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Pace bowler returns to her original club on a two-year deal amid long-term injury

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2022Australia quick Tayla Vlaeminck has returned to Melbourne Renegades, signing a two-year deal despite the fact she is unavailable for next season’s WBBL due to a foot stress fracture.Vlaeminck returns to Renegades where she started her WBBL career and played three seasons before moving to Hobart Hurricanes. She has returned to Melbourne to rejoin close friends Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham at the club.”I’m really excited that I’ve decided to come back to the Renegades,” Vlaeminck said. “It’s enticing to be back at home and close to family and friends. I’ve grown up with ‘Soph’ and ‘Wolf’ and a lot of the girls. I obviously played at the Renegades with a lot of the girls beforehand as well, so I know everyone really well and hopefully, it’s going to be an easy transition back into the team.”Vlaeminck has been ruled out of cricket for a year following another navicular stress fracture in her foot which she suffered in January during the early stages of the Ashes and meant she missed the ODI World Cup. It was the second consecutive global event injury had curtailed for her after she withdrew from the 2020 T20 World Cup.She will not play in the WBBL for Renegades in the first year of her two-year deal but will rehab under their watch. Part of her recovery to strengthen her feet has included working with The Australian Ballet.”We’re starting to make good progress now, which is nice,” Vlaeminck said. “I obviously won’t be playing this season but hopefully I’ll be able to contribute off the field, still get around the girls and help out some of the bowlers and look to play the following year, which is exciting.””Training at the ballet is something completely different…it’s been kind of cool to get into a different high-performance environment to see how that works and grab a few little things here and there which I can hopefully bring back to cricket.”Melbourne Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said Vlaeminck’s signing was a long-term investment.”Tayla won’t play this year as she continues her recovery, but we’re committed to supporting her through this period,” Rosengarten said. “She already has strong relationships at the club and we know she will be a great asset to our group off the field too.”Our list strategy is not only about building our squad for WBBL08, but to set us up to challenge over a sustained period. To have the likes of Tayla, Sophie and Georgia locked in beyond this season is fantastic and we look forward to adding more talent ahead of the season.”

Pant had shown his readiness for Test cricket averaging 63 in the two unofficial Tests he played on India A’s tour of England recently

Nagraj Gollapudi at Trent Bridge16-Aug-20181:05

India, Kohli train ahead of Trent Bridge Test

Rishabh Pant might be in line for his Test debut, based on the training session India had at Trent Bridge two days before the third Test. Dinesh Karthik, who kept wicket for India in the first two Tests, was feeding balls to Pant during the wicketkeeping drills.It is not known whether Karthik, if he does miss the Test, will be sitting out due to bad form with the bat or any injury. At Lord’s on the third day, Karthik was seen wincing in pain after he collected a wide delivery from Hardik Pandya. Indian team physio Patrick Farhart attended to Karthik at the end of that over and taped his fingers. Karthik did eventually do some keeping later at training though, indicating that he is fit.Despite doing a decent job behind the wicket, Karthik has had a miserable time with the bat in both the Tests. Out of the four innings, he had two ducks, and 20 of his 21 runs so far came in the second innings at Edgbaston. What has been worrisome for the team think tank is Karthik’s fraught technique, which has resulted in him getting bowled twice and lbw once.Today at training, Pant batted after all the specialist batsmen had finished their rounds. Does this then mean the swashbuckling batsman, who gained prominence based on his exploits in the limited-overs versions, is set to be blooded?It was a bold call on part of the selectors to pick Pant in the Test squad. For his part, Pant, who has already played four T20Is for India, showed his readiness during India A’s tour of England. In the two first-class matches he played on the tour, Pant scored a total of 189 runs, at an average of 63 including three half-centuries.Asked if India would hand a Test debut to Pant, head coach Ravi Shastri said wait for the toss on Saturday. “About Rishabh, you will know 11am day after,” Shastri said at Thursday’s media briefing.Meanwhile, Kohli had a light training session and batted fluently, seemingly without any difficulty, in the nets, and also took part in fielding practice. Kohli had picked up a stiff back during the second Test, for which he had required treatment. Kohli then admitted that the pain was severe and did not allow him to run with the same intensity on the field and when he came out to bat on the fourth day at Lord’s. But now the signals are positive for India, suggesting that Kohli is likely to be fit for the third Test, something England head coach Trever Bayliss too pointed out after having watched Kohli at training this morning.

