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The Indian national selectors meet in New Delhi on Monday to pick the team for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, with the knowledge that they have had little gains from the tri-series in Zimbabwe

Cricinfo staff06-Jun-2010The Indian national selectors meet in New Delhi on Monday to pick the team for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, with the knowledge that they have had little gains from the tri-series in Zimbabwe. The only man to push the nine players who were rested is Rohit Sharma, who scored back-to-back centuries in Zimbabwe. The other big question will be the bowlers: none of the bowlers who represented India in Zimbabwe were first-choice.The selectors will also be hoping for a return to fitness for Virender Sehwag among others. If Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni are fit and willing to go, the final two places in the starting XI will be contested between Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli and Rohit. India could take all eight batsmen to Sri Lanka, but that would mean sacrificing one of the allrounders’. Yusuf Pathan is anyway pretty close to the end of the rope. The choice then could be between an extra batsman and R Ashwin, who impressed with bat and ball in the only chance he got in Zimbabwe.The selectors will hope Praveen Kumar is fit after a side injury forced him out of the World Twenty20. Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra should come back, leaving an interesting choice for the back-up seamer. Ishant Sharma could get the nod again. Harbhajan Singh will definitely walk back in, and Pragyan Ojha should pip Amit Mishra for the second spinner’s slot after an impressive showing in Zimbabwe.There were two unconfirmed reports late on Sunday evening that Tendulkar might pull out and that Yuvraj and Nehra might be left out as disciplinary action. Those, however, could not be confirmed with BCCI sources.Squad from: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma

Unbeaten half-century lacks support as Sunrisers fall short in 18-over chase

ECB Reporters Network15-Jun-2024 South East Stars 153 for 4 (Redmayne 38*, E Jones 36) beat Sunrisers 111 for 5 (Scrivens 62*) by 19 runs – DLSGrace Scrivens’ stylish half-century proved in vain as Sunrisers slipped to a 19-run defeat under the DLS method to finals day-bound SE Stars in a game reduced to 18 overs aside at The Oval.The England A captain in New Zealand last winter struck 62 not out off 48 balls with a six and eight fours, but with only Jo Gardner (23 from 16) offering meaningful support, the visitors were 111 for 5 and behind the clock in the chase for 154 when the rain drove the players off with 13 balls remaining. Dani Gregory took 2 for 21 while Tilly Corteen-Coleman (1 for 14) kept up her remarkable record of taking a wicket with her first ball.Earlier, Stars’ impressive score of 153 for 4 was built around Australian debutant Georgia Redmayne’s patient 38, the fireworks being provided by Emma Jones (36 from 23), Phoebe Franklin (23 from 21) and Bryony Smith (21 from 11). Mady Villiers was the pick of the Sunrisers attack with 2 for 23.Morning and afternoon rain delayed the start until 3:50pm, but Smith made up for lost time after losing the toss and being put into bat, plundering four boundaries from one Eva Gray over, the pick a back-foot drive creamed through extra-cover.Smith fell in the next over bowled by Villiers, the spinner luring her down the track to be stumped by Amara Carr, who then caught England opener Sophia Dunkley, holding onto a skied top edge.Franklin though picked up the baton, a delightful square cut and a bludgeon over the head of mid-on among her four fours. Villiers cut the innings off in its prime when Franklin hoisted one into the hands of Gray at cow corner but that was the cue for Jones to unleash her power.The all-rounder hit two mighty sixes, the first at long-on where Jo Gardner got fingertips to it but could only parry the ball over the rope. No such doubt about the second blow however which sailed five rows back into the seats at deep square.Left-hander Redmayne was content to play second fiddle in a stand of 57 and when Jones departed to a catch on the fence, the Aussie gave the stage to Alice Davidson-Richards, who smote a six and a four in reaching 16 off 6.Chasing 154 for an unlikely win, Sunrisers were soon in tatters. They lost Villiers without a run on the board, Jones in the action with a catch on the fence from the bowling of Stonehouse.Lissy Macleod then top edged one from Ryana MacDonald-Gay into the hand of keeper Redmayne and when Corteen-Coleman produced her latest party trick to trap Carr lbw for a duck the visitors were 19 for 3.Skipper Scrivens, who’d watched the carnage from the other end, responded with the first six of the reply, before being given a life by Aylish Cranstone, who spilt a regulation chance at point from the bowling of Jones. By then though Gregory had struck twice in three balls to remove Amu Surenkuma and Flo Miller.Scrivens continued to hit boldly, reaching 50 in 41 balls and Gardner too cleared the ropes but the task was just beyond them.

