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Nottinghamshire have secured two overseas signings for 2015 with Vernon Philander and Ben Hilfenhaus set for stints at Trent Bridge next season.

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2014Nottinghamshire have secured two overseas signings for 2015 with Vernon Philander and Ben Hilfenhaus set for stints at Trent Bridge next season.Philander, the South Africa seam bowler, will join the club in April and feature in six County Championship matches and three NatWest T20s before he resumes duty with South Africa.He has previously enjoyed spells at Kent, Middlesex and Somerset, for whom he took 23 wickets at 21.34 in 2012.Hilfenhaus will take over as overseas player from the NatWest T20 against Leicestershire on June 5. It will be the Australian seamer’s first taste of county cricket.”It is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit an overseas player of high quality to spend an entire season in county cricket so we’re very pleased to have two high quality bowlers sharing the spot,” Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell said.”We made the decision to recruit bowlers because we felt that we needed to add some experience to enable us to take 20 wickets in Championship matches more regularly. Ben and Vernon were keen to have stints in county cricket in 2015 and it’s pleasing that they have chosen to join us.”Hilfenhaus, 31 has not played for Australia since 2012 said he has always been keen for a spell in county cricket: “Nottinghamshire is the ideal club for me given their track record of competing for trophies and the proud history of Australians enjoying success there.”It’s hard to find time in the schedule to commit to a full season so sharing the overseas spot with Vernon is ideal for both of us. I’ve had some good discussions with Mick Newell and Ed Cowan and I’m looking forward to getting started at Trent Bridge.”Philander added: “I’ve got a lot of cricket to play in the lead-up to my time with Nottinghamshire but I know the job that I have to do and I’ll be well prepared for the county season. There is always responsibility to make a personal contribution and hopefully the results will follow and I can help Nottinghamshire make a good start to the season.”

It hasn’t been an easy week for Ashley Giles, but the win at Trent Bridge and Australia’s problems have offered a boost

George Dobell06-Jun-2013You could understand why Ashley Giles was smiling. After a testing week, he had just seen his England ODI side score 11 more in the last four overs against New Zealand than Australia managed in their entire innings against India. With England and Australia due to open their Champions Trophy campaigns against one another at Edgbaston on Saturday, such statistics were bound to raise spirits.But there is no escaping the fact that the ODI series against New Zealand was an unsettling experience for England’s limited-overs coach. Not only did England lose their proud unbeaten record at home – this was their first ODI series defeat in England and Wales since Australia beat them in 2009 – but their tried and tested method was found wanting and fitness worries further clouded their preparations.The theory was so seductive. In English conditions and with two new balls, it was presumed that England’s method of building a solid foundation when they batted and accelerating in the dying overs would prove beneficial. It was also presumed that their bowlers would find enough movement in the air or off the pitch to trouble opposition batsmen.The evidence to date suggests that those plans might not cover all eventualities. The progress of recent games suggests that the white ball offers the bowler little and that the pitches in the Champions Trophy are going to make them want to curl up in the foetal position and cry.But Giles remains confident. For a start, he pointed out that England were never able to field their strongest XI against New Zealand, but he also pointed out that, partially through necessity, England were forced to explore their options and found that, in the likes of Ravi Bopara and James Tredwell, they had players who enable them to utilise a different method. Both men were originally expected to play only in case of emergency.Perhaps more pertinently, though, he knows that Australia are in poor form and may well be without their captain and best player, Michael Clarke who is nursing a back injury.”It’s disappointing to have lost a series,” Giles admitted. “We’ve let ourselves down in certain departments. There were different areas in the first two games where we disappointed and we’ve certainly not played our A game yet. But maybe we’re saving that?”It’s always a good thing for us when Australia get bowled out for 65. I didn’t chuckle when I saw the score, because I’ve got more respect for them than that. But you’re pleased they don’t get the practice they want and the boost in confidence they’d be looking for. So from a personal point of view you don’t want them playing well.”We want to go to Edgbaston and hope it’s a dull game. We could do with one of them. But they’re tough opposition, they’ll be well prepared and we’ve got to make sure we are as well. If Clarke is missing it’s annoying for him and Australia but it would be good for us.”While the tactic of playing five specialist bowlers did not work in the first two games against New Zealand, it is worth remembering that England were never able to select their first choice five. If James Anderson, Steven Finn, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann are all fit, they may well be in the side against Australia on Saturday. The only likely variation is the selection of Bopara ahead of Bresnan.

