All posts by n8rngtd.top

The 18-year-old Afghanistan legspinner was thrilled after his selection at the IPL auction, where Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him for INR 4 crore (USD 595,000 approx)

Firdose Moonda20-Feb-20173:31

‘Afghanistan players weren’t bought for emotion’

Rashid Khan was at opposite ends of the cricketing spectrum – and then somewhere in-between – as the IPL auction played out this morning. Physically, he was in Harare with not much to do on a rest day between ODIs against Zimbabwe. Mentally, he was in Bangalore: he was one of the five Afghanistan players listed in the IPL 2017 auction and he had doubts about whether he would attract any bids. Emotionally, he was at home in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, where he last saw his parents and six brothers three months ago, and where all eyes were on India.”My parents woke up early to watch the auction. I was still sleeping when they called me and told me to get up and watch because I was coming up,” Rashid told ESPNcricinfo. “So I started to also watch it from here in Zimbabwe and I was really surprised, really happy and really excited when I saw what was happening. I couldn’t believe it actually, it happened very quickly.”After an eager back-and-forth between Mumbai Indians and defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rashid was bought for INR 4 crore (USD 595,000 approx) by Sunrisers, who also acquired his team-mate Mohammad Nabi. The pair will join Kane Williamson, David Warner and Mustafizur Rahman, among others, in the franchise squad and for Rashid, it’s undoubtedly the biggest deal of his young cricketing career. He is only 18 and has been playing international cricket for less than 18 months and has already landed one of the most lucrative contracts going around.Rashid decided to enter the IPL auction on the advice of his agency, Insignia Sports, who also brokered his participation in the 2016-17 Bangladesh Premier League last year. He played for Comilla Victorians, in a squad that also included Jason Holder, Marlon Samuels, Ahmed Shehzad and Nuwan Kulasekara, and finished 11th on the overall wicket-takers’ list with 13 scalps at 14.92.He hoped the BPL performance and his recent returns at the Desert T20 Challenge – where he took nine wickets in the tournament at an average of 6.55 – would tempt an IPL team into buying him, despite a wealth of spin talent in India which saw even the world’s top-ranked T20 bowler, Imran Tahir, go unsold.”What makes me different is that I am a bit quicker for a legspinner,” Rashid said. “That is something that just came to me naturally, not something that I copied from anyone.”Apart from his speed, Rashid also relishes big occasions. At the Asia Cup last year, he was Afghanistan’s highest wicket-taker and the second-highest wicket-taker for his team at the World T20 after Nabi. His performances have been so standout he has squeezed long-term frontliner Samiullah Shenwari out of the starting XI.Rashid admitted he enjoys tough situations. “I love pressure. Mentally, I get myself ready for pressure. That’s how I like to play,” he said. “Maybe it’s because I grew up playing with my brothers all the time and five of them are older than me but I also think it’s the experience of playing a lot of cricket in a short space of time.”Since October 2015, Rashid has played in six ODI series and six T20 series, as Afghanistan seek to make themselves more visible on the global stage. Rashid and Nabi’s IPL signings will aid that cause immeasurably.Having been chosen over some Bangladesh and Sri Lanka stars, the pair’s selection is the biggest indication of the strides Afghanistan are making, and Rashid hopes it does not stop here.”Our main target is to play Test cricket and all the guys are working very hard to get there,” he said. “If we can get there, you can’t imagine how good it would feel.”For now, he is happy to concentrate on the shortest format. “In short formats, the more you enjoy it, the better you will do, and I am enjoying it a lot.”Understandably, Rashid has not made any plans for his new income just yet. He will only see his family after the tournament – Afghanistan travel from Zimbabwe to Greater Noida in Delhi for their series against Ireland and then it will be time for the IPL – and he expects there will be a clamour in his hometown to share in his glory. “Whenever I go home they have a celebration for me so I’m sure this time, they will do it as well.”

