Category Uncategorized

A round-up of the third day’s play of the seventh round of matches of the Ranji Trophy Elite, 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2011Group AMedium-pacer Rituraj Singh, playing only his second first-class match, took 6 for 75 to bowl Rajasthan to victory by an innings and 56 runs against Orissa in Jaipur. The result significantly boosted the defending champions’ chances of making the quarter-finals for the second year in a row. Orissa began the day on 76 for 6 and, though Deepak Behera and Govind Podder extended their partnership to 69, once Pankaj Singh removed Behera for 27, the end came swiftly. Sumit Mathur picked up two more wickets to finish with 5 for 30 as Orissa were bundled out for 134 in their first innings. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the Rajasthan captain, enforced the follow-on in the quest to register an innings victory, which could fetch the bonus point necessary to keep their knockout chances alive.It was not going to be a smooth journey, though. Subhrajit Sahoo, who made 55, and Biplap Samantray, with 82, offered resistance against Rajasthan’s three-pronged pace attack. Rituraj, however, had Samantray caught behind and two overs later removed Abhilash Mallick in similar fashion to start the slide. Orissa lost their last five wickets for only 27 runs.The win, Rajasthan’s second in two weeks, gave them six points – sixteen in total – and took them to third spot in the group. Even if Saurashtra, who had an exciting victory against Railways, had same number of outright victories and points as Rajasthan, the defending champions had a better run quotient (total runs against total wickets). Rajashtan’s quotient of 0.984 was a shade higher than Saurashtra’a 0.925.If Uttar Pradesh fail to beat Karnataka, Rajasthan will make the quarterfinals because they have more wins. The only way UP can pip Rajasthan is by beating Karnataka.Saurashtra beat Railways by 97 runs at the Karnail Singh Stadium. After the carnage of the first two days, when 36 wickets fell, expecting Railways to mount a rearguard action with only four wickets in hand was always going to be more fantasy than reality. It only took 70 minutes for Saurashtra to finish the job. Ravindara Jadeja added four wickets to his kitty to finish with a ten-wicket match haul. For Railways, M Suresh had offered some hope but he could add just three runs to his overnight score before becoming Sandip Maniar’s lone wicket of the innings. Maniar had bowled only three overs across the match on a pitch where spinners reigned supreme. Jadeja then knocked over the last three wickets, including that of Ashish Yadav, who top scored with 50.”We are in a group where six of the eight teams have won the Ranji Trophy in the last 10 years. But for this game we played hard cricket,” said Abhay Sharma, the Railways coach.Group BHalf-centuries from Nitin Saini and Priyank Tehlan shifted the momentum Haryana‘s way against Gujarat in Surat. Saini anchored the innings, batting for three hours to make 91. He was initially well supportd by Rahul Dewan (42) and Sunny Singh (40), but his dismissal began a period in which Haryana lost four wickets for 33 runs, two of them being run-outs. Tehlan and Amit Mishra wrested the initiative, however, adding 127 runs to take their side to 321 for 6, a lead of exactly 300. Tehlan’s 85 contained 12 fours and a six, while Mishra was more circumspect, taking 106 balls for his 39.Haryana’s declaration left Gujarat 12 overs to face before the close, which proved to be enough time for medium-pacer Harshal Patel to have opener Priyanka Panchal caught behind for 10. Gujarat ended the day on 34 for 1, needing 267 more for victory.Having already conceded the first-innings lead, Haryana need an outright win to avoid being relegated to the Plate League next year. However, should they pull off the victory and Baroda finish second to Bengal, Haryana will also qualify for the quarter-finals. If Gujarat lose the match, they will be