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CSA also roped in Duminy as permanent batting coach and Kleinveldt as temporary bowling coach for the white-ball set-up

Firdose Moonda06-Mar-2023Aiden Markram has been appointed South Africa’s new T20I captain, while Cricket South Africa (CSA) roped in JP Duminy as the batting coach and Rory Kleinveldt as the bowling coach in the white-ball set-up. Markram takes over captaincy from Temba Bavuma, who has been dropped from the squad altogether for the upcoming home T20Is against West Indies later this month.Duminy has been appointed on a permanent basis whereas Kleinveldt has come in only for the West Indies series for now.Talks between new white-ball coach, Rob Walter, and former captain Faf du Plessis meanwhile proved unfruitful for now and du Plessis was not included in the T20I squad. This could change in the future.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Markram led South Africa’s Under-19 side to victory at the World Cup in 2014 and more recently was at the helm of Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who won the inaugural SA20 title. He has also been named captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming IPL and Walter sees the national leadership as a natural progression for Markram.”Aiden has shown himself to be a leader over a period of time now. Obviously, his most recent success for the Sunrisers [Eastern Cape] stands out so it seemed like just a logical progression into the leadership of the national side,” Walter said at a press conference in Johannesburg. “He has been there before but I think he’s matured a lot as a player and as a leader since then.”This is Markram’s second foray into leading the senior side after he captained them in an ODI series against India in February 2018, in the absence of an injured du Plessis. Then, the captaincy negatively affected his batting and he scored 118 runs in five matches at 23.60.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

As for Bavuma, who stepped down as the T20I captain to take over the Test leadership recently, Walter indicated the shortest format door is not closed to him. “It was purely a T20 performance-based decision,” Walter said. “My job now is to work with him to get him back into the side. That’ll certainly be one of our focuses.”Bavuma had a tough 2022 in the T20I format, and got into double figures only five times in 12 innings. He led South Africa at the last two T20 World Cups, in 2021 and 2022, and they failed to reach the semi-finals in both. Bavuma also faced criticism over his strike rate, which sits at 116.08 in T20Is and he was not bought at the SA20 auction. He got a deal with Sunrisers Eastern Cape as a replacement player later in the tournament, by which point he scored a series-winning century against England in a World Cup Super League ODI.Walter was still in New Zealand at the time, where he coached Central Stags, and the ODI team was under the command of new Test coach Shukri Conrad, who introduced a more aggressive style of play which Walter endorses and will build on. “The way that you saw the ODI side play against England was how we’d like the team to play going forward,” Walter said.South Africa will play three ODIs against West Indies, starting on March 16, which do not count for World Cup Super League points. For those ODIs, South Africa have rested fast bowlers Anrich Nortje (who is also out of the second Test with a groin niggle) and Kagiso Rabada, but the duo will return for the following three T20Is. Fast bowler Gerald Coetzee and batters Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs earned their maiden ODI call-ups.There is no place for Dewald Brevis in the South Africa squads yet•SA20

There is still no room for 19-year old batting sensation Dewald Brevis, who was the leading run-scorer at last year’s age-group World Cup, and has experience in the IPL, CPL and SA20. Walter had indicated Brevis needs to bide his time before making the step up.”He forms part of a category of young, exciting cricketers that are in the system. The job and the journey with him will be exactly the same as it is for the others in trying to find opportunities that are below the Proteas level to give him access to,” Walter said. “The SA20 would have given him some insight as to the areas that he needs to develop in his game, along with many others. There’s an x-factor that is exciting and now we just need to give him the foundations and the pathway to grow.”After the T20Is, South Africa will end the summer with two must-win ODIs against Netherlands in the World Cup Super League. If South Africa win both games and Sri Lanka win one match or fewer in their three-match series against New Zealand, South Africa will secure automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup. “Hopefully the Blackcaps do what they need to do and and secure that series and then we still have to take care of our business,” Walter said. “Everything else becomes irrelevant if we don’t take take care of that first.”The matches against Netherlands take place on March 31 and April 2 and clash with the opening matches of the IPL. CSA’s director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe, confirmed that the South African contracted players who are part of the IPL will be available for national duty before leaving for India. “As it stands, they are available,” Nkwe said. “We have been engaged with the IPL and the BCCI as well, so the selected players will be available for the two ODIs.”South Africa’s T20I squad for West Indies series: Aiden Markram (capt), Quinton de Kock , Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Sisanda Magala, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.Squad for ODIs: Temba Bavuma (capt), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tristan Stubbs, Lizaad Williams, Rassie van der Dussen. For third ODI only: Aiden Markram, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Wayne Parnell.

