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South Africa captain admitted they “dropped the ball” after Netherlands scored 245 after being 112 for 6 in the 27th over

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-20231:44

How do South Africa move on from this loss?

Temba Bavuma has said South Africa should “feel the emotion of today” and question themselves as to where they are mentally after they suffered a shock 38-run defeat at the hands of Netherlands, their first loss of the 2023 World Cup.”You got to let the emotion kind of seep in,” Bavuma said at the post-match presentation. “Don’t think there is any point in trying to forget what’s happened. It is going to hurt, it should hurt.””But then you come back tomorrow, you wake up and we get back onto the journey. Our campaign is not over by any stretch of the imagination, but you got to feel the emotion of today and come back tomorrow with the head held up.”Related

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Coming into the game running hot on a five-game ODI winning streak, South Africa seemed uncharacteristically lax. They gave away 32 extras – 21 wides, one no-ball and 10 leg byes – as Netherlands recovered from 112 for 6 in the 27th over to post 245 for 8 in the rain-shortened 43-overs-a-side clash.This is the second time in the last 12 months that Netherlands have got the better of South Africa at an ICC event. They had earlier eliminated the South Africans from the 2022 T20 World Cup with a 13-run win. Bavuma said that it was not just with the ball that South Africa were off the boil, but also in the field.”The extras that’s something you can control. Getting 30 (32) extras, that is an extra five overs is always going to hurt you. That is a conversation for us to have – whether it is skill or a complacency thing – but at the end it did count for quite a thing,” he said.”We were clinical against Australia, but the challenge was always to come back and replicate that performance. The fielding wasn’t up to standard. Again if you look at the way we fielded against Australia compared to today, definitely not the same standard.”Those are conversations we need to have. The guys need to answer the questions themselves where mentally they were. That’s definitely not the standard we’d like to show from a fielding point of view.”Bavuma was effusive in praise of the Netherlands unit, who first came back in the game with half-centuries from Scott Edwards and useful cameos from Roelof van der Merwe and Aryan Dutt before picking wickets at regular intervals in the chase.”I think we got them to 112 for 6. From that point, you are probably not looking at anything more than 200. We definitely dropped the ball there letting them get to 240-plus,” Bavuma said. “With the batting, we were still confident in chasing down that score but we didn’t get any partnerships. Them with their double-spin in the powerplay, was something we did not adapt to. Kudos to them, the way they were able to exploit certain weaknesses within our game.”

Australia coach Darren Lehmann said that the team did not need any more members added to the support staff, to aid the spinners, saying that they have often used spin consultants for Asian tours

