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South Africa will leave Australia knowing they have unearthed a new Test batsman and resurrected a forgotten spinner, and they are stronger for it

Firdose Moonda04-Dec-2012Apart from the No.1 ranking, and the knowledge that they are the first team in nearly two decades to win Test series in Australia twice, South Africa have more to take away from their 1-0 victory.They will take the recognition of Graeme Smith as one the great leaders of his time, the ever-growing appreciation for Jacques Kallis, the quiet quality of Hashim Amla’s contribution and the more brash ones of Dale Steyn. However, the most precious thing they will take is the birth of a new Test player and the rebirth of an old one.Faf du Plessis and Robin Peterson underlined what really gives a team the ability to dominate: a continuum. Both have been members of South Africa’s squads across all formats and when the time came for them to step up in a Test situation, they did.In du Plessis, South Africa have a reader of the game that will serve them better than a kindle does a frequent traveller. In Peterson, they have a blend of experience and exuberance, which helped deepen his understanding of his role and how it can fit the needs of the team.Du Plessis succeeded because he is able to see opportunity and take it. He learnt that in an unlikely place: the IPL. At Chennai Super Kings, he was acquired as bench strength and had to challenge Michael Hussey for a place in the starting XI. When Hussey was unavailable for part of a season, du Plessis saw a small chance and snatched it. “Competition is great for the team,” he said. “I grew a lot from the experience of competing with Hussey and I learnt to make sure that when I get the chance to score runs, I do.”The situation on the fourth day of the Adelaide Test was not what most would call an opening. With a rampant Australian attack on the prowl for six wickets to take an unassailable lead in the series, du Plessis’ best hope, to those on the outside, was to try and survive. Not much more could have been expected from a rookie, especially after he had already done his bit in the first innings, but du Plessis wanted to be more than a sacrificial lamb.”I’ve really pushed the ceiling in four-day cricket over the last two years and I really enjoy trying to score hundreds,” he said. Du Plessis transferred his domestic form to Tests effortlessly and displayed a maturity of someone who had played 78 first-class games before making a debut.After his resistance in Adelaide, du Plessis understood the extent of the psychological dent he had caused in the opposition camp. “For us, just to hang on was important,” he said. “Afterwards, the whole team had the sense that the Australians threw everything at us and we still managed to hang on. We knew that to turn around, mentally and physically, after that would be tough for them.”It’s those two aspects of Test cricket that du Plessis enjoys most. The game is played in the mind as much as it is on the field. “After five days, you feel like you have run the Comrades Marathon. I love it.”Peterson also regards Test cricket as the “purest” form of the game, although he did not think he would ever play it again. After appearing four times for South Africa, his only mark on the format was being hit for 28 runs in an over by Brian Lara. Now, he can joke about that. “It always comes up but really, it was just the way I bowl. I kept tossing it up and I felt I was in with a chance. There’s no disgrace in being tonked by Brian Lara.”Peterson’s style of bowling was never considered good enough for South Africa over a sustained period, and he is now the perfect advertisement for recycling. With the amount of time he spent on the fringes, he could easily have been forgotten. Peterson had only played 40 ODIs in nine years before the 2011 World Cup, when he was finally given more than just a smattering of matches.With a little bit of backing, Petersen finished as the leading wicket-taker for South Africa at the World Cup and that, along with his stint at Derbyshire, helped his confidence. “With county cricket, you learned to play cricket week in and week out and having to get yourself up mentally to perform all the time.” Dismissing players like Mark Ramprakash and Younis Khan helped Peterson realise he could do it without changing his fundamentals.It took a little longer than that for South African cricket to warm to him. Peterson said he felt like he needed to be someone he wasn’t, but that changed after the World Cup. “I’m being myself more now. The skill level never changed but it’s more about being comfortable with who you are as a person. It comes with maturity and growing up.”Peterson’s development is a microcosm for what has happened with the whole South African side. Ricky Ponting noted it when he said they were “not scared” to pull the rug so far from under Australia’s feet that it caused them to fall over. That may sound like an obvious thing for a sporting unit to do but it is not. Sometimes they hold back from annihilating an opponent as completely as they can.South Africa are slowly shedding that tendency. Peterson has been part of the squad for long enough to have witnessed it firsthand. “We’re a lot smarter and lot more prepared to take risks, which we wouldn’t have been in the past,” he said. “It comes with maturity as people. If you look around, Hashim is playing the best he has ever played, Graeme has also gone to a new level, and guys like Faf are coming in and performing under pressure.”It’s the last of those examples that matters most. A good team can be built on a few exceptional players but great teams have to be built on generations. South Africa’s may be beginning.