The allrounder does not expect similar pitches for the T20 World Cup despite the volume of cricket in the UAE

Andrew McGlashan08-Aug-2021Dan Christian has seen most things that T20 cricket can throw up, so when he says conditions in Dhaka have been unlike anything else he has played in it stands up to scrutiny.With one match remaining, the Bangladesh-Australia series has a run rate of 5.86 – the slowest in a series of three matches or more. In the fourth match, 104 was nearly defendable and looked like it would be when Australia were 65 for 6 despite Christian having monstered 39 off 15 balls, including five sixes in an over against Shakib Al Hasan, in one of the shrewder moves Australia have made on tour when promoting him to No. 3.”They don’t compare to anything I’ve faced in my career,” Christian said. “These are as difficult conditions as I’ve seen for T20 cricket – 120 is like 190, it’s an extremely difficult place to try and bat. We’ve seen all the spinners and even the seamers, as soon as they start bowling slower balls it’s really, really hard work. It’s holding in the surface, gripping and turning and it’s a big ground as well. It’s certainly been different cricket but in terms of getting into rhythm or any kind of flow it’s been pretty hard.”There’s certainly been things we can take out of these games from a batting perspective. You have to be so precise in your plans in these conditions. It probably doesn’t get more difficult than that at any level around the world than facing that kind of bowling here.”Related

• Wade: 'Not good enough from an Australian cricket team'

• A final chance to push for Australia's T20 WC squad

• Christian, bowlers help Australia pull one back

• Batters search for answers in more trial by spin and cutters

He did not believe that conditions at the T20 World Cup in the UAE will come close to this despite the volume of cricket that will be played across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah with the IPL taking place in the month before the tournament.”I don’t think they’ll be anything like it, ” he said. “Say, somewhere like Sharjah where you get a bit of dew at night time and it’s a small ground, so 220 can be a winning score. Maybe at Dubai or Abu Dhabi they’ll be a bit slower but they are still 170-180 wickets normally…there’s an IPL before the World Cup, so there might be some worn tracks but think they are pretty used to getting them back up.”Australia bowled 12 overs of spin during the fourth match with Ashton Turner completing his full allotment alongside Ashton Agar and the recalled Mitchell Swepson. There is an argument to say it could be even more, although Josh Hazlewood and Andrew Tye were also effective with a lot of cutters and changes of pace.While admitting he has a vested interest, Swepson, who took 3 for 12 in his first outing of the tour, certainly sees scope for Australia having three frontline spinners at their disposal.”I definitely think it’s something that should be considered, especially somewhere like here,” he said. “We’ve seen them play three spinners. I might be a little bit biased here, but certainly something that I think could work for us as well. Fingers crossed that might eventual but we’ll have to wait and see.”Both Christian and Swepson are pushing to make the final World Cup squad, so their performances last night were timely. Christian, recalled for this tour after a gap of four years due to the various opt-outs from the squad, has played six of the nine T20Is so far across the West Indies and Bangladesh. Though he was unable to get Australia home in chases in the first match against West Indies and the third game against Bangladesh, on two occasions he has played his part in victory: an unbeaten 22 in St Lucia and then the firecracker 39 on Saturday.”It has been a little stop-start for me but that’s the nature of the format and role that I play, generally coming in towards the end and bowling some overs in the middle,” he said. “I’ve loved being back in the team, representing my country again, it’s been awesome, and from a cricket perspective I’ve just got to keep training well and preparing as well as I can. When that opportunity arrives hopefully I can grab it.”Swepson has had even less opportunity to shine and, after an expensive outing in West Indies, he took advantage of tailor-made conditions to cause Bangladesh’s middle order plenty of problems.”It can be difficult to gauge sometimes where you are at when you are just bowling in the nets, so last night was a good confirmation of where my bowling is at,” he said. “I got that one game in St Lucia and it didn’t quite pan out how I wanted it to so last night was that reassurance that the ball is still coming out well.”

Batsman Lahiru Thirimanne has left Sri Lanka’s ongoing tour of England after sustaining a lower-back strain, which restricted his movement

Andrew Fidel Fernando26-Jun-2016Batsman Lahiru Thirimanne has left Sri Lanka’s ongoing tour of England after sustaining a lower-back strain, which restricted his movement. Wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, who was in England already with the A team, has joined the national squad as Thirimanne’s replacement. Thirimanne played all three Tests, but had not played in the ODIs – against Ireland or England – on the tour.Angelo Mathews and wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal are nursing hamstring injuries, but have been named in the XI for the third ODI in Bristol. An SLC statement said seam-bowling allrounder Farveez Maharoof is also “sporting an injury to his left hand”, though he too continues to play.Dickwella had been in Sri Lanka’s Test squad, but did not play a game. He has played one ODI – in India in 2014 – four Tests and three T20 internationals.

