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The left-arm quick was able to arrest a fast start from the opposition while the opener helped seal a straightforward chase with a career-best 71

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Al Amerat13-Feb-20192:46

We were ready for Scotland coming hard at us in the first six overs – Seelaar

Netherlands’ bowling unit rebounded after a thunderous start by George Munsey to restrict Scotland to 153, before chasing down the target with one ball and seven wickets to spare in the Quadrangular T20I Series opener. A Dutch record opening stand of 100 by Tobias Visee and Stephan Myburgh ensured a stress-free chase.Having been sent in, Scotland put on 33 for 0 after two overs as Munsey clattered five fours and two sixes. He had hammered 71 off 34 balls to set up a record total of 221 the last time these two sides met, in Amstelveen in June last year. But Netherlands held the Scots to 120 off the final 18 with a fightback sparked by Fred Klaassen.Given the nod over Paul van Meekeren in the starting XI, the left-armer justified his inclusion by taking the key wicket of Munsey, lbw in the fourth over. Combined with Kyle Coetzer’s dismissal at backward point in the previous over off Shane Snater, momentum shifted dramatically back in favour of the Dutch, and they never relinquished it.Netherlands were sharp in the field early as well, with Max O’Dowd taking two catches at deep square leg. One of them was a sensational diving effort when Richie Berrington couldn’t keep a sweep down against Pieter Seelaar’s spin, to make it 44 for 4.Calum MacLeod survived an early chance on 9 and then again on 47 when O’Dowd spilled a comparatively easy chance at deep square leg before the reigning ICC Associate Player of the Year upper-cut his seventh four over third man to reach his half-century. MacLeod added 53 for the fifth wicket with Craig Wallace and eventually top-scored with 53 off 45 balls. In the 18th over, he was bowled shuffling across his stumps to scoop Timm van der Gugten, negating Scotland’s best chance of a late surge.Visee struggled early in Netherlands’ reply, taking seven balls to get off the mark, but a sliced four over the slips in the second over helped ease his nerves. In nine previous T20Is, his best score was 25 but by the eighth over he was on 37 and proceeded to drive Michael Leask for six, cover drive and sweep him for four and bring up his maiden T20I fifty off only 29 balls.Normally the aggressor in any opening stand for Netherlands, Stephan Myburgh was content to ride shotgun until he flicked Leask to deep square leg in the 12th over to signal the century stand. Visee was bowled a few deliveries later for 71 by Safyaan Sharif but Ryan ten Doeschate and Wesley Barresi saw Netherlands home with an unbeaten 33-run stand to give the Dutch an early advantage in the quadrangular series.

Both countries will play a combined total of 29 Tests in the next cycle of the Future Tours Programme

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Dec-2017Ireland and Afghanistan’s desire to play consistent Test cricket is on the verge of fulfillment as both countries are scheduled to play a combined total of 29 Tests in the next cycle of the Future Tours Programme (2019-23).Ireland will play 16 Tests while Afghanistan are scheduled to play 13, in a calendar which is due to get a final approval at the ICC annual conference in June 2018.It is a big shot in the arm for both Ireland and Afghanistan, who secured Full Membership in June. Even before the new FTP kicks in, both countries have secured opponents for their maiden Tests. Ireland will host Pakistan in May 2018 in Malahide while Afghanistan are set to travel to India next year with the itinerary likely to be finalised shortly.Ireland and Afghanistan, along with Zimbabwe, are not part of the Test Championship league, which will commence immediately after the 2019 World Cup. Nonetheless, the new FTP allows both to cut their teeth in Test cricket, albeit at a slower pace compared to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe – the last three entrants into the format. In their first five years Bangladesh played 40 Tests while Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe played 24 Tests each.Ireland ‘s roster is somewhat richer in comparison to Afghanistan’s in that they play half of the top-nine countries. Ireland are scheduled to play a one-off Test against Australia (2019), Sri Lanka (2020), England (2021) and then host New Zealand and South Africa in 2022. In addition, Ireland will face Afghanistan (5 Tests), Zimbabwe (4 Tests) and Bangladesh (2 Tests).Both Afghanistan and Zimbabwe will play nearly equal number of Tests at home and away. Ireland will play seven home Tests and nine away while Afghanistan seven at home and six away.Presently, Australia are the only upper-tier country to play against Afghanistan in the new FTP. Both countries will play a one-off Test in 2020 and 2022. Afghanistan’s other opponents will be: Ireland (5 Tests), Zimbabwe (4 Tests), Bangladesh (1 Test) and West Indies (1 Test).Zimbabwe are scheduled to play 17 Tests in the four-year cycle. Out of the 17, Zimbabwe will play Bangladesh in six Tests followed by four each against Ireland and Afghanistan, two against Sri Lanka and one against West Indies.Playing fewer Tests and focusing on limited-overs cricket is now part of Zimbabwe Cricket’s restructuring plans.Compared to 17 Tests (12 at home) Zimbabwe will play 40 ODIs and 31 T20s during the next FTP.