For the second time in two matches, Bangladesh’s top-order batsmen collapsed quickly, this time playing rash shots on an easier pitch, and Pakistan secured the three-match series 2-0

The Report by George Binoy03-Dec-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShahid Afridi scored 42 off 27 balls to help Pakistan reach 262•AFP

For the second time in two matches, Bangladesh’s top-order batsmen collapsed quickly, this time playing rash shots on an easier pitch, and Pakistan secured the three-match series 2-0 without being stretched in Mirpur. The home side’s approach to their innings was in contrast to that of Pakistan, who had batted with deliberate caution to guard against early wickets and build a platform for a strong total. The difference in how the teams fared in the first ten overs of their innings decided the match.Bangladesh’s batsmen did not even begin to challenge Pakistan, crumbling against Mohammad Hafeez and Umar Gul, whose economical yet incisive spells with the new ball made the target of 263 disappear from sight. The collapse began in the fourth over and went on until the tenth, at the end of which Bangladesh were 19 for 4. Tamim Iqbal slashed at a potential wide and toe-ended it to slip; Imrul Kayes chipped a drive softly to cover; Shahriar Nafees might have inside-edged on to his pad but he had just survived a closer lbw shout; and Mushfiqur Rahim pushed away from his body and was caught at gully. In between these dismissals the batsmen couldn’t get the ball off the square and the asking-rate spiraled irreversibly out of control. Hafeez eventually finished with figures of 10-2-15-2.Pakistan, on the other hand, used an old-school approach. They were content to play within themselves and build slowly. Pakistan weren’t entirely successful, because Bangladesh broke steady partnerships before they caused too much damage, but the power-hitters, Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi, fired from the platform built for them to reach a sizeable total.Hafeez and Younis Khan laid the foundations with a partnership of 57 for the second wicket. They blocked the good deliveries when they had to, and shouldered arms when they could. Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain conceded only 28 in the first nine overs before Mushfiqur turned to the left-arm spin of Shakib Al Hasan, who continued to tighten Bangladesh’s grip on the run-rate. Hafeez and Younis eventually fell in succession and, at 93 for 3 in the 26th over, Bangladesh had inched ahead.Then began Pakistan’s strongest partnership, between the two most different batsmen in the XI: Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal. Misbah ensured solidity, while Akmal infused the innings with urgency with his running between the wickets and his repertoire of attacking shots. Though Misbah had begun batting earlier, Akmal was soon double his captain’s score in virtually the same number of deliveries.The fifty partnership for the fourth wicket came off 54 balls and Akmal brought up his half-century off 49. Shakib had been Bangladesh’s best bowler and his only wicket broke the threatening partnership: Akmal skied the ball inside out to long-off to be caught for 59. Misbah fell soon after, becoming the debutant Elias Sunny’s maiden ODI wicket. At 193 for 5 in the 42nd over, Bangladesh had restored parity.Shahid Afridi hit his second ball for six, over long-off, and was then dropped on 8 by the bowler Shafiul. He went on to hurt Bangladesh, hitting the ball powerfully and charging between the wickets to score 42 runs off 27 balls. That Bangladesh had to chase more than 250 was their own fault, for they conceded 22 runs in extras, 17 of them through wides.Bangladesh were not without a hero, though, for Nasir Hossain entertained the strong crowd by scoring his maiden ODI century. Unfortunately for Hossain, he began his innings after the game was lost, and he did not have partners who batted with similar purpose. Even Shakib, who is usually hard to subdue if he bats long, managed only 34 off 90 balls. That partnership of 106 for the fifth wicket took 32.1 overs and caused the asking-rate to skyrocket.Hossain could have been out on 9 had the wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed held an easy catch, and as Pakistan eased their intensity because they were never going to lose, he began to play his shots, taking on a formidable spin attack. Hossain began the 49th over on 86 off 127 balls and reached his century in the next four deliveries. He slammed Afridi over the extra-cover boundary for six, and cut through point, before playing a dot ball. On 96, he charged and swung, getting an edge that beat Sarfraz and went to the boundary. The crowd and his team-mates applauded him warmly, for he had been an example to his more experienced team-mates.

