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“It was not an even contest between bat and ball,” says Richie Richardson, the match referee for the Test

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2022The Gabba pitch has been given a “below average” rating and handed one demerit point from the ICC after the first Test between Australia and South Africa ended inside two days.In total, only 866 balls were bowled in the match, which makes it the second-shortest Test ever played in Australia, and 34 wickets fell in that time. Bowlers took a wicket every 25.5 balls, the second-best strike rate in a Test match ever (with a minimum of 30 wickets), and South Africa captain Dean Elgar said afterwards that the surface did not facilitate a “fair contest,” between bat and ball. The ICC agreed.Related

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“Overall, the Gabba pitch for this Test match was too much in favour of the bowlers,” Richie Richardson, the match referee for the Test, said. “There was extra bounce and occasional excessive seam movement. The odd delivery also kept low on the second day, making it very difficult for batters to build partnerships.”I found the pitch to be ‘below average’ as per the ICC guidelines since it was not an even contest between bat and ball.”Richardson, however, did not go as far as Elgar and suggest the surface could have posed a danger to batters.Elgar had posed the question to Chris Gaffney and Rod Tucker, the on-field umpires, during Australia’s second innings when “KG [Kagiso Rabada] got [Travis] Head out down leg… and then [Anrich] Nortje was bowling those short ones that were flying over our heads”. But he did not receive an answer on-field.Australia captain Pat Cummins said there was “no way” the surface was dangerous but acknowledged it was “tricky” to bat on. “Two days probably isn’t ideal… personally, I don’t mind it if the groundsman err on the greener side occasionally; [I’ve] played a lot of Tests where they’ve erred on the flatter side. Think it was the same for both teams,” he said after the game.This is the second time that an Australian pitch has been given a negative rating by the ICC in the last four years. In January 2018, the MCG pitch was rated poor after a draw between Australia and England, in which only 24 wickets fell in five days.The next Test between Australia and South Africa will start at the MCG on Boxing Day.

Hosts boost hopes of World Cup qualification as champions face longest losing streak since 2014

Alan Gardner31-Jan-2023

Big picture: South Africa aiming for series sweep

The series has been won, but it’s not quite mission accomplished for South Africa, who are a win away from getting up into the top eight of the World Cup Super League. Two clinical performances against the reigning world champions (albeit England’s crown has slipped a fair bit recently) means they are sitting a little more comfortably, with a pair of home fixtures against Netherlands to come, but these are fine margins and something as small as an over-rate penalty could be the difference between securing a direct spot for India later this year or going to the qualifier in Zimbabwe.Reports of South Africa’s demise, in this format at least, have turned out to be exaggerated – they whitewashed India 3-0 at home this time last year, after all. But with Temba Bavuma producing a bravura hundred to inspire a record chase in Bloemfontein, it might even be the case that home supporters start looking forward to the visit of West Indies in a few weeks, rather than pining for the return of the SA20.

Sam Curran fined for Bavuma send-off

Sam Curran has been fined 15 percent of his match fee, following his send-off for Temba Bavuma during the second ODI in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
Curran was found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct, and has also been handed one demerit point – the first of his career.
He did not contest the charge, which came after he was deemed to have “excessively celebrated towards and in close proximity to the dismissed batter”, after inducing Bavuma to play onto his own stumps during his matchwinning century.

South Africa’s boxfresh new T20 competition will start up again on Thursday, and there have already been hints that the likes of Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada could be rested ahead of flying down to the coast for an evening contest between Durban’s Super Giants and MI Cape Town. But the mood in the camp, under the temporary guidance of Shukri Conrad, certainly seems to have lifted and there is the chance to inflict a rare 3-0 reverse on Jos Buttler’s side.At least, you might peg it as rare, before a quick check confirms England lost their last ODI series, a benighted bit of scheduling post-T20 World Cup in Australia, 3-0 as well. Their record since Buttler was installed as Eoin Morgan’s permanent successor last year currently reads: P11 W2 L8. Even if outwardly the mantra remains positive, and there is time aplenty to formulate plans for the World Cup defence in October-November, it’s hard to think of an instance when a win was more needed since the Morgan revolution began in 2015.Buttler seems as unflappable as his predecessor and barely needs to bother marshalling a defence. The Australia series gets a free pass, since it came days after the captain was being snapped on a Melbourne beachfront holding the T20 World Cup. Here he is without the likes of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone and Mark Wood – in part because of injury, in part because of a schedule that means England currently have full men’s squads in both South Africa and New Zealand. Not to mention Ben Stokes, the king over the water whose unretirement bandwagon is already gathering pace.He can also point to the fact that an England side with a little more consistent ODI cricket under their belts would have expected to win both games in Bloemfontein. Kimberley is mining country, the “Big Hole” one of the local tourist attractions – but England have time to dig themselves out of difficulty yet.

