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Selected in the India Test squad for the West Indies tour, Jaiswal will be heading to the NCA in Bengaluru in a couple of days’ time to prepare

PTI23-Jun-20232:22

Has Cheteshwar Pujara played his last Test?

On Friday afternoon, when news of his selection in the India Test squad for the tour of the West Indies came in, there was emotion and elation in equal measure for Yashasvi Jaiswal.”My father started crying. I have not yet met my mother [since the announcement], I am going to see her in some time. I was out from the morning, had a practice session as well as some other work,” Jaiswal told PTI in an interview in Mumbai hours after his selection.”I am feeling good, I will try to do my best,” Jaiswal, who will be heading to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru in a couple of days’ time to prepare for the series, said. “I am excited but at the same time I just want to go out and express myself.”Related

• Jaiswal a far cry from Dravid and Pujara, but can make No. 3 his own

• Pujara dropped; Jaiswal and Gaikwad in India's Test squad

• Samson, Gaikwad and Mukesh in India ODI squad for WI tour

• Six players who could debut for India in the next WTC cycle

Jaiswal, 21, had lit up the IPL (625 runs at a strike rate of 163.61) for Rajasthan Royals and has dominated in red-ball cricket too (he has a first-class average of 80.21 in 26 innings, and in his most recent first-class game, in the Irani Cup in March, made scores of 213 and 144). He was among India’s reserve players for the World Test Championship final earlier this month.Jaiswal said he was nervous heading into the squad announcement. “I was a little nervous, till the time you do not get to know that your name is there in the team, there are butterflies. But it is a good feeling.”My preparations have been going good and I got to interact a lot with the senior players [during the WTC final]. The conversation has been very simple – to focus on my work. I learned from them that in the end it is all about you, how you take it going forward.”The West Indies series includes two Tests, the first starting in Dominica on July 12 and the second in Trinidad on July 20.

Virat Kohli thinks the thee T20Is against England is an opportunity for some of the returning senior members to seal their spots

Vishal Dikshit in Kanpur25-Jan-20172:30

Platform right to groom youngsters – Kohli

Contrary to the usual convention of bringing in a lot more youth for T20 matches, India have gone back to veterans like Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Amit Mishra for the three Twenty20 internationals against England.Dhoni’s inclusion is perhaps to groom and ease in a young wicketkeeper, such as the uncapped Rishabh Pant. Others like Yuvraj, Raina and Mishra will be under pressure to perform to keep their own places.Yuvraj struck a century in the second ODI last week, and Mishra has been in and around the mix – he played two home Tests against England and took 18 wickets in five ODIs against New Zealand. Raina, though, hasn’t had much cricket coming into the tournament. He last played for India in March 2016; he was left out after being originally included in India’s ODI squad for the New Zealand series because of an “illness”. He also missed a majority of Uttar Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy campaign.That means he will have to hit the ground running straightaway, should he be picked in the XI. Virat Kohli believes Raina will have a lot to offer this team. “We still believe that he has enough to contribute in the short formats for India,” Kohli said. “Again, this series will be an opportunity for a lot of guys to get back into the groove or seal their spots or whatever you want to call it. The reason why everyone is included in the squad is because we believe in them, we have faith in them; they can contribute now and in the future as well.”At the end of the day it’s up to the individual after that, how well prepared he is or how eagerly he is waiting for the opportunity. From the management and the selectors’ point of view, they can only do so much in showing faith and getting a guy into the squad and it’s up to the individual. It’s about striking the right balance and hopefully he does get back into his groove because I feel he certainly has a lot to offer for Indian cricket, especially in the shorter formats and he can start with this series onwards, there’s no problem with that.”Yuzvendra Chahal has proved himself to be a handy T20 bowler over the last three IPL seasons•BCCI

