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Alana King helped herself to a career-best haul after a rain delay as the home side produced a strong performance

Andrew McGlashan10-Feb-2024Standout performances from Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath enabled Australia to recover their composure after the heavy defeat three days ago to secure the ODI series in convincing style. It means they are 8-4 ahead in the multi-format contest leading into the Test match, and can’t be overtaken.Mooney anchored Australia’s innings with an unbeaten 82 off 91 balls without ever finding top gear after Alyssa Healy had struck a crisp half-century. South Africa kept themselves in the game by removing McGrath and Ash Gardner in quick succession, but Annabel Sutherland and Alana King played handy innings down the order alongside Mooney.McGrath and Kim Garth then did the significant damage with the ball. Garth’s swing accounted for Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch, while McGrath had Tazmin Brits and the key wicket of Marizanne Kapp both held in the deep in the space of four balls.Beth Mooney was unstoppable and finished 82 not out•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Rain interrupted South Africa’s chase after 14 overs and for a while looked like it may not relent to allow the game to be completed, but it resumed as a 31-over contest. South Africa immediately needed ten an over, which proved way beyond them and wickets fell in a rush including three in an over for King, who was a whisker away from a hat-trick.South Africa had made an encouraging start after Healy won another toss. Phoebe Litchfield’s lean series continued when she found cover, and after seven overs Australia had been held to 21 for 1 with Kapp producing an opening spell of 4-2-5-0.But Healy, who was given a life on 27 when a very tough chance was spilled at deep square-leg, started to increase the tempo alongside Ellyse Perry as the pair added 82 for the second wicket. Masabata Klaas produced a brilliant inswinger to remove Perry, and after passing fifty from 61 balls, Healy somewhat carelessly flicked to deep square-leg.Mooney, who took 13 balls to get off the mark, and McGrath built another important stand, although progress was often hard work. McGrath broke the shackles with five consecutive boundaries off Ayanda Hlubi but was beaten by one that skidded through from Chloe Tryon in the next over. Gardner was then pinned lbw by Kapp to leave Australia 187 for 5 in the 37th over.Alana King knocked her stumps over while hitting a waist-high no-ball for six, and then hit the free hit for six as well•Getty Images

Mooney brought up her fifty from 71 balls and would go on to add 32 from her next 20 deliveries as Australia accelerated in the final ten overs. A brace of superb catches – one by Wolvaardt at cover and another by Nadine de Klerk in her follow through – dented Australia’s ambitions a little, but their total was given a boost when 13 runs effectively came from one delivery. King swung a huge full toss from Klaas for six (demolishing her stumps in the process) and then dispatched the free hit as well.Wolvaardt has not managed to get going in the ODIs and soon edged Garth to first slip. At the other end, Darcie Brown, who replaced a rested Megan Schutt, was bowling with good pace and struck Brits a nasty blow on the wrist.Brits fought through the pain before finding deep midwicket and South Africa’s best hope then vanished when Kapp, who had been so inspirational in the second game, helped McGrath into the hands of deep-backward square-leg.Either side of the rain delay, de Klerk and Sune Luus added 50 but Australia had plenty of breathing space.

“We’ve collaborated and agreed dates with CSA, who have confirmed the tour, acknowledged the arrangements and have been in receipt of the schedule for several weeks,” NZC says

Firdose Moonda20-Jul-2023New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is not open to negotiating the dates of the two-Test series against South Africa scheduled for February next year, despite CSA’s hopes that the matches could be moved to avoid a player availability crunch with the SA20. The matches, due to take place from February 4 to 17, 2024, necessitate that South Africa arrive in late January but will clash with the latter stages of the SA20 and CSA was hopeful of discussing a reschedule but NZC insists the fixtures are set, as per the FTP.”These Tests have been part of the FTP since it was announced two years ago,” Richard Boock, NZC’s manager of public affairs, told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve collaborated and agreed dates with CSA, who have confirmed the tour, acknowledged the arrangements and have been in receipt of the schedule for several weeks. Flights have been confirmed, dates for the practice game have been agreed, and we’re looking forward to the squad’s arrival. The Proteas are a popular and formidable Test team and we view them as an important part of our home summer schedule.”Related

