. “Looking at the wicket, we knew we had to score more runs to be on the safer side. We came to bat on the third day to frustrate the opponent for fielding three days in a row. They came back very hard at us in scoring. We had to be patient and get their openers out after they got to a flying start,” Motwani, who scored a career-best 147, said.Motwani, however, agreed that the wicket fell short of acceptable standards. “We hope to get better pitches in the upcoming home games. It is a bit disappointing to score 700-plus runs and get just one point,” he said. “This wicket is one of the flattest in India. Even after getting some early wickets [on the last day], we knew it would not be easy to get wickets at regular intervals. We would definitely want a wicket which is a seven-pointer. We would like to have a result-oriented wicket in our upcoming home matches.”

Salman Butt, the ex-Pakistan Test captain accused of being involved in spot-fixing, said on the tenth day of the trial in London that he “misjudged” his former agent Mazhar Majeed

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court18-Oct-2011Salman Butt, the ex-Pakistan Test captain accused of being involved in spot-fixing, said on the tenth day of the trial in London that he “misjudged” his former agent Mazhar Majeed, labelled corruption in cricket “terrible” and admitted to “suspicions” about Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif after the no-ball scandal was revealed.”I didn’t realise what kind of man he was,” Butt told the court on his current feelings towards Majeed, as his lawyer Ali Bajwa QC neared the close of his opening defence.”But now with the things that have come out I think I have misjudged somebody completely. I just took his word and trusted him. I knew him for a long time and never thought there would be another side to him that would be this bad.”Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with Majeed, teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.Butt admitted he was suspicious of his former team-mates honesty in the Lord’s Test when the published their expose. “The suspicion was there but I never wanted to believe it,” was as much as Butt would say.When Bajwa inquired as to Butt’s feelings on what he was accused of, he said: “I would never do that. Cricket is my passion. Look at what I am getting accused of (£2,500 of money found in his room). I’m earning every match nearly four times that. It’s a very bizarre thing.”I have always played my cricket with passion and I try to do well, to win. Players in the sub-continent know what the difference is when we do well and when we don’t do well. If we do well it’s really good and we have all the luxuries available. But if we don’t do well the reaction is not like people in the west know about. “When Bajwa prompted Butt for his thoughts about corruption in cricket generally, he replied: “It’s a terrible thing to do. It’s not very good for the game or for the country. And it speaks of the man’s character himself.”The case continues.

Namibia completed a clean-sweep over Uganda with a 44-run win in the solitary Twenty20 at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-2010
Scorecard
Namibia completed a clean-sweep over Uganda with a 44-run win in the solitary Twenty20 at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek. After Namibia opted to bat first Uganda’s bowlers once again did a decent job of restricting the home side’s batsmen before Louis Klazinga and Tobias Verwey boosted the total to 159 for 6 with an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 42 in under three overs. Klazinga then burst through Uganda’s top order to pick up four quick wickets with his fast-medium seamers, and their chase never recovered.Uganda’s bowling has been competitive more often than not on this tour, and they managed to keep Namibia’s top order in check as four of the top five made starts but were dismissed before reaching 20 after captain Craig Williams won the toss and elected to set a total. Left-arm seamer Charles Waiswa made the first incision when he had opener Ewaid Steenkamp caught behind, and Deusdedit Muhumuza then chipped away with three wickets in four overs of accurate medium pace as Namibia slipped to 58 for 4 in the ninth over.Frank Nsubuga kept a lid on the scoring rate, giving away just 13 runs in four overs of offspin and when Davis Arinaitwe had Gert Lotter caught behind Namibia were 83 for 5 and in danger of setting a sub-par total. Raymond van Schoor and Verwey built some momentum with a 34-run stand in good time before Klazinga joined Verwey and quickly launched a brutal assault at the death. Following on from his match-winning cameo in the second limited-overs match, Klazinga laid into Uganda’s bowlers to plunder 25 runs from just eight balls, with two fours and two sixes, while Verwey cracked five boundaries of his own to finish unbeaten on 33.Uganda’s chase got off to a catastrophic start as Klazinga had Roger Mukasa caught behind off the first ball of the innings. He then struck three times in six balls in his second over to rip the heart out of the visitors’ middle order and reduce them to 11 for 4. Former captain Akbar Baig and Arthur Ziraba fought back with a 52-run partnership for the fifth wicket but the required rate continued to climb and Ziraba’s dismissal to Louis van der Westhuizen’s left-arm spin for 23 effectively ended the chase.Namibia’s spinner kept chipping away at the lower order, and despite a defiant knock from Ronald Ssemanda – who cleared the boundary twice – Uganda were skittled for 115 with nine balls remaining in the innings.

