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“I am trying to wrap my head around,” says the captain about his side’s lack of intensity against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval

Firdose Moonda19-Feb-2022Dean Elgar did not blame off-field issues, quarantine or the absence of a warm-up match for South Africa’s lack of intensity in the first Test in Christchurch but thinks his team may be trying too hard in their quest to compete.Like coach Mark Boucher, Elgar could not completely “wrap my head,” around how South Africa have gone from the highs of beating India a month ago to the low of their second-biggest Test defeat ever, but could not fault their effort despite acknowledging a lack in intensity.”The harder you try, the more you fail,” Elgar said, in reference to his bowlers’ inability to hold an end on a seamer-friendly surface. In 117.5 overs, South Africa only sent down 15 maiden overs, compared to New Zealand’s 28 in 91 overs across both innings, and allowed the hosts to bat them out of the match.”It’s extremely frustrating being a captain and the ball has been hit both sides of the wicket. You can’t set a field for that,” Elgar said. “That’s down to execution and the skills department. I can’t say it was nerves. We were so deep into the game, those nerves were out of our system. It’s extremely difficult to build pressure when runs are being scored on both sides of the wicket. It also boils down to guys trying too hard. The harder you try, the more you fail. That might have been a scenario but it’s not an excuse. It allowed their middle-to-lower order to come in and dictate the pace of play. That was down to us not being consistent enough.”Ultimately, though, South Africa lost the match in the first innings, when they were dismissed for their lowest total against New Zealand – 95 – and looked completely at sea against the moving ball on a green top. Although Elgar said it “would have been nice to have played a warm-up game,” in the build-up to the match he indicated conditions at Lincoln University, where South Africa trained, equipped them well for the Hagley Oval and agreed that not having a competitive fixture before the Tests was not a reason for their collapse. “I am not going to use quarantine as an excuse. We are here to represent our country and we need to be firing by the time match day comes. If that is an excuse, it’s a very weak excuse to be using.”Instead, he explained the batters’ issues as a case of being too defensive, with 13 of the dismissals coming from catches behind the wicket. “When the ball is going around a little bit, you still have to have a positive mindset. You will have to look to score but in the same breath, you have to remain pretty disciplined within your game plans. That ties in with our intensity. That is one area that I can put my finger on,” he said.While it is unfair to single out one batter from South Africa’s poor performance, the spotlight has fallen on opener-turned-No. 3 Aiden Markram, who averages less than 26 in his last 20 Tests and 9.7 in his last 10 innings. Elgar still backs Markram as a quality player who is one good innings away from glory but admitted there is an issue around his form, which is probably caused by the same over-eagerness that affected the attack. “It’s not foreign that he has been struggling. I am sure that conversation will come up with the selectors,” Elgar said. “Maybe it’s the mental game he is fighting.”We know he is a quality player. He is only one innings away from turning a lot of things around for him. It’s also the same case of trying too hard. The conversation around his position has been in the media. The selectors have to have conversations around that. It’s a very valid question around him as a person and his capacity in the side. He needs to stop trying so hard. Naturally he is a gifted player and he is one score away from turning things around.”File photo – Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar runs between the wickets•AFP via Getty Images