Jason Roy hit 86 from just 64 balls as Surrey eased to a six-wicket victory at Essex in the One-Day Cup

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2018
ScorecardJason Roy hit 86 from just 64 balls as Surrey eased to a six-wicket victory at Essex in the One-Day Cup.Roy picked up four sixes and eight fours before he was caught behind off Neil Wagner. By then, he had shared in a stand of 127 in 22 overs with Dean Elgar who went on to hit a superb 87.His effort, which spanned 95 deliveries, contained three fours and four sixes, and formed part of another century stand with Ben Foakes, who hiimself finished unbeaten on 84.Essex’s innings owed much to Varun Chopra, Tom Westley and Ravi Bopara, each of whom passed 50. Chopra, fresh from his 160 in the previous match against Somerset, continued his good form with 61 from 84 balls with the help of five fours.He departed when he chipped spinner Scott Borthwick to short cover, the previous ball having accounted for Westley when he was caught at mid-on for 54 accumulated fr0m 50 balls; this innings contained two sixes among his five boundaries.Bopara went on to make 74 from 71 deliveries, his fourth successive half-century in the competition, before he ran himself out in the penultimate over of the innings.Essex’s innings had slowed after the loss of Chopra and their inability to increase the tempo in the later stages of their innings proved fatal.A total in excess of 300 seemed on the cards when they reached 257 for 5 with five overs remaining but they lost five wickets for only 38 runs in that time.That included four wickets in 14 balls as the innings faded away.Essex have now lost three of their opening five matches and they will need to win all three of their remaining games if they are to stand any chance of progressing in the competition

Gloucestershire eased to a 10-wicket victory over Glamorgan inside two days at Cheltenham College

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2017
ScorecardLiam Norwell ensured Gloucestershire stayed on top•Getty Images

Gloucestershire eased to a 10-wicket victory over Glamorgan inside two days at Cheltenham College.Having been set 135 to win, shortly after lunch on the second day of the county’s annual Cricket Festival, captain Phil Mustard’s side took just 31.3 overs to secure their second Specsavers’ County Championship victory of the season.It was certainly a welcome win for Gloucestershire coach Richard Dawson, whose side, for the time being at least, leapfrog seventh placed Derbyshire, in the Division Two table.

The pitch was fine – Phil Mustard

Phil Mustard, Gloucestershire captain: “I have to say, I have never been involved in a game quite like that. To be honest, the scores might not suggest it, but the pitch was fine.”
Robert Croft, Glamorgan coach: “I felt the game was nailed on day one. On the first day, the pitch did just enough of everything to make it difficult for the batsmen. It wasn’t as difficult on day two.”

To their credit, Glamorgan made a pretty decent first of things during the opening session at the picturesque college ground.Having been reduced to 59 for 5 in their second innings on a remarkable first day when 25 wickets fell, the visitors progressed nicely thanks to Timm van der Gugten and Andrew Salter.On a wicket that had its moments, the pair put on 46 for the sixth wicket before the former was trapped lbw for 17 by Kieran Noema-Barnett. Unfortunately, for Glamorgan, Salter fell in the following over, caught behind for 31, off the bowling of Craig Miles and suddenly, the Welsh county were once again staring down the barrel at 104 for 7.Captain Chris Cooke and Graham Wagg batted well, thereafter, with Wagg leading the way as Glamorgan reached lunch on 140 for 7.However, that was the end of the good news as far as the visitors were concerned. With Norwell weaving his magic from the College Lawn End, Glamorgan lost their last three wickets for just eight runs.Wagg was trapped lbw by Norwell for 30 at 150 before Marchant De Lange drove the same bowler to Jack Taylor at extra cover. Two overs later, Norwell and Taylor combined once again to send back Michael Hogan, for 0.It was the fourth time this season that Norwell had helped himself to five wickets in an innings. His final figures of 6 for 38 off 18 overs were fully justified on a day when Gloucestershire certainly coped better with a pitch that has certainly dominated the idle chat around this picturesque ground in the heart of Cheltenham.In contrast to what had gone before, Gloucestershire’s opening pair looked in precious little trouble as they moved easily towards victory.Although Chris Dent was dropped on 35, by bowler Salter, he and Cameron Bancroft guided Gloucestershire to victory with more than half of the game still remaining. Dent passed 50 off 80 balls, with six fours, and finished, unbeaten on 68, whilst Bancroft (62 not out) posted his half century off 87 balls, with eight fours.

