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South Africa 307 for 2 (De Zorzi 141*, Stubbs 106, Bedingham 18*) vs Bangladesh It was a coming of age day for two of South Africa’s top three as Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs both scored their first Test centuries in Chattogram. De Zorzi and Stubbs, with eight and five Test caps to their names respectively, shared South Africa’s third-highest second-wicket stand in Asia of 201 to put South Africa in a strong position to push for a series sweep.They made the most of batter-friendly conditions with little seam movement, swing or steep bounce and only hints of turn to assist the home attack. Bangladesh’s bowlers had little to work with and the best they managed was to keep South Africa quiet in patches. Their tall seamer Nahid Rana was the most impressive of the five-man attack and reached speeds of up to 148kph but went wicketless. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam picked up from where he left off after a five-for in Mirpur and was the only bowler to take wickets, although Hasan Mahmud will feel hard done by. De Zorzi was dropped off him twice, on 6 and 69, on his way to an unbeaten 141.South Africa started the day strongly as stand-in captain Aiden Markram and de Zorzi motored at 4.6 runs an over in the first hour. They hit four fours and a six between them as South Africa reached morning drinks on 60 without loss. The only threat came from Hasan, who took de Zorzi’s edge with the first ball of his fourth over but debutant wicketkeeper Mahidul Islam could not hold on. Bangladesh turned to spin from both ends after that and it brought success for Taijul. Markram advanced down the track to a ball that was not as short as he anticipated and chipped it to Mominul Haque at mid-on.Related

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Markram’s dismissal allowed Bangladesh to pull the scoring rate back. They did not concede a boundary for 21 deliveries as Stubbs played himself in. He found his first four when he reverse-swept Mehidy Hasan Miraz behind point but then Bangladesh reapplied the squeeze. Another 28 balls were bowled for just 14 runs before de Zorzi brought up South Africa’s hundred with a sumptuous cover drive. De Zorzi went to lunch one away from a third Test fifty and got there in the over after the break.The opening exchanges of the afternoon session were difficult for South Africa and they went 91 deliveries between boundaries as they navigated Rana’s pace and small amounts of proper turn from Taijul. Nahid’s lengths were improved from the fuller ones he employed in the morning and he stuck to back-of-a-length balls which proved difficult to get away. But he did not come close to a wicket. Instead it was Mahmud who should have had something to show for his efforts. He drew de Zorzi forward again and took the edge but the chance slipped through the hands of Shadman Islam at first slip, de Zorzi and South Africa survived a period in which they scored only 34 runs in 13 overs after lunch and then things opened up a bit for them.The next eight overs brought 32 runs at a healthier scoring rate and Stubbs brought up his second Test fifty. Stubbs grew in confidence when he hit Mehidy over the sightscreen for six and de Zorzi followed suit by entering the nineties by sending Taijul over long-on. De Zorzi reached his hundred with a sweep shot off Mehidy through square leg and celebrated his achievement to warm applause from the dug out, which included injured captain Temba Bavuma. De Zorzi is only the second black African batter from South Africa to score a Test hundred, after Bavuma.2:12

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As de Zorzi struggled with cramps, Stubbs faced 25 of the first 30 deliveries after tea and showed good intent. He was particularly severe on Mehidy, charging him twice for six and reverse-sweeping him for four to near the nineties and knuckle down. De Zorzi struggled to run between the wickets so the pair quietened down and Stubbs spent 39 balls getting from 88 to 100. He did it with a single to deep point and a standing ovation from everyone in the South African camp.Stubbs was bowled in the next over by a ball that kept low from Taijul with about half an hour left of play in the day. South Africa saw that as a license to attack. De Zorzi and David Bedingham played with freedom and scored 34 runs in the six overs that followed as Bangladesh awaited the second new ball. They were also without their captain Najmul Hossain Shanto for that period after he left the field with what seemed like illness. Taijul led in his absence and took the second new ball as soon as it became available. Mehidy bowled one over with it before the players came off for bad light, with the day’s accolades going to de Zorzi.South Africa went into this series with only two specialist batters in their squad with playing experience in the subcontinent and only one, Markram, with a century in Asia. The other, Bavuma, was ruled out of the series with injury, which left them further bereft of experience. A Test and a day into the series they have four batters in the playing XI who have scored centuries in the subcontinent.