Australia recovered from a difficult loss in Delhi to win in Indore and draw in Ahmedabad

Andrew McGlashan13-Mar-20232:22

Chappell: Australia didn’t learn a lot about their play in this series

The anguish of knowing their chances of regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Indian soil were potentially scuppered by one horrific session of batting will continue to linger for Australia, but they were able to finish the series with a ringing endorsement of their spin attack which was termed the best to visit the country in a decade.Australia knew coming to the ground in Ahmedabad for the final day of the series that their best hope was to survive and keep the margin at 2-1, something they achieved with ease through Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne on a surface that though it started to turn had not done it nearly early enough.The second half of the series was in stark contrast to the first where Australia’s limp batting in three out of the four innings cost them, most dramatically when they lost 8 for 28 on the third morning in Delhi having been well placed on a tricky pitch.”We really hurt after that game in Delhi,” Steven Smith said. “Guys were pretty upset with the way we went away from our methods in that game, it was disappointing, but obviously at that point we knew there was plenty to still play for in the series and guys responded really well and as a group we are proud of the way we bounced back and played some good cricket in the last couple of Test matches. You take the hour of madness away and things could certainly have been different.”Related

• India take series 2-1 after tedious draw on lifeless Ahmedabad pitch

• Murphy's maturity, Khawaja's redemption, Head's promise among Australia's takeaways

• India, Australia brace for the unknowns at the WTC final

However, even in the opening defeats, the performances of Todd Murphy (seven wickets on debut in Nagpur) and Nathan Lyon (a five-wicket haul in Delhi) stood out and they then combined with left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann during just his second Test in Indore to secure a famous victory.India’s coach, Rahul Dravid, revealed that the quality of Australia’s spin attack had been noted by the home side with some of their batters who could recall rating it the best since they had faced Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar when they earned England a 2-1 series win in 2012-13.”A lot of times you see with overseas teams they have one good spinner but tend to leak runs at the other end and you can control the game from the other end,” Dravid told . “But credit to the two young spinners, they maintained that pressure, [and] they took wickets. A lot of the guys… were full of praise for the quality of spin they had to play which made the series win all that much more sweeter.”Some of the guys were saying since probably Panesar and Swann they’ve not played over the last decade a couple of spinners of this kind of quality or this quality of spells. They’ve played individual spinners who have been brilliant over the last 10 years, including someone like Nathan Lyon, but to have the quality of spin attack, probably since Panesar and Swann it’s been the best quality of spin we’ve played over the last 10 years in these conditions.”The collective average for Australia’s spinners of 26.28 places it second in that time period, behind the 2016-17 combination of Lyon and Steve O’Keefe who shared 38 wickets at 24.73. The England side of 2012-13, dominated by Swann and Panesar, claimed 39 wickets at 28.61.Smith, who took over the captaincy for the last two Tests when Pat Cummins returned home, praised the way Murphy and Kuhnemann, neither of whom were the first-choice spinners for their states in Australia before this tour, had dealt with the pressure.”Debuting in Test cricket in India, it can be quite daunting at times and the way they came in and performed was outstanding,” he said. “The way they have developed and learnt to bowl over here on the go has been outstanding. I thought Murphy in the last game and this Test match as well, how tight he kept it, bowling in a defensive way was outstanding.”Lyon took 22 wickets in the series to finish equal second with Ravindra Jadeja behind R Ashwin, the India duo being named joint players of the series. After the third day’s play, Lyon said he felt he had bowled better in Ahmedabad than in Indore, where he claimed 11 wickets in the match including eight in the second innings, and it was a view endorsed by Smith who even went a step further.”I’ve stood at slip to him for a very long time and the way the ball was coming out, the revs and drop and everything he had on the ball on a surface that wasn’t offering a great deal, I said to him at the end of play, that’s probably the best I’ve seen you bowl,” he said. “For someone who’s played 115-odd Tests to keep getting better, I thought was outstanding.”

