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South Africa no longer have the pressure of winning the series upon them, and are free to experiment ahead of the World Cup

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Mar-2019

Big Picture

When Sri Lanka last won an ODI, farming had not been invented, and woolly mammoths were roaming the planet. Don’t look it up on Statsguru, but that is what it feels like. Every recent series plays out the same way. The captain – generally there is a new one every couple of series – arrives confident that Sri Lanka’s long-standing one-day problems have been sorted. They are sure that the last clot of losses has been learned from, and that the injection of new personnel will bring fresh energy.Then they get out on to the field and players who had been in form are no longer in form, players who had been out of form are doubling down on their bad form, and players who are constantly threatening to get into decent form keep threatening without actually quite getting there. They have lost each of the six ODIs they have played this year. Of their last 10 completed matches, they have won only one.This terrible run of ODI results over the past three years has cost various Sri Lanka captains their jobs. Upul Tharanga, Thisara Perera, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews have all been jettisoned as captain in the last two years. With no wins from seven attempts under his leadership, it is not a stretch to say that Lasith Malinga’s job is also now on the line. If Sri Lanka don’t snap the losing streak, there’s a chance they go to the World Cup with a new captain.South Africa, meanwhile, no longer have the pressure of winning the series upon them, and are free to experiment with their XI. There are World Cup spots still up for grabs, and the middle order batting – while pretty good in Durban – still has a little room for improvement. Questions that require answers include: Is Dale Steyn up to another World Cup? Can they dream of life beyond Hashim Amla (who will miss this match due to personal reasons)? Is Anrich Nortje worth investing in?With two ODIs to go before the selectors have to name the World Cup squad, there is more riding on these dead rubbers than usual.

Form guide

South Africa WWWWL (completed matches, most recent first)
Sri LankaLLLLL

In the spotlight

Aiden Markram has been decidedly modest in ODIs so far, having made only one fifty from 16 innings. But in domestic List A cricket this season, the man has been in such scorching form, that it would be almost unthinkable for the selectors to leave him out of the XI on Wednesday. In his last three matches for the Titans, Markram has hit 169, 139 and 85 – the second of those scores coming in a world-record sixth-wicket List A stand with Farhaan Behardien. If Markram can carry that form through into international one-day cricket, South Africa will feel they have options in their top order.Though often ineffective in ODIs last year, Kusal Mendis finally seems to be regaining his footing in the format, hitting 60 in the first one-dayer, then 41 in the third. With Sri Lanka’s batting order now substantially weakened (Kusal Perera has joined Angelo Mathews on the hamstring injury list), there is a little extra responsibility on Kusal Mendis – something he generally relishes.Dale Steyn bowls•Getty Images

Team news

South Africa will be tempted to rest Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir for the dead rubber, while bringing Steyn into the fold for the first time in the series. JP Duminy may enter the XI as well.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt.), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Dale Steyn, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiWith Kusal Perera now out of the frame, Angelo Perera may have a chance to play his first ODI in almost three years.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Angelo Perera, 4 Oshada Fernando, 5 Kusal Mendis, 6 Kamindu Mendis, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Akila Dananjaya, 10 Lasith Malinga (capt.), 11 Kasun Rajitha

Pitch and conditions

The weather in Port Elizabeth is forecast to be cloudy at times, but no rain is expected. The pitch generally has something in it for the spinners.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have now won their last five bilateral ODI series, defeating Zimbabwe, Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka twice.
  
• Sri Lanka, meanwhile, last won a bilateral ODI series in mid-2016, against Ireland. There have been two wins in tri-nations tournaments since, however. Both of those tournaments have featured low-ranked teams.
  
• In three previous ODIs against Sri Lanka, Markram averages 7.66, with a high score of 20. Those games had been in Sri Lanka, however.