Markam was moved down into the spot Keegan Petersen left vacant when he contracted Covid-19 but essentially operated as an opener in this match and could find himself benched when Petersen returns for the home series against Bangladesh, or sooner. South Africa have Ryan Rickelton, who is averaging over 100 in first-class cricket this season with three hundreds from his last five innings, in reserve. They were considering playing him in the first Test and will likely do so again in the second. It would seem a no-brainer, even though Boucher said the team management decided a line-up with Rickleton was, “how we felt the line-up needed to be,” and selection convener Victor Mpitsang told ESPNcricinfo Rickleton was overlooked because Zubayr Hamza has more experience.Elgar was asked if he was happy with team selection and indicated he was, with the debate in his mind over the ratio of batters to bowlers, rather than which batters were being used. “I was very comfortable with the XI we selected. I am a captain that is pro having a spinner from a stability point of view but history tells you at the Hagley Oval, spin doesn’t have much effect. Playing in foreign conditions you have to go with what history tells you,” he said. “I was comfortable with the four-seamer approach, knowing that against India we only used four seamers. As I sit here now, I am pretty comfortable with the 7-4 split but the next few days will be interesting for us on this very topic.”After losing in three days, South Africa have given themselves two extra days off before the second Test starts on Friday and Elgar said they will use the time to mull over selection and ponder why they appeared so flat in the first Test, knowing that it is not the myriad off-field issues that continue to plague South African cricket. “It’s not foreign to us with regards to what’s been happening off the field. As a group we’ve worked through that and worked it out already. I don’t see that as being an influence in our camp,” he said. “It (the poor performance) is something I am also trying to wrap my head around. I was trying to process it last night and still haven’t come to anything yet. Hopefully in the next day or two I’ll be able to put my finger on why.”

Talk of a possible whitewash has been calmly batted aside by England’s captain

George Dobell in Manchester31-Jul-2013Alastair Cook did not make his name with outrageous strokes or flamboyant innings, so it should be no surprise that his measured approach to batting is reflected in his captaincy.That is not to say that Cook’s approach is limited or lacking in ambition. Just that Cook, like Andy Flower, the coach in whose image this entire England team is moulded, is a pragmatist more than a dreamer. While others plan for the long term, Cook focuses on the present. He knows that his success has come, not through a flash of genius or a preposterous talent, but through hard work, application, discipline and determination. And he is not about to abandon those qualities now he is on the threshold of an achievement that may well define him as a captain.Rightly or wrongly, England and Australia players are still judged – disproportionately, really – by their own supporters on their success in Ashes series. So for Cook, aged only 28 and in his first summer as Test captain, to already have such a landmark achievement in sight is remarkable.Two-nil up with three to play, England need only a draw at Old Trafford to retain the Ashes. Bearing in mind Manchester’s reputation for rain – England’s practice session on the eve of the game had to take place inside due to a torrential downpour – that may prove pertinent.But while the media, in particular, are already starting to speculate on the possibility of a 5-0 whitewash, the England captain remains as calm and unruffled as ever: the one-ball-at-a-time mantra has served him well and he will not deviate from it. There is no talk in the England camp about whitewashes.It’s not hard to understand Cook’s caution. England have been on the crest of a wave before, only to crash dramatically. No sooner had they won the Ashes in 2005 than they were defeated by Pakistan, while the same team dragged them back to earth at the start of 2012 just after England had reached the No. 1 Test ranking.They have experience in Ashes encounters, too. In 2009, for example, England went to Leeds on the back of some good performances only to succumb to an innings-and-80-run defeat that gave Australia a lifeline in the series. Similarly, in 2010-11, they went to Perth on the back of a strong win in Adelaide, and were brushed aside by 267 runs.And then there was the entire 2006-07 series. Cook and several of his team experienced a thrashing in that series and the pain of it has instilled not just a fear of failure, but a fear of the complacency and hubris that often precede it. For Cook and Flower, complacency is an almost unimaginable indulgence.”That was a miserable time,” Cook said as he reflected on the 2006-07 Ashes. “They just showed the Brisbane Test on Sky Sports and it was a very tough introduction to Ashes cricket. But it has gone now and it was part of my learning experience as a player. You can’t keep looking back. We focus on today and today only.”At Headingley in 2009 we did start thinking too far ahead. I admit I do remember saying ‘If we win here, we win the Ashes’. There was that mentality and we forgot about the hard work. I can’t remember who won the toss, but we were suddenly bowled out for 150 and you don’t win many games from there.”Perth was different. I think you have to give credit to the way Australia played in that game. I don’t think it was anything to do with it being 1-0 in the series. It wasn’t a do-or-die game as such and they out-skilled us. Today we are very much focusing on that first day, that first thing that we have to do.”There has been a lot of talk about 5-0, but that has come from outside the dressing room. We are very much focused on this game and this game only. What happens after that we will re-evaluate before the next game at Durham and then the next game at The Oval. That is the only way. We know it works for us better than anything else. Anything else you end up taking your eye off the ball and do not play good cricket.”It is not, perhaps, the most exciting approach. But it is sensible, it is characteristic and it has served England and Cook well. They are the accountants of world cricket. While West Indies and Pakistan flirt with success and failure in a thrilling yet infuriating fashion, England play the percentages, accumulate the runs and sustain the ‘good areas’ with the ball. It may not make them a great side, but it has made them, arguably, as good as they can be. You cannot ask for more.The one man on either side who might be described as a genius is Kevin Pietersen. He is the only batsman in the England side, at least, who can transcend any conditions and any attack to shape a game in little more than a session.But, while Cook remains hopeful that Pietersen will have suffered no reaction to Wednesday’s fitness test, he also remained confident that England could win without him if necessary.”We’ve played some pretty good cricket without him in the side,” Cook said. “Clearly he is a world-class player, let’s make no mistake about that, and he is a player who can change games very quickly. There are not many like that around.”But I think this England squad, especially over the last few years, has developed enough that the players in the squad have also produced some fantastic cricket as well. Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott: they are world class batters as well, so we are not as reliant on Kev as we were once a few years ago.”A final decision on Pietersen’s inclusion will be made on the morning of the game and left, largely, to the individual.”At the end of the day it is pretty much the player’s responsibility,” Cook said. “You can have as much medical advice and technology as there is today but only the player deep down knows what he is thinking and that is pretty much it.”He has always been desperate to play for England. He has always worked incredibly hard at his game and over the past week he has worked incredibly hard behind the scenes at rehab, which is not the most fun thing to do, to get himself right for this game.”