The pair patched up a top-order collapse before Siraj and Prasidh dominated West Indies

Sidharth Monga11-Feb-20221:24

Chopra: Rohit’s tactics as a captain as good as Dhoni, if not better

India completed a clean sweep of the ODI series with yet another win from early strife of a top-order collapse. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer pulled India up from 42 for 3, Washington Sundar and Deepak Chahar provided late runs, and then the bowlers ran through West Indies to deny them a single score of 200 in the series.This was yet another satisfying win for the team management from a team-building point of view: apart from yet another middle-order comeback, they welcomed back Kuldeep Yadav, who bowled with zip and took two wickets in his first international since last July, when he was part of a second-string squad sent to Sri Lanka.All three pitches in the series have been challenging ones. The extra bounce and dual pace off this surface kept the tall West Indies bowlers in the game. Not only did India make a host of changes to their XI, they also chose to bat first to test themselves in possible dewy conditions in the evening.Once Alzarri Joseph and Kemar Roach found their lengths after the first two overs, they proved to be a difficult proposition for the batters. The wickets themselves were not off magic deliveries. Rohit Sharma played a loose drive to chop on, Virat Kohli tickled a ball down the leg side to get out for a duck in the same Joseph over, and Shikhar Dhawan top-edged a cut to slip. However, it was the dot balls in between because of the tackiness and extra bounce that created the pressure.On this pitch, back from his opening duties in the second ODI, Pant looked the most comfortable even as Iyer scratched around early on. Without playing a shot in anger – an upper-cut here, a targeting of left-arm spin there – Pant scored 56 at better than a-run-a-ball. Iyer found himself stuck on the other end, faced 84 balls in 20.3-over partnership and needed some early luck to survive.Pant, though, perished to the late-cut to a flatter trajectory from legspinner Hayden Walsh jnr, a shot that had brought him runs. This allowed West Indies a way back in as India kept trying to press on. Suryakumar Yadav ended up slicing an aerial cover drive, and Iyer found long-off just before the 40th over, which is when an extra fielder goes back. Iyer scored 55 off the last 51 balls he faced.Deepak Chahar made a strong comeback•BCCI

Washington and Chahar then provided another recovery with a 53-run seventh-wicket stand in just 8.3 overs. Chahar in particular looked threatening with four fours and two sixes in his run-a-ball 38, but Holder intervened with a slower bouncer to dismiss him. Kuldeep met the same fate. Washington, though, batted into the last over for 33 off 34. It was, again, Holder, who restricted the damage he might have caused in the end.Kuldeep was not the only bowler making a comeback. Deepak Chahar, who nearly won India the last ODI he played, has been kept out for more hit-the-deck bowlers. For this match, he replaced Shardul Thakur, the bowler who most closely resembles his style. Chahar, though, gets more swing than Thakur and relies on fuller lengths. They accounted for Brandon King and Shamarh Brooks in the same over, the fifth of the innings. Both of them failed to catch up with the away movement.Even before that, Mohammed Siraj had accounted for Shai Hope with the wobble-seam nipbacker for the second time this series, making it the first time since October 2018 that India had taken more than two powerplay wickets. Again it was not just the wicket-taking deliveries. They regularly hit the higher part of the bat with the extra bounce in the pitch.If these two were troubling the batters with extra bounce, Prasidh Krishna was going to be a handful. Darren Bravo and Holder will testify, getting the higher parts of their outside edges for catches to slips.It was a good time for Kuldeep to ease his way back in. He consistently made the ball drop shorter than the batters’ expectations, getting sharp turn and bounce. Fabian Allen was done in by a wrong’un, playing for the turn back in on the big drive, but getting a faint outside edge. Nicholas Pooran fell to the orthodox delivery, done in again by the dip, edging to first slip.Odean Smith presented a nice little challenge from 82 for 7, hitting Kuldeep for three sixes in his 18-ball 36. This is the kind of pressure you want to see Kuldeep under and see how he holds up. However, it was Siraj, who came back and ended the fun with his hard lengths, drawing a catch to cover an over after Smith was dropped at mid-off.Joseph and Walsh jnr frustrated India even as the dew set in, but they were never going to challenge the target. Siraj and Prasidh came back to end the proceedings with hostile short bowling.