West Indies’ newly appointed Test captain has hailed his predecessor for doing a “superb job”

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2021Kraigg Brathwaite has taken over from Jason Holder, who led West Indies in 37 Test matches•Getty Images

Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies’ newly appointed full-time Test captain, has said it’s a “privilege” to take over from Jason Holder.Holder, who became captain in 2015, led West Indies in 37 Tests before opting out of the recent tour of Bangladesh amid concerns over Covid-19. Brathwaite led a depleted West Indies side to an unexpected 2-0 Test series win, following which CWI gave him the captaincy full-time, with lead selector Roger Harper contending that he “was able to motivate his players to play to a very high level and create the culture we are looking to establish where the team showed a collective determination to fight and a real hunger for success.”Related

• Jason Holder on losing Test captaincy: 'It has been a strange transition'

• Thirimanne fifty blunts West Indies after Brathwaite ton

• Kraigg Brathwaite: 'As a Test team, West Indies are on a great path'

• Kraigg Brathwaite replaces Jason Holder as West Indies Test captain

• Jason Holder, Darren Bravo return to Kraigg Brathwaite-led West Indies Test side

Ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which begins on March 21 in Antigua, Brathwaite hailed his predecessor, who remains a key member of the West Indies side as one of the world’s premier allrounders.”I just want to thank god for giving me this opportunity, and also want to say I thought Jason Holder did a superb job leading the Test team for the last five years, so obviously taking over from him is a privilege,” Brathwaite said. “I was very happy [to be made captain], obviously very proud, and I look forward to the challenge.”Speaking about the Bangladesh tour, Brathwaite said he had tried to help the young players in the West Indies team back their own ability.”Well, I really enjoyed that tour,” he said. “For me, I just made sure I let the guys know, to believe in themselves and believe in their ability. I’ve played youth cricket with most of those guys, and if not, first-class cricket for a number of years, so I know the ability they have. Just assured them that they can do it.”Just trust in your plans and believe in them, and prepare well. The word attitude is always key, and I thought we did that well, and it’s important for us as a team to continue that same attitude.”On his own batting, Brathwaite said he had been working on his balance against fast bowling in the lead-up to the Sri Lanka series.”The more you’re balanced, the better your shots, and that was something important for me,” he said. “I also went about planning even better, in terms of how I want to go about my innings, and topping up on power. But mainly getting my balance in order, and backing yourself. You always have plans, and it’s to really trust them, that was the key for me. Planning was very very important.”

In his first innings since July 2016, AB de Villiers helped himself to an unbeaten 134 off 103 for Northerns in the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2017In his first innings since July 2016, AB de Villiers helped himself to an unbeaten 134 off 103 for Northerns in the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge. The knock comes as he prepares for a likely South Africa return in the third T20I against Sri Lanka in Cape Town.At the end of a week where de Villiers’ plans for his international future have been a major topic, he was finally able to return to run-scoring after overcoming the elbow injury he picked up at last year’s CPL.Even taking into account the lower standard of his comeback match, it was a notable return for de Villiers given his lack of cricket. Batting at No. 3, he was given the maximum chance for a lengthy innings when opener Jonathan Vandiar was lbw first ball of Northerns’ chase.De Villiers proceeded to reach a century off 87 deliveries – his second fifty needing 37 balls – and finished the match with consecutive sixes. In total he struck 19 fours and three sixes in just over two hours in the middle.The final T20I against Sri Lanka had been earmarked for de Villiers’ return ahead of the one-day series and the limited-overs leg of the New Zealand tour. He has already made himself unavailable for Test cricket for most of 2017, suggesting a comeback will come at home against India late in the year should that series be confirmed.Morne Morkel, who has been out of action as long as de Villiers with a back injury, was also due to play in the game but doubt was cast on his availability when he showed some symptoms of the same issue last week. Morkel did not play the match and there is continued uncertainty over when he will make his return.

