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Australia star Aaron Finch was upstaged on his Yorkshire debut by local boy Alex Lees, who clubbed a superb unbeaten 61 in an eight-wicket win over Derbyshire.

Press Association30-May-2014
ScorecardAdil Rashid strangled Derbyshire with 2 for 19•Getty ImagesAustralia star Aaron Finch was upstaged on his Yorkshire debut by local boy Alex Lees, who clubbed a superb unbeaten 61 in an eight-wicket win over Derbyshire.The world’s No.1-ranked Twenty20 batsman made his much-heralded arrival at Headingley after a spell in the Indian Premier League with Hyderabad, but scored just 19 as 21-year-old Lees stole the show and guided Yorkshire to their first NatWestT20 Blast win of the season.Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid took two wickets apiece as Yorkshire survived some poor catching to limit their visitors, who are still searching for a first win of the season in any format, to 127 for 6.Derbyshire got off to a flying start and were 28 without loss after the first three overs before Stephen Moore became the first man to fall with Oliver Robinson, on Twenty20 debut, running him out with a direct hit from cover for 18. Robinson’s debut got even better shortly after when he caught the dangerous Chesney Hughes at deep square leg as he attempted to pull Plunkett.Derbyshire were rocking in the eighth over courtesy of two wickets in three balls from Rashid, who first bowled Marcus North round his legs and then had Wes Durston trapped lbw.The clatter of wickets slowed the rate, with just two boundaries in the next five overs, before Plunkett claimed his second wicket, with Lees claiming Scott Elstone, who had earlier been dropped by Jack Leaning, at short-midwicket for 14.Gareth Cross made 20 before he was done by Richard Pyrah’s yorker and Wayne Madsen finished unbeaten on 34 as the visitors posted a seemingly below-par total.Finch made a statement of intent with a six in the first over, but was then kept largely off-strike, briefly by Andrew Gale, who was caught at point by Elstone off the bowling of Mark Footitt for 7, and then by Lees.In fact, Finch faced just nine balls in the first six overs as Lees took charge, hitting six fours in seven deliveries as Yorkshire powered to 70 for 1.Finch fell for 19 when he was caught and bowled by countryman North, but Lees brought up his maiden Twenty20 50 off 30 balls in the next over. He and Jonny Bairstow, with an unbeaten 29 not out then guided Yorkshire home with 36 balls to spare and the minimum of fuss.

Amin Pathan, who allegedly ousted Lalit Modi as the Rajasthan Cricket Association president on Saturday, has been allowed to enter the RCA office

Amol Karhadkar12-Oct-2014Amin Pathan, who allegedly ousted Lalit Modi as the Rajasthan Cricket Association president on Saturday, has been allowed to enter the RCA office with his his colleagues and supporters on Sunday. After claiming to have taken over as acting president, it is understood that Pathan’s team has started proceedings to get clearance from the state government and then try and end the impasse with the BCCI.The new development in the BCCI-RCA standoff will not impact the selection procedure that will begin in the coming week. The Jaipur High Court order on October 1 made it clear that once the state teams were selected, they would continue until the end of the season even if the BCCI and RCA reach a settlement. “If the team has already been selected pursuant to the arrangement aforesaid, the participation of the said team should continue irrespective of the event of settlement of dispute between the BCCI and RCA or any court order,” the order stated.When Pathan and his supporters had tried to enter the RCA premises on Saturday evening they were prevented by the police because they did not have the requisite documentation. On Sunday afternoon, after Pathan’s aides submitted letters of all 23 district representatives supporting the resolution to remove Modi, along with deputy president Mehmood Abdi, secretary Sumendra Tiwary and treasurer Pawan Goyal, the police allowed them to enter the office in the evening.It is understood the new office bearers, including Pathan, acting secretary Shakti Singh and acting treasurer Mohammad Iqbal, then met with some of their colleagues to chalk out the future course of action. Pathan’s lobby is believed to have written to JC Mohanty, principal sports secretary of Rajasthan’s state government, requesting him to approve the resolution to replace the RCA governing body. Since the RCA is governed by the Rajasthan Sports Act, every administrative change has to be ratified by the state government.The Pathan group is also believed to have sought an appointment with BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel at the earliest. Since Patel was in Dubai over the weekend to attend ICC meetings, his response is expected over the next couple of days.Modi’s group remained tightlipped about their plan of action. If the state government allows the Pathan group to take over, the associates of the former IPL chairman are expected to move court, requesting it to reinstate an elected body.

