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Captain’s century leads from the front but Surrey hit back late in the day

Matt Roller21-Apr-2022Tom Abell raised his bat to the Somerset dressing room then breathed a sigh of relief. His unbeaten hundred against Surrey at the Kia Oval was an overdue return to form and an innings that offered his side some reassurance after a miserable run with the bat dating back to the end of last season.Somerset’s totals this season have made for grim reading: 180, 135, 109 and 154. Since the start of the divisional phase of last year’s Championship, they had passed 200 only twice in 12 completed innings and lost six games in a row for the first time since the 1960s. They have played on some challenging pitches, but the statistics are grisly enough to make even England’s top order wince.Abell has worn the look of a wartime leader throughout that run, fronting up with his brow furrowed as the local media demanded answers after each collapse. His own form had disintegrated: across his previous 14 first-class innings, including two for the England Lions against Australia A, he had managed only 109 runs at 7.79.After the drought came a deluge: Abell surpassed that tally in a day in the south London sun, whipping Surrey’s seamers through midwicket when they attacked his stumps and driving elegantly through extra cover if they strayed too wide. When he walked off at the close, he had 121 of Somerset’s 283 for 6, a scoreline which vindicated his decision to bat first on a green, but slowish pitch.Abell had looked in complete control until he reached the 90s, when his poise briefly deserted him. On 95, he edged Jordan Clark just short of gully; on 97, he watched Ollie Pope fling himself to his right at second slip but fail to cling onto a thick outside edge; on 99, he heard Ben Foakes and Reece Topley plead for a leg-side strangle, then saw Martin Saggers shake his head.When he tucked Topley off his pads to reach 100, Abell acknowledged the applause from his team-mates, embraced Josh Davey, and took a deep breath that exuded reassurance rather than rapture. This was only his second first-class hundred since August 2020, and served as a reminder of his quality, to himself more than anyone.”I’ve obviously been in a pretty tough place for the last couple of weeks, really,” he said at the close. “I was desperate, particularly as captain, to lead from the front with my batting and I’ve not been satisfied with my performances.”I’ve been batting, really searching for something. I felt like I’ve not been in a great place with my batting so the main emotion was just relief, to be honest. I appreciate the love from the boys as well up there. It meant a lot to me.”Related

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Abell has been discussed in some quarters as a left-field candidate for England’s Test captaincy, a suggestion which has mainly served to highlight the paucity of options. His recent run of form underlines the obvious problem with handing the role to someone who is not sure of their place – how could anyone survive the scrutiny that would fall on their batting as well as their leadership? – but his leadership credentials are obvious and he has served Somerset with distinction.The thought emerged when he was compiling a 103-run stand for the fourth wicket with James Hildreth that these might be the two outstanding uncapped batters of their respective generations. Hildreth’s dismissal, when he slapped the final delivery with the old ball – a wide, non-turning offbreak from Will Jacks – to backward point for a flashy 54, perhaps underlined why the selectors have never called.That was the first of three wickets in 22 balls, a sequence which brought Surrey back into the game after a day of hard graft: Clark had Steven Davies caught behind, looking to drive his second ball to the cover boundary, while Topley, the pick of the attack, was rewarded with a cheap wicket of his own as Craig Overton cut a short ball to point.Sam Curran, returning to professional cricket after an absence of more than six months that saw him miss the T20 World Cup, the Ashes, two Caribbean tours and the ongoing IPL, was limited to 10 overs, with an abundance of caution over his comeback after a stress fracture in his lower back. He bowled tightly, probing in the off-stump channel, but went wicketless.Curran was one of six seamers – including Ryan Patel’s medium pace – that Surrey used on the first day, as they went in without a specialist spinner for the third consecutive game. The fact that Gareth Batty, the erstwhile president of the Spinners’ Union, is their head coach makes the decision particularly intriguing; Daniel Moriarty and Amar Virdi have bowled 54 wicketless overs between them for the second XI this week, but must feel disheartened about the make-up of this attack.