Kohli’s team never got going in their chase of 197 as Rabada ended with 4 for 24, the best figures of this IPL

Vishal Dikshit05-Oct-20202:14

Agarkar: RCB’s bowling wasn’t as good as it could’ve been

Just when the Royal Challengers Bangalore were started to think they were getting their combinations and players’ roles right this IPL, they were beaten comprehensively by the Delhi Capitals, one of the most balanced sides who lead the points table with four wins out of five games. After posting a challenging 196 with the help of their openers and Marcus Stoinis’ unbeaten 53 off 26, the Capitals’ well-oiled bowling attack strangled the Royal Challengers chase with precise and economical bowling that led to regular wickets.Virat Kohli tried stretching the chase even as the asking rate surged after the fall of Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch and AB de Villiers inside the powerplay. Pace sensation Kagiso Rabada then returned for his second over – the 14th of the chase – to have his opposition captain caught behind. The Royal Challengers needed a stiff 100 from 36 balls at the end of the over, and the required rate headed only in one direction as Rabada closed the chase out with figures of 4 for 24 – the best of this tournament – after being on a hat-trick in the 18th over.Capitals’ skillful bowling attackA silver lining of Amit Mishra being out of the tournament was that the Capitals could bring their economical bowler Axar Patel back. After his first ball was driven beautifully for four by Kohli, Patel extracted turn to beat his outside edge two balls later, and slowed down the ball further on the last ball to have Finch caught behind for a scratchy 13.This, after Finch had been warned by R Ashwin while backing up too far at the non-striker’s end in the previous over.Some more drama was left for the sixth over when de Villiers sent Kohli back for a quick single after pushing the ball to mid-on but Rabada couldn’t get a direct hit. Next ball de Villiers whipped Anrich Nortje over mid-off with his supple wrists but the quick bowler replied immediately with his compatriots’ wicket as de Villiers top-edged a 150km delivery that Shikhar Dhawan pouched while running backwards from extra cover.Rabada had earlier conceded only five in the first over and put down a simple return catch of Finch, but the Capitals have clear plans for the pace spearhead: keep at least two of his overs for the end. That the boundaries dried up for over five overs after the seventh, with Patel taking the pace off and Ashwin mixing up his offbreaks with carrom balls and flatter deliveries, only helped Rabada ‘s second over. The scoreboard pressure meant Moeen Ali holed out off Patel to deep midwicket for 11 off 13 and Rabada had his eyes on one man.With 106 to get from 42, the onus was on Kohli and he took on a Rabada short ball but only edged it behind for 43. Five down for 94, the Royal Challengers weren’t going to recover from that against Rabada and Nortje, who kept breaching the 150kmh mark. Birthday boy Washington Sundar impressed briefly with some off-side strokes off Rabada before being deceived by a slower bouncer, and Shivam Dube soon missed a slog to lose his stumps.Capitals’ best powerplay this IPLEarlier, the Capitals openers Prithvi Shaw and Dhawan put up their best powerplay of the season, of 63, after being put in to bat. Shaw started by targeting the quicker bowlers and Dhawan, who normally drops anchor, attacked as well, going after Navdeep Saini and Yuzvendra Chahal. As soon as Chahal came on in the fifth over, the Capitals openers collected 18 off him to make Kohli change his plans.The Royal Challengers bowler who stood out yet again in the powerplay was Sundar. He sent down three in the first six, stifled the openers with his angle from wide of the crease from around the wicket, and conceded only one four in that phase before finishing on 0 for 20 for the second game in a row.Kagiso Rabada celebrates with his team-mates•BCCI