Scotland’s batsmen undid the good work of their bowlers as they slumped to 64 for 6 in the second innings against Afghanistan

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2010
ScorecardScotland’s batsmen undid the good work of their bowlers as they slumped to 64 for 6 in the second innings against Afghanistan having earlier fought back impressively on the second day of the Intercontinental Cup final in Dubai. At the close, Scotland’s lead was a precarious 105 after Samiullah Shenwari and Hamid Hassan shared five wickets to reassert Afghanistan’s control despite a struggle with the bat as they posted 171.Scotland’s position was harsh on their bowlers who did well to restrict the opposition by taking regular wickets during the first two sessions. Nawroz Mangal, the Afghanistan captain, top-scored with 56, while Matthew Parker and Majid Haq took three wickets apiece to earn Scotland a handy 41-run advantage despite the absence of captain Gordon Drummond with a rib injury.However, the good position was soon eroded as Preston Mommsen fell lbw for 9 and Fraser Watts departed for a steady 28. Scotland’s scoring they stagnated against some probing bowling with Kyle Coetzer and Gregor Maiden taking 12 overs over 14 runs. The pressure told as Coetzer was run out by Hassan and Maiden fell in the same over having faced 48 balls for 4.First-innings hero Neil McCallam couldn’t rescue his side this time as he collected a duck, caught behind off Hassan, and Hassan then claimed Parker who’d remained scoreless for 27 deliveries with the final ball of the day.”I think in the first few overs of the morning we started a bit full, but about 45 minutes in we started to hit our straps and put the ball in the right areas and after lunch it was really good for the bowlers, Matty Parker in particular put in a long shift and kept asking questions and taking opportunities,” said Scotland coach Peter Steindl.”I think we had a good start with the bat and at two down we started to let things get to us and we retreated into our shell. One bad over set us back but the thing for tomorrow is to get the lower -order to bat it out, get a good lead and then have our bowlers do what they did today.”The day had promised so much more for Scotland. Mirwais Ashraf was caught behind to provide their first wicket the Richie Berrington then nabbed a brace as Afghanistan wobbled on 89 for 4. Mangal and Asghar Stanikzai (26) added 43 for the fifth wicket before Haq broke through and the lower order didn’t offer much resistance.The last six wickets fell for 39 with Parker claiming two more and Ross Lyons removing Mangal followed by Hassan. That guaranteed Scotland the lead, but a few hours later the momentum was firmly back with Afghanistan as they chase the Intercontinental Cup title in their first year of participation.”It was a good day for us as the captain and coach put me in to bowl and get the match back for us which I think I helped to do,” said Shenwari. “I just think the spin worked for me today, I had to work a little but I managed to pitch it just right and the ball turned for the wicket. I hope that tomorrow I can take two more and make it five.”

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) may not sell tickets for the India-South Africa Test at the Eden Gardens in February, a move similar to the one adopted during the fourth ODI between India and Sri Lanka last month

Cricinfo staff05-Jan-2010The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) may not sell tickets for the India-South Africa Test at the Eden Gardens in February, a move similar to the one adopted during the fourth ODI between India and Sri Lanka last month. The CAB had then offered the available seats to its members, various clubs, district sports units, affiliated universities and special quotas.The reasoning was that with renovation work in full swing to meet the 2011 World Cup deadline, the CAB would fail to ensure full capacity, informed Biswarup Dey, the association’s joint secretary and the BCCI’s tours and fixture committee member.”We are likely to follow the same ticketing arrangements that we had at last month’s one-dayer at Eden,” Dey told . “After all, the number of seats available isn’t going to go up when the Test match is round the corner.”Eden Gardens will be hosting four World Cup league matches and with the B, C, K and L blocks demolished and closed for renovation work, only 45,000 seats out of the total capacity of around one lakh were available for use during the Sri Lanka game.The CAB is expected to hold a working committee meeting in a few days to discuss the modalities of ticketing arrangements for the South Africa Test, tentatively scheduled from February 14-18. The final decision would be taken at the meeting.India will host South Africa for a full tour, comprising two Tests and three ODIs. Though the dates for the tour, scheduled for early this year, are yet to be finalised, India’s request to play two Tests in what was originally planned as an ODI series has been accepted. Nagpur has been confirmed as the other Test venue. Kanpur, Jaipur – which had missed out during the Australia series last year – and Ahmedabad have been decided as the three ODI venues.While the Sri Lanka ODI marked Kolkata’s first since February 2007, the second Test of the South Africa series will be the first in over two years, after India took on Pakistan back in November-December 2007.