relegated instead.A career-best 111 from Anustup Majumdar, and 99 from Laxmi Ratan Shukla, set up Bengal‘s total of 390 before Ashok Dinda took three wickets to leave Baroda reeling at 103 for 5, still trailing by three runs at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. Bengal began the day needing 21 to take a crucial first-innings lead and Majumdar and Shukla first took them past Baroda’s total of 284 and then past 300. Majumdar was eventually caught of Sankalp Vohra for 111. Shukla added a further 51 with Sourav Sarkar before being bowled by Swapnil Singh one short of his hundred.Faced with a deficit of 106, Baroda got off to the horror start, with Dinda removing both openers in his first over with only a run on the board. Rakesh Solanki battled to his half-century, but wickets fell consistently at the other end. Dinda picked up a third wicket when he bowled Pinal Shah for 10. Irfan Solanki was on 55 and Irfan Pathan on 4 at stumps.If Haryana beat Gujarat, Baroda will need a a draw to qualify for the quarter-finals.A defiant 98 from Zafar Ali could not prevent Tamil Nadu from taking a 197-run first-innings lead as Madhya Pradesh was dismissed for 289 in Chennai. Ali was the seventh wicket to fall, having faced 291 deliveries, but he received little support from the rest of the line-up. Jalaj Saxena made 43 but the next highest contributor was extras, with 38. Five bowlers shared the wickets, with Jangannathan Kaushik the pick of the bunch, taking 3 for 48 from 21 overs. Tamil Nadu then extended their lead to 227 by the close, but lost Abhinav Mukund and S Badrinath in the process, while M Vijay was forced to retire hurt. Dinesh Karthik, who made a century in the first innings, was unbeaten on 14.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has refuted claims that money been spent irresponsibly on the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jan-2011The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has refuted claims that Hampshire and Somerset, who have accepted an invitation to take part in the Caribbean T20 tournament in January, could earn as much as $1 million from their participation, and that money has been spent irresponsibly on the competition.”Contrary to public attempts at misinformation the two English teams will not pocket $1million from the Caribbean Twenty20,” the board said in a statement. “WICB will spend less than $300,000 for all airfares and appearance fees for the two English teams to participate in the Caribbean Twenty20. All invited teams will share the same hotels and hotel arrangements as the regional teams.”Their press release came after the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) had made public its concerns over the tournament. “The spend from this year’s event would now be added to the $3 million which the WICB spent on last year’s tournament,” read a statement released by WIPA on Wednesday. “In all, the WICB would have spent over $6 million in the past seven months on the two tournaments and they are yet to find a sponsor for this and other regional and international tournaments despite WIPA’s willingness to assist.”WIPA also questioned WICB claims that the money represents an investment aimed at attracting foreign investors and broadcasters, building a tournament and improving the brand of West Indies Cricket.The Board responded by stating that “as the WICB’s identified marquee tournament, Caribbean T20 (complete with full television coverage done for the benefit of players, fans and West Indies cricket as a brand) requires a larger investment than other regional tournaments,” adding: “An increase from 8 to 10 teams and 16 to 24 matches from the CT20 2010 necessarily increase match operating and logistics costs, accommodation and travel expenses and television production costs.”Caribbean T20 is not yet a profit making venture and is still in the investment phase. WICB has put the necessary plans in place to ensure that the tournament shows a long term return on investment.”

