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Marco Jansen has been called up to the ODI side and an update on the T20 World Cup squad is expected soon

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2022South Africa allrounder Dwaine Pretorius has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI series in India as well as the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup – that begins later this month in Australia – after fracturing his left thumb. He picked up the injury during the third T20I against India on Tuesday in Indore, the only game South Africa won in the three-match contest.”The nature of the injury requires surgical intervention and Dwaine will consult the Cricket South Africa designated hand surgeon on arrival in South Africa,” CSA chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra said. “Normal rehabilitation procedures will follow to ensure he speedily returns to playing cricket.”Marco Jansen has been added to South Africa’s ODI squad. Jansen is also part of the three-man reserves’ list for the T20 World Cup, along with Andile Phehlukwayo and Bjorn Fortuin, and could be the frontrunner to replace Pretorius in that squad as well.This is South Africa’s second injury blow ahead of the T20 World Cup after Rassie van der Dussen was ruled out with a broken finger. Van der Dussen sustained the injury during the second Test against England in Manchester and is expected to return to fitness for the Tests against Australia in December.Temba Bavuma will lead South Africa at the World Cup. At the time of announcing the squad – which has one more fast-bowling allrounder in Wayne Parnell – on September 6, CSA had confirmed that Bavuma would play as an opener, though his horror run at the T20I series in India could force a change of plans.

Will Young to bat at No. 3 after showing strong County Championship form for Durham

Matt Roller09-Jun-2021Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, has been ruled out of the second Test against England at Edgbaston because of a persistent elbow injury.Williamson had to miss an ODI series against Bangladesh earlier this year because of the same problem, which also caused him to miss the start of the 2021 IPL for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Tom Latham, the regular vice-captain, will lead the team in Williamson’s absence, as he did against Australia at the SCG in January 2020 and West Indies in Wellington in December.Related

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“It’s not an easy decision for Kane to have to miss a Test, but we think it’s the right one,” Gary Stead, New Zealand’s head coach, said. “He’s had an injection in his elbow to relieve the irritation he’s been experiencing when he bats and a period of rest and rehabilitation will help maximise his recovery.”The injury is not expected to rule him out of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India, which starts on June 18 at the Ageas Bowl. “The decision has been made very much with the ICC World Test Championship final at Southampton in mind and we are confident he will be ready for that match,” Stead added.”I’m sure he’ll be back [for the final],” Latham said. “From our point of view, it’s a precautionary thing. We’d love him to be available for this game but obviously we’ve got the eye on the final in a week’s time, so for Kane, it’s about giving himself the best opportunity to be fully fit and available for that game. The decision was made for him to rest and get that right for what we have coming up.”He’s fantastic as a captain. It’s well-documented how his personality and his calm nature out in the middle has been vital to this group. He’s very relaxed – doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low which I think has been great for this side in recent years. He’s obviously a wonderful leader and we’ve seen that throughout his captaincy career.”Williamson will be replaced in the New Zealand side by Will Young, the top-order batter who won both of his Test caps to date in the home series against West Indies in December.Young prepared for the series by playing four County Championship matches for Durham, scoring hundreds in two of his three most recent innings. He will bat at No. 3, with Latham and Devon Conway continuing to open the batting.”He’s been here a few weeks earlier [than the rest of the squad] and was playing cricket,” Latham said. “He had an opportunity back in our home summer and is coming off runs for Durham which is always nice when you get selected, especially in these conditions, so it’s another exciting opportunity for Will to put his hand up and try to put that performance on the board.”Trent Boult is set to play in the second Test•Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Latham also confirmed that Trent Boult will return to the side, with Mitchell Santner missing through injury, though he was yet to reach a final decision on the side before training on Wednesday afternoon. Ajaz Patel and the uncapped allrounder Rachin Ravindra are the two candidates to replace Santner, while Matt Henry, Doug Bracewell and Jacob Duffy will also be considered as New Zealand look to manage their seamers’ workloads ahead of the WTC final.”It’s a case-by-case situation,” he said. “There is an eye to what we have coming up in a week’s time but on the other hand this is obviously such an important game for us. We’ve got training now and then we’ll have a look at the wicket and have those conversations around what best suits the playing XI tomorrow. We’ve got a big squad to pick from.”While New Zealand’s thinking has clearly been influenced by the proximity of the WTC final, Latham said that the squad were not taking the opportunity to win a series in England for the first time since 1999 for granted.”Beating England is higher on our priority list [than the WTC final],” he said. “We’ve got such a great opportunity to come here and try to play our brand of cricket and put on a performance that we’re proud of. Yes, there is an eye to the final in a week’s time, but our focus is solely on this game and the next five days.”To win away from home is not an easy thing around the world nowadays, and if we can put the performance on the board that we know we’re capable off, fingers crossed that will give us a good chance to be successful after the five days.”Joe Root, England’s captain, acknowledged that Williamson’s absence was a big loss for New Zealand, but insisted that his team would be “respectful” of a side that has demonstrated its depth by qualifying for the WTC final.”He’s a big gun, No.1 in the world,” Root said. “He’s one of those players you spend a lot of time thinking about how you’re going to keep him quiet and get rid of him early. It will be a huge loss for them but we’re also very respectful that New Zealand have a strong squad and are involved in the WTC final because they have strength in depth.”We saw last week a debutant coming in and getting a double hundred. We’ve got to make sure we’re clear on our plans, clued up on whoever replaces him so we can find ways of keeping him quiet and dismissing him.”

