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South Africa have confirmed they will play a day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide from November 24, the third match of their tour later this year

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-20161:36

‘Just wanted to make sure we had a fair chance’ – de Villiers

South Africa have confirmed they will play a day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide from November 24, the third match of their tour later this year. The fixture will be the first of two day-night Tests in the upcoming Australian summer, with Pakistan scheduled to play one in Brisbane from December 15.Over the past few months, several South African players had expressed reservations over playing a Test with the pink ball without having adequately experimented with it at lower levels. They will now begin their tour of Australia in mid-October with a two-day match under lights at Adelaide Oval, and will also have another two-day, day-night match before the third and final Test. A four-day fixture on South Africa A’s tour of Australia in August will also be a day-night game.CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the decision to play a day-night Test had been reached after “careful consideration and engagement” with the players. “Our Proteas were initially hesitant to play such a key Test match without previous experience and adequate preparation, but after working through all their concerns and possible options to prepare sufficiently, there is newfound excitement for this novel Test match,” he said. “Our players deserve credit for the way they have worked through the issues which were clearly not insignificant.”South Africa Cricketers Association chief Tony Irish said the decision had not been made for monetary reasons, but because of the “player’s willingness to take a bold step and play a pink ball match sooner rather than later.””The players looked at all the pros and cons of playing this. There are still legitimate concerns around the ball, as it is fundamentally different to a red ball or white ball,” Irish told ESPNcricinfo. “Some players will find it more difficult to see, it behaves differently and conditions have to be tailored to make it last. So there will be a number of unknowns in what is likely to be a crucial match for the Proteas against a team who has some experience of these conditions”What has changed now, however, is the players’ willingness to take a bold step and play a pink ball match sooner rather than later, given the recent announcements from other countries that they will soon start playing day-night Tests.”This has never been about money. Cricket Australia has not offered the players extra money and we haven’t asked for money.”Among the South Africans who had initially objected to the game were AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada, all citing lack of practice with the pink ball. Though CA had already offered South Africa a warm-up match under lights, Philander said the players would need to have “experimented on the domestic front” and “tested the pink ball properly” before agreeing to play a Test with it. Another likely reason for South Africa’s hesitation was that they are chasing a Test revival after slipping from No. 1 to No. 6 on the ICC rankings.CA chief executive James Sutherland thanked CSA for making the fixture possible. “Nearly 124,000 people attended the inaugural day-night Test match in Adelaide last year and there has been great anticipation about future day-night Tests since … I would like to acknowledge the open manner in which Cricket South Africa and the South African Cricketers Association have worked through this matter with us. We look forward to welcoming the South African players to Australia in late October and offering them the best possible preparation ahead of the series.”

Amid the sort of bitterly cold weather in which even Captain Oates wouldn’t venture out, Yorkshire’s lower order demonstrated the type of grit that can make the difference between winners and losers in a Championship season

George Dobell at Edgbaston25-Apr-2016
ScorecardWarwickshire’s slip cordon feels the chill•Getty Images