Daniel Brettig28-Nov-2016Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann bristled at suggestions that he or his support staff needed further change or “reinvention” following a drought-breaking victory over South Africa in Adelaide, at the same time revealing how much pressure he has been under in recent weeks.Lehmann did not enjoy being told through the press by team performance manager Pat Howard that he needed to “reinvent” himself as a coach following the recent run of five consecutive defeats, a streak that also coincided with the release of an autobiographical book, , which outlines his philosophies.”I was going to wear a suit to the press conference,” Lehmann quipped when asked about Howard’s words. “I didn’t. I chose not to.”Lehmann was also unhappy to be quizzed on the role of spin coach John Davison, who has a strong working relationship with the team’s No. 1 spin bowler Nathan Lyon but is only seen sporadically on tour with him. Australia is a rare case of an international team not having a full-time spin coach, not only to work with spin bowlers but also to hone the part-time skills of batsmen who bowl spin.After a recent dry spell, Lyon bowled beautifully in Adelaide with the benefit of Davison’s presence, and he has historically tended to perform at his best when his trusted mentor is nearby. However, Lehmann said he did not want to add to the number of support staff already with the team, and argued that other consultants had been used for Asian tours.”So you want another staff member on tour?” Lehmann replied to a question about Davison. “A lot of people say it’s a question of numbers. John’s obviously got other roles as well, so he has been working with Nathan throughout the preparation phase of all Test matches. So he has been around, just Adelaide he stayed around.”I would have thought we’ve had Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan] and had Sri [Sridharan Sriram], so we’ve had a couple around the place. Davo’s come around on tours. When we’re away, we normally take one. I don’t think we haven’t taken one to the subcontinent.”Lehmann admitted that Lyon had responded well to criticism he had faced from both outside the team and within. “I’m just pleased for the players. The players have copped a lot over the last few weeks and they’ve responded really well,” he said. “Obviously, a change of players as well. You feel sad for the blokes who missed out in this Test match, but the guys who came in did a really good job. Steve [Smith] summed it up – a new young group going forward, really pleased for them.”Overall, [Usman] Khawaja was outstanding in the first innings. He put away his cover drive and really summed up conditions well. They all did their job. It was great to see Nathan Lyon, who has copped a lot from everyone – including us, I suppose, as staff and selectors. He really did a great job for us this game as well.”Public pressure on Lehmann and the selectors was underlined by his assertion that Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will play in the ODI series against New Zealand that now takes place before the Pakistan Tests. “We get in trouble if we don’t play them,” he said. “Not sure about that [resting them]. But they’re going to play. At some stage.”We gave them a break, didn’t we? So they should get through the summer. But we got in trouble for that as well. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. The simple fact is day-night Test match, day off, helps us in the three one-dayers. So they should be fine there.”Then, it’s a day-night Test match in Brisbane, so they should be right to get through the summer and it’s a pretty important summer as we know, it’s very important. They led our attack really well and stood up for us.”They’ve just got to be really fit and fresh, as much as you possibly can. There’s so much cricket all year round. Do you learn your lesson along the way? You do. But, as long as they’re fresh and going okay, there’s no problems playing them. But the advantage we had in them not going to South Africa as such is that Hazlewood’s fresh as a daisy. He’s going really well. And bowled probably the best he has bowled in the last couple of summers, I thought, in this series.”