Nation was stretchered off while Taylor was hit on the helmet and suffered concussion

Firdose Moonda03-Feb-2022West Indies lost Chedean Nation and Stafanie Taylor to on-field injuries during the third ODI against South Africa, who won the fixture by 96 runs. The four-match series is level at 1-1, with one game to play.Nation was stretchered off the field in the 40th over of the South African innings after tumbling while trying to stop a Mignon du Preez boundary. She was at midwicket as du Preez swiped, Nation ran in, slipped and fell head over heels. She was unmoved as the ball crossed the boundary and required 12 minutes of on-field treatment before being taken off.Earlier, in the 36th over, Nation had jammed her shoulder into the ground as she attempted to stop the ball and though she appeared to recover quite quickly, it may have been the initial blow which forced her off the field. She was taken to hospital “out of an abundance of caution”, according to the West Indies media manager.A little more than 90 minutes later, Taylor copped a blow to the helmet off a Nadine de Klerk bouncer. That was at the end of the 13th over and by the first ball of the 14th, Taylor, at the non-striker’s end, stood hunched over with her hands on her knees, shaking her head. She faced another delivery, took a single and then decided she could not continue. She received on-field assistance but walked off the field, pointing to her neck. Taylor was found to be concussed, and eventually replaced for the remainder of the game by Aaliyah Alleyne.South Africa posted their highest total against West Indies in a bid to level the series. Laura Wolvaardt scored her third ODI century and first against a top-eight rated team and shared in a 141-run third-wicket stand with Sune Luus to set South Africa up for their highest total against West Indies.”I felt like I wasn’t getting great starts,” Wolvaardt told the television broadcast after her innings. Her previous three knocks have not progressed past 25. “We focused on building a partnership that took up a lot of time and faced a lot of overs. It’s very nice to see what we can do if we actually do what we are supposed to and get it right.”Luus contributed 56 but the innings’ impetus came from Chloe Tyron, who smashed a 24-ball 43 to put South Africa in touching distance of 300. With South Africa scoring at a shade under six an over, Shakera Selman’s return of 0 for 39 in 10 was the most miserly of the bowling. Shamilia Connell, who conceded only 54 runs in her 10, finished with four wickets.The South Africa innings ended a ball short due to an umpiring error, which denied them the opportunity to bring up only their third total over 300. Still, it was too much for West Indies who started the innings without Nation and lost soon Taylor. By then, the series’ leading wicket-taker, Ayabonga Khaka, had removed both openers in her first two overs, making use of swing through the air on a humid Johannesburg evening.Kycia Knight’s 69 kept West Indies in the hunt but she holed out to long-on to become offspinner Raisibe Ntozakhe’s first victim since making her ODI comeback in this match. Ntozakhe was cleared to bowl again in September last year after being reported for a suspect action in September 2018. She finished with 1 for 53.Shabnim Ismail took two wickets in two balls to leave West Indies 170 for 7 in the 37th over. Alleyne batted to the end but was left with too much to do. With Nation unable to bat, South Africa only needed nine wickets and took them before West Indies had faced their full quota of overs.The series finale will be played on Sunday at the same venue, the Wanderers. South Africa will wear an all-black kit to show their support for victims of gender-based violence and West Indies will wear black armbands for the same cause.