Left-arm spinner Alex Hartley and batsman Natalie Sciver played key roles in England Women’s series-clinching five-wicket win over West Indies Women in Kingston on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2016
ScorecardFile photo – England Women’s left-arm spinner Alex Hartley finished as the leading wicket-taker in the five-match series, with 13 dismissals•WICB Media/Athelstan Bellamy

Left-arm spinner Alex Hartley’s career-best 4 for 24 subdued a powerful West Indies Women’s batting line-up to 155, paving the way for England Women’s series-clinching five-wicket victory in the fifth ODI in Kingston. Natalie Sciver’s unbeaten 58 eased the side home in the 39th over.The result took England’s points tally in the ICC Women’s Championship to 23, leaving them one win away from confirming their direct qualification in next year’s Women’s World Cup, a target they will look to achieve on the tour of Sri Lanka next month.Hartley accounted for West Indies’ senior batsmen in her haul, dismissing Deandra Dottin, Merissa Aguilleira, captain Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle. Dottin fell in the 23rd over, bringing an end to a promising third-wicket partnership of 37 with Taylor after West Indies got off to a slow start. Aguillera fell four overs later.Hartley then went on to sap any momentum West Indies could have gained in the slog overs by dismissing Campbelle and Taylor in the 41st and 43rd overs. Taylor fell for 57 off 101 balls, with three fours and a six, having steered the side to 137 with little support from the other batsmen, and the innings lasted only five more overs after her wicket as the last five wickets fell for 24. Hartley took her second four-for in the series and finished as the highest overall wicket-taker with 13 wickets in five matches, a record for England in a bilateral one-day series.While West Indies’ batsmen had failed to put together a half-century stand, England built their chase around the 56-run partnership for the third wicket between captain Heather Knight and Sciver. England were 56 for 2 in the 17th over when the pair came together and by the time the stand was broken, at 112 in the 29th over, they were firmly in control of the chase. Sciver’s unbeaten 58, her sixth ODI fifty and second in the series, came off 74 balls and included six fours.Knight said: “To come to the Caribbean and beat the ICC Women’s World T20 champions on their home patch, in tough conditions, and with a couple of set-backs along the way, shows how much character, desire and talent there is within this squad.”Throughout the five matches, momentum has constantly shifted between the two sides, which shows how evenly matched the teams are.”

A decade on from his success in the role for South Australia, Rashid has emerged as an option in the powerplay

Matt Roller13-Mar-2021Ten years have passed since Adil Rashid’s first incarnation as an opening bowler in T20 cricket. As a fresh-faced 22-year-old, he formed part of a three-pronged South Australia attack in the final season of the state-based Big Bash alongside Aaron O’Brien and Nathan Lyon and was thrown the new ball in the last few games of the tournament.”I’m going to go back to Yorkshire and tell them all about this,” Rashid told the at the time. “We’re encouraged to take the pace off the ball and to mix up our deliveries, so I bowl legbreaks, googlies, sliders, the lot – anything to avoid being predictable.”True to his word, Rashid spilled the beans on his return to county cricket and was entrusted with bowling the first over for the majority of the Friends Life T20 in 2011. But after some initial success – he took 13 wickets in Yorkshire’s first five games – the wickets dried up, and he was taken to pieces by Andrew McDonald towards the end of the group stage. One last try in the role followed for South Australia in the 2011-12 Champions League, but as he developed into a canny middle-overs operator over the next few years, it seemed like that would be the final time in his career that he would be seen bowling the first over.Rashid (right) celebrates a Nathan Lyon wicket during South Australia’s title-winning Big Bash season in 2010-11•Getty Images

That was, at least, until Friday night. With England struggling for powerplay wickets in their recent T20I outings and India’s middle order particularly strong against spin, Eoin Morgan threw Rashid the new ball under the Ahmedabad floodlights. Perhaps the move had been pre-planned in the expectation that India would field an exclusively right-handed top four, but with Shikhar Dhawan picked ahead of the rested Rohit Sharma, Rashid managed to cramp the left-hander for room as he went through his repertoire of variations and landed the ball on a good length in a first over which cost only two runs.In his second, Rashid delivered the key wicket. As Virat Kohli backed away to the leg side, Rashid followed him with a flat length ball, pushed through a fraction quicker than usual at 55.7mph/89.7kph towards the top of leg stump. Kohli’s bat turned in his hand, and he failed to clear Chris Jordan at mid-off. Rashid returned to bowl the 11th, finishing with impressive figures of 1 for 14 from his three overs.Ball-tracking data suggests that Rashid extracted only limited turn off the pitch, but his subtle changes of pace and the two-paced nature of the surface meant that India were unable to go after him. While Rashid generally spins the ball sharply, his method on Friday night evoked that of Samuel Badree, the only legspinner to have made a success of bowling the first over of T20 internationals on a consistent basis and a two-time World T20 winner with West Indies.Related

