One week after former captain Theunis de Bruyn moved to Titans, the Bloemfontein-based franchise have suffered their second major loss ahead of the 2018-19 summer

Firdose Moonda05-Jun-2018Bloemfontein-based franchise Knights have suffered a second loss in as many weeks, ahead of the 2018-19 summer. After former captain Theunis de Bruyn moved to Titans, the Knights have also had to say goodbye to middle-order batsman David Miller, who is rejoining the Durban-based Dolphins.Miller is originally from Durban and played his domestic cricket at Kingsmead until the 2016-17 season, when he left after Lance Klusener’s coaching contract was not renewed. The Dolphins also lost fast bowler Kyle Abbott, who moved to the Warriors and then Hampshire that summer. The Dolphins faced administrative upheaval in the aftermath of Klusener’s departure, but have since rebuilt under new coach Grant Morgan.Though they have not won a trophy outright under Morgan, the Dolphins shared the 2017-18 one-day cup and reached the final of the T20 tournament. With the World Cup high on South African players’ agendas, Miller’s return to Durban aligns with his major tournament goals. “The Dolphins had a good season in white-ball cricket last year and they are building something special, and I am looking forward to adding to that this season,” Miller said on the Dolphins’ official website. “I have heard a lot of good things about Morgs (Grant Morgan) and his passion for the game and his work ethic beyond training and matches, it is exciting.”The Dolphins have yet to announce their complete contract list, but Miller, who is CSA-contracted can nominate which franchise he would like to represent. In May, the Dolphins extended the deals of Morgan and assistant coach Imraan Khan until the end of the 2019-20 season.The Knights have also yet to reveal how they will plug the gaps caused by de Bruyn and Miller leaving. With the pair in their squad, the Knights won the first-class competition in 2016-17, but went trophy-less last summer.

Marizanne Kapp made the news of their wedding public on Saturday via an Instagram post

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2018South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk and fast-bowling allrounder Marizanne Kapp celebrated their wedding on Saturday, becoming the second set of current international team-mates to get married after New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu last year.Kapp made the news of their wedding public via an Instagram post and it is understood that the event was attended by most of their South Africa team-mates. The duo had made their international debuts within two days of each other, during the 2009 Women’s World Cup. Van Niekerk debuted on March 8 against West Indies, and Kapp followed on March 10 against Australia. Van Niekerk, who won the 2017-18 CSA Women’s-Cricketer-of-the-Year Award, is South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs, with 125 wickets from 95 matches at an average of 18.86 and an economy rate of 3.51. Kapp is third on the list with 99 wickets at 24.84, with an economy rate of 3.66.Van Niekerk, with 1770 runs, is fourth on the list of highest run-getters in ODIs for South Africa while Kapp is in sixth place with 1618 runs. Van Niekerk is currently ranked third and fourth in the ICC’s allrounders’ rankings in ODIs and T20Is respectively, while Kapp occupies the fourth slot on the ODI bowlers’ rankings.Van Niekerk and Kapp are second and third on the list of T20I wicket-takers for South Africa, with 49 and 48 wickets respectively. Van Niekerk is also the highest run-getter in T20Is for her country with 1469 runs, while Kapp – with 600 runs – is fifth.Both Kapp and van Niekerk have played one Test, against India in November 2014 in Mysore. They have also played 82 ODIs and 56 T20Is together.They were both also the first two girls to join a boys’ cricket academy in South Africa, signing up for Eastern Provinces, and have played together for Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League too. In 2017, the duo made their Women’s National Cricket League debut for ACT Meteors but will not return for the 2018-19 season.

Virat Kohli cedes his top spot one week after gaining it, slipping below the suspended Steven Smith

