A shortened third day at Wantage Road has still left the promotion battle between Northants and Nottinghamshire on a knife edge

Paul Edwards at Wantage Road21-Sep-2017Although there was only 25.3 overs’ play at Wantage Road on the third day of this game the cricket never wanted for intensity or purpose. Needing a further 281 runs to beat Northamptonshire and thereby settle the promotion issues in Division Two, Nottinghamshire had reduced that requirement to 207 when the umpires brought the players off for bad light just before lunch. Rain set in during the afternoon.Yet in making their modest progress the visitors had lost only their nightwatchman, Luke Wood, who for the second time in the match had fulfilled his primary duty on the evening of one day and then completed useful innings of 44 on the morning of the next. In addition Wood has taken four wickets in each innings, thus making this contest something of a numerophile’s delight in addition to its weightier fascinations.Wood is developing into a substantial cricketer. His left-arm swing bowling on the first morning was impressive and he is far more than a No9 batsman capable of facing the artillery in the last few overs of a day. And Nottinghamshire will need their top order to discharge their responsibilities as competently as Wood has done if they are going to face down a Northants attack strengthened by the availability of Richard Gleeson, who has recovered from the back spasm which prevented him bowling on the first two days.However, if Northants bowl as they did for the first 45 minutes of this morning’s cricket, Nottinghamshire’s batsmen should enjoy themselves. Rory Kleinveldt’s radar was awry in this period and runs came easily, 18 of them in the first three overs of play. On the other hand, if the Northants’ attack is as penetrative as it was in the next hour we are in for a splendid scrap. Some taste of the battle that might lie ahead was offered by Gleeson and Ben Sanderson, both of whom beat the groping bat regularly yet had only the wicket of Wood to show for their efforts. That fell when the nightwatchman attempted to pull Gleeson but only hoisted a skier which Alex Wakely ran back from mid-off to catch. The same fielder in the same position had dropped a low chance off the bowling off Kleinveldt when Wood had made 20.While Wood was scoring 31 runs on the third morning, Jake Libby set about anchoring the innings in a manner befitting someone who will bat on all four days of this match. Libby took his score from 6 to 30 in 100 minutes’ stout resistance and his defensive technique was admirable. Like Cheteshwar Pujara, he was tested to the uttermost by Gleeson, one or two of whose deliveries from the Pavilion End really did seem like fast leg-breaks, the sort that Len Hutton, on his best form, might have nicked. Sometimes, playing and missing is the best you can do, and if that is true for Pujara, it will probably satisfy the other Nottinghamshire batsmen as well. They might use Wood’s obstinacy as an example of what will be required.”It’s always nice to get out there and have a bat,” said the nightwatchman. “I pride myself on my batting so to get out there as a nightwatchman and do my job then get some runs in the mornings has been nice. We got a bit of momentum going today and they got a little bit more deflated than they had been previously in the game. We felt we were getting on top and if the weather’s good on the last day that can only help us really. We would have liked to have been chasing fewer runs but we feel this total is gettable. We have the players who can chase this total down.”

In his book, Steven Smith revealed he was mystified by Virat Kohli’s accusations of DRS misuse during the Bengaluru Test earlier this year