There were no real surprises in the squad picked for the World Cup

Sruthi Ravindranath19-Aug-20253:52

Nayar: India went for Rawal’s solidarity over Shafali’s flamboyance

Fast bowler Renuka Singh and allrounder Amanjot Kaur have returned from injuries and have been named in India’s Women’s World Cup squad.Shafali Verma, who fell out of favour in the ODI set-up last year, continues to miss out on selection, while Tejal Hasnabis and Sayali Satghare, who were all part of the recent ODI series against England, have been left out of the 15-member squad.Amanjot has, however, been rested for the three-match ODI series against Australia leading up to the World Cup, with India captain Harmanpreet Kaur saying she was at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence “working on a few small niggles”. Renuka has been named in that squad for the series, which starts on September 14 in New Chandigarh. Satghare will also play the three ODIs against Australia and will be replaced by Amanjot for the World Cup.Amanjot, who has risen through the ranks to become one of the key allrounders for India, missed the last two ODIs against England last month due to a flare up of a back injury. Renuka, meanwhile, has been out of international cricket since December 2024 with a stress fracture.”Renuka has been a precious player for us,” chief selector Neetu David said. “She had niggles and been out of the game, but is available. Is our main player. This is a main event, great she’s part of the team.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

David said Shafali, who recently played in the three one-dayers for India A against Australia A in Brisbane, is still part of India’s ODI plans in the future.
“Shafali played the Australia A series. She’s in the system, it’s not like she’s not. We’ve got our eyes on her. Hope she plays a lot more and garners experience, it’ll help serve India in the 50-overs format.”Kranti Goud, who finished as the highest wicket-taker in the England ODIs, is among the pace bowlers in the squad alongside Renuka, Amanjot and Arundhati Reddy. Sneh Rana, who made an excellent comeback during the Sri Lanka tri-series, and Shree Charani are the two other specialist spinners in the squad, along with Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav.”We have Renuka and Kranti [to bowl] in the power play,” Harmanpreet said. “Then have Shree Charani, Deepti and Radha to bowl in the slog overs, Sneh Rana in the middle overs. We didn’t want to make a lot of changes and wanted continuity.”Pratika Rawal, who took over Shafali’s spot in the format last year and has been impressive across her 14 ODIs so far, is expected to continue opening alongside Smriti Mandhana. Harleen Deol, who has shown consistency with the bat in recent times, is expected to continue at No. 3, with Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues to follow at No. 4 and 5 respectively.Yastika Bhatia, who last played an ODI in October 2024, is also in the squad and will serve as a back-up option for wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh. Though Satghare is not part of the World Cup squad, she is among the standbys alongside Tejal Hasabnis, Prema Rawat, Priya Mishra, Uma Chetry and Minnu Mani. Bhatia made two fifties in the Australia A series, which Hasnabis, Mani and Rawat were also part of.Co-hosts India and Sri Lanka are set to begin the tournament on September 30. India have never won the ODI World Cup but have made the final twice, in 2005 and 2017.The selectors also picked up an India A squad that will play the warm-up match against South Africa on September 28. All six standbys for the main squad and Shafali are part of that team. India’s main team will play their warm-up against England on September 25.

India squad for Australia ODIs

Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh, Kranti Goud, Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav, N Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Sneh Rana

India’s World Cup squad

Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh, Kranti Goud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, N Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Sneh RanaStandbys: Tejal Hasabnis, Prema Rawat, Priya Mishra, Uma Chetry (wk), Minnu Mani, Sayali Satghare

India A squad for warm-up match

Minnu Mani (capt), Dhara Gujjar, Shafali Verma, Tejal Hasabnis, Vrinda Dinesh, Uma Chetry (wk), Nandini Kashyap (wk), Tanushree Sarkar, Tanuja Kanwer, Titas Sadhu, Sayali Satghare, Saima Thakor, Prema Rawat, Priya Mishra, Raghvi Bist

The Sri Lanka selectors do not want to test youngsters this close to the tournament

Madushka Balasuriya04-Mar-2024Sri Lanka’s selectors want to lean on known quantities and experience as opposed to the untested vigour of youth, as they make their final tweaks for the T20 World Cup in June. That was the main reason they recalled Niroshan Dickwella for the T20I series in Bangladesh after Kusal Perera was ruled out with a respiratory infection.This also means the likes of Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Dunith Wellalage, Lasith Croospulle and Shevon Daniel may have to bide their time for further opportunities with the national side. And if so, Viyaskanth might feel the most hard done by, having picked up eight wickets in four games for MI Emirates, at an economy of 5.43, in the recent ILT20.Viyaskanth has also shown himself to be a growing threat throughout his multiple seasons in the LPL. But given he has played just one T20I till now, the selectors felt it would be a risk to blood him in with the World Cup around the corner.Related

• SL and Bangladesh committed to putting past flare-ups behind them

• Can Shakib-less Bangladesh keep their unbeaten spree going?