GOAL picks out some eye-catching and unimpressive showings from the last-four clashes in Cameroon

GettyAfcon 2021 semi-finals

Senegal and Egypt defeated Burkina Faso and Cameroon, respectively, to set up what is a highly anticipated final between the West Africans and seven-time winners.

Which performances in the last four were impressive and whose displays were a disappointment?

AdvertisementBackpagepixToo Good: Gabaski

Since replacing Mohamed El-Shenawy in the 88th minute of the Round of 16 success over the Ivory Coast, Egypt’s replacement goalkeeper has now saved three penalties in those two games.

He stopped one in the victory over the Elephants and repeated the trick against the hosts on Thursday night and then some.

Gabaski thwarted Harold Moukoudi and James Lea Siliki to put the Pharaohs into a healthy advantage in the shootout, thus becoming the hero for the North African side.

If El-Shenawy is unable to feature on Sunday, Carlos Queiroz will trust in Gabaski who is yet to concede from open play since deputising for Egypt’s number one.

BackpagepixToo Bad: Vincent Aboubakar

For a second game running, the Indomitable Lions forward fired blanks, failing to convert one of the host nation’s best chances.

While Aboubakar did not quite miss as many opportunities against the Pharaohs as the quarter-finals, the striker’s off-kilter finishing proved costly this time.

Having flourished hitherto, the competition’s top scorer petered out when he needed to come up trumps.

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Getty Images.Too Good: Saliou Ciss

Ciss was a constant menace bombing forward for the entirety of Senegal’s 3-1 success over a plucky Burkina Faso outfit, fashioning more opportunities than all but Sadio Mane.

The left-back was equally dominant in his one-v-one tussles against the Stallions, winning every aerial duel on the night.

The 32-year-old has featured in every game so far at the finals and Aliou Cisse will count on the full-back for the decider.

Ireland’s captain has said his team’s win over Zimbabwe didn’t hold any larger meaning beyond being a step on the road to the Super 10 stage

Abhishek Purohit in Sylhet17-Mar-2014William Porterfield spoke like the leader of a side that had beaten an opponent ranked below it. There was no taking any opposition for granted but Ireland were also not going to treat this game as much more than the important victory it was for them in their bid to get to the Super 10 stage of the World T20. No making statements for themselves or on behalf of the Associate world, for now at least.”It is just a win. People may have had Zimbabwe as favourites, people may have had us as favourites, it did not really bother us as a collective unit in the change rooms,” Porterfield said. “We put pressure on ourselves to come here and win three games. Anything else over and above is speculation. That is how people look at it. We have come here to win three games of cricket to get into the Super 10. That is our first problem. We will not underestimate any team in the group for sure.”Just why there was no room for any underestimation was clear when Zimbabwe surged back with Ireland seeming to have sealed the game. Seven needed off 13 became one needed off the final ball and it needed a scrambled bye to take Ireland through. Porterfield said he had become increasingly anxious as Ireland threatened to give it away.”They (nerves) were fine until there were three balls to go,” he said. “Kevin [O’Brien] took 17 or so off the third-last over to get us down to seven needed off 12. You never lose a game from there but you have to give credit to the way the Zimbabwe death bowlers bowled. They put us under pressure there and took a couple of wickets. Got a couple of new lads at the crease and anything can happen in this format. All credit to the way they fought and quite a relief to get over the line.”Porterfield admitted Ireland had begun thinking about a possible Super Over. “We hadn’t talked much about the Super Over until the last two balls to go. I think the worst would have been to bat first. That is one of the things that came to mind, when it got down to two off two balls. You have got to start thinking about that when it comes to one off one ball, you cannot keep going cold and wait for that last ball. We had started to think about it. As I said, we are pleased to be over the line.”It would have been heartbreaking for Ireland to lose after Porterfield and Paul Stirling set up the chase of 164 with an opening stand of 80 in just over eight overs. Stirling had clubbed his way to 60 off 33 before he holed out off a mishit. As he watched Ireland stumble towards the finish, Stirling thought he should have ended the game when he had the chance to do so.”Would have been nice to go on and make a big score and really finish the game off,” Stirling said. “We just had to keep being positive in the middle. We had wickets in hand and hopefully by the 11th or the 12th over we would have got into a position where it would have been difficult for Zimbabwe to come back again. So as far as I am concerned I could have really gone on and made a bigger score and really killed the game but at the moment just glad that the lads took us home.”The excitement of the chaotic finish was the icing for the substantial crowd which had warmed up to the entertainment provided by the Irish batsmen, so much that they had started shouting “Ireland, Ireland”.Porterfield was grateful for the support.”A great crowd that turned out,” he said. “By the end they were making a lot of noise. I’d like to think a lot of it was Irish noise as well. Would like to thank the Bangladeshis for coming out and supporting ourselves and supporting cricket. If we are able to get big crowds here every game it is going to be fantastic. That is what we want to play in front of and hopefully we keep entertaining them.”