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2018James Anderson has become the first England bowler since Ian Botham in 1980 to break through the 900-point mark in the world rankings, following his match figures of 9 for 43 against India at Lord’s.Meanwhile, Virat Kohli has conceded the top batting ranking a week after his outstanding performance at Edgbaston lifted him above Steven Smith.During the course of the second Test, Anderson passed 100 wickets at Lord’s – the first pace bowler to take a century at a single Test venue – became the leading wicket-taker in England-India contests, and saw his average dip below 27 for the first time since his fifth Test in 2003.With 903 rating points, Anderson becomes the seventh England bowler to reach the 900-point mark after Sydney Barnes (932), George Lohmann (931), Tony Lock (912), Botham (911), Derek Underwood (907) and Alec Bedser (903).Anderson became the first England bowler to reach 500 Test wickets last year against West Indies and is now closing in on Glenn McGrath’s haul (563) to become the most prolific pace bowler of all time.James Anderson breaches the 900-point mark in Test rankings for bowlers•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Against India at Lord’s, his success started early when he removed M Vijay in the first over of the Test and proceeded to take 5 for 20 in the first innings. He then claimed Vijay for a pair in India’s second innings, although he couldn’t quite manage his first 10-wicket haul at Lord’s.”He’s a special, special commodity, isn’t he?” England captain Joe Root said. “He’s something that doesn’t come along very often and we’ve got to enjoy him while he’s around. There’s been chat about his longevity but, at the minute, he’s bowling better than he ever has before. Even though the conditions suited him, you’ve still got to put the ball in the right area and ask the right questions of the batters.”One wicket that has eluded Anderson so far in the series has been Kohli although the pair have enjoyed an absorbing contest. At Lord’s, Kohli fell to Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad and his return of 40 runs in the two innings has seen him slip back below the suspended Smith in the batting chart.

ECB disciplinary committee issues another final warning as it warns Somerset they “are treading a very fine line”

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2018Somerset have escaped a points penalty by the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Committee after a full-scale investigation accepted the initial verdict that the pitch should be marked as “below average.”But the county, which received a final warning for a surface prepared against Middlesex almost a year ago, have now received a final, final warning.The CDC report concluded: “Somerset CCC’s pitch preparation will continue to be monitored very closely. The club should expect any proven breach of ECB’s pitch regulations in future to result in a points deduction.”A carefully measured statement indicated that the ECB had not taken action because of lack of evidence and they warned Somerset that they were “treading a very fine line”.The match against Lancashire ended in a tie with Lancashire’s director of cricket Paul Allott fuming that, in his view, Somerset had not tried to create the best possible pitch, as regulations, for the game.Somerset’s defeat at Hampshire effectively ended their Championship challenge, but they will go into 2019 knowing that they cannot afford to incur the wrath of those in high places.Dean Cosker, the Cricket Liaison Officer at Taunton, rated the pitch ‘Below Average’ on the grounds of excessive turn. An investigation was then carried out by a second CLO with support from the ECB Pitch Consultant Chris Wood.The CDC considered whether there were any factors relating to the preparation of the pitch that were beyond Somerset CCC’s control and whether they intended to prepare the best quality pitch they could.The investigation concluded: “All parties agreed that the pitch was under prepared. There were various explanations for this and while the reasons given by Somerset may be regarded as satisfactory, the fact is that they cannot be considered as any more than that.”The Somerset groundsman stated that he sought to prepare the best possible pitch but heavy rain cost a day of preparation time.”Some of the factors which might indicate intent in the way the pitch was prepared were absent. This is significant. These would include over-aggressive scarification of the ends to accentuate wear, or use of a sand ameliorant dressing to enhance friction / grip. There was no evidence that this had occurred.”This lack of evidence means that CDC cannot, on balance, direct ECB to charge Somerset CCC with a breach of regulation. ECB would simply not be able to make the case that action, or inaction by Somerset CCC constituted a breach of the regulation requiring them to seek to prepare the best quality pitch.”CDC notes Somerset’s practice of preparing pitches to assist their spinners. This may be regarded as making use of home advantage, and CDC notes that ECB is keen to support opportunities for all disciplines in the game. However, they must take care that it is in the right degree. They are treading a very fine line.”

