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With AB de Villiers and South Africa’s four premier pacemen back in the reckoning, coach Ottis Gibson is excited about picking the playing XI

Firdose Moonda22-Dec-2017Ottis Gibson enjoyed a dream start as South Africa’s coach – with a clean-sweep over Bangladesh a couple of months ago – and if he could have it his way, he won’t be waking up anytime soon.Though South Africa’s assignments get tougher over the next three months, starting with the four-day, day-night Test followed by series against India and Australia, they are well resourced for the fixtures, better than they have been for several reasons. The return of star batsman AB de Villiers and as their premier pacemen – Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada – are all fit, selection could be a little bit of a nightmare. But Gibson doesn’t mind at all.”Some nightmares you want to wake up quickly from but this one is a good nightmare because you are bringing back such good quality players,” Gibson said. “It’s going to be interesting selection but if we get right and you look at the strength of the team we can put on the park, that’s a pleasing thing. It’s good to have all those guys back. Getting the right blend is going to be a challenge but it’s one we’re all looking forward to.”South Africa’s main dilemma will be deciding if they are going to get de Villiers in the team by lengthening the line-up to seven batsmen, or by leaving Temba Bavuma out and choosing three of the four seamers in the attack. Of those, Dale Steyn will demand the most attention, because he been sidelined for the longest and his chances of a comeback were the slimmest.While Philander struggled with a back injury for a few months and Morkel battled through a side-strain, Steyn has not played an international in more than a year since last November. He is now aiming to return, not just to take the five wickets he needs to overtake Shaun Pollock as the country’s leading Test wicket-taker, but to play for a few more years or so. But he may not be included in the starting XI immediately.Without giving too much away, Gibson said he wants to see how Steyn has come through the warm-up match against Zimbabwe, of which he and Bavuma played two of the three days before joining the Test squad. Steyn bowled three spells (of five overs, four overs and then three overs) in Zimbabwe’s first innings and went wicketless, but found rhythm and conceded just 16 runs. Assessing him in the next few days will be more crucial than any of that. “When you’ve had such a long layoff and a significant injury, you just have to wait and see how you pull up. Hopefully he pulls up well from that game, and we’ll see how he goes going into this summer,” Gibson said.Like so many, Gibson is eager to see Steyn back to his best and work with him. “He has been a champion bowler for a long time, probably along with James Anderson, probably the best of the modern generation in terms of wickets taken, games played and the way he has led the South African attack for a number of years,” Gibson said.For now, Gibson may have to content himself with trying to build the rest of the side into the formidable unit he wants to turn them into, especially as they aim to dethrone the world’s top Test side. “Against Bangladesh, we started to try and talk in a particular way around the dressing room and we tried to play in a particular way. We tried to be very positive in the way we went about Test cricket and take opportunities when they come along,” Gibson said. “Hopefully we will try and continue that in this game and then leading into the India series. India are the No.1 team in the world at the moment and we know we need to be at our best if we are going to compete with them and beat them, which is our ultimate goal. We just want to continue the progression that we started in the Bangladesh series.”Zimbabwe may not present a same kind of challenge but it’s important for Gibson that the team starts to gel again, after more than two months playing domestic cricket. It is also a match Gibson will use to re-emphasise his own philosophies, especially as a new(ish) coach. “The players, in general, have responded quite well to me. I am quite a laid back person anyway and a bit firm when I needed to be and I think Faf has made it quite easy for me as well. He has been outstanding as a captain and a leader and we chat – I was just back home for a couple of weeks and we were talking constantly about the game and planning ahead so he has been very good. In general, the players have been good. We’ve been winning so its been easy that way,” he said.He also wants to make sure South Africa have some fun in the new format – a four-day Test which will also be played under lights. With the novelty of the famous St George’s Park brass band, it may even feel a lot like home for Gibson. “I love the band. I’m from the Caribbean so music is in our blood over there,” he said, reminiscing about his own playing days down the coast in East London. “But hopefully they’ve learnt a few more sounds. Last time I was here I think they played the same song for about five hours.”

