Four players who featured in that 2014 game – SA’s last Test match – are part of the squad that’s currently touring England

Firdose Moonda24-Jun-2022It’s natural for sports teams to take lessons learnt from one game into another but to take those lessons from a fixture played over eight years ago has to be unprecedented. That’s what South Africa will have to do when they play their first Test since 2014 next week.They’re looking back to when they played against India in Mysore, where they lost by an innings and 34 runs after a lower-order collapse of 6 for 25 in their first innings and middle- and lower-order meltdowns of 4 for 8 and 4 for 12 in the second.”In that Test match, we were well in the game competing and then we lost concentration as a unit after tea and that’s when we lost the Test match,” Hilton Moreeng, who has been South Africa’s coach since 2012, said. “It showed what a lack of concentration can do and what losing a session does – how critical that can be. Those who were part of it understand what happened and it’s now an opportunity to show they can put it right against a team that has been playing consistently in this format.”Four of the current squad – Lizelle Lee, Chloe Tryon, Marizanne Kapp and Trisha Chetty – played in that Test. Of those four, Chetty spent almost three hours at the crease while scoring a first-innings 56, and then spent two hours and 25 minutes in the middle while scoring 35 in the second. Tryon batted for two hours and 27 minutes for an unbeaten 30 in the second innings. Their experience will be crucial to a line-up that is still finding its feet in the longer format.Moreeng said the batters were having a more difficult time adjusting than the bowlers but have progressed well from their training camp last month. “The ones that are battling with it currently are our batters, because we’ve just come from a white-ball tour in Ireland,” he said. “What has helped is the prep we had prior to the Ireland tour. We had a three-day and four-day game where we introduced most of them to red-ball cricket.”File photo – Laura Wolvaardt scored a century during South Africa’s three-day warm-up match against England A•Cricket Ireland/Keniry Photography

And the fruits of that labour showed in the three-day warm-up match against England A. Laura Wolvaardt scored her first red-ball ton, Lara Goodall, batting at No. 3, made 51, and Andrie Steyn, Wolvaardt’s opening partner, hit a second-innings 63.”To see how the batters have set up their innings, taking their time and their application – that’s something that wasn’t there in the preparation matches that we had and we are very happy to see that on the back of white-ball cricket,” Moreeng said. “The application we see from batters shows that the improvement is there. Getting into the Test, we can say that most of our batters have spent time in the middle to be able to understand what’s required.”Moreeng would not give away much about the line-up he intends to play in the Test but on the evidence of the warm-up match, Lee is likely to bat in the middle order, flanked by captain Sune Luus and Kapp, who will headline the pace attack. South Africa are likely to go in seam-heavy, with Shabnim Ismail and Ayabonga Khaka as first-choice (though both were rested from the warm-up match) and Anneke Bosch (3/17) and Tumi Sekhukhune (2/27) enjoying good outings in Arundel. “It’s an experienced [bowling] unit,” Moreeng said. “With the Duke ball, they have to make sure they can manage whatever excessive swing they get on this wicket. And the patience around setting up batters and working towards a plan. There’s enough time to make plans and execute your skills.”While the batters and bowlers have been getting skill-specific in their preparation, the squad as a whole has been preparing for successive days of cricket, which they are also unused to. “Our conditioning has been good. We knew the Test was coming so it was put in their conditioning plans. There’s nothing that beats time in the legs. The two games we had back home gave them an idea of what could happen and after four days we could see who was where,” Moreeng said. “Test cricket is more taxing on the body and the mind and everyone understands that. They’re more excited to see how it goes.”And hopeful that, despite the ICC chair Greg Barclay’s feeling that women’s Tests won’t form a big part of cricket’s future, this is the start of a longer-term plan to play red-ball cricket. “Ideally it’s a format we want to see in women’s cricket because of everything it brings to the game,” Moreeng said. “If your skills are good as far as playing Test cricket is concerned, you can transfer the basics to the other two formats.”