Dinesh Karthik’s run-glut, Kerala signing off on winning note and Unmukt Chand’s match-winning half-century the talking points from the Group B matches played on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2017Half-centuries from Dinesh Karthik and Ganga Sridhar Raju and a five-wicket haul from fast bowler Aswin Crist helped Tamil Nadu thump Tripura by 262 runs at DRIEMS ground in Cuttack to recording their fifth win in six matches and top Group B. Chasing 338, Tripura lasted just 18.2 overs and were shot out for 75 to finish with three wins and as many losses.Sent in to bat, TN started cautiously through a 71-run opening stand between Kaushik Gandhi and Raju (77) in 14.5 overs. B Aparajith built on the platform with 41 during the course of a 99-run second-wicket stand before the dismissal of both set batsmen in the space of three balls reduced TN to 166 for 3 in the 30th over. Karthik, who had struck a century and two fifties coming into the match, got into his groove straightaway; hitting 11 fours and two sixes in his 63-ball 81 to help TN more than double their score in the last 20 overs.Vijay Shankar, M Mohammed and Washington Sundar also came up with sprightly cameos to shore up the total. Smit Patel, the wicketkeeper, was one of three Tripura batsmen to get into double digits; his 22 at the top of the order being the highest of the innings. Crist was complemented by Mohammed and R Rohit, who picked up two wickets apiece.Returning to the side after being left out earlier in the tournament, Unmukt Chand finished with two back-to-back fifties•PTI

Unmukt Chand’s 78, the highest score of the match, helped Delhi sign-off with a 112-run win over Uttar Pradesh at KIIT ground in Bhubaneswar. Delhi, who were bowled out for 220, also found a hero with the ball in Kulwant Khejroliya. Playing in just his fifth List A game, fast bowler Khejroliya took 5 for 22 to skittle UP for 108. Both sides ended their campaign with three wins and three losses.Delhi, who were tottering at 85 for 4, were rescued by Chand and Himmat Singh’s 86-run stand before losing their last six wickets for 49. Ankit Rajpoot, the fast bowler, was finished with best figures – 3 for 32 – for UP. In reply, they slumped to 16 for 5 in the seventh over, before Rinku Singh (43) and Praveen Kumar (28) swung their way through to delay the inevitable.Sanju Samson was one of three half-centurions for Kerala•BCCI

Half-centuries from Mohammed Azharuddeen (73), Vishnu Vinod (93) and Sanju Samson (51) helped Kerala end a disappointing campaign on a winning note at the Barabati Stadium they finished with one win in six matches. Kerala, who posted 297 for 9, overcame a late fightback from Himachal to squeeze a 42-run win.Fabid Ahmed, the offspinner, first sent back the well-set Ekant Sen (43), and then returned to dismiss Sumeet Verma (59) and Pankaj Jaiswal off successive deliveries to tilt the scales in Kerala’s favour. He finished with 4 for 38 off 10 overs.Himachal were bowled out for 255 in 47.1 overs to end the tournament with a solitary win. Opener Prashant Chopra, who struck 50, was one of their bright notes, finishing the tournament as the sixth-highest run-getter, with 329 runs in six matches.

Ireland have selected a full-strength squad for their Intercontinental Cup fixture with Afghanistan in March, with legspinner Jacob Mulder in line for a first-class debut