With Hardik Pandya losing the India vice-captaincy, and set to lead T20I captain Suryakumar Kumar at the IPL, could it make for a strained relationship? Not at all, says Suryakumar

Sreshth Shah21-Jan-20251:16

Manjrekar: India’s transition in T20Is has ‘happened quite easily’

Axar Patel has been promoted to being India’s vice-captain, and Hardik Pandya is no longer this team’s deputy. Could that affect T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav’s dynamics with Hardik, who, come the IPL, will be captaining Suryakumar? Not at all, Suryakumar said on the eve of the first T20I in Kolkata. He might not have the tag of vice-captain, but his “good friend” Hardik remains a key member of India’s T20I leadership group, Suryakumar said.”The relationship with him has been really great. We’ve been playing [together] for a really long time. I still remember that from 2018, when I went back to Mumbai Indians [we first played together] and [it’s the same] till today,” Suryakumar told the media in Kolkata. “It’s just that the added responsibility that I’ve got [here]. When we go back to franchise cricket, I can get to be quiet and relax for a little bit.”But we’ve been good friends on the field and we know what we want going forward with the India team. Axar has been given that added responsibility. We saw what he did in the 2024 T20 World Cup, he’s been with the team for a very long time. At the same time, Hardik is also part of the leading group. When we sit, we decide what we want to do with the team going forward and even on the field, he is always around. We have a lot of captains on the ground.”Related

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Suryakumar – who also took his first steps towards being one of the great T20I batters of his generation under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy at Kolkata Knight Riders – feels the working relationship he has with Gambhir is rock-solid. Since Gambhir took over as coach in mid-2024, India have T20I series wins in Sri Lanka, at home against Bangladesh, and in South Africa, losing just one game across those three series. While their Test form might be under scrutiny, in T20Is, Suryakumar believes they are moving in the “right direction” with Gambhir.”I’ve played under Gambhir for four years, so I know how he works,” Suryakumar said. “Even without speaking to him, we know what we need to do. He wasn’t there on the tour of South Africa since he was preparing with the Test team, but we are moving in the right direction with him. He gives freedom, he allows players to express. He keeps things simple, he knows what is going inside a player’s head. He keeps things light and maintains a good atmosphere.”Sanju Samson is currently India’s first-choice keeper in T20Is, Suryakumar Yadav confirmed•AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.

India’s T20 team is building towards a home World Cup – hosting rights for the tournament in February-March 2026 are split with Sri Lanka – where they will be defending champions. But Suryakumar doesn’t want to think that far ahead for now and instead “enjoy the journey”.”For me it is important that the T20 World Cup is one year away but I don’t want to think about that,” he said. “We want to enjoy the journey to that event instead. We want to make a team, understand which batters work well in which position, which bowlers can win you games single-handedly.”It’s important for a group to play lots of games in the lead up. That’s what Gauti and I will think about. We want to play with this group until the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup.”

No Pant in India’s T20I plans?Neither Rishabh Pant nor KL Rahul is part of this T20I squad, with Sanju Samson – who scored three T20I centuries and maintained a strike rate of 180.16 in 2024 – the incumbent gloveman and Dhruv Jurel his understudy. Suryakumar said that’s a position which is sealed for now.”Currently, there’s no question mark on the wicketkeepers,” he said. “Sanju has done really well in the last 7-10 games and has shown what he’s capable of. It’s what we want from all our players, not just the wicketkeepers but from everyone – to keep the team first. He’s got that opportunity, he’s made full use of it. And I’m happy for him.”Generally, the atmosphere is great. We had a team dinner yesterday. This group has been together for 2-3 series now. The boys know what their team-mates like and don’t like. This camaraderie will reflect on the field as well.”