England allrounder enjoying the relaxed world of franchise cricket, after missing NZ tour

Barny Read20-Nov-2019Moeen Ali insists he has not put a timeframe on his return to international action with England, despite hints from Joe Root, the Test captain, that his comeback could happen as soon as the South Africa tour next month.Moeen opted out of travelling to New Zealand for the two-Test series which gets underway in Mount Maunganui on Thursday, and has instead been plying his trade on the white-ball franchise circuit – first with a two-match stopover with Cape Town Blitz in the Mzansi Super League, and now as captain of Team Abu Dhabi in the T10 League.Speaking on the eve of the first Test, Root had said that England were “very open” to Moeen’s return to action, but admitted that the player himself would need to be in the right frame of mind to resume a Test career that was put on indefinite hold after he was dropped midway through this summer’s Ashes.However, speaking to ESPNcricinfo in Abu Dhabi, Moeen himself said that, after a gruelling few months of high-pressure cricket with England, he was enjoying the more relaxed atmosphere on the franchise circuit, and indicated that his international comeback could even be delayed until next summer’s visits of Pakistan and West Indies.”I want to play at some stage but I haven’t decided when or anything,” Moeen said. “I’ll just take it as it comes. Obviously Leachy [Jack Leach] is in the side and bowling really well, so I’ve also got to get back in the side as well.”It could be South Africa, could be Sri Lanka [in March], it could be just the summer,” he said of his anticipated return. “There’s no sort of timeframe on it. I’ll be speaking to Rooty after the series in New Zealand, and to Chris Silverwood [England coach], and we’ll have a bit more clarity and more idea about it then. But at the moment I’m not thinking about it too much.”Though Moeen’s winter hasn’t exactly been restful, with long-haul flights to South Africa and the UAE and yet more nights away from home, he is adamant that the demands of franchise cricket are far removed from those at the very highest level of the game, and consequently, more players are going to have to decide how they want to prioritise their professional careers.”There is a lot of cricket played around the world, but in the franchise stuff the pressure is not quite the same as international, particularly Test cricket,” he said. “Players will have to pick and choose depending on what they really want to play, and the stages they are at in their careers because playing so much cricket is difficult, with all the travelling and flying.”Franchise cricket is a lot more relaxed,” he added. “Obviously you get the whole day to do what you want, then play in the evening, whereas in international cricket, Test cricket, everyone’s watching, the pressure is on you to go and do well for your country. It is mentally and physically harder than any sort of franchise cricket.”Asked if he would feel any pangs of regret when England take the field against New Zealand on Thursday, Moeen was adamant.”I actually don’t,” he said. “I’d obviously love to be there and playing Test cricket but at the stage I was at, I felt like I needed that time away from Test cricket, so I don’t feel like I’m missing out. Obviously I’m supporting them and I’ve been in contact with the players, but I’m just trying to enjoy my cricket and the franchise stuff.The stint in Abu Dhabi had helped to rejuvenate him, he added. “I really love it, I’m enjoying my batting and captaining here, I’m enjoying that too. It’s different, the pressure’s off almost. It’s a different type of pressure, and it’s nice to get away from that a little bit just to refresh myself.”On the lessons he had learnt from his time in the T10 competition, Moeen said there was plenty that he’d picked up that could help to enhance his T20 game, especially with consecutive T20 World Cups looming in 2020 and 2021.”When you don’t play or you look from the outside, it’s just a slog, but there’s a lot more to it,” he said. “You can’t play it like a T20, the tempo’s faster and the batter’s under the pump from the start. I really like it.”Every dot ball can bring a wicket, pressure builds massively on batters and bowlers, and as a bowler you’re just bowling for survival, really, and you can take that to T20 too.”It will help improve T20 cricket, even though it’s played really well already, but it’s more for the power guys, because there’s no time to knock the ball around. Particularly the Windies guys are bigger and stronger, and on a different level when it comes to hitting sixes.”