Tall medium-pacer Kaleemullah set up a six-wicket win for Oman over Nepal and Canada’s Nitish Kumar prevailed in a showdown of offspinning-allrounder captains against UAE

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Windhoek09-Feb-2018
Peter Della Penna

Tall medium-pacer Kaleemullah used his height and bounce to claim 4 for 28, setting up a six-wicket win for Oman over Nepal at Wanderers Affies Field.Oman chose to bowl first under heavy cloud cover. On a sluggish second-day wicket, Oman’s medium pacers exploited the conditions expertly. At the forefront was Kaleemullah, who probed a fifth-stump line and had his first two wickets – Gyanendra Malla and Aarif Sheikh –
caught behind. A bigger blow came at the start of the 23rd over when he claimed Paras Khadka after an inside edge ricocheted off the pads into the base of the stumps.Six batsman reached double figures for Nepal but none went past Sharad Vesawkar’s 22, Nepal’s top-scorer for the second day in a row. Vesawkar added 36 with Dipendra Airee, before Airee edged Khawar Ali’s legspin to slip for 20. Vesawkar fell seven overs later, beaten for pace attempting to pull Bilal Khan. Kaleemullah returned later to help wipe out the tail, having Rohit Paudel caught on the boundary for 14 at the start of the 44th over. A yorker from Bilal to Sandeep Lamichhane finished the innings in 46 overs.For the second successive day, Aqib Ilyas top-scored with 46 but this time it was in a winning effort. Ilyas neutralized the threat of Lamichhane after he gave Oman a brief scare when he struck in the 11th over, getting Jatinder Singh with a googly for 26. After Ilyas was drawn out of his crease to be stumped by Basant Regmi, Vaibhav Wategaonkar steered the rest of the chase, finishing unbeaten on 37.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCecil Pervez punches the air after claiming the final wicket to seal victory•Peter Della Penna

In a showdown of offspinning-allrounder captains, Nitish Kumar’s 62 and back-to-back wickets late in the chase trumped Rohan Mustafa’s 5 for 34 and an unbeaten 37 as Canada staved off UAE by 23 runs in a tense chase at Wanderers Sports Club.Mustafa struck with his first ball, coming on in the fourth over to bowl Ruvindu Gunasekera for 21. Nitish led a fightback through a 64-run third-wicket partnership with Dhanuka Pathirana and brought up his half-century off 75 balls before eventually falling to medium-pacer Mohammad Naveed at the beginning of the 41st over. Mustafa then came back to complete his five-for, holding Canada to 209.Mustafa opened the chase but retired hurt in the fourth over on 6 before Ghulam Shabber joined Ashfaq Ahmed to carry on an 88-run opening stand. The drinks break at the 18-over mark brought Canada back to life as offspinner Nikhil Dutta struck in the 19th over to get Ashfaq for 42, sparking a collapse of three wickets in six balls as Gunasekera claimed two in the next over with his part-time legspin.Shabber went on to top-score with 55 before he was the fifth batsman out, to Dillon Heyliger. Mustafa returned with 80 runs left to win and with storm clouds lurking, UAE were still a handful of runs ahead on Duckworth-Lewis but Nitish’s consecutive strikes in the 43rd over put Canada in front on the calculation for good.Needing 27 off 36 balls and with only the No. 11 Zahoor Khan left to help, Mustafa began turning down singles before taking one on the third ball of the 45th over. Cecil Pervez beat Zahoor on the final ball of the over with a yorker and his lbw appeal was upheld, triggering emotional celebrations from Canada who are now the only remaining unbeaten team in the tournament field.

Players due to also compete in some fixtures against Indian domestic sides

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2025When India take on Sri Lanka at the Women’s World Cup 2025 opener, the spotlight will not just be on the players on the field but also on some of those off it.A group of Afghanistan’s women’s cricketers, currently living in exile in Australia, will be in attendance at the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) Stadium in Guwahati in one of the first attempts to integrate them into the global game. The players do not represent Afghanistan as they are not recognised by the ACB but are playing in league structures in Australia. They will have no formal role at the game, where they will be received as spectators.”[BCCI secretary] Devajit Saikia knows exactly what details about this,” ACA President Taranga Gogoi told ESPNcricinfo. “He will guide us and we are awaiting more details. The Afghanistan players will be here tomorrow and we will make arrangements for that.”Related

