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Lumb fifty gives Sixers a lifeline

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An unbeaten 61 from Michael Lumb on the back of a polished bowling display has given Sydney Sixers a sliver of hope of defending their title

The Report by Alex Malcolm07-Jan-2013
ScorecardSteve O’Keefe took 3 for 21•Getty Images

An unbeaten 61 from Michael Lumb on the back of a polished bowling display has given Sydney Sixers a sliver of hope of defending their title.Brisbane Heat entered the match as the only side with anything to play for. A win would have catapulted them into the top four with one round remaining but they instead, they produced their worst performance of the tournament after winning the toss and electing to bat.James Hopes set his side back early, playing out a maiden from the Sri Lankan offspinner Sachithra Senanayake. Senanayake, with only nine international caps to his name, proved a weapon in his first match for the Sixers. Although he went wicketless, his four overs cost just 19 and his maiden piled enormous pressure on Hopes, who holed out to Steve O’Keefe the following over.Joe Burns joined Luke Pomersbach and although the pair put together 48, the 43 balls it took put pressure on Heat.Josh Hazlewood made an impressive return from injury to remove Burns in his second over. It was the first of three scalps for Hazlewood, who remains firmly in the gaze of the national selectors. It also triggered a collapse from the home side. Heat lost four wickets in 19 balls, all to strokes aimed at clearing the rope to lift the sinking run-rate.Five wickets become six when the promoted Ben Cutting gifted Brad Haddin a simple stumping and O’Keefe his third victim, and the total was still shy of three figures with just three overs remaining. Cameos from Peter Forrest and Nathan Hauritz ensured that the Sixers needed in excess of a run-a-ball for victory.Lumb and Brad Haddin resumed their opening combination that proved so successful in the Champions League to get the Sydney side off to a brisk start. Haddin looked in ominous touch with two sweetly struck boundaries and a six before chopping on to Alistair McDermott.Lumb then had to drop anchor as he watched both Nic Maddinson and Moises Henriques waste promising starts. Lumb had some luck too when he skied a ball from Hopes over short third man. Kemar Roach made exceptional ground and looked to have pouched it, only to stumble and propel the ball away to the rope for four.Steve Smith top-edged a bizarre overhead smash to mid-on next ball to leave the Sixers needing 29 runs from 29 deliveries. Daniel Hughes was also bounced out to make the equation a nervy 17 from 14. But Lumb stood tall and cracked Dan Christian over the midwicket fence to both ease the tension and raise his half-century.He would strike the winning runs powerfully through midwicket the following over to see his side home with six balls to spare.

James Taylor called up for second Test

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James Taylor, the Nottinghamshire batsman, has been called up for the second Test against South Africa after Ravi Bopara was ruled out for what the ECB said were ‘personal issues’.