The Bangladesh allrounder reaped the benefits of putting in the hard yards ahead of the tournament as he helped his team to the perfect start

Mohammad Isam at The Oval03-Jun-2019Shakib Al Hasan’s preparations for the World Cup kicked into high gear at this year’s IPL. Left out by Sunrisers Hyderabad for four weeks, Shakib used the time to get into shape through a strict fitness regime under trainer Jade Roberts. At one stage he flew in Mohammad Salahuddin, his mentor since childhood, to India to work on his batting and bowling.Shakib even changed his food habits and lost around six kilos. He looks slimmer, almost like the youngster he was during the 2007 World Cup. His work during the downtime which coincided with the run-up to the World Cup worked a treat. He played only three matches for Sunrisers before heading home for the World Cup camp in Dhaka. After creating a rumpus for not appearing in the team photo, Shakib did well in the Ireland tri-series, only to miss the final due to back spasm.After Bangladesh beat West Indies in their first game in Dublin, Shakib spoke about the extensive fitness work he had been putting in with his eyes on the World Cup.ALSO READ: How Soumya Sarkar shocked South Africa“With the World Cup coming up, like every other player I too have a goal,” he said in Ireland. “I can tell you that I have taken the best preparation for this tournament, something that I had not done for the past eight or nine years. I will keep my end of the bargain, while the rest is up to Allah and my effort.”I feel a lot fitter than before, and as a result I feel more confident. It is important to hold on to this fitness, because it is not always that you have this mentality. The body doesn’t respond in the same way all the time. I got a “kick” from somewhere, let’s not reveal it. It is not a big deal but it certainly woke me up.”Cut to the World Cup itself and Shakib begins the campaign in the best way possible with a composed 75 off 84 balls and 1 for 50 from his ten overs. It was his first Player-of-the-Match award in the World Cup, having now struck a fifty in each of the four editions he has been a part of. This innings – which formed part of a 142-run stand with Mushfiqur Rahim – ensured there was no slip after a terrific start provided by Soumya Sarkar’s bristling response to South Africa’s attempts to use the short ball.Shakib Al Hasan plays a shot as Quinton de Kock looks on•Getty Images

His bowling was also effective against a South Africa side that looked to be too conservative against his left-arm spin. The wicket he claimed, defeating a well-set Aiden Markram in his fifth over, was his 250th in ODIs. His initial spell of seven overs went for just 25 runs and was key in leaving South Africa significantly behind the required rate.”From a personal point of view, it was a really good day,” he said. “I could contribute to the team, and there were some personal achievements. It was an important partnership with Mushfiq bhai after we got a good start from the openers.WATCH on Hotstar – Shakib’s key innings (Available to viewers in India only)”I think it was a special day for Bangladesh cricket, to start so well against tough opponents in the World Cup. We had the belief but we had to portray it in our performance. Everyone had been confident, which helped us to execute our plan.”Shakib, who will play his 200th ODI against New Zealand on June 5, said the 21-run win will have put opposition on notice when they face Bangladesh although cautioned against getting carried away by one victory.”We still have eight matches to go, so a lot of difficulties await us. Other teams will now be careful against us. It is good because they may be a tensed facing us. But at the other hand, they would also be quite focused and we have to do well against them. We have to prepare better, and execute our plans better.Shakib added that Bangladesh, who reached the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup and the semi-finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy, still have a lot to prove but the tag that they are a dangerous side is something he wants other teams to focus on.”We have always tried to say it but others don’t really have time for us. I think we have a lot to prove. We have started well. I think that we are in a good place, mentally. I think if we can continue in this manner we can go a long way in the tournament.”But it is Shakib’s drive to do well, despite having been around for more than 13 years, and having earned plaudits for being arguably the best allrounder in the world, that stands out. Him performing at the top of his ability is nothing new but he has sometimes been associated with the sort of player who doesn’t need a lot of day-to-day training to perform well. However, ahead of this World Cup his extra effort shows how much doing well at the biggest stage matters to him.

The home side have confirmed one change to their XI but Australia are still pondering their final call

Andrew McGlashan27-Jun-2023

Big Picture

Are you ready for round two? The opening of this Ashes delivered everything it had promised. Four more matches of that level of exhilaration will be a test for everyone involved.Given all the talk of the past week, where both teams have had some downtime, it would be easy to think England are the side 1-0 up. But courtesy of the partnership between Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, a stand that will go down in Ashes folklore, it is Australia who hold that advantage and, for now, are quite happy for England to say what they like.However, they also know the result could easily have been different. It probably would have been if England had held their chances, or even if Stuart Broad had not bowled Usman Khawaja with a no-ball. No one is getting carried away that Bazball has been shut down but the opening Test of an Ashes generally shows the way (albeit comparisons with 2005 abound).Related

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• Josh Tongue has Steven Smith back in his sights after notable county clash