The fast bowler took three wickets to wrap up Australia’s 12th successive Test win – and a fourth successive whitewash – over Pakistan on home soil

The Report by Daniel Brettig07-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:13

Chappell: There was no inspiration from Misbah

For Australia, a quadruple triple. For Pakistan, a wretched dozen. Steven Smith’s men completed another crushing victory over the crestfallen visitors on a balmy day at the SCG, making it 12 consecutive wins for the Australians in home Tests against Pakistani touring teams – four clean sweeps in a row dating back to 1999.There never seemed much doubt over the result when the final day began, and even less when Josh Hazlewood struck twice in the first half hour to maintain his outstanding record this summer. From there Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe worked their way through the Pakistan line-up, with Hazlewood returning to claim the final wicket on the stroke of the tea break.Ahead of the Test team’s next job in India, the use of spin on a wearing wicket gave Smith and the coach Darren Lehmann some idea of where Lyon and O’Keefe sat. Lyon bowled some beguiling spells, notably to Younis Khan, but O’Keefe finished the day with the superior figures – 3 for 53 as opposed to 2 for 100.The match played out in an agreeable atmosphere, as a decent crowd of 17,583 filed in for the price of a gold coin donation to the Jane McGrath Foundation. They saved some of their biggest cheers for the substitute fielder Mickey Edwards, a seam bowler from the Manly grade club who sported a surfer’s mane of hair in weather that could scarcely have been more beach-friendly.Hazlewood set the tone in the first over of the day, accepting a return catch from Azhar Ali, and followed up by claiming Babar Azam lbw for the second time in the match. Lyon’s teasing spell to Younis was rewarded when the batsman lost patience and skied an attempt to hit over midwicket. A leading edge was accepted comfortably by Hazlewood at mid-on. Younis finished the Test on 9977 runs.The nightwatchman Yasir Shah had offered considerable resistance to Australia, but was defeated by an O’Keefe delivery that turned and bounced enough to catch the edge and was taken low down at second slip by the substitute fielder Jackson Bird. Misbah did not look at ease at any stage of his innings, but found a way to survive to lunch in the company of the more proactive Asad Shafiq.On resumption Shafiq got as far as 30 before Starc found a hint of reverse swing into the right-hander from around the wicket to bowl him off an inside edge. Sarfraz continued in a similarly positive vein opposite Misbah, the pair adding 52 in only 13.3 overs. However, Australia broke through when Misbah aimed an extravagant heave at O’Keefe and was caught attempting to slog a spin bowler for the second time in the match.Wahab Riaz fell next, apparently mystified as to how the umpire Richard Illingworth’s not-out verdict could have been overturned. Matthew Wade heard the faintest of sounds as O’Keefe spun the ball past the bat, and his appeal was backed up by the merest possible spike on Snicko for the third umpire Ian Gould to rule in the bowler’s favour.Mohammad Amir’s stay was ended by a wretched run-out, and Smith took the second new ball minutes before the scheduled tea break to allow the excellent Hazlewood to claim the last wicket with extra bounce and another catch to Bird – his four snaffles equalling the world record for a substitute.In recent years, beating Pakistan down under has been one of the least challenging tasks Australia can contemplate; their next assignment, facing up to India in India, is by far the most difficult.

KKR captain says his side ended up “40 short” in the six-wicket loss to the Royals

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2021Eoin Morgan has called for better intent and more clarity from his Kolkata Knight Riders’ team-mates, following their fourth loss in five games in IPL 2021. Speaking after the six-wicket defeat to the Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede, he said his side had ended up “40 short” after leaving themselves with too much to do in the back-end of their innings.”I think we lacked a lot of intent and impetus throughout our whole innings,” Morgan said at the post-match presentation. “We were sort of behind the eight ball probably from the get-go. Rajasthan adapted to the wicket really well and we didn’t. So I would say the majority [of the issues] was with the bat. About 40 short, which is a lot in a T20 game. Too much for our bowlers [to make up for] tonight.”The Knight Riders, asked to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium, managed only two boundaries in the powerplay and the innings never really gained momentum from there, finishing on 133 for 9. There were coming off a defeat to the Chennai Super Kings at the same venue; in that game they stumbled to 31 for 5 inside the powerplay, before stunning counterattacks from Andre Russell and then Pat Cummins took them to within 19 runs of the target of 221. According to Morgan, while this track was not as easy to bat on, he wanted more from his batters.Related