Aaron Finch opened for Australia in the UAE, but McDonald said he would be a better fit in the middle order, where he bats for Victoria

Alex Malcolm21-Nov-2018Victoria coach Andrew McDonald has declared that opener Marcus Harris is ready to play Test cricket and believes Aaron Finch, who like Harris also plays for Victoria, is more suited to the middle order.Harris, 26, put himself in contention for the first Test against India in Adelaide with a sparkling start to the Sheffield Shield season: he made 250 not out against New South Wales and two other half-centuries in his last three games. Finch made his Test debut on Australia’s two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE in October, and made 62, 49, 39 and 31 at the top of the order.McDonald said Harris was ready to go after watching his development over the last two-and-a-half seasons.”He’s [Harris] ready,” McDonald told . “He’s matured. He knows his game better than previous seasons. The way he batted down (in Hobart) albeit he only got a 20-odd (22) and 67 in that run chase, it would have been nice to see him go on and get a bigger score, but the way he played, his batting movements are really, really repeatable, and his decision-making has been a lot better this year.”He scores runs quickly, generally speaking. He played an innings of 250 earlier in the season, which was sizeable, where he showed a lot more patience. So that was the moment where some people out there may have said the penny may start to be dropping.”We’ve seen him play some patient innings. But one of his traits is that against quality fast bowling he can score and put them under extreme pressure.”Harris had spoken about his own development this season, particularly in his decision-making. He had a lengthy conversation about the mental side of elite performance with Cathy Freeman, the Australian Olympic gold medallist and two-time World Champion 400m runner, during the off-season.McDonald also said he would likely bat Finch in the middle order for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield clash against Queensland starting next Tuesday – Finch’s only red-ball warm-up before the first Test against India.”We’ve picked him in the middle order in the last three seasons I’ve been coach, so that gives you some thought on where I believe he’s best suited,” McDonald said. “We’ve got a couple of really good openers that complement each other really nicely at the top of the order. But there’ll no doubt be some conversation around that depending on what the national selectors are going to do and the direction they’ll take.”McDonald said he had not spoken to either Australia coach Justin Langer or chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns regarding Finch’ batting position.”I don’t know their policy on that,” McDonald said. “Look, I think any sort of cricket or any batting in any position for both Finch and Glenn Maxwell to put their hand up for selection, if they get time in the middle from whatever position they bat, I think that’s probably fair preparation for the Test series. Albeit they may not be batting the specific position that they’re going to play in. But that’s not uncommon.”Finch had spoken about the challenge of having to switch between formats over the past month but McDonald said the change of position would be a greater challenge.”I think the preparation won’t be something that’s out of the ordinary for him because of the fact that he’s played county cricket, where they do shift between formats quite rapidly at times,” McDonald said. “He can go from red ball to white ball and white ball to red ball throughout that season quite comfortably. I don’t know where he’s going to bat in the Australian line-up. If he does open that’s probably going to be the big shift, marking centre, day one first up, as opposed to sitting down having a coffee and coming in in the middle order.”So that will be something they will be preparing him for if that’s where they’re going to bat him. If not then he’ll be pretty familiar with a middle order role if they go that direction as well.”