TV footage appeared to show Nicholls brushing the ball against a helmet during a Plunket Shield game between his team Canterbury and Auckland

AAP10-Nov-2023Henry Nicholls has been accused of breaking New Zealand Cricket’s code of conduct after being reported by umpires for ball-tampering in a domestic first-class match.TV footage of the Plunket Shield match between Nicholls’ Canterbury and Auckland this week appeared to show Nicholls brushing the ball against a helmet during a change of ends.”Nicholls has been reported for allegedly breaching Rule 3.1, article 1.15 of the Code during Day 3 of the Plunket Shield match between Canterbury and Auckland at Hagley Oval,” New Zealand Cricket said in a statement Friday.The rule “involves changing the condition of the ball in breach of Law 41.3 of the Laws of Cricket”.New Zealand Cricket said the allegation had been referred to a commissioner for first-class cricket. No date has yet been set for the hearing. Nicholls is due to tour Bangladesh with the New Zealand Test squad later this month.Nicholls has not commented on the charge.In the game between Canterbury and Auckland, Nicholls played a leading role in taking his side to an eight-wicket win. After Auckland were bowled out for 217 in their first innings, Canterbury declared their first innings on 413 for 9, with Nicholls top-scoring with 120. He added another unbeaten 30 when Canterbury, set a victory target of 61, got there for the loss of two wickets.It was Canterbury’s first win of the Plunket Shield season. They are currently in fourth place on the six-team table.New Zealand’s leading limited-overs players are in India competing at the ODI World Cup, where a win over Sri Lanka on Thursday moved the 2019 runners-up closer to qualifying for the semi-finals.

Garton takes three wickets in first seven balls to leave hosts shellshocked

ECB Reporters Network22-Aug-2022Paul Stirling proved he has lost none of his firepower as he guided Southern Brave to another nine-wicket victory over Welsh Fire at Sophia Gardens.The Ireland opener won the match award in the inaugural final last year and picked up where he left off, joining Quinton de Kock in a first-wicket run-fest in his first appearance of the season after international duty. He is a replacement for Marcus Stoinis, who has left to play in Australia’s ODI series against Zimbabwe.He notched a record individual score for Brave with an unbeaten knock of 74 off 42 balls and joined de Kock in a season-high partnership of 121 for the first wicket – just three short of the best for any wicket in the Hundred of 124 by D’Arcy Short and Dawid Malan for Trent Rockets against Brave last season.After George Garton had blasted out three top-order Fire batters in his opening seven balls to leave the home side shell-shocked at 1 for 3, the reigning champions restricted their hosts to 129 for 8 from their 100 balls.Related

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Despite a 20-minute break for rain when they batted, Brave didn’t hang around in their chase as they condemned Fire to a fifth successive defeat to leave them pointless. Stirling started at breakneck speed with two boundaries off David Payne and Brave were 18 off 10 balls when the teams went off for the rain break.He then punished George Scrimshaw, hitting him for four successive fours when the game resumed. The visitors had 40 on the board from the powerplay and brought up their 50 off 63 balls. Stirling then hit Payne for successive sixes to reach his half-century.The only blot on Brave’s copybook was the loss of de Kock for 37 with nine runs left to win. They were added within four more balls to see Brave home with 18 balls to spare.The home side were seeking their first win of the campaign after four straight defeats and also had revenge in mind having been beaten by nine wickets by the reigning champions in their opening game.James Vince won the toss and had no hesitation in inserting Fire on a greasy wicket and with a heavy cloud covering overhead. Garton opened the bowling and produced one of the finest 10-ball spells in the history of the competition, sending back three batters for only one run.George Garton struck three times in the first seven balls•Getty Images

First to go was Jacob Bethell, caught at the wicket off the second ball for a golden duck. Next up was skipper Josh Cobb, who also went for a duck, and then Ben Duckett fell to a diving catch behind the wicket by de Kock.That reduced the Fire to 1 for 3 and they limped to a record-equaling lowest powerplay total of 17 off 25 balls.Joe Clarke and David Miller dug in and Miller had the honour of striking the first boundary off the 19th ball. Miller was the fourth man out when he was clean bowled by James Fuller for 15 and Clarke followed after a calamitous run-out with Leus du Plooy for 17.Du Plooy hit three boundaries in his 37 and his compatriot Dwaine Pretorius chipped in with 15 off seven balls. He struck a six to take his side past the lowest total in the tournament, 87, and then hit a four to take his side past their own previous lowest total, 91.Matt Critchley made hay off the last set of five from Michael Hogan, launching the last two balls for sixes to take his total to 32 and carry the Fire to 129 for 8. It was nowhere near enough.