Double-century stand with Luke Procter defies Lancashire attack at Old Trafford

Paul Edwards25-Jul-2023Sporting fashion is so contagious that every time a county has departed from cricket’s orthodoxy this season or sought to force the pace in a match, local commentators have sought to label it some variety of England’s current tactics. Lancashire have not been immune from this piffle – Chazball is a current favourite, even though Glen Chapple, their head coach, is about as funky as a saint’s sock-drawer. Nevertheless, even on a day when Northamptonshire enjoyed one of their best days of the Championship season, it should be noted that Jack Morley and Tom Hartley were bowling in tandem at 2.10pm this afternoon.It is rare enough for Lancashire to select two spinners for a first-class game but no one can remember the last time two twisters were operating together half an hour after lunch on the first day, certainly not at Old Trafford. That it should have been so was partly testament to the quality of a Test match wicket that was going to help the twirlers if anyone but today showed little deterioration on its fifth day of use and no ill-effects from 48 hours under cover. Principally, however, it showed how Lancashire’s marquee seamers, Tom Bailey and Will Williams, had been tamed by a slim opener from Bedford, Emilio Gay, whose classically correct strokeplay was to make our day memorable.By the time he was dismissed six overs before the close when attempting a tired drive at a ball from the excellent George Balderson, Gay had made 144, his fourth first-class century and one run short of his career-best. His languid drives between point and mid-on, mixed with secure defence, had also offered some confirmation of a talent that was blighted by a knee injury at the start of the season and then cursed by the worms of uncertainty that can slither into any cricketer’s head when he wonders if and when the next big innings is coming.So the impressive thing about Gay’s hundred today was that his batting reflected none of this self-doubt. Yes, he was to offer one chance, to Keaton Jennings at slip off Jack Morley when he’d made 60, but he took boundaries off both the new-ball bowlers and Balderson early in his innings and came into lunch unbeaten on 35 having played with the sort of care that threw the dismissals of his colleagues into shaming relief. Indeed, Gay had watched as Ricardo Vasconcelos and Justin Broad had both fallen to Balderson when they failed to execute well-chosen attacking strokes. Steven Croft at backward point and Morley at midwicket had gobbled up smart catches and Northamptonshire were 29 for 2. Ten overs later Sam Whiteman was stumped by Phil Salt off Morley when he came down the wicket to a ball that turned inside his drive. That left the visitors on 59 for 3 and we thought a familiar story was about to be told to travelling supporters tired of hearing the bloody tale.Instead, though, Gay was joined by his skipper, Luke Procter, who once plied his trade in these parts and has often reminded his old muckers of a talent they probably underestimated.True, Procter’s crouching stance at the wicket still recalls that of the ancient Private Godfrey in “The Test”, a cricket-themed episode of , and of course, Northamptonshire’s 35-year-old captain is becoming something of a veteran himself. Yet when his moons align, he remains a mightily effective cricketer, coming down the wicket to the spinners and transforming himself from an arthritic pensioner into a model of orthodoxyPerhaps more significantly here, however, he gave Gay precisely the sort of encouragement the 23-year-old needed as he progressed beyond fifty towards the century he would eventually dedicate to his recently deceased and much beloved Uncle Gladstone. The pair had put on 207 by the time Procter was pinned on the back foot for 75 by Will Williams, whose aggression and economy have been one of the features of a Lancashire season that has not been whelmed in triumph.All the same, elements of Gay and Procter’s achievement are unlikely to have prompted street parties in Wellingborough or Brackley. For example, this was only Northamptonshire’s third century partnership of the season and the pair’s achievement in batting through from lunch till tea gave the county their first wicketless session since May 2022. Jennings’ bowlers, meanwhile, can reflect that they allowed Northamptonshire to collect only their second and third batting bonus points of their year. But at least one more venerable and certainly more respectable landmark was reached. Gay and Procter’s 207-run stand is their county’s highest for the fourth wicket against Lancashire, beating the unbroken 158 put on by Mushtaq Mohammed and Jim Watts at Liverpool in 1972.But if this was an indifferent day for Lancashire’s cricketers, even less could be said for the county club or “Lancashire cricket” as some officials crassly like to compress it. All gates near the Metro station on Brian Statham Way were closed this morning, parking was limited and non-members were expected to sit square of the wicket, although this resulted in a group of splendidly stubborn souls invading A Stand and letting the devil take the consequences. Not for the first time, Lancashire’s arrangements for a first-class match at Emirates Old Trafford had been made with the Operations Team thinking what they could get away with rather than what supporters might reasonably require. An Ashes Test is a prized honour west of the Pennines but if the consequence of holding one is not giving a toss about the faithful folk who turn up through fat years and lean ones, loyal Lancastrians are entitled to be a tad thankful Australia will not play here again until 2031.

With the World Cup two months away, Richardson sent a significant injury scare through the Australia camp

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Mar-2019Jhye Richardson’s World Cup hopes are in doubt after he was ruled out of the remainder of the Pakistan series having dislocating his right shoulder in the outfield during the second ODI in Sharjah.He suffered the injury on the fifth ball of the 11th over diving to his left in an attempt to save a boundary in the deep midwicket area. He landed heavily on his right elbow, and immediately gestured for help, with his right arm hanging limply by his side as he was helped off the field by the Australia medical staff. Shortly after leaving the field he was pictured in the dressing room wearing a sling and gave an encouraging thumbs up to the camera.”He’s in good spirits,” Finch said after the match. “His shoulder popped out a little bit. Unfortunate for the youngster. He’ll get home, have some scans and assess the damage.”Finch added that the shoulder was popped back in swiftly which raised hopes of Richardson making a quicker recovery, but it won’t be until he gets back to Perth that the full extent of the damage will be known.World Cup squads need to be named by April 23 although changes can be made after that until mid-May with ICC approval. The added problem for Richardson is that the injury is to his bowling arm.”It’s horrible to see. I hate when people dive and they come back up and you know something’s wrong,” Usman Khawaja said. “It makes your stomach sink He’s a good kid. I’m sure he’s going to come back much stronger…fingers crossed it’s all good. I think it went back in pretty well, pretty easily, so that’s always a good sign.”Richardson had been the best Australian bowler in the early stages of the second ODI. He maintained a probing line for most of his five-over spell, removing both openers. Of late, he had become one of the leading fast bowlers in the side, taking eight wickets in the last three ODIs against India and making a compelling case for a regular place in the XI in the one-day setup.Richardson’s injury left Australia with a bowler short with Finch pressing himself into service to fill the void. He was such a success with his left-arm spin that he bowled his full 10 overs which included the wicket of Haris Sohail.Pat Cummins, who has been rested for the first two ODIs, Kane Richardson and Jason Behrendorff are the other fast bowlers in the squad. Mitchell Starc (pectoral muscle) and Josh Hazlewood (back) have missed both this and the India series.