Alex Hepburn, the former Worcestershire allrounder, has been suspended from playing in ECB competitions for 10 years by the Cricket Discipline Commission, three years after serving a prison sentence for rape.Earlier this year, Hepburn was charged by the Cricket Regulator with two breaches of ECB Directive 3.3. The first related to his conviction in 2019, for which he was released in October 2021 after serving two years of a five-year sentence, while the second related to his participation in a misogynistic Whatsapp group during his playing days with Worcestershire in 2017.Hepburn, now 28, has not played professionally since the details of his arrest in April 2017 were made public. In the course of his four-day trial, it was heard how Hepburn had “dehumanised” women, rating them in text messages to his team-mates in a “sexual conquest competition”.He was subsequently found guilty on one count of oral rape, after an attack that took place in the flat that he shared with his then team-mate, Joe Clarke, with whom the victim had initially believed she was having sex. He appealed against the conviction, but the appeal was dismissed in September 2020.Given Hepburn’s time in prison, the Cricket Regulator was only able to serve him notification of the charge earlier this year, but his suspension has been backdated to the date of his release, on October 30, 2021. The suspension relating on the second charge, for a period of two years, is deemed to have been already served.A statement from the Cricket Regulator added: “Mr Hepburn failed to respond to the charge letter and related communication. As such, the CDC panel reached its decision in his absence. Mr Hepburn has not appealed the CDC panel’s decision.”Hepburn will also have to undertake “appropriate professional treatment” for the issues which led to his criminal conviction, and undertake appropriate training and education courses before he will be permitted to play, coach or undertake any cricket-related activity which falls under the authority of the ECB.He has also been placed on the sex offenders register for life as part of his conviction.

Hasan Mahmud stuck to bowling fuller lengths for most of the first day of Bangladesh’s Test tour of India. When he wasn’t bowling gentle outswingers to tempt the Indian batters to go for the cover drive, he was trying to hit the stumps or the pads.Taskin Ahmed, who has played more Tests than Mahmud, and Nahid Rana, who bowls much quicker, did not stick to this simple approach. They bowled too short, too wide or too full, giving the batters plenty of freebies. Mahmud simply used the devices available to him – seam, swing, pace and the right lengths – and became the first overseas quick in nearly 15 years to take three wickets in the first session of a Test match against India in India.”It is obviously great to take Test wickets,” Mahmud said. “I took a five-for against Pakistan so it was about trying to be consistent in my effort to contribute to the team. Today’s plan was very simple. I tried to shape the ball with the seam up. I kept trying to do it and [it paid off]. After the morning session which we dominated, the wicket got settled. The ball was coming onto the bat nicely. Still, I was getting some movement later on. Maybe tomorrow we can create more chances.”Related

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Every wicket Mahmud took on the first day in Chennai was well thought out. He built up a case against each batter, whether over a short or long period. Mahmud got the ball to hoop in slightly overcast conditions and tested both of Rohit Sharma’s edges. A skewed edge got Rohit an early boundary before he survived an lbw shout in the fourth over, when the ball ducked in from a slightly shorter length. Then came a subtle outgoing delivery that took his outside edge, well taken by Najmul Hossain Shanto at second slip.India’s No. 3 Shubman Gill, who couldn’t get Mahmud away for seven balls, also survived an lbw shout. His dismissal was a lucky one perhaps, when he was caught down the leg side, but it looked like Gill was itching to get off the mark. A batter strangling one down the leg side is often the result of early dot-ball pressure.Mahmud then had Virat Kohli caught behind chasing an outside-off-stump delivery. The ball before, Kohli had played a confident forward push, but Mahmud stuck to his guns. He got the seam to wobble again and lured Kohli out for a drive.Shanto gave Mahmud a first spell of seven overs, mainly because of the overcast conditions and how well he was bowling at that time. As he had shown in Rawalpindi, though, Mahmud isn’t only about the new ball. He took a wicket shortly into his second spell, getting Rishabh Pant caught behind. This time too, he tested Pant outside the off stump. When he was cut for a boundary, Mahmud dragged the next ball across but moved the line slightly closer to Pant, who edged it to the wicketkeeper.Mahmud kept creating chances in his later spells too, having R Ashwin edge one between slip and gully, and having Ravindra Jadeja given out lbw before the decision was overturned on review. He got another to nip back into Ashwin but this appeal didn’t have a lot of merit.Hasan Mahmud picked up four wickets on day one of the Chennai Test•Associated Press