While the tactic of playing five specialist bowlers did not work in the first two games against New Zealand, it is worth remembering that England were never able to select their first choice five

But this version of the Champions Trophy is only to be played at three venues. And with the demands of television meaning that only pitches in the centre of squares can be utilised, it will not be long before the surfaces wear and the spinners become more important. England could, according to Giles, select two specialist spinners and utilise Joe Root’s increasingly useful offspin, too.”We’ve got options,” Giles said. “I’m not going to say which way we’re going, but when we put the squad together we did think of those options. I wouldn’t rule out at some point that both spinners could play together on the right wickets. They’re two of our best bowlers in one-day cricket.”Part of the issue, as far as Giles sees it, has simply been a lack of confidence from some of his squad. Chris Woakes, in particular, endured a chastening couple of games and, while he remains in the squad, looks unlikely to play much of a part in the competition.”The key bit was getting confidence into them,” he said. “They’ve looked a little edgy – you know the guys I’m talking about – but you do that when you’re not playing the way you’d like to be playing. Saturday’s game is huge and going into it with the confidence of winning was important. We have to attack that game and be confident going into that.”Chris hasn’t played as well as he can and he’d be the first to admit that. So we changed the balance of the side and Chris was one of the guys we left out. It’s really disappointing for him but he’s a big lad and he understands the reasoning. He’s as good as gold and gets on with his job. It doesn’t mean the door is closed: we’ve 15 in that squad and as we’ve seen in the space of a week that a lot can happen with injuries, niggles and form.”Giles was encouraged by the form and fitness of Finn and Broad, but admitted they would both require careful handling through the Champions Trophy and the Ashes. Both men recovered well from Wednesday and, as a result, Boyd Rankin has been released back to Warwickshire.”The big bonus was having Broad and Finn back on the field and looking pretty good and healthy,” Giles said. “We’re going to need to manage all the quick bowlers over the summer. It’s a big summer and a big winter. But they’ve come through the game well and they seem pretty healthy. But it’s an ongoing process managing big lumps who bowl quickly. You’ve got to look after them.”As things stand I’m pretty confident these guys are good. Finn’s condition is one we’ve talked about and we’ve got to manage going forward and just look after him.”The performance of Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan may well have masked another disappointing England performance with the bat on Wednesday, but Giles insisted that the batting of Ian Bell and co. had provided the middle-order with the platform to express themselves.”It was a much better performance,” Giles said. “I guess all the talk will be about Jos’s innings at the end, but in the build-up to that Bell’s runs and Morgan’s runs were really also very important. The way we batted was much cleaner and crisper and it was quite exciting at the end.”What Jos needed was to do it once in 50-over cricket. It doesn’t mean he’s going to do it all the time but, in T20 cricket, once he crossed that hurdle once he looked a different player. I’m hoping that will happen again. I think playing an extra batter in Bopara might have given him a bit more confidence. It took a little bit of pressure off him and gave him more freedom.”It doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the way we’re going to go. But Jos has shown in T20 cricket he is built for coming in for five overs. He exceeded all our expectations on Wednesday so I’m really chuffed for him.”There will be times when Morgan and Buttler get it wrong and we have to accept that. But they will also win us games. Call them X-factor players, call them hugely skilful, but they will win games. Going into this Champions Trophy, it is so important that they are playing with some of that passion and freedom. There are still bits we didn’t get right but we’re getting better now so it’s positive news.”

India continued their winning streak in the Under-19 Tri-nation tournament with a crushing 165-run win against New Zealand in Darwin

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2013
Scorecard India continued their winning streak in the Under-19 Tri-nation tournament with a crushing 165-run win against New Zealand in Darwin. A hundred from captain Vijay Zol charged India to 276 after they were put in to bat. Zol was involved in two defining partnerships – 105 for the second wicket with Akhil Herwadkar and 94 for the fifth wicket with Sarfaraz Khan.New Zealand were never allowed to take control of their chase by India’s pace bowlers. They were reduced to 35 for 6, of which two wickets each were taken by Chama Milind and Kuldeep Yadav. Ken McClure and Kyle Jamieson were the only batsmen to provide some resistance with a 51-run stand for the seventh wicket, but they were eventually bundled for 111 when McClure fell for 41 at the end of the 42nd over. Abhimanyu Lamba also chipped in with two wickets.