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Details surrounding the Afghanistan players’ trip to the World Cup have been kept under wraps, with no official announcement from the ICC. However, in April this year, the ICC confirmed it would form a “dedicated task force” to support Afghanistan’s female cricketers which would include coaching and mentorship. Funding for this initiative would be provided by the ICC, and the three most moneyed cricket boards: the BCCI, ECB and CA but exact amounts were never revealed.The idea for Afghanistan’s exiled female cricketers to travel to the World Cup was firmed up at the ICC’s annual conference in July. At the time, a loose plan was put in place for the cricketers to attend a training camp in Bengaluru, which was due to host the opening match of the tournament, play against Indian domestic sides and then attend a handful of World Cup games. As things stand, the players are still due to compete in some fixtures but may not attend any matches other than the tournament opener, although no information has been confirmed.It is also understood that the lack of publicity around the Afghanistan women’s arrival in India is a result of the ICC adopting a cautious approach to any retaliation from the government of Afghanistan. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, women have been increasingly excluded from public life, cannot attend university or secondary school and their voices cannot be heard in public. As such, the ACB is unable to ratify a women’s team, despite contracting 25 players in 2020.The majority of those players live in Australia but some are resident in the United Kingdom and Canada. Not all those living in Australia have made the trip to India as some faced visa challenges but most of them played in an exhibition match between an Afghanistan XI and Cricket without Borders in January.

He first hit a four-ball 17 not out and then returned to dismiss the set Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi to choke Royals

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando16-Apr-20194:02

Manjrekar: Ashwin as captain has a lot of value in T20s

The last time these two teams played, R Ashwin pulled off a mankad dismissal against Jos Buttler and sparked a controversy that spanned continents and lasted weeks. This time he will be in the headlines again, but perhaps for less incendiary reasons.Although he didn’t make the top score, nor did he return the best figures in the game, Ashwin was central to Kings XI’s victory, with both bat and ball. Coming to bat in the final over, he carved a four behind point off his first ball, took a single off his second, and bludgeoned two sixes to end the innings with a high-impact four-ball 17. With Kings XI having made only 12 runs for the loss of three wickets off the previous two overs, they seemed as if they were squandering a solid platform, until Ashwin’s cameo propelled them to an imposing 182 for 6.With the ball, he was arguably even more vital to this victory. He did not concede a single boundary, gave away only 24 runs in his four overs, and took the important wicket of Sanju Samson as well as dismissing Rajasthan Royals’ top scorer – Rahul Tripathi. Although Royals had good partnerships in the first 12 overs of their innings, Kings XI’s spinners squeezed them, and ratcheted up the required run rate to an unmanageable level.This win puts Kings XI back into the top four on the table – though they have played one more match than most other teams. Royals, meanwhile, continue to languish near the bottom of the table. They have now lost six matches to the two they have won.M Ashwin’s supporting handR Ashwin claimed the better figures, but M Ashwin’s legbreaks were arguably even more impressive, on a slow track. He also conceded only 24 from his four overs, but beat the bat more often with his big turning deliveries, and bowled beautifully in tandem with his captain, to keep Samson’s 59-run partnership with Tripathi in check.BCCI

The key dismissal
Royals’ batsmen were guilty of falling into a tepid scoring period through the middle overs, but one batsman who would not have let that happen was Jos Buttler, whose hyper-aggressive instincts might have saved Royals from their eventual slow death. Buttler wasn’t around to face the Ashwins through the middle overs, however, because debutant Arshdeep Singh had already dismissed him at the start of the fifth over, thanks to an outstanding catch from wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran. Buttler attempted to crash an Arshdeep length ball through the legside, but managed only to get a big top edge to the ball. It swirled high, way towards fine leg, but Pooran tracked it down, and dived to complete the catch.Kings XI’s solid foundation
In the chase, opener Tripathi’s 50 off 45 balls seemed a poor innings for Royals, because it put undue pressure on the remainder of the batsmen to score quickly.In the first innings, however, KL Rahul’s even slower 52 off 47 balls, seems like a half-decent contribution, largely because the rest of the top order batted quickly around him. Chris Gayle hit 30 off 22 balls, but more importantly, Mayank Agarwal crashed 26 off 12, and David Miller., who was only slotted in because Moises Henriques turned his ankle after the toss, struck 40 off 27. By the time Rahul was out, at the start of the 18th over, Kings XI had 152 on the board, and were well-placed for a score of over 180, even if they would stutter slightly in the next two overs.Jofra Archer’s superb bowling
England have not named their World Cup squad yet, but Archer’s outstanding turn with the ball can’t have done his chances any harm. He took the game’s best figures – by a distance – claiming 3 for 15 from his four overs. The first of his victims was Chris Gayle – caught behind off an offcutter, but Archer’s best was yet to come. In the 19th over of Kings XI’s innings, he conceded only a staggering three runs, while claiming the wickets of Pooran and Mandeep Singh. He seemed to have swung the game in Royals’ favour, until R Ashwin swung it back again.