But he still believes there is a future for ODI cricket, and says players ‘still want to win 50-over World Cups’

Firdose Moonda24-Jul-2022Quinton de Kock’s retirement from Test cricket has not created space in his calendar because he has chosen to play in T20 leagues, but he has no regrets over his decision to give up the longest format. De Kock quit Tests late last year, shortly before becoming a father for the first time, citing a desire to spend more time at home, but that wish has not quite come true just yet.”It hasn’t freed up my calendar – at least not this year,” de Kock said, in his first press engagement since stepping away from Tests. “I’ve been roped in to play a couple of leagues but that’s my own consequence. I am happy to do it. It’s still a sacrifice but I’m slowly getting to an age where I need to think about where I want to be in my career. As long as I can do it at my own pace then I am happy.”Related

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After de Kock returned from paternity leave to play in South Africa’s white-ball matches against India in January, he had almost two months off before a series against Bangladesh but he has been on the go since then. He played for the Lucknow Super Giants at the IPL, for South Africa against India, is now in England, and will also play The Hundred and the CPL before another white-ball series in India followed by the T20 World Cup.And he acknowledged that it’s becoming more difficult to decide what to participate in and that for many players, dropping a format is the only option. “It’s going to start being tough for players – three formats is a lot and it looks like more games are happening over the calendar,” he said. “Players need to make decisions individually and if they feel they can do it [play all three formats], I am happy for them. But guys need to take decisions into their own hands. For me, I am happy where I am.”Despite many predicting a slow death for ODI cricket, de Kock still has faith in the format, hopes South Africa will play more 50-over cricket, and has indicated he will keep at it for now. “I want to say we need to play more games but I don’t see where,” he said. “The [ODI] game is doing well for itself with the way players are going about it and from a batting and bowling competitiveness. There’s a future for it and a lot of us still want to win 50-over World Cups. There’s a lot to play for.”de Kock encouraged newer players to continue pursuing all three formats and said that it only becomes difficult to fit all in as you age or your priorities change. “When you’re still young you need to play all three formats and get certain things done in your career,” he said. “It starts getting harder as you start getting older and the body doesn’t cooperate like it used to. It’s just a management thing.”

Hosts handed first home defeat of season as promotion race begins to hot up

ECB Reporters Network13-Jul-2022Worcestershire 191 (Barnard 69, Roland-Jones 4-60) and 238 for 3 (Pollock 113) beat Middlesex 188 (Hollman 62, Helm 50, Leach 3-58) and 240 (Hollman 46, Yadav 44*, Pennington 3-54, Baker 3-62) by seven wicketsEd Pollock annihilated Middlesex’s bowling attack with a brilliant century as Worcestershire coasted to a resounding seven-wicket LV= Insurance County Championship success at Merchant Taylors’ School.Pollock was in ruthless mood, slamming 113 from just 77 balls to register his highest first-class score and ensure the visitors chased down what had appeared a tricky fourth-innings target of 238 with ease.The left-hander’s performance – which included seven sixes and 11 fours – ensured Worcestershire became the first visiting team to taste victory in a red-ball fixture at the Northwood venue.The result strengthened the Pears’ promotion chances, lifting them to within 11 points of Middlesex, who remain second in Division Two for now despite their first home defeat of the campaign.Charlie Morris made early inroads in the morning, uprooting Toby Roland-Jones’ off stump before Tom Helm squirted him into the hands of mid-on to leave Middlesex eight down and 185 ahead.But Umesh Yadav’s pugnacious approach quickly propelled his new side past 200, thrashing Dillon Pennington over long-off for six and handing out the same treatment to Josh Baker when Worcestershire turned to spin.The India international dominated a partnership of 41 with Luke Hollman, who fell just four short of his second half-century of the match when Baker persuaded him to reverse-sweep and find the point fielder.Yadav was left unbeaten on 44 from 41 balls when Middlesex’s innings finally came to a close at 240, with Tim Murtagh caught behind swishing at Joe Leach.If the target appeared awkward, Worcestershire’s openers looked completely unflustered by it, with Roland-Jones’ first two overs disappearing for 22 as Pollock and Jake Libby raced to 50 inside the first seven.Hollman and Yadav succeeded in stemming the flow of runs before lunch – but the batting side resumed the onslaught after the interval, with Pollock hooking Roland-Jones for six and slamming another boundary in the same over to reach his half-century.Helm eventually achieved the breakthrough, having Libby (31) caught behind attempting to cut, but the wicket failed to disrupt Pollock’s rhythm and he ruthlessly pulled the first ball of Murtagh’s second spell over the fence.The opener’s hundred arrived from just 67 deliveries, with Taylor Cornall – who contributed 12 to the second-wicket stand of 82 – required to do little more than stand and applaud his partner’s efforts.Pollock eventually perished, pulling Yadav down the throat of deep square leg with 71 still needed, but his job was long since done and it was left to Cornall (31 not out) and captain Brett D’Oliveira (33 not out) to steer Worcestershire over the line.