The Stoinis show againThe Capitals innings was fizzling out after the powerplay. With the field spread and accurate bowling from Mohammad Siraj – who came into the XI with Ali – the boundaries started drying up. Shaw was the first wicket to fall as he edged Siraj behind, followed by Dhawan holing out to long-on and Shreyas Iyer to deep midwicket where Padikkal completed a fantastic hop-out-and-back-in catch. The focus was now on Rishabh Pant and Stoinis to rebuild and accelerate from 90 for 3 in the 12th over.Stoinis came out at No. 5 and didn’t waste any time to settle in, even as Pant was kept quiet by the bowlers. Stoinis was also helped by the three chances he got – a return catch that slipped through Chahal’s hands on 3 in 13th over, another chance put down by Chahal at deep midwicket off Saini on 30, and a run-out chance missed when Pant said no for a second run and Stoinis, on 45, had given up at the non-striker’s end after turning back but an inaccurate throw saved him.The Royal Challengers paid the price for all this. Stoinis not only cashed in when the bowlers erred with full or short deliveries but also shuffled across to the off side to whip and dispatch the ball to the leg side, especially when fine leg was in the 30-yard circle. His and Pant’s assault at the end meant the Capitals collected under 10 runs in only one of the last seven overs, with 94 runs coming off those 42 balls. Stoinis was particularly brutal against Saini and Siraj, by targeting the straight and leg-side boundaries.His 24-ball fifty and Saini’s 0 for 48 off three overs meant the Capitals got a total that was too much for the Royal Challengers.

Lewis Gregory claims career-best 11 for 53 as Somerset open up 26-point gap at the top of Division One

ECB Reporters Network13-Jun-2019Kent lost their last eight wickets inside 46 minutes as Specsavers Championship leaders Somerset dodged the showers to clinch a dramatic 10-wicket win on a rain-affected final day in Canterbury, opening up a 26-point gap at the top of the Division One table.The West Country county feared any potential victory dash would be thwarted by yet more rain. Having already lost the first and third days of this match to bad weather, the players could only look on as showers returned to wipe out a further 33 overs of the fourth and final morning.But the clouds finally moved on and the drizzle abated enabling a 1.45pm re-start that inspired Somerset and seamer Lewis Gregory, in particular. Fresh from a first-innings career-best of six for 32, Gregory mopped up 5 for 21 as Kent’s last eight wickets fell for 27 runs in the space of 62 balls.Resuming their second-innings of 24 for 2 from day two of the game – an overall match deficit of six runs – Kent soon found themselves in even deeper in trouble. The hosts were only two runs ahead overall when Harry Podmore, Kent’s nightwatchman, played back and across the line to Jack Brooks and became the 11th leg before victim of the game.Gregory then grabbed centre stage with three more, quickfire wickets to secure only his second 10-wicket match haul in first-class cricket as well as sensational best-ever match figures of 11 for 53.Gregory had Daniel Bell-Drummond, Heino Kuhn and Alex Blake all caught in the slip cordon, while Jamie Overton chipped in by having Sean Dickson caught at slip for a battling top-score of 22.Ollie Robinson and veteran Darren Stevens moved Kent’s score beyond their all-time lowest total against Somerset – 55 scored at Tonbridge in 1926 – before Stevens and Grant Stewart both fell lbw in a double-wicket maiden from Craig Overton.Gregory duly landed the coup de grâce and took deserved possession of the match ball by having Robinson well caught by keeper Steve Davies off a thick inside edge.Kent’s capitulation left Somerset to score 30 for their fifth win of six starts, which openers Azhar Ali and Tom Abell achieved at the canter within 40 balls and without loss of wickets. Somerset banked 19 points while Kent took only three from their fourth defeat of the season.