Mishra’s inclusion also occurred only because frontline spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were rested ahead of five more home Tests – one against Bangladesh and four against Australia. He was picked as a replacement along with Parvez Rasool, with Yuzvendra Chahal already in the squad.Mishra has played only one T20I since the 2014 World T20 and would be eager to stamp his mark during the series, knowing the other spinners will be breathing down his neck, especially with Rasool’s added batting skills.”The guys who are coming in have done well in IPL and in domestic T20,” Kohli said. “They are pretty consistent; the areas that they are bowling are pretty good. Chahal, obviously, everyone has seen his performances. Rasool played under me at Royal Challengers Bangalore. So I have seen the way he bowls. He is pretty confident and can bowl with the new ball against some of the attacking batsmen of the world.”These two guys are smart. They know how to create pressure and bowl to get you wickets. I am pretty confident about both of them and am sure they will extend it to this level as well. This is a breakthrough series for both them. They have not played a big series yet. This might be the perfect opportunity for them to seal their spots as T20 specialist spinners.”Since India do not play three-match T20 series frequently, except before a World T20, the selectors opted for youth in Pant and others like Mandeep Singh, given the series does not have as much context as the ODIs did because of the upcoming Champions Trophy. That meant there could be more experimentation in the T20 series and more chances could be given to youngsters, than just sticking with the old horses.”The squad has been selected like that,” Kohli said. “We’ve got in quite a few youngsters now who we want to groom with the senior guys in the team. Eventually the idea is to groom them enough to give them confidence from hereon and then maybe push them to the ODIs and then give more confidence and then from thereon have that gradual progress to get them to the highest level which is Test cricket.”But it’s very important to back them enough in T20 cricket, get some confidence behind you and then extend your career graph as I said. The vision has to be that, you have to understand that even me or anyone can’t play forever so you need to understand who are the guys who are going to slowly blend in and take Indian cricket forward. That has to be kept in mind all the time.”India are carrying plenty of batting reserves with KL Rahul, Pant and Mandeep Singh as openers, and Raina and Manish Pandey for the middle-order spots along with Dhoni and Yuvraj. Kohli, without divulging any plans about the XI for Thursday’s match, said it was “easy” to pick a line-up in the beginning of a series, compared to later when it would be tough to decide whether to drop a batsman or give him more chances.”The problem always arises when you don’t have consistency,” Kohli said. “But in the first game it’s not much of an issue because you already have a set batting line-up that you want to start with. If there are consistency issues with a particular batting place or position, then it becomes difficult if you want to replace the guy or if you want to give him a couple of more goes. I think starting the first game is never an issue, you have a set XI in your head and you go ahead.”

Joe Denly scores half-century on return from IPL, but back spasm prevents him from bowling

ECB Reporters Network23-Apr-2019Gareth Roderick’s second List A century led Gloucestershire to a six-wicket Royal London One-Day Cup win over injury-hit Kent at Bristol.The visitors posted 282 for 8 from their 50 overs after losing the toss, Zak Crawley top-scoring with 85, while Joe Denly made 56 upon his return from the IPL but suffered a back spasm which prevented him from taking the field during Gloucestershire’s innings.Adam Rouse contributed a rapid 45 not out and there were two wickets each for David Payne, Benny Howell and Tom Smith.In reply, Gloucestershire were given a decent start by Chris Dent (41) and George Hankins (33) before Roderick (100 not out) and James Bracey (67) added 138 for the third wicket to put their side on course for victory with 19 balls to spare.It was the Spitfires’ fourth defeat in as many group matches, while Gloucestershire moved to four points from three games.Without overseas signing Matt Renshaw, Daniel Bell-Drummond and Darren Stevens, Kent needed an early partnership and after the fall of Sean Dickson for four, they got it through skipper Denly and Crawley.The pair added 103 in 21 overs, Denly reaching a fluent half-century with a straight six off Graeme van Buuren, having faced 60 balls, and Crawley moving to the same landmark from 67 deliveries.Denly was caught behind prodding at a ball from Payne. Heino Kuhn contributed a bright 24 before chancing his arm once too often with a quick single and being run out by Roderick.Alex Blake lifted Howell for a massive six over mid-wicket, but was soon well caught by van Buuren as the ball dropped over his shoulder off the same bowler.From 184 for 4 in the 37th over, Kent slipped to 237 for 7, Crawley being bowled by a quicker ball from left-arm spinner Smith, having faced 110 balls.Ollie Robinson was caught and bowled by Howell off a leading edge and when Harry Podmore fell to Smith for 21, Gloucestershire, themselves without overseas player Dan Worrall and seamer Matt Taylor, looked in control.Rouse smashed four sixes against his former county, taking a heavy toll on Chris Liddle, who had proved expensive throughout. He ended up with none for 93 from ten overs, the most runs conceded by a Gloucestershire bowler in List A cricket.Already hit by a lengthy injury list, Kent’s bowling attack suffered a new blow when Denly was unable to take the field.Kent assistant coach Allan Donald said: “Joe Denly suffered a back spasm while batting that we need to manage and it just adds to the most vicious injury cycle I have ever known. When you see Sean Dickson and Zak Crawley bowling in a game it shows the lengths to which we are suffering.”The players are hurting, but there is nothing we can do but stay together, be patient and see this period through. I hope there is some reward at the end of it and we can come out winning something at the end of the season. Then we might be able to look back on our start and smile. But at the moment, with so many players missing, it is very tough to take.”Hankins helped Dent take the score to 72 in the 17th over before charging down the pitch to Imran Qayyum and being stumped.Dent was distraught when caught on the boundary attempting to swing a Blake long-hop for six to make it 90 for 2. It was Blake’s fourth List A wicket and his first since switching from medium pace to off-spin.Roderick and Bracey were content to milk ones and twos as they took the total to 136 for 2 by the halfway stage.On 33, Roderick survived a sharp chance to Blake at cover off Podmore. Without the option of Denly’s spin, Kent gave occasional seamer Dickson a first bowl in List A cricket, with Crawley also turning his arm for a couple of overs.Left-hander Bracey was first to a comfortable fifty off 41 balls, with six fours, while Roderick followed in the next over, having faced 45 balls and hit three boundaries.Bracey was caught down the leg-side by Rouse off Mitchell Claydon and Howell fell cheaply, but Roderick went to three figures off 80 balls, ending just short of his List A best of 104.

