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Sri Lanka begin crucial South Africa tour in happy hunting ground

by csb10.top Uncategorized

Big picture: Two teams on an upward trajectory

Sri Lanka’s men are third on the World Test Championship table, with a win percentage of 55.56, and South Africa are right on their heels, on 54.17. Both are in striking distance of a top-two finish, for which presently, there are five serious contenders – India, Australia, and New Zealand being the other three.Ordinarily, this is enough to make this a tilt worth watching (there are distractions such as some Border-Gavaskar Trophy, plus a New Zealand vs England series elsewhere, apparently), but there are further layers of dramatic potential here. Sri Lanka, if you remember, are the only Asian team to ever have beaten South Africa at home in a series, back in 2019. Seven players from this current Sri Lanka squad had played roles in that 2-0 sweep.And in Durban, Sri Lanka have never once lost a Test, having played three there. In fact, they have won their two most recent games at Kingsmead, Rangana Herath’s wizardry having delivered their first triumph on South African soil back in 2011, before the Kusal Perera special sent them screaming to one of the most miraculous wins in Test history in 2019.Related

  • Sri Lanka's batting vs South Africa's bowling in the race to WTC final

  • Embuldeniya and Oshada Fernando return for Sri Lanka's Tests in SA

  • Bavuma, Coetzee, Jansen return for SA's home Tests against Sri Lanka

  • Bavuma battles 'mental demons' as he returns from lengthy injury layoff

  • South Africa not pushing for green tops for massive home season

But while the Sri Lanka team of that 2019 tour were held together by hope and kinesiology tape, this one seems to be building to something? (We ask tentatively, as this is a strange assertion to make for Sri Lanka teams over the last decade.) So far this year, they have won six Tests, the most impressive of which was their victory at The Oval. And they have what is increasingly beginning to seem like a seam-bowling outfit. Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, and Lahiru Kumara are the likely starters. But they have others like Kasun Rajitha and Milan Rathnayake who have had good showings in overseas conditions too.South Africa, meanwhile, are on an upward trajectory of their own. They’d sent what amounted to about an E-team to New Zealand for a pasting in February, but since then, their big dogs back in the XI, have won away series in West Indies and Bangladesh. They’re at the start of their home summer now, so presumably they are overflowing with confidence. The one wrinkle in all of this is that they haven’t especially loved playing at Kingsmead over the past 15 years. Since the start of 2010, they have lost five matches to the two they have won at this venue. While South Africa quicks revel in the extra bounce their home surfaces usually deliver, the coastal venues, and this one in particular, tends to play slower and lower in comparison.On top of which, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has said that they will not be requesting made-to-order green tops on this tour, which will please Sri Lanka’s batters especially. That doesn’t mean there will be no bounce or movement. Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s head coach, said he expected “some good pace” at Kingsmead. But expect the surface to take turn on the later days, especially. South Africa have some skillful seamers, but their spin attack will be tested here too.

Form guide

South Africa WWWDL
Sri Lanka WWWLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)Keshav Maharaj could end up playing a big role for South Africa in the home summer•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight: Keshav Maharaj and Kamindu Mendis

No bowler in this match knows the Kingsmead surface better than Keshav Maharaj. He was born in Durban, has played all his first-class cricket for the KwaZulu Natal Dolphins, and averages 21.52 in Tests at the venue. Though he has 54 Tests on his resume now, he’s only played three in his hometown, though. Partly, this is down to Covid. But one of those matches was against Sri Lanka, on that 2019 tour, and he took three wickets for 87 runs in that match. This sounds like it wasn’t especially impressive, but when one of the greatest innings of all time is being played by the opposition, it’s not terrible. He is also five years down the road in his development now, and at 34, should be in his spin-bowling prime. How Maharaj fares against Sri Lanka’s batters will go a long way to determining this series, you suspect.When will the Kamindu Mendis fever dream end? Eight Tests in, he has five hundreds – in three different countries – and in September became the fastest player to 1000 Test runs in 74 years. That average of 91.27 has to come down at some point, surely? But then people said that about him when he was in England, in August. His average was only in the 80s then. Though he is an all-format player for Sri Lanka now, Kamindu’s prowess has been limited to Tests for now – he is only a decent white-ball player, though his being able to bowl with either arm is likely more useful in those formats. Can he take this rocket-fueled start to a Test career to a whole new continent? In any case, there has never been a Sri Lanka batter who has been this hot out of the gate.