• No smoke without fire: Ollie Robinson embraces Ashes target man status

• Cummins and Australia will stay true to their approach

So to Lord’s, and five days that will likely decide if Australia can take a vice-like grip – and put themselves on course for a series win in England since 2001 – or whether the home side can draw level and set up a potentially great series.England, for all their talk, and perhaps that’s why they are doing it, have more questions to answer than Australia. Is it right to go without a frontline spinner? Is there enough point-of-difference in the attack? How much can Ben Stokes’ knee go through? Is Ben Duckett a sitting duck to Australia’s quicks outside off stump? Is attack the only way to go?One thing we know, if the players are to be taken at their word, is that they will respond to defeat by trying to be even more aggressive. It was a similar message put forward after the loss to South Africa last year which, ironically, was then followed by (relatively speaking) one of their more restrained batting performances, led by a captain’s innings from Stokes at Old Trafford.Australia believe they have considerable room for improvement. England may rue not winning a Test where Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith made just 35 runs between them. At Lord’s they are also going in with a base of knowledge they did not have before Edgbaston, although their camp is content with how the tactics played out under pressure.The marker for this series has been laid down. What happens next is really anyone’s guess. And that’s a tantalising prospect.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
England LWLWW
Australia WWDWL

In the spotlight

England’s response to defeat. What has been put together under Stokes and Brendon McCullum has clearly worked wonders, but it can’t be unquestionable. Last summer they bounced back against South Africa but the tourists had a poor batting line-up. Their only other defeat since then was the one-run loss to New Zealand in Wellington. Hitting back after going 1-0 down at the start of a home Ashes is something entirely different and the biggest test of the ethos (or cult?) that Bazball has created.Labuschagne was twice done by Broad’s new outswinger at Edgbaston, collecting his first golden duck in Test cricket in the process. In his last 17 innings he has made just two fifties at an average of 33 which is considerably below the extraordinary high standards he has set. Should he find his groove at Lord’s it would come at the ground where his Test career took off four years ago after he was parachuted into the team as Smith’s concussion sub.

Team news

England have changed the balance of their side by calling up pace bowler Josh Tongue to replace Moeen Ali. Tongue took a five-wicket haul on his debut against Ireland at Lord’s earlier this season. They have backed James Anderson and Stuart Broad to get through another Test.England 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jonny Bairstow, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 Josh Tongue, 11 James AndersonAustralia have narrowed down a 12 with the final decision likely to be between Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. England took Boland at nearly six-an-over at Edgbaston but the grass on the surface at Lord’s could keep him in the frame.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Scott Boland/Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood

Pitch and conditions

There was a significant green tinge on the surface ahead of the game, but that is pretty normal for Lord’s. There is the expectation of more pace and bounce than Edgbaston provided. The forecast is fine for the opening day but there is a chance of some interruptions after that.Jonny Bairstow and Brendon McCullum stop for a break at England training•PA Images via Getty Images

Stats and trivia

• Nathan Lyon, who becomes the eighth player to put together 100 consecutive Tests, needs five wickets to reach 500
• Stokes needs five wickets to reach 200 in Tests
• In the last five Tests at Lord’s, since the year-long gap due to Covid, spinners have taken 15 wickets at 50.60
• Conversely, in the last five years the ground provides the lowest average for England’s quicks

Quotes

“Cricket’s a fickle game sometimes. He was the No.1 batter in the world then Broady nicks him off twice. Players like that don’t miss out too often. Broady produced two unbelievable deliveries and it’s always great to see the back of Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith early but quality players always find a way to bounce back. We won’t be reading too much into it but it’s nice knowing there might be something there for Marnus.”
“My phone went crazy for a couple of days. These Ashes series, like World Cup finals, you realise how many people love cricket and how much it means to them. Hearing everyone’s stories about where they were when they found out what happened, or watching at all hours of the day is pretty cool.”

The allrounder injured his ankle during South Africa’s practice session on Tuesday

Liam Brickhill03-Oct-2018South Africa allrounder Wiaan Mulder has been ruled out of the remainder of the ODI series against Zimbabwe after injuring his ankle during practice on Tuesday. The injury appears to be in his left Achilles tendon, and Mulder has been withdrawn from South Africa’s squad for further assessment.”Wiaan felt some pain and discomfort in his left ankle at practice and has been withdrawn from the remainder of the ODI series,” South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee explained. “He will be assessed by an ankle and foot specialist in Johannesburg, who will be able to further assess the injury and give us a way forward in terms of the treatment and rehab strategy. The selectors will not name a replacement for the last ODI.”Mulder, 20, has only played seven ODIs for South Africa but had been expected to be a regular in their starting line-up this summer. He played in all five ODIs against Sri Lanka in August, and coach Ottis Gibson has voiced his support for giving his young allrounders extended runs in the side.