• Kusal Perera ruled out of Bangladesh T20Is with respiratory infection

“In T20s we need a wicket-taking option, which is why we opted for Jeffrey [Vandersay] over someone like Dunith [Wellalage],” Upul Tharanga, the chairman of selectors, said. “We felt that Jeffrey was more of an attacking bowler in T20s.”We [also] had a big discussion regarding Viyaskanth and Jeffrey, and there were differing opinions within the selection committee. But in the end, we went with Jeffrey because the World Cup is coming up soon and there was a question over whether Viyaskanth could suddenly be brought in to play in a World Cup. So that’s why we went with Jeffrey and his experience.”It was a similar story regarding Dickwella, who was picked ahead of Croospulle and Daniel.”We were looking for someone to play in the top order [with the injuries to Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera]. We looked at Shevon Daniel, Lasith Croospulle and Dikka [Dickwella], but the first two are still quite young. It was difficult to pick them based purely on their most recent performances.”They’re very talented cricketers, someone like Shevon can play for 10 to 15 years for Sri Lanka. A player like that, do we drop him into a difficult situation? Or do we hold him back and let him play in the NSL, A team, give experience and then bring him into the side?””We spoke to the captain, as well as the coach, and they also felt Niroshan Dickwella was the best option at this time because heading into a World Cup, his experience will be useful.”Apart from his erratic form, among the primary concerns surrounding Dickwella’s inclusion were also his disciplinary issues, most notably when he was among three players banned for breaching bio-bubble protocols in 2021. Tharanga, however, said this was a subject that had been discussed with the player.”Discipline is very important. We spoke to Dikka. The team is playing well, and we really haven’t had any issues with discipline in recent times. That’s a very important thing, it shows the unity of the team as well. Discipline needs to be the number one thing.”

Queensland build a dominant lead as Tasmania only managed three wickets all day

AAP07-Oct-2022Marnus Labuschagne appears to have lost little of his batting appetite over the winter after the Test run-machine opened his Sheffield Shield season with a century for Queensland against Tasmania on Friday.Labuschagne scored 127 in a controlled innings that lifted Queensland to 4 for 357, a hefty 210 runs clear of the visitors’ 147 at the midway point of the match at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.There were runs also for fellow Test batter Usman Khawaja and former Australian opener Joe Burns.Only one wicket fell in the opening two sessions as Tasmania’s bowlers found life much harder than it seemed to be on day one for the Queensland attack.Burns and Labuschagne put on 148 for the second wicket after Queensland resumed at their overnight 1 for 24.
As always, Labuschagne looked capable of batting all day only to be trapped lbw by former Test stalwart Peter Siddle. After shouldering arms at a Siddle inswinger, Labuschagne bizarrely seemed to be walking off before the umpire had raised his finger to confirm the dismissal. Labuschagne’s 24th first-class century included 19 boundaries and a six.It was a hard day’s toil for Tasmania’s attack who, though limiting the home side to just 2.5 runs an over during the opening session, created few wicket-taking opportunities.Former Australian Test skipper Tim Paine collected three catches at the wicket in his return to the game. The third was Queensland’s only failure of the day as Jack Clayton fell for a third-ball duck off the bowling of Riley Meredith.

He hopes for an improvement in South Africa’s late-overs hitting, an area where he felt they “came up short” in the West Indies

Firdose Moonda08-Jul-2021Rassie van der Dussen is expecting easier conditions for batters during South Africa’s three-match ODI series against Ireland compared to what the side experienced in the West Indies. After finding the going fairly tough on slow, spinner-friendly surfaces in the Caribbean, van der Dussen, who played club cricket in Belfast six years ago, thinks runs could more freely in Ireland.”When the sun is out here and the wicket gets quite hard, it becomes favourable for batting,” van der Dussen said. “If there is a little bit of rain around in the preceding days and on the day, the ball swings and the grass livens up and the seam movement becomes a factor. But this time of year, the weather should be okay. The conditions will be good for batting, a lot more batter-conducive than we had in the West Indies.”Though there is some rain forecast for Dublin over the weekend and early next week, the reported lower than normal rainfall and warm weather will characterise the summer, which should support van der Dussen’s theory. That means South Africa will see an opportunity to improve on their scoring rate, especially towards the end of an innings, where they found themselves tied down during the T20I series in the West Indies. van der Dussen hopes they can use the longer version of the white-ball game to rediscover their run-scoring potential in the death overs.”In the last five overs, in all the matches [in the West Indies], we came up short,” he said. “The conditions were really tough to bat, especially for new batters coming in. In 50-over cricket, you get time in the middle, which sometimes in T20 cricket you don’t get, especially batting in middle to lower order. In 50-over cricket, you’ve got a bigger scope to identify where your game is at and you’ve got time to get yourself in and play your game from there. That can help for T20 cricket as well because it gives the batters a reference for where their games are at.”Apart from van der Dussen, David Miller is another middle-order batter who will like the prospect of facing more deliveries, and regaining form, after he had limited opportunity to do so in the West Indies. Whether some of the benchwarmers like Kyle Verreynne and Janneman Malan will get a chance to play in this series is not yet known, especially with the ODIs being part of the World Cup Super League. South Africa are currently at bottom of the points table with one from three games.”With the new competition structure, every game becomes important,” van der Dussen said. “Eoin Morgan said there is no such thing as a dead rubber because you get points from every game and that’s the qualification [route] for the World Cup. We’ve been away from home for five weeks and some guys haven’t had playing chances but for a coach and a selector, the priority is to win matches and you’ve got to pick your strongest team.”And van der Dussen also thinks Ireland are a strong enough side for South Africa to want to do nothing less. “I played club cricket here six years ago and to see where they’ve come from as a team compared to where they are now is really exciting. This is a massive series for them and they are going to throw everything they have at us. For us, it’s a challenge to firstly adapt to foreign conditions and then find ways to win games. We are really looking forward to the challenge.”