South Australia were reduced to 4 for 82 in their 466-run chase on the third day at the Adelaide Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2018
ScorecardQueensland is on the verge of going a game clear on top of the Sheffield Shield table after the Bulls quicks dismantled South Australia’s top order in the Redbacks unlikely pursuit of 466 for victory.Redbacks openers Jake Weatherald and John Dalton made a solid start moving to 51 without loss before the home side suffered another collapse similar to the first innings. They lost 3 for 6 in four overs with Luke Feldman, Brendan Doggett and Michael Neser all claiming a wicket each.Doggett also picked up Jake Lehmann late in the day to send a dagger through the heart of the Redbacks line-up.Earlier, the Bulls got contributions all through their order to give the Redbacks a huge fourth innings total to chase. Marnus Labuschagne top scored with 62 while skipper Jimmy Peirson made 51 not out. Michael Neser and Mitchell Swepson made valuable contributions to extend the chase to 466.

The former captain is targeting a return to the longest format in the 2017-18 summer, in the home series against India and Australia.

Firdose Moonda18-Jan-20173:27

‘I needed time away, I need more’ – de Villiers

AB de Villiers has ruled himself out of South Africa’s four-Test series in England in July-August and the two-match home series against Bangladesh in September-October, and is targeting a return to the longest format in home matches against India and Australia. De Villiers, who last played in whites in January 2016, stressed that he cannot commit to anything further than March 2018 at this stage but insisted the 2019 World Cup is still in his sights.”I needed a bit of time away from the game and I need some more,” de Villiers said at Centurion, where South Africa have begun preparing for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka. “Therefore I made myself unavailable for the New Zealand series, but to add to that is also the England series and the Bangladesh series after that. I am hoping to make a comeback with the Titans towards the end of the year in preparation for the series against India and against Australia. That’s the plan. I am not committing to it but I am hoping to make a comeback there in Test cricket.”My dream plan is to come back for those eight Test matches and that’s all I can say for now. My focus is on the 2019 World Cup but if I feel physically incapable of making it after those two Test series, I will call it a day then. I’ll make that call once we get there. I can’t decide now how I am going to feel in 12 months.”De Villiers admitted the decision to sit out of most of 2017’s Tests was “not easy”, but that his own priorities have shifted and left him with no choice. “I’m just not ready, that’s the best way I can put it. Priorities have changed over the years, family has changed, my roles in the team have changed over the years,” he said. “Playing three different formats, with the schedule the way it is, all of a sudden felt like the world is on top of my shoulders, and that’s when I felt like I need to start prioritising what I want to achieve in my career, where I want to go and what I feel motivated about. There are a lot of things that have played a role in this decision but I wouldn’t like to think it’s the end.”I would still like to make a comeback and finish on a high, somehow have a say in us getting that No.1 ranking, which we deserve over the last few months with the way we have played. It’s definitely not the end of the story. I do still have goals and that’s why I didn’t want to make any silly statements about retiring out of Test cricket or anything like that.”Given the amount of time de Villiers will spend out of the side, he knows he will have fight for his place. India’s tour dates to South Africa are yet to be confirmed but CSA is hopeful of having the No.1 team in town for holiday-season Tests in December, which could take de Villiers’ time away from the format to 23 months. “It’s not like I am not going to walk back into the team, it’s very important to note that I am very prepared to come make a comeback at the Titans, score my runs and prove a point that I am still good enough to make the Test side but we will talk about it when we get there towards the end of the year.”

De Villiers’ bat sponsorship under negotiation

AB de Villiers is likely to make his Test comeback against India and his bat sponsor, the Indian company MRF, initially wanted him to play all three formats. That contract, reportedly close to US$ 2 million, is now being negotiated. “Obviously they would like me to play as much cricket as possible, around the world in all the formats but I still have to negotiate with them and see how we do with that.”