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New Zealand were unable to adjust South Africa’s fixtures to any other time in a home season which also includes a visit from Australia, whose series must end before late March for the IPL.That means South Africa could be forced to field a makeshift Test side with a significant proportion of their first-choice players required for the SA20. Although South Africa’s centrally-contracted players are bound to both the national team and the SA20, CSA has guaranteed the SA20 first rights to the players over the January window and as such, the players will be obliged to play for their franchises rather than the national team. An SA20 mini-auction will take place in September which could see more players snapped up for the league and will also give CSA a clearer idea of who can make the trip to New Zealand.The series in New Zealand will be South Africa’s second engagement of the 2023-2025 World Test Championship cycle, during which they will only play two-Test series. It is understood that there are serious concerns within CSA of the quality of the squad South Africa will be able to send to New Zealand but no suggestion that they will forfeit entirely. On Wednesday, CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki told ESPNcricinfo the organisation was mindful of their bilateral obligations, while also stressing that the SA20 takes first priority.

Punam Raut and Lara Goodall also gain in the rankings after impressive performances

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-20211:09

Wolvaardt – ‘To have the No. 1 batter in our side is absolutely amazing’

Lizelle Lee, the South Africa opening batter, has had a stellar run in the ongoing ODI series against India, and that has led to a steep rise in the women’s ODI rankings, where she is now the top batter, relegating England’s Tammy Beaumont to No. 2. Last week, after scoring 83* in the series opener, Lee had moved up from No. 11 to eighth, and since then, a run of 4, 132* and 69 has seen her zoom through even as South Africa have taken a winning 3-1 lead in the series.Lee, the only South African ever to top that table, had earlier been the best in the world in June 2018 after scoring 92* and 117 against England, though South Africa had lost that series 2-1.Though India have fallen short in three of the matches, their top-order batter Punam Raut has had a very good run, totalling 253 runs from four innings so far compared to Lee’s 288. Like Lee, she has also scored two half-centuries and a century, and that has led to a rise of eight spots to 18th. She is fourth-best Indian in the list after Smriti Mandhana (seventh), Mithali Raj (ninth) and Harmanpreet Kaur (15th).ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Among the other premier performers in the four matches so far in Lucknow, South Africa’s Lara Goodall (49 and 59* in the second and fourth games) has gained 27 places to reach the 48th position.Chasing teams have won all four games so far – South Africa won the third game on the DLS method while chasing – and that has been because of some impressive bowling performances, especially in the morning. Jhulan Goswami, with eight wickets in three games, is top of that chart, with Shabnim Ismail one behind after four games, followed by Rajeshwari Gayakwad with five wickets.That has meant a rise to No. 3, behind the Australian pair of Jess Jonassen and Megan Schutt for Ismail, while Goswami has held on to her fifth place, while Gayakwad has gained four slots to No. 18.The final game of the series will be played on Wednesday.

Belligerent batting display ensures visitors make good use of only practice ahead of Tests

Vithushan Ehantharajah08-Feb-2023England XI 465 (Brook 97, Lawrence 85, Root 77, Foakes 57) vs New Zealand XIFor a warm-up fixture that had started to feel like an afterthought before it had even begun, England made the first meaningful day of cricket on this tour count. A score of 465 was blitzed in 69.2 overs against a New Zealand XI, with 55 fours and 17 sixes hammering home a mantra that the hosts are all too familiar with.As New Zealand’s favourite son Brendon McCullum watched those under his care squeeze plenty of juice from their only competitive day’s batting before the first Test begins a week Thursday, it was clear the apparently blasé approach to this fixture did not carry over onto the field. There was no toss, with England given the opportunity to bat the entirety of day one ahead of bowling all of day two. There was no Ben Stokes, either, with the captain opting to go through his own preparations to offer up an extra batting spot and give Ollie Pope another small dose of leadership. Only nine tourists were named in the XI ahead of the 2pm start.Adding to the cushty nature was the presence of Blackcaps captain Tim Southee. A white baseball cap hinted at an incognito look at the opposition, but any whiff of espionage was quashed when Southee caught up with McCullum before sitting down with Stokes and the England staff to chat about anything and everything. Better concealed was the former New Zealand limited-overs batter Anton Devcich in full England training gear. The Hamilton local has been lending a helping hand in training.Though play ended prematurely at 8:23pm with 20.4 overs of the 90 remaining, this had been a worthwhile endeavour. Particularly for Harry Brook, leading the way with a pugnacious 97, followed by 85 for Dan Lawrence, 77 for Joe Root and an accomplished 57 from Ben Foakes.Brook’s knock was the one of note, fast-tracking the innings, notably during a five-over spell before tea in which he and Yorkshire team-mate Root hammered 47. The pair combined for 115 in 16.1 overs for the fourth wicket, following starts from Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Pope that had lifted England to 95 from 17 overs.This was originally pencilled in as a four-day affair, as per the posters dotted throughout the ground, before the reduction to two to focus solely on the pink-ball elements ahead of the day-night opener in Mount Maunganui. That decision was ultimately made in Pakistan, a series also preceded by a reduced two-day scrimmage against England Lions. On that occasion, the decision to trim off a day was taken after conversations among the players at stumps on day two.Joe Root steers into the covers during his innings of 77•Getty Images