Daniel Brettig26-Oct-20171:20

Smith on the India series’ DRS controversy

Steven Smith believes his opposite number Virat Kohli invented claims of systemic DRS abuse by the touring team as a form of gamesmanship during a this year’s Border-Gavaskar Test series, in which Australia’s captain also described the BCCI’s decision to release select stump microphone audio of verbal exchanges as “pretty ordinary”.In shedding light on the hot-tempered encounter between India and Australia earlier this year, where the unfancied visitors came exceptionally close to ending the hosts’ long unbeaten run on home territory, Smith revealed how he is to this day mystified by Kohli’s accusations, which were dropped and never again mentioned from the moment the series was decided. Speaking exclusively to ESPNcricinfo – the full interview will run next week – Smith called the claims “rubbish”.Kohli’s accusations followed a moment amid the cauldron of Australia’s fourth-innings chase of a small target on a difficult pitch in the second Test in Bangalore, when victory would have granted Smith’s team an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series following their surprise win in the opener in Pune. When given out lbw to a shooter, Smith ran the decision past his batting partner Peter Handscomb, who instinctively motioned towards the team viewing area for advice – a move outlawed under DRS protocols. Smith, too, turned around, before being sent on his way by the umpire Nigel Llong.”It wasn’t until afterwards that I realised what a talking point it had become, fuelled by Kohli’s post-match claims that we’d called on off-field assistance twice earlier in the match to help our on-field deliberations,” Smith wrote in his book, . “As far as I was concerned, we’d never tried to consult with the dressing room beforehand and although he said he’d brought those previous occasions to the notice of the umpires, I can say categorically that we were never spoken to by either those umpires or match referee Chris Broad about any such breaches in protocol.”Virat has always been a player who’s thrived in the most intense of environments, and like me he loves a battle and I can only think it was his way of raising the temperature in the series in an attempt to get the best out of himself. The idea of getting messages from the sidelines for that purpose was not a tactic we as a team ever spoke about and … I can’t work out what he was referring to in his remarks.”There was never anything further on the matter from the ICC and Virat never detailed the incidents he was referring to. And during the brief interactions we had – including at the captain’s briefing for the IPL as that tournament followed the series – he was friendly and it was as if any ill-feeling he may have had over the incident had disappeared. It was and still is all a big mystery to me.”Getty Images

Smith also remains annoyed by how the BCCI chose to highlight an exchange between Ravindra Jadeja and Matthew Wade during the decisive Dharamsala Test match, during a series in which there were many instances of heated discussion among opponents. Smith additionally pointed out that ICC regulations prohibit broadcasters from airing audio captured on stump microphones when the ball is dead.”It was an example of the banter that took place on the field, but it gave a very one-sided view of what was happening,” Smith wrote. “There would have been plenty of examples that could have been released of Indian players engaging with me and my team, such as when they were constantly in the ears of Matt Renshaw when he resumed his first innings in Pune having had to retire ill because of diarrhoea. Ian Gould asked Matthew and Ravindra to cut it out in Dharamsala and that was where it ended. So to rake it up in the way that it was benefited no-one.”What was overlooked in the minor controversy that followed was that, under ICC guidelines, the broadcaster shouldn’t have been broadcasting audio from the stump microphones, except for instances when the ball was in play, and it certainly wasn’t when Matthew and Ravindra were having their discussions. But whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation, it was a timely reminder to players of both sides that the old adage of what happens on the field, stays on the field, no longer applies.”Looking more broadly at the on-field behaviour of the Australian side, Smith said he had no qualms about his team seeking a verbal edge over opponents when matches get tight. He also took issue with the perception that his team was “nice as pie” on the field when dominating a match and only went into verbal aggressor mode when things were not going their way.”I know there is a view that has us as the ugly Aussies and that although, when we are on top, we are all nice as pie on the field, when the opposition gets success against us then we are quick to get into them verbally, but I don’t see it like that,” he wrote. “It’s simply that, as a group of players, we don’t like backing down in a contest and the greater the intensity of the action on the field the more we all back each other up.”If that’s through the odd word with our opponents so be it. The umpires are there to step in if anything is out of order and I don’t think there was much, if anything, that fitted the bill through the series.”

Steven Smith said he needed patience and resilience to achieve one of his finest Test hundreds in the face of England’s defensive tactics

Brydon Coverdale at the Gabba25-Nov-20170:47

‘Smith and Cummins partnership got Australia back’