Netherlands maintained their position at second place with a narrow one-wicket win over Namibia

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2013
ScorecardNetherlands’ last men hung on to secure a one-wicket victory over Namibia in Windhoek. Chasing 237, Netherlands were 22 for 1 before Wesley Barresi and Stephan Myburgh put on an 83-run stand for the second wicket. Daan van Bunge’s 60 helped further the cause once Barresi was dismissed for 58. Craig Williams picked up three crucial wickets for Namibia, those of Myburgh, Barresi and Tom Cooper, to halt the scoring midway through the innings. Netherlands slipped to 178 for 7 as the seemingly par target looked more difficult that it should have been. Mudassar Bukhari added 14, and Timm van der Gugten scored an unbeaten 11, as Netherlands’ last pair crossed the line with two overs to go.Namibia had been asked to bat and started with a century stand between openers Xander Pitchers and Raymond van Schoor. The pair put on 104 before Pitchers was run out by Myburgh. The next few batsmen did not contribute much to the cause, as they fell for single scores, but van Schoor continued to bat on. At 151 for 5 Netherlands smelled a chance of routing Namibia for a paltry score. It wasn’t until Nicolaas Scholtz came in that the pair could put together a healthy partnership of 85 runs. Scholtz scored an aggressive unbeaten 51 off 45 balls, while van Schoor made an unbeaten dogged 93. Namibia finished on 236 for 5 at the end of their 50 overs, Peter Borren was the pick of the Netherlands bowlers with 2 for 34.

Western Australia completed a stirring comeback victory over Tasmania on the final morning of the Sheffield Shield match at the WACA ground

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2013
Scorecard
Western Australia completed a stirring comeback victory over Tasmania on the final morning of the Sheffield Shield match at the WACA ground.The Warriors needed only a further six runs to win and they were polished off by the No. 10 Burt Cockley, playing his first Shield match for his adopted state after moving from New South Wales.Ashton Agar was at the other end, his unbeaten 71 pivotal to WA’s win after being bowled out for a mere 97 in the first innings.WA’s win keeps the within sight of the Shield leaders with two rounds remaining, but the Tigers’ bid to make a third consecutive final is now faltering.

Sussex have lost Australian John Hastings, from the Friends Life T20 tournament this season, because of an ankle operation.