Markram and Klaasen had put Sunrisers in control of their chase before the mystery spinner’s choke

Sidharth Monga04-May-20231:31

Dasgupta: Varun is the leader of KKR’s pack right now

Varun Chakravarthy bowled overs 16, 18 and 20 for 12 runs – four of them off byes and leg byes – and one wicket as Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off an improbable win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, only their fourth in 10 matches this season. The defeat left SRH in an identical situation to KKR’s before the match: three wins in six matches. Both sides remained in must-win territory.When Heinrich Klaasen was dominating at the start of the second half of the chase, it seemed like a cruise for SRH in their pursuit of 172. When they needed 48 off the last six overs, Klaasen fell to Shardul Thakur’s golden arm, and then Varun choked SRH with help from Vaibhav Arora, who got the wicket of Aiden Markram in the 17th over.Varun Chakravarthy was KKR’s hero in the closing stages•Associated Press

Jansen’s bounce

KKR’s seventh opening combination of this IPL was the most anticipated: Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, both of whom have batted breathtakingly in different matches. The promise didn’t materialise as Gurbaz walked at Marco Jansen the first ball he faced, and ended up top-edging to mid-on. Later in the over, Venkatesh Iyer got a snorter: extra bounce from just short of a length, and straight at his face. Off the glove to the keeper.Bhuvneshwar Kumar frustrated Roy with his movement, and Kartik Tyagi, playing his first match this year, benefited as Roy went to manufacture a pull from well outside off and toe-ended it to short third: 35 for 3 in the fifth over.

The recovery

Helped by some waywardness from Jansen in his third over, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh set about rebuilding the innings at a fair clip. Aiden Markram saw the opportunity to slip in a couple of overs to two left-hand batters, and found some grip. It was when Tyagi tried to bounce Rana that KKR finally found proper momentum with two sixes and a four in the 10th over to move to 90 for 3.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Spinners shackle KKR

With KKR looking to dominate, Markram went to his No. 1 spinner Mayank Markande, who immediately applied the brakes. Markram himself got a change of ends, and Rana took a risk only to top-edge a slog-sweep.With Sunil Narine not in batting form, KKR didn’t have an option but to send Andre Russell out to face wristspin. He managed to hit two sixes off overpitched balls, but Markande still overpitched, only wide of his reach, and had him caught at short third.Wickets then kept falling. KKR sacrificed Suyash Sharma by substituting in Anukul Roy with 15 balls to spare, but they never found the big overs at the death.

Harshit gives KKR new-ball bonus

KKR have mainly relied on their spinners to win them matches but they received a bonus through the impressive burly fast bowler Harshit Rana. He bowled with some heat, and had Mayank Agarwal gloving a bouncer. Shardul Thakur’s golden touch continued with Abhishek Sharma nonchalantly skying one up. Rahul Tripathi took Russell on with four, six and four in the sixth over, but fell to a ramp off a slower ball against the same bowler.Having taken three early wickets through the quicks, KKR fancied their chances, especially with Anukul getting harry Brook for a duck on the paddle sweep in the seventh over. At 54 for 4, with their two main spinners in the pocket, KKR proceeded to tighten the screws.Heinrich Klaasen took on the spinners to put SRH in control of their chase•BCCI