They become the fourth South African, sixth Pakistani and fifth Australian woman respectively to join the elite list

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2020Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Abbas and Lisa Sthalekar have been inducted into the ICC’s Hall of Fame.Kallis, who retired from international cricket in 2014, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame almost as soon as he became eligible; the ICC rule mandates a five-year gap after a player’s last international match. He is widely regarded as one of cricket’s great allrounders. In addition to being the third-most-prolific Test batsman of all time, with 13,289 runs at an average of 55.37, he also took 292 wickets at 32.65 with his fast-medium swing bowling. He is the fourth South African inducted into Hall of Fame, after Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards and Allan Donald.Lisa Sthalekar with the World Cup trophy•ICC/Getty

Abbas is the sixth Pakistani in the Hall of Fame, after Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Abbas played Test cricket from 1969 to 1985, and was renowned worldwide for being an elegant strokeplayer with a massive appetite for runs. He scored 5062 Test-match runs at 44.79, and remains the only subcontinental batsman to have scored more than 100 first-class centuries, a feat that earned him the nickname ‘The Asian Bradman’.Sthalekar is the 27th Australian cricketer in the Hall of Fame, and the fifth Australian women’s player after Belinda Clark, Betty Wilson, Karen Rolton and Cathryn Fitzpatrick. Sthalekar, who batted in the middle order and bowled offspin, ended her career in 2013 as one of the premier allrounders in women’s cricket. With 2728 runs at 30.65 and 146 wickets at 24.97, she remains one of only five players to have completed the women’s ODI double of 2000 runs and 100 wickets, with Ellyse Perry the only other Australian in that group. Sthalekar has been part of four World-Cup-winning Australia teams, winning the ODI title in 2005 and 2013 and the T20 title in 2010 and 2012.”Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that I would ever get to join such an illustrious group of players,” Sthalekar said after the announcement. “I was fortunate enough to learn from the best when I entered the Australia team – Belinda Clark, Karen Rolton and Cathryn Fitzpatrick, all of whom have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and rightly so. The guidance from them and other team-mates along the way kept me focused but also ensured that it was a fun environment.”Abbas joined Sthalekar in expressing his gratitude to those who helped shape his career, while Kallis said it felt good to be appreciated in this way.”I would like to say a special thanks to my family, my country Pakistan, my county Gloucestershire and many fans worldwide who helped me achieve and fulfil my dreams by playing this great game at the highest level,” Abbas said. “It is a final recognition for any cricketer. This great game has made me the person I am. Thank you cricket.””It is something that I never expected when I started playing,” Kallis said. “I certainly did not play the game for any accolades or anything like that, I only wanted to win the games for whoever I was playing for. But it is nice to be recognised when one has succeeded in the sport, it is nice to be recognised by people for something that you have achieved in the game.”Full list of ICC Hall of Fame members.

For Ireland, finishing the tri-series with a win over Bangladesh should soften the blow of elimination and inject some much-needed confidence going forward

Mohammad Isam14-May-2019

Big picture

A dead rubber ahead of a final, but more importantly ahead of the World Cup means Bangladesh have the luxury to experiment with their line-up. In the matches gone by, Mashrafe Mortaza gave himself and the rest of the bowlers challenges to bowl in different phases of the innings, although he kept the batting line-up intact.Against Ireland, they could look to give any of Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain or Yasir Ali a go, but they will also be mindful of the fact that Sabbir Rahman hasn’t had a proper bat despite playing both matches.The bowlers, who have done well in both games against the West Indies, could get a rest ahead of a busy schedule. The team management might have to assess the match fitness and form of Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain, and maybe have a look at Nayeem Hasan and Farhad Reza.Andy Balbirnie’s 135 and fifties from Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien were bright spots for Ireland in another defeat against West Indies. They might be out of the tournament but the season’s just started and they have important cricket later this year, against Zimbabwe and England. This game is another opportunity for them to find a better combination, particularly in their bowling department, having conceded 381 in the tournament opener before failing to defend 327 in the last match. Finishing the tri-series with a win over Bangladesh should soften the blow of elimination and inject some much-needed confidence going forward.