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2013Sussex have lost John Hastings, the Australian overseas player signed for the Friends Life T20 tournament this season, because he is about to undergo surgery on an ankle injury.Hastings will undergo surgery in Melbourne next week to remove bone spurs on his left ankle. He will now focus on rehabilitation ahead of the 2013-14 season with the Victoria.A quality replacement will be difficult to find for Sussex – although the difficulty of attracting high-class players could be even more difficult next season when the counties revert to T20 on Friday nights for much of the summer.”There’s never a good time to get it done, but it’s pretty disappointing,” Hastings said. “I was in quite a bit of pain during the last three months of the season and it wasn’t allowing me to deliver my skillset like I would like.”Hastings was determined to see out the season, having missed the 2011/12 Victoria season because of shoulder surgery – and that has cost Sussex dear.He seemed an astute Sussex signing as he took 27 wickets at 24.51 including career-best figures of 5-30 and 7-87 against Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield this season, as well as scoring useful runs in the lower middle-order. He also finished third on the RYOBI One-Day Cup wicket-takers’ list with 15 at 25.46 and averaged 44 with the bat.Mark Robinson, Sussex’s professional cricket manager, said: “Obviously the news is really disappointing and it is a shame that Sussex supporters will not get to see John in action this season. We wish him a speedy recovery from his surgery and our attention now turns to finding a suitable replacement.”

A round-up of matches in the Zimbabwe domestic T20 competition

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2013A half-century from Sikandar Raza led Mashonaland Eagles to a 42-run win against Mid West Rhinos in Harare. Eagles made a swift start after they were sent in, with their openers adding 59 before Chamu Chibhabha was dismissed in 6.4 overs. Raza, however, went on to hold one end up, keeling the innings steady by making 62 off 56 balls. He was dismissed only in the 18th over and Eagles ended on 149 for 6. Michael Chinouya and Neville Madziva took two wickets each for Rhinos.Rhinos’ chase never got going as wickets fell in two clumps. They went from 33 for 1 to 65 for 6, and then from 101 for 6 to 103 for 9 at the end of their innings. Peter Moor top scored with 30. Eagles used eight bowlers and Ray Price took 1 for 8 in his four overs.Rain allowed only eight overs in the game between Southern Rocks and Matabeleland Tuskers in Bulawayo. Rocks made 50 for 1 before the match had to be abandoned.

Ross Taylor has said he was surprised by the timing of his losing the New Zealand captaincy but not by the decision itself, declaring he felt he never had the support of the coach Mike Hesson

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2012Ross Taylor has said he was surprised by the timing of his losing the New Zealand captaincy but not by the decision itself, declaring he felt he never had the support of the coach Mike Hesson. Taylor, who on Friday was replaced as leader by Brendon McCullum, was told after the ODI series in Sri Lanka that there would be a change of captaincy after the end of the Sri Lanka tour.On Friday, Hesson stressed that what he meant at that meeting, which was also attended by assistant coach Bob Carter and team manager Mike Sandle, was that there would be a change to the limited-overs captaincy, not the Test leadership. However, Taylor said he had been told his captaincy was not good enough and it felt clear to him that Hesson and the team management did not want him in charge at all.”They told me I wasn’t good enough as a captain, wasn’t good enough for this team,” Taylor told the . “To hear I wasn’t good enough was disappointing. It was interesting … I was offered the Test captaincy a couple of weeks [after the Sri Lanka meeting], when it was clear to me from conversations, they didn’t want me at all.”Taylor said he was not surprised by the course of events after Hesson took over from John Wright as head coach in July. “It wasn’t huge shock,” Taylor said. “Hesson never supported me through the whole time I’d been captain, but I was surprised by the timing.”Since taking on the captaincy full-time last year, Taylor led New Zealand to four Test wins from 13 matches, including rare victories in Australia and Sri Lanka, two wins from eight ODIs, and four victories from nine Twenty20 internationals. He conceded that he was still developing as a captain but said he had learnt a lot under Wright’s coaching.”I know I had areas to work on,” Taylor said. “I was far from the finished product, but I lacked a lot of support from the management in a lot of areas, which was disappointing. Under Wrighty I was learning a lot; under Hesson, the relationship was pretty poor. I didn’t think he supported me in that role.”After declining the Test captaincy this week, Taylor declared that he offered his full support to his replacement McCullum, but intended to take a break from the game. Taylor said he did not believe he could put in a complete effort under the circumstances and would return when the time was right.”It’s still fresh and raw,” Taylor said. “It’s been a pretty difficult five months for me. It’s a chance to get away from it, spend some time with the family and have a Christmas. I don’t believe I can give 100% to the game at this time. Cricket is my life and my passion. I love the game and I love playing for my country. But taking a break is the right thing for me right now.”