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“It was almost a stark contrast to the last game. We had guys who built partnerships [this time] that just lacked a bit of intent. I think the wicket today wasn’t as good as it has been here at the Wankhede in the previous games, so that was a challenge in itself, and a challenge that we didn’t overcome. So [we left] ourselves with a lot to do.”Every time we seemed to take an attacking option we lost a wicket which is disappointing, and at the back end of our innings, it leaves us with a lot to do – which we didn’t obviously do.”The Knight Riders now move to the Motera in Ahmedabad – “hopefully a venue that suits us” – where they will take on the Punjab Kings on April 26 and try to lift themselves off the bottom of the points table. Morgan is hoping they marry “smart cricket” with “free-flowing cricket” in order to achieve that.”I think the clearer the mind, the easier it is. I think the capabilities of our side [is not an issue]… There is an element of playing smart cricket and building partnerships within that, but ultimately we want guys to play some free-flowing cricket. That wasn’t there today unfortunately.”

Lasith Malinga has been ruled out of the IPL, after Mumbai Indians’ medical team deemed him unfit for at least another four months.

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Apr-20162:55

Nannes: Mumbai Indians have reserves to replace Malinga

Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga has been ruled out of the IPL, after Mumbai Indians’ medical team deemed him unfit for at least another four months. The bone bruise to his left knee is also expected to keep Malinga out of Sri Lanka’s forthcoming tour of England, as well as the Caribbean Premier League. Sri Lanka Cricket doctors will now assess Malinga to determine whether surgery is required. The fast bowler returned to Sri Lanka after undergoing medical tests in Mumbai.”Mr. Malinga will present himself before the SLC panel of expert doctors on Wednesday (April 20) and depending on the outcome of the said medical examinations, be required to face a match fitness grading, after which SLC will take the next appropriate steps,” a release from the board said.The franchise has not yet made a statement either on Malinga’s injury or about a replacement, but Mumbai coach Ricky Ponting had earlier said the side had a couple of back-up options in fast bowlers Tim Southee and Marchant de Lange. Southee has played the side’s last two games, against Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Lions.Malinga sustained the injury during West Indies’ tour of Sri Lanka last November, and has battled to regain fitness since then. He has repeatedly missed prospective recovery dates, and has played only one competitive match in the past five months – against UAE in the Asia Cup. Having stepped down from the T20 captaincy over fitness concerns, Malinga also flew home early from the World T20, when he aggravated the injury while warming up for the match against Afghanistan.The bone bruise is classified an “overuse injury”, and is more common among Australian Rules football players than cricketers. Malinga has played much of his career with a similar problem in his right knee. That injury – sustained in 2008 – kept him out of the national team for 16 months, and ostensibly forced him to retire from Test cricket at the age of 27. Malinga’s rare round-arm delivery of the ball is understood to place uncommon strain on the joints of his hips and legs.He may also miss Sri Lanka’s limited-overs matches against Australia, in August, particularly if he undergoes surgery. Malinga had had surgery on his left ankle as well, in late 2014, and has been a diminished force for Sri Lanka since then.The loss of Malinga is a significant blow to Sri Lanka’s chances in limited-overs cricket over the next few months. He has been the team’s most potent short-format weapon for several years, and he had played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s marches to five global finals between 2007 and 2014. With injury having consumed so much of his last two years, however, Sri Lanka may begin to look beyond him for leadership in the pace attack.SLC, for its part, has expressed a willingness to work with Malinga on his recovery, though administrators have also been irked by “negative comments” recently made by Malinga regarding World T20 selection in the media. The board has said it will speak with Malinga about those public comments and take “suitable action” in the coming weeks.

James Anderson will miss England’s Test series in Bangladesh next month, having not yet fully recovered from a shoulder injury