Form guide

Ireland: LLLWL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh: WWLLL

In the spotlight

Andy Balbirnie has become a banker for Ireland’s top order, having scored two centuries in eight ODIs this year. He has been around since 2010, but has only started to come into his own in the last couple of years. He has been Ireland’s leading run-scorer since January 2018, averaging in excess of 47 during this period. Before that, his career average was hovering around 24.After an iffy season, Mustafizur Rahman was finally back to his best, getting his cutters to break and grip off the pitch as he took a four-for against West Indies. There couldn’t have been a better time for the seamer to find form, with the World Cup now just two weeks away.Andy Balbirnie raises his bat after a fine century•Getty Images

Team news

Ireland have a few options on the bench. Offspinner Andy McBrine, who hasn’t played in the tri-series, might get a look in. Also, will captain William Porterfield remain at No.4, after batting in that position for the first time across formats in the last match?Ireland (probable): 1 Paul Stirling, 2 James McCollum, Andy Balbirnie, 5 William Porterfield (capt), 6 Kevin O’Brien, 6 Mark Adair, 7 Gary Wilson (wk), 8 George Dockrell, 9 Boyd Rankin, 10 Tim Murtagh/Andy McBrine, 11 Josh LittleTheoretically, Bangladesh can make up to six changes but the likelihood of tweaking the bowling attack is higher.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mohammad Mithun, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Abu Jayed/Farhad Reza, 9 Mehidy Hasan Miraz/Nayeem Hasan, 10 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 11 Mustafizur Rahman/Taskin Ahmed

Pitch and conditions

There’s going to be a bit of cloud around but the forecast is of mostly clear weather. Should be another good day for batting.

Stats and trivia

• Shakib Al Hasan has the chance to become the fastest cricketer to complete the double of 250 wickets and 5,000-plus runs in ODIs if he takes one wicket against Ireland tomorrow. He will do it faster than Sanath Jayasuriya (304 matches), Shahid Afridi (273 matches), Jacques Kallis (296 matches) and Abdul Razzaq (234 matches) among those who have achieved this.
• Boyd Rankin is five short of 100 ODI wickets, although ten of his 95 wickets have come while playing for England.
• Their defeat to West Indies in the previous game was the third time Ireland lost after making a 300-plus score batting first.
  

Dipendra Singh Airee was front and centre on this historic occasion, claiming 4 for 15 to knock the opposition over for 114 and then leading the chase with a 58-ball half-century

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2018
ScorecardNepal have claimed ODI status for the first time with their six-wicket win over Papua New Guinea. Dipendra Singh Airee was front and centre on this historic occasion, claiming 4 for 14 to knock the opposition over for 114 and then leading the chase with a 58-ball half-century. Paras Khadka’s men had to thank Netherlands though, whose defeat of Hong Kong, meant that they will now be playing with the big boys.Nepal’s win over PNG and Hong Kong’s loss to Netherlands secured them ODI status•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There were several notable events that studded this triumph for Nepal, not least of which is the fact that their cricket board is currently suspended by the ICC. Their arrival to the World Cup qualifier was also a spectacular story, with the team claiming several nail-biting last-over finishes. A team that was in Division Five in 2008, alongside Afghanistan, have now risen to the top-tier of international cricket.Papua New Guinea, who lost all four of their group games in the tournament prior to the consolation bracket loss to Nepal, have lost their ODI status along with Hong Kong. Both teams have now been demoted to WCL Division Two, but they do have one final chance to play an ODI (at least until 2020) – the ninth-place play-off on Saturday.There was very little that Nepal could do wrong in this match. They won the toss and put the opposition in. Their 17-year old legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane took 4 for 28 in eight overs to break the PNG middle order and Airee knocked over the tail. With only 115 need to win, all Nepal needed was one batsman to bat around and Airee took on that responsibility, coming in at No. 4 and sealing the game with a six with 27 overs to spare.