Welsh Fire beaten for third game running after losing key moments against experienced visitors

ECB Reporters' Network06-Aug-2021A quickfire 46 from Samit Patel and a superb spell of death bowling from Wahab Riaz took Trent Rockets to the top of the Hundred table as they brushed aside the Welsh Fire in Cardiff.Fire had looked set for a very big total after a 72-run stand between Glenn Phillips and Leus du Plooy, but Wahab brought Rockets back into the game at the death.The early dismissal of D’Arcy Short and a cluster of wickets in the middle of Rockets’ innings had given the Fire hope of defending the 140-run target but Patel’s intelligent innings took the Rockets to a straightforward win. Victory takes Rockets to eight points, two points clear of the chasing pack with three group matches still to play.Fire lost two early wickets with Tom Banton and Ian Cockbain both falling inside the Powerplay. Phillips and Ben Duckett looked to rebuild after the loss of both openers, taking the fire to 53 before Duckett was the third wicket to fall when he skied a catch off Steven Mullaney to Riaz.That brought together du Plooy and Phillips who put on the biggest stand of the match. Phillips brought up his first half-century of the competition from just 34 balls. Unfortunately for the home team he could not go on from there, falling to the very next ball.With Phillips and du Plooy well set Fire were eyeing up a total 150 or more. That became 139 for 8 at the end of their 100 balls thanks to a superb final 10 from Wahab Riaz in which he conceded just 11 runs and claimed three wickets.Rockets looked to build a solid platform at the start of their innings, reaching 31 for 1 at the end of their Powerplay. Qais Ahmad removed Dawid Malan and Alex Hales while Mullaney fell to David Payne, giving Fire a chance of defending the total. But Patel and Lewis Gregory put on an undefeated stand of 69 from just 33 balls to take their side to victory.Gregory was bowed by Payne with 25 still needed but a no-ball was picked up by the third umpire and the Rockets pair quickly finished the job in Matt Milnes’ next set.Patel’s innings included five sixes, including a big shot over the bowler’s head to win the game. Rockets won by six wickets with 10 balls to spare and they are very well placed to claim one of the three spots in the latter stages of the tournament.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s former captain and newly-appointed batting consultant, has advised his batsmen to be ‘aggressive’ against India