Team news: Sri Lanka ponder attack

*South Africa named their XI on the eve of the Test and picked Gerald Coetzee over the left-arm spin of Senuran Muthusamy, to join the pace attack of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder, with Keshav Maharaj the lone spinner.South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Tony de Zorzi, 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Temba Bavuma (capt.), 5 David Bedingham, 6 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Wiaan Mulder, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Kagiso RabadaSeven Sri Lanka players have been in Durban for at least two weeks, and they should have a full complement of cricketers to choose from. They have decisions to make on the bowling front. They will likely go with Milan Rathnayake, for the batting value he adds. But do they pick Vishwa Fernando or Lahiru Kumara? Vishwa brings in the left-arm angle and has had success in Durban. But Kumara has the pace to trouble batters.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Dimuth Karuanaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Milan Rathnayake, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Lahiru Kumara/Vishwa Fernando

Pitch and conditions: A wet start to the Test?

Some pace and bounce is likely early on, but if the sun falls on this Kingsmead pitch, expect it to become a little lower, and slower. Sun, though, might be in short supply early on in this match, with showers forecast for Wednesday, and overcast conditions predicted for Thursday.

Stats and trivia

  • Maharaj’s best-ever figures have come against Sri Lanka – his 9 for 129 in the first innings at the SSC, in Colombo, in 2018.
  • Kamindu Mendis’ away average so far, from nine innings, is 79.25. Five of those knocks came in England, where he averages 53.40, his lowest in any country.
  • In the nine Tests these teams have played since the start of 2015, South Africa have won five and Sri Lanka four. All but two of these Tests were in South Africa.

  • If Prabath Jayasuriya gets three wickets in Durban – his 17th Test – he will become the joint second-fastest bowler to 100 Test wickets, behind George Lohmann, who made his debut in the 19th century. Among players active since 1950, only Yasir Shah has done it in 17 Tests.
  • Lahiru Kumara is also closing in on 100 dismissals. He’d be the fifth Sri Lanka fast bowler to the milestone, behind Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, and Suranga Lakmal.

    Quotes

    “Neil [McKenzie]) was good. He was with us for a week. It was a good week, and we got some points from him. We went to a lot of batting sessions with him. He’s a very good cricketer and a very open person, so we took a lot of his information. How do we adapt to this bounce? How do we adapt to these conditions? How do we adapt to this seam? How do we adapt to this ground condition? We took a lot of things.”
    *1100 hours: The story was updated after South Africa named their XI

PCB issues Fakhar Zaman show-cause notice after post in support of Babar Azam

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Babar Azam’s dropping from the Pakistan squad has seen Fakhar Zaman entangled in a dispute with the PCB, with the cricket board issuing him a show-cause notice for a social media post. After news of Babar’s omission from Pakistan’s squad for the second and third Test broke, Fakhar took to X (formerly Twitter) before the PCB had officially announced the squad.He described the development as “concerning” saying “sidelining arguably the best batter Pakistan has ever produced” risked sending a “deeply negative message across the board”. He called on the PCB to “safeguard” players rather than “undermining them”.The PCB has taken strong exception to the post, telling ESPNcricinfo the batter had been issued a show-cause notice for bringing the game in Pakistan into disrepute. They have alleged that as a centrally contracted player, Fakhar had a responsibility not to make such comments against his employer in public. They are understood to be disappointed Fakhar did not raise any complaints privately.

ESPNcricinfo understands Fakhar has not responded to the notice, which was only issued yesterday. The penalty for the alleged code of conduct breach will depend on the response, and whether he accepts the charge. As of now, there has been no further comment from Fakhar, and the post remains up on X.The PCB has described Babar’s departure from the squad for the remainder of the series as a rest ahead of white-ball series in Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. In context, though, that becomes trickier to justify given the importance of this series – which Pakistan are 1-0 down in, and the fact that Babar did not ask for a rest, and was willing to play the ongoing Test. He has been out of form in Test cricket for the best part of two years, having failed to score a half-century in the last 18 innings.