Mohammad Ashraful and Mominul Haque firmed up their chances of playing the first Test with significant innings on the last day of the tour game in Matara

The Report by Mohammad Isam in Matara05-Mar-2013
ScorecardMominul Haque (left) and Mohammad Ashraful shared a 178-run stand for the third wicket•AFPMohammad Ashraful and Mominul Haque firmed up their chances of playing the first Test with significant innings on the last day of the tour game in Matara. The Bangladesh batsmen made best use of a sunny, windy day as their three-day game ended in a draw.Ashraful made 102, his 17th first-class century, and Mominul fell on 99, but missing the landmark wouldn’t deter the young batsman because he made his case for selection for the Galle Test. Mominul batted more than three hours, scoring 99 off 138 balls, and went through phases that were Test-like.He took time to settle down but latched on to anything that made him comfortable. Early on, he used his feet well against the spinners. Mominul was picky against pace, square cutting or driving Lahiru Gamage. He started the second session with a clipped boundary off Kasun Madushanka, and followed up with a cover drive in the same over. He got to his 50 off 74 balls, and then hit a huge straight six against left-arm spinner Dulanjana Mendis. He was batting freely as he neared a fourth first-class century but perished to the pull shot, giving mid-on a simple catch in the final session.Mominul needed to score after a lean BPL to justify his position ahead of Marshall Ayub in this line-up. He was picked to replace Shakib Al Hasan in the side, and thankfully for the selectors the other replacement, Ashraful, also did well.Ashraful left more than he played at in the first session, letting Mominul have a lot of the strike. After lunch he was a different batsman, racing past Mominul to reach 50 when the left-hander was on 47. He moved quickly to his century, off 144 balls, hitting 11 fours and a six. He fell a few minutes later to a terrific catch by Ashan Priyanjan, diving high to his right at first slip.Mahmudullah, the captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Sohag Gazi got some batting practice, making the best of the limited time in the final session. Mahmudullah made a quickfire 56 off 49 balls with three fours and three straight sixes. The fall of his wicket, though, started the fun-phase for Mushfiqur and Gazi as the two added 112 runs in 12 overs. Mushfiqur scored 81 off 69 and Gazi hit 13 fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 82.Opener Jahurul Islam had earlier made a good start but fell for 29 off 74 balls, edging Ishan Jayaratne. Jahurul had been more assured at the crease than Anamul Haque, who struggled to get the ball through the inner circle, and fell for 6.The bowling attack provided less of a challenge to the Bangladesh batsmen, especially on such a good batting pitch that offered almost no lateral movement to the young pace bowlers Madushanka and Gamage. The main spinner, Mendis, is at an early stage in his career and found little assistance in the wicket to challenge the batsmen.

Both Essex and Gloucestershire will hope that their share of the Australian invasion of county cricket has a profound effect on their seasons