Australia’s captain Steven Smith has said he needed patience and resilience to achieve one of his finest Test hundreds, after what he described as England’s tactics becoming “pretty defensive, pretty early”.Smith scored the slowest century of his Test career, reaching the milestone from his 261st delivery, to help Australia move from a shaky 4 for 76 to all out for 328, giving them an unexpected 26-run first-innings advantage. After finishing unbeaten on 141, Smith said his innings was up there with his best in Test cricket, given the situation of the game in the first Test of an Ashes campaign.”It’d be up there, definitely,” Smith said. “With the team in a bit of trouble I had to try and bat some time and dig really deep. It was nice to put on a few partnerships with Shaun [Marsh] and Patty Cummins at the back end there, I thought he played really well.”I just had to fight really hard, get through difficult periods and just keep batting. There were some reasonably defensive fields set, so boundaries were quite hard to come by. So it was just about getting off strike and waiting for the balls in my areas and being really disciplined, and I thought I did that really well.”We’ve got ourselves into a reasonable spot, being 30 in front. We didn’t look like we were going to get there, for a while. It just meant a lot. Ashes series are always huge. As the captain I want to try and lead from the front as much as I can with my performance and the way I bat … I had to work really hard and be really disciplined and resilient. To get through those periods and get to a position where we are now, it’s relatively pleasing.”Almost from the moment he walked to the crease, Smith found himself confronted by unusual Test-match fields, as England captain Joe Root placed several men on the boundary to restrict Smith’s scoring opportunities. A similar tactic worked against David Warner, who fell trying to force the scoring rate, but Smith showed the patience required to work through the challenge.”I thought they were pretty defensive from the outset,” he said. “It was almost as though they were waiting for our batters to make a mistake. Unfortunately four [batsmen] … to get to 4 for 70, made those mistakes. But it felt like it was very defensive. It might be a series where boundaries might be hard to come by, but if you bat for long enough you’ll rotate the strike and you’ll get bad balls as the bowlers get tired. But I thought they were pretty defensive pretty early.”England fast bowler Stuart Broad said the tactics had been clearly conceived against Smith, who he said was more vulnerable outside off than to straighter deliveries.”He doesn’t seem to get out lbw or bowled too much,” Broad said. “We’ve looked at all his dismissals in Australia in the past four years … a lot of the best batsmen in the world, when you look at them, don’t miss straight balls, do they? They don’t get out lbw and bowled a huge amount.”It’s the outside edge that’s his biggest threat. Someone said in the change room last night, he only scored one out of his first 100 balls in the off side. So he was incredibly patient. But if we get a pitch with any sideways movement and a bit more pace, it brings the edge into play.”Smith’s efforts left Australia in a much stronger position at stumps on day three than might otherwise have been the case, with England seven runs in front but two wickets down in their second innings. Australia have not lost a Test at the Gabba since 1988.

Gujarat open up 297-run advantage over Rajasthan, bowlers keep Kerala in the hunt and J&K in the hunt for first-innings lead

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2017Priyank Panchal, the previous season’s highest run-getter, brought up his second successive century as defending champions Gujarat plundered Rajasthan in Surat. Gujarat opened up a 297-run advantage by ending the second day on 450 for 3. Bhargav Merai (110) and captain Parthiv Patel (119*) added 174 to help swell the total after Panchal’s dismissal for a 223-ball 152 that had 23 fours.A clash that could potentially decide the second qualifier from Group B was tantalisingly poised with Saurashtra’s lower order rallying together to eke out a seven-run lead after Kerala‘s Sijomon Joseph triggered a middle order collapse. Saurashtra, cruising comfortably on the back of Robin Uthappa’s 86, sensationally slipped from 148 for 2 to 178 for 7. A crucial 45-run stand between Jaydev Unadkat and Jay Chauhan gave them the cushion of a lead. Basil Thampi finished with three wickets while Joseph had 4 for 43.Kerala then powered to 69 for 1 at stumps, with both Rohan Prem and Jalaj Saxena getting off to starts. They were ahead by 62 with two full days remaining, with the prospect of an outright result either way well and truly alive.An intriguing battle for the first-innings lead is in store for day three in Lahli, as Jammu & Kashmir ended the day on 175 for 7, nine runs behind Haryana‘s 184. Despite losing opener Shubham Khajuria early on, J&K rebuilt through Ahmed Bandy (67) and Puneet Bisht (35) who added 45 for the third wicket.From 100 for 2, J&K lost five wickets for 75 runs, with Ajit Chahal dismissing Owais Shah in the last over of the day. Chahal, Harshal Patel and Ashish Hooda finished with two wickets each. Earlier, Haryana added 65 to their overnight score of 119 for 7, with captain Amit Mishra top-scoring with 41. Harshal and Chahal chipped in with 23 and 22 respectively. J&K seamers Ram Dayal (5 for 57) and Mohammed Mudhasir (4 for 56) were the pick of the bowlers.