Klaasen shifts the momentum

Klaasen and Markram, SRH’s two best batters, went 19 straight balls without even attempting a boundary let alone hit one. They knew there wasn’t much behind them so they were contend to rebuild. KKR were holding back their main spinners, telling them the batters would have to take big risks on a slow low pitch to get the 97 they needed in the last 10 overs.Klaasen chose Anukul’s third over as the moment to start the pushback. He charged the first ball of the 11th over, and went over long-off for a six. Then he slogged a 101m hit over midwicket. It rubbed on to Markram – he was on 11 off 21 then – who welcomed Varun with two square-cut fours.It was as though the floodgates had opened with 49 coming off four overs, leaving Sunrisers just 48 to get off six overs.

Thakur inspires, Varun executes

Brought back, Thakur again imparted the golden touch. This length ball, to start the 15th over, looked on-pace and in the slot, but it was a fast cutter, and Klaasen toe-ended it to long-on. SRH still had Markram in charge, and he had now moved up to a run a ball after his slow start. Two boundaries in that Thakur over calmed SRH’s nerves.However, Varun sucked the life out of their innings. Bowling around the wicket, he denied them any hits down the ground by bowling into the pitch. Nor did he give them any pace to work with.Markram felt obliged to take on Vaibhav, but chose a bouncer too high to go after. He ended up holing out to long-off for 41 off 40. Varun kept tightening the noose. No boundary came off the 18th over. With 21 required off two overs, Gurbaz took a stunning left-handed catch off Jansen’s inside edge. Arora then overcame a no-ball, which Abdul Samad sliced for four, to leave Varun eight to defend in the last over.Samad, 20 off 16 at the start of the over, ended up hitting a slow short ball straight to deep midwicket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had never ended up on the winning side on the 33 previous occasions when he had batted in a chase in the IPL; left with too much to do now, he finished on the losing side once again.

Bangladesh batter was dropped from the Champions Trophy squad on Sunday morning, and scored a BPL hundred later that day

Mohammad Isam13-Jan-2025Bangladesh batter Litton Das has accepted that he was dropped from the ODI squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy because of his poor form. Bangladesh announced their squad on Sunday morning and later that day Litton smashed an unbeaten 125 off 55 balls for Dhaka Capital against Durbar Rajshahi in the BPL.”The Champions Trophy selection wasn’t in my control,” Litton said after his performance. “The selectors took the call. They decide whom to play. My job is to perform. I haven’t been able to do that. I think I was a bit upset about it. I have the same mindset before and after the game today. The day has already passed. I have played a good knock but it’s in the past. I start from zero again. I will keep working hard, let’s see what happens next.”I was given a clear message. Maybe not from the selectors but it is easy to find out why I wasn’t picked in the team. I was dropped because I wasn’t performing. There’s nothing to hide about it. Basic, normal.”Related

• Rangpur ride to seven in seven; Litton, Usman and Saifuddin put on a show

• Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan slam tons to take Dhaka Capitals to record total

• Litton and Shakib left out of Bangladesh's Champions Trophy squad

Litton hasn’t made it out of single digits in his last seven ODI innings and his previous 50-plus score was in October 2023. “Fans will support me but then when I don’t do well, people will be negative. That’s not really my concern,” he said. “I am focused on what I need to do. I haven’t been playing well, so I need to improve my game. I won’t change overnight, so I have to keep trying. People will love it when I score runs.”I am not out there to prove to anyone. I only look for improvement. I don’t think I was playing well for the last few months. I will try to become more consistent from this point, especially after this innings.”Litton began the BPL season poorly with scores of 31, 0, 2 and 9 before making 73 and 125 not out in consecutive games. The hundred helped Dhaka Capital end a run of six consecutive defeats.His unbeaten 125 contained 10 fours and nine sixes and his 241-run opening stand with Tanzid Hasan was the second highest partnership in men’s T20 cricket. Litton credited Shahin, a member of the Dhaka support staff who has given him throwdowns for years, for helping him out of his rut.”Shahin has been working in the [Dhaka Capital]) team. He has worked with Comilla Victorians for the last three years … He helps me in training all the time, and passes on information from time to time. He is capable of pointing out a batter’s mistake. That’s why I thanked him. But listen, please don’t make a news that he has now become a coach.”Litton believes Dhaka’s 149-run win against Rajshahi will help them perform better in the second half of the BPL season. “We have a good team but we haven’t been able to click so far. I think today was the first time we performed as a unit, both with bat and ball. We still have five matches left. Two teams are at the top, while the rest are around the same points. I think our run rate will improve after this game. We got our rhythm going. I don’t know if we can win the next games, but we feel more confident.”

