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The South Africans will have to remind themselves what game they are playing on Wednesday. White clothes, red balls and attacking fields … that would be Test cricket, then

Andrew McGlashan at Centurion15-Dec-2009The South Africans will have to remind themselves what game they are playing on Wednesday. White clothes, red balls and attacking fields … that would be Test cricket, then. It is nine months since they beat Australia, at Cape Town, in their most recent five-day contest. Since then they have lived on a diet of one-day and Twenty20 action.Five of South Africa’s squad, including the captain Graeme Smith, haven’t even played first-class cricket since March, and the team as a whole prepared with a training camp in Potchefstroom rather than turning out for their franchises in a round of Supersport four-day matches. Despite the concerns about coming into the series short of meaningful practice, the coach Mickey Arthur felt the greater importance was to get his Test squad back together after such a long time apart, and for his part, Smith doesn’t believe the team will be caught cold.”I wouldn’t say under-cooked is the right word,” he said. “We’ve played enough cricket, had enough training and enough match time. It is more the long haul of a Test match, being able to handle pressure for long periods and sustain performances for long periods. I know it’s been a lengthy period since our last Test match, but our squad is a very mature one. It’s had a lot of success, and each guy knows what he needs to do to be successful. We’ve prepared really well – and it’s been a good, calm focus with intensity around our training sessions.”It’s always difficult to say where you are if you haven’t played a Test match for a long time. But I think we’re ready for tomorrow. It’s up to us to come out and make that first day count.”A situation that Smith will definitely have to confront is not having his usual five-man bowling attack. Although Jacques Kallis has been passed fit for batting duties after his fractured rib, he won’t be available with the ball which puts an added burden on the frontline bowlers, including Dale Steyn who has had recent hamstring trouble.”It’s obviously a luxury to have the five bowlers available,” said Smith. “I hope the four picked can do the job well and take the pressure off me. We have some quality bowlers who can produce the results, but we’re not going to have the luxury of Jacques [with the ball] so the responsibility shifts to all other places. Players know they’re going to have to take on a little bit more.”One bowler Smith knows will run in all day for him whatever the conditions is Makhaya Ntini, who will be celebrating his 100th cap. “It’s been a pleasure to be a part of his career and see the success he’s had – where he’s come from to where he is today,” Smith said. “He’s had his ups and downs but has always met them with 100% commitment. He’s a vibrant personality, even to the point sometimes where we have to put a muzzle on him. We wish him all the success in the next game and a lot more to come. He’s going to play a prominent role in the future, not only in this team but in South Africa.”Being greeted by a green pitch on the eve of the game may have given Smith cause to considering bolstering the pace attack in Kallis’s absence, but he said there was “a 99% chance” they would play the left-arm spinner Paul Harris. “That’s the way we’ve played our Test cricket over the last period of time, and I think we’ll stick to it,” he added. “The weather’s going to be a lot better tomorrow, and there’s still a lot of work to be done on the wicket this afternoon. I think it will change quite a bit, so we’ll assess it in the morning.”Smith is a far more mature captain than the one England first faced in 2003 when his attitude didn’t endear him to many of his opponents. Back in his younger days he would go down the route of making strong and provocative statements, but the older, wiser version instead opts for more subtle views about his rivals.”They’ve got a few challenges like the loss of an allrounder,” he said referring to Andrew Flintoff’s absence, and he has also suggested that England’s attack doesn’t look overly threatening with Steve Harmison left back home in Ashington.”And it wouldn’t be the build-up to a South Africa-England contest without mention of Kevin Pietersen. “We’d like to make it a major test for him,” Smith said. “That is our challenge as a team. We want to put all England batters under pressure, and he’s a key figure in that line-up. We’ve worked on a few interesting gameplans to him. Since his injury, he’s searching for a bit of confidence – and we hope we can keep him under that pressure he’s had on the tour so far.”