New South Wales oppose a second term for Eddings but he may have the support to continue

Daniel Brettig08-Apr-2021South Australia’s chairman Andrew Sinclair has responded to his New South Wales counterpart John Knox’s opposition to a second term for the Cricket Australia chair Earl Eddings, writing to ask for greater clarity as to why the largest state association is eager for change at the top of the game’s governance.Last month, Knox sent a letter to all the state associations in which he outlined the NSW board’s opposition to Eddings getting a second term, and also attached a 2019 letter to the CA chair in which he made it clear that a succession plan was required.ESPNcricinfo has learned that Sinclair replied with his own correspondence that defended the incumbent’s record but also asked for Knox to outline his reasons for wanting change. It is believed that subsequent discussion was had between Knox and Sinclair, rounded off by follow-up correspondence from the NSW chair to the rest of the state associations welcoming further talks.David Maddocks, the Cricket Victoria chairman and a longtime associate of Eddings through their common connection to the North Melbourne Cricket Club, is also understood to have written to Knox. He outlined the case for leadership continuity to ESPNcricinfo last year.”You often hear it said that board members by the time their period is about to expire, they’re really at their best, they’ve been around, they understand the issues, they understand the interrelationships and all those sorts of things,” Maddocks said. “I think at the moment in terms of CV and CA, there is a strong case for stability in a period of great instability. My personal view is I think Earl is doing a very good job and I think if there was potential for him to stay on, I think it’s something that ought to be considered.”CA is currently awaiting a conclusion to another succession saga around their chief executive, a role held in interim form by Nick Hockley since Kevin Roberts’ resignation mid-last year. Hockley wants the job full-time, but CA have engaged an outside recruitment firm to conduct a search for candidates to be weighed up against him.Related

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Hockley and Eddings were able to successfully helm the staging of the international and domestic home seasons despite the pressures of Covid-19 and a dispute with the free-to-air broadcaster Channel Seven. Major overseas commitments to play Bangladesh and South Africa have been postponed, while scheduled home assignments against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe are also in limbo. There are also simmering discontents around the way the board handled CA’s initial response to the pandemic last year, including mass stand downs for staff.Twelve months on, strategic discussions around the future of the game have begun at CA management and board levels, a curious development given the lack of clarity about the tenure and identities of both the chair and the chief executive.Eddings, who has been a CA director since 2008, is also involved in strategy and governance discussions at the global level with the ICC, which is in a similar state of flux with a new chairman Greg Barclay and an interim chief executive, Geoff Allardice.CA’s board nominations committee is chaired this year by John Harnden, the director nominated by Sinclair and the SACA, while Queensland (chaired by Chris Simpson), Western Australia (chaired by Terry Waldron) and the CA director Michelle Tredenick are the other committee members.While approved by CA’s nominations committee as new directors last year, former New South Wales premier Mike Baird and ABC board director Vanessa Guthrie did not sit on their first CA board meeting until the last week of March this year, by which time the Cricket NSW board, chaired by Knox, had stated its opposition to Eddings being retained as an independent director when his current term expires in October.There has been a precedent, tried by Eddings’ predecessor David Peever, to have the CA board “unanimously” endorse him as chair for a second three-year term prior to the two governance processes that follow in any given year: those of the nominations committee for directors, and the CA AGM itself where directors are retired or re-elected by rotation via the votes of their state association owners.Nick Hockley is favourite to be the long-term CEO although other names are being canvassed•Getty Images

Peever, in the end, was successful in being voted back in as chair for another three years in October 2018, in spite of the chaos at that point enveloping CA in the wake of the Newlands scandal and the cultural review that followed it. However, after the review was belatedly shown to the state associations in the hour after the AGM itself, Peever lasted only a few more days when Knox called him to state, flatly, that he had lost the support of the largest state association.Two and a half years on, and Eddings has given no indication that he wishes to conclude his time as chair, in spite of Knox and NSW again raising their opposition. This time around, Eddings appears to want to stay on provided he has the support of the board and a working majority of the states: four out of six need to be opposed to Eddings in order to force him out.”I’m there at the behest of the board and the members, so it’s up to them to make that call,” he told ESPNcricinfo late last year. “Succession is really critical and we’re always talking about succession. My comment around longevity is you don’t want to stay around too long, however with the dynamic of the ICC, it takes a long time to build relationships and if we didn’t spend time building a relationship with India this summer could have been in jeopardy.”CA has been governed by an independent board of nine directors since major constitutional reform in 2012 that ended a representative model in which the six states shared 14 directors who also sat on state boards. Numerous states are known to want consideration of a hybrid model, whereby six directors are direct representatives of the six states, with three independent directors.