The incident took place on an off-day at a nature reserve in Kimberley

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2020Jake Fraser-McGurk will not take any further part at the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa and return home instead as a precautionary measure after being scratched on the face by a monkey at a nature reserve while on a team outing in Kimberley.Australia’s dreams of winning the title for a fourth time ended on Tuesday after they went down to India, and Fraser-McGurk had a particularly forgettable time of it, run-out first ball – without facing a ball – in Australia’s unsuccessful chase of 234.The incident at the nature park took place when the team took a break following their last-ball win over England on January 23, and after consultation with medical staff and family members, “it was deemed necessary for Fraser-McGurk to return to Australia for precautionary treatment within seven days of the accident”, a Cricket Australia statement said, adding that “Australia will consider calling in a replacement for Fraser-McGurk for the final two matches of the tournament”.Alex Kountouris, the CA sports science and sports medicine manager, was confident Fraser-McGurk would not suffer any ongoing issues after treatment. “We want to make sure that Jake doesn’t have any ongoing medical concerns as a result of the incident, so we have taken the best course of action,” he said. “This involves the player returning to Australia for the treatment required within the recommended seven days of the incident taking place.”We expect Jake will be available for selection shortly after he has completed the treatment.”Seventeen-year-old Fraser-McGurk, who made his first-class debut for Victoria in November last year, said “You never like to be leaving the boys with the tournament still in progress. But I’m confident we have the team to get the job done in the final two matches.”I guess it serves me right for getting too close to the animal enclosure. That’s a lesson learned. I look forward to completing the treatment and getting back on the field as soon as possible.”

Kane Williamson was delighted with the fighting spirit his charges showed as they snatched a dramatic four-run win in the first Test in Abu Dhabi against Pakistan