It will be the first time since 2004 that South Africa are playing a Test without both AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale11-Nov-2016

Match facts

November 12-16, 2016
Start time 1030 local (2330 GMT)3:07

‘Conditions are like an English seamer’

Big picture

That South Africa won the first Test at the WACA was in some ways not surprising, for in their previous three Tests at the venue they were unbeaten, and they were accustomed to recent success in Australia, having not lost a series here since 2005-06. Even without their captain AB de Villiers, they were in familiar territory. Not so for the second Test at Bellerive Oval in Hobart, which will be South Africa’s first Test appearance at the venue. And after Dale Steyn suffered a serious shoulder injury in Perth, South Africa are also on new ground in quite another way. Steyn and de Villiers made their debuts together against England in Port Elizabeth in December 2004 and this will be the first time since then that South Africa have entered a Test with neither man in the XI.That might have been cause for concern were it not for the manner of their victory in Perth, where the performances of South Africa’s newer players proved critical. There was Kagiso Rabada, the Man of the Match who stepped up heroically in Steyn’s absence. There was Temba Bavuma, who made a fighting fifty, took his maiden Test wicket, and pulled off one of the finest run-outs in Test history. There was Quinton de Kock, who scored a pair of half-centuries, one a salvage mission and the other a savage mission. And there was Keshav Maharaj, the debutant spinner who took four wickets and smashed late runs that just rubbed in South Africa’s dominance. True, hundreds from JP Duminy and Dean Elgar were key, but it was the contributions of these more junior figures that bode so well.What about Australia? Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood bowled well on day one. David Warner looked in good touch in both innings. Usman Khawaja fought for 97. Peter Nevill showed his grit in the second innings. But by the end of the Test, the Australians were falling apart like the WACA pitch. They had lost a fourth consecutive Test. The balance of their side, with an underperforming Mitchell Marsh at No.6, was again cause for consternation. Nathan Lyon seemed to lack the confidence of his captain. Adam Voges’ Bradmanesque 2015-16 summer seemed as distant a memory as the summers of Bradman himself. And to add injury to insult, Shaun Marsh and Peter Siddle were then ruled out of the Hobart Test.Down in the series, already questions have been asked of Australia’s preparation. Their men had not played red-ball cricket since the Test tour of Sri Lanka in August, for the only Sheffield Shield games came in a day-night round using pink balls. For the first time in two decades the first Test of the summer was moved from the Gabba, a fortress at which Australia have not lost since 1988, to the WACA, where they have not once beaten South Africa. Last time Australia won a home series after losing the first Test was in 1968, when Bill Lawry’s men staged a comeback against West Indies. This time, Australia must overcome not only South Africa but also the Hobart weather, with rain expected over at least the first couple of days.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)


Australia: LLLLW
South Africa: WWDWL

In the spotlight

Joe Mennie will be hoping his Test debut is more impressive than his first ODI. Last month, Mennie took 0 for 82 against South Africa in Johannesburg, the worst figures ever by an Australia bowler on ODI debut, and three of his likely Test opponents – Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy – batted against him in that game. But Mennie has fine recent red-ball form against the South Africans, having claimed two five-wicket hauls against South Africa A in first-class games in July and August. And plenty of his Test opponents were among his victims: Mennie dismissed Dean Elgar and Vernon Philander twice each, and Stephen Cook and Temba Bavuma once each. The leading Sheffield Shield wicket taker of last summer, Mennie’s long-form record is far superior to his short-form figures.One of the most impressive things about South Africa’s win in Perth was that they achieved it with virtually no contribution from Hashim Amla, who made 0 and 1. As the only member of this team to have played in the pre-Steyn and pre-de Villiers era, Amla’s experience will be invaluable to the squad for the remainder of this series. South Africa will hope his Perth failures were just a blip, and that Amla returns to the kind of touch that has brought him five Test hundreds against Australia, including two in Australia.Will it be Morne Morkel or Kyle Abbott for South Africa in Hobart?•Getty Images