Form guide

South Africa WWLLW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
England: LLLLL

In the spotlight: Aiden Markram and Moeen Ali

Since making his ODI debut in October 2017, Aiden Markram has played 45 ODIs while averaging 28.75 – the only other top-four batter to score 1000 runs in that time at a lower average is the now-retired William Porterfield. Markram’s nickname is “Sauce”, apparently because he goes with everything, and there were glimpses of his undoubted talent in a 43-ball 49 in the second ODI, during which he also burgled the wicket of Harry Brook. But time is running out to prove he’s got the special sauce across all three formats for South Africa.You might think that Moeen Ali scoring a dashing half-century, at better than a run a ball, isn’t so noteworthy. But the fact that his belligerent effort in Bloem was his first 50-plus score in an ODI since 2017 is altogether more discombobulating. Moeen has always been a player whose individual moments of brilliance transcend his rather-more-ordinary stats – but batting and bowling averages of 23.13 (strike rate 80.32) and 59.33 since the 2019 World Cup are underwhelming even by his standards. He should be a lock for No. 6 or 7 in the team that goes to India, but a run of form in this format would be timely.

Team news: De Kock likely to miss out

De Kock hurt his hand while keeping during the second ODI and won’t be considered for selection*, with Janneman Malan and Reeza Hendricks – the only two South Africa players to net on Tuesday – waiting in the wings as back-up openers. None of the frontline quicks, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi, bowled at training and South Africa could deploy both spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, depending on conditions.South Africa: (possible) 1 Janneman Malan/Reeza Hendricks, 2 Temba Bavuma (capt), Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 David Miller, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Sisanda Magala, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiPhil Salt enjoys himself at England training•Getty Images

England have Phil Salt available after illness if they want to make changes to the batting and will likely shuffle the bowling attack. Jofra Archer could make his second appearance of the series, having taken 1 for 81 on his long-awaited England comeback last week – and despite being a potential starter for MI Cape Town 24 hours later. Chris Woakes and Reece Topley both endured a pasting in the second ODI, while Olly Stone was England’s best bowler but may be in line for some workload management.England: (possible) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Harry Brook, 5 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Jofra Archer

Pitch and conditions: Kimberley set to be hot and flat

Kimberley has not hosted an ODI since 2018, when Zimbabwe managed just 117 against an attack spearheaded by Rabada and Ngidi. But a flat surface is expected for this contest and soaring temperatures plus a short boundary suggests another round of 300-plus run-scoring could be in the offing. There have been heavy showers in the lead up but the forecast is clear for Wednesday.

Stats and trivia

• The last time England lost five ODIs in a row came at home during series against Sri Lanka and India in 2014. They have not lost six on the bounce since 2009.
• South Africa are aiming for their first ODI series whitewash against England.
• England have only played one previous ODI in Kimberley – an eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe in 2000.
• Wayne Parnell needs two wickets to reach 100 in ODIs. He will be the 13th South Africa to reach the milestone.

Quotes

“We’re here to win, we want to win the series 3-0. It’s really important to be putting the right people on the park but our squad is incredibly strong, we’re always producing great cricketers in South Africa. Whoever does play I have no doubt that we’re going to have a full-strength team. To be nice and clinical would be the cherry on top.”
“We haven’t played our greatest cricket. We’ve not had the all-round performance that we want but there’s some positives to take forward. Hopefully we can win the final game and finish the series on a positive note.”
Olly Stone attempts to rally the troops*February 1, 0930 GMT – This story was updated with news of de Kock’s absence

Rest of India set MP 437 to win, with the 2021-22 Ranji champs another 356 away with eight wickets in hand on final day