De Villiers’ proposed comeback will also depend on South Africa’s selection plans in the next year. Yesterday, Haroon Lorgat, CSA’s chief executive, said that once de Villiers returns, “there’s no stopping and no time off. When you play, you play continuously.” Lorgat has already informed de Villiers that he is expected to appear in every ODI because he is the captain in that format.To that end, de Villiers will test his fitness after a persistent elbow injury, which has sidelined him since the CPL and kept him out of the Australia tour and the home Tests against Sri Lanka this weekend. He is due to play a List A match for Northerns on Sunday before featuring in the third T20 against Sri Lanka. The five-match ODI series starts in 10 days’ time. De Villiers said he is confident his elbow will hold up.”It feels pretty good. I am still aware of it. The surgery happened three months ago. The specialist said I will still be aware of it so it’s nothing new or different to what he said is going to happen,” he said. “I can hit all my shots with the same sort of power that I used to hit them. There are one or two shots that I feel it a little bit more than others and I am not going to tell Sri Lanka before we play them which ones they are. Generally, I feel very confident at the wicket. I have been hitting the ball really well with the couple of net sessions I had.”De Villiers is due to lead South Africa in ODIs in New Zealand as well, before a break in March ahead of the IPL. He confirmed he will play in that tournament but made himself unavailable for any other T20 leagues. “The IPL, I feel has become part of the ICC set-up. There are a lot of reasons why all of us wouldn’t like to say no to an IPL. I am definitely not committing to anything else at the moment,” he said. “You won’t see me at Big Bash, you won’t see me in any county game or any other T20 tournament around the world, except for playing South Africa and the IPL. I would like to say I am still very committed to South Africa.”

A superbly stubborn Darren Bravo and an uncharacteristically generous Australia allowed West Indies to force Australia to bat again on day three of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG

The Report by Daniel Brettig at the MCG28-Dec-2015 3 for 551 declared and 3 for 179 (Smith 70*, Khawaja 56) lead West Indies 271 (Bravo 81, Brathwaite 59, Lyon 4-66, Pattinson 4-72) by 459 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:59

Nicholas: Bravo showed true resilience

Australia are still highly likely to win this match, but they must now work much harder to do so than had once seemed likely. A muted third day at the MCG was defined by the dead bat of Darren Bravo, and the uncharacteristic generosity of several Australian cricketers who let standards slip in the face of an outmatched opponent.Helped in large part by the debutant Carlos Brathwaite, maker of a daring and dicey 59, Bravo was able to shepherd the West Indies tail from their overnight 6 for 91 to an unexpectedly sizeable 271 – in all they added 188, Bravo 81 of these in more than five hours of bloody-minded defiance. Importantly, he kept the hosts in the field for more than 100 overs, dissuading their captain Steven Smith from sending the visitors in again despite a big lead.A major factor in the West Indies’ prolonged first innings was a pair of no-balls by James Pattinson, which twice reprieved Brathwaite before lunch. Nathan Lyon and Pattinson shared eight wickets between them, but the Victorian fast man was undisciplined in landing his foot beyond the crease line, no-balled when he burst through Brathwaite on 13, and again when the allrounder hooked to fine leg to be caught on 50. Wordlessly, but unmistakably, Smith expressed his disapproval.There was to be a similar level of profligacy in the evening as David Warner and Usman Khawaja squandered starts with shots too clever by half after Joe Burns had perished to the new ball. Their dismissals did at least allow for the underemployed Mitchell Marsh to walk to the middle and accompany a typically efficient Smith to stumps.When the day began, Australia still had thoughts of a quick four wickets, a follow-on and a hat-trick of Test matches over inside three days after Adelaide Oval’s day-nighter and the mismatch at Bellerive. Pattinson commenced with a still reversing ball and was soon celebrating the exit of Brathwaite, who used his height to good effect when not aiming ambitious blows more at home in the BBL.However replays showed Pattinson had overstepped comfortably, and the good fortune allowed Brathwaite to carry on while Bravo stuck to the crease like a limpet. More expansive in Hobart when cracking a first innings hundred, Bravo had been coaxed to drag a drive onto his stumps in the second, and this time seemed determined simply to bat for as long as possible.He allowed himself a few more liberties as Brathwaite became increasingly secure, and another Pattinson no-ball prevented a look at the tail before the end of the session. It was only on the stroke of lunch that the hosts were able to strike, Lyon teasing out a return catch from Brathwaite while working around the wicket.Even so, the partnership served to keep the West Indian innings alive for long enough to leave Smith questioning the wisdom of enforcing the follow-on in search of a rapid innings victory. He was to discount the possibility entirely once Bravo kept the remainder of the tail in the field for all but a few minutes of the afternoon session, with Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor and Jomel Warrican all contributing runs and time at the crease.Lyon and Pattinson bowled well throughout, the spinner rewarded for his flight, loop and spin while the paceman followed up well from his five wicket haul in the second innings of the Hobart Test. However he will curse the overstepping before lunch that has served primarily to see this match into a fourth day.Granted the chance to get back out into the field, the West Indians made a bright start. Holder shared the new ball with Taylor and moved it both ways off the seam and in the air. Burns was confounded by the one-two punch of a nip-backer that struck his back thigh and then a tantalising away swinger that he was drawn into edging to second slip.Warner, so eager to make a hundred in this match, was on the way to doing so before trying to glide a Brathwaite short ball that merited a little more respect. Holder claimed the catch, and then took a tumble as the debutant’s exuberantly awkward celebration did not quite calculate the angle and height of the catcher – cause for laughter all round.Khawaja was silkiness personified in cruising to another half-century, and looked for all the world like no one could contain him. Yet it was this very feeling of security that contributed to an overambitious paddle attempt that drew a touch behind to Denesh Ramdin. Like Khawaja, Australia still have some work to do.