Andrew McGlashan29-Jul-2012James Taylor, the Nottinghamshire batsman, has been called up for the second Test against South Africa at Headingley after Ravi Bopara was ruled out because of what the ECB said were ‘personal issues’.The first match at The Oval marked Bopara’s return to the Test line-up after nearly a year out of the team but he struggled, making 0 and 22. He was due to play in Essex’s CB40 match against Worcestershire on Sunday but also withdrew from that that and this latest development brings a halt to another attempt to establish himself in the Test line up.Taylor, who played one ODI against Ireland last year, will enter the match in good form after making a century against Sussex in the current round of Championship matches, although before that innings he had a lean season in four-day cricket with one half-century in nine matches. However, he had scored a century for England Lions against the West Indians earlier this season.Taylor was preferred ahead of Jonny Bairstow, who played the three Tests against West Indies in place of an injured Bopara, and Somerset’s Nick Compton, the lead run-scorer in the Championship.Speaking after the second day against Sussex, before news of his call up, he said: “My ultimate ambition has always been to play Test cricket and my plan at the start of the season was to try to establish myself here and win games for Nottinghamshire, to keep knocking at the door and hope that when an opportunity did arise with England I would have enough runs behind me that they couldn’t not pick me.”I always expected to score runs because I know I can but it has been good to play against first division bowling attacks and on difficult wickets. I feel good about the way things are going at the moment.”Taylor is the only change to the 13-man squad after the innings-and-12-run defeat in the opening Test at The Oval, although question marks remain over the make up of the bowling attack after England took just two wickets in 189 overs. Steven Finn and Graham Onions, who both played Championship cricket this week, are the other options should the selectors decide on a change.The most vulnerable of the pace bowlers appears to be Tim Bresnan, although he would bring local knowledge on his home ground and can bowl long spells. Stuart Broad was below his best at The Oval but it is unlikely that England will considering leaving him out, after showing faith in him during previous slips in form.Finn took six wickets against Durham at Chester-le-Street while, by the start of the third day, Onions had four. Both played against West Indies at Edgbaston when England rotated their pace attack and Finn showed excellent form against Australia in the one-day series.Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: “We were outplayed during the first Test last week but it is important that this squad regroups and focuses on preparing for the second Test. This is a talented squad with plenty of international experience and they will be determined to improve on the performance during the first Test.”We have made one change to the squad with James Taylor replacing Ravi Bopara, who is unavailable for selection due to personal reasons. James has been part of the England Performance Programme for a number of years and has performed consistently for England Lions and now has an opportunity to step up and experience the Test environment.”Squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, James Taylor, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham Onions

CSK canter to target of 172 to move to No. 1 on points table

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Openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis hit rapid half-centuries to set up the victory

Saurabh Somani28-Apr-20214:00

Daniel Vettori: The backing provided by the team management helped Ruturaj Gaikwad

Four contrasting half-centuries told the story of the Chennai Super Kings’ seven-wicket victory over the Sunrisers Hyderabad, with the victors climbing back to the top of the IPL 2021 points table. The vanquished, meanwhile, remained in last place.David Warner chose to bat in the tournament’s first game in Delhi, saying he did so “because we haven’t done it yet”, in an effort to change the Sunrisers’ fortunes. However, a middling effort with the bat gave the team only a par total of 171 for 3. Warner himself scored a laboured half-century while the returning Manish Pandey made 61 off 46, but both left the strong feeling that some runs had been left out in the middle.That was proven true when Ruturaj Gaikwad continued his resurgence with an incandescent 75 off 44 – not hitting a six but hitting 12 fours – while Faf du Plessis contributed a robust 56 off 38. Both the Super Kings’ openers strike rates were far superior to those of the Sunrisers’ half-centurions, and their stand set the game up for the Super Kings. Despite a Rashid Khan induced late wobble, the three-time IPL champions motored home in 18.3 overs.Chennai Super Kings’ openers put on 129 together•BCCI/IPL