The knock-on effect of that discussion has been to give the players more ownership of their individual games, particularly when off-duty. That includes rest. Brook, for example, pulled out of a deal with SA20 franchise Joburg Super Kings to spend a bit more time at home after his player-of-the-series exploits in Pakistan.”I made the decision with England to pull out of the new South Africa competition and that was massive for me,” Brook said. “I was meant to travel on the 7th and I wasn’t quite ready to be completely honest, and I’m glad I pulled out in the end. That month was massive, just to be able to spend some time with the family and relax and not really touch a cricket bat was good. Hopefully I can come back in full flow this year and dominate.”Not that he’ll be lacking for the experience or coin. A £1.3million deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming IPL has only just sunk in. It is the fulfilment of a dream, even if he wasn’t expecting to go for as much. “Every little helps,” he said with a wry smile.This time last year, Brook was a non-playing member of England’s white-ball tour to West Indies. As he says, a fair bit has changed.”Last year was probably the best year of my life, lifestyle and cricket-wise, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Standing here saying I’m a World cup winner is unbelievable and nobody can ever take that away from me. It was a phenomenal year.”Related

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His work on Wednesday afternoon in Hamilton was far more attacking than his three innings across six days in Bloemfontein and Kimberley had been in last week’s ODI series: 97 off 71 versus 86 from 87. All four of his sixes during the ODIs came in the same knock of 80 in the second match. Today, five in a row came in the 36th over after Brook had played out a first-ball dot from legspinner Adithya Ashok. The first of those blows – comfortably the biggest of his nine – landed on Tristram Street which runs along the west of the ground. An attempted attempt for a 10th to take Brook to three figures was snared smartly on the thirf boundary to give Jarrod McKay the second of his 3 for 72. The first – cartwheeling Crawley’s middle stump – was the most spectacular blow landed.”To be honest, the way we’re playing cricket at the minute, it doesn’t really change,” Brook said, when asked about switching continents and ball colours in the space of a week. “I batted a lot slower for the 80 I got in South Africa than I did out there. We’re looking to put pressure on the bowlers, trying to hit them off the spot and keep the pressure on throughout.”He admitted to a degree of pressure in his own head to score briskly, which in turn meant his movements were a bit off by his own exacting standards. Nevertheless, he was impressed with his ball-striking beyond that one devastating over.”I think I’ve got a little bit stronger so I feel like I’m hitting the ball a bit harder,” he said. “Whether that’s just because I’ve been given the freedom to go out and play in a positive way and take the match on or I’ve just got stronger. I just feel like I’m hitting the ball a lot harder than I was before.”It was hard not to sympathise with those chasing leather, particularly given the heavy green tinge to their side. Ashok, for instance, only has one first-class appearance under his belt for Auckland against Central Districts back in October, though he did take 5 for 108 in his only innings of that game. Even with the misfortune of being thrashed around here for 82 from nine overs, he did at least emerge with the dismissal of Root, albeit a fortuitous caught-behind down the leg side off a lackadaisical sweep.By then Root had had his fun, pulling out the now-characteristic lap over third man for the first of two sixes, sending a reminder to the watching Southee after the hard launch of that shot in last summer’s Trent Bridge Test. By the time Lawrence got stuck in, the inferiority of the New Zealand attack was shining through as the sun dimmed.Play was at its most competitive when Kyle Jamieson had the ball in hand, and 15 overs of constant pressure throughout the day will have boosted Southee more than his eventual haul of 3 for 65. Jamieson has not played international cricket since picking up a back injury in that same Test in Nottingham, and has been working up to full fitness with limited-overs cricket.After shaking out a bit of rust on his return to whites, he removed Duckett with a neat delivery that drew the left-hander forward and slightly across for an edge through to Tom Bruce at second slip. A return in the final session exploited a bit of extra juice with the floodlights to square Lawrence up for another catch to Bruce in the cordon, before Will Jacks was turned inside-out to be caught at first slip this time.New Zealand’s coach Gary Stead has not confirmed whether Jamieson will make his comeback in the first or second Test. The decision won’t be made on this outing alone, although given England’s mood, and the absence of Trent Boult, perhaps it should be.