Chris Woakes and Matt Henry also break into the top 10 for ODI bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jul-2019″Yeah, in a heartbeat,” Kane Williamson said when asked if he’d swap his Player of the Series trophy for one extra run at the end of the greatest World Cup final in history. He might have to keep that line handy again as the ICC announced another individual milestone for the New Zealand captain.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Williamson hit a career-high 799 points on the ODI batsmen’s rankings after the semi-final against India and is currently at No. 6 on the table. Scoring only 30 runs against England, though, has brought his tally down to 796, but he remains one of only two New Zealanders in the top ten, Ross Taylor above him with 817 points.Ben Stokes, the Player of the Final, rose five places to No. 20 after not one but two amazing innings – first to keep England’s chase alive on a remarkably tough pitch and later to lift them in the Super Over while virtually running on empty. Jason Roy, whose power at the top helped England recover from a hiccup in the group stages of the World Cup, is in the top 10 batsmen’s rankings.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There was another allrounder who made a giant leap on the batsmen’s rankings too. Ravindra Jadeja, who was nearly unstoppable in the semi-final against New Zealand, has leapt 24 places to occupy the 108th spot.ALSO READ: The Monga-Kimber World Cup 2019 XI is hereChris Woakes, whose opening spells were vital to England’s title run, has gone up to No. 7 in the bowler’s rankings. He took seven wickets in the first Powerplay at the World Cup – the joint second-highest – while the topper of that list, Matt Henry, also broke into the top ten. Jofra Archer, playing his first World Cup, finished not only as England’s highest wicket-taker but also one of the ICC’s top 30 bowlers in the world.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

England remain the top-ranked team in the world, while India are at No. 2 and New Zealand at No. 3. Shakib Al Hasan, who produced the most remarkable all-round show ever seen in a World Cup, retains dominance in the allrounders’ ratings.

A career best 73 for Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman set Pakistan up for a convincing win over Australia in Harare

The Report by Daniel Brettig05-Jul-2018
Pakistan gained a mental advantage over Australia by dominating Aaron Finch’s team in a match that served as a dress rehearsal for Sunday’s Twenty20 triangular tournament final at the Harare Sports Club.Having beaten Pakistan comfortably in their first meeting, the Australians put in an unfocused performance, dropping far too short with the new ball after Finch sent Sarfraz Ahmed’s side in to bat to allow Fakhar Zaman to fire off a succession of pull shots on his way to the highest score of the match. They then lost a series of early wickets to the late moving ball in the hands of Faheem Ashraf and the 18-year-old left-armer Shaheen Afridi.Having slid as low as 75 for 5, Australia never looked likely to get close to their target, though the wicketkeeper and vice-captain Alex Carey played another intelligent innings down the order. Pakistan’s victory also served the purpose of preventing Australia from taking their place at the top of the ICC’s T20 international rankings.Both sides had already qualified for Sunday’s tournament final, making this game chiefly a chance to gain information and psychological high ground. Australia kept the same side that delivered comfortable wins over Pakistan and Zimbabwe to be the first team to reach the decider. Pakistan included the youthful Afridi for his second T20I in place of Hasan Ali, while Usman Khan came in for Mohammad Nawaz.4:18

‘Steven Smith is the toughest batsman to bowl to’