Warner struggles, Pandey dawdles
Warner did score a fifty, but it was the slowest of his T20 career – he got there off his 50th ball. He also crossed 10,000 T20 runs, only the fourth man to do so, but both of these landmarks came in an innings he might not look back on too fondly. Warner didn’t lack intent, but his timing was all awry. And when he did get some meaty shots away, they found the fielders as often as the gaps. Warner’s frustration was visible through his innings, with self-recriminatory screams and angry swishes of the bat when he had failed to send the ball where he wanted to. He tried to go deep, tried to go straight, tried to go across the line, but that he ended up with 57 off 55 speaks of how little of what he tried worked.At the other end, the returning Pandey was more fluent but, until the last tenth of his innings, Pandey didn’t exhibit any sense of urgency, even with Warner noticeably struggling. Pandey was happy to nudge and tickle the ball around with the occasional boundary attempt. He was a lot more stable at the crease than Warner, but given Warner’s inability to force the pace, there was a case for Pandey to be more adventurous. The duo added 106 runs for the second wicket, but took 13.5 overs to do so. Only three century partnerships in the IPL have been slower, and only one since 2017.Williamson finishes in style
It fell to Kane Williamson to show there were no demons in the pitch or the bowling. Williamson stroked his way to 26* off 10 balls, somehow managing to score runs all around the park even though he was there for such a brief while. He had walked in at 128 for 2 in 17.1 overs, with ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster tool predicting a final tally of 156 at that point. It was Williamson’s fireworks that pushed the total beyond 170, aided by a good finish from Kedar Jadhav against his old team – the duo put on 37 off the last 13 balls.Gaikwad, du Plessis at it once again
The Sunrisers’ top-order struggles were made more stark by the Super Kings’ openers’ ease. While Williamson had provided a brief sparkle, Gaikwad and du Plessis had an extended feast on a placid surface. They batted 13 overs,five balls fewer than the Pandey-Warner association, but their partnership was worth 129 runs to the latter’s 106.The Sunrisers bowlers weren’t able to get any significant movement in the air or off the deck, and both Gaikwad and du Plessis got their drives flowing freely. The two complemented each other perfectly too: while Gaikwad took on the spin of J Suchith and Rashid Khan, du Plessis punished the pace trio of Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed and Siddarth Kaul.Gaikwad taking the attack to Khan was perhaps the most crucial byplay of the chase. Khan’s four overs were always going to be the most crucial in the Sunrisers’ defence, but Gaikwad neutralised that threat by taking full toll any time Khan erred. Three times in his second and third overs Khan dragged the ball short, and each time Gaikwad found the boundary.Rashid’s revival
Not that Khan bowled badly. On the contrary, he had his usual array of legbreaks, sliders and googlies operating despite some dew. And he showed just how potent he could be by first fizzing a legbreak past Gaikwad’s forward-defensive push to knock back off stump, then getting Moeen Ali out on the slog with a wrong ‘un, and immediately after pinning du Plessis in front with another googly. While he had ended up conceding 36 – Ali too followed the Gaikwad template in taking the attack to Khan – he still took three crucial wickets.The speed and dominance of the opening partnership, however, meant that Khan’s quota of overs were finished by the 15th over. His wickets meant the Super Kings’ canter to victory slowed down, but it couldn’t be stopped.

A grand final before the semis

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Australia and India start their respective Super Eights World T20 campaigns against each other in Colombo

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale27-Sep-2012

Match facts

September 28, 2012
Start time 1930 local (1400 GMT)Batting or fielding, David Warner is unlikely to keep quiet•AFP

Big Picture

An early grand final, Michael Hussey called this match. A loss won’t end the tournament for either side but in a difficult Super Eights group also featuring South Africa and Pakistan, Australia and India are both desperate to begin with a victory. Both teams enter the match with a solid if not spectacular form-line behind them. India accounted for a plucky Afghanistan and then annihilated a lacklustre England in the group stages, while Australia thrashed Ireland and then did enough against a strong West Indies side to be ahead on Duckworth-Lewis when the rain came halfway through their hefty chase.Australia have had a settled line-up so far in this tournament and that is unlikely to change now. Shane Watson in particular has been outstanding, both with the ball and at the top of the batting order, and has been Man of the Match in both games so far. India’s team selections are much less obvious, especially after Virender Sehwag was left out of their second match. Zaheer Khan and R Ashwin also didn’t play against England and finding someone to squeeze out of the side after their 90-run win won’t be easy. Harbhajan Singh, who didn’t play the first game, seems to have cemented his spot with four wickets against England.The presence of Harbhajan will add an extra dimension to the match. These are teams with a history of fiery clashes, and Harbhajan has often been part of that. However, in recent battles between India and Australia the tensions have faded considerably. Australia’s captain George Bailey still expects some verbal stoushes in the heat of a World Twenty20 contest, especially with Harbhajan back and Australia’s mouthy opener David Warner unlikely to keep quiet. “We have players who probably engage in some of that and players who don’t,” Bailey told reporters on Thursday. “You’ll find that most of those guys who like to verbal, they instigate it. That’s the way they get their juices flowing. It gets them switched on.”Just as long as neither side allows such sideshows to distract them from the main game.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)Australia WWWLL
India WWLWL

Watch out for

Last time these two teams met in a World T20 match, in Bridgetown in May 2010, David Warner was Man of the Match for his 72 from 42 balls. He hasn’t made that many in a T20 international since, but he has consistently made contributions in recent times: in his past six innings he has scored 58, 22, 31, 59, 26 and 28. A Warner whirlwind can’t be far away.Harbhajan Singh has tormented Australia for nearly 15 years, though his best against them has come in Test cricket; in limited-overs matches he hasn’t had the same impact. But after gaining confidence with four wickets against England at the same venue, Harbhajan will be full of self-belief and could be a handful for Australia’s batsmen.