An exchange of words late on day one has added more spark to one of the series’ most compelling duels

Andrew McGlashan03-Jan-2025Sam Konstas was at the centre of a fiery exchange with India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah amid a dramatic finish to the opening day of the final Test at the SCG, which has set up another compelling duel when play resumes on Saturday.Australia’s reply started with just 15 minutes of the day remaining, and first ball Konstas walked down the crease at Bumrah and whipped him through midwicket. Konstas then exchanged words with Bumrah before what became the penultimate ball of the day after Usman Khawaja had pulled away from the strike, seemingly to try and eat up time to ensure there wouldn’t be another over.Related

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Konstas turned to Bumrah and appeared to say something, which prompted umpire Sharfuddoula to step in. The next delivery passed through outside off stump. Then, with the final ball of the day, Bumrah had Khawaja edging to second slip, and immediately turned and locked eyes with Konstas at the non-striker’s end and took a couple of steps towards him, before being joined by several team-mates, including Virat Kohli, in exuberant celebration.”I feel they had a little chit-chat,” Rishabh Pant said of the exchange. “They wanted to waste some time. I feel that’s the reason he had a conversation with Jassi [Bumrah]. He [Konstas] said something, I didn’t hear it, but I feel that’s the only thing which he wanted to do to just waste some time so we don’t bowl one more over.”The India players were animated as they left the field, having a few minutes earlier been bowled out for 185, while Konstas walked off a few metres behind Khawaja, with Australia 9 for 1.”It was an interesting one,” Beau Webster said of how Australia’s innings started. “I was sitting next to Heady [Travis Head] in the rooms watching on the TV and the first ball he [Konstas] ran down and clipped him over midwicket. There almost wasn’t surprise anymore, it was like there he is, he’s away.”Sammy’s a very confident young man, it’s what they do these days, those youngsters, they get after it and put themselves out there. He’s got all the skills and all the talent to back it up so hopefully he has a really good day tomorrow and puts a few runs on the board.”Usman Khawaja walks back after being done in by Jasprit Bumrah•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Konstas’ selection in the latter part of the series has had a dramatic impact. He struck 60 off 65 balls in his debut innings at the MCG, where he scooped Bumrah on a regular basis, and in the process of his stay was shoulder-barged by Kohli between overs. Bumrah struck back against Konstas in the second innings by removing him for 8.In the field, Konstas was heavily engaged with the packed MCG crowd and in the final innings, as Australia pushed for victory, was a vocal presence around the bat.”He’s playing with a lot of flair,” Scott Boland told . “He’s definitely under their skin. You can see that in the last few moments there.”Speaking ahead of the SCG Test, Konstas’ mentor Shane Watson said he had been surprised by how outgoing the 19-year-old had been.”My experience of dealing and working with Sam has been a very quiet, reserved personality,” he said. “[He’s] a very deep thinker and certainly not an extrovert. But obviously what we saw in the Test match is that he absolutely is a showman.”Bumrah’s late strike will raise India’s hopes that he has one more huge performance in him to cap an outstanding series with the visitors needing to win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”Think there’s definitely a method to go about batting on this wicket, but Jasprit is a world-class bowler and no doubt he’s going to challenge our whole batting group,” Webster said. “He’s phenomenal with his lengths and lines, it is going to be tough on a wicket that will offer a fair bit for him.”Pant acknowledged India would have liked a few more runs but was confident in India being able to stay competitive in the match.”I think I wouldn’t say it’s a par score, I think anything over 220 to 250 would be a par score,” he said. “But still a very competitive score because the way ball is moving now I think there’s a lot of help for the bowler and hopefully we can capitalise on that.”

Pakistan gunned down 345 to win back-to-back games while Sri Lanka suffered their second successive defeat