On a cold morning in Harare, Billy Stanlake failed to induce the sort of early collapse he had been responsible for in Monday’s match. While Jhye Richardson enjoyed the good fortune of having Haris Sohail clip his first delivery straight to square leg to depart for a golden duck, the Pakistan top order were able to feast on a generous helping of short stuff.Fakhar was the major beneficiary, flashing nine boundaries and a trio of sixes on the way to the highest score of his T20I career thus far – he is Pakistan’s leading run-maker in this tournament by a distance, and will require far more careful planning by Australia’s pacemen and coaches ahead of the decider.They reached 80 inside nine overs before Hussain Talat was cramped for room by Glenn Maxwell’s off-breaks and bowled, and from there a series of nifty partnerships ensured that Finch’s side was unable to restrict the run rate. A particularly heavy toll was taken from the bowling of Ashton Agar, while 18 runs from the final over rather disfigured Aaron Tye’s previously excellent figures.Needing a rapid start given the task they were facing, Finch and D’Arcy Short were instead confounded by Pakistan’s fast men pitching the ball much further up to the bat and finding movement both in the air and off the seam. Finch was cornered by an Afridi delivery bending back at him and was caught behind off the inside edge, then Travis Head’s minimal footwork was exposed when Faheem Ashraf seamed one back to pluck out middle stump.Maxwell managed a pair of boundaries before he played around a late inswinger from Afridi that pinned him in front of middle stump, and the innings of Nic Maddinson – who made the squad despite being cut from the New South Wales contract list – lasted only eight balls before he misread a well-pitched wrong’un from Shadab Khan and was comfortably stumped.Short had persevered without timing the ball with anything like the power of which he is capable, but was well and truly beaten by the yorker Afridi served up on his return to the bowling crease. From there it was largely a matter of damage limitation for the Australians, as Carey knocked the ball around with the sort of resourcefulness that is quickly becoming his trademark without ever looking likely to threaten a distant target.Pakistan will now go into the final with plenty of confidence, while the Australians must face Zimbabwe before reconsidering their approach to Fakhar, Afridi and the rest of Sarfraz’s team.

Gary Ballance and Tom Kohler-Cadmore settled Yorkshire’s second innings after Lancashire had made inroads

Paul Edwards11-Sep-20181:55

Hampshire put Surrey on the brink of glory

ScorecardOptimism should carry a health warning in this Roses match. The importance of the game has eclipsed the fond regrets of September and lured supporters of each side into an evanescent belief that their county might, indeed, prevail.The perils of such confidence were made plain as Lancashire lost seven wickets for 93 runs in the first 40 overs of this day’s play before eventually gaining a first-innings advantage of 43. Then as if to mock their own supporters’ pleasure at what was a notable revival, Yorkshire surrendered three prime batsmen before the deficit had been cleared. But the final session brought some balm to the anxieties of home supporters as Gary Ballance and Tom Kohler-Cadmore put on an unbroken 100 runs with the calmest and most assured batting of the match.Yet a statistical skeleton cannot reflect the full fluctuations of this second day nor can it properly convey what is at stake in the game. Should Lancashire lose, they will need to win their last game at Hampshire and hope other results have not sealed their fate by then. Should Yorkshire lose, they will need to win one of their last two games, at home to Hampshire or away to Worcestershire; quite probably they will need to win both. “I’m surprised to see you here, again,” said a member in Headingley’s Long Room before play began. “Well, you’ve turned up, as well,” came the fair replyThe stoicism was unremarkable; the Long Room was crowded. And at least those who turned up on this bright morning had some reward for their loyalty, albeit one with a bitter edge. For five of the six wickets that fell in the first 30 overs of the day were taken by Jack Brooks, whose obvious value to Yorkshire’s attack made it all the more painful that he will be leaving the county in a few weeks’ time. Brooks, who was 34 in June, will be joining Somerset after accepting a three-year contract, twelve months more than was on offer at Headingley.Yorkshire’s morning had begun perfectly when Karl Brown was caught down the leg side by Jonny Tattersall off Ben Coad’s first ball of the day, but hopes that Lancashire’s lead would be kept below three figures were wreathed in caution before Brooks came on at the Kirkstall Lane End. His first wicket, though, was a filthy affair. Receiving a ball well wide off the off stump Steven Croft aimed an ugly slash and was well taken at second slip by Adam Lyth who clutched the ball to his stomach.As though encouraged by a piece of cricket from which only Lyth emerged with much credit, Brooks settled into his work. Liam Livingstone lost his off stump when playing crookedly at one which came back off the seam and that was the prelude to the trio of lbws which removed Dane Vilas, Alex Davies and Josh Bohannon. Each delivery tracked back and struck the pad in line with middle stump; each batsman failed to cover the movement and was sent on his way by David Millns.The morning, then, belonged to Yorkshire but also, to a degree, to Davies, a cricketer who seems inspired by adversity. Lancashire’s opener only scored 29 runs off 58 balls in the session but every shot, whether attacking or defensive, was a declaration of defiance. Just before lunch he was joined by Bohannon, a player who is cut from similar cloth but Brooks took care of them both in the space of five overs after the resumption and Lancashire were then 175 for 6.Suddenly visiting supporters, who are attending this game in good numbers, realised that they may not have the comfort of any first-innings lead at all, but those worries were allayed largely by Keshav Maharaj, who launched sixes into the Kirkstall Lane and White Rose stands before whacking a third over the boundary in front of the Long Room. Maharaj’s 38 off 26 balls gave Lancashire a far smaller advantage than they might have envisaged at the start of the day, but it seemed substantial enough when Jeet Raval, Adam Lyth and Harry Brook were removed by Tom Bailey and Graham Onions inside the first 13 overs of Yorkshire’s innings.Now there was more anxiety in the Long Room; now there were yet more fears of another collapse at just the wrong time in the season. The gradient of the game had shifted again and now it seemed Lancashire might be chasing a paltry total. But Kohler-Cadmore, who is in special form, joined Ballance and the pair defended capably against Onions and Bailey before taking a succession of boundaries off Lancashire’s support bowlers.Ballance reached his fifty off 107 balls just before the close and they day ended with Yorkshire in the ascendant. But no one is taking bets it will last. Some prayers will be answered and others seemingly ignored before this match is done with us.