Team news

Australia are expected to name an unchanged side after using the same XI for their victories over Ireland and West Indies in the group stage. That would mean still no place for David Hussey, the leading run scorer in Twenty20 history.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Michael Hussey, 4 George Bailey (capt), 5 Cameron White, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Daniel Christian, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Brad Hogg.Mystery still surrounds Virender Sehwag’s place in the side after he was left out of the England game. MS Dhoni said on the day before the match that India were likely to play five bowlers, which could in turn mean Sehwag is squeezed out. That would be a monumental decision, although Sehwag has never managed to bring his best against Australia in limited-overs cricket. In ODIs against them he averages 21.68 and in five T20s his average has been 8.20.India (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Irfan Pathan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 L Balaji/Ashok Dinda.

Pitch and conditions

India’s spinners enjoyed working at the R Premadasa Stadium against England – Harbhajan Singh took four wickets and Piyush Chawla two. There have also been plenty of runs in the pitch for the batsmen.

Stats and trivia

  • Australia and India have met six times in T20 internationals for three victories each
  • In those six matches Australia have had four different captains: Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and George Bailey. India have been led only by MS Dhoni

Quotes

“What we’d like to focus on is if you can keep some wickets in the shed for the back end then India’s bowlers have been put under a bit of pressure and you can score quite well.”
“They are one of the best because they have done consistently well. Both of them play aggressive cricket and look to score as many runs as possible in the first six overs.”
India’s captain MS Dhoni knows the importance of restricting Shane Watson and David Warner

England batting 'a sin' says Trott

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Jonathan Trott has described England’s batting in the Galle Test as “a sin” but struggled to pin down reasons for the slump

Andrew McGlashan in Colombo01-Apr-2012Jonathan Trott has described England’s batting during the first innings in the Galle Test as “a sin” but has struggled to pin down a reason why a batting line-up that was so prolific only a few months ago is now consistently faltering.England, who must now win in Colombo to draw the series, were bowled out for 192 in 46.4 overs to concede a crucial first-innings advantage of 125 to Sri Lanka as their batting failed for the fourth time in a row.Criticised for being too defensive at times during the series against Pakistan in the UAE, this time the strokes of some England batsmen in Galle bordered on the reckless as they continued to struggle to find a suitable tempo for batting in Asia.It has been a rapid fall from grace for a batting line-up that had become accustomed to making 500-plus regularly while the individual batsmen were gaining a reputation for the ‘daddy’ hundreds that Graham Gooch used to have cause to talk about. From the start of the 2010-11 Ashes to end of the home series against India last summer they had scored six double hundreds and another four scores in excess of 150.By comparison in 2012, Trott’s 112 in the second innings in Galle was England’s first hundred of the year. “We’ve lost a lot of wickets in clusters,” Trott said. “In the past if we’ve lost two early wickets then guys have been able to steady the ship and we’ve been able to get through sessions pretty unscathed.”But we’ve had bad sessions with the bat and getting bowled out in 40-odd overs was a bit of a sin. The wicket was pretty good and we should have capitalised. It’s no lack of effort on any par, it just hasn’t worked out for us.”Defeat meant that Trott was not able to savour his hundred – one of the finest of his career – despite him showing England that run-scoring was possible with patience and shrewd shot selection.”To get a hundred is satisfying, but to get one and win always makes it sweeter,” he said. “I was pleased by how I felt, I wasn’t all that tired at the end of the innings, I just wish I could have batted a bit more. If I’d have got 140, 150 who knows what might have happened.”And, according to Trott, there was no magic formula to his success. “I just played normally. I didn’t try going in with any pre-conceived conceptions. I had a bit of luck early on and rode it. You certainly need a bit of luck in these conditions with a lot of catchers round the bat… you need the ball to bounce in the right areas.”Trott also took a swipe at the media for, as he saw it, fuelling an unnecessary debate about Andrew Strauss’ position in the team. Strauss has averaged 25.50 since the start of the previous home season and has just two hundreds since July 2009.”When someone is not scoring as may runs as they would like or expect of themselves it is highlighted by you guys [the media]. I’m sure it will have a similar impact as it did when Alastair Cook came through his little slump. I’m surprised you guys haven’t learned from that.”Steven Finn, Strauss’ Middlesex teammate, hoping for a place in England’s attack in the second Test, was equally supportive on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek programme.”I don’t think there’s any question that he won’t be in charge throughout the summer and beyond,” he said. “He’s a great captain, everyone here’s backing him and this is something that just hasn’t come up within the team because no one in the team believes it’s valid. Straussy will score runs and that’s that.””Straussy leads from the front. He’s an exceptional leader, he’s a levelling person. When we have our highs we don’t ride them too high and when we have our lows we don’t ride them too low. And that’s what a great captain does, I think.”