Team news

At least two changes will be necessary for Australia, with Shaun Marsh and Siddle both out injured. Joe Burns will therefore resume his partnership with David Warner at the top of the order and fast bowler Mennie will make his Test debut. But there is also the chance of a third change, with Mitchell Marsh under pressure after the inclusion of Callum Ferguson in the squad. Captain Steven Smith said on the eve of the game there was a chance Australia would go in with “six genuine batsmen”, especially with the prospect of bad weather in Hobart, which would ease the workload on the bowlers. Adam Voges tweaked a hamstring in Perth but passed a fitness test on Friday and is expected to play.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh/Callum Ferguson, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Joe Mennie, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan LyonSouth Africa will also be forced to make one change due to the shoulder injury suffered by Dale Steyn in Perth. Kyle Abbott appears to have the front-running to replace Steyn, although Morne Morkel would come under consideration if passed fit. There is also the possibility that South Africa might choose four fast men given the conditions. Spinner Keshav Maharaj trained indoors on Friday, separate from the rest of the group, and is by no means a guaranteed starter. Dwaine Pretorius will not arrive in Hobart until Saturday, so a four-man pace attack would mean both Abbott and Morkel in the XI.South Africa (possible) 1 Stephen Cook, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Faf du Plessis (capt), 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 Quinton de Kock (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Keshav Maharaj/Morne Morkel.

Pitch and conditions

The Bellerive Oval pitch is typically very good for batting in Test matches, and there is no reason to expect anything different this year. However, rain is expected on at least the first two days, and overcast conditions should help the fast bowlers swing the ball.

Stats and trivia

• Only once in the past five Hobart Tests has the team batting first been bowled out. The other four first-innings scores were 5 for 542, 8 for 519, 5 for 450 and 4 for 583 – all by Australia.
• Australia will miss Siddle in Hobart, where he is the all-time leading Test wicket taker among fast bowlers, with 22 wickets at 15.72.
• Perhaps a good start for Smith would be to win the toss. Of the past 20 Tests in which Australia batted second, they lost 11; of the past 20 Tests in which they batted first, they lost only two.

Quotes

“It was a disappointing loss, I’m going okay. Things haven’t gone to plan so far, but we’ve got an opportunity to turn it around this week. The guys are in good spirits, we’ve prepared well again like we have for every Test and guys are keen and eager to get out there and turn this series around.”

Nick Selman, the Glamorgan opener, carried his bat for a maiden Championship century, as Glamorgan battled to stay in contention against Northamptonshire at Swansea

ECB Reporters Network05-Aug-2016
ScorecardLaurie Evans pressed Northants’ advantage in the second innings•PA Photos

Nick Selman, the Glamorgan opener, carried his bat for a maiden Championship century, as Glamorgan battled to stay in contention against Northamptonshire at Swansea. However, by the close, the visitors were strongly placed to push for their first Championship win of the season, as they closed with a lead of 315 with three wickets still in hand.Selman’s battling effort, which lasted 302 minutes and included 15 fours from 208 balls, meant he became the first Glamorgan batsman to carry his bat since the Australian Matthew Elliott achieved the feat against Hampshire in Cardiff in 2004.Although he received some support from the lower order, with Andrew Salter, Ruaidhri Smith and Owen Morgan all falling in the twenties, six of Glamorgan’s batsmen were dismissed in single figures as Northants’ seam attack, led by Mohammad Azharullah and Ben Sanderson, thrived in the conditions.Azharullah was their most impressive bowler with 3 for 58, as Northants’ seamers observed the virtue of bowling a full length on a pitch that does give them some assistance. However, had Selman not been dropped by Rory Kleinveldt from an easy caught and bowled chance from the first ball of the day, the damage would have been even greater.As it was, Northants secured a first-innings lead of 85, and were once again rattled by the teenaged debutant, Lukas Carey, who dismissed both openers early in the innings. Ben Duckett failed for the second time in the game when he drove loosely outside the off stump, and he was quickly followed by Rob Newton who edged to second slip.

Laurie Evans remained steadfast however, and passed fifty for the second time in the game in adding 75 with David Murphy, who was eventually lbw to Carey. The 19-year-old then claimed his fourth wicket when Saif Zaib edged to the wicketkeeper, before Northants lost two wickets in successive balls to Tim van der Gugten.After striking 32 from 17 balls, Kleinveldt holed out on the extra cover boundary then Evans, who scored 73 with eight fours, was visibly annoyed with himsef when he pulled a short ball to the fielder on the square leg boundary. Graeme White and Sean Terry added some useful runs towards the end of the day as Northants closed on 230 for 7.