Persistent drizzle in Kanpur washes out second day

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A start-stop drizzle meant there was no play on the second day of the second Test between India and Bangladesh in Kanpur. The whole ground remained under covers throughout the day. At times, three super-soppers came out, running over the covers, but the ground staff could not do much beyond that.There was a steady drizzle till around 10am but after that, the rain was so light that had play been in progress, it might have continued. However, there was considerable rain last evening and overnight and that seemed to have done the most damage.With no chance of an immediate start, the players went back to their hotel around 10.20am. Eventually, at 2pm, the umpires called it off.Related

  • A day not to be Jasprit Bumrah

Things were only slightly better on the first day. A combination of rain and bad light allowed just 33 overs in which Bangladesh scored 107 for 3. After India won the toss, which itself was delayed by an hour, Rohit Sharma opted to bowl. This is not what India do usually at home; the last time they chose to bowl first in a home Test was nine years ago: against South Africa in Bengaluru in 2015. Coincidentally, that Test was also marred by rain.Bangladesh openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam survived Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj’s opening spells. But Akash Deep dismissed both of them soon after to put India ahead. Mominul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto then stabilised the innings before R Ashwin ended their 51-run stand by trapping Shanto lbw. However, before either team could take significant advantage, the weather intervened.Weather permitting, Shanto is hoping his batters can deliver on day three. “There is day three and four ahead of us and since there is rain and not much sun to be had, in that sense as the game progresses it will be [understood] how challenging the wicket is,” he said after day two. “I think we lost one wicket [too many on day one]. The start of the batting innings was good. It’s still good. I won’t say we are in a bad position. We have many batters left in the dugout.”From here on, if we can form two big partnerships then we can reach a good position.”

Jeetan Patel: England's 'high-end toil' keeps them in contention in first Test

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England’s final-session fightback on the first day of back-to-back Tests in Multan was “a hell of an effort” which owed to their “high-end toil”. That was according to Jeetan Patel, one of their assistant coaches, who said that England were “pretty happy” with their position as Pakistan reached 328 for 4 at the close of play.Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood added 253 for the second wicket after Saim Ayub’s cheap dismissal, and Pakistan had reached 261 for 1 early in the final session. But after the set batters – who both made hundreds – fell softly to Gus Atkinson and Jack Leach, Chris Woakes had Babar Azam lbw late in the day to give England a foothold on a flat surface.”I couldn’t commend them any more,” Patel said. “I think the toil they put in today was high-end: the way they tried different things to take wickets, the different fields they had, the way they fielded. To take those three wickets tonight was testament to the work they’d done in the first two sessions. We’re pretty happy with how it’s ended up, with them four down.”England were made to work for their wickets, including through a 253-run stand between Masood and Shafique•Getty Images

There was no shade from the sun at any stage in the day, and Patel praised England’s efforts in the field. “The guys were fizzing all day,” he said. “Back in the day, it would have got a lot of people down. But we talk about the positive moments … The guys went out in that third session knowing what they had to do, but also with enough energy to be able to effect it.”I’m just really proud of [them] going through that. It’s pretty hot out there. It was pretty docile at times. We probably expected [the ball] to do a little bit more this morning. It didn’t, but that’s okay. We’ll figure it out, find out if it does the same tomorrow or not. But it was a pretty strong day for the lads.”Patel suggested that a strong start to Tuesday’s play would leave England on top. “We always talk about putting two [wickets] on it: how does the game change?” he said. “Now you’ve got a nightwatchman in, so maybe we could put three on it… 350 for 7? We’ll just see what happens when we bat because we don’t really know.”Related