Danyal Rasool19-Nov-2018Kane Williamson has hailed the astonishing four-run win in Abu Dhabi as New Zealand’s “best in recent memory” and among the best in his career. Speaking just after New Zealand triggered a Pakistan collapse that saw the hosts lose their last six wickets for 24 runs to be bowled out for 171, the New Zealand captain praised the attitude and “fighting attributes” of his side.”Some of the characteristics we hold very dear is our attitude whenever we had to get back into the game, be it with the bat, ball or in the field throughout these four days,” he said. “I think the fighting attributes of this team really shone through, certainly today. It’s important to build on a number of parts to go into the next game, for sure.”It wasn’t just today that the momentum of the game ebbed and flowed. In truth, it had been a match that, across four days, refused to reveal its hand, with no side able to establish a clear advantage over the other. For the most part, it was Pakistan doing the frontrunning, but whenever it appeared they were pulling too far ahead, New Zealand rallied, dragging themselves back into the contest, refusing to lie down.Consider that New Zealand’s 153 was the lowest ever first innings score by any side in Abu Dhabi. When, two sessions into the match, the visitors had been turned over, it looked like the result was already a foregone conclusion, with Pakistan having historically demonstrated the ability to grind opponents into the desert dust. Here, however, Williamson’s men, playing their first Test match in seven months, kept themselves in the contest. 74 was a sizeable first innings lead, but partnerships in the second innings ensured they would leave themselves with enough to play with to have a shot.”It certainly was dramatic,” Williamson reflected. “Throughout the four days, both teams were put under pressure. I think at the end of the day it was a great advertisement for Test cricket. The wicket was challenging and both teams had to fight hard, and certainly Pakistan had the upper hand after day one.”To get through the four days and stay in the match and come out with this result must obviously rank as one of our best wins. In theory it was an old-fashioned Test match, really slow in terms of scoring. The guys had to really fight hard for the runs and that partnership [112 runs between BJ Watling and Henry Nicholls] was huge for us to get a lead, even though it wasn’t a big lead. But it still kept us in the game. I guess when you look back, winning by such a small margin means every contribution in terms of runs scored and runs saved on the field did matter.”It was a game for partnerships, with one wicket triggering several more on numerous occasions. That meant those pairings that did find a way to spend quality time at the crease made crucial, and in New Zealand’s case, match winning contributions. Of the 402 runs the visitors aggregated over two innings, 270 came across just three partnerships. It was up to the specialist batsmen to make they key difference in the most testing of conditions; only 136 runs were scored by the last five wickets across the four innings, the lowest of any match since 1980.”We saw the nature of how wickets fell in clumps,” Williamson said. “I’m not sure why it was challenging to start as a batsman, and we knew if you’re able to keep the pressure on, who knows what might happen? This game was very close and you can reflect on how you do so many little things differently depending on which side of the result you’re on, but at the end of the day it was a great game.”It certainly was, prompting many to gush about the state of Test cricket, and the value of the format at a time when it is in increasing danger of being marginalised. But across in the other dressing room, Pakistan will draw little consolation about the fillip this match provided to a format that, just two years ago, they were ranked the best in the world in.

Zimbabwe’s lower-middle order had crumbled twice in the first Test, with nos. 5 – 8 making 36 runs in the first innings and 48 in the second

Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo28-Oct-2017Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer has targetted a big first innings-total as the hosts attempt to draw level with West Indies in the second Test at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo”That first innings with the bat is so crucial in Test cricket,” Cremer said. “If you don’t do well in that first innings, you’re always chasing the game. So we’re hoping to rectify that. To win a Test match, you’ve probably got to score 600 runs in your two innings, so hopefully we’ll do that and won’t leave too much for our second innings with the bat.”Batting aside, both the captain and Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak suggested there would not be too much tinkering with Zimbabwe’s tactics or their playing XI. “We’re unlikely to make unforced changes,” Streak said. “We’ve got a couple of niggles that we’re managing, so we’ll have a final check tomorrow on one or two guys, but we’ll try not to change the team too much. That’s what we’ve done consistently over the last year, trying to give guys a fair crack.”The quick turnaround between games does not give the hosts much freedom in testing out any new combinations, so Zimbabwe have instead focused on rest and recuperation, especially for a bowling attack that had plenty of work to do in intense heat during the first Test. “We just gave our quick bowlers a couple of days off with some achy bodies, and a couple of the guys had big workloads, the spinners especially, so just time to mentally refresh,” Streak said. “And we went through what was effective and worked for us in the Test. There’s obviously not much we can change in terms of our skills, just making sure that tactically we know exactly what we want to do and what we want to execute in the game.”Two issues for Zimbabwe are their middle order and the wicketkeeper position. Zimbabwe’s lower-middle order crumbled twice in the first Test, with nos. 5 – 8 making 36 runs in the first innings and 48 in the second. Wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva had a reasonable game behind the stumps, but contributed just 13 runs across two innings.”We spoke about soft dismissals and I know the guys were very disappointed, especially the middle-order guys,” Streak said. “There were a few soft dismissals from the middle order. On the keeping front, Chakabva didn’t score runs but he had an outstanding game with the gloves on a wicket that turned a lot. He’s got an important role to do, and hopefully he can contribute with the bat in this next game.”After the extreme heat last week, the build-up to the second Test has seen rain and unseasonably low temperatures in Bulawayo. But with the warmth set to return next week, Streak expected very similar playing conditions for the second Test. “It’s very unseasonal to get this cold, [persistent drizzle] type weather,” Streak explained. “Normally October is quite hot, with thunderstorms. We’ll have to see, but the forecast from Monday onwards is improving. If the wicket gets a bit of sun on it, I think we’ll see it continue to dust up. It’s dry now, and very similar [to the last pitch].”