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2017Ireland have selected a full-strength squad for their Intercontinental Cup fixture with Afghanistan in March, with legspinner Jacob Mulder in line for a first-class debut. Ed Joyce, Niall O’Brien and Tim Murtagh are also included, having missed the Desert T20 – where Ireland lost to Afghanistan in the final – earlier this month.Ireland are currently top of the Intercontinental Cup table with four wins from four, leading Afghanistan by 19 points. The Intercontinental Cup is expected to provide a pathway into Test cricket, with the winner facing a play-off with the lowest-ranked Test nation in 2018.Ahead of the four-day match, Ireland and Afghanistan will play three T20s and five ODIs; all of the fixtures will take place in Greater Noida, India. Two ODIs have also been arranged against UAE on March 2 and 4 as part of Ireland’s training camp.”It’s great to have such a wealth of experience to choose from,” Ireland’s head coach, John Bracewell, said. “We had a full squad available which hasn’t been the case with injuries in recent times but it’s great to have everyone back with such a busy programme in March.”While we haven’t been at our best in limited-overs cricket in recent times we have a great record in the Intercontinental Cup where we’ve won all our four games taking full points.”The players are all fully focused on winning the competition for a fifth time, especially with the chance of playing Test cricket on offer. Ed Joyce has been in supreme form in the tournament with two double hundreds and he clearly looks like a man on a mission.”Young Jacob Mulder was the stand-out bowler in the T20 and the selectors felt he deserved his opportunity in the longer format. With the conditions in India likely to be spin-friendly his legspin gives us added variety which could be so important.”Boyd Rankin will be rested for the matches in the UAE, but will join up with Ireland during the 10-day training camp to prepare for the Afghanistan games.Australia-born batsman Nick Larkin, who played twice for Ireland in 2014, has however ruled himself out of involvement for the time being.”After a lengthy period of discussion between Cricket Ireland and Nick Larkin, the player has finally clarified that his focus right now is on advancing his career with the NSW Blues in Australia,” Cricket Ireland’s performance director, Richard Holdsworth, said. “He is contracted there until 2018 and is not therefore available for Ireland during that period.”Ireland Intercontinental Cup squad: William Porterfield, John Anderson, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Jacob Mulder, Tim Murtagh, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson, Craig YoungIreland ODI squad v UAE: William Porterfield, Andrew Balbirnie, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Jacob Mulder, Tim Murtagh, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig YoungIreland ODI squad v Afghanistan: William Porterfield, Andrew Balbirnie, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Jacob Mulder, Tim Murtagh, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.T20I squad v Afghanistan: William Porterfield, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Jacob Mulder, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Greg Thompson, Stuart Thompson, Lorcan Tucker, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.

Pakistan’s poor form may not make a whitewash the most significant milestone for England, but it would be another staging post in their rapid upsurge as a limited-overs side nonetheless

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan03-Sep-2016

Match Facts

September 4, Cardiff

Start time 10.30am (0930GMT)

Big Picture

Bulawayo, October 13, 2001. Nasser Hussain was England captain. That was the scene of their only previous whitewash in an ODI series of five or more matches. It shouldn’t be the most significant milestone for this England side if they can complete the clean sweep over Pakistan in Cardiff – given Pakistan’s form, anything other than a home victory would be a surprise – but it would be another staging post in their rapid upward curve.The run chase at Headingley was the most pressure England had been under during this series when they slipped to 72 for 4. They passed the test with flying colours, significant contributions coming from three players – Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali – who had not had major roles to play with the bat up till then.Another hard-fought win would not be a bad thing, either, as the side continues to became battle-hardened ahead of next summer’s Champions Trophy, where, given the short nature of the tournament, one bad day can be terminal for any ambitions. The next time England play in Cardiff, it will be their second group match against New Zealand.Pakistan, too, have their focus on the Champions Trophy – at least they are assured of a place there, unlike the 2019 World Cup, for which automatic qualification is becoming an increasingly tough challenge. Mickey Arthur hasn’t shied away from some honesty during this series – he termed the last four matches “eye-opening” after Headingley, which could mean bad news for a number of players – and sees next year’s event as a significant target amid the rebuilding.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
England WWWWW

Pakistan LLLLW

In the spotlight

Jason Roy began the series in fine style with a Man-of-the-Match-winning performance at the Ageas Bowl, but it has been quieter for him since: bowled second ball by Mohammad Amir at Lord’s, gloving a pull during England’s world-record mayhem at Trent Bridge, and edging to second slip at Headingley. It is nothing to dwell on for long, but a significant contribution here would cap a one-day summer where he has cemented his place at the top of the order. He also needs 32 more to complete 1000 runs in ODIs.Swansea-born Imad Wasim is returning to his roots for this match. He has been a rare bright spot for Pakistan in the series, especially with his feisty batting down the order, and is yet to be dismissed while making 137 runs at a strike-rate of 104.58. He was the only batsman to play with any fluency in Pakistan’s innings at Headingley – and is also their most economical bowler in the series – so he seems certain to be one of a small number of players in the squad to have assured his immediate future.