Fast bowler backs his team to bounce back and praises Josh Hazlewood for picking up a five-for

Alex Malcolm08-Mar-2024Matt Henry has been a one-man band for New Zealand so far in this series. He is their leading wicket-taker (11) and leading run-scorer (85) and is single-handedly keeping the Black Caps’ hopes alive after another difficult day against Australia in Christchurch.He second-top-scored for New Zealand in the second Test running with an important 29 as they were bowled out for 162 having been sent into bat on a seam-friendly Hagley Oval pitch. Josh Hazlewood put on a supreme display of bowling to take 5 for 31Henry was then equally good during his turn, prising out three of Australia’s top four including the in-form Cameron Green to keep New Zealand in the contest. But despite bearing a heavy load, he refused to put any blame on New Zealand’s batters after they were bowled out for under 200 for the third successive innings.”It’s not a concern,” Henry said. “I think looking at our batting line-up we’ve got world-class players there. They’ve been fantastic for a number of years. I [haven’t] got any doubt that they’ll be great and they’ll be fine moving forward. It’s day one of a Test match. The ball is allowed to move around and guys are allowed to bowl well. That’s what happens when you come across world-class performers. They have their day sometimes.”Henry instead heaped praise on Hazlewood saying he provided the perfect example for the New Zealand bowling group to follow.New Zealand haven’t been able to get past 200 in any of their three innings this series•Getty Images

“Josh bowled exceptionally well,” he said. “Obviously watching him go about his work today, it was probably a bit of a blueprint for how we wanted to bowl out there as well. It was a matter of being accurate for a long period of time and creating pressure and he did that beautifully and thankfully we managed to do that in periods tonight as well and to get a few poles.”There were times though during Australia’s reply when it looked like tough Test cricket at one end and very comfortable batting at the other. Henry was nearly unplayable as he worked over Australia’s top-order with relentless pressure.He finally got the slice of luck he deserved when Usman Khawaja was bowled around his legs after the ball clipped the underside of his thigh pad and ricocheted onto leg stump. He later set up Green with a superb sequence. Green continued his Wellington plan of skipping down to Henry to disrupt his length. Henry kept dragging his length back and beat the edge multiple times. The first time Green stayed at home, Henry pushed fuller and seamed one in through the gate to hit the top of off via the pad.Related

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But in between times Green and Marnus Labuschagne profited from some very unthreatening bowling from Tim Southee and Scott Kuggeleijn. Labuschagne shook any concerns about his form, playing beautifully under pressure to finish 45 not out at stumps.The debutant Ben Sears showed some promise to help Henry out by dismissing Steven Smith, who made a horrible misjudgment padding up to a full delivery that was projected to be crashing into off stump.”It doesn’t get much better than that for a first wicket does it,” Henry said. “Searsy is a quiet man and he works really hard. Obviously being a young fast bowler for him to start his career like that was outstanding. I think he showed today so much control and excitement and he kind of got the ball rolling for us.”I think we were obviously bowling well and not much was happening and he was able to get that first breakthrough and we could build some momentum from there. Absolutely stoked for the way that he started.”Henry said it would be critical for New Zealand to bowl well at the start of day two as Australia have a chance of setting up a significant first-innings lead. “Tomorrow morning will be a big moment with the ball. We’ll make sure that we come out there and hopefully we can take some early wickets and put Australia under some pressure and then get back into some batting.”