Mark Stoneman, who failed twice at Lord’s and hasn’t passed 60 in 11 Test matches, has been left out

Andrew McGlashan28-May-2018England have responded to their thumping nine-wicket defeat at Lord’s by recalling Keaton Jennings for the second Test against Pakistan at Headingley with Mark Stoneman dropped following a continuation of his poor form in the heavy loss.Jennings, 25, scored a century on his Test debut against India in Mumbai but lost his place midway through last season after struggling to build on that early milestone.However, following a move from Durham to Lancashire, he has been one of the few in-form batsmen on the domestic circuit this season. He has scored two centuries in the County Championship, including one against a strong Nottinghamshire attack, and has carried that form into the Royal London Cup.

Someone in form: Jennings’ season

County Championship 314 runs @ 44.85; two hundred
Royal London Cup 306 runs @ 76.50; one hundred, two fifties

Stoneman failed twice at Lord’s – bowled by Mohammad Abbas in the first innings and defeated by a one that kept low from Shadab Khan in the second – in a display bereft of confidence.He had been somewhat fortunate to retain his place in the first place following a lean start to the season for Surrey. In his 11 Tests he has made five half-centuries but not gone beyond 60, with a distinct slump in his performances after getting hit on the helmet at the WACA.”Keaton Jennings showed a strong temperament in scoring a hundred on his Test match debut against India in December 2016,” national selector Ed Smith said. “Keaton has found good form in county cricket this season, including three centuries in his last seven innings.”Mark Stoneman misses out at Headingley. Mark has experienced a disappointing start to the 2018 season and had a difficult Test match at Lord’s.”With the swap of Jennings for Stoneman confirmed, the one decision to be made on the final XI is whether there is a return for Chris Woakes, who was the man to miss out from the 12 at Lord’s. Mark Wood was preferred in the hope that he could provide a different element to the pace attack but his first-innings return of 2 for 74 was underwhelming.England squad: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (capt), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Dom Bess, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Chris Woakes

South Australia went from struggling to avoid the follow-on to putting late pressure on NSW thanks to key performances from Alex Carey, Wes Agar and Brendan Doggett