Kumar Sangakkara’s debut for Durham in his brief stay ahead of the Sri Lanka series was a second-ball duck but Yorkshire ran aground against hundreds from Mark Stoneman and Michael Richardson

Jon Culley in Chester-le-Street06-May-2014
ScorecardKumar Sangakkara makes a second-ball duck against Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street•PA PhotosIt was little wonder that Kumar Sangakkara wasted no time in heading for the nets after his brief debut innings for Durham. When the length of your deal allows for a maximum of four visits to the crease, in what everybody recognises is a useful warm-up for Sri Lanka’s Test series against England, it must be slightly embarrassing if the first of them is a second-ball duck.The Yorkshire bowlers did not bowl as many testing deliveries as they yearned to after setting a formidable first-innings total but Ryan Sidebottom found one for Sangakkara that moved away as he pushed forward and took the edge. It flew to third slip, where Kane Williamson deflected to second slip where Adam Lyth took the catch.Sankakkara’s professionalism in organising that net session was plain to see. And at least there is the opportunity for him to make amends. Durham, eight wickets down, need another 79 to avoid the follow-on, so the odds are that Sangakkara will be required again on the final day. Yorkshire, one way or another, need to take 12 wickets if they are to reap the full reward for their colossal first-innings total.Durham, you suspect, will fancy their chances of securing a draw. They will do so if Mark Stoneman and Michael Richardson play as well as they did in the first innings. There was a century from each: a career-best in each instance.Stokes believes injury on track

Durham’s England all-rounder Ben Stokes says he will learn next week how close he is to a playing comeback as he recovers from a broken wrist.
He has an appointment on May 12 with the specialist who has been treating the injury, sustained when he punched a dressing room locker in frustration following his dismissal in England’s final Twenty20 international against the West Indies in March.
Speaking at the launch in Covent Garden of the new Royal London One-Day Cup competition, Stokes said, however, that his recovery is on track.
“The specialist will give me a better indication of when I can get back in the nets and eventually start playing but I am on track, recovery wise,” he said.
Stokes added that he hoped to find enough one-day form with Durham to convince England he should bat higher in the order in one-day internationals. “I’ve been up and down the order a couple of times and not had a slot set in stone but I’d like to bat higher up,” he said. “Hopefully if I can get some runs for Durham in one-day cricket I will get the chance.”

They have been in no doubt for some time that Stoneman, an elegant left-hander, is an opening batsman of high quality.In Richardson’s case, after scoring two centuries last season batting at No 8, promotion to five — four until Sangakkara came — gives him a clear an opportunity which, on the evidence so far, he is ready to take.Two half-centuries against Northamptonshire augured well and while he was out more cheaply against Somerset there was something to build on in each innings. This time, he made a start and did not waste it, constructing a half-century with care and then pushing on remorselessly. Stoneman was impressive, but Richardson’s was the innings of the day.Stoneman, unlucky in Durham captain Paul Collingwood’s view not to have been on the England Lions tour last winter, completed his half-century soon after the resumption. Scored off only 54 balls, it had been the most fluent of the match to that point.Afterwards, he needed to dig in. The Yorkshire bowlers, who had rather wasted the new ball on the second evening, found better lines and a more testing length, Sidebottom and Tim Bresnan in particular. The latter, making his first appearance after England asked that he be rested until this match, looked in good order, backing up director of cricket Martyn Moxon’s assertion that there is plenty of cricket to come from him. Liam Plunkett, too, attracted attention by cranking it up around 90mph.Even so, Stoneman did not offer a genuine chance until he had reached his hundred, getting there with two leg-side boundaries off Jack Brooks, who was the least effective seamer on the day. It was his ninth first-class hundred. Six have come since August 2012, which explains why Durham now think so highly of him.He was dropped by Adil Rashid at first slip off Sidebottom on 102, after which he went on to reach 131, having hit 17 fours, before a misjudgement against Plunkett cost him dearly, bringing an lbw verdict as he shouldered arms, a reward for Plunkett’s aggressive post-lunch spell.Richardson, whose arrival at 70 for 3 gave him much to do, was excellent in his support for Stoneman. He took twice as long as his partner to reach 50 but then opened up, scoring his second 50 in half the time. He pulled Brooks for six, hit 14 fours and had just hit Rashid over the rope at long-off when, looking for another big blow, he allowed Andrew Hodd the chance of a stumping. By that time, though, he had moved well past his previous best — 129 against Sussex at Hove last September.

Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lanka chief selector, has questioned Thisara Perera’s work ethic as the board denied the allrounder permission to participate in the BBL

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Jan-2014Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lanka chief selector, has questioned Thisara Perera’s work ethic and asked him to work harder as the board moved to deny the allrounder permission to participate in the Big Bash League. Perera had applied for the no-objection certificate required by players to take part in a foreign league, but Sri Lanka Cricket refused to provide it, largely on the recommendation of Jayasuriya’s selection panel.”We are not giving him permission to play in the Big Bash. He has to work and stay in Sri Lanka,” Jayasuriya told ESPNcricinfo. “The reason is poor form. He’s been in very poor form with his bowling and batting. He needs to work on some things with the coaches in Sri Lanka.”Before he thinks of playing for Big Bash and all these things, he needs to do the work in Sri Lanka, if he wants to become a good allrounder. That’s what the selectors think.”Perera was in Sri Lanka’s limited-overs squad for the December series against Pakistan in the UAE, but was dropped after the third ODI. He hit only 13 runs in the three one-dayers and was wayward with the ball, though he did take six wickets in five matches, including the two Twenty20 internationals.Jayasuriya’s selection panel had already sent Perera a message about his work ethic when it omitted him from the squad for the ODI tri-series in the West Indies in June. Although he made significant gains in the home series against South Africa that followed, he has allowed his game to slip again, Jayasuriya said.”After dropping him from that West Indies series, he played really well. He worked hard on his bowling and batting and everything. But now, he needs to work hard again.”Jayasuriya has designs for Perera to become a Test allrounder, particularly as the selectors do not want to overburden Angelo Mathews with the third seamer’s job in addition to his roles as captain and batsman. Jayasuriya said Perera’s path to regaining form should begin with England Lions’ tour of Sri Lanka in February. Perera has been asked to train with the Sri Lanka A team in the interim.”He doesn’t need BBL match practice,” Jayasuriya said. “If he wants match practice, he can get it during the England A series. I want him to play Tests for Sri Lanka, not just ODIs and T20s. He has that potential, but he needs to work hard.”

Karn Sharma and Rishi Dhawan were the most expensive buys on the second morning of the IPL auction, when India and international uncapped players went under the hammer