Yorkshire on top in Scarborough despite unbroken last-wicket stand for visitors

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay29-Jul-2025Sussex 210 for 9 (Coles 47, White 3-21) vs Yorkshire Yorkshire enjoyed a productive opening day of their key Rothesay County Championship clash with Sussex at Scarborough, a day lit up by a stunning James Wharton catch in the deep.Sussex, inserted on a green-tinged pitch, were limited to 210 for 9 from 96 overs. James Coles top-scored for them with 47 off 54 balls.New-ball seamer Jack White impressed with 3 for 21 from 17 overs, with the first of his wickets coming courtesy of what was labelled in some quarters as one of the all-time great catches by Wharton running back towards deep square-leg.Yorkshire came into this fixture second-bottom after 10 of 14 matches. They were seven points away from third-bottom and eighth-placed Durham, with Sussex only 21 ahead of the White Rose in fifth.These two counties were promoted from Division Two last summer. Yorkshire beat Sussex here last August. In fact, Sussex have never won a first-class match at North Marine Road. This is their 11th attempt. If Yorkshire’s start is anything to go by, that run may extend.Quite where Wharton’s catch stands on the list of all-time great grabs is difficult to say with certainty. What can be said with certainty, however, is that was a truly outstanding catch. You will struggle to see better at any county venue this season.Tom Haines looked to whip White over the leg-side but skied a chance off a top-edge. Wharton, positioned at a short midwicket, raced back towards deep square-leg and took the catch mid-air having dived full length.That left Sussex at 19 for 1 in the ninth over. From there, Yorkshire took wickets at regular intervals. Sussex reached lunch at 92 for 3 in the 29th over.Australian left-hander Daniel Hughes was the second wicket to fall when bowled by a beauty from White which angled in from around the wicket, straightened and hit the top of off stump with the score on 26.Coles and Tom Alsop steadied the ship, the former actually counter-attacking, including a six over long-on against the offspin of Dom Bess, Yorkshire’s stand-in captain with Jonny Bairstow on paternity leave. Coles fell just before lunch when caught behind against George Hill.A feature of the White Rose bowling performance was how miserly they were. For example, Sussex only scored 57 runs in an afternoon session which saw three more wickets fall – 149 for 6 at the tea break – and then 61 more after tea.White got wicket No. 4 when he had Danial Ibrahim caught at first slip pushing forwards before visiting captain John Simpson feathered behind a drive at Matt Milnes, leaving Sussex at 113 for 5 in the 44th over.Alsop, twice a fifty-maker in last year’s clash, was then the second Sussex batter to fall in the 40s after Coles. The left-hander had exactly 40 when he was bowled through the gate by one angled in from Revis with 129 on the board in the 53rd.More damage was done shortly after tea as Sussex lost three wickets for the addition of run one in eight balls, slipping to 150 for 9.The three wickets fell courtesy of catches at first, second and third slip. Two of them went to Will Sutherland’s seam in the 66th over – Fynn Hudson-Prentice for 23 and Jack Carson for a duck. Henry Crocombe also fell without scoring in the next over to Hill.Sussex were then boosted late on by an impressively watchful 10th-wicket partnership of 60 unbroken between Danny Lamb and Gurinder Sandhu. Both men pulled sixes off seam, Lamb finishing on 40 and Australian Sandhu 24.

Leading wicket-taker at IPL will join squad at conclusion of South Africa’s World Cup campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2019 Imran Tahir, the South Africa legspinner, has signed for Surrey for the entirety of this year’s Vitality Blast.Tahir, who has been named in his country’s squad for the upcoming World Cup, becomes the club’s second overseas signing for the 2019 competition, alongside the Australia limited-overs captain, Aaron Finch, who is returning for a fourth year.He will join up with the Surrey squad at the completion of South Africa’s World Cup campaign, in time for their opening match at Essex on Friday July 19.”I’m always looking for new and exciting opportunities,” said Tahir. “That’s how I see the chance to play with one of the most talented playing groups in county cricket.”When I heard Alec Stewart had asked after me, it was an easy decision. Surrey are a massive club and it will be great if I can contribute to helping them win another trophy this summer at the Kia Oval.”Tahir was the most successful bowler in this year’s Indian Premier League; taking 26 wickets, the most in the competition, as his Chennai Super Kings ended runners-up.Tahir has extensive experience in T20 cricket around the world, having also played in the Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League, Mzansi Super League and Bangladesh Premier League, as well as six previous campaigns in the English domestic tournament.He has represented South Africa at two World Cups and two T20 World Cups,rising to become the No.1-ranked T20 bowler in 2017, and currently has 63 wickets in 38 international T20 appearances.Surrey Director of Cricket Alec Stewart said: “Imran is a proven match winner and with his vast experience of international, county and franchise cricket will be a huge asset to us.”