Mahmud built his foundations as a seamer on predominantly flat or dry pitches in Bangladesh’s domestic scene. They brought him rewards when there was a bit of help available in the two Tests in Rawalpindi. He took eight wickets, the most by a Bangladesh fast bowler on the tour, at an average of 24.12. He paired well with Shoriful Islam to give Bangladesh an opening burst in the first Test, removing both openers Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub on day one. On the crucial fifth day, Mahmud again gave the visitors a good start by removing opposition captain Shan Masood. He came into his own in the second Test, taking his maiden five-wicket haul. While Nahid Rana’s pace generated more headlines, it was Mahmud who kept giving Bangladesh vital breakthroughs to reinforce their dominant position.Bangladesh were certainly not in a dominant position at the end of day one in Chennai, but with the second new ball available, Mahmud felt they could still fight their way back into the contest.”If we can get early breakthroughs tomorrow, we will be back in the game,” he said. “We want to restrict them below 400 runs. It is however a good wicket now. The conditions here are almost the same [as Pakistan], but it is the bowlers’ duty to bowl aggressively, or cut down the boundaries, whatever is required.”We were in a dominating position in the morning but the wicket is very good now. We are all trying to minimise the boundaries. The momentum has shifted today, but we could bring it back with better bowling tomorrow.”Mahmud also has some experience in white-ball cricket, where he has usually bowled with both the new and old ball, but he has gone down the pecking order in recent times, with Tanzim Hasan Sakib playing ahead of him whiile Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman are mainstays.Mahmud’s transition into red-ball cricket now means Bangladesh’s pace attack is ever-expanding. They have Khaled Ahmed in the Test squad in India. Shoriful Islam, Tanzim and Mustafizur are go-tos in T20Is, while Ebadot Hossain is close to full fitness and could be available from the home Test series against South Africa next month.Despite their recent uptick, the pace attack remains a work in progress. It seemed like the Bangladesh bowlers took their foot off the gas as the day went on, letting Ashwin and Jadeja build a counterattacking stand. If the pace attack’s development is anything to go by, though, they can be expected to come up with better plans on the second morning.

Suryakumar Yadav has been ruled out of the opening round of the 2024-25 Duleep Trophy to nurse a hand injury he sustained during last week’s pre-season fixture for Mumbai at the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in Coimbatore. Suryakumar has been advised rest and is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for a routine assessment.Suryakumar didn’t bat in the second innings of the fixture against TNCA XI last week, after injuring his hand while fielding on the third day. At the time, the Mumbai team management confirmed the move was precautionary keeping in mind his participation in the season-opening Duleep Trophy.Suryakumar, India’s T20I captain, recently expressed keenness to pitch for a Test comeback. Having not played any first-class cricket in over a year, Suryakumar made himself available for the pre-season Buchi Babu Tournament to tune up for red-ball cricket with India slated to play 10 Tests over the next five months, starting with the two-match series against Bangladesh from September 19 in Chennai.Related

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Suryakumar, whose only Test so far came last year against Australia, was named in the India C squad, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, who will be taking on Shreyas Iyer’s India D in Anantapur. India A and India B will simultaneously play the other opening-round fixture at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.Recently, fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Umran Malik had also been ruled out of the opening round of Duleep Trophy because of illness, and Ravindra Jadeja had been withdrawn, though no reason was provided for him by the BCCI. Navdeep Saini and Gaurav Yadav will replace Siraj and Malik for the India B and C squads respectively.Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar Reddy has been declared fit by the NCA. His inclusion was subject to fitness after he was diagnosed with a groin injury that led to his withdrawal from India’s T20I squad to Zimbabwe in July.