He had missed a few first-class games last season citing back issues, culminating in him losing his central contract with the BCCI

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2024India batter Shreyas Iyer has said he raised concerns about having issues with his back while playing the “longer format” after the 2023 ODI World Cup, but “no one was agreeing to it”.”I was definitely struggling after the World Cup in the longer format,” Iyer, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain, said a day before the IPL final against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Chennai. “When I raised my concern, no one was agreeing to it.”But at the same time the competition is with myself. When the IPL was approaching all I wanted to see was that I’ve put my best foot forward and whatever planning and strategising we [KKR] did before it, basically if we could execute it to the best of our abilities, we would have been in a great spot – and that’s where we are right now.”Iyer had recovered from a back injury to make a comeback in the Asia Cup last year, before playing the ODI World Cup in October-November. Then, in early 2024, he was picked for the first two home Tests against England, before being left out for the remaining three Tests. At the time, it was understood that Iyer had experienced back spasms a day or two after the second Test but had been cleared for selection. Then, while out of the Test squad, he went on to miss some Ranji Trophy games for his domestic side, Mumbai. ESPNcricinfo had reported that he had communicated to the Mumbai Cricket Association that he was suffering from “back spasms”, even though he had been cleared for selection by the BCCI medical staff.Related

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It had also emerged that Iyer had attended a KKR pre-season camp when he missed one of the Ranji Trophy games. He later returned to play the Ranji Trophy semis and final, but by then had lost his central BCCI contract. A few days earlier, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had issued a warning to players to not to prioritise the IPL over domestic cricket. Iyer lost his central contract despite having fulfilled the minimum criteria set by the board in terms of matches played.A couple of weeks later, during the Ranji Trophy final against Vidarbha, Iyer was not on the field for two days in a row because of back issues.Talking about his preparations for the IPL, Iyer said: “The transformation from red-ball cricket to white ball, it’s kind of difficult as a batsman and also as a bowler, I feel. It was kind of difficult at the start but once you get used to it, I think you pick up the pace and march on with the other players.”

Pakistan’s head coach also looking to widen the net in search of ideal Nos. 5 and 6

Umar Farooq31-Mar-2020Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s head coach and chief selector, has high expectations from Shadab Khan the batsman while saying his bowling still needed “improvement and consistency”.In addition to legspin, his primary skill, Shadab was in excellent form for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, scoring three-half-centuries in his 263 runs at a strike rate of 159.”Shadab as an allrounder was a plus for us, especially in white ball cricket,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo from Lahore. “I think we need a floater in the middle somewhere to join a link between the top order and late middle order.”His bowling obviously needs improvement and consistency, but he still had couple of good games with the ball. There were some differences in pitches in Pakistan and he played most of our games in Pindi [Rawalpindi], where boundaries are short and the ball doesn’t turn much, so it is difficult for a spinner.”Against Karachi (Kings) and Lahore (Qalandars), Shadab was good. But overall, wristspinners in T20 cricket with the ability to bat at any number is a leverage. He can field, bowl, bat and can be used anywhere according the situation of the game.””In terms of my team performance (Islamabad were languishing at the bottom after 10 games), they didn’t perform as per expectation, but it is part of the game. It does happen and there is a disappointing factor for me but overall it was a good experience.”While the results weren’t encouraging, Islamabad played out a few close games that they could’ve pulled off at other times with better smarts. They lost to Quetta Gladiators in the final over while defending 188, had a game washed out against Peshawar Zalmi and then lost agains to Zalmi on DLS method. Then they nearly defended 137 against Karachi.”As far as results go, there were very close margins,” Misbah pointed out. “One game here and there, you are top and losing one crucial game can throw you down at the bottom. Had we won our last game against Karachi we could have finished second. We also had a few rain-affected games. Other than one team, until the last moment, no team was sure about their position of qualification and there was a great sense of competition.”Team disappointments aside, Misbah was excited by the overall talent pool and the quality of cricket on show. “It showed that Pakistan T20 cricket is going up, the quality is going top notch and have improved from the years which is good for the country and T20 cricket in the country.”Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah earn Misbah’s praise
In addition to his dual responsibilities for Pakistan, and being head coach of Islamabad, the franchise he captained until his retirement in 2019, Misbah has also had a ringside view of emerging talent from other corners, by simply being engaged in the league.”It is always good to be involved directly in the circuit,” he said. You get to work with them. Obviously I was with Islamabad, but then there is a bigger pool out there you playing against. Those players who are playing for Pakistan or will be playing in future so it was good learning curve for me.”There were a lot of players like Haider Ali, who performed very well and he is coming through a proper way – played under-19 and then first-class cricket, scored runs with the ‘A’ team and then proved his worth in T20 cricket as well.Otherwise, before this stint it appeared as if he wasn’t a T20 player. He’s proved everyone wrong and is an outstanding future prospect. Akif Javed, who hasn’t played much, came in the emerging category and the way he bowled in pressure situations was great.”Azam Khan showed a glimpse that he can be a better player in the future if he works on his fitness. Khushdil Shah was superb. We are thinking about Nos. 5 and 6 (for Pakistan). We need a finisher and Khushdil’s performance in PSL reached a certain level, and he is seriously under consideration. It is a good sign that we have players who are proving the worth and we have readymade players at bench.Then I saw Umer Khan, the left-arm spinner making waves again for the second season. He is again a good future project. Fakhar Zaman, at the later part of the tournament regained his form, Sharjeel Khan was good in patches but he needs to work very hard on his fitness and to play for Pakistan you need to be on the top of your fitness.”Seniors like Shoaib Malik also played good innings. Shaheen Shah Afridi was great not only with new ball but in death bowling as well and [is] improving day by day; and with [Mohammad] Amir’s bowling, there were a lot of positives for me to work around a pool of players to make a team. There are future prospects but it’s a matter of time when they are to be lifted and taken with us.”