West Indies coach Stuart Law wants his players to focus on learning their roles in ODI cricket, ahead of next year’s qualifying tournament to reach the 2019 World Cup

Andrew McGlashan22-Sep-2017West Indies coach Stuart Law has challenged his one-day squad to use the remainder of the series against England to prove they should be part of the team who will now need to contest the qualifying tournament next year to reach the 2019 World Cup.Defeat at Old Trafford in the opening match of the series condemned West Indies to the long route to a World Cup spot, with the qualifying tournament set to take place in Zimbabwe early next year. That leaves Law with the rest of the England tour and then three matches in New Zealand at the end of the year as their only scheduled ODIs to firm up their best one-day squad.”Our plan is to go to Zimbabwe next year with a settled team, a team where everyone knows their roles and what they want to achieve,” Law said. “It’s a balancing act because what some players bring is extraordinary and you don’t want to nullify that effect. We’ve still got some selectorial conversations to have, to understand if we have the best players to take this team forward.”There’s plenty of A-team cricket in the Caribbean – Sri Lanka are there and England are coming next year so there are opportunities – but I’d like to go to New Zealand with a team which is pretty settled before the qualifiers.”Chris Gayle, who tweaked a hamstring at Trent Bridge, and Marlon Samuels have returned to the side for this series. Other players could come back into the mix with Law saying that Sunil Narine would be a certain pick if he made himself available. Narine was Man of the Match in the T20 against England at Chester-le-Street, but said he wanted to play some domestic one-day cricket before returning to the format he last played nearly a year ago.The dates for West Indies’ domestic one-day tournament, the Regional Super50, have yet to be confirmed, but last year it began in late January so may not leave Narine much time to stake a claim for the squad to go to the qualifiers. Another player who may come back on the radar is Andre Russell, whose one-year ban for missed drugs tests finishes on January 31, 2018.”Most people would be excited to have a guy like Andre Russell champing at the bit to play international cricket,” Law said. “Sunil Narine showed his class in the T20. He stated he wanted to get some 50-over cricket in, which is fair enough, but if he decides he wants to give ODIs a go he’d be one of the first picks with the spin he provides.”Kyle Hope was brought into the side at Trent Bridge after Gayle’s injury, while Miguel Cummins replaced Devendra Bishoo as West Indies went with a different balance of side. While Law is aware of the players currently outside the squad, he is keen to put his faith in those currently on duty.”This group I feel has a lot of good, that’s why they are here,” he added. “We are just making sure they understand how they want to play, they are caught between T20 and Test cricket a little at the moment and need to find a tempo for this format.”

CSA has removed former South Africa batsman HD Ackerman as the host of its upcoming annual awards ceremony in a bid to to avoid “further potential negative comments” around his announcement that he was emigrating to Australia in September