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-20161:22

Anderson fitness in question for India

James Anderson will miss England’s Test series in Bangladesh next month, as he has not yet fully recovered from the shoulder injury that hindered his performances in the English summer.*Seamer Mark Wood has also been ruled out of England’s tour of Bangladesh following a recurrence of a recent injury to his left ankle. He will miss the three one-dayers starting on Friday, October 7, in Dhaka and the two Tests later in the month.Both players will be reviewed by the ECB’s medical team on a regular basis and further updates will be provided on their progress in due course.Middlesex’s Steven Finn is added to the ODI squad. Nottinghamshire’s Jake Ball is added to the Test squad, and selectors will consider a further replacement for the Test squad at a later date.Anderson’s absence may yet have a knock-on effect on the five-Test series against India that begins in November, directly after the Bangladesh leg of the winter.Anderson has not played any cricket since the end of the Pakistan series in August, and at the age of 34, he himself admitted recently that he may need careful handling if he is to survive a gruelling itinerary that will feature seven Tests in the space of two months.”It’s a tough one because as a player, if you’re fit, you want to play, simple as that. No matter what the format, you’re desperate to play,” Anderson said last week.”But there may well come a time when it will get managed. At 34, I probably have to manage myself, or be managed, quite well. You want, if possible, to play every Test but India is going to be five back-to-back and that’s a huge ask for any bowler.”The first Test against Bangladesh starts at Chittagong on October 20, in just over three weeks’ time, and the two-Test series represents the only match practice that England have lined up ahead of the first of their five Tests against India at Rajkot on November 9. If England cannot provide Anderson an opportunity to prove his match fitness before the India tour, he faces coming back to Test cricket in India without having bowled a ball in a competitive situation for nearly three months.Anderson was an integral member of the side that beat India on home soil during England’s last Test tour of the country in 2012-13, claiming 12 wickets at 30.25 in their 2-1 series win, including match figures of 6 for 127 in their decisive victory in the third Test at Kolkata.The ECB is set to name its list of centrally contracted players for the next 12 months on Thursday morning, having delayed the announcement by 24 hours. A new set of deals for one-day players is expected to be unveiled as well.*08.00GMT, September 29: This story was updated after confirmation of Anderson’s unavailability came in.

“He’s got a great cricket brain and I think his record as England captain is actually pretty good.”

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2021Joe Root declined to answer questions about his own future as England’s captain after their innings defeat at the MCG but has been backed to stay on in the role after the Ashes by Chris Woakes despite losing the series.Root will become England’s most experienced Test captain during the fourth Test in Sydney, going clear of Alastair Cook by leading them for the 60th time, but despite his own record-breaking year with the bat, his side has lost nine of their last 12 Tests and have been thrashed in six consecutive games overseas.Related

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His captaincy has come in for heavy criticism throughout the Ashes series, starting at the toss in Brisbane when England left out James Anderson and Stuart Broad and opted to bat first on an underprepared, green pitch. When asked about his future as captain following the defeat in Melbourne, Root said that it would be “wrong to look past” the final two Tests of the series: “My energy has to be all about trying to win the next game,” he said. “I can’t be selfish and start thinking about myself.”The and the reported that Root had met Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, in Melbourne on Wednesday and signalled his desire to stay on as captain past the end of the series. And with a dearth of obvious candidates to replace him – Ben Stokes is his deputy but has endured a tough 18 months due to bereavement, injury and struggles with his mental health – and the support of the dressing room, Root looks likely to continue in the role.”Absolutely,” Woakes, one of the England players at an optional nets session, told reporters in Melbourne when asked if Root retained the team’s backing. “Joe is a great cricketer, he’s got a great cricket brain and I think his record as England captain is actually pretty good.”Definitely it feels like Joe will continue. Hopefully he will. It’s clear that the captaincy isn’t having an effect on his batting, which a lot of the time with captains can be the case. The fact that he’s scoring the runs he is, is great for the team.”It would be great if we could help him out with that and score a few more runs around him. Joe is a world-class player who has obviously had a fantastic year. When a guy bats as well as he has you would expect us to put in a lot stronger performances than we have.”

Evin Lewis makes 65 in 143-run opening stand after controversial Danushka Gunathilaka dismissal turns tide