Mandhana’s 46 helped Brave to 153 for 8, and Invincibles never got going in the chase

Matt Roller14-Aug-2022Oval Invincibles are defending champions in the Hundred and eased to a nine-wicket win on the opening night of the women’s competition on Wednesday. But three days later, their season is in turmoil after they made a shock call to omit captain Dane van Niekerk from their side, then slipped to a 12-run defeat against Southern Brave in a rematch of last year’s final in the south London sunshine.Marizanne Kapp was fit to return after missing the opening game through illness and her return demanded a tough call, with four top-class overseas players in the squad and only three permitted in the playing XI. Jonathan Batty, Invincibles’ head coach, was expected to leave out Suzie Bates, but her innings of 46 off 34 against Northern Superchargers saw her keep her place.Instead, van Niekerk made way, and Invincibles never got going in her absence. Smriti Mandhana hit the first two balls of the innings for four after Bates, deputising as captain, chose to bowl, and her innings of 46 led Brave to 153 for 8, the highest women’s Hundred total at The Oval. In the chase, Kapp, Bates and Lauren Winfield-Hill made bright starts, but failed to turn their cameos into innings of substance as Brave’s spinners closed out a comfortable win in front of a 14,525 crowd.Mandhana magic
Mandhana missed the final week of the Hundred last year, returning home to see her family before flying to Australia for India’s tour, and their batting wasn’t the same without her: in the final, they folded to 73 all out – which represented something of a recovery from 14 for 6. While there is no guarantee she would have kept out Kapp’s high-class opening spell on that day, this was a reminder of what Brave had missed.She was up and running immediately, creaming her first ball – from Kapp, no less – through the covers for four and hit six fours in her first 13 deliveries, punishing Kapp and Shabnim Ismail when they missed their lengths. When she slog-swept Mady Villiers for four at the start of the ninth, she was a hit away from a half-century after just 24 balls, but was beaten in the flight by her 25th and stumped by Winfield-Hill.”I was timing the ball well,” Mandhana told Sky Sports at the interval. “When you get a first-ball boundary, that gives you a lot of confidence. I was really disappointed to get out – I think it’s a crime to get out in the 40s after batting so well – and really disappointed that I couldn’t play at least until the 90th ball.”Sophia Smale had the wickets of Danni Wyatt and Tahlia McGrath to show•ECB/Getty Images

Brave keep coming
Invincibles took regular wickets through the middle phase, with 17-year-old left-arm spinner Sophia Smale keeping a lid on the scoring, but Charlotte Edwards has made a point of building a side with a long batting line-up and they continued to attack throughout the innings: Mandhana aside, no batter reached even 25 but their intent dragged them up to a defendable total.Freya Kemp and Georgia Adams’ partnership of 45 off 24 balls for the sixth wicket was particularly crucial, and highlighted the extent to which Brave’s lower-order firepower has emboldened their batters to attack: rather than a major setback, each dismissal resembles one batter handing the baton over to the next.Oval’s overseas dilemma
Batty’s decision to leave out his captain, and the MVP across the tournament’s first season, was a gamble that backfired. “She led them to the trophy last year,” Lydia Greenway said on Sky. “From a coach’s point of view, if you feel like you need to make a big call like that, you have to go for it. The challenge they will have is if they lose today, how will they manage that?”In her absence, Invincibles needed their overseas trio to step up and prove their worth; perhaps inevitably, they struggled to make any impact. Kapp and Ismail were uncharacteristically loose with the new ball and at the death, returning combined figures of 0 for 67 from 40 balls. With the bat, Bates hit 15 off 8 balls and Kapp crunched 19 off 9, but both fell without making a lasting impact.With Alice Capsey sidelined due to the ankle injury she picked up fielding in Invincibles’ opening game, their domestic players were left with too much to do. Ryana Macdonald-Gay’s late hitting put a dent in Amanda-Jade Wellington’s figures but by then, tight spells from part-time offspinners Adams (2 for 16 from 20) and Danni Wyatt (2 for 16 from 10) had seen the asking rate spiral out of control.