Nagraj Gollapudi in Bangalore13-Feb-20140:00

IPL Auction Insights: Round-up

Karn Sharma was the most expensive buy of the morning session and will play for Sunrisers Hyderabad again•BCCIRailways legspinner Karn Sharma and Himachal Pradesh allrounder Rishi Dhawan became the two most expensive uncapped players on the second day of the IPL player auction. Karn, who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad last season, was bought back for a startling Rs 3.75 crores (US $625,000) while Dhawan went to Kings XI Punjab for Rs 3 crores ($500,000). It’s been a good few months for Karn as this payday comes on the back of his being named the under-25 Indian player of the year for 2012-13.A total of 84 players were bought by franchises today making it an aggregate of 154 across the two-day auction. Today, franchises spent Rs 50.25 crores ($8.38 million) taking the total spend to Rs 262.6 crores ($43.8 million).The second day of the auction saw most franchises contest fiercely for the lesser-known Indian domestic players to build their squads after they had bought the core of the team on Monday. Maharashtra batsman Kedar Jadhav (Delhi Daredevils, Rs 2 crores), South Africa fast bowler and top wicket-taker in this season’s Ram Slam T20 Beuran Hendricks ( Kings XI Punjab, Rs 1.8 crores) Delhi allrounder Rajat Bhatia (Royals, 1.7 crores), Karnataka opening batsman Mayank Agarwal (Daredevils, 1.6 crores), MP and India fast bowler Ishwar Pandey (Chennai Super Kings, 1.5 cores), Punjab batsman Gurkeerat Singh (Kings XI, 1.3 crores), Gujarat fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians, 1.2 crores), Mumbai seamer Dhawal Kulkarni (Royals, 1.1 crores) and Karnataka opener KL Rahul (1 crore, Sunrisers Hyderabad) were the biggest earners in the morning.This is was the first time uncapped players were brought into the auction – a move welcomed by all franchises who said it provided a level-playing field for everyone in the wake of the controversies in the past seasons when teams would lure players with under-the-table deals and offers.Karn was the last name to come out of the first set of uncapped spinners. Last year he had picked 11 wickets at an economy rate of 6.60 and had listed his base price Rs 30 lakh. Super Kings and Daredevils were the first in queue but the latter opted out once the bid reached Rs 70 lakh. Super Kings followed suit after Kings XI entered the bidding at Rs 75 lakhs. Sunrisers then joined the bidding and raised it to 1 crore which was doubled in less than a minute as both franchises refused to budge. Despite having assembled a good squad, Kings XI did not have any spinners in their line-up at the time and were desperate.Sunrisers wanted Karn back at any cost as they raised the bid to 3 crores. Kings XI made that 3.5 crores, which ended up as their last offering. A visibly satisfied Sunrises table heaved a sigh as they had Sharma for Rs 3.75 crores.It was the second-most eventful bid of the morning after Dhawan’s. He nearly went unsold as the auctioneer received no bids before a late entry by Sunrisers. Mumbai, for whom he has played for before, took the bid to Rs 40 lakh before they quit. Daredevils jumped in but quit at Rs 70 lakh. It was now time for Kings XI’s entry. The bidding crossed the crore-mark before Sunrisers decided to quit.If Kings XI appeared happy and convinced they had Dhawan, the most successful bowler this Ranji season with 49 wickets, they were in for a surprise as Rahul Dravid, Royals’ coach, raised the paddle when the bid was at Rs 1.2 cores. As it crossed the 2-crore mark , both teams started to negotiate before deciding to raise the bid. Finally Dravid signaled Royals were out once Kings XI had raised the bid to Rs 3 crores.There were two overseas players also sold this morning. Dutchman Ryan ten Doeschate, was bought back by his former IPL employer Kolkata Knight Riders for the base price of Rs 1 crore and West Indies allrounder Kevon Cooper went back to the Royals for a base price of Rs 30 lakh.A big difference between the two days of the auction was generally more teams participated in each bid, unlike Wednesday, when bidding wars saw just two teams fighting it out. But that was expected considering today it was all about stacking up the squads and getting the right kind of uncapped players. Hence, there were a lot of occasions especially in the first session where at times three, sometimes even four, franchises bid for the same player. Gurkeerat, Jadhav, Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul were some of the players that owners were keen to get on their rosters at any cost.Another key facet was that the domestic performers were rewarded. Jadhav was the run-maker this Ranji Trophy. Rahul was No. 3 on the same list. Karun Nair, instrumental in Karnataka emerging as Ranji champions, was bought by Royals. Mumbai bid strongly for Gujarat fast bowler Bumrah and got him.Insiders had indicated that the right-to-match card option available to them would be utilised to buy back the Indian domestic players and it proved true: Daredevils flashed the card twice to get Jadhav and Jharkhand left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, Kings XI co-owner Preity Zinta raised the card to retain Mandeep, Royals got the 41-year-old legspinner Pravin Tambe for his base price of Rs 10 lakh and Royal Challengers exercised their card to retain Haryana seamer Harshal Patel.Players who remained unsold on Wednesday were brought back into the auction once again after lunch today. Some of the major benefactors of that move were New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor, who was bought for his base price of Rs 2 crores by Daredevils, one of his previous franchises. Former Indian left-arm-spinner Murali Kartik, a feisty player, was picked up by Kings XI for his base price of Rs 2 crore.Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper batsman Naman Ojha, who represented Daredevils in the previous IPL seasons, was bought by Sunrisers for his base price of Rs 50 lakhs. Australia’s Chris Lynn was contested by Royals and Knight Riders, who eventually bagged him for Rs 1.3 cores. Knight Riders also grabbed West Indies allrounder Andre Russell, who previously was at Daredevils, for Rs 60 lakhs.A departure from the past auctions was franchises cutting down on the expenditure on overseas players this time; none of the eight franchises touched the cap of nine overseas players imposed by the IPL. Instead, they focused on players who could fill up a certain position. But it was evident that the franchise scouts had kept an eye on overseas Twenty20 tournaments: best examples of that being the Cobras’ left-arm fast bowler Hendricks who was the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded Ram Slam T20. Queenslander Ben Dunk, who was part of Hobart Hurricanes that won the Big Bash League and the tournament’s best player, was picked by Mumbai in late bidding for just 20 lakhs. Jamaican left-arm fast bowler Krishmar Santokie, who was Caribbean Premier League’s highest wicket-taker (representing Guyana Amazon Warriors), also went to Mumbai at his base price of 30 lakhs.