Danyal Rasool10-Mar-2021A brilliant century from Shai Hope – his tenth in ODI cricket – led West Indies to a crushing eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Antigua.Set 233 to win, West Indies knocked off the runs with three overs to spare, with the sort of ruthless efficiency it is generally so difficult to execute against Sri Lanka, particularly on slower tracks that might have something in them for spinners.A 143-run opening stand between Hope and Evin Lewis, who scored an uncharacteristic, yet impressive, 90-ball 65, effectively froze Sri Lanka out of the game before their spin bowlers had a chance to get stuck into it. A clinical unbeaten 37 from Darren Bravo guaranteed Dimuth Karunaratne’s men would not be permitted a sniff after that stand was broken, the total Sri Lanka had put up after winning the toss shown to be well below par.While Sri Lanka’s innings had also begun with a glistening century partnership, West Indies had the advantage of knowing exactly what was required, and were laser-focused on achieving it with the minimum fuss possible. There was limited running between the wickets early on but Hope and Lewis continued to find a boundary an over or so, both particularly severe on any line they could work through the covers. They brought up fifty inside nine overs, with Sri Lanka introducing spin right after, but at that point, the openers began to milk the singles, the left-right combination never quite letting the Sri Lankans settle into a rhythm.Perhaps it was the pitch – which offered limited purchase for the slower bowlers – or maybe Sri Lanka had an off day, but rarely have that side’s spinners looked as toothless as they did today. There was an inevitability to the hundred partnership, and the ease with which both batsmen brought up their half-centuries, and how West Indies shrugged off the wicket of Lewis, will have surprised even the most partisan West Indies supporters. There was even time for a bit of flair as Hope stormed to 99 with a six over long-on, before a glorious drive brought up three figures.If anything, it was the pace of Dushmantha Chameera that appeared to trouble West Indies most, and the fast bowler, who has often been troubled by back injuries, was responsible for both wickets that fell. Lewis was undone by a perfect yorker that he failed to get his bat down for, before a peach of a slower delivery whooshed past Hope’s bat and clattered into his off stump just after he had brought up a hundred. They were just consolation strikes for today, but if Chameera can remain injury free, his importance to his side, both for this series and in the long term, could be exciting.In the morning, Sri Lanka played out a topsy-turvy innings that began with a sparkling 105-run opening partnership, but West Indies continued to strike throughout the 50 overs to repeatedly peg the visitors back, bowling them out for 232 inside 49 overs.Half-centuries from Danushka Gunathilaka and Karunaratne at close to a run-a-ball saw Sri Lanka bring up the three-figure mark inside 19 overs, before a spate of wickets through the middle order saw much of that hard work undone. It included a deeply controversial incident where Gunathilaka was given out for allegedly obstructing the field after West Indian captain Kieron Pollard appealed, and the couple of run-outs that followed put West Indies on top.There was plenty to like about the Sri Lankan innings once they won the toss and batted first, but the only thing likely to be remarked upon at any length is the moment of Gunathilaka’s dismissal that changed the tide of the game.Pollard, who was hugely influential through the innings, had just dismissed Karunaratne with his second ball, before he served Gunathilaka a short delivery in his next over. Pathum Nissanka, on debut, set off for a single his partner wasn’t remotely interested in, and Pollard, sensing a run-out opportunity, raced to get hold of the ball, nestled beside Gunathilaka’s feet.As the batsman took a backward step to ensure he remained inside his crease, he trod on the ball, knocking it back, leading to Pollard’s furious appeal. It appeared there was no way replays could establish Gunathilaka had deliberately foiled a run-out attempt, but TV umpire Nigel Guguid took little time reaching that conclusion, ending a delightfully fluent innings.The game took on a tetchiness and Pollard threatened to Mankad the non-striker, Nissanka, who was in the action once more with a risky second run putting paid to another of his partners, Angelo Mathews, as Pollard flicked off the bails. Nissanka’s miserable, brief stay at the crease would end an over later, when he was run out as Sri Lanka attempted another needlessly chancy single.Amidst the drama, it might be easy to forget the awareness and quality Pollard and Jason Mohammed bowled with to trouble Sri Lanka. They took the pace off on a somewhat slow pitch to stymie Sri Lanka’s fluency, with the visitors guilty of occasional impatience that brought the end of Kamindu Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga. Ashen Bandara, on ODI debut, showed great maturity, regularly rotating the strike and punishing loose deliveries – uncommon though they were – to steer Sri Lanka past 200 and bring up his half-century.It need not have been as laboured as that by the way Gunathilaka and Karunaratne went about things. After a staid first six overs, the two began to speed through the gears, hitting six boundaries in nine balls off Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph to make up for lost time. Gunathilaka, in particular, took on the role of aggressor, refusing to let Romario Shephard settle and manipulating the field expertly as dot deliveries became increasingly scarce.It might not have mattered given the way Hope and West Indies batted, but considering how sharply Sri Lanka’s fortunes slumped from the moment of Gunathilaka’s dismissal, it is that moment, rather than Hope’s brilliance, this game is likeliest to be remembered for.