  • Shan Masood's statement of intent sets out Pakistan's stall for the series

  • Anderson's golfing absence highlights inexperience of England seamers

  • Masood, Shafique hundreds see Pakistan take control

  • Shakeel: Pakistan planning to use England's aggressive game plan against them

  • Chris Woakes faces his overseas demons as England place faith in attack leader

With James Anderson missing the start of the tour to participate in a pro-am golf tournament in Scotland, Patel found himself working with England’s fast bowlers in training ahead of the first Test. Anderson is due to arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday, after Brendon McCullum played down the disruption of his absence on Sunday.”Two months ago, you guys were saying that he didn’t deserve to be a coach just yet,” McCullum told Sky Sports. “Now, it’s like, ‘We’re missing him’ – and I think that’s a great affirmation of how good an impact Jimmy Anderson has made in a short period of time. He’s got [WhatsApp] groups set up with the bowlers and is always feeding information through Jeetan Patel.”We live in a world where you can still communicate without being face-to-face… I don’t have any qualms whatsoever. I’m absolutely delighted for him that he gets the opportunity to do something he loves doing and when he gets here, he’ll be right in the thick of it as he has done as bowling coach since he came in.”

Harmanpreet on T20 World Cup: 'Want to give the country another reason to celebrate this year'

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India women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur wants her team to draw inspiration from the India men’s team that won the T20 World Cup in June, when they travel to the UAE for the Women’s T20 World Cup in October. While the men’s team won the title after 17 years and lifted an ICC trophy after 11 years, the women’s team is yet to lift the T20 World Cup. They came close in the 2020 edition, when they were runners-up in Australia.”We have been really inspired by the men’s team, the way they won the T20 World Cup this year,” Harmanpreet said at an event in Delhi, on the same day the India’s T20 World Cup squad was announced. “They worked really hard for this trophy and won some tough matches. We need to learn how they maintained their body language for such matches and how they approached such games. We’re on the same road now and getting ready for our World Cup campaign. The team is working really hard and our attempt will be to give our country and fans another opportunity to celebrate this year.”The women’s side last reached the ODI World Cup final in 2017, when they lost by just nine runs at Lord’s, before going down to Australia in the T20 World Cup final in 2020, and two years later they again lost to Australia, also by nine runs, in the final of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In last year’s T20 World Cup, India went down to Australia in the semi-final, by just five runs, and when they were the favourites to win the Asia Cup in the T20 format last month, they were beaten comprehensively by the much lower-ranked Sri Lanka.Related

  • Australia begin title defence on October 5; India vs Pakistan set for October 6

  • Yastika Bhatia returns, India name tried and tested 15 for T20 World Cup

For the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE, India are in Group A with Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan. Their first three matches will be in Dubai, before they take on Australia in Sharjah. Will India be under pressure against Australia and the new Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka?”The World Cup is a kind of tournament for which all teams prepare differently,” Harmanpreet said. “So no team can be taken lightly and similarly no team should be overestimated either. Bilateral series have a different kind of pressure and for World Cups there is pressure as well as expectations and hopes of fans. We are working extremely hard to live up to those expectations, we have been holding camps where all players are working hard. We have also worked on the mistakes we made the last time. Now we’re ready with a positive mindset.”The T20 World Cup will start on October 3 in Sharjah with two matches on the opening day. India’s campaign will kick off on October 4 against New Zealand, before taking on Pakistan on October 6, Sri Lanka on October 9 and Australia on October 13. After the round-robin stage, the top two teams from each group will play the semi-finals on October 17 and 18, and the final is scheduled for October 20 in Dubai.

Jaiswal and Gill wrap up series in style for India

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Zimbabwe’s most-assured batting effort wasn’t enough to mount a challenge against India’s young IPL stars. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill made light work of a 153-run target, sauntering home in just 15.2 overs in a sensational exhibition of intent-laden batting of the kind we hadn’t seen in the series so far.Where Zimbabwe hit all of 10 fours in their 20 overs, Jaiswal and Gill smashed as many in their first four overs en route a ten-wicket thumping that delivered an unassailable 3-1 lead for India with one more game to play on on Sunday.