South Africa coach lauds his team for playing “the pressure moments pretty well”

Firdose Moonda14-Jan-2022For Mark Boucher, the toughest thing about watching South Africa’s chase against India was that there was nothing he could do about it.”As a player, you feel like the buck can stop with you. As a coach, your hands are tied behind your back. You haven’t got the chance to go out there and change the state of the game,” he said afterwards. “From a nerves perspective, it was up there with one of my more nervous days.”Though South Africa have previously chased 236 at this ground (and it remains their highest successful here), that was a decade ago and Boucher was in that XI. He spent that innings while Graeme Smith, currently director of cricket, and Hashim Amla, who is now doing commentary, batted South Africa to a memorable win. This time, South Africa needed 24 fewer runs but did not have players of the experience of Smith and Amla in their line-up, so Boucher was careful with how much he believed.”When you’re in the batting change-room, the runs always seem a mile away. When you’re in the fielding change-room, you always feel like there is never quite enough. So it was trying to find a bit of a balance,” he said. “We knew the conditions were going to be really tough.”Related

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South Africa’s inexperienced line-up were against the best Indian pace attack that has ever visited these shores on a surface with uneven bounce, but their hope was that the weather and the opposition bowlers’ workload in the series so far would help cause them to wilt. “It was really hot outside. We knew that the amount they bowled in the first innings (76.3 overs) would eventually play it’s part so getting through the first hour unscathed was very important. It just settles the change-room,” Boucher said.Keegan Petersen and Rassie van der Dussen put on 47 runs in the first hour and though they looked like they might be dismissed at any moment, they weren’t. “I liked the intensity the guys batted with. We went out saying we’ve got to look to score,” Boucher said.He was particularly impressed with Petersen’s performance, which ended with a career-best 82 and earned him the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards. “Keegan probably didn’t start off as well as what he would have liked in West Indies. He didn’t start too well at SuperSport Park but he has always shown signs of the player we’re seeing right now,” Boucher said. “He just stuck to his guns.”He is in a good position to have a guy like Dean [Elgar] next to him, who really does back him and he is a tough nut. Batting at No. 3, you’ve got to be tough, you’ve got to know your game, you’ve got to be technically sound. It’s a very tough position to play in, in South Africa, in our conditions, batting at No. 3. The way he has come through in this series, I am lost for words. In a big series like this, against big players, to be man of the series is fully deserved.”Petersen did not bat South Africa over the line, though. That was left to van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma, who finished on 41 and 32 not out respectively. Bavuma was also at the crease when South Africa completed their chase at the Wanderers and even though he has still not added to his century-count, he has proved himself to have the temperament to take responsibility when its needed and is one-half of the leadership duo that is shaping the new-look South Africa.”We’ve got Dean who led from the front. We’ve got Temba as the vice-captain, who is the same sort of fighter with the same spirit. When you’ve got two leaders like that, the guys are going to follow,” Boucher said. “Both of them stood up with regards to their own games. If you’ve got the fighters as leaders and they are prepared to show it with bat or ball, it’s probably going to be the character of the team.”Asked if this series win represents a turning in the very long corner of losses, Boucher left it for all of us to decide. “It’s up to you guys to make that call whether we’ve turned the corner. I believe we turned a corner quite a while ago. Our results have been pretty solid over the last six months to a year,” he said. “We are in a good space at the moment. Our feet are firmly on the ground.”We are by no means the finished product, but we’ll enjoy this win. This team is on their own mission. If people want to jump on the back of that, that’s great and that will be much appreciated. We’ve been through some tough times of late. The team is driven in a way that is pretty special. It’s a special change-room to be in. I am incredibly proud of where they’ve come from over a short period of time and the results are starting to come through, which is fantastic for everyone.”Specifically, the way South Africa are approaching big moments has Boucher feeling as though he may not get the urge to go out there and change the state of the game himself again. “We played the pressure moments pretty well. We are not winning all of them but when we were losing a session, we were not losing it badly and that keeps us in the game. When we lost that first session in the first Test, we lost it so badly, we couldn’t get back into the game. Although we did try very hard, we probably lost too much in one session. Now, our guys are playing good pressure cricket at the moment.”