A round-up of the best performers and results in the National Cricket League

Mohammad Isam18-Oct-2018All four matches in this round of the National Cricket League were drawn, with the fixtures in Barisal and Cox’s Bazar heavily affected by rain. ESPNcricinfo looks at how the teams performed.Best batsmen
Tushar Imran became the first batsman in Bangladesh domestic cricket to score seven hundreds in a year. The seventh, 103 against Rangpur Division, was also his third in the 2018-19 season. He overtook Mosaddek Hossain (2015) and Naeem Islam (2017) who had made six centuries in a year. Tushar struck eight fours in his 176-ball innings.Tushar has now scored 1161 runs this year at an average of 82.92. Having last played Tests more than 11 years ago, he is likely to be a big talking point in the selection meeting ahead of the series against Zimbabwe in November.Shahriar Nafees struck his first hundred of the year when he made 102 against Rajshahi Division in Barisal. He struck 12 fours and three sixes in his 161-ball effort, in a game where the bowlers dominated.Tasamul Haque also scored his first century this season, making 116 off 185 balls with 13 fours and two sixes against Dhaka Metropolis in Bogra.Elsewhere, Ziaur Rahman continued his batting form with fifties in each innings against Rangpur Division while Jahid Jabed hit a pair of 64s against Khulna Division in the same game.Best bowlers
Young offspinner Nayeem Hasan took his first five-wicket haul in Chittagong Division’s game against Dhaka Metro. He took 6-119 in the second innings to go with the three wickets he took in the first innings.While Nayeem is only playing his second season, Taskin Ahmed got his maiden five-wicket haul in the seventh year of playing at this level. He took 5 for 67 in the Chittagong-Dhaka Metro game after returning without playing a match in the APL in UAE.
Left-arm quick Sajedul took 6 for 81 against Khulna in a first-innings performance that must get the attention of selectors. He removed the in-form Tushar Imran, Nurul Hasan and Soumya Sarkar, and also took Anamul Haque’s wicket in the second innings.Players to watch
Ahead of the Zimbabwe series, three international players also stood out. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam took five wickets in the rain-affected Rajshahi-Barisal match while young batsman Zakir Hasan struck 88 against Dhaka.But it was Soumya Sarkar’s all-round show that stood out against Rangpur. He made 76 and 71, apart from taking his maiden five-wicket haul. Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes has said he has been keeping an eye on Soumya.Points to note
Rajshahi moved to the top of the Tier-1 points table with 12.98 points, three ahead of defending champions Khulna. Dhaka Metro are five points clear of their closest Tier-2 rivals Dhaka Division, who are on 13.5 points.

The 15-member squad will take on Pakistan in three T20Is in Malaysia before heading to the Caribbean for the World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2018Opener Nicole Bolton and left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen have been included in the 15-member Australia squad for the Women’s World T20 that will run from November 9 to 25 in the West Indies.Bolton has played just two T20Is in her four-year international career, and her last game was back in September 2016 against Sri Lanka. She was impressive in the last Women’s Big Bash League season, where she made 482 runs in 16 games to finish third on the runs table. She was also among the top run-scorers in the Women’s Super League in August.

Australia’s squads

T20I squad for World T20 and Pakistan series: Meg Lanning (capt), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen (subject to fitness), Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham
ODI squad for Pakistan series: Meg Lanning (capt), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

“Nicole Bolton has been a real revelation I think in T20 in the last 12 months,” head coach Matthew Mott said. “She was traditionally more of a one-day player but she’s reinvented herself, playing some different shots and putting bowlers under pressure. And she’s also one of the best fielders in the world at the moment.”Jonassen, who had undergone a minor surgery on her left knee after injuring herself during a warm-up, had missed the three-match T20I series against New Zealand. Mott said her recovery was ahead of schedule, but the selectors have added a “subject to fitness” rider to her inclusion.”Jess was always going to come back in, being one of the best T20 bowlers in the world,” Mott said. “We’re still waiting, she’s doing some more rehab but it’s all been good. She’s excited about the progress that’s been made and it’s ahead of schedule.”Jonasssen and Bolton are the only additions to the squad that completed a T20I whitewash over New Zealand on Friday.The selectors also named a 14-player squad for the upcoming ODIs against Pakistan. The T20I squad will play three matches against Pakistan in Malaysia after the ODIs, which will serve as a final tune-up ahead of the World T20.Meg Lanning, the captain, said her squad was in good shape, and the new tactics they had implemented, such as going in with the quicker scorers at the top, had paid off. “We’ve looked at our strike rates in the last couple of years and really tried to reward players with 130-plus strike-rates and maximise their time in the Powerplay,” Lanning said. “We haven’t had that success in the last two World Cups [World T20 2016 and Women’s World Cup 2017], so we’re very determined to make sure we get the result that we want.”Australia finished runners-up in the 2016 World T20, losing to West Indies in the final. Ahead of the tournament, they will play two warm-up matches in the West Indies, against England and South Africa. They are placed in Group B for the World T20, which includes India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Ireland, with all their matches taking place at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

He also said attacking Rohit Sharma upfront will be crucial for New Zealand when they host India for five ODIs early next year