Morne Morkel has been appointed as the team’s bowling coach

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2023Shaheen Shah Afridi has returned to Pakistan’s Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka next month. The 16-member roster also includes batter Muhammad Hurraira and allrounder Aamer Jamal. It’s a maiden Test call-up for both of them.From the last Test squad, which played a two-match home series against New Zealand in December-January, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mahmood and Kamran Ghulam missed out.Morne Morkel, meanwhile, has been appointed as the team’s bowling coach with a six-month contract.Afridi, who is currently on 99 Test wickets, last played in the format in July 2022. That was also against Sri Lanka, in Galle, where he sustained a knee injury. He made a comeback at the T20 World Cup in October but hurt his knee again in the final. Earlier this year, he captained Lahore Qalandars to their second successive PSL title. He also featured in the subsequent T20I and ODI series against New Zealand, and is currently playing the T20 Blast in England, where he is the top wicket-taker for Nottinghamshire.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I am very excited to be returning to the Pakistan Test side after a year,” Afridi said. “I dearly missed Test cricket and it was tough for me to be away from this format.”After missing our entire home season because of the injury I suffered in Sri Lanka, I am eager to make an impactful comeback in the same country and complete a century of wickets in Test cricket. I want to thank my fans who have provided me support in tough times and I am ready for the challenges ahead.”Hurraira, 21, has been rewarded for his performances in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy; he was the highest run-getter in the previous two seasons. In 24 first-class games, he has 2252 runs at an average of 68.24, with a best of 311 off 343 balls. He was the second-youngest triple-centurion in Pakistan, behind Javed Miandad.Jamal made his Pakistan debut during the T20I series against England last year. In his very first game, he impressed by defending 14 runs in the last over against Moeen Ali and David Willey.He was also the leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers in the 2022-23 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, taking 31 scalps at 29.71. More recently, he picked up five wickets in the only red-ball game he played for Pakistan Shaheens against Zimbabwe Select. He topped the charts in the white-ball series, with 16 strikes in six games at an economy rate of 6.33.The squad features four spinners, four fast bowlers, six specialist batters and two wicketkeeper-batters, including Mohammad Rizwan, who has also been drafted in for the Global T20 Canada, which is set to clash with the Sri Lanka Tests next month.”The conditions in Sri Lanka largely favour finger spinners – something that we have seen over the years and during Pakistan’s last visit to the island – so we have three such bowlers to go with the mystery spin of Abrar Ahmed,” chief selector Haroon Rashid said. “At the same time, we cannot overlook the need for fast bowlers and, as such, we have included four pacers so the captain and team management have ample resources on the tour. We boast a strong batting line-up, which I am confident will do well in the two matches.”The players who have missed out on the selection should not get bogged down as they firmly remain part of our plans. We have an exciting and challenging season ahead of us and they should make the most of the opportunities in domestic cricket and Shaheens’ tours to keep themselves ready.”This series will be Pakistan’s first assignment in the new World Test Championship cycle, which runs from 2023 to 2025. The squad will assemble in Karachi on July 3 for a camp before departing for Sri Lanka on July 9. The itinerary of the tour has not been announced yet.Pakistan Test squad: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-capt, wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hurraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood

Behardien, Markram and Morris have missed out on selection for the first two ODIs, but could get a look-in towards the end of the five-match series