Madushka Balasuriya10-Oct-20231:28

Urooj Mumtaz: Entertainment part and parcel of Mohammad Rizwan’s game

Sri Lanka were served a harsh lesson in the realities of modern ODI cricket, as Pakistan hunted down a target of 345 – the highest-ever chase in a World Cup – with six wickets to spare. Leading their charge were tons from Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan, which trumped a pair of centuries by Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, to make it two wins from two for Pakistan.Rizwan, who suffered from at times seemingly debilitating cramps – the physio came and looked at him twice – for the last 15 overs or so of the chase, remained unbeaten in the end on a 121-ball 131. Together with Shafique – who himself recorded the highest score by a Pakistan debutant at a World Cup with his 113 off 103 – he had put together a third-wicket stand worth 176 off just 156 deliveries.It was a stand that would break the spine of the chase, though even then it might not have been enough had Rizwan himself not valiantly stuck around till the end. He would put on a further 95 off 68 with Saud Shakeel, and then 37 off 23 with Iftikhar Ahmed, as Pakistan eventually cantered home to a win that will provide them an immense confidence boost ahead of Saturday’s massive clash against India.As for Sri Lanka, it’s two defeats in as many games, and after conceding over 750 runs across two matches there will be growing concerns over their bowlers’ abilities in handling such batter-friendly tracks.Despite having Maheesh Theekshana back in the side, Sri Lanka looked bereft of ideas on how to pick up wickets through the middle overs, or even indeed how to stifle the scoring. Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage and Dilshan Madushanka, who were the most economical of the lot, went for 59, 62 and 60 each, while Matheesha Pathirana once more proved expensive being taken for 90 in nine overs.Pakistan were also clever in ensuring they capitalised on Sri Lanka’s need to fulfil their fifth bowler quota. While Dasun Shanaka went for just 28 in his five overs, Dhananjaya de Silva was taken for 36 in four and Charith Asalanka 10 in his solitary over.Pakistan though will be pleased at the manner in which the chase was accomplished. They were circumspect in the first 10 overs, with Sri Lanka having picked up two wickets, and kept the score to just 48. However, with the knowledge they had power hitters such as Shadab Khan, Iftikhar and Mohammed Nawaz lower down the order, both Shafique and Rizwan were content to play themselves in.Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan put on a big stand for the third wicket•AP

Even so, between overs 10-20 the pair took 62 runs, before really upping the ante through the middle period. From the overs 20-30 they would score a further 72 runs and then would plunder 99 from the 30th to the 40th, leaving a very gettable 74 off the last 60 deliveries.Shafique’s control percentage of 91% told a story, as he rarely gave the Sri Lankan bowlers a sniff, pouncing on anything short and unafraid to use his feet when necessary. It would take an absolute scorcher at backward point by substitute Dushan Hemantha, in for Kusal Mendis who was off the field with severe cramps, to get rid of him.Fortunately for Pakistan though, they had a warrior in Rizwan at the other end to ensure the chase would be completed without hiccups.Sri Lanka though will rue a missed opportunity to put the game to bed with the bat, with Shanaka admitting after the game that they were probably 30 runs short. Indeed, having won the toss and elected to bat first, for much of the Sri Lankan innings this seemed like the batting performance that Sri Lanka had long threatened to put together.Against both Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the warm-ups they had thrown away promising starts, while against South Africa they had provided glimpses of what their batting line-up was capable of. The next step though was putting it altogether, and for large parts of their innings, it looked Sri Lanka would finally do just that.While Sri Lanka’s struggles at the death and even through the middle are well documented – they’ve only struck 12 scores above 300 since the end of the 2019 World Cup – but in Hyderabad they batted like a side that had done this a hundred times before.Across their 50 overs, scarcely did the scoring rate drop below seven an over – for periods even touching 7.5. Much of that was down to Mendis, who carried on from where he had left off against South Africa – well not exactly, he struck at only 158.44 this time out – as he almost single-handedly swamped an unusually blunt Pakistan attack.Kusal Mendis scored a hundred off 65 balls•ICC via Getty Images

With both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali bowling consistently in the low 130s or lower, any early swing – something Mendis has been found wanting against in the past – was negotiated with relative ease.Across his time at the crease, scarcely an over went by without a boundary. In fact, from the point he arrived midway through the second over, and until his dismissal in the 29th, only six overs went without at least a boundary being scored.Of the bowlers, only Iftikhar Ahmed managed any kind of success against Mendis, going for six runs in eight deliveries, but Mendis struck at above 140 against all five of the other bowlers utilised.Alongside him, Samarawickrama was carrying along like he has for much of the year since breaking into the Sri Lankan side. He nudged around ones and twos, used his feet to the spinners – an inside-out drive off Nawaz for six, particularly standing out in the memory – and worked the gaps expertly to find boundaries when needed.Samarawickrama and Mendis together put up 111 off just 69 deliveries, the second consecutive century stand of the innings following Mendis’ 102 with Pathum Nissanka. When Mendis fell, with the score on 218 with just 29 overs bowled, Sri Lanka would have been eyeing 350 at the very least, but once more those plans would go awry.Charith Asalanka, who had kept Sri Lanka in the game against South Africa, nicked one through just eight balls later. This was then followed by a five-over period in which just 18 runs were scored which stifled their momentum; overs 30-40 would bring 54 runs in total.But where Pakistan would do the real damage was in the final 10, where Sri Lanka managed just 61 runs, including the last three overs which went for just 13.It’s a credit to the efficiency at which Samarawickrama and Mendis had batted throughout those middle overs that they still got to 344 – their highest against a Full Member nation since 2020 – but those are the margins at play here, something Sri Lanka will have to address swiftly if they are to keep their already slim semi-final hopes alive.