Squad takes week off ahead of series decider at Oval after three-day loss

Firdose Moonda30-Aug-2022Smarting from their defeat inside three days at Old Trafford, South Africa have taken the week off and will break away to the West Midlands before resuming training in London on Saturday.No further details have been provided about their itinerary except that they will “stay together as a group” and engage in team activities including golf rather than have individual time away, as was initially discussed. Speaking after the second Test, Dean Elgar said they would use the time to reconnect, to “pull ourselves towards ourselves”, and “don’t forget why we are here”.The mood is somewhat different to the one the team had after beating England in three days at Lord’s. Players were given the remaining two days off to do as they pleased with the only instruction to “be back at the hotel for an 11 o’clock leaving time otherwise it’s an expensive Uber to Manchester,” Elgar said.Related

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The gap between the second and third Test was initially scheduled for nine days to accommodate the Hundred’s final week. That became 11 days after England stormed to an innings-and-85-run win. South Africa remained in Manchester for what would have been the final two days of the Test and will leave for their getaway on Tuesday.While Elgar emphasised they would like to get away from cricket to a degree, South Africa will not be able to avoid addressing questions over their game, especially as the decider looms. Chief among South Africa’s considerations will be how to juggle the batting line-up after they were dismissed for under 200 in both innings.Rassie van der Dussen has returned home with a finger injury and will be replaced by one of Ryan Rickelton or Khaya Zondo, but both reserve batters could come into contention given Aiden Markram’s poor form.Allrounder Wiaan Mulder, who has been playing at Leicester, has been added to the squad in van der Dussen’s absence, and provides another option in the lower middle-order.

The Australia captain has batted in the middle order in the last three matches with Cameron Green at the top

AAP10-Oct-2022Aaron Finch has confirmed he will return to the top of the order for Wednesday’s clash with England as Australia’s T20 World Cup preparations ramp up.Finch has spent almost his entire T20I career as opener, but he raised eyebrows by batting either at first drop or at No. 4 over the past three matches.The move has given Cameron Green more opportunities at opener despite the 23-year-old not being in Australia’s 15-man World Cup squad.Finch made scores of 58 and 15 in the 2-0 series win over the West Indies, and was run out for 12 while batting at No. 4 in Sunday’s eight-run loss to England.Related

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The 35-year-old will return to his customary opening spot for games two and three against England in Canberra.”I’ll go back to the top next game, which was always the plan,” Finch said. “It was just about giving Greeny more opportunity at the top and trying things…in case he had to be called into the [World Cup] squad.”Green enjoyed remarkable success as opener during the 2-1 series loss in India. But his return to Australia has been less fruitful, with Green posting scores of 14, 1, and 1 as opener in his past three innings.Despite that, Green appears set to be first cab off the rank if Australia need a late injury replacement for their World Cup title defence.England captain Jos Buttler said even he was surprised when Finch didn’t open at Optus Stadium.”It’s a good question for them,” Buttler said. “He’s opened a lot in T20 cricket and done that really well. But he’s obviously got a plan.”England posted 208 for 6 with Australia finishing at 200 for 9 despite the heroics of David Warner (73 off 44 balls) at the top of the order.Allrounder Marcus Stoinis made 35 off 15 deliveries despite being struck on the heel while running a quick single early in his innings. Stoinis looked proppy while running after that, but he said the blow wouldn’t affect his World Cup preparations.”It’s actually alright, it just stung for a little bit,” said Stoinis, who only just returned from a side strainAustralia rested Steve Smith, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell for the series opener against England.Ashton Agar (side strain) was also overlooked while he builds back to full fitness, but he could be available for the next game. It means Australia could welcome back up to seven players for game two, creating a huge selection squeeze.