New Zealand were in the game for long periods but fell short in the end

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2023South Africa bounced back from the defeat in the fourth T20I with an 11-run win in the fifth and final game to square the rain-hit series 1-1 in Benoni on Sunday. Tazmin Brits and Sune Luus did most of the work with the bat, but it was the bowlers who won South Africa the game, Masabata Klaas and Nadine de Klerk picking up three wickets apiece to stop New Zealand 11 short in a moderate chase.Asked to bat, captain Laura Wolvaardt and Brits put on a quick 36-run stand at the top, Wolvaardt doing the bulk of the scoring before being dismissed for a 20-ball 24 in the fifth over by Lea Tahuhu. Anneke Bosch joined Brits, and the two took South Africa to a strong 75 for 1 at the halfway mark, but the two batters were dismissed within three overs of each other, and South Africa were 115 for 3 in 15.1 overs, with the scoring rate having slowed down.Luus contributed an unbeaten 36 in 23 balls, and despite two-wicket hauls from Tahuhu and Molly Penfold, South Africa got to a competitive 155.South Africa needed early wickets, and Klaas got one for them when she got rid of Kate Anderson for 11 in the third over. But Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr took control of the game from that point and stitched together a stand of 97 runs for the second wicket. Unfortunately for New Zealand, the pace of scoring wasn’t fantastic, and when Bates was dismissed for 45 in 42 in the 16th over, by de Klerk, New Zealand still needed 39 to win. Kerr’s dismissal, to Klaas, two overs later made things worse.None of the remaining New Zealand batters got into double figures as Klaas, the Player of the Match, and de Klerk did all the damage and South Africa finished in front.South Africa had earlier won the three-match ODI series 2-1.

“I’ve been guilty of that in my Test career, and that’s something that I’d really like to change”

Firdose Moonda30-Dec-20221:20

Dean Elgar: “The negatives outweigh the positives, it was a pretty weak performance”

Temba Bavuma has conceded that his own lack of Test centuries has contributed to the bigger batting problems facing the South African line-up.Bavuma, who returned to the Test side for the series against Australia after missing the England tour with an elbow injury, has yet to add to the hundred he scored in his seventh Test in January 2016.Since then, he has played 46 Tests, scored 17 half-centuries and has the highest average among South African batters in 2022. But after they lost a fourth successive match, Bavuma admitted those numbers are not good enough.Related

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“The 60s or 70s or I guess they’re good for that moment, but in the bigger scheme of things they don’t change the outcome of the game. I’ve obviously been guilty of that in my Test career, and that’s something that I’d really like to change not just for myself but also for the team,” he said in Melbourne, in the aftermath of South Africa’s innings and 182-run defeat in the second Test.”That’s something that the team needs – two guys to go out there and score big hundreds, and really give the bowlers something to rally behind.”Bavuma has enjoyed three decent starts in the two Tests in Australia, and scored 38 and 29 at the Gabba, and 65 in the second innings at the MCG. Although he shared in some of South Africa’s highest partnerships in both matches – 98 and 42 with Kyle Verreynne and Khaya Zondo respectively in Brisbane, and 63 with Verryenne in Melbourne – Bavuma was not able to push on, as has been the case in several of his previous innings. He put that down to a combination of being left with the lower order and his own mindset, and has made his aim to rectify that in future.”I’m the common denominator there”, Bavuma said of the run-outs of Keshav Maharaj and Khaya Zondo•Getty Images

“If I look at my dismissal today [caught while slog sweeping], it was probably a brain fart,” Bavuma said. “If I was batting with a batter, I probably wouldn’t play the shot to be honest with you, with all due respect to KG [Kagiso Rabada] and the guys who came after them. I guess that’s that. That’s probably my biggest challenge: just to keep batting and see how long I can go out there.”Bavuma also accepted responsibility for his role in the run-outs of Zondo and Keshav Maharaj, who he called through for risky runs, and saw those dismissals as a metaphor for South Africa’s overall batting issues.”I was involved in both of them, so I guess I’m the common denominator there,” he said. “It probably just shows a lack of clarity and a bit of indecision between the guys batting out there. I’ll put it to that indecision, lack of clarity and cohesion between the guys batting.”Like his captain Dean Elgar, Bavuma pointed to “inexperience” in the Test line-up as one of the reasons for their struggles, but he did not go as far as questioning the structures of the South African system.”I’ve heard those arguments of people looking at our domestic system back home and asking if it really is equipping guys for this level,” he said. “I’m sure the guys in the room – the inexperienced guys – will understand that it’s a big jump. There’s a big difference between franchise cricket and international cricket.”I can’t really sit here and have a go at our system. I’m part of that system as well, so that’s not something I am going to give a brutal answer towards. But the inexperience within the group, that’s really showing up.”He also did not lay the blame for South Africa’s batting failures on bowler-friendly conditions, as has been the case among others in the set-up who have been asked about their string of low scores. South Africa have played in New Zealand, England and Australia this year, and have strung together seven successive innings under 200, which Bavuma said is simply sub-standard.”The talk around the conditions is a matter of stating the obvious,” he said. “The team that wins is the team that adapts better in those conditions. And we simply haven’t done that. It’s a matter of us just not simply adapting. We need to be brutally honest as a batting group – we just haven’t been good enough.”