AAP02-Nov-2022South Australia have pried the door open for a potential Sheffield Shield comeback against NSW, claiming three late wickets before stumps on day three to keep all results alive.Struggling to avoid the follow-on at one stage when they slumped to 8 for 229 in reply to NSW’s 5 for 389 declared, the Redbacks managed to scramble their way to 311.Wes Agar then struck twice and Nathan McAndrew once to leave NSW 3 for 35 at stumps, still with a lead of 113 and with both teams able to press for a win heading into the final day.Ultimately NSW were left to rue Moises Henriques putting Brendan Doggett down at first slip on two before he made 49 as part of an 80-run ninth-wicket stand with Ben Manenti. At that point the Redbacks still needed 6 runs to avoid the follow-on.”It could have gone either way, that gets taken and who knows where we are this afternoon,” Doggett said. “But we managed to make the most of the situation and get ourselves in the position to win this game.”The late revival will also have put a smile back on captain Travis Head’s face, after his lean run to start the summer continued in Wollongong. He was caught at first slip for 8 on Wednesday when he swung hard at a wide ball from Liam Hatcher and toed it to Henriques.It means the Test incumbent’s run of scores to start the Shield this summer stands at 76, 6, 5, 0 and 8, while also failing to pass 50 in three one-day games.Head has credits in the bank and is by no means under pressure to hold his spot for Australia’s first Test against West Indies in Perth on November 30.The left-hander was player of the season in last summer’s Ashes win, hitting two centuries and averaging 59.5 while batting at No.5. But he would no doubt like to find some runs before the start of this summer’s Tests, after also enduring tough tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka earlier this year.Head will either feature in up to two more Shield games before the first Test or potentially link up with Australia’s 50-over team for a three-match series against England.After Head fell in the midst of a collapse of 4 for 56, Alex Carey looked superb for SA, cover-driving Liam Hatcher for four three times in one over before going caught behind trying to hook the quick.Agar had earlier provided the morning spark for the Redbacks as nightwatchman with his maiden first-class half-century, before he swept Nathan Lyon to a man in the deep on 57.

Southern Brave suffer first defeat and will play Trent Rockets in Friday’s eliminator

Katya Witney31-Aug-2022Southern Brave suffered their first defeat of the Women’s Hundred, losing by 20 runs to Northern Superchargers to leave their hopes of direct qualification to Saturday’s final in tatters.Laura Wolvaardt continued her fine run of fine form, scoring 50 off 35 balls as Superchargers posted 145 for 6.Brave could muster only 125 for 9 in reply to leave them with an anxious wait to see whether Oval Invincibles could leapfrog them by beating Manchester Originals on Wednesday afternoon. Invincibles’ commanding win means Brave face Trent Rockets in Friday’s eliminator.Superchargers’ margin of victory was not enough to secure their place in the knockout stages: they needed to win by 46 runs to leapfrog third-placed Rockets on net run-rate.Brave lost both openers Danni Wyatt and Smriti Mandhana without scoring inside the first 10 balls of their reply, before Sophia Dunkley’s 38 from 30 balls ended Superchargers’ slim hopes of qualification despite victory. Katie Levick and Alice Davidson-Richards took two wickets apiece.”It’s a bittersweet win,” Hollie Armitage, Superchargers’ captain, said. “We knew going out there with the ball that we needed to restrict them to 99 to get our net run-rate up to where it needed to be to finish third.”Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that. But I’m really pleased with how the girls went about their business today. We went out there and played some really good cricket and have beaten a fantastic side.”Related

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After being put into bat in front of a home crowd, Superchargers were again faced with the early loss of Alyssa Healy who rocketed a ball straight into the hands of Dunkley at cover for 17.Wolvaardt set the tone for her side once more with the bat, forming a solid partnership with Heather Graham worth 45 off 27 balls. By the time Graham fell for a well-played 26 off 19, Superchargers were 98 for 4 with 26 balls still to come.Wolvaardt’s classy innings saw her pass the record for the most runs scored by any woman in the Hundred’s short history, having racked up 286 runs across six innings before she was caught superbly on the boundary by Wyatt. The previous record holder, Dane van Niekerk, managed 256 from 10 innings last season.Laura Wolvaardt cracks one away•Getty Images

A cameo from Jenny Gunn with 15 from 7 balls after Wolvaardt’s dismissal gave the Superchargers a whiff of qualification, setting the Brave 146 to win. The home side’s hopes were boosted by a perfect start in the field, Wyatt falling off the first ball of the innings caught at short fine leg, and her opening partner, the dangerous Mandhana, falling just eight balls later.As Brave’s batting line-up wobbled under pressure, Dunkley stood firm with wickets falling around her. Tahlia McGrath was bowled by the impressive Graham and Maia Bouchier was caught off Davidson-Richards.By the time Georgia Adams nicked off to a tempting delivery from Levick, Dunkley was the only thing standing in between Superchargers and an unlikely qualification.Her steady innings of 38 off 30 came to an end when she was caught on the boundary by Graham, effectively taking Brave’s hopes of winning the game with her as she walked back to the dugout.A partnership between Amanda-Jade Wellington – who earlier took three wickets with her legbreaks – and Freya Kemp, worth 41 off just 18 balls, ended Superchargers’ hopes of qualification.But the bowlers could not see Brave home with the bat, and they finished on 125 for 9.