Dhruv Shorey’s run-a-ball hundred in vain for Vidarbha

Shashank Kishore18-Jan-2025
In a high-scoring contest that produced over 650 runs and two superb hundreds from R Smaran and Dhruv Shorey, it was a 42-ball 79 from Abhinav Manohar that made the difference as Karnataka edged Vidarbha in a thriller to clinch the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Vadodara.That it became a thriller was down to Harsh Dubey’s 63 off 30 balls after Karun Nair’s dream run in the tournament ended. Nair was dismissed for only the second time in eight innings in the tournament when Prasidh Krishna knocked him over for 27. Nair finished with a chart-topping 779 runs at an eye-popping average of 389.50.Dubey built on Shorey’s third successive century, by hitting a 25-ball half-century lower down the order, to bring the equation down to 37 off 12 balls. In the end, Dubey ran out of partners and was the last man dismissed when he heaved left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty to deep midwicket as Karnataka sealed victory to break a five-year trophy drought.The game was fought on an even keel for most parts. Karnataka, who were put in to bat, lost the in-form Devdutt Padikkal in the sixth over, before KV Aneesh and Mayank Agarwal steadied the innings.Seamer Nachiket Bhute then struck twice in two overs to remove both batters; Agarwal fell for 32 to finish the tournament as the second-highest run-getter with 651 runs. At 67 for 3, Karnataka needed a rescue act, and two relatively inexperienced players stepped up.Smaran and KL Shrijith, both of whom are in their first full seasons, put together 160 for the fourth wicket. The pair slowly built a platform before picking up pace. They took 26 off the 27th and 28th overs as Karnataka went on the offensive. Shrijith was superb in his footwork against spin, quickly bringing up a half-cegntury off 54 balls, Smaran followed suit in the same over when he brought his off 47 balls with an exquisite pull in front of square off the nippy Yash Thakur.Shrijith’s dismissal in the 38th over brought Manohar out to the middle, and he enhanced his reputation of being a finisher with some pristine hitting, not once giving the impression that he was slogging. On 24 off 25 at the end of the 44th over, Manohar began the surge by hitting Bhute for a sequence of 4, 4, 6 to begin the 45th.When Bhute bowled length into the pitch, Manohar used the angle to pick a boundary behind point. When Bhute bowled a wide yorker, he scythed it to the deep-cover fence, and when he missed a yorker, Manohar stayed deep inside the crease and shovelled it to clear long-off.Thakur bore the brunt of Manohar’s fury in the following over when he was picked away for two fours in the 46th, and three back-to-back fours in the 48th, as the wheels started to come off Vidarbha’s attack. The last seven overs fetched Karnataka 83 as they got the perfect finish.Vidarbha started the chase briskly but lost the centurion of the previous game, Yash Rathod, for 22 when he got a leading edge to Padikkal at slip. Nair and Shorey were then involved in a half-century stand to lift Vidarbha’s hopes.Nair was particularly sparkling in his short stay, punching and pulling Prasidh Krishna through covers and midwicket, and then going after legspinner Shreyas Gopal at the first sign of spin being introduced. But he fell for 27 off 31 balls when he failed to cover the line of a Prasidh inducker that kept slightly low.Vidarbha then chugged along with Jitesh Sharma giving Shorey company in a half-century stand before holing out to long-on. That wicket not only galvanised Karnataka but also freed up Vidarbha to go for broke, like Dubey did. With some support, he may have yet been able to pull off a heist, but it wasn’t to be.

Dawid Malan says team have “hell of a lot to play for” in remaining group games

Matt Roller31-Oct-2023England have arrived in Ahmedabad knowing that they must win at least one of their next three games – not only to restore pride but to ensure that they are spared the ignominy of missing the cut for the next global men’s 50-over event in 2025. Failing to mount a challenge for the World Cup is one thing; failing to qualify for the Champions Trophy would be quite another.The England set-up were blindsided when the ICC confirmed on Sunday that a change in the qualification process had been ratified – but not announced publicly – in November 2021. Pakistan, the hosts, will be joined by the other seven highest finishers at the World Cup, with England dead last after five defeats in six matches.There has been significant institutional change at the ECB in the two years since, with a new chief executive, chair and managing director in place. But realistically, after a seven-year era of unprecedented white-ball success since 2015, the prospect of finishing outside the top eight would not have registered with England’s management.Related