A side strain, a bad back and now a hamstring. It’s been a summer of niggles for the New Zealand captain who may miss his home town ODI

Andrew McGlashan in Mount Maunganui27-Feb-2018Kane Williamson’s summer of niggles continues. A hamstring strain has left him doubtful for the second ODI against England, the latest ailment for the New Zealand captain in a hectic season but one that coach Mike Hesson insisted was not part of any longer-term issues.Even though Williamson is below his best form – he laboured for 8 off 23 balls in Hamilton having made just one score of note in the T20 tri-series – given his importance to New Zealand, there is a sharp intake of breath whenever a problem is reported.However, inside the team there is confidence that they can overcome the loss of the captain should he not be available on Wednesday. Mark Chapman, the left-hander who made his New Zealand debut in the T20 tri-series, would earn his first ODI cap for them – he played twice for Hong Kong, scoring a century on debut against the UAE in 2015 – while Tim Southee would take the captaincy having previously led New Zealand twice this season in T20s against West Indies and Pakistan, winning both.When Williamson was rested from a brace of ODIs against West Indies earlier in the summer Tom Latham took over the captaincy after he led the team in Ireland last year. However, Southee was also rested for the West Indies matches and now he is back in the side he is the official vice-captain.”It would be a big blow, Kane is a high-quality player, but we have to have confidence in our squad as well,” Hesson said. “They’ll be some minor adjustments but during the year when Kane hasn’t played we’ve been able to put in a performance so it won’t an excuse.””We always want to Kane to play, don’t get me wrong, he’s a quality leader but your side has to be good enough to deal with things from time-to-time. That is the advantage of using slightly different players throughout the year, Chappy isn’t coming in for his first game – he’s played against these guys a week or so ago.”Though Hesson remained bullish, there may be a concern about the cumulative effect of the issues that have afflicted Williamson this season. He missed a T20 against Pakistan with a mild side strain and was a doubt for the T20 against England in Wellington with a stiff back, but was able to play and was named man of the match for his 72, his only double-figure score of the tournament.”He’s had a few niggles over the past few months, this is just a hamstring strain but he has to make sure he’s 100%,” Hesson said. “The ground the other day was quite soft so think the guys found it quite heavy on the legs. We are hopeful he’ll be fine but we aren’t sure.”Managing one of their most important players in Williamson is an on-going balancing act for New Zealand. A hectic home season concludes with two Tests against England next month and while New Zealand do not play again until October, Williamson will then head to the IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad before a county stint with Yorkshire.Though it is Chapman who will earn his chance if Williamson is unavailable, the position would have gone to George Worker but the Central Districts batsman was ruled out having stood on a ball during the Ford Trophy final. Whether Chapman would be a straight swap at No. 3 remains to be seen. It could be the more experienced Ross Taylor, fresh from his 18th ODI century, steps up a place or another option would be Latham who previously had a lengthy stint opening.Latham has since moved down to No. 5 and taken the keeping gloves to give balance to the side. He helped revive New Zealand’s chase in Hamilton with 79, his second-highest ODI score at home, and said the new role was still something he was adjusting to.”It’s been a bit of a change since India and taking the gloves. It’s been enjoyable and I’m still learning from different situations. In the middle your game changes so much depending on the situation so it’s about knowing when to adapt.”