Faf du Plessis wants South Africa to pull of a whitewash that proved elusive in Australia

Firdose Moonda11-Jan-2017There are ways of saying things and then there is the Faf du Plessis way of saying things. It’s considered rather than clichéd and direct without being dismissive, an especially important quality in a series like this.South Africa have dominated to the extent that Dale Steyn’s “quietly confident,” pre-series prediction that a 3-0 whitewash could be on the cards now seems a certainty. Apart from the first day of the first Test, Sri Lanka have failed to put up a concerted challenge to South Africa in any department and the sting of this series has long left the bee.Despite that, du Plessis did not disrespect the opposition and offered a measured explanation for their lack of fight. “We don’t see them as weak, we just see them as not being as good in our own conditions as we are,” he said.At the Wanderers, that will only be highlighted more. Even though the groundsman Bethuel Buthelezi, has said, “there won’t be as much in the wicket as there was for Stuart Broad last year,” he has promised bounce and carry and Sri Lanka’s batsmen will need to find a way to cope.Du Plessis’ advice to Sri Lanka is to be patient, because that is the only way to prosper on seamer-friendly surfaces. “In the batting department, they just haven’t had guys anchoring the crease and applying themselves for long enough. We also find the conditions challenging but we’ve just been more patient in waiting for the bowler to make a mistake,” he said.Sri Lanka’s pace pack, though, could have more to look forward to. Du Plessis remains wary of an attack that have made barred their teeth on occasion and that he thinks are not far away from biting. “They’ve got the seam bowlers in these conditions to challenge us, but they just haven’t done it consistently. If they start doing that then they can do exactly what we’ve done with them,” he said.South Africa’s aim is a whitewash, which they were not able to achieve in Australia as Australia showed up well to win the floodlit Test in Adelaide by seven wickets.”You don’t get opportunities like this very often so for me that becomes the focus – to try and make sure that we dominate a team we are on top of at the moment,” du Plessis said. “We had an opportunity in Australia, we didn’t take it – the pink ball is something the Australian team are quite successful with – but it’s another opportunity for us to try and go 3-0.”Apart from the unknown of a first day-night Test, South Africa’s quest for 3-0 Down Under was derailed by the distraction surrounding du Plessis’ ball-tampering hearing and ultimate conviction. Then, du Plessis was disappointed that took away from the team’s achievements.A similar thing has happened now, with Kolpak signings making the headlines and South Africa’s series win relegated to inside pages. Du Plessis has admitted he does not enjoy seeing performances brushed aside for bigger issues and would like to try and bring the actual cricket to the forefront again.”In this series, once again, we’ve played amazing cricket, we’re 2-0 up, dominating a team and there’s other stuff that influences and takes the shine off the performances and that is draining. In a perfect world, you don’t want that,” he said.”But it is what it is. We respect Kyle’s decisions. It’s now time for us to focus on this next Test match and look forward to how we can build a new bowling unit and see who are going to be the guys who will lead our attack in the next five years.”Wayne Parnell has been confirmed as Abbott’s replacement and du Plessis is looking forward to seeing his progression first-hand but he is also excited about the prospect of Knights’ quick Duanne Olivier, who may have to wait to make his debut but who is definitely in the long-term plans.”I’m excited to see how much Wayne’s game has improved. He played one Test for us last time and did really well, and I think he’s a better player than he was then,” du Plessis said.”Today was the first time I faced Duanne and there is just something there. I really like what I see. I also like a guy coming to the nets, picking up an old ball and starting to bowl with it. Generally you get guys wanting a new ball – obviously you want to impress – but he took an old ball straight away and was just getting stuck into his areas. It’s nice that he is 24 as well, there’s a future there. I am excited about the talent.”

Ross Taylor felt the decision to not give Nathan Lyon out even as HotSpot clearly indicated a faint nick, was a big moment in the match

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide28-Nov-20155:08

Chappell: Lyon decision unsettled New Zealand

Sometimes a strategic silence can say more than any number of words. New Zealand’s senior batsman Ross Taylor had almost got through the entirety of his post-play press conference when one final reference to the day’s pivotal DRS episode arose. Taylor had already quipped, “I’ve still got my match fee at the moment, so thank you.”But this question, from the AAP reporter Rob Forsaith, was pointed. “What did Brendon say after it happened,” he asked. “Was it hard for him to hide his frustration?”