Revised squads for Duleep Trophy first round

India A: Shubman Gill (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Vidwath Kaverappa, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat.India B: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N Jagadeesan (wk)India C: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (wk), B Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Gaurav Yadav, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (wk), Sandeep WarrierIndia D: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (wk), Saurabh Kumar

Matthew Mott has stepped down as England Men’s white-ball head coach with immediate effect.Mott was halfway through a four-year contract, during which time he presided over triumph at the 2022 T20 World Cup as well as the side’s failure to defend that title this year or the 50-over crown they won in 2019 at the 2023 edition, where they won just three of their nine games.He will be replaced by assistant coach Marcus Trescothick on an interim basis for the rest of the home summer, which includes three T20Is and five ODIs against Australia in September.Related

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On Sunday, Mott met with Rob Key, ECB managing director of England men’s cricket, to gauge his view on the last nine months as part of a review into the drop in team’s limited-overs performances.”I am immensely proud to have coached the England Men’s team; it has been an honour,” Mott said. “We have put everything into trying to achieve success over the past two years, and I am incredibly proud of the character and passion that the team has displayed during that period, including a magnificent T20 World Cup victory in 2022.”I would like to thank the players, management, and everyone at the ECB for their commitment, support, and hard work during my time. I leave with many great friendships and incredible memories. Finally, I would like to thank the England fans, who have always backed us and given us fantastic support wherever we have travelled around the world.”Appointed in May 2022, Mott also led England to white-ball series victories against Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand and Pakistan. But it appears that England’s most recent campaign, where they were knocked out of the T20 World Cup in the semi-finals by eventual winners India, was pivotal to the decision.Matthew Mott was halfway through his contract•Getty Images

Key said the search for a full-time replacement would begin immediately. He believed the rapport between Trescothick and white-ball captain Jos Buttler “will help us maintain continuity and stability”.”On behalf of everyone connected to England cricket and me personally, I would like to thank Matthew for all he has done for the team since his appointment,” Key said. “He can be proud of his achievements as he leaves his post as one of only three coaches who have won a Men’s World Cup with England.”After three World Cup cycles in a short space of time, I now feel the team needs a new direction to prepare for the challenges ahead. This decision was not made lightly, but I believe it is the right time for the team’s future success. With our focus shifting towards the Champions Trophy early next year and the next cycle of white-ball competition, it is crucial that we ensure the team is focused and prepared.”Trescothick, added: “England cricket is in a strong position, and the potential is huge, given the quality we have available. It is about harnessing that potential and developing the work that has already been put in place by Matthew Mott and the rest of the set-up. I’m excited about the challenge and shaping how we want to play.”Eoin Morgan, England’s former World Cup-winning captain who now works as a commentator, recently dismissed reports that he could replace Mott as nothing more than “speculation”.Other names such as Andrew Flintoff, currently in his first coaching role with Northern Superchargers in the men’s Hundred, Mike Hussey, who was part of the coaching staff for the successful 2022 T20 World Cup campaign, and Kumar Sangakkara have also been touted for the role. However, it is understood no prospective successors to Mott have been sounded out at this juncture.

For the second season running Melbourne Stars will have pick one in the BBL overseas draft while local rivals Melbourne Renegades will follow as second.The weighted lottery – split between the four sides who missed finals and those who qualified – has Sydney Sixers, last season’s beaten finalists, coming out eighth while defending champions Brisbane Heat will have pick six.Stars will hope for better fortune with their first pick, potentially a platinum player, than last season when they went for England’s Harry Brook only for him to withdraw from the tournament to manage his workload.Related

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Picks can be traded between clubs and that has already happened once with Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder swapping their second-round positions as part of Wes Agar’s move to Thunder.Stars will have the first pick in rounds one, two and four with the order reversing in round three meaning Sixers get pick 17.The draft will again have four price bands: platinum (AU$420,000), gold (AU$300,000), silver (AU$200,000) and bronze (AU$100,000).Cricket Australia

Clubs can sign up to four players overall with one of those available under the new multi-year contract option brought in to try to secure key names ahead of rival T20 leagues. Sam Billings became the first player to agree to a deal under that after signing for three years with Thunder. If a fourth player is selected, they become a club’s first overseas replacement.The WBBL draft order was revealed yesterday with Hobart Hurricanes getting pick one.