• Ishan Kishan adds the impetus that new-age India have been looking for

• India seek rapid response after England show how it's done

• India's high-risk, high-reward tactics should be given a chance

• England's bowlers ensure the plan comes together

• Kohli: We weren't aware of what we had to do on that pitch

“It’s completely different bowling with the new ball, [with only] two fielders out,” Rashid said on Saturday. “You’ve got to be clever in that sense. It’s been 10 years and I’ve not actually opened the bowling for anybody [in that time]. It’s a different experience now but it’s something I’ll definitely cherish and I’ll keep in my armoury as well.”You’ve got to be a bit more focused in that sense because you know you’ve only got two fielders out, and the batsmen will be coming a lot harder as well when they know there’s a lot more scoring options. But in terms of my game plan, it’s very similar whether it’s first six or middle.”England will hope that the move allows them to be increasingly specific with their bowling plans ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year, looking to exploit the weaknesses of opposition batting line-ups. The experience of bowling with the new ball for the first time in a decade should mean Rashid is comfortable providing an option against teams with openers perceived to be vulnerable against spin, allowing Morgan to use his quicks – and Mark Wood in particular – as shock bowlers in the middle overs. Against teams with several left-handers in the top order, Moeen Ali may be brought in to bowl his offspin with Rashid reverting to his standard middle-overs role.Rashid removed Virat Kohli in his second over•Getty Images

Having largely bowled in outside of the powerplay in his T20I career, Rashid stressed that he was keen to contribute in all three phases of the game – “first six overs, middle, or death” – and said that he had been practising with Jason Roy in the build-up to the first match of the series to prepare for his new role. Morgan has shown his willingness to using him at the death in 50-over cricket – gambling on him in the 50th over of an ODI against Australia last year, for example – and Rashid said that the backing of his captain was particularly important in his success.”It was good practice for both of us: him [Roy] batting up top, me bowling with the new ball,” Rashid said. “[We were] communicating and helping one another – what pace I’m bowling, and what areas he’s looking to hit. For myself, it was more of me bowling with the new ball, and giving him confidence facing a spinner with the new ball.”[Morgan’s] biggest strength is his emotion, [in that] he doesn’t really show emotion. If things are not going well for the team or a bowler or a batsman, you will never see him down, waving his hands around, or if they’re going really well, you won’t see him really excited. Being level-headed is a big factor, and stands out with him as a leader.”But if he can pull off his plan to remodel Rashid as a viable new-ball option, it may be hard for Morgan to contain his excitement.

Brendon McCullum’s 131 led New Zealand to 303 for 8 at the Sheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi, and paved the way for them to level the three match series at 1-1

Cricinfo staff06-Nov-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outBrendon McCullum’s 131 was his second ODI century, and his first against serious opposition•Associated Press