Three-wicket win keeps them in contention at top ahead of clash with champions Surrey

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-Sep-2025Nottinghamshire fended off a strong fightback by Worcestershire to complete a three-wicket win which keeps them at the heart of the race for the Rothesay County Championship title.Chasing a target of 136 at Visit Worcestershire New Road, Haseeb Hameed’s side dipped to 83 for 6 before the lower-middle order stood tall to take them to 136 for 7. After Ben Slater held the chase together early on with a resolute 36 off 94 balls, Liam Patterson-White (23) and Lyndon James (17 not out) held their nerve with crucial contributions when it mattered most.Ben Allison took 3 for 50 as the home side gave it everything but the defeat leaves Worcestershire almost certain to finish bottom of Division One. Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire’s win sets up a huge clash with reigning champions and Division One leaders Surrey at The Oval next week.Nottinghamshire resumed on the final morning on 40 for 1 and, to their delight, the rain that has haunted this match was replaced by gorgeous sunshine. Visit Worcestershire New Road looked as magnificent as ever as Slater and Freddie McCann walked to the crease.McCann was soon making the return journey after lifting a pull to deep square leg. When Khurram Shahzad, in a superb spell from the New Road End (8-5-8-1), trapped Joe Clarke lbw, a few Nottinghamshire nerves were jangling at 53 for 3.They were jangling even more after Allison took two wickets in ten balls. Jack Haynes drove to cover and Kyle Verreynne was late on a ball which arrowed in to knock out middle stump.Slater had resisted with skill and patience for 148 minutes but was lured into driving at a wide one from Tom Taylor and nicked it to supply the bowler’s 49th Championship wicket of the season. As runs dried up – three from the last seven overs before lunch – Nottinghamshire dined at 91 for 6.Lunch arrived at a good time for them. It drained the bowlers of momentum and four quickfire fours from Patterson-White straight after the interval put Nottinghamshire back on the front foot. Patterson-White edged Allison to wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick with 22 needed from the last three wickets but James, completing his excellent all-round match, and Josh Tongue saw their side to a potentially priceless victory.

Kuldeep and Prasidh set up the victory by sharing eight wickets between them

Sidharth Monga06-Dec-2025 • Updated on 08-Dec-2025KL Rahul resorted to spinning the coin with his left hand and finally won India a toss for the first time in their last 21 ODIs. They followed it up with a nine-wicket win to show what a challenge it had been for them to stay competitive and force a decider against South Africa, despite losing both the earlier tosses in this series.The beleaguered Prasidh Krishna began India’s turnaround, bowling Quinton de Kock after a sensational century. Kuldeep Yadav – playing with the dry ball for the first time in the series – then ran through the lower middle order to restrict South Africa to 270, after they would have entertained thoughts of 350 at various points in the innings.

India penalised for slow over-rate

India’s players have been fined 10% of their match fees for their slow over-rate against South Africa in the second ODI in Raipur on December 3.

KL Rahul’s team was ruled to be two overs behind the target in match referee Richie Richardson’s estimation, and the team was penalised in accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC’s code of conduct for players.

The charge against India was levelled by on-field umpires Rod Tucker and Rohan Pandit, third umpire Sam Nogajski, and fourth umpire Jayaraman Madanagopal.