Rajneesh Gurbani extended his spectacular streak with his third five-wicket haul in as many matches, but Karun Nair’s 148* established Karnataka’s ascendancy at Eden Gardens

The Report by Akshay Gopalakrishnan in Kolkata18-Dec-2017Karun Nair put Karnataka in pole position•PTI

Rajneesh Gurbani extended his spectacular streak of performances with his third five-wicket haul in as many matches, but Karnataka took big strides towards the Ranji Trophy final on the back of a sublime Karun Nair century. As on the first evening, Gurbani continued to tantalise and provide Vidarbha with a glimmer of hope. But the unshakeable Nair established Karnataka’s ascendancy in the semi-final with an unbeaten 148 that thrust them into a 109-run lead on the second day at Eden Gardens.It was a day of three installments as both sides continued to trade punches. Karnataka, however, finished the day like they had begun it – by dominating. Nair began the day doing exactly what Karnataka needed him to do: soothe their nerves after what had been a topsy-turvy opening day. He did that by taking his fourth-wicket stand with CM Gautam (73) to 139 runs, taking the team score past 150. By the end of the day, Nair was still standing between Vidarbha and a shot at their maiden final. But now, he was doing it in the company of the lower order, to the great frustration of their opponents.By stumps, Nair had moved to his best score of the season and had batted out nearly 25 overs in the company of his captain Vinay Kumar. Only bad light, which ended play at 4.10pm – 15 minutes earlier than it did on the first day – could give Vidarbha respite from their misery.There was nothing slick about Karnataka’s batting for the first half hour or so when outside edges either fell short of the slip cordon or found an escape between fielders. Two of the first three fours Karnataka struck on the day came courtesy edges. It prompted Vidarbha to take the second new ball only 21 balls into the day.The heavy presence of early-morning moisture perhaps came to the aid of Karnataka as the ball came on slowly and edges didn’t carry. Equally, it impelled Karnataka to exercise caution, especially with the odd delivery climbing unexpectedly onto the batsmen.Vidarbha then found various ways to concede the advantage they had gained on the first day. Umesh Yadav was particularly disappointing as he hardly probed the batsmen. Fuller offerings on the pads of Nair allowed him to warm up with a brace of boundaries. Umesh ended his first spell with 4-0-16-0 and Karnataka collected 52 runs in the first 11 overs of the day.By the time the sun came out fully, the pitch had eased out considerably. A straight-driven four off Faiz Fazal, the Vidarbha captain, gave Gautam his fifty; Nair brought up his shortly thereafter, with a neat tuck off the hips through square leg, and followed it up with a paddle sweep to the fine-leg boundary.The sweep became an oft-employed method to counter Vidarbha’s spinners: Nair compact as ever playing his favoured shot, and Gautam slightly less so. And then, in a single moment of indiscretion, Gautam undid all of his good work over the morning, slashing Umesh to deep point off what turned out to be the last ball of the session.Gurbani’s brilliance made for the story of the post-lunch passage. It began antithetically as Nair pulled him over deep backward square leg for six. But in his next over, Gurbani produced a scorching away-drifter that found the outside edge of Stuart Binny, who was forced to play at it.Gurbani regularly found movement off the surface and kept the batsmen on their toes. He forced Shreyas Gopal to follow the line of one that was slanted across the right-hander and jagged away off the seam. The resultant edge was taken brilliantly by Fazal at first slip. With Akshay Wadkar also diving to his right, Fazal was momentarily blinded, but he flung himself to his left and grabbed it without fuss.Gurbani’s fifth wicket arrived with a legcutter that had K Gowtham pushing forward into a drive and offering a catch to gully. In the last ball of that over, Gurbani got one to cut in the other way and found the inside edge of Abhimanyu Mithun that snuck away to fine leg and brought up Karnataka’s 200.Nair remained compact at the other end, displaying characteristic traits of assured feet movement, still head and a straight bat for the most part. Occasionally, he would be ambitious, especially when it came to the sweep, but he played his shots with great control and picked his gaps brilliantly.Soon after Gurbani’s six-over third spell, which ended with three wickets, Nair raised his century with a single to mid-on and followed it up with an eye-catching celebration, getting down on one knee, pulling out an imaginary bow and firing an arrow into the sky.He then snuffed out any steam Vidarbha had gathered from Gurbani’s burst. With Vinay, too, hardly troubled by the pace of Vidarbha’s bowlers and showing good judgement outside off, the two shut out Vidarbha’s chances of limiting the lead to a marginal one.