Brendon McCullum, it is fair to say, hasn’t had the best year, or in fact the best time of it since he launched the IPL into orbit two years ago. Expectation has generally overtaken him, he has been dropped as vice-captain and questions about his suitability to opening have been asked. But an immaculately constructed 131, McCullum’s second century in 162 ODIs, led New Zealand to 303 for 8 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, and paved the way for them to level the three-match series at 1-1.There were periods of acceleration, uncertainty and consolidation in New Zealand’s innings and McCullum stood firm through it all, falling only in the 47th over, the last of the batting Powerplay. Pakistan’s chase needed a similar effort but none was forthcoming. They seemed to have a plan: the top order batted cautiously, preserved wickets and steadily built a platform for the middle and lower order to fire from. The launchpad was there – they reached 124 for 1 – but the asking-rate had risen to over seven an over, heaping pressure on the likes of Shahid Afridi. And when the time came for Pakistan’s thrust, Scott Styris nipped out three crucial wickets in two overs. The plan had failed and the exodus of fans from the venue began as early as the 28th over.The match, though, was McCullum’s. His innings was everything his many, unfulfilled contributions haven’t been. The early harassing – the shimmies down the tracks, the moving around – was there but it wasn’t until Martin Guptill arrived, that McCullum really settled in.Guptill implemented the truism that the easiest singles in cricket are found in Pakistan’s 30-yard circle. It was selfless stuff, for the real beneficiary was McCullum. Umar Gul was driven and cut, though mostly the violence was reserved for Abdul Razzaq, who, had he been actually handing out chocolates, could not have been friendlier: a short ball was pulled over square leg, before he was cut just as hard. McCullum, soon, was celebrating a fifty. Spin threatened circumspection but not for long as Guptill danced down to loft Saeed Ajmal for six in the 20th over. McCullum deposited Afridi for six over midwicket and within a trice, the century stand was up.McCullum’s real work began after a needless slog from Guptill began a mini-collapse, at the end of which three wickets had gone for not much. As in the first game, New Zealand’s huff was running out at the halfway mark and McCullum now needed to shepherd. His captain helped, for so obdurately does Daniel Vettori stick around that he could be the crease’s chalk: he gave McCullum support in a fifty-run partnership which stealthily stole momentum back.McCullum reined himself in. The singles he kept picking but neither did he forget his basic intent. A brace of drives, off pace and spin alike, were sudden, sharp reminders to Pakistan of his strength. As further wickets fell, the significance of the Powerplay grew, and when it came, so too arrived the McCullum of IPL knock.The century had come a couple of overs earlier and now the gloves were off. The McPaddle had a second coming as both Gul and Aamer suffered. He later flicked a six off his hips so pure, it made you wonder why he would try such contrived shots. Jacob Oram stole handy runs at the end and New Zealand now had their best chance to win their first ODI against Pakistan in the UAE.Pakistan’s selectors had done away with the fiery Champions Trophy opening combination of Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal, preferring stability instead. Salman Butt and Imran Nazir took few risks, despite an asking-rate of more than six from the start of the reply. Butt began by punching Kyle Mills through point for four and thereafter Pakistan hit a four in every over between the fourth and the tenth.Despite the frequency with which they found the boundary, though, Butt and Latif were unable to score rapidly, because New Zealand’s excellent in-fielding prevented the singles that were so easily available when Pakistan were bowling. Latif’s innings was ended by Vettori, who came on in the 17th over and struck immediately, trapping the opener lbw with an arm ball.Vettori and Mills bowled tidily, and with Younis Khan and Butt shunning shots, the asking-rate climbed: it was seven an over in the 20th and 7.5 by the 25th. Younis had plodded to 19 when he chipped his 37th ball – in Styris’ first over – towards midwicket. Ross Taylor leapt to his right and took the catch with one hand. The captain departed with Pakistan needing 180 off 136 balls and Afridi entered to his customary, rousing welcome from a hopeful crowd. A ball later, he was striding back, having chipped to Taylor at midwicket again for a duck. Pakistan promoted Kamran Akmal ahead of Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik, who perished while driving Styris to short cover. Pakistan had gone from 124 for 1 to 133 for 4.If the contest wasn’t over then, it certainly was when Butt and Yousuf had a moment’s misunderstanding, one which led to Butt being run out for 59 and Pakistan needing 170 off 120 balls. The platform had been shattered and the game was lost.

South Africa’s national men’s team will need to field a minimum average of six players of colour, of which at least two must be black African, in their XI effective immediately, in order to meet their transformation targets

