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South Africa are a happy team again. Not just because they beat New Zealand but because they’ve rediscovered their reason

Firdose Moonda in Centurion30-Aug-20162:47

‘Happy with the way we batted’ – Du Plessis

South Africa are a happy team again. Not just because they beat New Zealand but because they’ve rediscovered their reason.”We’ve found our passion again and why we want to win games,” Faf du Plessis said. “The team space is good and that reflects directly on our performances.”The reason did not get lost in the retirements of great players like Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher. It did not get lost in the complex off-field affairs that dominate every sphere of life in a country still coming to terms with its past as it lurches into the future. It did not get lost in the five Tests they lost last summer across two series. It got lost before that, at the 2015 World Cup.”After the World Cup, we just stopped,” Dale Steyn admitted.Literally. On the night of the semi-final, the core of the South African squad was on the floor. Steyn, du Plessis and Morne Morkel were among those that had to be helped up. Something broke that night and, as we are now discovering, it was the South African spirit. “We didn’t know why we wanted to win games. We needed something to happen,” Steyn said.The something was the season of discontent that followed and the honest discussion that took place after that about exactly what was needed to heal, in all formats. “We felt we needed to improve again. We couldn’t rest on our laurels as the previous Test team did because with this team we are not good enough to do that yet,” du Plessis said.The previous team – the one of Smith, Kallis and Boucher – had become so good that they managed to win, or not lose, pretty much everywhere. The current team lost to India and England and in so doing, slipped from the No. 1 they had worked so hard to earn, to No. 7. “It was very disappointing. I can’t say what it was like because I wasn’t part of the teams that lost but it is disappointing to go from 1 to 7,” Steyn, who missed six of eight Tests last season through injury, said.The current team also knew that unless they changed their attitudes, they would not be able to change their ranking. “We had some really good discussions between ourselves. The guys took it on board. They were real mature,” du Plessis said.They decided to work harder and work smarter. They also knew they would have their two biggest weapons back. Steyn and Philander spent the rest of last summer recovering and the winter getting ready to show they still have it.”It will be tough for us to be at the top without the two of them,” he said. “It’s amazing to throw them the ball and know the run rate’s going to be under three and they are going to be taking wickets as well. To control the game of Test cricket, you need bowlers like them.”But you also need back-up and South Africa have the best they could ask for in Kagiso Rabada. You also need batsmen and with du Plessis and JP Duminy returning to form, South Africa need them as well. With AB de Villiers now out injured, the line-up has proved to themselves, they can be good enough again.”We’ve got the capabilities of transforming our team into a good team again,” du Plessis said. “We don’t rely completely on those guys – AB and Morne.”Du Plessis knows that any more progress will be difficult without de Villiers, who should return from an elbow injury in time for the Australia ODIs at home and Tests away, and Morkel, who is nursing a back niggle and will also be back soon. “We would need them to be No. 1. If they are not there, it’s going to be a challenge,” he said.He is even happy to hand the captaincy reins back to de Villiers, despite thriving in the role. “AB is the Test captain and I will support him fully and we can’t wait to have him back. He is a massive leader in our team. We have missed him this series,” du Plessis said.What South Africa have not missed is the chance to start rebuilding. Even though they were weary of a one-off Test to decide the series and unsure what to expect from a winter wicket, they accepted their challenges and more importantly, they overcame them. “We almost played the perfect Test. If I could write a script to write it the way I would like, that’s the way I would have scripted it,” du Plessis said.A first-innings total over 400, a century from one batsman, and bowlers who consistently applied pressure created what du Plessis called “a proper Test” on a pitch that kept interested. It also gave South Africa a proper restart to what they hope will be a successful few summers. “What a wonderful story it will be in two years’ time when we go to No. 1 again,” Steyn said.If you were wondering what the reason was, that’s it.