Hanuma Vihari to lead Andhra, Natarajan released from Tamil Nadu squad for rest before England T20Is, ODIs

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Newsfile: All the updates in the lead-up to the 2020-21 edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2021
On being asked by the BCCI, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has released India’s latest pace sensation T Natarajan from the upcoming 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy to keep him fresh for the limited-overs series against England next month. Natarajan had played non-stop cricket from the IPL in September to the Test series in Australia last month, staying in biosecure bubbles throughout for five straight months. He has also been rested for the ongoing Tests against England.”The BCCI and the Indian team management wanted Natarajan to be fresh for the white-ball leg of the series against England. Keeping the Indian team’s interests in mind we said yes,” TNCA secretary RS Ramasaamy told PTI.The India-England limited-overs series begins with the five T20Is from March 12 in Ahmedabad, followed by the three ODIs that will go on until March 28. As India’s white-ball squads have not been announced yet, it remains to be seen if Natarajan will be picked for both formats or if he will be rested for some of the games.Twenty-two-year-old right-arm quick RS Jaganath Sinivas will take Natarajan’s place in the 20-member Tamil Nadu squad which will leave for Indore on February 13. After clearing three Covid-19 Tests, they will be playing their first game against Punjab on February 20, having also been grouped with Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Andhra Pradesh in Group E.Natarajan was earlier included in a 20-man Tamil Nadu squad for the tournament. Tamil Nadu had recently won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Ahmedabad.Meanwhile, Hanuma Vihari has passed his fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and is available to lead Andhra.Vihari had torn his left hamstring on the fifth day of the third Test against Australia in Sydney. However, he kept on batting and helped India salvage a draw in the company of R Ashwin.In case Vihari is selected for the last two Tests against England, A Brahma Teja will replace him in the Andhra squad.
Mumbai will persist with Shreyas Iyer as their captain for the upcoming 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, starting February 20. Iyer, who leads the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, had a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the recent T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where Mumbai, led by Suryakumar Yadav, had a horror run, winning just one of their five group-stage matches to finish bottom of the Elite Group E table.Iyer was the captain when Mumbai won the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, beating Delhi in the final by four wickets, though he started the season as deputy to Ajinkya Rahane. He then led Mumbai last season, when they reached the quarter-final stage.Prithvi Shaw, meanwhile, has been named Iyer’s deputy in the 22-man squad, which includes other internationals like Shivam Dube and Dhawal Kulkarni. Mumbai had earlier named Ramesh Powar their coach for the season after Amit Pagnis resigned following the poor show in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Mumbai are in Elite Group D [all matches in Jaipur] for the tournament, clubbed with Delhi, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Puducherry.Squad: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Prithvi Shaw (vice-capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Akhil Herwadkar, Suryakumar Yadav, Sarfaraz Khan, Chinmay Sutar, Aditya Tare (wk), Hardik Tamore, Shivam Dube, Aakash Parkar, Atif Attarwala, Shams Mulani, Atharva Ankolekar, Sairaj Patil, Sujit Nayak, Tanush Kotian, Prashant Solanki, Dhawal Kulkarni, Tushar Deshpande, Siddharth Raut, Mohit Awasthi.Krunal Pandya to lead Baroda
Krunal Pandya is back to take charge of Baroda in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, with Kedar Devdhar, who led them to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy recently after Pandya lost his father and left for home, named his deputy.Baroda are placed in Elite Group A, alongside Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad, Tripura and Goa, with their opening match on February 20 against Goa – all the matches in the group will be played in Surat.Squad: Krunal Pandya (capt), Kedar Devdhar (vice-capt), Pratyushkumar, Vishnu Solanki, Abhimanyusingh Rajput, Smit Patel (wk), Ninad Rathwa, Atit Sheth, Kartik Kakade, Lukman Meriwala, Babashafi Pathan, Dhruv Patel, Bhargav Bhatt, Bhanu Pania, Chintal Gandhi, Parth Kohli, Jyotsnil Singh, Mitesh Patel (wk), Soeb Sopariya, Shivalik Sharma, Pradeep Yadav, Pratik Ghodedra.