Firdose Moonda03-Sep-2016South Africa’s national men’s team will need to field a minimum average of six players of colour, of which at least two must be black African, in their XI effective immediately, in order to meet their transformation targets. The instruction was confirmed by CSA’s board at their AGM on Saturday and follows confirmation in July that all national teams will be obliged to meet targets as part of what CSA has termed a drive to transform “aggressively,” and “make cricket a truly national sport accessible to all.”The targets will not be imposed on the XI in every match they play but calculated on an average basis over the season. That means that South Africa’s selectors will not be strictly bound to that combination all the time, but if there are some matches where they do not meet the targets, they will have to compensate in other games.Although the emphasis and timing of CSA’s transformation efforts appear to be a response to being banned from bidding for or hosting major tournaments by the country’s sports ministry as punishment for the slow progress of change, CSA has denied that is the case even though there is talk of a World T20 being held in South Africa in 2018.”That would be an unfortunate analysis of the situation but the coincidence cannot be avoided,” CSA president Chris Nenzani said. “We are not driving transformation in order to host an event. That event is going to come and go, as many events before it. We are driving transformation because we believe it is the right thing to do. We have to talk about transformation, whether or not there is 2018.”Nenzani harked back to when CSA hosted its first transformation conference in more than a decade in 2013 as being the starting point for this wave of policy-making. The major outcome of that meeting was that a target for black African players was put in place for franchise teams. In 2014, CSA increased the domestic target to five players of colour at franchise level and six at the semi-professional provincial level. In 2015, the board again increased the numbers to what they are today. Currently, all franchise and provincial teams must field six players of colour, of which at least three must be black African.”All along we maintained a view that we would not want to set targets for the national team premised on the fact that if your system begins to work it should naturally assist you in terms of players coming through to the national set up. That was the hope that we had, that natural progression would ensure player were getting in, black players in general, black African players in particular,” Nenzani said.However, CSA has since admitted it is not seeing players come through quickly enough and has decided to implement a target at the highest level as well. “The very fact that there is a need to set certain targets indicates that the system has not been working optimally to achieve representivity,” Nenzani said. “The idea of setting targets in the national teams is to say the system has not assisted us in producing. We are setting targets forcing the system to work towards the targets.”There is a degree of leniency in the new numbers because they will not apply on a match-by-match basis but will be assessed over a period of time. “We are saying let’s look at this target over a season which allows the coaching staff and team management to have flexibility,” Nenzani said. “If there are reasons that the coach says, ‘In this match, because of a number of reasons and conditions, I am not going to be in a position to play black players,’ or even that ‘I am going to go into this match without a single black African player,’ that flexibility is allowed but it should be based on objective reality. If I were to be put in the same situation, I should see the same reality.”An obvious concern is that South Africa will load their XIs with players of colour who do not have clearly-defined roles, or that they will only pick players of colour for fixtures with little significance. “It has happened already where you have players selected as going to play and then they don’t bowl and they don’t bat. We are hoping that the people who have the responsibility to implement these decisions are going to go a step further and show commitment,” he said.”As a board we have taken a decision to say we are going to make sure these decisions are implemented and we are going to assess and evaluate the implementation process. We are going to introduce what we call consequence management. If you fail to act in a manner that advances the efficacy of the system, you need to account for that.”By and large, South Africa are already meeting these targets. In the two Tests against New Zealand, they fielded that exact combination although they did not have either AB de Villiers or Morne Morkel (both white) because of injuries. In the ODI series in the Caribbean in June, South Africa fielded no less than six players of colour in every XI, although their black African component varied between one and two. In their second match they made history when they fielded eight players of colour.”What is really encouraging is that the Proteas, who are our flag bearers, are already achieving these targets and in some cases exceeding the targets we have just set. The Test starting XI that played in the recent series against New Zealand contained six players of colour and two Black Africans and the ODI starting XI had as many as eight players of colour (73%) in their most recent series against the West Indies and Australia,” Nenzani said. “The South Africa A side had six players of colour and three Black Africans in the starting XI that beat the Australia National Performance Squad by nine wickets in the final match of their quadrangular series in Australia today.”Many questions still remain unanswered, such as whether South Africa fears a talent exodus as white players escape limited opportunities. For now, the focus is on making more use of the players they have by including all South Africans, especially those previously marginalised, in the sport. “This is a national imperative, it is a constitutional imperative. It is important for transformation to succeed,” Nenzani said.

He played 13 Tests, scoring his only century during the home series against India in 1961-62

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2022Easton McMorris, the former Jamaica captain and West Indies batter, has died at the age of 86. A right-hand opening batter, McMorris played 13 Tests between 1958 and 1966, scoring 564 runs at an average of 26.85.McMorris scored 13 and 16 on debut against Pakistan in 1957-58, lining up alongside Everton Weekes, Garry Sobers and Conrad Hunte. In his next match, against England in Bridgetown, he was run out at the non-striker’s end without facing a ball. He had to withdraw from the next Test after picking up an injury, but returned for the third and scored 73 in front of his home supporters.After missing out on West Indies’ tour of Australia in 1960-61, McMorris was recalled for the home series against India in 1961-62, where he hit the only Test century of his career, at Sabina Park. He followed that up with back-to-back fifties at Port of Spain.McMorris toured England in 1963 and 1966 but averaged just 13.38 in his four Test appearances, struggling to come to terms with the slower, greener pitches. He, however, continued to score heavily for Jamaica in the Shell Shield, in latter years as their captain, and ended his first-class career with 5906 runs from 95 matches, including 18 centuries.”I had the privilege to engage with Mr McMorris on a few occasions over the years. I found him to be an encouraging and selfless gentleman,” CWI president Ricky Skerritt said. “Easton was a true stalwart of the game and contributed significantly at all levels, on and off the field.”He was a leader at the Lucas Cricket Club, carrying on the legacy established by the great George Headley. After retirement from playing, he gave yeoman service as a board member of the Jamaica Cricket Association and manager of the Jamaica cricket team.”