This is the third time the Centurion-based side were unable to play at home, but the first where not a ball was bowled

Firdose Moonda05-Dec-2019Match abandoned Tshwane Spartans had to settle for two points against Jozi Stars, which keeps them in third place on the MSL table, after their match was abandoned at SuperSport Park. This is the third time the Centurion-based side were unable to play at home, but the first where not a ball was bowled.The Spartans faced 7.1 overs against Nelson Mandela Bay Giants on November 13, before the rain came down, and there were 17.1 overs played in their fixture against Durban Heat, which was eventually reduced to five overs on November 21, before play was no longer possible.Those results affected the early part of the Spartans campaign, which left them with one win from their first three matches. They went on to two more victories against the Stars and Paarl Rocks before losing to the Giants and Cape Town Blitz to keep them off the top of the table. The Spartans are now two points behind the Giants and the Rocks and have one more match to play.On the other end of the table, the defending champions Stars will welcome their first points after losing all seven matches so far. While they are out of contention for the playoff and will still end up with the wooden spoon, they have moved to two points instead of none and have two matches left to play.Heavy rain on the South African Highveld is expected to last until Friday, bringing much needed relief from a heatwave and a severe drought. It should clear before the Stars play their final pool match against the Heat at the Wanderers on Saturday and the Spartans host the Blitz on Sunday afternoon, in what could be a decider to determine who makes the playoff.

After the left-arm wristspinner’s twin strikes limited Heat to 154 for 6, the Paarl Rocks captain led the chase with an unbeaten 76

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu02-Dec-2018
Left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi’s twin strikes and his captain Faf du Plessis’ well-modulated 76 not out off 48 balls fashioned a crucial win for Paarl Rocks and kept Durban Heat at the bottom of the points table. The game boiled down to the final over, but du Plessis’ clever manipulation of the field – his innings included eight hard-run twos – ensured Paarl were always in control of their chase of 155 on a two-paced pitch.The nine-wicket win meant Rocks remained in contention for the playoffs, while Heat were pushed to the brink after their fifth loss in six matches.Such a heavy defeat for Heat did not seem likely when they zoomed to 56 for 0 in the Powerplay. While the dropped Hashim Amla was carrying drinks after managing just 55 runs in five innings, his replacement Sarel Erwee teed off with four successive boundaries off left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin in the fifth over. Morne van Wyk too kept the scorecard ticking before seamer Grant Thomson had Erwee chopping an inducker onto his stumps for 32 off 22 balls.Shamsi then struck in the 10th over to pin van Wyk lbw with his stock ball that broke back in. The next five overs yielded only 23 runs for the loss of two further wickets. Shamsi was central to the squeeze, exploiting the early-morning moisture with his variations. He ended with 2 for 20 in his four overs on a day when no other bowler took more than one wicket.Khaya Zondo and Vernon Philander then added 49 in 4.3 overs to haul Heat from 105 for 5 to 154 for 6.Rocks had an early scare in their chase when opener Henry Davids retired hurt on 2 because of an adductor muscle strain, sustained while running a single. Ironically, the running between the wickets turned out to be the hallmark of the chase. There were as many as 17 doubles, including four on the trot in the 18th over.In the Powerplay, du Plessis and Aiden Markram matched each other shot for shot to take full toll of anything loose. Zimbabwe legspinner Brandon Mavuta then cut short the opening stand at 76 when he drew Markram out of the crease and had him stumped for 48 off 39 balls. Du Plessis, though, displayed greater confidence against Mavuta, taking 16 runs off 10 balls from him. He raised his fifty off 36 balls and coaxed Vaughn van Jaarsveld to run hard between the wickets too.They sealed victory with three consecutive fours, van Jaarsveld hitting the winning runs with a violent hoick over mid-on.Durban Heat, who are still mathematically in contention for the playoffs, will hope that Rashid Khan’s arrival – he missed the start of the tournament because of his stint in the T10 league – gives their campaign a leg-up.