Team news

Jos Buttler was still experiencing tightness in his hamstring, which forced him to miss the previous game, and it would appear unlikely that he’d be risked, which means another chance for Bairstow. The last time England played here, they left out Moeen to play an extra quick because of the short, straight boundary, but Stokes’ presence with the ball means Moeen will probably be retained this time.England (probable) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 Liam PlunkettMohammad Irfan, who suffered cramps at Headingley after just five overs, has returned home. Mohammad Amir, who was rested for that game, is likely to replace him.Pakistan (possible) 1 Sami Aslam, 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Azhar Ali (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 6 Mohammad Rizwan, 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Mohammad Amir

Pitch and conditions

It rained heavily on Saturday, but the forecast for match day is much better. The pitch is normally good for international cricket, and the short, straight boundaries can be enticing for the batsmen.

Stats and trivia

• The lowest strike-rate of an England player in the XI at Headingley – when the match was completed – was David Willey’s 81.17. When they lost against Bangladesh at the 2015 World Cup, to exit the tournament, they had seven players with strike-rates under 80.
• After his 3 for 47 at Headingley, Adil Rashid is now the leading ODI wicket-taker since the last World with 38 scalps at 38.36, although he has played nine games more than second-placed Kagiso Rabada and seven more than fellow legspinner Imran Tahir, who is third.
• Moeen’s straight six to win the fourth match was England’s 157th ODI six since the last World Cup – that is 29 clear of New Zealand, who are the next best. Perhaps surprisingly, Pakistan are third with 108, although from considerably more matches than the top two.

Quotes

“I haven’t got that many wickets in one-dayers this summer, but feel like I’ve bowled quite tight and that’s important. Me and Rash bowl well as a partnership, he’s more of a wicket-taker than me.”
“Everyone makes mistakes, as long as you learn from them. You have to be positive, what happened in the past you can’t change it.”
Azhar Mahmood, Pakistan’s bowling coach, was looking forward, not back

A Mumbai XI reinforced with four donations from the England squad ran their visitors close before succumbing to a 14-run defeat

Andrew Miller at the Brabourne Stadium14-Mar-2016England XI 177 for 8 (Root 48, Willey 3-35, Rashid 2-33) beat MCA XI 163 for 6 (Bista 51, Vince 45) by 14 runs