Kyle Coetzer’s 38-ball 63 and Safyaan Sharif’s 3 for 27 wrapped up a 23-run win for Scotland over Oman in their World T20 Qualifier Group B game in Edinburgh

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2015
ScorecardKyle Coetzer struck nine fours and a six for his 63•ICC/Donald MacLeod

Scotland have booked their place in the World T20 in India after beating Oman by 23 runs in their last Group B game in Edinburgh. With all matches having being played in Group B, Netherlands, Afghanistan and Oman, who are second, third and fourth respectively will play in the playoffs next week. Netherlands finished second, falling just short of the top spot in spite of beating Kenya by four wickets – they needed to score the target of 98 within eight overs but reached it in the ninth. Opening batsman Kyle Coetzer’s 38-ball 63 and pacer Safyaan Sharif’s 3 for 27 helped wrap up the win for Scotland. The win helped them finish at the top of the Group B table with four wins in six matches, while Afghanistan also finished on eight points with three wins in six games and two abandoned matches.Coetzer, who had initially been omitted from Scotland’s squad for the Qualifier, gave the team a brisk start, 60 in 6.1 overs with Calum MacLeod, before the latter was dismissed by seamer Mohammad Nadeem for 20. Scotland appeared to build on the aggressive start with a promising 35-run stand between Coetzer and Matthew Cross but left-arm spinner Zeeshan Maqsood brought Oman back by dismissing Cross and George Munsey in a space of 10 deliveries to leave Scotland on 101 for 3. By then, Coetzer had brought up his fifty and made his way to 63 – taking his tally for the tournament to 173, the highest for Scotland – before Maqsood had him edge one to the keeper off the final ball of the 14th over. Richie Berrington (26) and Preston Mommsen (32*) helped Scotland add 54 runs off the last six overs to finish on 173 for 5.Oman’s start was not ideal as Sharif claimed openers Zeeshan Maqsood and Zeeshan Ahmed within the first four overs of the innings. Jatinder Singh and Aamir Kaleem added 44 for the third wicket, but Alasdair Evans’ strikes off successive deliveries in the 11th over – to account for Jatinder and Mehran Khan – left Oman reeling at 68 for 4. Kaleem’s 40-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Amir Ali looked to revive the chase but after that stand was broken in the 15th over, Oman found it difficult to keep up with the required rate. Shareef was eventually dismissed for 59 off 47 deliveries in the 18th over and with 39 required off 12 deliveries, the match slipped away from Oman.

Fawad Ahmed could make his Sheffield Shield debut this week after being named in Victoria’s squad for their match against South Australia at Adelaide Oval starting on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2013Fawad Ahmed could make his Sheffield Shield debut this week after being named in Victoria’s squad for their match against South Australia at Adelaide Oval starting on Thursday. Ahmed, the Pakistani legspinner who went from asylum seeker to BBL player with the Melbourne Renegades this summer, has been included alongside another uncapped legspinner, James Muirhead, in a 12-man squad that also includes the fast bowler James Pattinson, who is making his return from a rib injury.Pattinson’s comeback is a positive sign for Australia’s selectors as they prepare to name a squad for the upcoming Test tour of India. Pattinson suffered the injury during the second Test against South Africa in Adelaide in November and missed the rest of the Test summer, but if he comes through the Shield match unscathed he is expected to be back in the squad for the Indian trip.The inclusion of Ahmed continues his remarkable rise and is reward for a strong season with Melbourne University in the grade cricket competition. Ahmed has collected 26 wickets at 16.50 for his club this summer and is one of four legspinners in the top 11 wicket takers in the competition, along with Bryce McGain, Brenton McDonald and Muirhead.Muirhead, 19, has also played in the BBL, turning out for two matches for the Adelaide Strikers last season. Victoria’s coach Greg Shipperd said it was yet to be decided which of the legspinners would play, or if both would be included.”It’s great for Fawad to be named in the squad; it’s no doubt a very exciting time for him,” Shipperd said. “We’ll assess the conditions before we decide on the final make-up of the team…but from a national selection perspective, we’re selected two leg-spinners who may come into calculations in the future.”Victoria squad Chris Rogers, Rob Quiney, Michael Hill, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Peter Handscomb (wk), John Hastings, Will Sheridan, James Pattinson, Scott Boland, James Muirhead, Fawad Ahmed.

Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Sri Lanka’s sports minister, has said the Sri Lanka cricketers, who have not received their salaries since the World Cup, will be paid, at least in part, by next week

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2011Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Sri Lanka’s sports minister, has said the Sri Lanka cricketers who have not received their salaries since the World Cup will be paid, at least in part, by next week. Sri Lanka have played three series since the end of the World Cup, and the players are still awaiting payment, including match fees and contract payments.”There has always been a delay of four to five months in paying their salaries,” Aluthgamage told . “We admit that the players are to be paid 347 million Sri Lankan rupees for the last seven months, until September.” He said that he expected half of the outstanding salaries to be paid initially.Sri Lanka Cricket has been in debt to the tune of US$23 million since co-hosting the World Cup and the board had to ask the Sri Lanka government for a grant. The financial crisis centres around the construction of new stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, and the renovation of the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo for the World Cup. SLC has been expecting payments from the ICC amounting to $4.3million for co-hosting the World Cup, but has had to wait until the completion of the governing body’s World Cup audit.The payment of salaries is now possible as the ICC is set to release part of that money to the SLC, according to Aluthgamage. “Yes there has been a delay,” he said. “But now the accounts have been submitted.”Aluthgamage also confirmed that the government had refused the grant of one billion Sri Lankan rupees that was requested by the SLC, but had sanctioned a grant for 50 million rupees.

The MCC World Cricket Committee has made several proposals to help overcome match-fixing, including the use of lie detector tests and the legalisation of betting markets in India

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2010The MCC World Cricket Committee has recommended that the laws of the game be amended in a bid to rid the sport of corruption, and has called for the use of lie detector tests to reinforce the need for transparency in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal that erupted during Pakistan’s tour of England in August.Following a two-day meeting in Perth ahead of the third Ashes Test, the club’s working party, including two former Ashes-winning captains in Steve Waugh and Mike Brearley, issued a statement containing a wide range of proposals including “the legalising and regulating of betting markets in India as proposed by the Delhi Court; the length of bans; non-selection of tainted players; the possible use of lie detector tests; the provision of integrity officers; and the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses in all professional playing contracts in all countries.””The greatest issue facing the game right now is match-fixing,” said Waugh. “How can we make players more accountable for their actions? Personally, I think if you’ve not done anything wrong, why wouldn’t you want to have a lie detector test? You can’t make it compulsory but like I said, if you’ve got nothing to hide, why wouldn’t you take it? If we sit back and don’t do anything about corruption, it’s going to get worse.”In its statement, the committee also complimented the ICC and its Anti-Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU) for its work to clean up the sport, but urged the game’s governing body to commit more resources – and increased powers – to tackle the single biggest menace to the integrity of cricket.”The education of players should not be a meaningless formality; the message should be pressed home with regularity by figures known and respected by the players,” the statement read. “Furthermore, the committee believes that team captains – as enshrined in the Laws and Spirit of Cricket – should accept greater responsibility for the conduct of their players.”Speaking on the eve of the Perth Test, England’s captain, Andrew Strauss gave a cautious welcome to the notion of introducing lie detectors to the game. “That’s hard for me to answer at this stage,” he said. “I don’t know about the accuracy of lie detector tests. But what I do know, and is probably more important, is that we don’t want the whiff of anything suspicious going on in the game.”We’ve seen how disruptive and detrimental to the game of cricket it is,” added Strauss. “The devil of all these things is in the detail. If we have to take extreme measures in order to be 100% confident the game is being played in the right spirit, then I’d certainly be happy to do that.”I’d have to think about the arguments [for lie detector tests] one side and another first. But the principle, of having 22 guys on the pitch that the supporters are absolutely 100% certain are playing the game for the right reasons, is a good thing.”