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England play Australia on Saturday before fixtures against Netherlands and Pakistan on November 8 and 11 respectively, and the Netherlands game in Pune already looks like a potential qualification decider. The Dutch have a proud history against England, beating them in the 2009 and 2014 World T20s, and will be desperate to turn them over once more.It is not lost on England’s players that they need to finish this World Cup strongly – even if, with 11 out of 15 squad members aged 30-plus, many of them will not be involved in two years’ time. “People’s jobs are being scrutinised and players’ careers are being scrutinised,” Dawid Malan said on Tuesday. “We have a hell of a lot to play for in the last three.”The last thing you want – if the decision gets made to move on from players – is that we haven’t done well enough to give other players the opportunity in future to play in big tournaments. That’s what you play the game for: you want to be in the Champions Trophy and the World Cup, things like that.”Dawid Malan is England’s leading run-scorer at the World Cup•Getty Images

England are not mathematically out of the World Cup, but their players are realistic about their semi-final prospects. “It’s definitely not going to be a situation where we just go through the motions because we’re potentially out of this World Cup,” Malan said. “We have a lot at stake and a lot of pride for England to be in that Champions Trophy in two years’ time.”Malan told the BBC that, at 36, he is “pretty sure I’ll be done” as an England player before the 2025 Champions Trophy. “It feels a long way away,” he said. “Two years feels a long way away. I am playing as well as I’ve played, but whether that decision is mine or someone else’s, we’ll find out.”Criticism of England has grown with every defeat and Malan found himself playing down various perceived issues: he denied that central contracts had been a major distraction, said that it was “fair” for Eoin Morgan to lay into their underperformance, and suggested it was up to the players to take the heat off head coach Matthew Mott.Malan is England’s leading run-scorer at this tournament with 236 at 39.33, 140 of which came in their only win, against Bangladesh in Dharamshala. “I feel like I am playing well, but just finding ways of getting out,” he said. “We just can’t get anything going with the bat and get a score on the board. I can’t put my finger on it.”He also confirmed recent reports that he will not play in the County Championship for Yorkshire next year. “I’ll probably try and play as much white-ball cricket as I can for the rest of my career,” Malan said. “It’s prioritising spending a bit more time at home because my winters are so busy with internationals or franchise tournaments.”