Amid the sort of bitterly cold weather in which even Captain Oates wouldn’t venture out, Yorkshire’s lower order demonstrated the type of grit that can make the difference between winners and losers in a Championship season.Most cricketers can flourish in conditions when the sun is, figuratively or literally, on their backs. But it takes a certain sort of determination to succeed in discomfort, under pressure and despite interruptions and distractions.Yorkshire displayed such grit here. From a position of 209 for 6, their lower middle order has earned not just a chance of gaining full batting bonus points but, if the weather relents, the possibility of pushing for a win. And they did it on a day when the wind blew viciously cold, when play was split in what appeared to be dozens of short sessions and when anyone sensible would only have ventured out in thermals and supported by a team of huskies.While the contribution of Adil Rashid can be of little surprise – he has the class to have made it as a specialist batsman – the contribution of Steve Patterson was more unusual. Until today, he had scored only one first-class half-century – an innings of 53 against Sussex – in a first-class career that started in 2005 but now resumes in the morning requiring only six more runs to be the highest scorer of the innings.But it was the manner of Patterson’s runs that was most surprising. He is an admirable, reliable cricketer but both his career strike-rate – he had scored his runs at a rate of 35.93 runs per 100 balls before today – and his nickname, “Dead”, hint at a character that is usually solid and dependable more often than it is exhilarating and flamboyant.Here, though, he thrashed 11 fours as he feasted on Warwickshire’s frustration – there were a fair few long-hops bowled at him – and weariness. And while he looked less comfortable against the pace of Chris Woakes – described as “one of England’s quickest bowlers” by his coach, Dougie Brown – he still managed to time the ball sufficiently well that what appeared a decent yorker was speared to the point boundary before the man positioned barely 15 yards away could move.It might have been easy to presume this match – likely to be interrupted by more poor weather over the next couple of days – was heading nowhere. But who knows whether the Championship may, in five months time, be decided by a bonus point gained on a grim, April day in Birmingham? Patterson and Rashid, in particular, earned their side at least three more points that seemed likely at one stage.It would be easy to point out Warwickshire’s faults in the field. Really very easy. The innings contained overthrows, drops (Liam Plunkett was reprieved from the first delivery he faced – Tim Ambrose putting down the chance off Keith Barker – while Ryan Sidebottom was reprieved at slip by Varun Chopra off Chris Woakes on 2) and really quite a lot of wayward bowling. For much of Patterson’s innings, he was more at risk of frostbite or polar bear attack than a yorker.But this has been an awful stop-start game played in brief patches of uncomfortably cold and horribly windy conditions. It cannot have been easy to gain any rhythm on the pitch – it was miserable to watch from the stands – and it really wouldn’t be appropriate to put down a mug of hot coffee in the press box and criticise too harshly. It was not easy out there.”It was disgusting,” Brown, the Warwickshire director of cricket, agreed. “But you still have to have professional standards. We shelled a couple of catches, which is disappointing, but Yorkshire deserve a bit of credit for the way they batted. It’s quite a good wicket and the margin of error for bowlers is very small.”When play finally started – 49.3 more overs were lost on the day, making it 87.3 in total so far – Warwickshire appeared to have seized the initiative. Jack Leaning’s footless drive was punished with an outside edge, before Gary Ballance’s increasingly fluent innings was ended by a good one that left him from Barker. Had Plunkett been taken next ball, as he should have been, Yorkshire would have been 209 for 7.Instead Plunkett counter-attacked in a partnership of 43 with Rashid before Patterson helped add 91 for the eighth-wicket in 20 overs. With Rashid, getting well forward and driving neatly, forcing the bowlers to pitch shorter, the ball tended to sit up obligingly on what remains a decent pitch.Clarke and Woakes were the pick of the bowlers. Gaining in rhythm by the spell, Woakes had worked up a considerable pace by the end of the day and finally defeated Rashid with one that may have tailed in a little. With Mark Wood injured and Chris Jordan departing to the IPL, it seems Woakes may be competing with Jake Ball for the final spot in England’s Test squad. All three England selectors were at Edgbaston on the second day to see Woakes demonstrate his pace and his improved inswinger. They will know he is a better bowler than he showed during the Test in Centurion.Still, in a match containing 13 Test cricketers, it was arguably Patterson’s performance that caught the eye. On a day when nearly everyone else looked as if they would rather be somewhere else, he took advantage.