David Miller fireworks can't save South Africa as Pakistan clinch decider

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Pakistan secure clean sweep of trophies after holding nerve in tricky run-chase

Firdose Moonda14-Feb-2021Pakistan subjected South Africa to their first T20I series defeat in the subcontinent and fourth successive T20I series loss, leaving them empty-handed from their first tour to the country since 2007. In an entertaining finale at the Gaddafi Stadium, Pakistan relied on Mohammad Rizwan and the lower order to take them home, while Babar Azam enjoyed his best knock of the series after scores of 0 and 5 in the first two matches.This victory was Pakistan’s 100th T20I win, making them the first team to register a century of success in this format.South Africa have no similar good news to report. They saved one of their worst batting collapses for last and lost seven wickets for 55 runs to slump to 65 for 7 just after the halfway stage of their innings. It was up to David Miller to prop them up and he pulled off one of his most authoritative knocks while ushering the tail to take South Africa to a competitive total.The side fielding second has found it difficult to control the ball in the wet conditions but South Africa put on a spirited effort when their turn came. However, their frontline seamers were all expensive and untidy, allowing Pakistan to win with eight balls to spare. If anything, South Africa will take heart from the knowledge that their second-string side fought hard in Pakistan, but it won’t take away from the pressure building on this outfit. South Africa have only won two out of eight trophies in the Mark Boucher era, dating back to December 2019.Dream Debut Zahid Mahmood was called up to the Pakistan squad in place of the injured Shadab Khan and had to wait for the last match for an opportunity but he made the most of it. He started with a short ball that Janneman Malan smashed through long-on but soon recovered to take two wickets, and could have had a third in his opening over to celebrate a dream start to international cricket.Mahmood’s first victim was South Africa’s stand-in captain Heinrich Klaasen, who tried to sweep the first ball he faced but didn’t account for the extra bounce. He top-edged to Usman Qadir at short fine-leg. With the next ball, Mahmood had Malan trapped in the crease by the topspinner in front of middle stump. It was given not out initially but Mahmood convinced Babar to review with three seconds left on the clock and ball-tracking showed that Malan was out.Three balls later, Mahmood thought he had Andile Phehlukwayo when a full ball hit him below the knee roll but the review showed it had pitched just outside leg stump. But Phehlukwayo didn’t last much longer. He slog-swept the next ball he faced to deep mid-wicket, leaving South Africa 48 for 6.Mahmood enjoyed more success in his third over when he bowled Dwaine Pretorius with a delivery that turned gently as Pretorius attempted to mow it over midwicket and missed.David Miller revived South Africa with an outstanding counterattack•AP Photo