Liam Brickhill10-Jan-2019Batsman Rassie van der Dussen is in line for his ODI debut and seamer Dane Paterson has been recalled to South Africa’s 14-man squad for the first two ODIs against Pakistan to be played later this month. Van der Dussen scored a match-winning fifty on his T20I debut against Zimbabwe last year, but missed out on selection for South Africa’s limited overs trip to Australia in November, while Paterson has not played for the Proteas in this format since his debut series against Bangladesh in 2017.Hashim Amla, who missed the most recent series in Australia while he was recovering from a finger injury, also returns to the squad but JP Duminy and Lungi Ngidi were not considered as their rehabilitation to full fitness continues.”We need to look at all the options available to us as we get closer to selecting our final squad for this year’s World Cup,” national selector Linda Zondi said. “Rassie and Dane are two players who have been knocking strongly on the door in all formats.”After his bright T20I debut, van der Dussen continued to make headlines during the inaugural Mzansi Super League, during which he topped the run charts with 469 runs at a strike rate of 138.75 and played a vital role in Jozi Stars’ title-winning campaign. Paterson has also been there and thereabouts for a while, having played in the T20Is against Zimbabwe and been included as injury cover in the Test squad against Pakistan.The trialing of van der Dussen and Paterson means that Farhaan Behardien, Aiden Markram and Chris Morris miss out on the opening exchanges against Pakistan, but they could well get a look-in towards the end of the five-match series, when the squad will be revised.”Those players who went to Australia and have not been selected for the first two matches – Farhaan Behardien, Aiden Markram and Chris Morris – are by no means out of the picture and they may well get further opportunities in the second half of the series,” Zondi said.”We are very happy with the way in which our Vision 2019 is taking shape. The series against Pakistan could not have come at a better time as they will provide a very stern test for the Proteas under conditions very similar to what we will experience at the World Cup.”South Africa ODI squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Rassie van der Dussen

Captain hints at changes after blaming batters for decisive failure on first day of Test

Firdose Moonda27-Aug-2022Dean Elgar has indicated South Africa will have to make “a few tough decisions” about their batting line-up ahead of the series-deciding third Test against England, after two sub-200 totals cost them dearly at Old Trafford.South Africa were shot out for 151 and 179 to lose by an innings and 85 runs, and Elgar laid the blame squarely on his batters, after he won the toss and chose to bat first in overcast, seamer-friendly conditions.”First-innings runs stabilise your game,” Elgar said. “If you score 300-plus, you are giving yourself the best chance to compete and get a result in your favour. We were half of that. I really didn’t think we batted particularly well. Sure, the ball went around but this is Test cricket, man, you need to to deal with it.South Africa were reduced to 77 for 5 by lunch on the first day and lost two wickets in three overs before the break, which Elgar believes started the spiral from which they could not recover.”If we were three-down at lunch – 80-odd for three – we’d have been in a pretty good position and I think I would have bitten my arm off for that result,” he said. “But we were five-down and you are always going to be playing catch-up cricket with regards to that. The wicket did deteriorate like we thought it would. The first innings let us down quite a bit.”The last two wickets of that collapse were Aiden Markram, who top-edged a pull off Ben Stokes, and Rassie van der Dussen, who was out lbw despite a big stride to defend a delivery that nipped back in.Both batters were under scrutiny going into this match, with averages of 12.6 and 25.9 respectively since the start of last year’s tour to West Indies, and both are likely to be replaced for the next Test. Van der Dussen is out of that match after fracturing his finger at Old Trafford, while Ryan Rickelton and Khaya Zondo are in reserve and allrounder Wiaan Mulder has been called up to the squad.Related