The New South Wales coroner has released the findings of his inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes

Brydon Coverdale03-Nov-20163:52

Brettig: ‘Hughes inquest findings could change cricket’

The death of Phillip Hughes was a tragic accident arising from a “minuscule misjudgement” from the batsman and no players or umpires were at fault, according to the New South Wales coroner Michael Barnes.Mr Barnes on Friday released his findings from the coronial inquest into the death of Hughes, who was struck on the neck by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG in November 2014. Although the coroner determined that Hughes had been targeted by bouncers during his innings, he found that no laws of the game had been breached, and Hughes was well-equipped to deal with such bowling.”Phillip was targeted by short-pitched balls bowled at or over leg stump or middle stump that placed him in greater danger of being struck,” Mr Barnes said. “Of the 23 bouncers bowled on that day, 20 were bowled to him.”However, in view of the evidence of the other players, the presiding umpires, and Mr Taufel [former umpire Simon Taufel], that Phillip was, because of his high level of skill and confidence, comfortably dealing with the short-pitched balls, I conclude that no failure to enforce the laws of the game contributed to his death.”Such was his skill and experience, he was well able to deal with such bowling, but even the best can’t perform perfectly all of the time. He could have avoided the ball by ducking under it, but such was his competitiveness, he sought to make runs from it.”A minuscule misjudgement, or a slight error of execution, caused him to miss the ball which crashed into his neck with fatal consequences. There is absolutely no suggestion the ball was bowled with malicious intent. Neither the bowler, nor anyone else, was to blame for the tragic outcome.”

Inquest recommendations

Recommendation 1: Cricket Australia review dangerous and unfair bowling laws to eliminate anomalies, and provide umpires with more guidance as to applying the laws
Recommendation 2: CA continue research and development to find a neck protector that can be mandated for use in first-class matches
Recommendation 3: Daily medical briefings at SCG to ensure a clear process in case of any emergencies occurring on that day
Recommendation 4: Training of umpires to ensure they can summon medical assistance quickly