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2018Containing Virat Kohli in the first 15 deliveries and attacking Rohit straight up will be key to New Zealand gaining advantage over India, when the teams contest in a five-match ODI series in February next year, according to former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson.India’s top-order has shown superiority in the shorter formats, and they proved it again during the recently-concluded home series against West Indies. Kohli and Rohit in particular have been instrumental in setting up and chasing down big targets over the last few years, especially at home.However, Hesson felt both batsmen could be challenged in swinging conditions in New Zealand, although the host bowlers will have to work hard, especially against Kohli. “The key thing is if you can contain Virat Kohli in the first 10-15 balls where he has to take some risks to get his innings underway then that will provide opportunities,” Hesson told ESPNcricinfo. “How you do that is dependent on the surface. But, if we found a magic formula, I’m sure it would be circulated all around the world very quickly.”Hesson also warned that New Zealand would need to have plans for Rohit. “Rohit Sharma is in incredibly good form at the moment and has been for a long time. The thing with Rohit is that once he is in, once he gets himself set, he generally dictates the outcome of the game. It’s making sure that the new-ball bowlers can attack Rohit early on whether it’ll be with swing or with some other variations wide outside the crease or whatever.”New Zealand had blanked out India 4-0 at home in 2014 in an ODI series, which also featured a tie in Auckland. Hesson, the then coach, predicted a 3-2 series score in favour of the home team for the upcoming series. “I think it was 4-0 last time with a tie. I think it’ll be 3-2 [this time]… it’s going to be tight… I think Black Caps 3-2.”New Zealand are currently the third-ranked ODI side, one behind India, but Hesson pointed out that Kane Williamson’s men would need to quickly sort out a couple of key issues for them to arrive at next year’s World Cup as favourites.”I think there are a couple pieces of the puzzle the Black Caps would be keen to find out before the World Cup. Who is the allrounder? Who provides that balance? A lot of options there. From a bowling point of view, who’s going to take wickets in the middle overs when it’s flat? I think if they can get that sorted then the side’s looking very good.”

Hashim Amla was forced to retire hurt as South Africa ticked off the 41 runs required for victory

The Report by Andrew Miller06-Jan-2019Hashim Amla was forced to retire hurt with a bruised bicep as South Africa battled through the vagaries of an increasingly uneven surface on the fourth morning at Newlands, and ticked off the 41 runs required for a victory that sealed the series against Pakistan.Their mainstay in 9.5 overs of action was Dean Elgar – no stranger to putting his body on the line in awkward conditions. He did take the precaution of pinching Amla’s armguard as his team-mate left the field, but stood firm thereafter, sealing the win with back-to-back boundaries off the part-time seam of Azhar Ali.Azhar’s introduction to the attack with six runs to win was an admission from Pakistan that the game was up, as they instead turned their sights to next week’s Johannesburg Test. But up until that point, Mohammads Abbas and Amir had launched a full-blooded defence of their meagre total.The man who had most to gain – and to lose – in this mini-passage of play was Theunis de Bruyn, who was promoted to open in the place of Aiden Markram, who bruised his thigh in the field, and had an opportunity for a morale-boosting red-inker after an under-productive series.Instead he was caught behind off an Abbas bouncer for 4, having clipped one sweet boundary off his toes. His place for the Johannesburg Test may depend on Markram’s fitness, and indeed that of Amla, who appeared to be left with a dead arm after Amir thudded a vicious lifter into the underside of his bicep as he looked to shoulder arms. Ottis Gibson, South Africa’s coach, confirmed after the match that he had suffered bruising but played down any long-term concerns.Amir’s pace and intensity wasn’t entirely beneficial to Pakistan’s cause, as he served up a quarter of the target in the space of three erratic deliveries, a wild leg-side wide that eluded Sarfraz to fizz to the boundary, and a sizzling bouncer that also flew from a good length, and was called no-ball due to the number of short balls he’d already bowled in the over.”Definitely, not enough runs in the first innings,” said Pakistan’s captain, Sarfraz Ahmed, during the post-match presentations. “Maybe closer to 250-300 would have been good. The way our batsmen batted in the second innings showed our courage.””Our bowlers always enjoy coming here,” said Faf du Plessis, South Africa’s captain. “And there are runs to be had if you bat properly.”Du Plessis admitted South Africa would have preferred to wrap the match up on the third evening, when Vernon Philander’s no-ball prevented them from ending Pakistan’s innings with enough time to hunt down the runs.”We wanted to finish last night, but unfortunately that no-ball happened,” he said. Instead it took less than an hour on the fourth day, as South Africa took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series, extending their unbeaten run at home.