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“A few tough decisions will be coming our way,” Elgar said. “With Rassie ruled out, we have to replace him. That’s a definite. Whether that’s the only one we will make … we’ve got a few days. We’ve got nearly two weeks. We’ll go away and get our options and try and get better combinations.”The bottom line is we need runs from that middle order and that is letting us down quite a bit, to be frank and bold and honest. That’s the truth. As much as guys don’t want to hear it, they know that already. But for now, Rassie’s position has to be filled. Whether that’s the only spot, we are not sure just yet.”Selection is a hot-button topic in the South African team after they picked two specialist spinners for Old Trafford, despite their quartet of quicks bowling England out twice for under 200 at Lord’s.In anticipation of a dry pitch, South Africa picked Simon Harmer, who has had success on the county circuit with Essex and against Bangladesh earlier in the year, and left out their only left-armer, Marco Jansen.Elgar explained the decision was based on experience. “Marco is the least experienced player or bowler in the four-pronged pace attack. Lungi [Ngidi] gives us the control and stability, Anrich [Nortje] has got raw pace and he has got a few of the English batters’ numbers and KG [Rabada] is the full package. We thought Jansen was the obvious choice. It was just on inexperience.”That was the same reason he gave pre-series for starting with Markram and van der Dussen, selections which were in keeping with his approach of delivering consistent messages. Elgar said that messaging, unlike the starting XI, won’t change.”I won’t change my way or my approach, that has been pretty sound and unique,” he said. “If I do that now, I will be doing myself an injustice and I will be letting the team down. The guys enjoy the honesty. They understand where they stand with me and it creates an honest platform among the other players.”I will have a few days off now and go back to the drawing board and dissect and have a look at where we could have been better. We’ll sit down and have those chats again. It’s an adult environment. I don’t want to treat a guy like a school kid. That’s not my way. I wouldn’t have liked that when I was a younger player but we will definitely have a few chats.”The teams have an 11-day gap between Tests, and South Africa have not yet revealed their plans. With the Oval Test beginning on September 8, they had a pre-planned break between these matches, which will still go ahead, but Elgar also wants to use the opportunity to remind the squad of their greater purpose, without adding any pressure on them.”Sometimes you can go into panic mode when things like this happen,” he said. “Myself and the coach are not guys to panic. We are still a good side. Sometimes time away from the game is not a bad thing. We will use that period for a bit of connection again within the group.”Let’s pull ourselves towards ourselves and don’t forget why we are here: we are here to win a Test series and we are in a great position to still win a Test series. We’ll clear our minds, let the dust settle and focus on the third Test. It’s set up to be a serious series. I can’t wait for that third Test to start.”

Left-arm quick Spencer Johnson took five wickets on debut but South Australia face a big chase

AAP21-Feb-2023Matt Short scored his maiden Sheffield Shield century in stunning fashion to put Victoria in a strong position at the midway point of their match against South Australia in Melbourne.A low-scoring contest was turned on its head as Short mastered the tricky Junction Oval pitch to score 119 – a tally nearly three times better than any other batter in the match.The century continues a rich vein of form for Short, who broke through for his first 50-over century last week, more than seven years after his senior debut.Related

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Victoria ended the day at 8 for 285 for a massive 340-run lead that seemed highly improbable just 24 hours earlier.South Australia’s lower order capitulated earlier in the day. Having resumed at 5 for 75, they were dismissed for 114 to concede a 55-run first-innings deficit.Short played a major role in building that advantage, with his 70 off 69 balls on day one more than double the next best for either side in the first innings.In the second innings, he punched 15 boundaries and a six in his 135-ball knock of 119, and it took some fancy footwork to dismiss him, with Jordan Buckingham taking a juggling catch on the boundary rope.Short’s wicket earned Spencer Johnson a five-wicket haul, with the debutant paceman returning figures of 5 for 72.At the time of his dismissal, Short had, incredibly, scored some 36 percent of the runs in the match across the three innings.Batting seemed much simpler during the latter two sessions of the day, highlighted by an 82-run stand – easily the largest in the match – for the seventh wicket between Short and Will Sutherland (43).The news wasn’t so good for returning short-form star Glenn Maxwell, who was clean bowled second ball after playing an expansive drive off Wes Agar.Maxwell made just 5 in the first innings, though his dismissal came via a contentious lbw decision.Earlier, in his first game back after suffering a broken leg, Maxwell left the field during SA’s innings after being struck on a wrist by a ball when fielding at slip.

Josh Hazlewood will return for the home side while Pakistan need victory to take the series to a decider

Tristan Lavalette07-Nov-2024

Big picture: Pakistan out to keep series alive, last hit-out for several of Australia’s Test stars

After falling short of an incredible heist in game one at the MCG, Pakistan will need to regroup and conjure a rare victory at the picturesque Adelaide Oval on Friday to keep the series alive.Pakistan’s quicks gamely attempted to defend a modest score of 203, with fiery bowling from Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah on a fast and bouncy surface almost leading to a dream start for new ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan.Related