India’s fifth-bowlers shine after Zimbabwe’s solid foundation

Zimbabwe had lost at least two wickets in the powerplay in each of the three T20Is in the series before this game. Today, though, Wessly Madhevere and Tadiwanashe Marumani rode their luck to add 63 in 8.4 overs to give them a platform.A determined Wessly Madhevere did the job in the powerplay•Associated Press

In the third over, Marumani was dropped by Shivam Dube at mid-on while on 3. He also benefited from an overthrow that went to the boundary in the same over, and Marumani appeared to change gears after the reprieve by going after debutant Tushar Deshpande, who conceded 21 off his first two overs. Gill quickly turned to spin inside the powerplay and they managed to rein in the scoring; eventually an effort to up the ante against India’s part-time bowlers, who needed to fill the fifth-bowler’s quota, got Marumani.Off Abhishek Sharma’s fourth ball, he looked to pull and ended up hitting it towards the longest part of the boundary where Rinku Singh was waiting at deep midwicket. This allowed Gill to bring on Dube from the other end in a bid to get the fifth-bowler’s quota out of the way, but he too struck – in his first over, he had the other set batter, Madhevere, pulling a short ball to Rinku at deep square leg.Abhishek could have had a second wicket in T20Is, but for Ruturaj Gaikwad shelving a dolly at extra cover to reprieve Brian Bennett. The missed opportunity didn’t cost India much though.

Raza to Zimbabwe’s rescue

Raza needed to rescue Zimbabwe as they had suddenly lost 4 for 33 after the solid opening. Having been guilty of running out Jonathan Campbell, Raza’s industry kept the runs ticking until he flicked the switch with five overs remaining.Tushar Deshpande claimed Sikandar Raza for his first international wicket•Associated Press

On 21 off 17 at that point, he launched Washington Sundar over deep midwicket for a 90-metre six, and then went after Khaleel Ahmed in his next over, hitting a four and a six. Overs 16 and 17 produced 31 as Zimbabwe charged towards 160. That they fell eight short was thanks to two excellent overs from Deshpande, who dismissed Raza for his maiden international wicket, and Khaleel. Zimbabwe had a competitive, if not match-winning, total.

Jaiswal and Gill make merry

India’s chase was kickstarted with Jaiswal hitting three fours off left-arm seamer Richard Ngavara in the first over. Jaiswal was in no mood to stop there, hitting Tendai Chatara for four more fours off his first over, the third of the innings. The seamers kept giving him width and he kept crashing them away through point, alternating between hitting them along the ground and playing the full-blooded cuts. India raised their fifty in just 3.5 overs with Jaiswal contributing 39.Jaiswal got to his half-century off 29 balls, and then unfurled one of the shots of the day when he sent Raza inside-out over extra cover. Having been beaten in flight, he quickly adjusted to loft him through the line and bisect the tiny gap between deep cover and wide long-off.Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill put on 156 runs for the first wicket to finish the job themselves•Associated Press

Gill then took over, helping himself against Faraz Akram’s gentle seam-ups in a exquisite display of hitting-on-the-up. Gill’s second straight half-century, off 35 balls, was mellow in comparison to Jaiswal but effective nonetheless.As the match raced towards the finish line, the only point of interest was if Jaiswal could get the 17 of the 18 remaining runs needed to get to a hundred. He couldn’t; ended up 93 not out, having displayed his full range in an exhilarating display reflecting the type of intent that won India the T20 World Cup last month after 17 years.

Tanzim's four, Mustafizur's three take Bangladesh into Super Eight

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Bangladesh 106 (Shakib 17, Kami 2-10, Lamichhane 2-17, Paudel 2-20, airee 2-22) beat A fiery opening spell from Tanzim Hasan Sakib powered Bangladesh to a slightly tense win over Nepal, sealing their progress to the Super Eight stage. For the second game in a row Nepal had a Full Member side on the ropes with their bowling performance in Kingstown, but their batting order was blown away by Bangladesh’s fast bowlers.A win, let alone a comfortable one, looked like a tricky prospect for Bangladesh after they were bundled for 106. Having come within two runs of chasing down a slightly bigger target against South Africa, Nepal would have fancied their chances of bagging their first win against a Full Member team, but Tanzim scythed through their top order with stunning figures of 4-2-7-4 that reduced Nepal to 26 for 5.While the low asking rate meant Nepal could still keep their chances alive, Mustafizur Rahman put on a death bowling masterclass when Nepal needed 30 off 24 to help Bangladesh pull off the lowest successful defence in a men’s T20 World Cup.