Umar Farooq15-Dec-2012Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s former captain and newly-appointed batting consultant, has advised his batsmen to be ‘aggressive’ against India. The team that handles pressure better, he said, could control how the matches go in the upcoming limited-overs series’.Pakistan are preparing for the India series with a conditioning camp at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, and Inzamam will spend the week with the batsmen to assist them. Since his retirement in 2007, Inzamam had not been associated with Pakistan cricket in any form, running a business instead; this is the first in five years that he has taken up a role with the team.”My job will be to pass on my playing experience to the players, rather than working on batsmen’s techniques,” Inzamam told reporters at the end of the day’s training. “I will be discussing with them how to chase, how to set a target and what’s required while batting.”Pakistan will kick-off their tour of India with a two-match T20 series, followed by three ODIs. Inzamam, who led Pakistan in 22 ODIs against India and has a win-loss ratio of 12-10, said Pakistan have plenty of matchwinners in the squad but they need ‘collective’ effort.”Pakistan have a lot of players who could individually win matches for us, it’s a good sign,” he said. “But cricket is a team game, we lack in collective effort from the batsmen. Our bowling is very strong and we have to have confidence in ourselves. We have to make up our minds that we can win.”Playing in Indian conditions isn’t different; we have been winning [there] and can win again. It’s only about pressure and how to handle it. What we need is to play aggressively and whoever copes with it [pressure] well, will play better.”Pakistan have played 16 completed ODIs in 2012, losing four out of eight while chasing and failing to defend their target on six instances out of eight. Batting first this year, they have crossed the 200-run mark seven times, winning only twice. When chasing a target of more than 200, they have won only on one occasion out of five.”It’s not a new problem, it’s been going on for a long time now,” Inzamam said of their batting issues, citing the lack of quality cricket in Pakistan, which has been a no-go zone for major international cricket teams. “For the last two years we have not played a lot of cricket and the batsmen are lacking in temperament due to T20 cricket.”Flaws in our players are down to us not playing on a regular basis. If we start playing 10-12 Test matches every year, you will obviously see an improvement in our batting. As more we play cricket, the more players will learn from it.”Inzamam said it will be important for the players to put aside distractions in India and focus on the cricket: “Against India, one should be focused on the game instead of other activities. We have to focus on our game and don’t worry about what others are doing. If we keep focus on ourselves, we will perform better.”India will play with passion, so must Pakistan. I think the way this Pakistan team lines-up, we can put pressure on India. But they’re a big team too and could make a comeback [after faltering in the Test series against England], so we have to focus ourselves.”

Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, though, was omitted from the 20-man list

ESPNcricinfo staff13-May-2021Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell have been offered their first New Zealand central contracts, for the 2021-22 season. However, Ajaz Patel, who won his first deal last year, has been omitted from the 20-member list.BJ Watling, who had announced his decision to retire from all forms of cricket after the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June, dropped out of the list.Phillips had dislodged Ross Taylor to become a permanent member of the T20I side, slotting into the middle order and also pitching in with his quickish offbreaks. He even reeled off New Zealand’s fastest T20I century, off 46 balls, against West Indies, at the Bay Oval in November last year. In all, Phillips played 14 T20Is last summer, hitting 366 runs at an average of 40.66 and strike rate of just under 185.As for Mitchell, he stepped in for Colin de Grandhomme, who had been sidelined from the entire home summer with injury, and played key roles across formats. He struck his maiden Test and ODI centuries in addition to contributing with the ball.Related

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“I’d like to congratulate all the players offered agreements for the coming season and in particular newcomers Daryl and Glenn,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said in a statement. “Receiving your first national contract is a great moment in any player’s career and both thoroughly deserve their elevation.”There’s no question Daryl and Glenn took their games to another level over the summer and have added to the growing depth of talent we now enjoy.”Patel, the left-arm fingerspinner, had missed the start of the last season with a calf injury and although he subsequently made a comeback in domestic cricket, New Zealand opted against rushing him back into Test action on pitches that largely favoured seamers.Patel, though, is back in the Test squad for the upcoming tour of England, and Larsen indicated that he was “very much” part of the side’s plans in overseas conditions. He is part of a strong spin attack that will also include two other left-arm fingerspinners – Mitchell Santner and the uncapped Rachin Ravindra.”After such a successful summer in which we used a variety of players across the three formats, there was always going to be a squeeze on for positions and, unfortunately, Ajaz has been a victim of that success,” Larsen said.”He missed the start of the Test season with his calf injury and was unable to make it back into the side during a summer in which seam and swing dominated. However, we are well aware of Ajaz’s value as a frontline spinner, particularly in overseas conditions and he’s therefore still very much in our thinking going forward.”Under the terms of NZC’s agreement with the NZCPA (the players’ union), the 20 men offered deals have until May 22 to accept or decline the contracts, which officially begin on August 1.NZ contracts list for 2021-22: Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor,Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, Will YoungIn: Glenn Phillips, Daryl MitchellOut: Ajaz Patel, BJ Watling