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2023Yashasvi Jaiswal followed up his double-century in the first innings with 144 in the second as Rest of India had one hand on the Irani Cup at the end of day four in Gwalior. Chasing a tall 437, Madhya Pradesh lost two wickets late in the day, but captain Himanshu Mantri remained unbeaten on 51 to give his side some hope despite the huge target.Resuming their day ahead by 275 runs, Rest of India lost six wickets in the opening session but still managed to swell the lead to 391. With variable bounce on display, the MP bowlers stuck to a wicket-to-wicket line and reaped rewards.Avesh Khan struck first, cleaning Abhimanyu Easwaran up with a short-of-a-length ball that kept low and snuck below his bat to hit the stumps. In his next over, Avesh pinned Baba Indrajith plumb in front. Ankit Kushwah then got a wicket two balls later, sending Yash Dhull back for a first-ball duck before trapping Upendra Yadav lbw soon after.Jaiswal, meanwhile, carried on merrily, smashing boundaries at will. He struck three fours in Saransh Jain’s ninth over, the third getting him to his century off just 103 balls with 13 fours and a six until then.A misjudgment in the calling brought about Atit Sheth’s wicket who was run-out for 30, before Saurabh Kumar was dismissed leg before wicket by Jain. Rest of India went into lunch seven wickets down, but managed to score 116 runs in the session.Jaiswal hacked Avesh for a six over deep midwicket after the break, as it helped the lead inch past 400. The left-hander was bowled by Jain, but not before smashing 357 runs in the match, the most by a batter in the history of the Irani Cup. Shubham Sharma wrapped the innings up with his part-time offspin, removing Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar off successive balls.Mukesh then gave Rest of India the perfect start in their defense, trapping Arham Aquil in front of the stumps second ball, as Aquil bagged a pair on first-class debut. Shubham and Mantri then added 51 for the second wicket before the former was done in by a Saurabh arm ball that caught the batter playing down the wrong line. But Mantri notched up his half-century, and will have to dig deep to force a result for his side on the final day.

Meanwhile, Jemimah Rodrigues said the WPL would be a “blessing in disguise” for the India players following the World Cup semi-final exit

Vishal Dikshit02-Mar-2023India have come agonisingly close to beating world champions Australia in two thrilling knockout games in the last seven months and captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes a tournament like WPL will help bridge the gap between the two teams in the future. India lost out on a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games last year when they fell nine runs short against Australia in the final and recently lost the semi-final of the T20 World Cup against them in close fashion. Harmanpreet was India’s top scorer and took them close with attacking knocks in both games, but the lower order couldn’t close out the chases.Those two losses were, however, much more promising for Indian cricket than the 85-run thrashing India received from the same opponents in the 2020 T20 World Cup final at the MCG.Related

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“I think this is a great platform for all Indian players because we have been missing this tournament for a long time,” Harmanpreet said of the WPL during a virtual press conference on Thursday. “Definitely for Australia and England the WBBL and Hundred have worked very well and after those tournaments they’ve got so much young talent. After the WPL we are also going to get some good talent and I’m sure the difference you’re talking about [between India and Australia sides] we’d love to cut down. When you see good talent coming up, you’re definitely going to make a good team after the WPL.”While chasing 162 at the CWG final in Birmingham, Harmanpreet led India’s charge with a quick fifty and they needed 44 from 30 balls with seven wickets in hand. But India slipped when Harmanpreet and Pooja Vastrakar got out on consecutive deliveries and couldn’t score 11 from the last over. In the World Cup semi-final last month, Harmanpreet again led India’s chase in counterattacking fashion after they were 28 for 3 in pursuit of 173. India needed to score a more comfortable 41 off 34 this time with six wickets in hand but Harmanpreet’s run-out when her bat got stuck just before the crease while completing a second run derailed India again.Delhi Capitals players Aparna Mondal, Alice Capsey, Meg Lanning, Jemimah Rodrigues and Arundhati Reddy•AFP via Getty Images

Jemimah Rodrigues: World Cup loss still haunting us

Jemimah Rodrigues played second fiddle to her captain in both those losses; her run-a-ball 33 was part of a third-wicket stand of 96 off 71 balls in the CWG final, and a more attacking 43 off 24 was crucial in a partnership of 69 off 41 with the captain in the World Cup semi-final.Soon after being named the Delhi Capitals vice-captain on Thursday afternoon in Mumbai, Rodrigues said the semi-final loss still lingered in her and her team-mates’ minds a week after the game. Rodrigues said having the WPL soon after the World Cup would be a “blessing in disguise” for the India players.”It’s not been easy after losing the semi-finals, a few days were really tough for all of us,” she said. “It took us a while to get out of it, we’ve still not gotten out of it. The WPL is like a blessing in disguise because it’s going to help us get involved and get busy in preparing for this that it’ll help us take our mind off the World Cup. But yes, those thoughts will keep haunting us.”Rodrigues also feels the WPL will help unearth promising Indian players who will make a difference in the future. “We have been pushing the doors for a very long time, we are getting there, we are getting very close. But I am sure the WPL will change a lot for women’s cricket. You will find many superstars coming out from it, many leaders, or many match-winners, I would say.”