Vusi Sibanda’s first T20I fifty and Elton Chigumbura’s audacious finishing ensured Zimbabwe had enough runs to beat Hong Kong, although they will be disappointed in an all-round messy performance

The Report by Firdose Moonda08-Mar-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVusi Sibanda’s maiden T20I fifty gave Zimbabwe a strong total to defend•International Cricket Council

Vusi Sibanda’s first T20I fifty and Elton Chigumbura’s audacious finishing ensured Zimbabwe had enough runs to beat Hong Kong, although they will be disappointed in an all-round messy performance. Three run-outs stunted what should have been a more imposing total, and loose bowling and fielding, and a gutsy Hong Kong chase could have easily pulled the carpet out from under them.Jamie Atkinson’s career-best 53 held Hong Kong’s innings together but he battled against a constantly rising required rate which ballooned from a shave under eight to more than 13 with five overs left. With Zimbabwe’s slower bowlers struggling for control, Hong Kong were in it until almost the end, when the task proved just a little too much.Zimbabwe could have made it a much more comprehensive result with a better batting performance. They were plagued by lack of partnerships and soft dismissals, which started with the casualness of their captain.Hamilton Masakadza gave himself an over to get his eye in and then unleashed two fours and a six off seamer Haseeb Amjad. His innings, however, met a farcical end when he failed to ground his bat or his foot after setting off for a quick single. Babar Hayat nailed a direct hit from mid-off to catch Hamilton short. Sibanda, who had faced only one of the first 14 balls, took over from where Hamilton left off. Richmond Mutumbami, however, holed out to long-on for a three-ball duck.On a sticky pitch, Hong Kong’s captain Tanwir Afzal sensed Zimbabwe’s hurry and slowed them down. Sean Williams was particularly fidgety and fell when he attempted a cut and played on. Sikandar Raza was run-out in the next over, after Sibanda insisted on a second run, and Zimbabwe were left in trouble at 62 for 4 in 7.5 overs.Sibanda, though, knuckled down and built a steady partnership with Malcolm Waller. They were cautious against seamer Aizaz Khan and Ryan Campbell whose contribution was crucial in pulling Zimbabwe back from a score that seemed to be heading towards 170. Hong Kong conceded just 38 runs in the next six overs before Sibanda slammed left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed down the ground to raise his fifty off 40 balls.Sibanda showed signs of cutting loose, but just as his partnership with Waller looked to take off, it ended. Waller gave a gift to sweeper cover, trying to clear the boundary, and then both Sibanda and Donald Tiripano were dismissed. Hong Kong took three wickets in eight balls to leave Zimbabwe wobbling again.Elton Chigumbura, however, teed off early. He hit the ball cleanly and down the ground, slapping 30 off 13 balls to take Zimbabwe past 150. Ultimately, Chigumbura’s cameo turned out to be the difference after Hong Kong put up an impressive fight.Campbell and Atkinson started slowly in the chase against the discipline of Zimbabwe’s seamers. The slow-burn approach backfired when Campbell hit Tiripano straight to mid-on. Atkinson could have been removed an over later, on 10, had Sibanda not misjudged a catch at deep midwicket off Wellington Masakadza.Wellington then had some reward when he trapped Babar Hayat in front but his joy was short-lived. He was attacked by Mark Chapman, who also went after Raza. But the allrounder had the last laugh when Chapman hit him to deep midwicket with Sibanda redeeming himself.Atkinson, however, went on to bring up his maiden T20I half-century off 41 balls with a crunch down the ground off Tendai Chatara. Although Hong Kong needed 53 off the last four overs, they would have felt they had a chance.Zimbabwe brought back their seamers to finish things off. Tiripano rewarded his captain when he deceived Atkinson with a slower ball that he hit to long-on. But the threat from Hong Kong was only properly diffused in the penultimate over with a Chatara double-strike. His hat-trick ball was a beamer, which went for four, an indication of Zimbabwe’s sloppy performance. They sealed the win, but will be mindful of the need to tighten up to stay on top of the group.