“I always felt there will be at least one chance to come back. I knew I would give it 100%”

Sidharth Monga09-Jul-20222:08

Giles: India have a ‘real powerhouse of a T20 team’ available

It’s a weird old summer in England where the red Dukes Test ball is swinging less and going soft quickly and the white Kookaburra is not only swinging, it is swinging for longer than usual. It is quaint that such an integral part of the contest is not homogenised but also strange that such little research on such an integral part of a professional sport is available in the public sphere. Its practitioners are almost resigned to be at the mercy of the batch of balls they get.”Honestly I don’t know that [why the ball is swinging],” Bhuvneshwar Kumar said after helping India complete a 2-0 T20I series win against England. “Because I’ve been here quite a few times and it didn’t swing in the last few series I’ve played here.”So yes, even I was very surprised that the white ball is swinging and swinging for a long period of time, especially in the T20 format. And that there’s more bounce in the wicket as well. So yes, when the ball swings you enjoy more. But honestly, I don’t know if I’m swinging it, [if it is] some conditions or it’s the ball, but yes, I’m glad it’s swinging.”Related

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Not surprisingly, Bhuvneshwar right now is a kid in a toy store. The ball is swinging for him and swinging for long. Accordingly he is 6-1-25-4 after two matches. He admitted he is tempted to show off and bowl inswing-outswing-inswing-outswing but that’s not how you get wickets. And there are very few in contemporary cricket who know how to make use of the swinging ball better than Bhuvneshwar.”If the ball swings, which is my strength, I look to attack,” Bhuvneshwar said. “Batsmen attack on flat wickets, they play their shots there, but it swung in these two matches, and I have been on the attack. But it is important to not get ahead of yourself. You feel like bowling one inswinger, one outswinger, one inswinger, but it is important to control that urge. Bowl consistently and set the batsman up.”Even in T20 cricket, you can apparently do that. In the first T20I, the non-striker Jos Buttler watched him bowl four straight outswingers to Jason Roy. The last of those got Roy a single. It brought Buttler on strike. The first ball to Buttler was a big inswinger, castling him. In the second, he didn’t need a set-up. Starting off with a slip in place, he bowled the perfect outswinger first and up and took Roy’s edge.Twice in two matches Bhuvneshwar Kumar saw the back of Jos Buttler•Getty Images

When Buttler and Dawid Malan started to walk at him in a bid to thwart the swing, Bhuvneshwar didn’t mind bringing the wicketkeeper up. And he had Buttler for a second time this series.Bowling so well was a distant thought when people wondered if it was curtains for Bhuvneshwar when he struggled in the T20 World Cup. Aspersions were cast on his commitment, replacements looked readily available, but when India saw he had come back to full fitness, they had no second thoughts in going back to Bhuvneshwar. But did he doubt himself ever?”After an injury, you know you have to do well when you come back,” Bhuvneshwar said. “There’s no other option. I always felt there will be at least one chance to come back. I knew I would give it 100% then but there is no guarantee the results will be good.”Because when you get injured, you get frustrated. There is some disappointment. It is not strictly doubts but you are not in a good frame of mind. Luckily I got a chance and did well. Of course the way the captain and the coach have backed me, it is good… if they backed me and I am doing well, they also must be feeling good that the player they backed is doing well.”In this mood, with the ball swinging, it is a miracle the captain has been able to take the ball off him and bowl him for just three overs in each of the matches.

