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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.”

Zimbabwe have been given a timely confidence boost after their shock one-run win over Australia in their World Twenty20 warm-up match

Cricinfo staff28-Apr-2010Zimbabwe have been given a timely confidence boost after their shock one-run win over Australia in their World Twenty20 warm-up match. Elton Chigumbura’s boundary-laden 76 helped to set up the victory and raise morale in the Zimbabwe camp after they lost both of their games against West Indies A.”It means a lot to us in terms of confidence,” Chigumbura said. “Maybe it was only a practise match for Australia but we know they were trying their hardest and we could see that they did not enjoy losing.”We need to believe that we are good enough to beat any team and this was a good reminder because results haven’t been too good on tour so far.”Alan Butcher, in his first major outing as Zimbabwe’s head coach, paid tribute to Chigumbura’s game-changing innings, highlighting just how much the win meant to them ahead of two tough engagements against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, but insisting that it was a team effort that secured the match.”It may not mean too much in the context of the tournament when it gets under way for real, but it means everything to us and to Zimbabwe cricket,” he said. “Everyone played their part, and I really mean that, although Elton played the biggest part and deserves all the headlines and praise that he gets.”Mitchell Johnson, who picked up four wickets on either side of Chigumbura’s explosive innings, expressed his side’s disappointment at the loss to the lowly Zimbabweans, but insisted that it would not affect the team’s performance in the tournament.”Obviously we would have liked to have won,” Johnson said. “When you come into these practice games you want to be pretty close to your best.”It won’t be a setback. It’s disappointing to lose in a practice match but we’ve just got to keep going forward, keep working hard in our training sessions and make sure we’re ready for the World Cup.”Australia will be hoping for a win in their final warm-up, against Windward Islands at Gros Islet on Thursday, while Zimbabwe’s last practice match before the tournament begins is against Pakistan at the same venue.

Former Hampshire captain is in favour of Lord’s taking central role in London Spirit

Matt Roller21-May-2024Mark Nicholas has left his role as chair of Southern Brave’s board. His decision to step down comes as he prepares to take over as Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) chair, at a time when the club – who are proprietors of Lord’s – could become majority owners of London Spirit.Nicholas, who captained Hampshire during his playing career, is a close friend of the club’s ex-chair Rod Bransgrove. He was appointed chair of Southern Brave – who are run jointly by Hampshire and Sussex – in 2019 ahead of the Hundred’s launch, but has now stepped down from that role in recognition of his growing involvement with MCC.Southern Brave filed paperwork to Companies House last week stating that Nicholas has resigned as a director of the company. An MCC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo: “We can confirm that Mark has left his role as chair of Southern Brave. There aren’t currently any plans for him to join the board of London Spirit.”Related

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Nicholas has been MCC president since last year, and will take over as chair in October. He has been prominent in the club’s communication with its members around the imminent changes to the ownership model of Hundred teams, which is expected to see the ECB hand 51% stakes to their hosts – in London Spirit’s case, MCC.MCC has discussed the possibility of owning a stake in London Spirit with its members since late last year and Chris Rogers, the club’s treasurer, is chair of a ‘Hundred working group’. Nicholas has expressed his interest in MCC becoming majority owners, telling members he likes the idea of the club coming together to support a single team under its banner.The global profile of Lord’s means that London Spirit is expected to be the most lucrative team when the ECB invites bids later this year. MCC may consider using a potential windfall as an endowment for the MCC Foundation, to invest in the club’s museum, and to continue to improve the facilities at Lord’s, with approval recently granted for a £61.8 million redevelopment of the Allen and Tavern Stands.

Match referee Chris Broad noted how the fifth ball of the match threw up a puff of dust and kept deteriorating further

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-20233:27

Chopra: If every Test lasts only two-and-a-half days, there is a problem

The pitch at Indore used for third Test between India and Australia has been rated “poor” by the ICC with Holkar Stadium handed three demerit points.The Test ended midway through the first session of the third day with Australia winning by nine wickets in a game dominated by the spinners.”The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start,” ICC match referee Chris Broad said.”The fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface and continued to occasionally break the surface providing little or no seam movement and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match.”

The ICC rates a pitch as poor if any of the following criteria apply

The pitch offers excessive seam movement at any stage of the match

The pitch displays excessive unevenness of bounce for any bowler at any stage of the match

The pitch offers excessive assistance to spin bowlers, especially early in the match

The pitch displays little or no seam movement or turn at any stage in the match together with no significant bounce or carry, thereby depriving the bowlers of a fair contest between bat and ball

The pitch displays excessive moisture making its playing characteristics unpredictable, or excessive dryness leading to the surface to deteriorate.