The coroner also said that while it was hard to believe that no sledging had occurred during the match, the evidence suggested that Hughes’ confidence and composure were unaffected by any such sledging. However, while Mr Barnes made no finding as to whether sledging had occurred, he hoped that cricket would use the opportunity to reflect on whether such tactics were appropriate to the game.”Hopefully the focus on this unsavoury aspect of the incident may cause those who claim to love the game to reflect on whether the practice of sledging is worthy of its participants,” he said. “An outsider is left to wonder why such a beautiful game would need such an ugly underside.”The coroner found that independent medical evidence had established conclusively that the injury suffered by Hughes was “unsurvivable”, regardless of the efficiency and skill of the emergency response. However, he also noted that there were failings in the emergency response on the day which might have prevented Hughes receiving life-saving treatment, had his injury not been so serious.”None of those on the field at the time knew how to summon medical assistance onto the field,” the coroner said. “Although it was immediately obvious that Phillip was injured, it was not clear whose responsibility it was to call an ambulance. An ambulance was not called for over six minutes after he was hit.”The person who called the ambulance did not have sufficient information to enable an accurate triage to be made by the ambulance dispatcher. As a result, the ambulance response was given a lower order of urgency than it would have been given had the relevant information about Phillip’s condition been conveyed.”Mr Barnes also said that the ambulance service was given inconsistent information regarding how to gain access to Hughes, and that important medical equipment was not immediately at hand at the ground. However, he noted that some changes had already been made to emergency medical response procedures as a result of Hughes’ death.”Not that anyone involved was lackadaisical or cavalier, rather the systems in place to respond to such an incident were inadequate,” he said. “Unless addressed, those failings could result in a preventable death occurring… All of those who responded to Phillip’s injury did so selflessly and to the best of their ability. They are to be commended.”Mr Barnes also found that, although Hughes had not been wearing the latest model of helmet at the time he was struck, even if he had been wearing the most modern equipment then available, it would not have protected the area of his body where the blow landed. He concluded that Hughes’ death was “a tragic accident”.”The family’s grief at losing their much-loved son and brother was exacerbated by their belief that unfair play had contributed to his death,” he said. “In the course of this inquest they have heard from independent experts, high-ranking cricket officials and some of the players who were on the field with Phillip when he played his last game of cricket.”Clearly, they do not agree with all that they heard. However, it is hoped that they accept the compelling evidence that the rules were complied with; that Phillip was excelling at the crease as he so often did, and that his death was a tragic accident.”Nothing can undo the source of their never-ending sorrow but hopefully, in the future, the knowledge that Phillip was loved and admired by so many and that his death has led to changes that will make cricket safer will be of some comfort.”Later in the day, the Hughes family issued a statement saying that they accepted the coroner’s findings. They also said they hoped the changes made to the game, in order to make it safer, as a result of their son/brother’s death would become part of his legacy.”[Father] Greg, [mother] Virginia, [siblings] Jason and Megan accept the coroner’s findings,” the statement said. “They have noted the four recommendations made by the coroner, and Cricket Australia’s commitment to implement them. They are deeply hoping that no other family has to go through the pain of losing a loved one on an Australian sporting field.”As the coroner has noted, Phillip’s death has led to changes that will make cricket safer. The Hughes family hopes that this will be part of Phillip’s legacy to the game that he loved so dearly. They would like to sincerely thank the many people who have been in contact throughout and since the inquest.”David Warner, one of the witnesses who gave evidence at the inquest, stood by his testimony despite Barnes’ conclusion that he found some of the players’ versions of events “hard to believe”.”I’m happy with my testimony. The umpires said the same thing, that there was no sledging out there, and I’ll stick to my word that there was no sledging out there,” Warner said. “And I think we have to respect what they handed down and respect what their thoughts are as well, and us as cricket and Cricket Australia our thoughts and respects are still with the Hughes family.”Warner said he did not think seriously abusive sledging or threats to kill, as alleged at the inquest, were an endemic problem in the sport. “If I go back four or five years, when I used to dish it out a bit, yeah, maybe,” he said. “I think at the end of the day we’re all adults and when we’re on the field we know what line not to cross, and whether you’re touching the player or you attack them personally, banter and sledging is about trying to create energy.”You’re talking to your team-mates and no direct threats to any player, that’s totally gone. I don’t even know if that was in the game. I’ve never been pointed at and said any words of any malice, for us it’s just normal banter. It’s not really sledging if you want to say it. I don’t think there’s any in the game at the moment at all.”

Tom Curran, the Surrey pace bowler, has been added to the England Performance Programme for the training camps in South Africa and the UAE

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-2015Tom Curran, the Surrey pace bowler, has been added to the England Performance Programme for the training camps in South Africa and the UAE.Curran, 20, who was born in Cape Town, is due to complete his residential qualification period at the end of October and be eligible for England.He finished the season with 105 wickets in all cricket – 76 of them in the Championship to make him the joint-leading wicket-taker in Division Two – after claiming 10 for 176 against Northamptonshire at The Oval, including 7 for 35 in the first innings when he shared all ten wickets with his younger brother, Sam.James Whitaker, the national selector, said: “Tom has had a superb season leading the Surrey pace attack, and following confirmation that he is due to complete his residential qualification to play for England at the end of October, we are delighted to add him to the EPP fast bowlers group for the winter.”The EPP is initially split into two sections and Curran will join the fast-bowling group in Potchefstroom for a 10-day camp before linking up with the batting/spin bowling players who will be based in Dubai.Jake Ball, Craig Miles, Craig and Jamie Overton, Tymal Mills and Olly Stone are the other fast bowlers heading to South Africa.Sam Curran, 17, has been included in the England U-19 squad for a triangular series in Sri Lanka ahead of next year’s U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.