The batsman is expected to make his Test debut against England after prolific limited-overs performances

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2021Devon Conway has had his New Zealand residency visa approved, which means he will be able to return to the country after the tour of England.Although eligible to play for New Zealand since last August, his residency application was still pending until a few days ago. Only citizens or residents are able to return under the government’s Covid-19 protocols so it could have caused problems for Conway touring but the doubts have now been removed.”Very positive news came through a couple of days ago that that has been granted so he is allowed to come back into the country,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “We are really pleased for Devon and Kim, his partner, who have managed to get that over the line.”I guess it’s one thing that’s been on his mind that’s not there anymore. Who knows, one less thing on his mind he might score more runs.”Related

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Conway is one of three uncapped players in the New Zealand squad for the two Tests against England, which will then be trimmed to 15 names for the World Test Championship final.After a prolific ODI and T20I season it seems inevitable that Conway will make his debut against England at Lord’s in early June although there is still the tricky question of how he fits into a successful side.There may be a natural vacancy at the start of the series if Kane Williamson is still involved in the IPL but one option being considered is for Conway to open.”Tom Blundell has been the incumbent for a while with Tom Latham and has done a great job in that role, [but] I don’t think it’s his natural role though and think Tom recognises that as well so we just have to work through,” Stead said. “Devon, everyone has seen the success that he’s had, and we know he’s a fine player, it’s just working out what that looks like. Just too early to know that for certain.”While it is hard to see Conway not finding a place in the XI for New Zealand’s next Test, Stead stopped short of anointing him straightaway.”I don’t know if you can say you can’t leave [him] out because the New Zealand team has still done very well over the last wee while and Devon Conway hasn’t been part of that team,” he said. “No doubt he’s a fine player and we’ve seen every step he’s made has been a positive one. It’s not that you can’t leave him out, but he’s a fine player and we all know that.”The New Zealand squad will depart for England in two groups on May 16 and 17 following training camps in Christchurch earlier in the month. They will then be based at the Ageas Bowl, which has an on-site hotel, during the initial part of the tour.Stead confirmed that the originally planned tour match against Somerset would not take place due to issues around bio-secure bubbles and that the preparation for the Test series would include an intra-squad match with the help of some Hampshire 2nd XI players.

He revealed that the PCB was mulling a policy to ensure players remain available for Pakistan across formats

Umar Farooq17-Dec-2019Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s head coach and chief selector, has criticised fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz for the timing of their retirements from Test cricket. He revealed that the PCB was mulling a policy to ensure that players remain available to play for Pakistan across formats.Amir gave up Tests in July, in order to manage his workload and extend his white-ball career, for Pakistan as well as in T20 leagues around the world. Wahab followed suit in September, taking an “indefinite break” from red-ball cricket, including the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s domestic first-class tournament.While Wahab was 34 when he made his decision, Amir was only 27.The loss of the two experienced left-arm quicks has left Pakistan in a situation where they have been forced to rebuild their pace attack with young and inexperienced options including three teenagers in Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Muhammad Musa.”We are thinking deeply on these lines, and we will make a policy on this very soon,” Misbah said, referring to the loss of experience from Pakistan’s pace stocks. “Going forward this might become a problem for Pakistan, because when you invest so much in the players, on their development, and expect them to give back, they leave the game and it’s not the right way to go about it. Your resources are consumed for their development and we need a certain policy to make sure players should be available for Pakistan first.”Amir’s case stands out in particular, both for his age and the fact that he enjoyed immense support from the board and the team management during his reintegration following a five-year ban for spot-fixing. He ended his Test career with 119 wickets in 36 Tests at an average of 30.47. His Test career was split into two parts. From his debut as a 17-year-old in July 2009 to the start of his five-year ban, he played 14 Tests, picking up 51 wickets at 29.09. After his return in July 2016, he played 22 Tests, taking 68 wickets at 31.51.ESPNcricinfo understands that there were discussions ahead of Pakistan’s recent tour of Australia about asking Amir to reconsider his Test retirement, but the plan didn’t go through.Pakistan are currently sixth on the World Test Championship table with 20 points, earned from the drawn Rawalpindi Test against Sri Lanka. Before that, they lost 2-0 in Australia, in the first Test series under Misbah’s management.It has not been the smoothest start to Misbah’s time as coach-cum-selector, but he identified a few positives to have emerged nonetheless.”The biggest plus for us is Babar Azam and our batting, the way we responded in Australia overall,” Misbah said. “His hundred in Rawalpindi and his overall shift from white-ball cricket to red is an important positive for Pakistan at this stage. And at the same time we’ve got a younger bowling attack. The way Shaheen and Naseem are bowling, consistently hitting 140-plus [kph] in good areas. They have ample time in their careers to develop into match-winners. They have played very little cricket so far, but will improve with every passing day.”