Alex Winter at Chelmsford13-Apr-2013
ScorecardMichael Klinger, pictured batting for South Australia, is in his first season as Gloucestershire captain•Getty ImagesBoth Essex and Gloucestershire will hope that their share of the Australian invasion of county cricket has a profound effect on their seasons.Neither Rob Quiney nor Michael Klinger can be considered star signings but both are experienced professionals with solid records and both have been given responsibility at the top of the order.In Klinger’s case he’s also been given the Gloucestershire captaincy, after Alex Gidman stepped down at the end of last season. His task is an unenviable one. He flew in a week before the start of the new season to take charge of a young, inexperienced side that finished bottom of the County Championship last year.Realistically, they are part of an unofficial Division Three with Glamorgan, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. Bettering those three sides this season would be a start but Klinger will have seen enough talent on show in the opening game to suggest Gloucestershire can secure a mid-table finish.”For a first match, I was impressed,” Klinger told ESPNcricinfo. “I’m still getting to know the guys but to score over 400 having been sent in was a great effort. Obviously the weather played a big part but there’s a lot of positives.”Talent-wise there’s no reason why we can’t go up the ladder. From what I’ve seen so far, the young guys can perform, it’s just a matter of performing day in day out. I like to lead from the front and hopefully I can build my runs throughout the season and back the younger guys.”Nine points from the opening match was a solid return on a ground where Gloucestershire got off to the worst possible start last season with an innings defeat. They cashed in on a wicket that was straightforward enough to score on and put Essex under pressure with the new ball, although failed to follow it up and struggled to sit in with a plan for long periods.That they managed a second bowling point owed much to Essex’s charge for a fourth batting point. Tom Westley – who was dropped by Alex Gidman at first slip in the second over of the day – was caught at the wicket having pressed on past 150 and James Foster, enterprising in striking six fours in a half century, was brilliantly held at deep backward square leg by James Fuller to give Gloucestershire their sixth wicket.The weather may have taken a result completely out of the equation but the dead, slightly slow pitch was unlikely to yield 20 wickets for either side in four full days. It is the surfaces at Chelmsford that could hinder Essex’s chances of challenging for promotion, with head coach Paul Grayson confident that they have a squad to be competitive.”There’s a nice group of bowlers and competition for places,” Grayson told ESPNcricinfo. “We had to make two big calls, Saj Mahmood and Reece Topley didn’t play this game but they’ll get plenty of cricket this year. It’s a long season.”There’s nice balance to the batting too. Jaik Mickelburgh is our spare batsman; he’s got a good hundred this week for the seconds. Ryan ten Doeschate and Owais Shah are to come back as well. Cooky will play a couple of games too. So the squad’s looking good.”If you achieve things it’s not down to 11, 12 players, it’s down to 15, 16. We might have to use a rotation system at some time, if guys are a bit tired we might be able to rest one or two at certain periods, especially with one-day cricket. But I’m pleased with the way the squad is shaping up.”

One of the few remaining vestiges of the Mickey Arthur era has departed Cricket Australia, with bowling coach Ali De Winter going his separate ways from the team

Daniel Brettig24-Jan-2015One of the few remaining vestiges of the Mickey Arthur era has departed Cricket Australia, with bowling coach Allister de Winter going his separate ways from the team after his former role was gradually taken up by the return and subsequent promotion of Craig McDermott.A former Tasmania bowling coach, de Winter had interviewed for the role of bowling coach in mid-2011 but was overlooked, before taking on the job fulltime a year later as part of the support staff overseen by Arthur when his predecessor and sometime rival McDermott resigned following the end of the 2012 West Indies tour.Between then and the end of the 2013 Ashes tour, de Winter served as chief mentor for Australia’s pace bowlers, who enjoyed some success at home but struggled notably on tours of England and India in 2013, culminating in the “homework” suspensions of four players in Mohali.McDermott worked with the pacemen again in the lead-up to the Ashes in England, and while de Winter oversaw the unit that began to unearth weaknesses in the batting order of Alastair Cook’s side during the course of that series, the new coach Darren Lehmann had begun to look further afield for other options.McDermott was re-hired to work with the Test team at the outset of the home Ashes series, during which the outstanding combination of Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle confounded the English tourists. Following an underwhelming World Twenty20 campaign in Bangladesh, de Winter was sidelined further from his limited-overs coaching role when McDermott was promoted to assistant coach across all formats in mid-2014.”Ali is no longer working with the Australian team,” the team performance manager Pat Howard told the . “He played a valuable role supporting our bowlers from 2012. He finished on very good terms and the door remains open to him working with us again in the future.”Echoing Howard’s words, de Winter said there was nothing acrimonious about his exit. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with the Australian team over the past two and a half years,” he said. “I’m pursuing other career opportunities in a number of areas, including cricket. I remain on good terms with everyone involved in the game.”Other members of team support staff to either depart or changes roles since Lehmann replaced Arthur have included the strength and conditioning coach David Bailey and the fielding coach Steve Rixon, replaced by Damian Mednis and Greg Blewett respectively.

Warwickshire’s response provided the measure of Middlesex’s first innings, which may not have been below par to the extent it was suspected after the Division One leaders made hard work of getting their noses in front