From ESPNcricinfo’s commentary

Santner to Lyon, no run, sweeps and it’s taken at slip… did he top edge it on to his shoulder? We’re going to have a review, think from NZ. It was a full delivery, straightening off the surface, the ball passed over the bat and then ricocheted off Lyon’s upper arm. We’re seeing a faint mark on Hot Spot, which might suggest he kissed the top edge, but Real Time Snicko does not flicker in the slightest… It’s very hard to tell, the camera angles are pretty inconclusive and after Llong deliberations from Nigel Llong, he decides that there is no conclusive evidence of the edge. They also want to check the lbw, for when the ball hit the arm – but, bizarrely, the replay shows Lyon playing a different shot. So that doesn’t really help! But after all that, the decision stays not out

Taylor’s eyes widened. He looked out at the sea of reporters and cameras, then over to the team media manager, then back to Forsaith. “He didn’t really say much afterwards,” Taylor deadpanned, to widespread laughter. “That was a good thing about it, once the decision was there, he was the first one to say come on boys, let’s get on with it. But yeah my Facebook’s going off the hook at the moment back home in New Zealand. I’ve still got my match fee though, haven’t I? Thank you.”The interlude summed up New Zealand’s thinly veiled frustration at the decision, which followed extensive examination of the DRS by the MCC World Cricket Committee in the lead-up to this Test. Nigel Llong, the third umpire in question, was unable to discern a visible deflection when the ball passed a sweeping Nathan Lyon’s bat. Nor could he conclude that a HotSpot mark visible on two replays had come from the ball. All this as Lyon walked to the boundary’s edge in resignation.”The players were pretty confident it was out, the HotSpot showed up, Lyon walking off and getting to the boundary – I think it’s had a big bearing on the match,” Taylor said. “But it is what it is, we’ve just got to get on with it, hopefully we can bat for as long as possible tomorrow.”When quizzed on how frustrating it was for a system designed to prevent “howlers” to still somehow throw up one, Taylor replied: “You’ve got to ask Nigel that.”That was one of the discussions the boys did talk about in the change room, we can understand when umpires make the wrong decision on the field, but once you’ve got so many different angles and what not, you think that more often than not, 99 to 100% of the time you’re going to get the right answer. But I guess we didn’t today.”On the part of the Australians, Josh Hazlewood summed things up succinctly. “It’s one of those things,” he said. “All that technology there and they still couldn’t quite get a decision.”Taylor still has his match fee. But the DRS in its present form has undoubtedly fewer fans.

Graeme Swann is itching to return to action after declaring that his elbow has “never felt better” following the surgery he had after being ruled out of the Test series in New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2013Graeme Swann is itching to return to action after declaring that his elbow has “never felt better” following the surgery he had after being ruled out of the Test series in New Zealand.He is set play his first match of the season for Nottinghamshire against Durham in the County Championship next week, his last chance for first-class cricket with his county before the opening Test of the season against New Zealand at Lord’s on May 16. But there is the England Lions game against New Zealand if the selectors feel he needs more overs.Swann has been bowling in the nets during Nottinghamshire’s current match against Derbyshire and is feeling no ill effects after having “13 or 14″ pieces of bone removed from his right elbow during the operation in the USA, significantly fewer than came out during the first surgery in 2009 when 29 fragments were found.”The elbow feels great,” Swann said while speaking at a Chance to Shine event to mark the two millionth child to be included in the scheme. “I’ve been bowling with it over the last two days in the nets and it has never felt better. The aim was always for me to come back on Monday against Durham and that is what is going to happen. I was just bored with stupid bowling in the nets and wanted to get back in the game.””I was actually hoping to play this week against Derby but it just swelled up a little bit and I was told to get back in my box. I’m very happy now but this is the last time in my career I will have elbow surgery.”When Swann was ruled out of the New Zealand series in March, on the opening day of the first Test, he was optimistic that the surgery would be a success but admitted the occasional doubt.”You go through a mixture of emotions,” he said. “You have the panic, then the optimism, then the odd pessimistic day pops its head out of nowhere. But the surgery wasn’t as serious as last time and my rehab has gone perfectly.”England missed both Swann’s bowling and his on-field spark in New Zealand as the attack laboured to take 20 wickets. With Australia’s likely line-up for the Ashes potentially including four left handers in the top order he could be in for a bumper season while he is also a crucial cog in the one-day team which has a Champions Trophy to aim for.Swann’s recovery is a piece of positive news for England in a week where Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out until at least the Ashes with his bruised knee taking longer to heel than expected.