The pace bowler pushed thoughts of an Australia recall to the back of his mind as he battled form and fitness

Andrew McGlashan11-Sep-2018A simple text message from coach Justin Langer gave Peter Siddle the encouragement that he could force his way back into Australia’s Test plans, having seemingly been overtaken by a group of younger, quicker pace bowlers.Siddle is in the frame to play his first Test in almost two years after being recalled to the squad for the series against Pakistan in the UAE, with Australia needing pace-bowling replacements for the injured Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.Siddle played the last of his 62 Tests against South Africa, at Perth, in 2016 after which he battled a recurrence of a back injury that kept him out for the remainder of that season. The 2017-18 Sheffield Shield campaign brought an underwhelming 24 wickets at 39.66, but he has just completed a productive stint with Essex where his 37 wickets at 16.40 have sealed his comeback.He had tried to keep thoughts of the baggy green at the back of his mind, but admitted to a few nerves since returning from England amid talk that he would be included, before the national selector Trevor Hohns confirmed the good news in a phonecall.”When you’ve been out of the side, the only reason he’s calling is usually good news, so when his name came up it brought a little smile to my face,” Siddle said.”I didn’t want to focus too much on the Australian side, just what I could control, so the chats [with Justin Langer] were more about how I was going. We’ve always been good mates. I helped him with the Aussie A side going over to India, just with some different bowling plans. He sent one message saying ‘every game counts’ and I think that was the best little message I had from him. I didn’t need to ask anymore, I knew what he meant, but to hear it from him was good backing and here we are.”Siddle was cautious of not getting ahead of himself during his return from injury last season, having learnt the lesson of rushing things following the initial back injury in 2016. He pinpointed last year’s Big Bash campaign with the winners Adelaide Strikers as the moment when things started to click again as fitness and enjoyment started to combine.”I pushed it last time to come back for that Test and got injured straight after it, so next time around I took my time and got everything right,” he said. “I focused better on what I needed to do, in the past I think I was just so focused on getting back in the Australian side that it took away from my performances on the field.”After the first half of the year I went away, played in the Big Bash for the Strikers, and started enjoying cricket a little more. I had a good tournament and when I came back for Victoria my performances were a lot better so that gave me a lot of confidence. By body was right, I was playing some good cricket and continuous cricket which I hadn’t done for a long while. Wickets always top things off and I think that’s what the English summer has done.”Siddle’s reward, however, is not what many fast bowlers would dream about: the potential of two Tests in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. He was part of the team when Australia last visited in 2014 – “Younis Khan made a hell of a lot of runs,” Siddle recalled – when Pakistan completed two thumping victories, Younis scored 468 in four innings and Misbah-ul-Haq hit what was, at the time, the joint-fastest Test hundred off 56 balls. Siddle returned 2 for 217 across the two matches.”Patience was a big thing you can take out of it, especially from a fast bowler’s point of view,” he said. “You can be over-attacking sometimes and not generate wickets. It will be a different approach this time, we have some quality spinners who are bowling well. It will be hard work, but think we have enough information from previous trips.”