A round-up of the Sunfoil Series matches played from March 31-April 2, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2016Wayne Parnell finished with career-best match figures of 12 for 105, guiding Cobras to a nine-wicket win over Dolphins at Newlands. Parnell had scythed through Dolphins for a career-best 7 for 51 in their first innings, and he took 5 for 54 in the second, ensuring that the game ended with a day to spare.Dolphins folded for 139 in their second innings, setting Cobras a target of 71. Dolphins lost Simon Khomari early, but Andrew Puttick (33 not out) and Stiaan van Zyl (37 not out) made sure there were no further hiccups as Cobras marched to 74 for 1 in 16.5 overs for their third win of the season.On the first day, Parnell had made sure Dolphins’ innings lasted just 46.3 overs after they were asked to bat. Vaughn van Jaarsveld, who top-scored with 58, and Senuran Muthusamy combined for a third-wicket stand of 72, but Muthusamy’s dismissal for 21 sparked a collapse as Dolphins slipped from 91 for 2 to 118 for 8. That they got to 183 was courtesy a rearguard effort from Craig Alexander, their No. 10, who blasted 54 off 35 balls.Parnell came good with the bat, too, stringing together a timely sixth-wicket stand of 101 with Dane Vilas after Cobras had been reduced to 99 for 5 in their reply. Parnell made 31, and Vilas top-scored with 80, to take Cobras to 252 and give them a 69-run lead. Dolphins’ new-ball bowlers did the bulk of the damage, with Alexander bagging 5 for 62, and Rabian Engelbrecht picking up 3 for 60.Several Dolphins batsmen got off to starts in the second dig, but none managed to make it count. Besides Parnell’s haul, Dane Piedt and fast bowler Brendan Young took two wickets apiece, while Vernon Philander accounted for one. Both Cobras and Dolphins, however, were already out of contention for the title.Warriors chased down 95 in 17.2 overs to beat Knights in a wicket-fest inside two days in Kimberley, giving them their first victory of the season. It also meant Knights suffered their fourth defeat as their push for the title received a significant blow.Fifteen wickets tumbled on the first day, and 16 on the second, before Martin Walters’ 40 off 39 balls, the second-best score in the match, helped Warriors break their drought. Edward Moore, the other opener, stayed unbeaten, on 29, as did No.3 Colin Ackermann, on 21.Having opted to bowl, Warriors seized the initiative by routing Knights for 128 in 51 overs. South Africa international Simon Harmer and Jerry Nqolo did the bulk of the damage, claiming combined figures of 21-9-36-7.Even as wickets fell around him, Rudi Second ground out 41 in 155 minutes, the highest score in the low-scoring match. Werner Coetsee (33), the captain, and opener Reeza Hendricks (18) were the only other batsmen to make double figures.Warriors then suffered a collapse of their own, but useful lower-order wagging put them in the lead. Seamer Duanne Olivier picked up his tenth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket and was ably assisted by Malusi Siboto as Warriors were reduced to 94 for 7 by the 40th over. Harmer stepped up with the bat and found company from No.9 Sisanda Magala; the pair put on 53, the joint-second best stand in the match.Facing a deficit of 37, Knights saw their top order getting cleaned up by Anrich Nortje. He ended with career-best returns of 5 for 34. Coetsee, Shadley van Schalkwyk, and Malusi Siboto mounted some late resistance, but Knights only managed to set a target of 95, as they lasted for even lesser time in the second innings, getting bowled out for 131 in 34.4 overs. The small target was easily knocked off courtesy positive batting from Warriors’ top three, as the team collected 15.3 points.