Brevis reprieve helps table-topping MICT to get out of sight in Qualifier 1

Firdose Moonda04-Feb-2025Mumbai Indians Cape Town will play in their first SA20 final after beating Paarl Royals by 39 runs in Qualifier 1 and turning around their fortunes from finishing last in both previous editions of the tournament. MICT have won five matches in a row and are running hot ahead of Saturday’s final at the Wanderers.Their yet-to-determined opposition will all be in action over the next two days with two-time defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape to play Joburg Super Kings in Wednesday’s Eliminator and the winner to take on Royals in Qualifier 2 on Thursday.While MICT’s win was comprehensive, and set up by them asking Royals to complete the highest successful chase at St George’s Park, it was not without controversy. They were 133 for 4 with a ball left in the 16th over when Dayyaan Galiem thought he had Dewald Brevis out for 16. Brevis pulled a full toss to deep backward square and an umpire review ruled the delivery a waist-high no-ball.Law 47.1 states that “any delivery, which passes or would have passed, without pitching, above waist height of the striker standing upright at the popping crease, is unfair. Whenever such a delivery is bowled, the umpire shall call and signal no ball.”Brevis’ front foot was outside the popping crease and he was not standing upright at the time of the shot but despite Paarl captain David Miller’s protests, the call stood. Brevis hit the next ball, a free-hit for six and Galiem was taken out of the attack in his next over after delivering another waist-high full toss which was judged a no-ball. That delivery also went for four. Mitch Owen completed the over, which ultimately cost 27 runs. MICT scored 60 runs in their last four overs and Brevis finished unbeaten on 44. After 15.5 overs in Paarl’s chase, their score was 136 for 6 which illustrates how impactful the no-ball and what followed was on the result.Miller was visibly upset on-field and when Galiem addressed at the post-match press conference, he confirmed that Royals did not feel the ball was high enough to be judged a no-ball. “That is obviously tight but that’s the match officials, they have to make the decisions,” he said. “it could have gone either way. We did feel like he was in a bent position and the shot was out in front of him as well, so potentially if that ball carried on going and it was in line with his body it perhaps could have been a touch lower. It was a touch and go and on another day that’s given and everything changes from there, but again I think we could have still been better in certain situations of the game.”One of those situations was Galiem’s no-ball in his next over, and he did not hesitate to acknowledge that. “I just misexecuted those two deliveries,” he said. “Such fine margins as well. I felt really confident after my first over as well and I just wanted to hit a yorker and I just didn’t want to miss on the short side. I misplaced the ball a little bit.”Rassie Van Der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton lifted MI Cape Town in the powerplay•SA20

He wasn’t the only one to misstep. Another tactical question arose when Galiem was taken out of the attack and Royals, despite having what Miller called “enough bowlers to pick from” in the post-match television interview chose not to use Andile Phehlulwayo. On the slower St George’s Park surface, his medium-pace may have been handy, but Phehlukwayo has not bowled at all in the tournament, even though two of his three appearances have come in the absence of Lungi Ngidi.All that suggests Royals have a few selection issues to deal with as they head into the Eliminator, including how they are going to find runs with Joe Root no longer part of the squad. Root left for national duty last week and though Owen is a promising replacement, he has done more with ball than bat so far. “He is obviously just adjusting to South African conditions but he’s an amazing player, we saw what he did in Australia and we know he’s got that about him, so it’s only a matter of time,” Galiem said.The team that has time now is MICT. Victory in the qualifier means they have three days to prepare for the final, albeit one of those will be a travel day, while the other team that qualifies will only have one. They recognise that as an obvious advantage. “It would have been first prize not to play another game heading into the final. We are glad that we ticked that off,” Kagiso Rabada said. “We are not taking anything for granted.”While Paarl have lost their last three games, MICT have not lost in seven matches, including a no-result, and are living up to their hype as the franchise with some of the biggest signings. “We have always had the players, but now I think we got together.” Rabada said. “The senior group had a lot to do with it in terms of pulling everyone together. There is also a familiarity between the players. That hunger is there. The hunger has always been there, but I think we just got together more as a team to put in those crucial performances at crucial times. I think that is what is getting us over the line.”Given the run of form they’ve had, they go into Saturday’s final as favourites, irrespective of who they play, and some would say the trophy looks like theirs to lose.