VVS Laxman, in his 16-year Test career, established himself as one of the best players of spin bowling in the world but, by his own admission, it wasn’t a talent he had acquired when he first picked up the bat

Kanishkaa Balachandran in Hyderabad01-Mar-2013VVS Laxman, in his 16-year Test career, established himself as one of the best players of spin bowling in the world but, by his own admission, it wasn’t a talent he had acquired when he first picked up the bat. Failures early in his career taught him to respect spin bowling more and after hours of practice his batting had evolved to the point where he could master any attack.Laxman was speaking at the launch of , a compilation of the best Q&A long-form interviews published by ESPNcricinfo and Walt Disney. The book features 22 interviews with current and former players speaking on specific topics such as captaincy, swing bowling, commentary, batting etc. Those interviewed include Sachin Tendulkar, Ian Chappell, Mahela Jayawardene, Barry Richards, and Laxman himself.”I never got to play quality spin bowling when I was growing up,” Laxman said in a discussion with Harsha Bhogle and ESPNcricinfo editor Sambit Bal, responding to an extract from an earlier interview. “As a kid I always enjoyed playing fast bowling. I neglected playing spinners. At the end of the practice session I got extra throw-downs, asking the coaches to throw from ten yards so I could play quicker bowling. I used to practice on cement wickets using a plastic ball or a wet tennis ball.”When I started playing the Ranji Trophy, there were some quality spinners in domestic cricket and I remember I would invariably get out to Sairaj Bahutule (former Mumbai legspinner), playing against the spin and getting caught at midwicket. That’s when I came back to the nets and luckily Hyderabad had some quality spinners like Arshad Ayub, Venkatapathy Raju, Kanwaljit Singh. I practiced hard at the nets against them and I always felt that the hard work you put in the nets will reap results. Within a span of six months to one year I became an excellent player of spin. In domestic cricket we used to get tough wickets, like the one in Chennai for the Test (against Australia), and my confidence grew.”Laxman’s admissions could be a lesson for the touring Australian team, whose batsmen struggled against spin in Chennai. “You react to the ball that is coming at you,” he said. “If you focus on the guy holding the ball, your thought process changes. You should remove things like the state of the pitch from your thought process and only react to the ball. If you think too much about the wicket, you’re only expecting a certain kind of delivery and in the bargain you lose out on the shot you could have played.”Laxman also spoke at length about how it’s a bigger challenge for youngsters today to strike the balance between their game and their personality, compared to the scenario at the time he was growing up. He felt it is a challenge for the modern cricketer to manage distractions better, given that players nowadays have plenty on their plate to deal with.”It’s not just about distractions. It’s the amount of options available to you. For example, when I chose not to become a doctor and chose cricket as my career path, there was nothing in my life except cricket. When my friends went to movies etc, I used to go home, so I could be fresh in the morning for practice. Now, there are so many options. If you are not successful as a cricketer you could be successful in any other field. That is why now it is very important how you communicate with the youngsters. You cannot be negative with them. You have to be positive so that their interest in the game always remains.”There is so much of fame, adulation, scrutiny, and money [these days]. It is very important for any young cricketer to be as balanced as possible. It is very difficult to do so and I feel for them.”While he agreed that mentorship is important to a player’s growth, he insisted that a youngster should be educated on what his priorities should be at an early age.”What was the one thing that kept me going? It was the pride of playing for your country,” Laxman said. “That can be ingrained at a young age. [Money] is a danger. For young cricketers, their priorities should be emphasised. They should know that money is a by-product of what you’re trying to achieve. Pride and passion should be the first priority. I have noticed in the same coaching camps I used to attend as a kid, the parents now say ‘I don’t care if my son plays for India or not but I want him to get into one of the IPL franchises.’ There has to be a balance. That will happen in the ages of 16-19. The coaches at camps like at the NCA have to address the issue.”Coaching youngsters, he says, also needs to be handled with caution. “After my retirement my son suddenly became interested in the game, I don’t know why,” Laxman said, which was followed by laughter. “I just tell him to hit the ball. My nephew goes to a coaching camp and one day I was playing with the two of them. It was strange. My son was only hitting the ball without bothering about his head position etc, but my nephew would come to me as ask, ‘uncle, how is my elbow position?’ They are just aged 6 and 7. What structured coaching sometimes does is it removes the natural instincts of a player. Till a cricketer is mature, one should not load too much information on him. I notice spinners are at their best till they are 15, but they vanish. The coaches try to correct them and the player gets confused.”