Baker’s half-dozen makes defeat a little easier to digest

ECB Reporters Network10-Aug-2022A sensational Ben Green century when the position seemed hopeless and Sonny Baker’s career-best six-wicket haul failed to save Somerset from a third defeat in as many Royal London Cup group matches as Durham gained a thrilling nine-run victory at Taunton.Durham posted 342 all out after losing the toss, Scott Borthwick making 88 from 67 balls, including 3 sixes and 11 fours, and Graham Clark a more measured 86. Nineteen-year-old seamer Baker claimed a career-best six for 46 from 10 overs as he tried to halt the one-way traffic.Somerset plunged to 195 for eight in reply before Green – with little support – launched an incredible onslaught in the face of well-nigh impossible odds, crashing 12 sixes and 10 fours in an unforgettable inning of 157 off 84 balls.It was only enough to boost the score to 333 all out, but provided rich entertainment for a crowd of 3,000 on one of the hottest days of the year.Green said: “If only we could have found ten more runs out there. I have never struck the ball better and that’s why I went for another six in the final over. I didn’t quite connect right and the bottom line is that we have lost the game.”Earlier, Jonathan Bushnell, making his List A debut, contributed a composed 24 to a Durham opening stand of 60 in 13 overs with Clark before becoming Baker’s first victim, miscuing a catch to fine leg.Borthwick hit the first six of the match off Lewis Goldsworthy before Clark moved to a sold half-century, from 77 balls, with 6 fours.Borthwick’s fluent fifty occupied just 42 deliveries as Durham laid the foundation for a challenging score, reaching 124 for one at the halfway point of their innings.Clark cleared the ropes off Green and Goldsworthy before falling with the total on 191, bowled having a swing at Green. He had faced 101 balls and hit 2 sixes and 10 fours.Nic Maddinson kept the momentum going with 24 off 13 balls before being bowled attempting a big hit off Baker. The Somerset youngster removed Borthwick in the same over, the 36th of the innings, then pinned Sean Dixon lbw for 11.The hosts had given a debut to 19-year-old left-arm seamer Alfie Ogborne, from Yeovil, who bowled four tidy overs for 21 and ran out Paul Coughlin with a throw to the bowler’s end from deep mid-wicket to make it 260 for six.Liam Trevaskis averted any thoughts of a Durham collapse with a rapid 44, including a six and 6 fours, while Tomas Mackintosh weighed in with 28 before driving a catch to long-on to give Baker his fifth wicket.Oliver Gibson was yorked by Baker, whose previous best List A figures had been three for 46, and Durham’s innings was wrapped up by another run out in the final over.
Somerset’s reply had reached 26 in the sixth over when Steve Davies’ was caught behind for nine, chasing a wide delivery from Gibson.Matt Renshaw survived a chance to Coughlin at mid-on off Chris Rushworth, but perished in the same over for 23, driving a catch to mid-off to make it 36 for two.Playing in what may well prove the last competition of his illustrious Somerset career, James Hildreth was soon troubled by a muscle injury and made only 12 before being caught at deep cover off 18-year-old seamer Stanley McAlindon.Goldsworthy (27) and George Bartlett (34) shared a stand of 56. But they fell in quick succession, Bartlett driving Gibson in the air to mid-off and Goldsworthy caught and bowled above his head by Borthwick to make it 120 for five.Green and James Rew added 46 before the latter pulled a catch to deep square off Trevaskis. Kasey Aldridge fell leg before to Rushworth and Jack Brooks followed, but if Durham thought the job was done, Green had other ideas.Having reached a 45-ball fifty, his maiden List A hundred occupied only 14 more deliveries as he blasted four sixes in an over off Borthwick and four more off successive balls from Gibson.They were massive blows from the inspired captain, who continued to put Durham’s bowlers to the sword in a frenetic finale, dominating stands with Ogborne and Baker.Somerset needed 11 off the final over, sent down by Gibson. There was visible relief among the Durham players when the second ball saw Green well caught by Trevaskis diving forward at long-on.

IPL contracted players not named in T20 squad

Firdose Moonda18-Mar-2021Allrounder Wihan Lubbe and fast bowler Lizaad Williams have received their first call-ups to a South African squad, with Lubbe included in the T20 squad to face Pakistan next month, and Williams in both the T20 and ODI squads. Sisanda Magala, who was part of South Africa’s limited-overs squads to play England and Australia last summer but could not get a game because of fitness concerns, is in both squads.Aiden Markram and Wiaan Mulder have both been recalled to the ODI squad after last playing in 2019, while Migael Pretorius, who was part of the Test squad against Sri Lanka but did not play, has been selected for the T20s. Kyle Verreynne is also part of the T20 squad for the first time. Daryn Dupavillon is back in the ODI squad after debuting in March 2020.The teams will be captained by Temba Bavuma, who has taken over from Quinton de Kock as South Africa’s white-ball captain for the next two years. De Kock, who was on a mental health break until this week, has been named in the squad but, along with the rest of the IPL contracted players will be released early. De Kock, Kagiso Rabada, David Miller, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi are the five players who will leave early. Faf du Plessis, who retired from Test cricket last month but remains available in white-ball formats, has not been selected.”We’re very excited about these two squads that we have selected for our home tour against Pakistan. The ODI squad boasts the calibre of talent we have in South African Cricket and I’m really excited to see how they go about the series. We have enough experience within that squad to provide a good challenge to Pakistan when they arrive on our shores,” Victor Mpitsang, selection convenor said.”The T20 squad is also a good indication of our depth as a cricket nation with the loss of some of the senior players to the IPL. We have a massive 18 months of T20 cricket coming up, with two ICC T20 World Cups for players to contest. We as a selection panel are looking forward to seeing what the new additions to the team will contribute to the Proteas’ system.”All eyes will be on Magala who topped both the domestic one-day and T20 cup wicket-takers’ lists and has established himself as one of the best death-bowlers in the South African game. Keshav Maharaj was the leading spinner in the T20 cup and though he has only been included in the fifty-over group, he has an opportunity to make a case for a long run in white-ball cricket. Maharaj is one of three spinners in the ODI squad, including Tabraiz Shamsi and allrounder Jon-Jon Smuts, who are both in the T20 squad along with George Linde and Bjorn Fortuin. Dwaine Pretorius is the only first-choice seam-bowling allrounder in the T20 squad, leaving no room for Andile Phehlukwayo in the shortest format.The series will be played in a biosecure environment between Johannesburg and Centurion, and starts on April 2.ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Beuran Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Janneman Malan, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jon-Jon Smuts, Rassie van der Dussen, Junior Dala, Lutho Sipamla, Wiaan Mulder, Sisanda Magala, Kyle Verreynne, Daryn Dupavillon, Lizaad WilliamsT20 squad: Temba Bavuma (captain) Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Rassie van der Dussen, Janneman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lutho Sipamla, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Pite van Biljon, Migael Pretorius, Lizaad Williams, Wihan Lubbe