England’s new No. 3 has not looked out of his depth early in his Test career and is determined to maintain a relaxed approach to the pressure

Alan Gardner23-Aug-20172:21

‘I just desperately want to score runs for England’ – Westley

Almost three years ago, Tom Westley was standing round the back of the pavilion at Chelmsford, wiping the sweat from his brow after Essex had completed their final match of the season and talking softly, almost hesitantly, about his “ultimate goal” of playing for England. Westley had been selected – for the first time at the age of 25 – for the England Performance Programme, on the back of his impressive white-ball form that summer.That winter, he went to Sri Lanka, playing a few games for the Bloomfield club in Colombo while also working on his spin bowling; the following summer saw his best first-class return, 926 runs at 44.09, followed by an even more prolific season in 2016, when he averaged more than 50 and broke the 1000-run barrier for the first time. Now, at 28, he is England’s incumbent at No. 3 in the Test side.All of which is to say that Westley has worked long and hard to get to where he wants to be – he made his first-class debut for Essex more than a decade ago – and is intent on enjoying the experience. Called up for the Oval Test against South Africa, after Gary Ballance suffered a broken finger, he became only the second England debutant to score a fifty batting at No. 3 this century and, despite failing to match that contribution since, has so far featured in three consecutive Test victories.Westley is already getting used to the extra attention that comes with being an England cricketer – at least from the media, if not the general public, as a trip into Birmingham last week with Alastair Cook brought home. When an England fan stopped and asked for a selfie with Cook, Westley was not required. “The guy was like ‘no, no, it’s just his mate’. So I was just stood there.”Opposition analysts, you can be certain, will not make the same oversight, focusing on his strong leg-side game and a habit of occasionally letting his bottom hand take over, closing the bat face when he drives down the ground. Having spent many years forging a technique he trusts to bring him runs, Westley is not about to start making changes now and his conversations with those who know his batting best – including the gnomic Gnome of Essex cricket, and former England captain, Keith Fletcher – have centred on sticking to what works.”I score consistently through the leg side so that’s not something I’m too concerned about,” Westley says. “That’s the way I play. But I just thinking making that step up, and Cooky and Rooty showed it in the last game, that’s when you get in you have to make it count. I’ve got a start in a few of my innings and that’s the difference between county cricket, where you can get to 30 or 60 and hope a score comes along, but in Test cricket the scrutiny is on you because you have to go on there and then.”It’s my role to score hundreds. That’s what I’m there to do at three and make match-winning contributions but I’m confident in my ability and my game plan. It’s worked for me for a number of years at Essex and hopefully I can implement it at Test level.”I spoke to Fletch yesterday. I speak to him a lot. It’s the same advice. Keep it simple. Try to implement what you’ve done at Essex. I spoke to him briefly yesterday about a few things I try to tick off. I’ve done it from a young age. For instance a big thing for me is my balance so I was disappointed to be lbw in the last game because the leg side is a massive strength of mine and it was disappointing to get out that way. I may get out lb several times a year but generally I score a large volume of runs through the leg side. Everybody has their check list before a Test and a big thing for me is my balance. Then everything takes care of itself.”Westley’s dismissal at Edgbaston, trapped in front for 8 by Miguel Cummins, saw his opportunity extinguished before the pink ball had lost its first blush – and such was the scale of their dominance, England did not need to bat again. While he could have been forgiven for stewing in the dressing room while Cook and Joe Root each proceeded serenely to three figures during a stand of 248, Westley has been around long enough not to let such frustrations bite too deeply.”Some would say I missed the boat, but I just looked at it as them laying a platform for England to win which is the most important thing,” he says. “Maybe when you’re a bit younger, 19 or 20, you look sideways at what other people are doing and you wish you are scoring those runs, but I’m a bit older than that, although I don’t look it, and I just enjoy other people’s success.Tom Westley focuses during training•Getty Images