Jon Culley at Edgbaston22-Aug-2012
ScorecardIan Westwood scored his second century against Middlesex this season before Warwickshire’s lower order collapsed•Getty ImagesWarwickshire’s response provided the measure of Middlesex’s first innings, which may not have been below par to the extent it was suspected after the Division One leaders made hard work of getting their noses in front. With Ian Blackwell, the former England allrounder, coming in at No. 8, Warwickshire’s batting line-up looked irresistibly strong, yet there were more failures than successes and they take a lead of only six runs into the third day, eight wickets down.Yet they had been 175 without loss as Ian Westwood and Varun Chopra again demonstrated their effectiveness as an opening partnership. The two have shared four three-figure stands this season, three of those in the last six innings. Until Chopra fell to a fine, diving catch by Sam Robson at gully off the first ball of Gareth Berg’s second spell, they seemed capable of establishing a lead all on their own.They had ridden their luck at times, in terms of streaky runs off the edge of the bat, but as on Tuesday nothing went to hand. And as the ball aged their authority grew. Chopra, unusually, was the more passive partner, allowing Westwood to take the lead. The left-hander’s first 51 runs spanned 85 balls, to which he added his next 41 at a run a ball, increasing his boundary count from seven to 16. Only in the 90s did he feel he should take stock, facing 22 balls while scoring only six before his 17th four took him to 102.Westwood gave up the Warwickshire captaincy two years ago after enduring a full season without a first-class century. This was his fifth since then and his second in the space of three weeks, both against Middlesex.It seemed to give Warwickshire a platform for a substantial total yet thereafter the innings somewhat lost its way. No subsequent combination was able to add more than 29 and if Chris Wright and Keith Barker are parted quickly on the third morning Warwickshire will have achieved scarcely better than parity.A hailstorm drove the players from the field with a dozen overs left of day two, leaving puddles on the outfield that had not drained more than an hour after the storm had passed, which illustrated the problems the groundstaff still face after such a wet summer.They were not helped in their attempts to protect the square by the umpires’ indecision about when to take the players off, even though dark clouds were looming ominously. Jim Troughton cannot have been impressed either, given that it was in pretty poor light that he was caught at second slip off Tim Murtagh, who is not exactly on the slower side of medium.Others had less obvious excuses. As on day one, anything bowled too short asked to be hit but fuller deliveries posed problems. There were some notable catches, with Steven Crook matching Robson for athleticism at gully when he held a stunner, diving to his right, to give Neil Dexter the wicket of Darren Maddy.It was Dexter’s medium pace, ultimately, that did for Westwood, inducing a chip to mid-off from a mistimed drive, after facing 183 balls for his 120. There was a maiden Championship wicket for the 21-year-old left-arm spinner Ravi Patel, who started nervously but found some confidence after William Porterfield edged to slip.The innings took a sharp downturn after the new ball became available, with Toby Roland-Jones inflicting the most damage and removing three of Warwickshire’s better bets for another substantial score. He had Rikki Clarke caught behind with a ball that found some extra bounce and followed up when Tim Ambrose edged one that cut away late. Blackwell was leg before to one that nipped back and stayed low.

Lalchand Rajput is disappointed the fancied batting line-up didn’t click as a unit, but is not alarmed about the future of India’s middle order