Defending champions Rajasthan will take on Hyderabad in the quarter-finals of the 2011-12 Ranji Trophy in a rematch of their season opener last year

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Dec-2011

Ranji Trophy quarter-finals

(from January 2-5)
Hyderabad vs Rajasthan at Hyderabad
Karnataka vs Haryana at Bangalore
Tamil Nadu vs Maharashtra at Chennai
Madhya Pradesh vs Mumbai at Indore

Defending champions Rajasthan will take on Hyderabad in the quarter-finals of the 2011-12 Ranji Trophy from January 2 in a rematch of their season opener last year in the Plate League, when Hyderabad were routed for a Ranji record low of 21. A substantially improved performance this year led to promotion to the Elite League and they now have a chance to extract some revenge with the game being played in Hyderabad.Maharashtra, the other team from the Plate league to be promoted, will face Tamil Nadu, which finished first in Group B, in Chennai. Mumbai, which topped Group A after beating Punjab in their final league game, will take on Madhya Pradhesh in Indore, while Kanataka and Haryana match up in Bangalore.The BCCI has also sent the teams a notice stating that the respective zonal curators will oversee the preparation of pitches for all the Ranji knock-out matches. The BCCI’s directive comes after last season’s semi-finals, when Karnataka filed an official complaint against the Reliance Stadium pitch in Vadodara on which they lost to Baroda inside two days.

Round-up of the third day of the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy Plate League

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2010

Group A

Madhya Pradesh went top of the Group A table after an innings and 239-run victory over Jharkhand at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. MP needed just 37.3 overs to bowl out the visitors for 140 on the third day. Seamer Amit Sharma and Anand Rajan took four wickets each, giving Rajan eight for the match. MP’s victory had been set up on the first two days after they bowled Jharkhand out for 131 and then piled on 510. It was always going to be an uphill struggle for Jharkhand from then on, and they surrendered meekly. Their highest scorer in the whole match was wicketkeeper Shiv Gautam who got 32 in the second innings. Jharkhand remain at second-last position in the table.It was a strong fightback from Hyderabad on the third day at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium as they brought themselves to within 131 runs of Goa’s big first innings score and still have five wickets in hand. Captain Ravi Teja set the platform with his 126 and then Syed Quadri got 68 to take the hosts to 351 for 5 at stumps. Having avoided the follow-on, they have all but assured themselves of a draw but still need to do a lot of work to avoided conceding the first-innings lead and with it three points. Reagan Pinto’s excellent match continued as he followed up his century in the first-innings with two wickets with his part-time legspin for Goa.