Miller Time David Miller wanted to have an influence on South Africa’s performance and he ended up scoring more than half of their runs and sharing in a 58-run ninth-wicket stand with Lutho Sipamla to ensure they set Pakistan a challenging target.Miller had only faced one ball when South Africa slumped to 48 for 6, in the eighth. Though the situation was dire, it meant he had more than half the innings to bat, giving him time in the middle that he does not usually benefit from. Miller’s first boundary came from a sweep shot off Qadir, whom he also swiped through square leg. But he really cashed in on Mahmood’s final over, sending him for two sixes over long-on to put South Africa in sight of a hundred.With only the tail to bat with, Miller waited to get as close to the death as possible before he took the bowling on. He took two fours off Shaheen Shah Afridi and a monstrous six off Hasan Ali before tearing apart Faheem Ashraf’s final over, with four sixes. Miller benefitted from some ordinary captaincy from Babar, who did not let Qadir bowl out, and poor lengths from Faheem, who bowled short throughout the over and then dished up a full toss at the end.In total, South Africa scored 54 runs off the last four overs, and Miller scored 45 of those. He was leg-side dominant and scored 57 in that area, including five of his seven sixes and four of his five fours. This knock was also Miller’s first half-century T20 cricket in almost two years. His last one came 13 innings ago, also against Pakistan, when he scored an unbeaten 65 to set South Africa up for a match-winning total in Johannesburg in March 2019.Rizwan falls short of record Rizwan’s magical week has ended. After scoring his first Test century last Sunday and his first T20I hundred on Thursday, Rizwan was on track to join Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle as one of only three players to reel off four fifty-plus scores. He took on South Africa’s left-arm spinners, Bjorn Fortuin and Jon-Jon Smuts and pulled, cut and slogged anything short, wide or slow but was undone by Tabraiz Shamsi.The wristspinner almost bowled him with a delivery that was low on leg stump and squirted past, and could have had him caught behind but Klaasen could not hold on to a tough chance from the bottom edge. Shamsi’s next ball was yorker-length, Rizwan tried to sweep and missed and was struck on the boot in front of middle stump. He reviewed, in hope, but ball-tracking showed his leg stump would have been disturbed and he had to go for 42. Shamsi’s star rises After spending the early part of his career playing second fiddle to Imran Tahir, Shamsi stood up as South Africa’s best bowler in the country of Tahir’s birth. He collected career-best figures of 4 for 25 in this match to cap off a sterling series in which he turned the ball more than the home spinners and consistently challenged batsmen who can pick and play spin.After taking a wicket with his first ball and threatening Rizwan twice before getting rid of him, Shamsi bowled Hussain Talat with a straight ball, as Talat played for spin and left off stump exposed, and then had Asif Ali caught at long-on looking for six but failing to get hold of the ball. Shamsi finished the series with six wickets for 61 runs at an economy rate of just over five runs an over.

Jason Holder signs with Sydney Sixers for a three-game stint in the BBL

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West Indies Test captain will head straight to the BBL after the Test series against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2020West Indies Test captain Jason Holder has signed with BBL champions the Sydney Sixers for a three-game stint following the Test series against New Zealand.The travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand allows Holder to enter Australia without having to complete the mandatory 14-day quarantine. Following the two-Test series in New Zealand, he will head straight to Hobart to play in the December 20 clash with the Adelaide Strikers. He will also be available for the December 26 fixture against the Melbourne Stars and the December 29 match with the Melbourne Renegades.Holder, 29, comes in as cover for England bowler Tom Curran who needs to complete the mandatory 14-day quarantine after arriving from England’s limited-overs tour of South Africa. He joins fellow West Indian Carlos Brathwaite and England batsman James Vince as part of the Sixers’ overseas contingent.”I’m really excited to be coming to the BBL and the Sydney Sixers,” Holder said. “I’ve wanted to for a few years now and this year I have the opportunity to come in and make some appearances and hopefully do a bit for the Sixers.”Holder said he was looking forward to reuniting with Sixers skipper Moises Henriques, having played alongside him in the IPL.”BBL cricket is an interest for me and the Sixers have been successful over the past few years. Moises and I played together at Sunrisers and I really enjoyed that. It will be good to do it again.”