Scotland opener Michael Jones made 87 on debut, but the rest of their batsmen crumbled to Boyd Rankin and co. in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2018
ScorecardAndy Balbirnie hits one over the infield on the off side•Associated Press

Half-centuries from Andy Balbirnie and Niall O’Brien, couple with a robust bowling performance led by Boyd Rankin’s three-for, helped Ireland consign Scotland to a six-wicket defeat and register their third victory in as many matches in the ongoing tri-nation series in the UAE.Set a target of 220, Ireland lost their captain William Porterfield to Safyaan Sharif off the second ball of the chase, but, a 103-run second-wicket stand between Paul Stirling and Balbirnie ensured the early wobble was negated. Stirling, however, fell for 38 in the 21st over before O’Brien hammered a 53-ball 55, including five fours and two sixes.Balbirnie, on the other hand, followed up his century in the last game with a brisk 67. While both Stirling and Balbirnie fell to Tom Sole, Sharif added a second wicket to his name in O’Brien with Ireland only 22 runs away. Ed Joyce (31 off 44) and Kevin O’Brien (13 off 8) hit seven fours between them to help Ireland overhaul the target with more than 15 overs to spare.Earlier, Ireland bowlers lent validation to their captain’s decision to bowl by stifling Scotland to 63 for 3 inside 20 overs. Barry McCarthy dealt the opposition the first jolt, sniping George Munsey for a duck in the third over. Rankin followed suit, taking the first of his three wickets in Matthew Cross, who holed out on 18. A run-out cost Richie Berrington his wicket, before debutant Michael Jones, the opener, dropped anchor to steady Scotland’s innings with a fifty stand with Calum Macleod (33 off 38). Jones motored on to score 87, clobbering nine fours in his 135-ball knock, and took his side past the 175-run mark.Rankin then found his second wicket in Jones, following which Scotland could only add another 43 runs off the remaining 6.3 overs. Wicketkeeper Craig Wallace and Tom Sole chipped in with 34 and 20 respectively, but Scotland were rolled over for 219 in their final over. Each of Ireland’s five bowlers were among the wickets.

Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s captain, has responded to criticism from Simon Doull about the team’s T20 fortunes and reiterated that he wants to be involved in all formats

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2018Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s captain, has responded to criticism from Simon Doull about the team’s T20 fortunes and reiterated that he wants to be involved in all formats for his country. Williamson said he had chatted amicably with Doull about the former pace bowler’s comments but would be looking to continue the balancing act that sees him lead the Test, ODI and T20 sides.Speaking on New Zealand radio last week, Doull suggested bringing in a specialist T20 coach to replace Mike Hesson and said that Williamson should only be in the side as an opener. Williamson has batted at No. 3 in recent series, with limited success, and New Zealand have lost three T20s in a row – in the process dropping from No. 1 to No. 4 in the ICC rankings.Despite being heavily beaten by Australia in their opening Trans-Tasman T20 fixture in Sydney last week, New Zealand have qualification for the final in their own hands ahead of three games at home. Williamson may yet miss out on Tuesday’s match against England in Wellington due to a back problem. Henry Nicholls has been called up as cover.”I’d quite like to play,” Williamson said. “I spoke to Simon afterwards, he wanted to go for a coffee. So we caught up, and I’ve known Simon for a long time and he wanted to clarify a few of those points because he didn’t believe they came across in the right way. He’s looking at volume of cricket, bringing new players into the international game and there’s sense that he makes, but at the same time from a personal perspective T20 cricket is so prevalent in the international and domestic game and you play a lot more of it nowadays, and it’s something you want to be a part of.”I definitely want to play all three forms, without a doubt, it’s a challenge I look forward to. But at the same time, as we’ve seen throughout the summer already, guys have had time off, they’ve missed a few games for those reasons and it’s a balancing act moving forward because the volume of cricket seems to increase every year.”Since January 2017, Williamson has averaged 18.60 in T20 internationals, with a strike rate of 100.54. While Colin Munro’s move up to opener has been a success – he has scored two hundreds and two fifties in nine innings – the knock on has been a further dip in Williamson’s form: at the SCG, with New Zealand in trouble after losing early wickets, he managed just 8 off 21 balls and was caught at cover off a leading edge.”Not as good as I would have liked,” Williamson said of his recent returns, “but at the same time it’s the nature of the game, that you’re wanting more and more. I’m looking to improve all the time, trying to contribute as much as I can for the team and that’s my focus. Don’t get me wrong, I would like a lot more runs, but at the same time you don’t want that to get in the road of what you’re trying to achieve, which is your gameplan facing each ball as best you can and knowing that if you do put your trust in that, that’s when the runs come.”You take risks in T20 cricket sometimes it doesn’t come off and it came be frustrating but it is going out and playing in the right style to help move the team forward. When you do take that approach and you do score some runs, that’s when you help the team, rather than perhaps thinking about yourself too much and how many runs you might want.”While New Zealand have refused to rip up their playbook for T20, they have made changes for the next few games. Mark Chapman and wicketkeeper Tim Seifert are set to debut at the Westpac Stadium, with Tom Bruce and Tom Blundell making way, and Williamson said it was just reward for their form domestically.”Tim’s a player that can score all around the ground, packs a punch and hits the ball a long way… it was a really tough decision because Tommy [Blundell] came in and offers so much to the group every time he is involved. But it was purely a balance and a role-type decision and that’s why Timmy comes into the fold and it’s a really exciting opportunity for himself and Mark to make their debuts for New Zealand and come out and play their natural game, which they’ve been doing so well in the domestic T20 comps.”New Zealand have had a ten-day break without a game, as England completed the Australia leg of their tour, and Williamson said it was helpful for the players to have some time off. Having won every game at home this summer until two T20 defeats to Pakistan in January, they will be hoping to get back on track.”T20 is fickle, so it’s important we don’t chase the win, we chase how we want to be playing cricket,” Williamson said. “That’s where we put our focus, we’ve said it all along. We’ve had a couple of losses in a row, which hasn’t been what we’ve wanted but we’ve just been looking at how we’ve been playing and how we want to try and improve, and when we do that’s when the results happen for us. So it’s important we don’t get ahead of ourselves.”