Group B

Services set Vidarbha 353 to win in the fourth innings – a stern ask considering the pitch has been offering the bowlers plenty of assistance and Vidarbha haven’t scored more than 300 since their first game of the season. Services had the advantage at the start of the third day at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, having dismissed the hosts for 147 on the second. Openers Pratik Desai, captain Yashpal Singh and Soomik Chatarjee drove home that advantage, getting half-centuries to take Services to 265 for 6. They then declared to give themselves an entire day to bowl Vidarbha out.A 93-run stand by AP Singh and Parvez Rassol for the sixth wicket helped Jammu & Kashmir avoid a possible innings defeat, but Andhra Pradesh are still in the driver’s seat at the Gandhi Memorial Science College Ground in Jammu. The pair came in when J & K were 60 for 5 in their second innings, still 63 behind Andhra. Rassol was the aggressor hitting nine fours and two sixes in his 68 not out, while Singh was unbeaten on 39 at stumps. Captain Syed Sahabuddin and legspinner Sairaj Bahutule had given Andhra five early breakthroughs after Bodapati Sumanth’s 136 had helped them to a first innings total of 376. The overnight pair of Sumanth and Sahabuddin, who got 71, took AP from a precarious position of 219 for 6 in the morning to a strong total. J & K are now 30 runs ahead but will need to make their last five wickets last well into tomorrow to stave off a defeat.Maharashtra’s match against Kerala is heading towards a draw after another rain-hit day at the the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. The visitors accelerated their scoring-rate on the third day, scoring 130 runs in 29.5 overs. Sangram Atitkar scored 109 and Maharashtra declared at 347 for 8. Kerala played just one over and were 5 for 0. Maharashtra will be hoping for a whole day’s play tomorrow so that they can try to bowl out Kerala and at least pick up three points for a first-innings lead.

Reflecting on his team’s sensational collapse on the fourth day, the Bangladesh captain believes that his side paid the price for relaxing during the Mohammad Ashraful-Shahadat Hossain partnership

Sriram Veera in Mirpur27-Jan-2010It was a stunningly candid revelation by Shakib Al Hasan in the press conference. “When Shahadat [Hossain] and [Mohammad] Ashraful were batting we may have got slightly relaxed. They had made batting look easy. We were laughing and chatting in the dressing room and somewhere, at some point, we relaxed and we were not thinking about the game as much as we should have done.” If only the perceptive awareness that this quick post-mortem analysis reveals, had kicked in earlier.Even Zaheer Khan, the wrecker-in-chief, was surprised by the implosion. “It was surprising. Looking at the conditions, it felt they could have fought that phase and made things tough for us.” But it was a strange day. In a Dhaka minute, everything changed.When Shahadat and Ashraful were batting, one smelt fight in the air, felt their sense of purpose, thought about India missing two batsmen, and caught a brief glimpse of the possibility of a memorable fightback. There was not a single moment to relax. Bangladesh did and they lost the match. It wasn’t a surprise that they lost but one was taken aback by how quickly it all happened. And yet, the pleasant sun-lit morning had promised so much.Even India, it seemed, were on the back foot initially. The fielding was getting ragged, overthrows happened, a catch was dropped, the fielders were pushed back, MS Dhoni was forced to make a few bowling changes and the pitch, as it seemingly does in these times, appeared to get flatter. “The pitch got slower and lower”, Zaheer Khan said later. “There was nothing major for spinners and it was the fast bowlers’ responsibility to put their hands up.”Initially, even Zaheer was unable to make a breakthrough. Shahadat and Ashraful had added 50 runs in 13 overs and it wasn’t just the quantity of runs but the manner in which it came that raised the hopes of a lead and a fascinating end-game. What caught the eye was of course Shahadat’s brazen approach, but it was Ashraful’s attitude that gave hope. He wasn’t intent on self-destruction, he wasn’t living on the edge and he wasn’t struggling. In fact he looked almost calm and pushed the ball into gaps and lived off deflections. It was the closest he got to serenity in this series.It’s at this time the players in the dressing room must have relaxed. One can understand why it happened, but it is something that the captain Shakib and coach Jamie Siddons should sort out. The rest of us will shrug it off saying, “That’s Bangladesh cricket for you”.Shahadat had to fall at some point; he had done his job and even Ashraful fell to a good ball – Pragyan Ojha got one to turn and jump to force a hurried prod. It is at this point that everything started to go wrong. Shakib walked in and clouted his first ball over long-on. There was nothing wrong in that as Shakib explained later, “It was there to be hit”. Perhaps it was. However, he soon fell to a fatal shot, trying to create something out of nothing. It was the beginning of the end.Shakib is a busy batsman and likes to play his shots but perhaps this time he got too ahead of himself. His critics will ask if the shot was on, given that there was a man at short-leg. Maybe, the ongoing controversy involving the alleged rebuke from the BCB president, got to him and he felt the urge to make a statement on the field. Perhaps, it was just a brain-freeze resulting from over confidence. Or perhaps it was simply a case of a wrong execution of a shot that he plays so often and has done so well in the past. Who can tell?Shakib tried to answer: “When I got in to bat, my plan was to just bat. The first ball was there to be hit. The sweep shot that I got out to… I just mistimed it.”Was it just an answer for the press or the truth, we wouldn’t know, but it doesn’t reveal much about his state of mind at that juncture. His statement about how team had relaxed offers a better pointer, perhaps.Zaheer sensed an opening when Shakib fell and hit them hard. It was too much for Bangladesh and they were knocked out.Tomorrow’s local papers are going to be filled with passionate anger over the collapse. Shakib must have been stunned by the reaction at the press meet. As soon as he finished his “relaxed” statement, he was staring at several pupils dilated in anger. And angry questions. He seemed to be taken aback by the intensity. It was a sad way to end the series for Shakib, who has been dignity personified through out. He did not react emotionally to Virender Sehwag’s statements, he stood up for his team when he perceived that the BCB president was making unreasonable allegations, he did not wash dirty linen in public and supported his team-mates. In the end he must have felt very alone out there.