Assistant coach says England are building a batting unit to succeed on 2021-22 Ashes trip

George Dobell in Hamilton28-Nov-2019Paul Collingwood has backed Zak Crawley to succeed if he wins his chance in the second Test in Hamilton. Kent batsman Crawley was taken on tour largely to gain experience and so the England management could take a closer look at him, but an injury to Jos Buttler the day before the second Test might well have created an early opportunity for an unexpected debut against New Zealand.”Technically he looks very strong,” Collingwood, who is one of England’s assistant coaches, said of Crawley. “He’s willing to learn all the time. He’s been brilliant in the conversations that we’ve had in the nets. He’s always questioning things and that’s what you want.”He’s good fun, he’s a good athlete in the field as well, so he ticks a lot of the right boxes. He looks very good. But you never know until you get in the pressure of a Test match situation. The signs are really good, though.”ALSO READ: NZ depth ‘definitely the best’ it’s been in my career – TaylorCrawley has impressed the England management on this tour. As well as scoring a century in his one opportunity to bat in a match situation, he has also looked comfortable in the nets and impressed with his agility and fitness in fielding sessions.Notably, the two centuries Crawley scored during the 2019 County Championship season were against attacks containing fast bowlers. He made 111 against a Nottinghamshire side which included James Pattinson – nobody else in Kent’s top six made it to double-figures – and 108 against a Warwickshire side containing Ryan Sidebottom and Henry Brookes. And it is ability to play the short ball which is one of the areas that has impressed Collingwood.”Certainly, anything from waist height upwards he looks to be able to handle,” Collingwood said. “And playing short pitched bowling is crucial in these conditions. He times the ball really well, too; he hits the ball hard for a big lad.”By a “big lad” Collingwood certainly does not mean that Crawley is carrying an excess weight. Far from it. Instead he stands at 6ft 5in and looks as fit as anyone in the squad, with the possible exception of Ben Stokes. At training on Wednesday, it appeared as if he deliberately slowed down not to embarrass his captain, Joe Root, who had joined him on multiple circuits of the boundary.Zak Crawley could be in line to make his England debut•Getty Images

Crawley is still very much at the developmental stage of his career, though. He is just 21 and, as his first-class batting average of 31.27 illustrates, he is still learning his game. Having played a great deal on the seamer-friendly surfaces at Canterbury, however, those figures are not, perhaps, quite as modest as they seem.Collingwood is equally optimistic about the prospects for the rest of this side’s batsmen. As a member of the team that won the Ashes in Australia in 2010-11, he thinks he knows what it would take to repeat that result, saying that scoreboard pressure is a vital ingredient.”I’m very confident that this batting unit, over time, is going to score a lot of runs,” Collingwood said. “I think the mentality of it, the way the guys are working, it feels as though we’ve got the right kind of personnel to score big runs.”We know what Australia are going to do to us. They’re going to batter us with 90mph bowlers and make us feel uncomfortable with a spinner at the other end who will dry us up. But when we won there in 2010-11, we scored a lot of runs and then you’ve got scoreboard pressure.”The other challenge is to get those 20 wickets. And that seems to be increasingly difficult. Sides now generally have longer batting orders and the Kookaburra ball can prove difficult to take wickets with. The old school top-of-off with a Dukes ball back in the England doesn’t necessarily work over here. We’ve found ways at times but if you look at history we haven’t really consistently found a formula or a solution.”But we have to find a way. You can see that New Zealand have a strategy that has worked over time: you’re going to get swing bowlers up front, then Colin de Grandhomme and then Wagner to bounce the living daylights out of you. It’s a system that works for them and it’s our challenge to produce the skills out of our bowlers that work on in these conditions with this ball.”You look back and see what we were doing well [in 2010-11], and everyone refers back to pace, but we didn’t have much pace actually. It was more down to accuracy – ‘bowling dry’ as we called it – and it was almost playing on their ego, because they wanted to score runs, because it was the Australian way.”But teams, even Australia, don’t really play with ego any more. They’re very patient. Steve Smith shows that. So you might need a different type of bowler with some extra pace.”