Jon Holland has been preferred to Bryce McGain as Victoria’s specialist spinner in the FR Cup game against Western Australia

Cricinfo staff03-Dec-2009Jon Holland has been preferred to Bryce McGain as Victoria’s specialist spinner in the FR Cup game against Western Australia on Saturday and the Bushrangers are also hopeful of having Clint McKay available in Bunbury. McKay is in Australia’s squad for the second Test against West Indies but should be released on Friday if he is not in the starting XI.Holland, the left-arm spinner, was part of Australia’s one-day squad in India last month, but he did not play a game and when he returned he has had to battle with McGain for action. McGain was dropped following figures of 0 for 43 off five overs in Victoria’s loss to Queensland on Wednesday. Darren Pattinson is also in the 13-man squad that will not be finalised until Saturday morning.Western Australia have Ashley Noffke back and will want to build on their win over New South Wales last week. They thrashed the Blues by 129 runs in the FR Cup before being swept aside in the following Sheffield Shield encounter.Victoria squad Robert Quiney, Chris Rogers, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Andrew McDonald, Matthew Wade (wk), Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Jon Holland, Clinton McKay, Darren Pattinson, James Pattinson.Western Australia squad Shaun Marsh, Wes Robinson, Adam Voges (capt), Mitch Marsh, Theo Doropoulos, Luke Ronchi (wk), Justin Coetzee, Aaron Heal, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Michael Hogan, Brad Knowles, Steve Magoffin.

Jacques Rudolph held Glamorgan’s batting together with an unbeaten half-century on an attritional first day in their Specsavers County Championship match against Sussex

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2016
ScorecardJacques Rudolph led the way for Glamorgan•Getty Images

Skipper Jacques Rudolph held Glamorgan’s batting together with an unbeaten half-century on an attritional first day in their Specsavers County Championship match against Sussex.A slow Hove pitch which encouraged Sussex to play legspinner Will Beer for the first time in a four-day match for nearly three years proved hard work for stroke players but Rudolph defied a persistent attack to reach 76 at stumps with Glamorgan on 291 for 7, having won the toss.Earlier, Australian Nick Selman had made his maiden Championship fifty in only his second appearance while Beer had reason to celebrate too when he picked up his first wicket in the competition at Hove, eight years after making his debut for the county.But it proved to be a day suited to someone with Rudolph’s phlegmatic temperament. The South African hardly played a false shot in more than three-and-a-half hours at the crease. So far he has faced 168 balls and hit eight fours.Sussex kept plugging away and they clearly enjoyed Beer’s big moment when he ended a stand of 61 for the fourth wicket between Aneurin Donald and Rudolph by bowling Donald (29) off an inside edge as he shaped to cut in what is only Beer’s tenth first-class match.Selman had earlier shared stands of 41 with Mark Wallace (20) and 65 with Will Bragg (29) as Sussex enjoyed just one success before lunch when Wallace was squared up by Stuart Whittingham and edged behind.Selman was dropped on 25 by Whittingham as he dived forward at long leg but after lunch Whittingham defeated Selman’s forward push with a nip-backer after he’d made 52 (109 balls, 6 fours) before Bragg was smartly taken at second slip by Chris Nash.Sussex employed four spinners and the quartet bowled a third of their overs but it was their seamers who made further inroads when they took the new ball.Steve Magoffin took his second wicket with his first delivery with it as David Lloyd was lbw playing down the wrong line after contributing 37 to a fifth wicket stand of 69 in 23 overs with Rudolph.Ajmal Shahzad picked up belated reward when Graham Wagg (7) edged a drive to slip before Craig Meschede top-edged a hook off Magoffin and was caught at second slip for a duck. But debutant Owen Thomas hooked Magoffin for six in his unbeaten 15 as Glamorgan avoided further loss before the close.