The Zimbabwe Under-19 team rounded off its preparations for the World Cup with a two-wicket win against Titans in Paarl.

Cricinfo staff08-Jan-2010The Zimbabwe Under-19 team rounded off its preparations for the World Cup with a two-wicket win against Titans in Paarl. After electing to field first, Zimbabwe’s opening bowlers Calum Price and Tendai Chitara hit their straps immediately to have the hosts reeling at three wickets down with less than 30 on the board. A middle-order recovery overcame a fine fielding performance to take the score to 183 runs.Zimbabwe’s response followed a similar theme of early wickets followed by a resurgence. The chase was initially was stunted by a fine opening salvo from the Titans’ seamers who had the visitors in a shambles at 28 for 4. The rebuilding phase was masterminded by Tinotenda Mutombodzi and Andrew Lindsay, who added 70 runs to bring their side back into the game. Titans’ spinners restored parity by dismissing both batsmen with fifty runs still required for victory. However, Nathan Waller put paid to the hosts’ hopes of a back-door victory with a belligerent 40 that took Zimbabwe home with an over to spare. The squad will be buoyed by this win as they head to New Zealand for the Under-19 World Cup.

Visitors recover from 160 for 6 thanks to maiden hundred from wicketkeeper-batter

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 22-Jun-2025Joe Cracknell scored an unbeaten 106, his maiden first-class century, while Leus du Plooy struck 66 as Middlesex staged a spirited fightback against Northamptonshire on day one of this Rothesay County Championship match at Wantage Road.Keeper-batter Cracknell, whose previous first-class best was just 33, having largely played white-ball cricket to date, played a superbly-paced innings, facing 164 balls and striking 11 fours and a six to take the visitors to 397 for 8 at stumps. It was Cracknell’s third century of the week after tons in each innings of Middlesex’s Second XI game against Glamorgan at Radlett.Middlesex bounced back after Liam Guthrie, who took 6 for 87 with the Kookaburra ball, his first five-wicket haul for Northamptonshire, had the Seaxes reeling on 33 for 3 inside the first half an hour, removing the visitors top order.But du Plooy started to revive Middlesex’s fortunes, sharing two 60-run stands, first with Ryan Higgins and then with Ben Geddes. When they fell, Middlesex were still in a precarious position at 160 for 6 before Cracknell and Luke Hollman (51) combined to add 103 for the seventh wicket. Cracknell was then joined by Zafar Gohar and Toby Roland-Jones in stands of 81 and 53 at the end of a satisfactory first day in charge for Middlesex’s new men’s first-team coach Dane Vilas.Earlier left-armer Guthrie struck in the second over, coming round the wicket. Josh de Caires fell into the leg-side trap as he worked one off his hip straight to leg gully. Then Max Holden was trapped lbw by a Guthrie delivery that moved in and straightened. When Sam Robson became Guthrie’s third wicket, edging low to Harrison at second slip, the visitors were in real trouble.Leus du Plooy and Higgins rebuilt positively, keeping the scoreboard ticking as they put on 62. Du Plooy garnered boundaries off back-foot punches off the seamers and played Guthrie down the leg side for four to take Middlesex past 50 in the 12th over before driving him sweetly through cover.Higgins was proactive, strong on the reverse sweep against the spinners, but was adjudged lbw to a Justin Broad delivery that looked a little high as he stepped down the wicket aiming to play to leg.Du Plooy joined forces in another confident stand worth 60 with Geddes who started positively, Middlesex passing 100 in the 23rd over before powering Broad through extra cover. Du Plooy meanwhile punched Guthrie off the backfoot through cover point and then pulled legspinner Calvin Harrison for four to reach his half-century just before lunch.Runs flowed quickly against the seamers after the interval. Geddes punched Guthrie off the back foot, while du Plooy drove Luke Procter for four before coming down the wicket and pulling him dismissively through mid-on. He had a rush of blood though, attempting to repeat the shot, failing to control it and instead top-edging to long-on where Rob Keogh took an excellent diving catch running back.Liam Guthrie caused havoc with the new ball•Getty Images