Tanzim runs through Nepal

Nepal found themselves in big trouble early when Tanzim struck twice in his second over – the third of the innings. Kushal Bhurtel missed a low full toss that swung away late to clip the off stump before Anil Sah toe-ended his effort to mid-off.Taskin Ahmed created a couple of chances in the next over, and Tanzim reaped the rewards of the pressure built, with Rohit Paudel slapping a short and wide delivery straight to backward point. Tanzim nearly struck again in the over, but a leading edge from Sundeep Jora fell short of the bowler.Mustafizur then had Aasif Sheikh caught at cover to complete an excellent powerplay for Bangladesh.Tanzim bowled out in the seventh over, and picked up his fourth wicket when he had Jora caught at gully. He bowled a double-wicket maiden and a wicket maiden, and his 21 dot balls were the most by a bowler in a men’s T20 World Cup match.From the start of the eighth over, there was a 23-ball boundary drought, with legspinner Rishad Hossain especially getting sharp turn. Dipendra Singh Airee finally swept Rishad for four off the last ball of the 11th over that helped Nepal reach 50 in the next over.Malla and Airee consolidated for Nepal, shifting gears in the 16th over when Malla slog-swept Mahmudullah for Nepal’s first six of the innings. One ball later, he nudged him fine on the leg side for a four to bring up the fifty partnership. They were left with 30 to win off the last four.

Mustafizur closes it out for Bangladesh

Sandeep Lamichhane picked up two tickets•ICC/Getty Images

Two of those four overs were to be bowled by Mustafizur, and he broke the burgeoning stand with a back-of-length cutter that was skied over mid-off. Najmul Hossain Shanto did well to settle under it running back and holding on to a tricky chance. Just the one run came off the over.Nepal attacked Taskin when Airee slapped a six over point but the bowler gave away only one more run in the next five balls and also sent Gulsan Jha back. Mustafizur then bowled five dots on the trot as Airee kept swinging and failing to make contact. Airee looked to knock the last ball of the over for a single, but ended up edging behind to make the penultimate over a wicket maiden.Shakib Al Hasan, wicketless in the tournament before the game, picked the last two wickets to complete a team hat-trick. This also made it the first time Bangladesh won three games in a T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh top order flops again

Sompal Kami struck first ball for Nepal, who opted to bowl, as Tanzid Hasan top-edged a short ball for a return catch to the fast bowler. Shanto was next to go, as Airee went through the Bangladesh captain’s defence in the next over.Given a third over on the trot, Kami then got Litton top-edging a pull off a short ball that wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh settled under. It meant a poor run of form for Bangladesh’s top order, who have only contributed 122 runs in their four group stage matches.Towhid Hridoy, Bangladesh’s best batter in the competition, hit two fours but top-edged an attempted slog sweep off Paudel to leave Bangladesh stuttering at 31 for 4 at the end of the powerplay.

Nepal spinners do the rest

Mahmudullah looked to regroup for Bangladesh along with Shakib, hitting two crisp boundaries off Sandeep Lamichhane, but was called for a run that was never there and ended up being run out at the non-striker’s end in the ninth over.Shakib and Jaker Ali tried to consolidate, but Paudel got another breakthrough by dismissing Shakib, before Lamichhane bowled Tanzim and Jake with wrong’uns to put Bangladesh under threat of being bowled out under 100.But Rishad Hossain and Taskin helped Bangladesh add 31 runs for the last two wickets that took them to 106.

Webster bags eight for the match but Tasmania lose to South Australia

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Australia’s incumbent Test allrounder Beau Webster has taken eight wickets, including Travis Head twice and Alex Carey once, but it wasn’t enough for Tasmania as Liam Scott and Ben Manenti guided South Australia to their first win of the Sheffield Shield season in Hobart.Needing to manufacture the highest innings of a bowler-dominated match, the reigning champions recovered from 88 for 5 to chase down the target of 217.Cult hero Manenti was one of the heroes, scoring an unbeaten 49 from No.8. Manenti also took the crucial wickets of Beau Webster, Tim Ward and Brad Hope in Tasmania’s second innings to help bowl the Tigers out for 184. He put on a crucial 71-run stand with player of the match Scott to steer the visitors out of trouble.Related