The low target allowed Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal to be measured in the initial overs, as the ball moved for longer and the dew appeared later than in the first two matches. Rohit shepherded Jaiswal in the early parts of his innings as the youngster found his tempo in a new format. However, Rohit didn’t stay long enough to watch him cruise to a maiden ODI hundred.In the end, the match wasn’t as simplistic as “win the toss, win the match” – it ebbed and flowed with a variety of conditions presenting themselves.Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana used the early moisture – perhaps a touch extra, to stop the pitch from drying out in the first innings – beautifully to tie South Africa down. Ryan Rickleton was opening, with Aiden Markram pushed down the order – to No. 5 – in Tony de Zorzi’s absence. Arshdeep took Rickleton’s edge in the first over. Rana followed it up with a maiden. India bowled three maidens in the first eight overs and only two edged boundaries from de Kock’s bat took South Africa to 25 for 1.Quinton de Kock brought up his seventh ODI ton against India•BCCI

The introduction of Prasidh, already under fire in this series, brought South Africa an opportunity to break free. De Kock took a special liking to him, pulling him for two sixes in his first two overs and playing the two shots of the day: an aerial extra-cover drive on the up for a six and one along the ground for four. Prasidh went for 27 in his first two, and runs started to flow in a 113-run stand between de Kock and Bavuma. The latter scored only 48 of those in 67 balls, which was more indicative of the conditions and the quality of bowling. De Kock, on the other hand, was already 63 off 55 at this point.The pitch had settled by now, and Matthew Breetzke took down the part-time spin of Tilak Varma, playing in place of Washington Sundar. By the end of the 26th over, the fifth-bowler combination of Prasidh and Tilak had leaked 56 runs from their five overs. De Kock was well on his way to a seventh century against India in just 23 innings. No one has scored more against India. Nor has any visiting batter scored more than his seven centuries in India.Related

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This is when, at 158 for 2, Prasidh started his second spell. His first over went for just two. Rana came on at the other end, with India desperate for a wicket. De Kock hit a four to take South Africa past a run a ball for the first time. In Prasidh’s next, Breetzke tried to get back to dominating him and made an error in judging length. He was out plumb lbw playing back and across the line to a ball hitting top of off. In the same over, Markram ended up chipping one to Virat Kohli, fielding close at short cover.Given the depth in their batting and the need to capitalise on the overs before the extra fielder went out for the last 10 overs, South Africa kept going. The run rate stayed up, but de Kock ended up playing all around a long half-volley from Prasidh, dismissed for 106 off 89 out of a score of 199 for 5 in 32.5 overs.Dewald Brevis and Marco Jansen kept attacking, but the return of Kuldeep brought new challenges. India needed to bowl five overs of spin in the last 14, which could have been tricky. However, Kuldeep was cherishing the dry ball for the first time this series as well as the older ball for the first time in his career, since the bowling side is now allowed to bowl with only one of the two balls after the 34th over.Brevis and Jansen were bullish in their response. They were not willing to play out Kuldeep, the leading wicket-taker in the series despite a predominantly wet ball in hand. When Kuldeep started the second over of this new spell, there had been 19 balls without a boundary. The extra fielder would go out in two overs as well. Aware of a big shot around the corner, Kuldeep kept tossing the ball wide and taking it away. Both of the batters holed out in the same over.Rohit Sharma celebrates with Kuldeep Yadav, who took four wickets•Associated Press

Kuldeep’s wizardry picked up two more wickets – only Adam Zampa has taken more hauls of four or more since Kuldeep’s debut – and Prasidh wiped off the last man.If South Africa had to compete in this defence, they needed early wickets. The ball moved around for Jansen and Lungi Ngidi, but seven wides in the first two overs and the occasional calculated strike from Rohit kept India in touch with the asking rate.Even as Jaiswal struggled, Rohit took the game on, charging and pulling Ngidi for a six and chipping Keshav Maharaj for a four against the turn. His trademark imperious pull made an appearance soon enough. While Jaiswal’s strike rate hovered around 50, Rohit got to his 94th score of 50 or more at a run a ball, buying Jaiswal time.It hasn’t been an ideal scenario for Jaiswal, filling in for the injured captain Shubman Gill. He was obligated to hit out in the first two ODIs as India strived for above-par scored to counter the toss disadvantage, but here, he could use the extra time and post a big score before Gill takes over again.The innings flowed smoothly after he reached 50 off 75 balls. He reached his hundred in just 36 more balls, becoming the sixth batter to be a centurion for India in all three formats. He batted with the two others in this chase. After Rohit fell 25 short of what would have been a 34th ODI hundred, Kohli displayed yet another upgrade to his game: he took his sixes tally to 12 – more than he has ever hit in a series before. He finished unbeaten on 65 off 45, as India won with more than 10 overs to spare.