Firdose Moonda15-Jul-2016CSA has removed former South Africa batsman HD Ackerman as the host of its upcoming annual awards ceremony in a bid to to avoid “further potential negative comments” around his announcement that he was emigrating to Australia in September. Ackerman is the fourth South African involved in the country’s cricket structures to move to Australia or New Zealand in the last two months.”In view of certain negative comments on social media following HD’s Facebook post that he was leaving South Africa for Australia, we have decided to avoid any further potential negative comments around HD hosting the live CSA Awards,” Altaaf Kazi, CSA spokesperson, told “We decided to replace him and have no further comments to make in this regard.”CSA has not revealed who it has appointed as Ackerman’s replacement.Ackerman had announced his decision to emigrate through a post on Facebook: “It is with a heavy heart that I have to let all my friends know that Kerryn Ackerman, James, Tannah and I will be moving to Perth, Australia in September. It has caused many sleepless nights and even more tears but it is a decision that we have reached as a family and feel it is the best one we can make for our little ones at this time.”South Africa has so much potential, however in my entire life I don’t think I have ever seen anything more common than something or someone fail to reach their potential. I fear this may be the case with my beautiful country. I truly hope that the decision we are making is the right one for us and I truly hope that South Africa does go on to reach its true potential and that crime decreases, corruption slows (as all countries have this problem) and an equal opportunity is there for all.”His employer, South African broadcaster , confirmed Ackerman’s departure to take up a role as director of coaching at Guildford Grammar School in Perth. The broadcaster said Ackerman had left open the possibility of freelancing.On Thursday, Ackerman revealed on Facebook that he had been removed from hosting the awards, which he has been part of for several years. “Wow, just been pulled off hosting the Cricket South Africa awards on the 26th because a few people on social media feel my move to Australia is because I’m racist. Forget the fact my wife’s sister had just moved to Brisbane and that my wife’s parents have just moved to Perth, or that I got a job offer in Perth that included a school bursary for my son, those reasons are not good enough. Wow, wow, wow.”Social media reaction to Ackerman’s move was largely encouraging, particularly from former players. Former South Africa fast bowler Brett Schultz said on Twitter: “And SA loses another incredible talent, as a player in his day and behind the microphone in the modern game.”The only post, at the time of writing this article, with a racial undertone came from one user who accused Ackerman of being “anti-transformation”. Ackerman responded by telling the user, “That’s where you are soooo wrong.”Ackerman played 220 first-class and 230 List A games in a 16-year career that included stints at two provincial and four franchise sides. After retiring, he turned to commentary and coaching. He was involved with South Africa A and recently accompanied some South African players on a spin camp to India.While Ackerman is relocating to Perth, three other South African cricket administrators – Dolphins chief executive Pete de Wet, national team logistics manager Riaan Muller, and Titans’ coach Rob Walter – have all accepted jobs in New Zealand.

A decade after a young Alastair Cook smote the Australians to all parts of Chelmsford, another youthful Essex opener in Tom Westley did much the same

Daniel Brettig in Chelmsford02-Jul-2015
Scorecard1:10

Westley-Bopara partnership tests Australia attack

It has not taken long for the first parallel with 2005’s storied Ashes series to arrive. A decade after a young Alastair Cook smote the Australians to all parts of Chelmsford, another youthful Essex opener in Tom Westley did much the same to humble a strong touring attack on the second day of their final tour match before the first Investec Test in Cardiff.The comparisons do not stop at Westley’s free scoring either. The bowler to bear the brunt of most punishment was Nathan Lyon, just as Stuart MacGill had been belted by Cook 10 years before. And the batsman who accompanied Westley for much of his afternoon jaunt was the same man who had partnered Cook – none other than the enigmatic Ravi Bopara.Cook is known to rate Westley highly, and his aggression – perhaps the by-product of a career where he has been most successful in Twenty20 matches and less so at first-class level – gave the tourists plenty of food for thought. By day’s end edges were flying through vacant spaces that would earlier have played host to slip fielders, underlining how the mood had changed.In all it was a somewhat sobering experience for Michael Clarke’s team, as neither Mitchell Starc nor Josh Hazlewood could find the cutting edge that had them slicing through West Indies more or less at will in the Caribbean. Starc started with a dirty wide after appearing to get his spikes stuck in a foothole, and Hazlewood was tidy without overly threatening. As the day drew to a close Starc went around the wicket to swerve through Westley and the nightwatchman Jamie Porter, but it had been a long wait.Of all the bowlers it was actually the venerable pair of Peter Siddle and Shane Watson who looked most capable, using their English experience to good effect. Siddle is considered the reserve pacemen behind Starc, Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris, but the latter’s persistent knee pain means the Victorian is now very much in contention for Test match duty.Watson, of course, had plenty of reason to bowl well, having been stretched for his spot by the brazen batting of Mitchell Marsh, who went on in the morning to 169 before losing his off stump to Matt Salisbury. Pointedly, Clarke turned to Marsh before Watson, but the younger man’s overs were expensive, with three no-balls suggesting he was straining for effect.When introduced to the attack a few overs later for his first bowling of the tour, Watson maintained a nagging line while swinging the ball away – he certainly asked more questions than Marsh and provided a reminder of why two of his three five-wicket hauls in Tests have come in England, against Pakistan during a short series in 2010.Lyon was less able to control the scoring, finding himself set upon by Westley almost from the moment he was called into the attack. The pitch offered little by way of bounce or turn, but it was still somewhat unnerving for the Australians to see Lyon attacked without mercy, ending his first spell with the figures of 5-0-54-0. If later spells were less expensive with a more circumspect field, they were seldom dangerous. A missed stumping by Peter Nevill when Bopara had 35 would have done little to enhance Lyon’s mood.There is little question about Lyon’s place, for he bowled neatly in the West Indies and if anything has put more space between himself and the wrist spinner Fawad Ahmed since the pair flew out together with the rest of the squad in May. The sight of Fawad bowling at a sponsor’s cap placed on a good length during the tea break suggested unhappiness with his consistency – it is reasonable to suggest that both tweakers could benefit from the presence of the absent Cricket Australia spin consultant John Davison.As also demonstrated by a similarly proactive innings by Daniel Bell-Drummond at Canterbury last week, Westley showed that Australia’s strong bowling attack can be reduced in stature by brave batting with intelligent, calculated risks. Whether the sort of freedom Westley showed in 2015, or Cook in 2005, can be replicated under the harsh glare of a Test match spotlight is a question still to be asked.