Heath, Tryon make fifties before Levick four-four seals 105-run win

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2023Northern Diamonds 290 for 8 (Winfield-Hill 75, Heath 71, Tryon 63) beat Western Storm 185 (Levick 4-36) by 105 runsNorthern Diamonds began their defence of the Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy with an emphatic 105-run victory against Western Storm at Headingley.Half-centuries from Lauren Winfield-Hill (75), Bess Heath (71) and South African debutant Chloe Tryon (63) took Diamonds to a commanding total of 290 for eight off a rain-reduced 37 overs before leg spinner Katie Levick claimed 4 for 36, including her 300th career wicket, as Storm fell well short of the target.After rain fell throughout the morning, the players finally took to the field at 1pm and Storm’s hopes were immediately raised when Lauren Filer bowled Sterre Kalis for one in the second over. When Filer followed up with the wicket of Diamonds skipper Hollie Armitage, also bowled for one, the hosts were 33 for 2 and looking in trouble on a damp, green pitch.Winfield-Hill was at her pugnacious best however and quickly counter attacked to take the score to 71 when a mix up with Phoebe Turner led to the latter’s ran out for three.If the visitors thought they were back in the game what followed was a brutal statement of intent from England hopeful Heath who proceeded to smash Storm’s bowlers around Headingley as she bludgeoned 71 from 38 balls including nine fours and three sixes in a fourth wicket partnership of 109 off just 67 balls with Winfield-Hill.When Heath was caught behind by off Chloe Skelton the score was 180 for 4 and the stage was set for another superb knock as Winfield-Hill was joined by Tryon. The former’s departure for 75, bowled by Alex Griffiths, left the South African with some work to do, but she marshalled the tail superbly to be last out for 63 off 36 balls in a Diamonds total of 290 for 8.Storm got off to a terrible start losing both openers inside the first two overs as Griffiths (0) and Emma Corney (2) were bowled by Jessica Woolston and Lizzie Scott respectively.Sophie Luff and Fran Wilson staged a good recovery as they took the visitors to 97 before both were dismissed in successive overs with Storm never looking likely to make it a contest after that.Levick, who earlier had Luff stumped for 33, took another when she trapped Gibson in front for 17 to claim her 299th career wicket before Niamh Holland was run out for six.Levick’s 300th came soon after with the stumping of Wraith and she was quickly celebrating her 301st when Sophia Smale was lbw for 0.Scott returned to bowl Filer before Tyron took a stunning catch off Abi Glen off Skelton to wrap the Western Storm innings up for 185.

Richard Thompson predicts “a long and successful future” for the competition

ESPNcricinfo staff26-May-2023The Hundred is going nowhere before the end of 2028 and has “a long and successful future well beyond that”, according to the ECB’s chair.Several outlets reported last month that Richard Gould and Richard Thompson – the ECB’s chief executive and chair respectively, who previously held the same roles at Surrey – were discussing options to adjust the format of the eight-team, 100-ball competition, or even to scrap it altogether.But, in an interview in the June edition of the magazine, Thompson said that there had been “an awful lot of misreporting” on the tournament’s future, emphasising that it is part of the ECB’s lucrative broadcast deal with Sky Sports which runs until the end of 2028.”We’re signed up with the Hundred until 2028 and there’s been an awful lot of misreporting around that,” Thompson said. “The reality is that the Hundred exists with Sky until 2028 and I’m sure it has a long and successful future well beyond that.”Related

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The ECB announced this week that Sanjay Patel, the Hundred’s managing director, would step down from his role at the end of this summer’s edition. In the announcement, Gould also predicted a “very long and successful future for the Hundred”.A report by Fanos Hira, the Worcestershire chair, earlier this year suggested that the Hundred had made a £9 million loss to date, figures which the ECB disputes. Thompson said: “It’s a historical report looking at the income and cost base of the ECB. And it [the Hundred] will help us across the game.”It depends how you attribute those costs,” he added. “Especially the £1.3m that each county receives a year [which is directly linked to the Hundred]. The game has invested a significant amount of money into the Hundred to ensure that it finds a new audience, which it has done. But the reality is it’s an investment in the future.”The prospect of private investment in the Hundred has also been regularly mooted over the last two years. “We’re only in year three of a very new tournament,” Thompson said on the subject. “And the game has got to make that decision. That’s not an ECB decision.”The Hundred takes place in a standalone window from August 1-27 in 2023, the first time that it has not clashed with any England men’s or women’s international cricket. As a result, the final Test of the English summer is due to finish on July 31 – a situation that Thompson said “absolutely will not” happen again.”It doesn’t feel right, does it? Finishing the Test season in July means the whole season feels truncated,” he said. “My understanding of the decision was they felt there are a significant amount of white-ball internationals playing through September.”And the idea behind that was to give us the best possible chance of defending the 50-over World Cup which starts in October. But certainly, you don’t want a situation where you’re playing just one format or one tournament in the way we are at the moment… the Test summer absolutely will not be squeezed like this in future.”