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The short-pitched tactics worked well and rattled Australia’s batters, but Pakistan will likely need to change their approach on a ground with much shorter dimensions square of the wicket compared to the MCG. They will be wise to focus on bowling a disciplined line and length against an explosive Australia batting-order determined to stick with an ultra-aggressive method.To keep the series alive heading into Sunday’s decider in Perth, Pakistan will also need to defy a poor record against Australia having only won twice in the last 14 ODIs between the two sides.Australia weren’t overly convincing in game one, but can wrap up the series in what will be the final hit-out for skipper Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Marnus Labuschagne before the first Test against India.Starc has been in sizzling early season form, while Cummins was clutch with ball and bat at the MCG. Smith’s crisp 44 allayed fears over his form but Labuschagne is in the midst of a lean patch and scored just 16 in the first ODI before being hustled by the extra bounce of Rauf.

Form guide

AustraliaWWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
PakistanLLWWL

In the spotlight: Matt Short and Babar Azam

While the Test ‘bat off’ continues during the second Australia A match at the MCG, Australia also have David Warner’s shoes to fill in ODI cricket. With regular opener Travis Head on paternity leave, Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk are trying to make compelling cases ahead of the Champions Trophy but both fell cheaply in the opening game. Short has been viewed as having the inside running after performing well against England in the UK recently but made just one run in the series-opener after top-edging Shaheen Shah Afridi to third man. He should relish returning to the Adelaide Oval, where he has made a heap of runs in the BBL over the years for Strikers. Short has a golden opportunity in front of him in conditions he knows very well.Babar Azam looked in good touch before being beaten by Adam Zampa in Melbourne•AFP

Pakistan’s batters were exposed in challenging MCG conditions after being sent in. The exception was Babar Azam, who was a class above his team-mates with an elegant 37 off 44. He got through Australia’s quicks until he stumbled trying to accelerate the run rate against legspinner Adam Zampa. Babar’s recent struggles have been well documented and led to his controversial axing during the England Test series. But he seemed well at home back in ODI cricket, his favored format where he averages 56.52 – the fourth highest all-time – and is one century away from equalling Saeed Anwar’s Pakistan record of 20. He’ll have fond memories of playing at the Adelaide Oval having scored an even century against Australia in January 2017 – the last time the teams clashed in an ODI at the ground.

Team news: Hazlewood returns; Naseem expected to be fit

Hazlewood is likely to replace Sean Abbott in the XI and play his sole international match before the first Test. After a month’s break following the UK tour, Hazlewood made his return for New South Wales against Queensland in a Sheffield Shield fixture at Cricket Central that finished earlier in the week. He went wicketless from 24 overs in Queensland’s only innings of the drawn match.Australia (possible): 1 Matt Short, 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Josh Inglis (wk), 5 Marnus Labuschagne, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Aaron Hardie, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh HazlewoodNaseem was forced to leave the field in the first ODI due to cramps but is expected to be available. Pakistan may need to consider playing a frontline spinner in Adelaide.Pakistan (possible): 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Kamran Ghulam, 6 Salman Ali Agha, 7 Irfan Khan, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Hasnain

Pitch and conditions

Despite its reputation as a batting paradise, Adelaide Oval has been tough to bat on as underlined in a low-scoring Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and Victoria that finished earlier in the week although that was designed to assist the home side’s spinners. The surface is usually considerably flatter for white-ball cricket with the short square dimensions leading to rapid scoring. There has been rain in the lead-up to the match and a shower is forecast on Friday morning. But play should be unaffected with sunny conditions expected throughout the afternoon.

Stats and trivia

• Mitchell Starc is six wickets away from becoming the fourth Australian to take 250 ODI wickets. He has the best strike-rate by an Australian in ODI cricket (minimum 50 wickets).
• Glenn Maxwell needs 66 runs to reach 4000 in ODIs.
• Shaheen Shah Afridi (25.99) and Haris Rauf (26.23) sit seventh and eighth respectively for bowling strike-rates in ODI history (minimum 1000 balls).
• Pakistan have beaten Australia just once from eight ODIs at the Adelaide Oval. Their only win was by 12 runs in December 1996.
  