Afghan spinner is first signing made by Stuart Law, Middlesex’s new coach, since his arrival at Lord’s

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2019Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Afghanistan’s teenage spinner, has been signed by Middlesex for this season’s Vitality Blast campaign.Mujeeb, 17, is the first signing made by Stuart Law, Middlesex’s new coach, since he arrived at Lord’s in January, and comes in the wake of his impressive displays for Brisbane Heat in this season’s Big Bash in Australia, where he has picked up 12 wickets with a best of 3 for 16.He has so far claimed 54 international wickets in all formats, having made his Afghanistan debut at the age of 16, and in February last year he became the youngest bowler in ODI history to claim a five-wicket haul, against Zimbabwe in Sharjah.In the course of his international baptism, Mujeeb has formed a burgeoning spin partnership with his team-mate Rashid Khan, and in T20Is, his economy rate in is an impressive 5.07.”It is with great pleasure to say that Mujeeb has agreed to play for Middlesex in the Vitality Blast,” said Law. “His unique style of spin has proven to be difficult to play against and his record is outstanding in this format.”I’m sure the staff and players at Middlesex are looking forward to working with him this season.”Mujeeb will be available for the entire Vitality Blast campaign, and will join up with the Middlesex squad in early July to prepare for the tournament.”I’m very pleased to sign for Middlesex for the Vitality Blast and it will be very exciting to play at Lord’s again,” said Mujeeb. “I hope we can be successful as a team.”

Zalmi paid for a conservative approach through the early and middle parts of their innings, which meant Kamran Akmal’s quickfire fifty went in vain

Peter Della Penna04-Mar-2019
How the game played outShane Watson’s sizzling unbeaten 91 moved him to the top of the PSL 2019 run charts and helped Quetta Gladiators become the first team to seal a playoff spot this season. Watson added 129 for the second wicket with Ahmed Shehzad to ensure that chasing the target of 166 set by Peshawar Zalmi turned out to be a cinch.Zalmi paid for a conservative approach through the early and middle parts of their innings after being sent in to bat. Openers Andre Fletcher and Imam-ul-Haq took up just over a third of the available deliveries in the innings, scoring at an identical strike rate of under a run a ball, providing weak support for Kamran Akmal during his 72 off 50 balls.It wasn’t until Kieron Pollard arrived with one ball to go in the 14th over that Zalmi went on the attack. Pollard struck two fours and a six off Dwayne Bravo in the 18th, then started the 19th with a trio of fours off Sohail Tanvir, but Bravo’s magnificent 20th over in which he conceded just three runs wiped out all of Zalmi’s momentum. Watson then made the most of a few chances early in the chase to bully Zalmi’s bowlers over the course of 90 minutes.Turning points

• Zalmi were 162 for 3 heading into the final over of the first innings with Pollard humming on 43 off 19 balls. But he only faced two balls as Bravo produced a masterclass in death bowling, his yorkers and slower balls undoing Darren Sammy and costing just three singles.
• Pollard had a chance to run Watson out on 19 in the fourth over of the chase when Shehzad drove Sameen Gul to mid-on. His diving stop denied four initially, but after getting to his feet, with the stumps at the non-strikers’ end about 20 yards away, he missed his target.
• Not only did PSL’s leading wicket-taker Hasan Ali go wicketless, he spilled both Watson and Shehzad. Watson’s chance was a difficult one, on 26 in the fifth over driving at mid-on where Hasan got fingertips to it as the ball burst through for four. Liam Dawson’s first ball of the day in the eighth over offered an easier chance, with Shehzad on 22, but Hasan couldn’t get hold of the top-edged sweep.

Star of the dayWatson was imperious through much of his knock but two shots in particular stood out. On the last ball of the seventh over, Umaid Asif attempted a slower ball that landed a touch short outside off stump as Watson slapped him over cover for six. A more mind-boggling maximum came off Wahab Riaz two balls into the 18th when he carved out a wide yorker over the ropes at backward point.The big missThere were a handful of them by Zalmi in the field, but Pollard’s shy at the stumps with Watson vulnerable in the fourth over began a snowball effect of poor fielding.Where the teams standGladiators now sit alone in first place on 12 points. Zalmi are two points behind them alone in second place, two ahead of Islamabad United.