He says there is freedom in the way they are approaching the game, and the idea of failure in particular

Firdose Moonda19-Jul-2025Winning this year’s World Test Championship final could free up South Africa to play without fear, according to veteran player Rassie van der Dussen. Although van der Dussen was neither part of the WTC win nor in the most recent T20 World Cup squad, he has been part of the South African system for the last 17 years and can already see the change that winning a major trophy has made.”It feels like there’s a difference. Maybe it’s boiled over from winning the Test Championship because we won that match when it counts, so it’s almost like we can experiment more,” van der Dussen, who is standing in as South Africa’s T20I captain for the Zimbabwe tri-series, said ahead of the team’s next match.”It’s obviously Shukri [Conrad]’s first time in charge of the white-ball sides, but the mindset is different. We are not trying things for the sake of trying it, or guys being chosen for the sake of being chosen. It’s about trying things with the understanding that it’s okay if you get it wrong, but you can only get to the other side if you try it properly and authentically. What Shukri brings in terms of environment, and in terms of a mindset, is that freedom.”Conrad will coach South Africa through the 2025-27 WTC cycle, during which the white-ball teams will also play in the 2026 T20 World Cup and the 2027 ODI World Cup, which they will co-host.Related

• Conrad: 'We're the world champions, we create our own reality'

• Conrad confident SA players will prioritise national duty over T20 leagues

Though there is always pressure on teams to win in the build-up to these events, some of the pressure around the South Africa squad has eased after their WTC victory – their first global trophy since 1998 (when they won the ICC Knockout) and first with the word “World” in it. Winning the trophy reinforced the set-up’s belief in their systems, especially because Conrad is a local coach who has done things his own way.He will likely be cut some slack early in his tenure, though he will know that his predecessor, Rob Walter, was increasingly in the spotlight for the team’s poor bilateral record in ODIs and T20Is. Conrad has already indicated he wants to avoid the same by having his best players available whenever possible.Shukri Conrad is coaching South Africa’s white-ball side for the first time•AFP/Getty Images

Already, this has turned out not to be the case: Aiden Markram, the regular T20I captain, along with Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Marco Jansen (who is recovering from thumb surgery), Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj, have all been rested from the tri-series. As a result, Van der Dussen is leading a side that includes several fringe players but wants them to keep up the winning momentum.”There’s obviously responsibility, and we want to win every match. Shukri has said that many times, and we want to win every match that we play, but we are also encouraged to be our best version, play the way we want to play, and play the way the team wants to play. If we fall short, that’s okay, we fall short on our terms. We’ll try to be better next time. There’s no pressure from a management point of view. We know what’s expected of us.”There is also the added expectation that some players in this squad – Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, George Linde and Gerald Coetzee in particular – could force their way into becoming first-choice picks. The function of a series like this, among other things, is to provide fringe players the platform to show what they can do at the international level.”Lhuan-dre, with what he has done domestically and at the SA20, you could just see that this guy needs to play at this level. And Brevis, through performance over the last six months, is putting guys under pressure,” van der Dussen said. “As a player in a team, that’s the positive pressure you want. You want someone breathing down your neck, because that’s fair. If you don’t perform, there’s a guy that’s going to take your place, and that’s always good in a team environment. It’s not like I can rest on my laurels because there’s no one really pushing me for my spot. In every department – bowling, spin bowling, fielding, keeping, batting, middle-order batting – there are guys putting their hands up and saying I want to be part of this team. That keeps you on your toes.”Even with this context in mind, South Africa will admit they have not been at their best so far, especially when it comes to the top-order’s performances. They were 38 for 3 chasing 142 against Zimbabwe, and 62 for 5 against New Zealand, a match where they finished 21 runs short.Given that Zimbabwe have lost both their matches so far, South Africa still remains favourites to reach the final, along with New Zealand, but there is work to be done. “What we want to see is progress in terms of how we want to play,” van der Dussen said. “We’ve been together for a week now, and we are getting a better understanding going between the guys. If we can start to get it even better, then we can make it to the final and play our best game on Saturday.”