'A strange transition' – Glenn Maxwell trying to get used to No. 5 role at Kings XI Punjab

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

“My role at the moment is to put the icing on the cake and help our guys in the top four”

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2020The disparity between Glenn Maxwell’s record for Australia in T20Is with his performances in the Indian Premier League is stark, but the right-hand batsman put it down to having a “clearer role” with Australia as against the frequent changes in his batting position and roles that the changing landscape of various franchises in the IPL demanded. Maxwell averages 33.52 at a strike rate of 158.36 in 64 matches for Australia. In the IPL, while his strike rate has remained up there at 156.78, his average after 76 matches is 22.38.”I probably would not (compare IPL and Australia career). The way I have played international cricket, it has been more of a clearer role. I know exactly how the guys will bat around me,” he said in a chat with PTI. “My role in IPL changes probably for most games. In IPL, a lot of teams change their sides a lot. In the Australian set-up we have the same eleven for most of the games, we all know our roles really well.”Maxwell came to IPL 2020 on the back of some good form, having hit 77 and 108 in two matches of the three-ODI series in England, where Australia won 2-1. But he has totalled just 58 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 95.08 for Kings XI Punjab so far.ALSO READ: Maxwell ‘shattered’, Stoinis shines, and Warner vs Archer“When you are only together for two months in the year with IPL, there is going to be chopping and changing,” Maxwell said. “You are always looking for that right team balance. The team you pick at the start of the tournament might not have the balance you think as you progress.”We feel we are getting closer to that (team balance). I have had different experiences where I have not quite performed to the level people expect but there has been no lack of trying, (or) putting the effort in training.”Maxwell, who has also turned out for Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians in the past, had his best season in the IPL in 2014, hitting 552 runs (strike rate of 187.75) in a man of the tournament performance that took the Kings XI to the final for the first, and so far only, time in their history.”Despite the fact I did well in 2014, I actually thought my performance in 2017 was my best season,” Maxwell said of the time he made 310 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 173.18 for the Kings XI, also taking seven wickets at an economy rate of 6.57. “Being captain, Man of the Match multiple times and I bowled a lot more. I thought that was my best season in the IPL. I was able to combine some match-winning knocks with some mature knocks.”The following season, he played for Delhi but didn’t have great success. He did not take part in IPL 2019. Maxwell has only faced 61 balls, though he has been dismissed four times in those.”This year has been a different role and I am trying to get used to it,” Maxwell said. “I would like to think that I have tried to do my role as well as I can. We have got Nicky (Pooran) batting unbelievably well at four. With his power-hitting, my job has been to get him on strike and be there to help finish off games.”I have been not out four times [thrice] in seven games which has probably never happened to me in the history of my career. So, it has been a strange transition for me batting at five and one that I feel, I have started to become more accustomed to.”With the way the team is set up, there is no position there (higher in the order) for me. As I said, my role at the moment is to put the icing on the cake and help our guys in the top four. There have been limited opportunities for me to bat. It has been a learning experience for sure… it is nice to be able to challenge myself with something different. I certainly have not been too hard on myself for my result in this tournament.”The Kings XI started the tournament with a Super Over loss to the Delhi Capitals and then beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore, but have since lost five games in a row.”The wickets have probably surprised me a little bit in terms of the way they have played. I have had a lot of success here in international cricket and even last IPL,” Maxwell said. “The wickets have been a little bit slower. The spin has not been as consistent. It has been probably easier for guys to bat at the top of the order than someone to come out and hit from ball one. It has not been easy and we have seen that consistently through the tournament.”It has been a tough campaign for us as a team. I would say we were ahead in a lot of those close games but unfortunately came short. It is the hardest to score the winning runs in T20 cricket.”

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