Zaheer Khan had a fruitful first day as captain of a first-class side, as Mumbai bowled out Gujarat for 244 in what is a virtual pre-quarter-final

Amol Karhadkar29-Dec-2012
ScorecardFile photo: Parthiv Patel went to the top of this season’s run charts during the course of his century•K Sivaraman

Zaheer Khan had a fruitful first day as captain of a first-class side, as Mumbai bowled out Gujarat for 244 in what is a virtual pre-quarter-final. Had hosts Mumbai not lost opener Kaustubh Pawar in the last over of the day, the smile on Zaheer’s face at stumps would have been even wider.It didn’t come as a surprise when Zaheer, leading the team in the absence of regular captain Ajit Agarkar who was ruled out with a groin injury, opted to bowl on a sporting track with a sprinkling of live grass at the Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium. And when Zaheer trapped Smit Patel, one of the stars of India’s victorious Under-19 World Cup campaign, in front of wickets, Mumbai would have hoped to run through the Gujarat top order.However, rookies Samit Gohel and Bhargav Merai frustrated them for more than an hour. Not only did both the right-hand batsmen scored freely at the start of their innings, but they defended well, leaving balls outside off stump with relative ease. As a result, by the time Dhawal Kulkarni forced Gohel into a false shot, Mumbai had used as five bowlers.At 89 for 2, captain Parthiv Patel took guard. And by the time he was dismissed as the penultimate Gujarat wicket, the seasoned batsman had scored 101 off the 154 runs that Gujarat added since his arrival at the crease. Had Merai not attempted a risky single and fallen short of the crease at the non-striker’s end when Kulkarni’s direct hit shattered the woodwork in the last over before lunch, Gujarat would have had the advantage going into the break.However, once Mumbai had got an opening, they lived up to their tag of domestic powerhouse by breaking through at regular intervals. As a result, the 64-run association for the second wicket between Gohel and Merai turned out to be the only noteworthy partnership of the innings.While wickets were tumbling at the other end, Parthiv appeared to be playing a completely different match. En route his third century of the season, and the top of this season’s run charts, the left-hand batsman displayed his cutting and driving abilities in abundance. His standout stroke was a straight driven boundary off Kulkarni soon after his arrival at the crease.Once Mumbai had broken into the longish tail of Gujarat batting, Parthiv switched gears and targeted left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan, who was flighting the ball on the opening day for the first time in the season. He first charged down the pitch to hit him for a boundary over mid-off, and in his next over, drove him through the covers for the same result.The only blemish during Parthiv’s knock came when he was on 64. Having surpassed Ravindra Jadeja’s tally of 794 runs to emerge as the leading run-getter, Parthiv nicked Kulkarni but Hiken Shah dropped a regulation catch at first slip. Nevertheless, with little support from the other end, it was a commendable effort from the Gujarat captain.”Obviously the additional motivation is to return to the Indian team, so I try and score big. Thankfully, it has been paying off all through the season,” Parthiv said after stumps. “It is a challenging wicket but I think we were about 100 runs short of what would have been an ideal first-innings score here.”