ScorecardJoe Root hits down the ground during his 48•Getty Images

The venerable Cricket Club of India has its very own “Men’s Siesta Room”, situated on the second floor of the Brabourne Stadium pavilion, and available from the hours of 12pm to 6pm to those members who could do with a lie-down. Like most of the décor in and around the grand old ground, its very existence harks back to an era of and , when it was safe to take your eyes off the action and not miss a single beat.On paper, England’s final World T20 warm-up match against a Mumbai Cricket Association XI was the sort of occasion that could have led to standing room only in the Siesta Room. Many’s the time that England have simply muddled through the motions in such contests, rotating their squad, settling for time in the middle, and moving onto the main event with minimum fuss.Times, however, have changed very quickly, and England’s final 40 overs of middle practice proved urgent and captivating. In the end, a Mumbai XI reinforced with four donations from the England squad ran their visitors close before succumbing to a 14-run defeat, the contest effectively sealed by a brace of yorkers from Chris Jordan to bowl two of England’s floor-crossers, James Vince and Jos Buttler in consecutive overs.Up until that point, England had been somewhat up against it. Jay Bista, a talented 20-year-old local boy who last week struck his maiden first-class hundred, launched Mumbai’s pursuit of 178 with a 37-ball 51, before Vince, with a measured 45 from 38, and Buttler, with a typically aggressive 25 from 16, manoeuvred their adopted team close with a 47-run stand in five overs.England did not help their cause with their fielding – both men were badly dropped in the deep by Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes respectively – but England dredged the necessary composure to close out the contest, Jordan serving up a diet of yorkers at the death, not least in an exemplary penultimate over that went for just two runs.”He’s been fantastic,” said Joe Root, whose 48 from 34 balls was the bedrock of England’s efforts with the bat. “He’s proven on a few occasions he can perform under real pressure. Now it’s about doing it consistently and when it really counts. The best thing is we’ve got these experiences to call upon when the tournament starts, so fingers crossed we can take that confidence forward.”For all that Eoin Morgan has encouraged his England team to embrace their “naivety” in Indian conditions, there’s a subtle difference between the sort of have-a-go fearlessness that he is advocating and willful ignorance of the challenges that lie in store. And with that in mind, England have made as much capital as they could have hoped from their two practice contests.West Indies on Wednesday will be another challenge entirely. “They are extremely explosive,” said Root. “They have firepower in the batting order, and are unpredictable at times, so we have got to have lots of plans in place to counter that”.However, the ongoing success of Adil Rashid as a middle-order handbrake augurs well for England’s chances of launching their campaign in style. In transferring both Buttler and Rashid to their opponents, England created a situation in which their two likeliest matchwinners could test themselves against the best that England could offer, and vice versa. It proved to be a qualified success.After batting first in a pre-arranged situation, Jason Roy and Alex Hales had biffed England along to 69 in the seventh over – neither perhaps hitting top form but nevertheless finding the gaps to rattle the scoreboard along – when Rashid started with the sort of splash that he has become something of a trademark since his stint with Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash.He snared both men in the space of his first ten balls – Roy got himself in a tangle on the reverse sweep and chipped to short third man, before Hales was beaten in flight and jabbed a high looping chance back to the bowler. With flight, guile and spin both ways, Rashid conceded just 17 runs in his first three overs before Root, with the impish acceleration for which he is building his own reputation, planted his front foot to slam two sixes in a final over that went for 16.”Hopefully everyone got lots out of it,” said Root. “Personally I know I did, it’s always good to face someone like Rash, who’s got the ability to spin the ball both ways. There will be times when we have to make sure we can face that in the tournament. He’s a very skilful bowler and it’s great to get an opportunity to face someone like that in a match situation instead of just in the nets.”David Willey, the fourth of England’s exports to the Mumbai team, belatedly reminded the selectors of his merits with an improbable hat-trick as England shipped five wickets in the final 11 balls of their innings. After a first-ball lbw appeal against Roy that might have been tighter in a more competitive game, Willey came in for some tap in the opening three overs of his spell, only to turn his figures upside down with the consecutive scalps of Root, Moeen Ali and Jordan, who launched the final ball of the innings inside out over cover, but picked out Bista, lurking in the deep.”Out preparation has been very good,” said Root. “In all the training sessions, the lads have worked extremely hard, and when it’s come to the games, the guys have stepped up and performed under pressure, which is exactly what we need to do.”

South Africa stayed in the series with a performance that impressed captain AB de Villiers, who attributed his team’s hunger in the field as a major reason for their success

Firdose Moonda10-Feb-2016Just as South Africa’s situation had reached a do-or-die stage, they did.Their bowlers pulled England back, from what could have become a 350-plus score, to take four for 22 in the dying stages of the innings and restrict them to 318. Then Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla set South Africa up for the highest successful chase at SuperSport Park, the only ground to have witnessed the team’s success so far this summer. It was the performance of a team that was not willing to be defeated and it could be the start of a turnaround that will salvage South Africa’s season.”We were pretty desperate to get a result in this game. It’s hopefully the signs of really good things to come,” AB de Villiers said.Two run-outs, good catches like JP Duminy’s grab at leg-gully to dismiss Jos Buttler, and a fine fielding performance told de Villiers his team had recommitted to the cause. “You can always rate the morale of the side in the way they field out there and we showed a lot of hunger in the field, there were a lot of bodies being thrown around to stop the ball and great attitude,” he said.There was also a better balance to the South Africa XI after they dropped the seventh specialist batsman, replacing Rilee Rossouw with an allrounder, David Wiese. Although Wiese was expensive and the experiment to use him as a pinch-hitter at No.3 failed, he gave South Africa a level of security, knowing they had a fifth frontline bowler. De Villiers did not go as far as saying Wiese corrected any imbalances and insisted he just “brings a lot to the party with bat and ball in hand.” Wiese’s presence meant Duminy did not have to bowl at all and Farhaan Behardien was only used when Imran Tahir became a liability.England have targeted Tahir, who has only two wickets in the series, but de Villiers is keeping the faith in his No.1 spinner. “He is one of the best bowlers in the word. He is still one of my go-to guys and he has got a lot of x-factor about him,” de Villiers said. “He will play a role somewhere in this series and win a game for us and have an impact like we know he can.”Similarly, England continued to back the team that put them 2-0 up, which meant leaving Stuart Broad on the sidelines. Eoin Morgan did not think it was time to panic about including Broad for experience’s sake just yet but will consider him for the next match as England aim to seal the series. “Today we didn’t hit our straps. We have two spinners, variation with the two left-armers and Stokes and Jordan for a bit of pace,” he said. “I’ve considered tweaking the attack every game so we will consider it again.The fourth match, or South Africa’s second final, is the pink match in aid of breast cancer at the Wanderers. The hosts have never lost in pink and if history repeats itself, that could set the series up for a grand showdown in Cape Town on Sunday. But England still hold all the aces.Their strength is their batting line-up which Morgan said was only getting more confident as they keep piling on runs. “Our batting unit seemed to grow every game that they play and that’s hugely encouraging. We haven’t had any hiccups yet,” he said. “Joe Root showed his class, scoring another hundred, and his experience now is that of a leader within the group and that’s great to see.”South Africa will feel they have something similar in de Kock, especially when both he and Amla get going. “If you get good solid starts, it’s easier for the batting line-up to understand the rhythm of the game and get your pace right. It just frees the middle order up a lot,” de Villiers explained. Now the hosts have to hope their advantage has not come too late.