England paceman sympathises with Kagiso Rabada after his on-field aggression leads to two-Test ban

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2018James Anderson says he recognises the difficulties that Kagiso Rabada is having in controlling his on-field aggression, in the wake of his shoulder-barge on Steven Smith during the Port Elizabeth Test that led to a two-Test ban.The ICC has announced that Rabada is appealing his ban, which was automatically triggered by his accumulation of eight ICC demerit points in the space of 24 months, for offences including an audible obscenity directed at Ben Stokes during last summer’s Lord’s Test, and “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact” with Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella during an ODI in Cape Town.But Anderson, whom Rabada recently replaced as the ICC’s No.1-ranked Test bowler, following his 11-wicket haul against Australia, has sympathy for his fellow paceman.”There’s definitely got to be a place for emotion,” Anderson said. “I’ve certainly been there and done it, the thing is you have to control it the best you can. Sometimes it is hard, especially in the heat of the moment in a big series, if you get an important wicket.”Anderson is himself no saint out in the middle. During the Ashes, he was singled out by Australia’s captain Steven Smith as “one of the biggest sledgers in the game”, and he was at it again today during England’s warm-up match in Hamilton, when the umpires had to step in after he offered a few choice words to Kyle Jamieson during his century.However, unlike Rabada, Anderson has not yet been sanctioned by the ICC for his on-field behaviour, and he believes that there is a line that players should not cross, even if it can be hard to spot in the heat of the action.”Of course there’s a line, bowlers do know what that line is but at times it’s such a strange feeling,” he said. “I’ve watched myself back and watched me take a wicket and seen how I’ve celebrated and think ‘what am I doing?’ It’s literally one of those things, the build-up of emotion where you are trying so hard to get a wicket and win a game and this emotion just comes out as a big release.”It can feel like an out-of-body experience at times. I’m not excusing behaving badly on the field, I’m just saying I can understand what does happen to bowlers when they show that emotion. You see it with fielders, they can sometimes celebrate over the top but we are aware there’s a line, but you just hope as you can keep the emotion the check to stay the right side of the line.”

Aiden Markram capitalised on a bowling line-up lacking penetration, making 152, his highest Test score, and strengthening South Africa’s position in their bid for their first home series win against Australia since 1970

The Report by Nikhil Kalro30-Mar-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:19