BCCI now have 14 days if they wish to appeal against the sanction. A venue will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months if it accumulates five or more demerit points over a five-year rolling period.Indore was given short notice about hosting the third match of the Border-Gavaskar series. Originally it was supposed to take place in Dharamsala, but the outfield is not yet up to par after it was relaid. The BCCI announced the shifting of the venue on February 13, about two weeks before the scheduled start of the game on March 1.India prefer playing their home Tests in conditions that take turn right from day one. That certainly was the case at Holkar stadium when the home team having won the toss and opting to bat slipped to 84 for 7 in just the first session. At the lunch interval, India coach Rahul Dravid was seen inspecting the pitch with the curator in tow.The captain, though, though minced no words when talking about the 22 yards. “Honestly speaking, these are the kind of pitches we want to play on,” Rohit Sharma said. “This is our strength, so when you’re playing at your home, you always play to your strength, not worry about what people outside are talking about.”Steven Smith observes the Indore pitch ahead of the Test match•Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Australia’s stand-in captain Steven Smith didn’t mind the conditions either. “I personally really enjoy playing on these kind of wickets,” he said. “I prefer this than just a genuine flat wicket that goes five days and can be boring in stages. There’s always something happening on these wickets. You’ve got to really work hard for your runs. But it’s showed that the guys can do it. Guys can do it, you’ve got to work hard for them and you need some luck. With this one, whether it might have been a little bit too extreme, potentially from the first ball. I’m not really entirely sure, but it was still another enjoyable.”But in terms of a balance between bat and ball, the uneven degree of both turn and bounce led to only two scores of fifty or more in the entire Test match. India’s total of 109 was their sixth-lowest in a first innings at home. Australia, in their first innings, suffered a collapse of 6 for 11. Spin was responsible for all but five of the 31 wickets that fell and there were, in total, 16 single-digit scores by the time the game ended on the third morning.The last time a pitch in India was rated poor was in 2017, the Pune Test where Australia beat India on a similarly spiteful turner. Broad was the one who handed out that sanction as well.Nagpur and Delhi, the venues for the first two Tests of this tour in 2023, produced surfaces which were rated “average” by match referee Andy Pycroft.

Allrounder prepared to play through pain again but will wait to see how side strain responds to treatment

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2022Ben Stokes has said he wants to play in the fifth Ashes Test in Hobart but admitted his availability to feature as a specialist batter would depend on how his side strain responded to treatment, with the potential to do further damage ahead of England’s Test tour to the West Indies in March.Stokes suffered a “low grade tear” while bowling in Australia’s first innings in Sydney, but played on through the pain, scoring half-centuries in each innings as England fought their way to a draw – thus ending any prospect of being whitewashed 5-0 for the third time in 15 years.England saw a number of players sustain injuries over the course of five days at the SCG, the most serious being a finger fracture that has ruled Jos Buttler out of the final Test. Jonny Bairstow took a blow on the thumb on the way to scoring a first-innings hundred, with his fitness to play in Hobart also to be assessed.Related

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All three played their part in helping England get through the final day: Stokes scoring 60 off 123 balls, Bairstow 41 off 105 and Buttler 11 off 38.Writing in his newspaper column three days out from the fifth Test, Stokes said he couldn’t say “definitively” if he would be involved.”The big question now is whether I can play in the final game as a batsman or not,” he wrote in the . “I’m not going to say definitively just yet because there are still a few days to go and we need to see how I respond to the treatment, but what I will say is that I want to play.”If it is a question of playing through a bit of pain, I know it is not going to be as bad as it was in Sydney and I got through that okay. But there are other things to consider such as the West Indies tour to come and the likelihood of doing more damage.”Stokes came into the Sydney Test with a top-score of 34 from six innings, but found some form with the bat after being forced off midway through an over on the second day. He stayed on the field, despite the injury, to ensure he would not have to give up his spot at No. 5.”I’ve never had a side strain before but when I bowled the ball that caused the low grade tear, it must be what surgery without the anaesthetic feels like, it was agony,” Stokes said. “As painful as it was, amazingly it is not the most pain that I have been in on a cricket field. That will always belong to my broken finger, but this comes a close second.”The medics and Graham Thorpe suggested perhaps I shouldn’t field, but I felt I needed to be out there to give some support to the team especially when the bowlers were having to step up and bowl my overs.”Stokes suffered the strain after being brought on for a sustained spell of short-pitched bowling, but denied England’s choice of tactics contributed to situation.”Some people might have an issue with the type of bowling, but it could happen bowling normally and I can’t start worrying about getting injured, otherwise I’m not doing my job properly. Anytime you bowl in a Test match there is a risk of injury.”

Other matters up for discussion are venues, training facilities and quarantine measures against Covid-19

Nagraj Gollapudi27-Jul-2020The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 1 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements necessary for the tournament to be conducted in the UAE. Recently the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel announced the tournament would be played in the UAE between September 19 and November 10.It is understood that the Governing Council is likely to discuss the dates, venues, training facilities, the quarantine measures along with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that would be necessary for the event which comprises eight teams to play 60 matches over 50 days.Other than Patel, the meeting would also be attended by the BCCI’s office bearers including president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah and treasurer Arun Dhumal. Incidentally, both Ganguly and Shah have finished their six-year tenures as office bearers and are supposed to undergo a three-year cooling-off period as per the BCCI constitution. However, the BCCI has sought amendments to the constitution including tweaking the cooling-off period in a plea with the Supreme Court, which has scheduled the hearing for August 17.Earlier on Monday, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) said that it had received a letter of intent from the BCCI to conduct the IPL in the UAE. That letter is understood to be signed by IPL’s chief operating officer Hemang Amin, who also is doubling up as the BCCI’s interim chief executive officer.The ECB said it was looking forward to hosting the IPL, but a “final deal” would be inked after the Indian government had given BCCI the permission to shift the tournament to the UAE.