  Quotes

  “The game is changing and we want to take the game on in the first 10 overs. Instead of scrapping to 240-250, which aren’t winnable scores out here, getting towards the high 300 mark is more of a winning total we think.”

The South African captain scored just 70 runs in five innings in this World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-20222:36

Moody: Regardless of captaincy, Bavuma shouldn’t be in this format

Temba Bavuma’s poor form is “the elephant in the room” for South Africa, according to Tom Moody, after they crashed out of the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup with a shock defeat to Netherlands.”Without a doubt. That’s [Bavuma’s form] the elephant in the room. There’s better form players for this format sitting on the bench that should be playing on that side,” Moody said on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out show. “That will be a discussion, that has to be a discussion in South Africa’s review because you cannot afford to carry key personnel. Particularly at the top of the order. That is the critical point.”Related

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In 33 T20Is, Bavuma has scored 635 runs at an average of 22.67 and strike rate of 116.08. His form had been under scrutiny in the lead up to this World Cup, and in this tournament he scored only 70 runs in five innings as an opener at a strike rate of 112.90. Bavuma scored a run-a-ball 20 in South Africa’s must-win game against Netherlands.Moody went on to compare Bavuma’s situation with that of Australia and Aaron Finch.”They [Australia] had a similar issue. Once you have one wheel that’s not spinning like it should be spinning, it affects the direction you all go as a unit. That’s what was happening with South Africa. The rest were sort of covering up for a clear deficiency up top.”We totally respect their situation and what they’re achieving and you have to admire everything that’s happening. But there’s another way you can make up to be more effective with what’s happening at the top of the order.”Former India batter Robin Uthappa agreed with Moody’s assessment. “Knowing Temba as a human being, I know that he’ll be reviewing his own career in T20 cricket very, very seriously after this,” Uthappa said. “Because he is a high-quality Test batsman. Very accomplished Test batter. So he’ll probably have a very hard look at his career and which direction it moves forward. And so will South Africa.”Temba Bavuma is bowled by Paul van Meekeren•AFP/Getty Images

Moody and Uthappa said South Africa’s defeat to Netherlands was their biggest stumble – and there have been several in the past – in a big tournament.”South Africa have only themselves to blame. It was all to play for. Even if you look at the last two overs of the first innings, they [Netherlands] were 127/4 before they got up to their eventual score,” Uthappa said.Netherlands hit 31 off the final two overs to finish on 158.”Even that was achievable,” Uthappa said. “All you had to do was bat sensibly, have wickets at the top in the back 10 irrespective of any situation. You want your main batters batting at the end. There was no proper batter for South Africa in the last four overs which is why they find themselves short.”Moody was critical of South Africa’s bowling performance after they had won the toss in Adelaide. “At the end of the day, the way South Africa went about their business today, they’ve only got themselves to blame. They bowled poorly. They didn’t assess the conditions with the ball. They didn’t take advantage of a surface that was clearly wearing a little bit and just holding a bit. And the discipline obviously at the back end, with the ball.”And their batsmen got in. A lot of their batsmen got in, they got starts. But who’s going to put their hand up? No one put their hand up after getting those important starts,” Moody said. “We’ve seen it before with South Africa, but I think this is probably going to take first place with regards to their stumbles in these events.”South Africa have often been called “chokers” for losing key matches from winning positions in big tournaments. “You can’t blame them for everyone calling them chokers because they’ve done this to themselves in this situation,” Uthappa said. “When we’ve all believed and all felt that they have come past that situation, come a big stage, they have done the same thing all over again.”Moody said this defeat was worse than their exit from the 1999 ODI World Cup. “There’s no other way to explain it [on the “chokers” tag]. I was involved in the 1999 World Cup against South Africa in that semi-final and even in the game before that, where Steve Waugh made an unbelievable hundred at Headingley. So that memory of that World Cup is so clear in my head and that was a major stumble from their point of view. I thought that was big. This is winning by a lap.”Uthappa said their batters did not play to potential, which would have been enough in this situation. “This is by far the worst. You just have to play to potential. All their batters have gotten off to starts. But not one of them put their hand up and completed the innings. Even if they played at just run-a-ball, exactly like Ben Stokes did last evening, if they had done that, they would have gone through.”