  • Webster takes five on tough day for his Test chances

  • Webster, Weatherald miss out as Doggett bags five

South Australia were winless from their first three games of the season, losing two and drawing the other. The result came against stiff opposition, with Australia’s incumbent Test No.6 Beau Webster starring with the ball to ensure he remains in contention to keep his spot.After claiming 5 for 50 in the first innings, Webster backed it up with 3 for 73 in the losing cause.Two of his victims were Travis Head and Alex Carey, his Australian teammates. Head edged Webster to slips on 15 from a ripping off-cutter, continuing his disappointing run of form leading into the Ashes.Since smashing a blazing ODI century against South Africa in August, his highest score has been 31 in 11 innings.Although Webster got the better of his Test teammates, he was taken apart by Manenti and Scott, with his wickets coming at more than six runs an over.Manenti was thrilled with the win.”We’ve been pretty successful down here the last couple of years. It’s a place we love to come and play at,” he said. “Probably rode the game a bit, it was a tricky wicket early.”We needed it. We’ve been close the last couple of weeks, playing some really good cricket, we’ve just lost patches.”South Australia will return to Adelaide Oval for their next match against Western Australia, starting on November 22.

Jafta: SA ready to reset after 'blowout' against England

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South Africa’s wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta has welcomed the change in venue – they have moved to Indore – after being skittled for 69 against England in Guwahati on Saturday. South Africa will meet New Zealand in Indore on Monday, nearly a year after the teams had faced each other in the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Dubai. New Zealand have already played a game in Indore in this World Cup.”We always knew coming into a tournament like this, games like this happen,” Jafta said. “Because it’s such a long tournament, we just have to accept what has happened. Laura [Wolvaardt] capped it off nicely and said, we don’t become a bad batting unit overnight. Obviously, homework was done, and now we’re just looking forward to the next one.”We had to leave the town [Guwahati] behind us. When you look and you’re coming into Indore, the people have been fantastic. For us, it’s like a fresh perspective. We saw the first game they had – it was a high-scoring day. For us as a batting unit, it’s just to knuckle down and bat. Don’t think too much about the outcome. Just take it one ball at a time.”Related

  • Wolvaardt: 'We are much, much better than 69 all out'

  • New Zealand and South Africa meet after a year with both teams needing a pick-me-up

While Jafta admitted that South Africa had erred with their approach against England, she said her team “won’t dwell’ on the batting collapse.”We were a bit rushed,” Jafta said. “We weren’t really present in that moment. When I went back, I realised I wasn’t really present in the delivery I went out. It wasn’t a good day, but we won’t dwell on it. We’ve got another opportunity.”That opportunity comes against a New Zealand side, which is also coming off a defeat, against Australia. Jafta said that South Africa will not underestimate New Zealand whom they have not faced in an ODI since October 2023.”You have the likes of Amelia Kerr, Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine – players who’ve been playing for a really long time,” she said. “But also, you’re not underestimating your Georgia Plimmer, your [Maddy] Greens, your Izzy Gaze – she came off. For us as a bowling unit, it’s about being very disciplined in how we go about our things.”Laura Wolvaardt tunes up for the match against New Zealand in Indore•ICC via Getty Images

Execution, Jafta said, will be crucial, something the team has focused on during their recent tours of the subcontinent. South Africa won a T20I series 2-1 in Pakistan before the World Cup and took part in a tri-series involving India and Sri Lanka in Colombo, where they lost three out of four matches, in May.”We’ve been playing in these conditions – it’s nothing new,” she said. “I always make a joke, we’ve probably faced all of these deliveries in net sessions. Why can’t we just go into a game and execute? We had a blowout, but we’ve got New Zealand ahead of us.”We know that when it comes to being tactical, they [New Zealand] are probably high up there, so we have to bring in full intensity. Coach has said, ‘Leave everything behind. Tomorrow is another opportunity.’ A lot of different individuals will put up their hands in tomorrow’s game.”