The Bangladesh-Australia series is moving towards taking place as scheduled, according to BCB chief Nizamuddin Chowdhury, after a second day of security-related meetings and assurances in Dhaka

Mohammad Isam28-Sep-20151:13

Bangladesh offers Australia extra security

The Bangladesh-Australia Test series is moving towards taking place as scheduled, according to BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury, after a second day of security-related meetings and assurances in Dhaka. Though the Australian High Commissioner was non-committal, ESPNcricinfo understands the BCB is expecting Cricket Australia to give the go-ahead on Tuesday, with the team likely to arrive this week.The BCB has already acted on its optimism about the tour and at 5.15 pm on Monday named the squad for the first Test in Chittagong from October 9. The team, which began training this afternoon, had been approved by the BCB president before the Eid holidays – September 24 to 26 – but the squad announcement was delayed because Cricket Australia postponed its team’s departure to Bangladesh, citing security concerns.An hour later, the BCB sent out the accreditation form for local journalists, another sign that it is positive about the tour going ahead.Perhaps another positive sign is that only Cricket Australia’s security manager Sean Carroll will return to Australia on Tuesday. Team manager Gavin Dovey and team security manager Frank Dimasi, who arrived on September 27, are staying in Dhaka presumably to receive the Australia team.On Monday, Carroll, Dovey, Dimasi, and the Australian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Greg Wilcock, had discussions with the Home Minister and the heads of the country’s security agencies. BCB president Nazmul Hassan, directors Mahbubul Anam and Lokman Hossain, and chief executive Chowdhury were also present. Later in the day, the CA security contingent also met with another security agency.After the meeting at the ministry, Chowdhury said they were looking to conduct the series according to the original tour schedule, with the first Test in Chittagong from October 9.”We are expecting all the matches to be played on schedule,” Chowdhury said. “We will try to have the main matches of the tour be played as scheduled, because there is plenty of planning that goes behind each international match.”We haven’t discussed any issue with regards to Chittagong as a venue. We have confirmed the facilities which will be given to them in Dhaka will also be given to them in Chittagong.”The Australian high commissioner Wilcock said that the talks at the ministry were a part of an ongoing process. “I want to make it clear that I speak on behalf of the Australian government and I want to send a very short message about this meeting,” he said. “The first is I think as two cricket loving nations we all want to play cricket. The Bangladesh squad has been doing very well recently.”At the same time, the Australian government very recently issued an update travel advice communicating additional guidance on safety and security in Bangladesh. The result of that is that we are here discussing these safety and security measures with the Bangladesh authorities.”We have enjoyed the time, the generosity and the expertise of the honourable minister and his senior police officials. This is part of our consultations with the Bangladesh Cricket Board, with the Bangladesh authorities and with Cricket Australia to address our shared interests. That work continues. This meeting has been one part of that. That work will continue for the rest of today.”