Geddes drove Procter handsomely through extra cover but departed soon afterwards, edging behind off a Broad delivery which held its line.That brought together Cracknell and Hollman who started briskly, Cracknell pulling and driving Broad for consecutive boundaries. Northamptonshire fielded four spinners and both batters took a liking to them with the ball offering little turn. Hollman hit Harrison back over his head, smashed him through the covers and swept behind square. He swept Lloyd Pope to the boundary too and drove his next ball through cover point.Cracknell also tucked into the spinners, muscling Keogh down the ground before dispatching his next ball, a half-tracker, over midwicket for six to go past his previous highest score.After tea, both batters reached their fifties and brought up the 100 partnership, but were parted next over when Hollman skied an attempted hook off Guthrie, Pope taking a good catch at deep-backward square leg.Cracknell continued to locate the boundary, driving Broad through extra, pulling a Pope half-tracker through midwicket and pummelling Guthrie through extra cover. Gohar (34) offered strong support as Cracknell neared three figures, taking consecutive boundaries off Procter with the new ball before Guthrie got one to lift, Gohar fending it to Vasconcelos at slip.Cracknell smashed Guthrie through extra cover and then worked Broad into the off-side to take him to three figures and a well-deserved celebration before some Toby Roland-Jones fireworks ensured Middlesex rounded off the day positively.

There are concerns the rain that got on the surface could impact Tuesday’s BBL match at the venue

AAP09-Dec-2023Pakistan’s preparations for their three-Test series against Australia have wrapped a day early after a freak weather event battered Canberra.A massive electrical storm hit the region around 8pm on Friday, with 55kph winds blowing off the covers over the Manuka Oval pitch and exposing it to driving rain.Umpires and captains inspected the pitch late on Saturday morning and called the game off over safety concerns, confirming the clash with the Prime Minister’s XI would end in a draw.Related

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The tourists’ top-order missed out on extra time in the middle before Thursday’s Test in Perth, although the form of new skipper Shan Masood and star man Babar Azam looked great in Canberra.But their bowling contingent will be completely different, with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim set to be named after resting.If they’re to pick a specialist spinner they’ll need to look to 37-year-old Noman Ali, after legspinner Abrar Ahmed injured his leg in the tour game.Australia’s first Test side looks set, although plenty of discussion at the PM’s XI game surrounded who will replace opener David Warner once he retires after the Pakistan series.The abandonment denied Matt Renshaw the chance to build on his unbeaten 136 and press his case to the national selectors even further, although he batted his way into contention with his patient century.Contenders Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris didn’t turn their starts into big scores, the same fate that met allrounder Cameron Green.PM’s XI captain Nathan McSweeney said Renshaw’s unbeaten 136 off 337 was a pure Test innings, while declaring he was glad he’s not picking Warner’s replacement.”It was easy to get frustrated out there with some shots you thought should go for four and you’re getting two for it, so the mental strength for him to face as many balls as he did was impressive,” he told reporters.”That puts him in good stead I guess, along with the other guys, they’ve all batted well, so good luck to the selectors.”They all have been [ready for Tests] for a while, they’re all quality players who continue to churn out runs in Shield cricket, I don’t think there’s a bad decision to be made.”At Manuka Oval, umpire Donovan Koch said work would need to be done on an alternate strip expected to be used for a Big Bash League match between the Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat on Tuesday night.”The pitch … is wet, the surrounding is wet and our main concern is actually the BBL pitch, it’s two strips down from the playing pitch where there’s a game on Tuesday night,” he told Fox Cricket.”We’re going to take a cautious approach, we’ve got a Test team that we don’t want to cause any injuries to, and we’ve got a few BBL players in the [PM’s XI] team as well.”