Raghvi Bist and Uma Chetry had given India A hope in their chase but the target proved out of reach

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2024Two wickets in four balls from Tess Flintoff made the difference on the final day between Australia A and India A after the visitors had threatened to close down their target.Raghvi Bist and Uma Chetry built a seventh-wicket stand of 79, the latter playing positively on the final morning, but just as the target of 289 was starting to loom into view, Flintoff changed the game. First she had Chetry splicing a pull into the leg side and then got one through Bist to remove India A’s last two main batting options.Related

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Three overs later Australia A had their ninth when Mannat Kashyap pulled Maitlan Brown to mid-on which all but assured the home side of victory. However, a last-wicket stand of 24 made them work to wrap things up and it was captain Charlie Knott who claimed the final wicket when Sayali Satghare chipped a return catch.”It was a bit nerve-racking at the start. They put on 60 runs or so without a wicket lost,” Knott said. “But we knew once we got one wicket we would get the rest, so we just had to stick in there. They were going pretty aggressive, so we knew something would come.”Day one we felt a little bit nervous, not putting in a great performance with the bat, but the bowling group has managed to do an awesome job and also the second innings with the bat, our lower order really fought to get us to a defendable total.”Key performances for Australia A came from Georgia Voll’s opening-day 71 then Kate Peterson’s five-wicket haul earned a narrow lead. Maddy Darke scored an outstanding second-innings century while legspinner Grace Parsons put in a crucial all-round display with 70 runs across two innings at No. 10 and two wickets in India’s chase.”We only won by 40-something runs in the end, so without those [runs] we wouldn’t have got over the line,” Knott said.The highly competitive four-day game concluded India A’s tour, which included three formats and they played better the longer the trip went on. Australia A won the T20s 3-0 and the one-dayers 2-1.

He expects to send down a few overs in the next Sheffield Shield match as part of a “slow build” to the Test series

Tristan Lavalette16-Oct-20241:26

How much will Australia miss Cameron Green?

Allrounder Mitchell Marsh will bowl in the upcoming Sheffield Shield round as he prepares to help cover Cameron Green’s absence during the India Test series.Marsh’s fitness and whether he can return to bowling have grown in significance for Australia since it emerged that Green will miss the entire season due to a stress fracture of his back.Green was heading to Christchurch on Wednesday for surgery and in an Instagram post said: “Heartbroken but let’s get a new back.”Related

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There has been uncertainty if Marsh, who turns 33 on Sunday, can physically handle the rigours of bowling. Since tearing his hamstring during the IPL, Marsh has bowled just four overs – all of which were in the fourth ODI against England at Lord’s last month.Marsh made 13 and 94 as a specialist batter for Western Australia in their drawn Shield opener last week against Queensland at the WACA. While in the field he was mostly based in the slips and and occasionally helped carry the drinks.But Marsh said he felt “really good” physically as he builds up his bowling loads against Tasmania in the Shield fixture starting on Sunday at the WACA.”I won’t bowl too much for WA, it’s all part of the building process to get ready for that first Test,” Marsh told reporters in Perth at the launch of the 2025-26 Ashes fixtures. “It’s been a slow build. I’ve been really well looked after by Cricket Australia, Ronnie [Australia coach Andrew McDonald] and Patty [Pat Cummins], with our planning and when I bowl.”I love bowling, so I’m looking forward to bowling for Western Australia this week and build from there.”Mitchell Marsh’s overs could be vital this summer•Getty Images

With Australia’s frontline pace attack unchanged last summer, and with Tests played on bowler-friendly surfaces, Marsh wasn’t greatly needed with the ball but still did produce several handy spells.There has been an expectation that the five-Test series against India will be more gruelling, magnifying the importance of Marsh being able to provide support.With Steven Smith to move back to No. 4, Australia’s selectors will likely call in an opener rather than a like-for like replacement for Green. Marsh moving to the top of the order, following in the footsteps of his father Geoff and brother Shaun, has some support, including from legendary Australia batter Greg Chappell.But Marsh dispelled the notion with his focus firmly on contributing as an allrounder and he did not put a cap on how many overs he could bowl in the Tests. “Once you’re in the field of battle, you bowl as many overs as the captain needs you to bowl,” he said.
“I see the allrounder role as being really important, especially for when our bowlers need a bit of a break. I think if you look back at the last few seasons, our allrounders have bowled maybe 10 to 13 overs a game, which is not really a lot.”But those 10 to 13 overs can be really important. So for me, it’s about preparing to bowl as much as I can, as much as Patty needs me to.”Marsh said he was “shattered” for Green who is expected to be sidelined for six months.”From all reports he’s pretty good, initially there is always a shock. It all happened pretty quickly,” he said. “Certainly with stress fractures they can be quite a gradual thing, but this one came pretty quickly.”Someone like Cam with his attitude towards the game, he loves it. The thought of missing that much cricket is probably a little daunting for him, but he’s accepted it now and as an athlete you go through these things.”It’s an opportunity for him to come back better and I have no doubt that he will.”