Cursed by rain and cold since the day he arrived in Essex, the South Africa batsman Alviro Petersen described scoring runs as a “bit tough”

Charles Randall at Chelmsford10-May-2012
ScorecardAlviro Petersen did not take part in a second day restricted to less than two overs after twisting an ankle playing football in the warm-up•Getty Images

One has to feel sympathy for Alviro Petersen, Essex’s overseas signing from Johannesburg. From the heat of the highveld he has been plunged into the soaking cold bath that is Championship cricket in April and now May. He summed up his situation with as much understatement he could muster when he reckoned it was a “bit tough” scoring runs.Rain allowed only 10 balls to be bowled on the second day as Kent staggered onwards from their overnight 17 for 5, though Petersen did not join the fun in his customary position at slip. He remained in the pavilion after twisting his ankle playing warm-up football, allowing plenty of time to contemplate batting in due course. His injury was shrugged off as mild, though Ashley Young has gone to turf for less at Manchester United.Even in such a brief passage of play, Kent could have slipped further, as Geraint Jones padded up to the opening delivery from Charl Willoughby and was hit plumb in front by a sharp inswinger. Luckily for him the ball would have missed, just high. A maiden followed from David Masters, and Kent had stopped the rot for the time being.Petersen, as a Test cricketer, has stuck to his task well with Essex, and his 145 at Cardiff last week was a mature effort. He has not yet succeeded at Chelmsford, but these are early days in his attempt to claw back South African credibility at Essex after Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s embarrassing tenure as a bowler last summer.Tsotsobe started his Essex contract in the April heatwave of blessed memory and flew back home after taking only five wickets in his three first-class games. His Twitter remark declared his sojourn as the “worst two months” of his life. “It’s just impossible to work in this environment,” he said. The most printable reaction from Essex’s coach Paul Grayson was that the comment was “downright rude”.One wonders what Tsotsobe would have thought of the much harsher environment that Petersen has had to endure – tough, even for football.Rain stayed away for most of a second day lit by sunshine, with the absence of cricket caused by overnight torrents. Kent’s first task is to beat their lowest total against Essex, which was 43 at Southend in 1925. Batting is still tricky and with two sunnier days forecast the match could yet have a positive result.

Centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Anthony Alleyne gave West Indies Under-19s a 76-run first-innings lead

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2011
ScorecardCenturies from Kraigg Brathwaite and Anthony Alleyne gave West Indies Under-19s a 76-run first-innings lead in their three-day match against Australia Under-19s in Dubai. With only a day to play, a draw is the most likely result, especially since Australia knocked 54 runs off the lead at the end of the day, but West Indies gave themselves a chance by scoring at 4.43 runs an over while accumulating 426.Their captain Brathwaite played the anchor role, scoring 168 not out, and the rest of the team batted around him. Alleyene took just 136 balls for his 106, while Kavem Hodge got a run-a-ball 46. Australia’s legspinner Marc Simonds took the most punishment as his two wickets cost him 144 runs. Seamers Jacob Judd and Corey McMahon took two wickets each.Brathwaite, who has made two first-class centuries, said that his aim was to “bat through the innings”. Every time I get a chance to bat I see it as a golden opportunity. From the start I was looking to bat through the innings and I knew once I did that we would get a good score and get the lead,” he said.”When I went in to bat we were in a spot of trouble,” Alleyene said, “so I decided just to bat around Kraigg and get accustomed to the conditions. I have played a lot with him from Under-13 in Barbados and we are used to batting together. He helped me to relax and we just took it from there.”