On his return to ODI cricket, Steyn top-scored with 60 then took two wickets, before Tahir cleaned up with 6 for 24 to seal the series for South Africa

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Bloemfontein03-Oct-2018Imran Tahir is overjoyed after becoming the fourth South African to take an ODI hat-trick•AFP

Imran Tahir became the fourth South African bowler to take a one-day international hat-trick as Zimbabwe folded for just 78 in the second ODI in Bloemfontein. Tahir removed Sean Williams, Peter Moor and Brandon Mavuta with successive deliveries over two overs to derail Zimbabwe’s chase and finished with a 6 for 24, taking full advantage of a batting line-up softened up by the alarmingly variable bounce extracted by Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi earlier in the evening. Steyn provided a particular fearsome challenge, bowling well above 140kph to rattle the top order. He picked up 2 for 19 on his return to ODI cricket, capping a day in which he also top scored with a career-best 60 to boost South Africa to a total of 198.That already looked like it could be enough when Tahir was brought on in the 14th over, thanks in large part to a pitch that misbehaved all day and became particularly capricious when Dale Steyn opened the bowling under lights. The Willow End, in particular, exhibited variable bounce that made the prospect of chasing look very difficult.Craig Ervine was struck on the glove and the grille by consecutive deliveries from Steyn, while both Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza were made to fend at brutal lifters that reared off a length. With Solomon Mire undone third ball by a full one from Steyn, none of the rest of the top were able to build partnerships and Zimbabwe entered the Powerplay teetering at 28 for 2. The visitors’ last hopes evaporated when Masakadza fell for 27, indecision sewn by the irregular bounce bringing a flat-footed poke to slip off Ngidi.Tahir had, by this point, already started to weave his magic at the other end. Taylor swept a four but then misread a googly to be lbw for 10, Tahir setting off in celebration even as he turned to appeal the wicket. From then on, although the pitch levelled out, Tahir’s variations simply proved too much for Zimbabwe. Williams was drawn out of his crease by one that spun away from him to be stumped off the last ball of Tahir’s third over, while Moor played outside a slider to be lbw to the first of his fourth. The next ball zipped in off a length, right between Mavuta’s bat and pad to spark Tahir’s trademark celebration.Zimbabwe slumped to 59 for 8 with the hat-trick, and the result was now a foregone conclusion. Jarvis slogged across the line at another googly to be bowled for 1, and fittingly it was Steyn who held the final catch to bring the game to an end when Chatara heaved a slider into the deep.The catch completed an almost perfect comeback for Steyn, whose two wickets came after his maiden ODI fifty had carried South Africa out of the depths of 101 for 7. South Africa picked him to bowl, but in his first one-day international in almost two years Steyn’s plucky batting rescued his team. Thirteen years since his ODI debut, and batting for the 48th time in the format, Steyn put on 75 with Andile Phehlukwayo, a new South African record for the eighth wicket against Zimbabwe.South Africa were tottering when Steyn got to the crease, but the mantra being drilled into them is to play positive cricket regardless of the situation and the shots kept coming. Steyn was off the mark with an edge through the vacant second slip, and while he swung merrily Phehlukwayo shrugged off a strong lbw shout to drill Williams over long on for six.An outside edge over slip took Steyn to his highest score in ODIs, and he motored into the 40s with a heave to midwicket – his seventh four. He had scored the bulk of the eighth-wicket stand that rebuilt South Africa’s innings when Zimbabwe finally broke through, Chatara strangling Phehlukwayo down the leg side.Steyn brought up his fifty with a crisp strike down the ground for six off Donald Tiripano, becoming the fourth South African after Lance Klusener, Andrew Hall and Richard Snell to score an ODI half century from no. 9. It was an effort that was desperately needed after three of the top five fell for single figures.Zimbabwe, too, had had some assistance from a pitch that captain Masakadza described as “up and down”, but they had also been rewarded for disciplined application with the ball. The wickets were shared around by their seamers and spinners and Jarvis was particularly probing in his opening spell. Once again, South Africa’s unproven top order stumbled under pressure, and it was left to the two of the oldest men on the field – Steyn and Tahir – to secure the match and the series.