Voges: Cummins finds a way to pick crucial wickets

Aiden Markram owns his style of batting: languid, fluent and dominant. Against a bowling line-up that, save Pat Cummins, lacked penetration or oomph on a pitch offering sufficient seam movement, Markram stroked his way to his 152, his highest Test score, strengthening South Africa’s position in their bid for their first home series win against Australia since 1970.AB de Villiers owns not just his batting, but also the Wanderers. After walking out to raucous cheers, de Villiers was forced to put away his aggressive template by Australia’s probing accuracy either side of tea. Often de Villiers makes batting look considerably easier than it actually is. On Friday, he went the other way, struggling for timing. He diligently accumulated 20 in his first 70 balls before releasing his frustration against Nathan Lyon.Soon, his fluency made Australia gasp. Hard sweeps, elegant drives, delicately late cuts: the usual de Villiers range. His innings was another masterclass in scoring tough runs and his fifth 50-plus score of the series.Considering the events that unfolded over the past week, it was an unusually quiet day for Australia, literally and otherwise. The fallout of the ball-tampering chaos was at its worst on the fourth day of the Cape Town Test, and ensuing incidents seemed to have only worsened Australia’s morale in Johannesburg. In characteristic fashion, though, they fought back late in the evening to prevent South Africa from running away with the Test.Although they conceded 136 runs, Australia took four wickets in the final session. Just like in Durban, Markram was dismissed attempting a late cut after scoring a big hundred, a sign of fatigue in an otherwise glorious hundred. A thick edge off Cummins was snaffled by gully. Off the next ball, Faf du Plessis made an error of judgement, leaving a delivery that darted back in prodigiously, to be trapped in front.Late in the day, Chadd Sayers, on debut, provided Australia with their second double-wicket over of the evening. An inducker, shaping back in off the seam, caught de Villiers’ inside edge. Although he reviewed immediately, a discernible spike on Ultra Edge meant de Villiers was restricted to his third successive score in the 60s. Two balls later, nightwatchman Kagiso Rabada chipped to mid-off.However, the majority of the day was dominated by Markram. He was patient right through his innings, waiting for mistakes in length or line, particularly for width outside his off stump. A jaded Australian bowling line-up erred often: he scored 27 of his 53 runs before lunch, more than 50%, through point.Hitting that area was fraught with risk when Lyon bowled and extracted plenty of turn. Markram then showed off his straight-bat range, including a delectable drive through cover and an extended lofted drive over mid-on, for six.Australia’s plan at lunch may have been to bowl straighter, but that didn’t work either. Square on the leg side was a productive region, as Markram powerfully flicked the fast bowlers and deftly nudged Lyon. Together, Markram scored 125 of 152 runs, or more than 80%, square on both sides of the pitch.Dean Elgar made a scratchy 19 off 47 balls, during which he made two errors against Lyon. In his first over, he attempted to heave Lyon over midwicket, but didn’t account for atypically sharp turn on a first-day Wanderers pitch. The resulting skew off the outside half of his bat lobbed over cover. In Lyon’s next over, Elgar made the same mistake, looking to work the ball against the turn. This time, a leading edge carried to mid-off, Australia’s first wicket of the day.Australia’s only other wicket of the second session was of Hashim Amla. Batting on 27 off 80 balls, Amla wafted at a leaden-footed drive off Cummins, in the middle of Australia’s best spell of the day. An outswinger, moving in the air and after pitching, found the outside edge. Peter Handscomb, slotting into Steven Smith’s No. 4 and second slip positions, took a fine, two-handed catch to his right.

Incumbent President Thilanga Sumathipala confirmed that he would run for another two-year term following recent changes to Sri Lanka’s Sports Law

Madushka Balasuriya20-Apr-2018Sri Lanka Cricket’s elections will be held at the board’s Annual General Meeting on 19th May, SLC has announced, with the deadline for nominations set for April 27. Incumbent President Thilanga Sumathipala confirmed that he would run for another two-year term following recent changes to Sri Lanka’s Sports Law.”The Minister of Sports recently changed the Sports Law so that you can hold office for four years,” explained SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala. “We strongly believe that elections should be held once in two years, and the Sports Law says you can get reelected after two years.”Sumathipala also revealed that changes could be expected to the make up of his team, with certain members opting out due to other engagements such as present SLC Secretary Air Commodore Roshan Biyanwala. The core of his team however is expected to remain the same with the likes of Vice Presidents, K. Mathivanan and Mohan De Silva, and Treasurer Shammi Silva likely to contest.Despite having been ousted several times on legal grounds Sumathipala is yet lose an SLC election, as such he is favoured to win reelection, though his opponents are yet to be announced.Following the elections there will also need to be a decision taken on SLC’s selection committee, whose term is due to end on May 15. That decision though will need to be approved by Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister, the identity of whom will only be known following a soon to take place Cabinet reshuffle.