“I’ve seen it first hand with other people at Essex and with Cooky, there is not point competing with him, he is the leading run-scorer for England of all time, so it was more important that they laid a platform for England to win and that is what happened. If I play this next game and get a good start and kick on then my time will come as it will for other players in the changing room. That is my philosophy.”England will hope that he does kick on at some point over the next two Tests, with an Ashes series looming and questions hovering over the make-up of the top three. Having shown an impressive temperament in coming through his first test, against South Africa, Westley knows that a big innings is required to prove his belongs – never mind the quality of the opposition.”As far as I’m concerned runs are runs regardless of who they’re against. I know that the West Indies didn’t cover themselves in glory in the last Test but they are a very talented side. They’ve got some good bowlers, I know Shannon Gabriel didn’t play the last game, but they’ve got Kemar Roach and bowlers who have performed consistently in Test cricket.”For me, I just want to score runs for whoever I play for and for England against whoever. I think there is nothing else I can do. These are the Tests that are here in England at the moment so if I can score runs in them then it is only going to help.”So level-headed and thoughtful is Westley, that it is a surprise to hear that he recently made his mum cry. But then it is also a bit of surprise to hear university-educated Westley talk about his builder dad: “very vocal, covered in tattoos, very different to me.”. Should Tom ensure himself a place in England’s party for Australia, it will be a source of great pride for the whole family (he also has two sisters).”I spoke to my mum on the phone last night about hopefully getting selected for the third Test of this series at Lord’s and she just started crying, she couldn’t speak back to me. Growing up that’s what she envisaged for me as her son: playing at Lord’s. I can’t even bring up the Ashes to her. I was actually shocked on the phone because she couldn’t speak back to me, and I was like ‘signal gone?'”It was surprising to hear her well up. We were talking about tickets for Lord’s if I was selected and she couldn’t get a word in. I think getting selected on the Ashes would be times that by 10.”Before Australia, before Lord’s, even, comes the Headingley Test and the next stage on Westley’s journey. If he does well, he won’t be doing his interviews round the back of the pavilion; if he doesn’t, it seems fair to assume he will mop his brow and get his head down once again.”I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself because there is pressure as you’d expect playing for England,” he says. “I play cricket because I love playing cricket and the team, management and changing room has been unbelievable these last three games. I know there is a pressure to score runs but fundamentally I want to enjoy playing cricket for England, which I have, and hopefully in time the runs will follow.”Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For Out of the Ordinary thinking visit investec.com/cricket

Steven Finn has been ruled out of England’s Ashes campaign after his knee injury failed to respond to treatment

George Dobell in Adelaide07-Nov-2017Steven Finn has been ruled out of the Ashes due to a knee injury. Finn sustained the injury when batting in the nets in Perth on the first day of middle practice. He was given an injection a couple of days ago but the injury,­ which has now been diagnosed as torn cartilage in his left knee, has failed to improve as hoped.Finn will return to England in the next 48 hours where he will seek the advice of a knee specialist to ascertain whether he will require an operation.Surrey’s Tom Curran has been named as Finn’s replacement*, ahead of candidates such as Tom Helm and Liam Plunkett. Curran has not played Test cricket but did impress during his limited-overs appearances for England during the summer. It is understood Mark Wood is still not considered fully fit.The news is a cruel setback for Finn. Sent home early from the 2013-14 winter tour of Australia having been deemed “unselectable”, the series offered an opportunity for redemption. He was also dropped midway through the 2010-11 Ashes series.England were already without Ben Stokes. Finn was named as his replacement in the squad following Stokes’ arrest after an incident in Bristol ­and Toby Roland-Jones, who was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back.Meanwhile England trained with a pink ball in Adelaide on Tuesday ahead of their maiden first-class match of the tour, starting on Wednesday. They have decided to limit the workload of their main seamers so Stuart Broad will miss the game – he is fully fit and bowled at full pace in the nets – and James Anderson will play but then sit-out next week’s game in Townsville.As a result, Jake Ball and Craig Overton will go head to head in competition for the position of fourth seamer in Brisbane – Ball is very much in pole position following the match in Perth – and Mason Crane will have another chance to impress as the side’s only specialist spinner.Selection for the match against a Cricket Australia XI also confirms that James Vince will bat at No. 3 in the first Test in Brisbane and that Dawid Malan will bat at No. 5. Gary Ballance and Ben Foakes find themselves on the sidelines.England team to play Cricket Australia XI: 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Mark Stoneman, 3 James Vince, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Dawid Malan, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Craig Overton, 9 Jake Ball, 10 Mason Crane, 11 James Anderson*1415 GMT – This story was updated with confirmation of Curran’s call-up