Dale Steyn picked up his first five-wicket haul in international cricket since December 2014 as South Africa bowled New Zealand out for 195 to wrap up a 204-run win on the fourth day in Centurion

The Report by Nikhil Kalro30-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA masterful display of swing bowling from Dale Steyn, who picked up his first five-wicket haul in international cricket since December 2014, helped South Africa bowl New Zealand out for 195 in their chase of 400 on the fourth day in Centurion. Steyn and Vernon Philander, abetted by exaggerated variable bounce on a deteriorating SuperSport Park surface, set up South Africa’s first Test series win since early 2015 by ripping through New Zealand’s top order in a devastating seven-over period before lunch.Despite an impressive half-century from Henry Nicholls, New Zealand never really recovered from being 18 for 4 at lunch, and they were eventually bowled out half an hour from stumps.Steyn landed the first ball of the fourth innings in the channel outside off stump – it was wide enough for Tom Latham not to play but the extra bounce caught him unawares, and the ball clattered into the stumps off Latham’s withdrawing bat. It was the third time in three innings on this tour that Steyn had dismissed Latham.Five balls later, Martin Guptill got an unplayable outswinger: it pitched on off and swerved away to take the outside edge to Hashim Amla at first slip.The variable bounce kept troubling New Zealand. In the second over, Kane Williamson was rapped on the glove by an inswinger from Philander that reared at him from a good length. In the next over, Steyn got one to land on a similar length and scoot along the surface to Ross Taylor, trapping him in front. Could New Zealand’s situation get worse?It did. Williamson, perhaps still suffering the after-effects of the blow to his left hand, wafted at a wide delivery from Philander. He had avoided playing that line throughout the first innings. The ball swung further away and took his outside edge, and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock completed a stunning one-handed catch low to his right.Nicholls offered New Zealand’s only real resistance with 76, his highest Test score. He was particularly effective square on either side of the wicket, picking off straight deliveries and punishing width outside off. When the bowlers overpitched, he collected runs through vacant areas down the ground.After weathering a tough period before lunch, he added 68 with Watling for the fifth wicket. With the ball moving both ways, Nicholls and Watling left well outside off, forcing the seamers towards the stumps. The quicks were continually rotated and batting became gradually easier as the middle session wore on.Just when it looked like New Zealand would get through the session unscathed, the offspinner Dane Piedt got one to spin back viciously. Watling shuffled across, missed his flick, and was struck in front of off stump. Watling reviewed, but umpire’s call on impact meant South Africa had their only wicket of the session.Kagiso Rabada, hitting the high 130-kph range as opposed to the 150 mark he regularly clocked in the first innings, struggled for fluency, rhythm and accuracy before tea. A number of wayward deliveries on either side of the wicket were easily avoided or dispatched to the boundary. However, he returned late in the day to pick up two-lower order wickets: he had Tim Southee bowled with a spearing yorker on off stump and beat Neil Wagner for pace to pin him in front of middle and leg.Mitchell Santner, Doug Bracewell and Southee all got off to starts, but could not stay long enough at the crease to help Nicholls to a maiden Test ton. At 195 for 9, Nicholls was quickly running out of partners and du Plessis recalled Steyn. A top-edged pull off a short delivery, aimed at Nicholls’ ribs, was taken at fine leg to end New Zealand’s resistance.In the morning, resuming from a score of 105 for 6, overnight batsmen Temba Bavuma and Vernon Philander were patient early, leaving and blocking Trent Boult and Tim Southee, both of whom generated appreciable lateral movement like they had on the third evening. Philander looked untroubled until he left a good-length delivery from Southee that jagged back prodigiously to uproot the off stump. South Africa declared at 132 for 7, having added 27 in the first hour.