Sidharth Monga20-Jun-2012Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the touring India A side in the West Indies, is disappointed the fancied batting line-up didn’t click as a unit, but is not alarmed about the future of India’s middle order after a side full of Test aspirants failed to reach 300 in any of the innings of the three first-class matches against West Indies A. The sheer amount of international experience in India A’s middle order – Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary – made them favourites going into the series, but none of them scored a century, and India A lost the series even after having won the first match.”It’s fair to say we didn’t think the series would go this way,” Rajput said from Port-of-Spain where the limited-overs leg of the tour will commence. “They bowled really well too. Delorn Johnson took 17 wickets in the series, and Jason Holder was good as well. Ours was a strong batting line-up that never clicked as a unit. The conditions were difficult, but we should have done better.”India A’s first two wickets invariably yielded little, and the middle order always found itself under pressure and exposed to the new ball. In the six innings, the first two wickets added respectively 0 and 1, 4 and 8, 1 and 11, 14 and 14, 16 and 16, and 22 and 1. “We were a very strong batting unit,” Rajput said. “But we never clicked together. In six innings we never had an opening stand. We were always 20 for 3 or 30 for 3. If you want a big score, the top three have to fire.”Those who followed gave a relatively better account of themselves: Pujara crossed fifty thrice, Wriddhiman Saha twice, and Rohit and Tiwary once each. One of Pujara’s fifties was a special effort of 96 in the chase of 186 in the first match, in Barbados, after the visitors had been reduced to 77 for 6 and 115 for 8. India A would have hoped to carry some momentum and psychological edge into the next match, but losing the toss proved crucial on a pitch that was turning square on the fourth morning. Put in on a damp morning in the third match, the India A top order came up short once again, and even Pujara, who had scored three half-centuries in four innings until then, was run out before he could make a difference.The first-class matches of this tour were particularly important for the young Indian batsmen after Rahul Dravid’s retirement earlier this year. The selectors won’t get to watch another first-class match before they pick the team for the first of the 10 Tests this home season. Rajput said there was no need to panic, and that this tour was an important experience for the youngsters.”It’s actually good that we are exposing them in conditions abroad before they get into the Test side,” Rajput said. “It will help them. They’ll know what to expect when they go abroad. It’s a good idea for them to get exposure at an early stage in their career.”They should know relatively early that playing abroad is different. They now know what they need to work on. Life is difficult when you go and play abroad. You have to work hard. Still they are sound players. Don’t write them off based on this tour.”Pujara’s temperament, Saha’s keeping, Rohit’s start, and the surprise package, Bengal quick Shami Ahmed, were the positives of the series, Rajput said. “Pujara’s in Bridgetown was one of the best innings I have ever seen,” Rajput said. “When you lose eight wickets, you put together that partnership to win the Test, it was tremendous. He showed a lot of character and temperament. Top performance.”The man who stood alongside Pujara during that match-winning effort was Ahmed, who impressed Rajput a lot. “He is strong, bowls at a sharp pace, and throughout the day,” Rajput said. “Even in the third spell of the day, he bowls around 140kmph. Even when batting he doesn’t give up. You have to get him out. He is one bowler to watch out for.”Saha showed similar resilience, Rajput said, scoring two fifties in tough batting conditions. His keeping on tough pitches was impressive too. Rohit got 94 in the first innings of the tour, but never kicked on after that. It summed up India A’s effort: “They got starts, but couldn’t convert them. Had they converted them, the story would have been different.”

Graeme Smith believes South Africa did well to overcome the conditions and persistent clouds to ensure they were undefeated in a 14th consecutive series

Firdose Moonda in Durban30-Dec-20130:00

Don’t think we’ll ever replace Jacques – Smith

Welcome back, Durban. You are part of South Africa again.After being the scene of four straight defeats between 2009 and 2011, South Africa have turned their fortunes at the coastal city around. That Graeme Smith could lead his men out to sing their team song on its surface more than three and a half hours after they sealed the series victory was confirmation Kingsmead has returned to the fold of home turf.”Protea fire” is the chorus of their song. The concept, featuring their nickname, the Proteas, is based on the germination of the country’s national flower. It can only grow after a fire, because the seeds are cased in a hard shell which can remain closed for two decades. After the adversity of flame, it blooms.Graeme Smith on Robin Peterson: “Robbie did well with the ball and with the bat last night. He brings a good balance to the team”•Getty ImagesSmith believes his men lived up to their emblem because they overcome conditions and persistent clouds to ensure they were undefeated in a 14th consecutive series. Of those, they have won eight, including this one. “The wicket didn’t make it easy for us. It’s almost like we were back in India,” he said. “The weather and the pitch made life a little more difficult. We had to work hard. To have the ability to turn it around and win like we did is a huge achievement.”The difference ended up being in the spin department, but not in the way anyone would have expected. Robin Peterson ended up as South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in the second innings with four scalps. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja were two of them, having misjudged their shots against him.Zaheer Khan was the other on the final day, adjudged lbw. Replays showed the ball would have missed legstump but the delivery Peterson bowled to achieve that wicket was a carrom ball, a skill many would have thought Peterson lacked. Add that to the 52-ball 61 he powered his way to with the bat and it was a good game for Peterson, who was under scrutiny after the way he bowled in Abu Dhabi against Pakistan.South Africa still have unanswered questions in that department but Peterson went some way to reassuring them with this showing. “Both our spinners have faced challenging times,” Smith said. “Robbie did well with the ball and with the bat last night. He brings a good balance to the team. The four wickets will be hugely rewarding. Without those four wickets, I don’t think we would have come close to winning this Test match.”Peterson’s ability as a lower-order allrounder may take the pressure off South Africa to find another seam-bowling two-in-one immediately following Kallis’ Test retirement. There will be no easy polyfill for them, something MS Dhoni warned them of when he described Kallis as their “ultimate luxury” which India could have used.”If we had a Kallis, we would have played two spinners and three seamers,” Dhoni said. “But there’s no point complaining about what we don’t have. South Africa will have to find someone. They have players who can bat and bowl but they will have groom them further.”Smith acknowledged something similar but has already understood Kallis himself cannot be substituted. “I don’t think we are ever going to replace Jacques. The sooner we face that, the better,” he said. ‘We’ll need to get tactically smart. I don’t think anyone who gets picked should be labeled as Jacques Kallis’ replacement. What Jacques has left is huge. It’s important that the next guy gets a fresh start.”South Africa have six weeks to ponder that before Australia arrive, a contest they are relishing despite the break to play domestic 20-overs cricket. “We’re just hitting our straps and now we have another month off… I feel if we had a couple more [international] matches, we’d play really well,” Smith said. “But it’s setting up for an exciting series.”Until then, South Africa can soak in the success they’ve just achieved in beating the team ranked second, gaining two ranking points, winning a series against India for the first time since 2006. “The one team we haven’t beaten over the last three years [is India]. At the Wanderers, we were behind the game for 90% of it and fought our way back to draw. This was an incredible win considering the weather and India’s performance on the first day.” Smith said. “This team conducts itself in ways that speak for itself.”

Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers might well have batted Australia out of the Wanderers Test, according to South Africa opener Jacques Rudolph

Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers19-Nov-2011Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers might well have batted Australia out of the Wanderers Test, according to South Africa opener Jacques Rudolph. The pair came together with South Africa having slipped to 90 for 3, effectively 60 for 3 because of their deficit, but their unbroken 139-run partnership has put South Africa in a winning position.”When we lost the first three wickets upfront, you still felt a little bit like the game was balanced on a knife edge,” Rudolph said. “But I thought those two [Amla and de Villiers] almost took it away from the Australians.”South Africa only need a draw to win the two-Test series and claim their first series win over Australia at home since readmission. However, Rudolph, as well as assistant coach Russell Domingo, said the team is still targeting a clean sweep of the visitors. They have been in discussion about what a comfortable enough lead would be.”I was speaking to Jacques Kallis and he also said that if we get anything around 300, it’s a competitive score and the Aussies will still be in with a chance,” Rudolph said. “Around 350 or 400, will be a good score. Tomorrow morning we’ve got 11 overs before the second new ball, which might give Hashim and AB a chance to get in and set up another good one or two sessions.” Rudolph said South Africa hoped to be “bowling in the afternoon” to give themselves enough time to dismiss Australia.Domingo said South Africa’s task will be to accumulate runs briskly on the fourth morning. “It’s a long way from looking at declarations. We know it’s generally a quick scoring ground here, so scoring runs tomorrow morning is going to be crucially important,” he said. “How much we set them and if we declare or don’t declare is not on anyone’s mind at the moment, it’s just to have enough to give us a good chance of winning the Test match.”With the pitch remaining a good strip for batting, Domingo said South Africa cannot afford to “be stupid” about the size of the target they set Australia. “We have to give the bowlers enough runs to [be able to employ] carry a third slip and the gully,” he said. “At a place like the Wanderers, where scores can be chased down because of the nature of the outfield and the altitude, we’ve got to be clever about what type of carrot we are going to dangle, if we are going to dangle a carrot.”Although the strip remains batsmen-friendly, something is also expected to be in it for the bowlers throughout the match. Rudolph said the result may hinge on which side have the more patient attack. “It [the track] has proven that if you just stick to the one area, there is enough in it for the bowlers. So it will come down to the bowler who will be willing to do that the most consistently.”Australia’s bowlers, barring Patrick Cummins, struggled on the third day. Siddle bowled well but was unable to make a breakthrough, and Mitchell Johnson shortened his run-up without devastating effects. Shane Watson said the bowlers are aware that they will need to find some extra spark, because they do not expect a favour, in the form of a sporting declaration, from South Africa. “We’re going to have to bowl them out, there’s no way they are going to let us in,” he said. “If we were in the position they are in, we’d be doing the same thing.”Watson said Australia will be up for the task, whatever it is. “If a few guys have a really good day, it means we can chase down a big total,” he said.Wet weather may thwart both teams’ plans, with rain forecast for most of the fourth day. Domingo said South Africa have not been keeping an eye on the clouds, though, and will stick to their plan of playing positively. “Our mindset will be to look to win, not to depend on weather to save [win] a Test series.”