Farhaan Behardien held his nerve to make 37 not out as South Africa A opened their tri-series campaign with a two-wicket win over India A in Pretoria

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jul-2017Farhaan Behardien’s sixth-wicket stand with Dwaine Pretorius was the game changer•AFP

Farhaan Behardien’s unbeaten 37 guided South Africa A to a two-wicket win against India A in the tri-series opener in Pretoria.Yuzvendra Chahal almost pulled it back with three quick wickets to leave South Africa A on 145 for 8 in their chase of 153. Behardien calmly finished the game off in ones and twos, with Aaron Phangiso, who earlier in the day picked four wickets, for company. South Africa A won with 74 balls to spare.Their seamers Beuran Hendricks and Dwaine Pretorius did the early damage, removing Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer respectively, inside two overs. Pandey and Karun Nair put together 42 to lead a brief recovery before Pretorius trapped Nair lbw for 25. When Rishabh Pant (10)and Krunal Pandya (0) fell, India A slipped to 65 for 5.Pandey waged a lone battle from there on to raise a half-century off just 86 deliveries. He was the seventh batsman out, stumped for 55 off left-arm spinnner Phangiso. Pandey found some support from Chahal, who made 24 not out, to lift the total past 150 before they were bowled out in 41.5 overs.South Africa A wobbled at the start with the seamers picking up the first three wickets. India turned to spin from the 12th over; Axar Patel struck in his first when he removed Khaya Zondo. He then dismissed Heinrich Klaasen (24) in his very next over.South Africa A, tottering at 71 for 5, were then driven by a 62-run sixth-wicket stand between Behardien and Pretorius, who made 38 to go along with his three wickets earlier in the day. As it turned out, the partnership helped them ride a wobble and register two points.India A will play Afghanistan A in the next game on Friday.

Toby Roland-Jones, the Middlesex seamer, has been handed his first England call-up and Gary Ballance has been recalled for the first Test against Pakistan at Lord’s.

Andrew McGlashan07-Jul-20162:50

Taylor: Surprised they’ve gone with Ballance

Toby Roland-Jones, the Middlesex seamer, has been handed his first England call-up and Gary Ballance has been recalled for the first Test against Pakistan at Lord’s, which starts from July 14. Injuries have kept Ben Stokes and James Anderson on the sidelines while Jos Buttler has not earned a recall.Roland-Jones, 28, a tall seam bowler, averages 25.17 in first-class cricket and has been on England’s radar for a few seasons. Yesterday he played a key role in a notable Middlesex victory over Yorkshire at Scarborough as he clubbed a quickfire unbeaten 79 and took three wickets in the second innings to finish with six in the match. Overall, he has 30 wickets at 29.06 in the County Championship this season; in 2015 he took 48 wickets at 27.04.Anderson has not recovered sufficiently from his shoulder injury while the selectors want Stokes to play more cricket after his return to action from knee surgery – he has yet to resume bowling for Durham although Trevor Bayliss hinted he may have been included as a batsman.

England squad

Alastair Cook (capt), Alex Hales, Joe Root, Gary Ballance, James Vince, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Jake Ball, Steven Finn, Toby Roland-Jones

“Like always, selection is very opinionated, and they could have picked him but the lack of cricket in the last few weeks has meant they’ve gone that way,” Alastair Cook, the England captain, said. “He’s just back from a long time out of the game.”It has been confirmed that Joe Root will move up to No. 3 – something Bayliss has pushed for – to fill the spot vacated by Nick Compton which means Ballance, who was dropped during last year’s Ashes series, will return in the middle order. Ballance struck his first century of the season against Middlesex this week – he is averaging 33.64 in the Championship – and has fought off competition from the heavily tipped Scott Borthwick who averages 58.50 this season with three centuries.”He hasn’t changed a huge amount in terms of technique, just keep evolving it to keep it in as good a position as you can. What he does have is that hard edge,” Cook said.On Root’s promotion, Cook added: “It’s a conversation we’ve had over the last week, it’s the right thing to do, he’s our best player, and it’s quite an Australian thing to do. There’s no reason why he won’t score same amount of runs as at No. 4.”After the one-day series against Sri Lanka, Bayliss spoke highly of Buttler’s credentials and suggested he could return to the Test side as a batsman despite not having played first-class cricket since he was dropped in the UAE last year, but in the end that lack of red-ball cricket has been a deciding factor. It also means that Bairstow will retain the wicketkeeping gloves.”Those guys and Jason Roy, Tom Westley, Scott Borthwick were all discussed as very good options,” Cook said. “The argument with Jos is he hasn’t played red-ball cricket for a long time, you do need to know your method.”Jake Ball, the Nottinghamshire seamer, who was in each squad for the Sri Lanka series retains his place despite an elbow niggle and will likely compete for a spot in the final XI with Roland-Jones.”It’s disappointing that Jimmy hasn’t made it but Jake’s in the squad, he’s started the season in fantastic form,” Stuart Broad said. “He’s had a slight elbow niggle but he’s learnt a lot about his bowling in last 18 months and he’s ready to make that step up”He’s got physical attributes, he moves the ball both ways, comes round the wicket to the left-handers and hits the ball harder. You can’t make judgements about temperament, but he’s taken wickets on TV which is a good sign.”