Peter Siddle has been ruled out of the second Test against South Africa due to a back injury, which almost certainly means a Test debut for Joe Mennie in Hobart

Daniel Brettig08-Nov-20161:05

‘I’ll just repeat the stuff that got me this far’ – Mennie

Fast bowler Joe Mennie is almost certain to make his Test debut in Hobart after Peter Siddle was ruled out due to a back injury.Australia’s selectors have also called on Jackson Bird as cover for the bowling unit but he is not officially part of the squad, which means Mennie is set to join Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc in the pace attack for the second Test against South Africa, starting on Saturday. Mennie was named 12th man for the WACA Test and was then released to play a Sheffield Shield match for South Australia.Siddle was preferred in Perth, where he was making his return to international cricket following a lay-off due to a stress fracture of the back, diagnosed following Australia’s Test tour of New Zealand earlier this year. Australia’s medical staff are hopeful that Siddle will recover quickly, but have taken a cautious approach due to his recent history.”Peter Siddle had some lower back soreness at the conclusion of the first Test match in Perth,” Australia’s team physio David Beakley said. “Whilst we expect bowlers to be sore after Test matches, this was slightly worse than we expected and given that he was returning from a significant back injury, we organised some scans today.”The scans demonstrated some low grade bone oedema around his old stress fracture that is likely to be a flare-up of his previous lower back injury. We are hopeful that this will resolve relatively quickly, but have withdrawn him from the squad for the second Test match in Hobart. We will monitor his recovery and have a better idea of when he will return to play in the next week or so.”Siddle’s injury is yet another consequence to be drawn from Australia’s horrid batting collapse on day two of the WACA Test, sending Australia’s bowlers – Siddle and Starc with limited preparations – back into the field only 24 hours after they had bowled the Proteas out on day one. The coach Darren Lehmann said back-to-back Tests would stretch his men physically after they were made to work hard by JP Duminy and Dean Elgar in particular.”They have bowled four days in a row,” Lehmann said. “They are pretty sore as I would imagine the South African boys would be, the two bowlers that bowled the whole game for them. All bowlers are going to be pretty sore and tight. We’ll just have to see how they pull up and make a call from there. They will have the same issues.”It’s a short turn-around. That’s the nature of cricket in Australia, back-to-back Test matches early on. The good thing, I thought we batted a lot better in the second innings. The disappointing thing is we were off to flyer, obviously 0 for 158, and we lost 10 for 86. That’s the thing that hurts you in a game, as you know. If we had the discipline and that in the first innings that we showed probably yesterday and today, we would have made a better score and a better fist of it in the first innings and had a lead.”That’s the challenge, isn’t it? First innings, they made us pay in the second, Duminy and Elgar batted really well. I thought our bowlers worked hard the whole game and then coming in, if we had batters in in the last session today, well, you never know, do you? We just lost batters at the wrong time.”Asked about Australia’s limited preparation, one Sheffield Shield match, and moving the first Test of summer from Brisbane to Perth, Lehmann said his hands were tied: “Can’t do anything about it. Love to, but we can’t.”The selectors had already added Callum Ferguson and Joe Burns to the Test squad to replace the injured Shaun Marsh (broken finger) and also provide cover for Adam Voges (hamstring). Lehmann confirmed both batsmen would be under consideration even if Voges is passed fit, placing further pressure on the underperforming Mitchell Marsh.”We have known about the broken finger for about three days, which has been very good from our boys not to get out to you guys,” Lehmann said. “We have known the squad is going to be changed in the last three days. I would say every spot is under pressure. That’s the nature of the beast if you don’t have success. I thought he batted quite well and was a bit unlucky with the decision, but that is part of the game as well.”Lehmann acknowledged that the national team were under a rare level of pressure, as four consecutive Test match losses have historically led to a change of the Australian captain or coach. “[We’ll] Try to clear their minds,” he said of the players. “But everyone has pressure. Everyone has pressure when not playing well. But also as a player you always have pressure to perform at international level.”If you have a few bad performances, there is always someone waiting in the wings. And that’s been the case for 100 years, that’s not going to change I wouldn’t think. We try and pick and stick where we possibly can and encourage the guys and we get in trouble when we don’t pick and stick, we get in trouble when do pick and stick with you guys. So then when we add someone, it all changes.”So, there is pressure on players day in, day out for your country and that’s part and parcel of whether you are playing for South Africa or Australia.”