The allrounder’s form with the bat in WBBL will be key to whether she can return to Australia’s T20 side

Andrew McGlashan01-Oct-2022Ellyse Perry believes there could be long-term benefits of her recent downtime from bowling as she looks to regain her role as a fully-fledged allrounder in the Australia side.Perry bowled for the first time since March, when she was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the back, in last weekend’s WNCL clash against South Australia in Adelaide where she claimed 1 for 7 in three overs of a graduated comeback.”In a lot of ways I think having that back injury was a bit of a silver lining,” she said at an event to announce NRMA insurance as a new major sponsor of Cricket Australia. “I’ve had a chance to slightly tweak a few things technically and think that’s given me an action that’s a little more sound now and takes a bit of stress off my body, too.”Perry has not played for Australia since the ODI World Cup final against England in Christchurch having lost her place in the T20I side. But there were signs in the Hundred, where she played for Birmingham Phoenix, of her batting finding an extra gear – with a strike-rate of 136.73 – and the upcoming WBBL with Sydney Sixers looms as vital if Perry wants to ward off the challenge of younger players in the T20 format.Related

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“Think every season you want to try and improve and evolve,” she said. “Particularly from a personal point of view, that’s been a great challenge in the last little bit to work on my batting and try to elevate a few different things.”There will be at least one opening in Australia’s T20 side when they next come together for the tour of India in December – which forms part of their lead-in to the defence of the T20 World Cup in February – following the retirement of Rachael Haynes and there could be another if Meg Lanning does not return, which would also leave Australia needing a new captain.There is a sense that the side is entering the early stages of a new era under the now permanent head coach Shelly Nitschke, and the early rounds of the WNCL have shown some of the batting depth on offer with centuries for Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Voll among the five scored already this season.”Don’t know if it’s a new era, but a bit of a chance to continue to evolve,” Perry said. “With Shelley coming on board as full-time head coach now there’s some changes, but I think it’s something that in a lot of ways we’ve been planning for a while.”We are incredibly fortunate to have some wonderful depth within the squad and more broadly in domestic cricket so I think there’s going to be some new opportunities for players. We’ve got a lot of younger players coming through as well and pushing for spots so that’s always exciting.”We’d love to hold on to the nucleus of what we’ve been doing over the last couple of years because it’s been successful but certainly within the group in any sport you have to continue to evolve.”

Nottinghamshire batter to attend hearing in July following not guilty plea

George Dobell17-Jun-2021Joe Clarke is set to face trial on a charge of affray following an incident in Powys last year. Clarke, the Nottinghamshire and England Lions batter, appeared at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where he entered a not guilty plea to the charge.He was granted unconditional bail prior to a direction hearing, which is scheduled to be heard in Mold Crown Court on July 16.According to the , who first reported the story, Clarke appeared in court alongside family members Oliver Clarke, aged 30, Richard Clarke, aged 20, and Robert Clarke, aged 26. All faced the same charge in connection with an incident in Four Crosses in Montgomeryshire on July 5, 2020.Related

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The timing of the news is not ideal for Clarke. He is, on form, arguably England’s best uncapped T20 player – he is averaging in excess of 50 in this year’s Vitality Blast with a strike rate over 200 – and might well have been considered for the current squad in normal circumstances.But with the ECB keen to avoid further negative publicity following the debacle concerning players’ historic social media posts, it may well be that England are unwilling to include Clarke.In July 2019 he pleaded guilty to bringing the game into disrepute after Whatsapp messages he exchanged with team-mates at his former club, Worcestershire, were deemed to demonstrate a disrespectful attitude towards women. He was fined and informed that he would not be considered for England or England Lions selection for a period. While that period will long since have elapsed, it is unlikely he will be selected while this issue is outstanding.”The club is aware of the situation involving Joe Clarke and will await the outcome of those proceedings in due course,” Nottinghamshire said in a statement.