Australia international Trent Copeland tore through Worcestershire’s batting to put Northamptonshire on the brink of victory after two days

06-Jun-2013
ScorecardTrent Copeland put his team on track for another victory•Getty Images

Australia international Trent Copeland tore through Worcestershire’s batting to put Northamptonshire on the brink of victory after two days.Northamptonshire were bowled out for 314 during the afternoon, giving the Division Two leaders a first innings lead of 118, with Steven Crook hammering 85 off as many balls including three huge sixes. Copeland, who is playing his last match before returning home, then took three wickets for 26 as Worcestershire subsided to 97 for 6 at the close, still 21 runs behind.The hosts began the day on 100 for 4, 96 runs behind their opponents, with Rob Keogh resuming on 26 and Andrew Hall beginning his innings. But Hall was only able to make 10 before Gareth Andrew took a good low catch at third slip to give Alan Richardson his fourth wicket in the seventh over of the day.Keogh was to move on to 44 but was denied a maiden half-century in first-class cricket when he edged Andrew to Moeen Ali at first slip to leave the hosts on 134 for 6.Crook was then given a massive let-off on 6 when he launched Andrew into the air only for Aneesh Kapil to drop a straightforward catch at deep square leg. He was to make Kapil pay for that blunder by blasting a half-century off just 52 balls as he and James Middlebrook added 96 between them for the seventh wicket.The partnership was eventually broken when Middlebrook was sharply caught and bowled by Ali to depart for 39 in the third over after lunch. Crook finally perished when his middle stump was taken out by Chris Russell before Copeland smashed the same bowler to Jack Shantry at mid-on after clattering 31.Russell then ended the hosts’ innings by trapping wicketkeeper David Murphy lbw for 4, leaving David Willey unbeaten on 15 at the other end.Worcestershire lost their captain Daryl Mitchell for just 8 in the penultimate over before tea when he left Crook’s delivery only to see his off stump sent spinning. Matthew Pardoe was then dismissed for 24 when he nudged Willey to Murphy before Copeland pinned Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera lbw for 4.Copeland then repeated the trick on Alexei Kervezee and Kapil was caught leg before by Willey before wicketkeeper Michael Johnson became yet another lbw victim to Copeland. Ali and Andrew then survived the final 10 overs and will resume tomorrow on 29 and 16 respectively with their side surely doomed.