An unbroken 130-run partnership between fourth-wicket pair Peter Handscomb and Hamish Marshall after tea on day three ensured Gloucestershire took charge against Lancashire at Old Trafford.

Press Association12-May-2015
ScorecardPaul Horton’s 168 was essential to keep Lancashire in check•PA Photos

An unbroken 130-run partnership between fourth-wicket pair Peter Handscomb and Hamish Marshall after tea on day three ensured Gloucestershire took charge against Lancashire at Old Trafford.The visitors gained a of 24 on first innings on the stroke of lunch during today’s third day, which could have been far greater but for Paul Horton who compled a 298-ball innings of 168 – his fifth score above 150 in 12 years of Championship cricket.Gloucestershire built on their slender lead second time around to close with a healthy lead of 230 and a chance to push for what would only be a ninth victory in Lancashire in their history.When fledgling Australian Handscomb and veteran New Zealander Marshall came together in the early stages of the evening, Gloucestershire were 76 for 3 in the 27th over with a lead of 100 and the contest in the balance.Peter Siddle struck twice with the new ball inside the first eleven overs as Gloucestershire’s slipped to 30 for 2, with first-innings centurion Chris Dent one of his scalps. Dent lost his off-stump as he offered no shot before Gareth Roderick, late on one that nipped back appreciably, was trapped lbw. Nathan Buck later picked up his first Red Rose wicket as Will Tavare played on for 34, and Lancashire had their tails up.But Handscomb and Marshall regained the momentum during their 36.5 overs together in what remain decent batting conditions. Both players brought up their fifties inside the last hour of play, with Handscomb’s coming off 99 balls and Marshall’s second of the match coming off 83. They will begin day four on 74 and 71 not out respectively.Not only do Lancashire have to work out a way of bowling Gloucestershire out, they also have to keep an eye on their over-rate as they ended the day at minus two.Earlier, Liam Norwell took two of the four Lancashire wickets to fall for 17 runs to finish with 4 for 95. Horton fell five short of his best score in county cricket – 173 against Somerset at Taunton in 2009 – having shared an 82-run partnership inside 28 overs for the seventh wicket with Siddle. Their stand started during the latter stages of day two, and they took Lancashire to within 41 of Gloucestershire’s total before Siddle was trapped lbw by Norwell for 40, leaving the score at 347 for 7 in the 104th over of the innings.Horton was caught behind in Norwell’s next over with 350 on the board before Craig Miles had Buck caught at second slip and Tom Smith’s left-arm spin accounted for Kyle Jarvis, caught by Norwell running from cover towards point.Gloucestershire batsman Hamish Marshall said: “It’s nice to have finished the day well. Three down for a 230 lead is a position we’d have liked to have been in at the start of the day. We’ve got that. We’ve now got to work out how we can get ourselves in a position to put pressure on Lancashire and win the game.”Siddle and Jarvis are quality bowlers, and they asked a lot of questions in the first innings. In this innings, they got some early poles. It was nice to get a partnership going and put them under pressure. If we can give ourselves some overs with runs on the board, we’ll have a crack at trying to win the game.”Lancashire bowler Peter Siddle added: “I think we batted pretty well this morning to get us into the position we got to, but it was a bit disappointing not to eek a few more runs out and get in front. The way we started with the ball that second dig with a few early wickets, credit goes to their last partnership. They batted well and batted time. They were patient. It’s made for an interesting day tomorrow.”The pitch has played pretty well for the last couple of days really. Day one was a bit up and down, and we thought it was going to deteriorate a lot more. It’s played pretty well. We need a couple of quick wickets. If we don’t get them, it does make it hard for us to get in front of the game.”