Rain rescues England after Sana and Co leave them in deep water

by csb10.top Uncategorized

No result Pakistan will never know, and England won’t want to know after they escaped what had threatened to be the upset this World Cup craved, thanks to the start of the Colombo monsoon.Both teams took a point – Pakistan’s first from four matches and England’s moving them to the top of the table, leading Australia on net run rate – after what had shaped as a thriller ended in a washout, the second in as many days at the R Premadasa Stadium.But it is Pakistan who should hold their heads high after a devastating opening spell from their captain Fatima Sana, who put England on the canvas at 78 for 7 before a 47-run stand for the eighth wicket between Charlie Dean and Em Arlott dragged them to 133 for 9 in 31 overs.Chasing a DLS-adjusted target of 113, Pakistan were well in control, reaching 34 without loss after 6.4 overs before heavy showers returned to end the match prematurely.Related

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England, unbeaten heading into the match, were without their spin and seam-bowling spearheads when Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Bell were ruled out through illness and replaced by legspinner Sarah Glenn and seamer Arlott.But it was their misfiring batting line-up that came unstuck. Of England’s recognised batters, only Nat Sciver-Brunt, with a century in the previous match against Sri Lanka in Colombo, and Heather Knight, with a gritty 79 not out that rescued England from the threat of another upset at the hands of Bangladesh, had been in the runs since England chased down a paltry target of 70 without loss in their opening game with South Africa.Arlott, who had impressed England head coach Charlotte Edwards with a century at the start of the domestic season and went on to make her international debut during the English summer, was run out for 18 off 23 balls in the penultimate over while Dean expertly picked gaps in the field to top-score with 33 before becoming Sana’s fourth wicket, scooping to Omaima Sohail at short fine leg.Tammy Beaumont was bowled for 4•Getty Images

Earlier, openers Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones continued to struggle and both departed inside the first three overs of the match. Beaumont left a dazzling nip-backer from Diana Baig to her peril as the ball clipped the off bail, leaving her with scores of 21 not out against South Africa followed by 13, 32 and 4 so far.Jones, meanwhile, helped herself to two fours off Sana’s first over before the latter produced a superb nip-backer which clattered into the top of middle and off, Jones departing for a second single-figure score in three innings.Knight, who had three dismissals overturned against Bangladesh, challenged an lbw decision in Sana’s next over and replays showed the ball was missing down the leg side. She also survived a hopeful Pakistan review for lbw two balls later when the ball was tracking outside off.But Sana’s biggest and best wicket was arguably that of Sciver-Brunt, done by yet another one that nipped back off the seam. She shaped to cut only for the ball to slide under her glove and onto the top of middle stump.Knight tried her luck once more when she was rapped on the pad by Sana but, with the ball on target to hit the top of leg stump, England were left floundering at 38 for 4.Sadia Iqbal chimed in for the spinners when she bowled an out-of-sorts Emma Lamb, sitting back in her crease to an arm ball that dipped and slid through her defences. Lamb had entered the World Cup in great form with half-centuries in warm-up games against India and Australia but she is another England batter yet to reach 20 at this tournament.Omaima Sohail scored an unbeaten 19 off 18 balls•ICC/Getty Images

Likewise, Sophia Dunkley, who was removed for 11 via a successful review when she was struck on the pad attempting to sweep with the ball homing in on leg stump as Iqbal celebrated her second wicket and England lurched to 57 for 6 in the 12th over.Alice Capsey, on 8, swept Rameen Shamim’s first delivery, a low full toss, straight to square leg where Muneeba Ali shelled a simple chance. But Shamim had Capsey lbw for 16 when she missed a sweep shortly before the rain arrived for the first time, with England 79 for 7 after 25 overs.After a stoppage of around three hours and 45 minutes, play resumed with England needing to bat out another six overs, during which time they added 54 runs, thanks largely to Arlott and Dean.Pakistan have never beaten England in ODIs and have just one win against them in T20Is in 2013, which only added to their sense of what might have been had the weather not intervened.Sohail hadn’t played since her first-ball duck in Pakistan’s defeat to Bangladesh in their opening game but, recalled to bolster a batting line-up which – apart from Sidra Amin – had proved fragile at this event, she marshalled Pakistan’s pursuit here, easing to 19 off 18. She was supported by Muneeba, who remained unbeaten on 9.Pakistan’s performance offered some encouragement for a side that also had Australia 76 for 7 before losing by 107 runs, although that may well be an empty consolation.For England, it is a sharp reality check for a side which perhaps hasn’t fully exorcised the demons of a year ago, where their shortcomings under pressure knocked them out of another global showcase.

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