Ubaid Shah, Naseem’s brother, plays a crucial role in Pakistan’s thumping win against Afghanistan

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2024
Bangladesh Under-19s, who had beaten India Under-19s in the Asia Cup in December last year, threatened to cause another stir when left-arm seamer Maruf Mridha took five wickets in the Under-19 World Cup in Bloemfontein. Maruf’s strikes kept India to 251 for 7, but Saumy Pandey trumped Maruf with 4 for 24 and bowled his team to victory.Musheer Khan, the younger brother of Sarfaraz Khan, pitched in with two wickets, including that of Mohammad Shihab James, who top-scored for Bangladesh with 54 off 77 balls. The rest of the batters collapsed around James as Bangladesh were bowled out for 167 in 45.5 overs. Musheer also effected a direct-hit to sink Bangladesh. Pandey was the most economical bowler on the day, conceding just 2.44 an over.Earlier in the day, India’s innings was built around half-centuries from opener Adarsh Singh (76 off 96) and captain Uday Saharan (64 off 94). Aravelly Avinash (23 off 17), who was picked by Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024 auction, and Sachin Dhas (26 off 20) then gave the innings some late impetus.Shahzaib Khan almost batted through the innings, scoring 106 from 126 balls•ICC via Getty Images

Ubaid Shah, the younger brother of Naseem Shah, and Mohammad Zeeshan, who has been part of Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, took seven wickets between them to skittle Afghanistan Under-19s for 103 in their chase of 285 in East London.Opener batting Shahzaib Khan had laid the platform for Pakistan Under-19s’ 181-run victory with 106 off 126 balls. His knock contained ten fours and three sixes. He added 92 for the third wicket with Saad Baig, who hit 55 off 52 balls, to set Pakistan up for a big total. Khalil Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, returning 4 for 51 in his ten overs.Pakistan’s total looked even bigger when Ubaid and Zeeshan ripped through Afghanistan’s top and middle orders. Wicketkeeper-batter Numan Shah was the only Afghanistan batter to pass 25 in the chase. Amir Hassan and Ahmed Hussain picked up a wicket each as Pakistan bundled Afghanistan out in 26.2 overs.Luc Benkenstein picked up key wickets in the middle overs•ICC via Getty Images

England Under-19s enjoyed a winning start to the Under-19 World Cup, easing past Scotland Under-19s in Potchefstroom.Luc Benkenstein, the son of former South Africa international Dale, sealed the victory with an unbeaten cameo after setting it up for England with a three-wicket haul. Farhan Ahmed, who is the brother of England international Rehan, also bagged a three-wicket haul to help England dismiss Scotland for 174.Captain Ben McKinney then hit 88 off 68 balls to rush his side to victory, with seven wickets and 142 balls to spare. He forged a 106-run partnership for the first wicket with Jaydn Denly, who made 40 off 50 balls.After Scotland were asked to bat first, they never got going and lost wickets in clusters. They didn’t even have a single half-century stand in their entire innings. Owen Gould top-scored for them with 48 off 61 balls, including five fours and a six. The other nine batters scored a combined five boundaries. Harry Armstrong was absent hurt for Scotland.