The ICC decided against allowing teams to keep referrals denied on an umpire’s call out of fear the game would be slowed down too much, the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has revealed

Daniel Brettig11-Oct-2013The ICC decided against allowing teams to keep referrals that were denied on an umpire’s call out of fear the game would be slowed down too much, even as it approved the introduction of a DRS “top-up” after 80 overs, the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has revealed. As he discussed the fall-out from the Nine Network’s decision not to employ Hot Spot during this summer’s Ashes series, Sutherland said the equity of umpire’s call verdicts had been debated “long and hard” by the chief executive’s committee at the most recent ICC meeting.While Hot Spot’s effectiveness and use has been a point of contention since the Ashes Tests in England earlier this year, the loss of referrals to tight decisions that have stayed with the umpire’s original verdict created a similar level of discussion among players, spectators and administrators. Sutherland said it was still possible that such reviews would be handed back to the players, but admitted there was hesitance based on the possibility that the number of reviews may increase substantially.”We debated umpire’s call long and hard, and what was eventually decided was that they wanted to leave that pending for a little while,” Sutherland said. “We agreed to the top-up after 80 overs. That will come back on the agenda, and it’s not a bad idea. The ICC assessment is that if you don’t lose a review for umpire’s call, you will increase the number of referrals by at least double, and that will change the game. Everyone likes the idea of the referral being really valuable, and you need to think really carefully about using it, because it all comes back to the howler.”Sutherland denied that CA needed to step in to the stand-off between Nine and Hot Spot’s ringmaster Warren Brennan, and rejected the notion that Australian cricket’s governing body did not provide financial support in the way of other nations. He said that CA’s rights fees factored in the broadcast costs of Nine, whereas other nations paid for production in-house and then charged at higher odds for the rights themselves. “Indirectly we’re paying for it,” he said.”The first use of Hot Spot was all about broadcast enhancement. And in Australia that’s been something Nine have sponsored and dealt with and had discussions with Warren Brennan and his company in the past, they’ve had arrangements that they’ve used successfully. We’ve never been involved with those discussions and never needed to be. That continues to be a commercial negotiation between those two.”I’ve spoken with [Nine chief] David Gyngell about it, I know and understand from Nine’s viewpoint they’re not walking away from that and see it as an ongoing discussion. They certainly have concerns about Hot Spot in various ways, both commercially and in an operational capacity, and it’s something they will work through. They’ve been able to sort it out in the past, so let’s see if they can sort it out. This is still six weeks out from the series, it’s not a unique circumstance where Nine and Hot Spot have had discussions about broadcast enhancements.”Debates about DRS have ranged from whether the system should be used at all to which technology is most reliable and which system makes the best use of it. Sutherland saw a tension around the issue of how much accuracy should be demanded from technology that will always have a certain margin of error, no matter how small.”The biggest problem is what is your satisfaction level about imperfection,” he said. “We can all say ‘we know it’s not perfect’, but someone’s acceptance of imperfect might be here and another’s is 99.9%. That area of grey in between those two extremes is where this system gets into trouble. Not saying this is true, but as an example, do you accept the fact that if 80% of the time a nick will show on Hot Spot, but you know that 20% of the time it won’t – do you accept that or not?”

When Temba Bavuma’s parents planned their end-of-year holiday to the United States, they would not have thought it may clash with their son’s Test debut

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth24-Dec-20141:25

‘I’m not just playing for myself’ – Bavuma

When Temba Bavuma’s parents planned their end-of-year holiday to the United States, they would not have thought it may clash with their son’s Test debut. But that is exactly what has happened. Bavuma is likely to become South Africa’s second new cap in as many matches after the stars aligned to pave the way for his promotion to international cricket.Little more than a few months ago, Bavuma was regarded as a talented prospect whose chance in the national team would likely come, but not imminently. Since then, the retirements of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy’s knee niggle and Quinton de Kock’s ankle ligament tear have fast-forwarded the rate of new batsmen into the South African Test XI. Dean Elgar has been able to establish himself as an opener, Faf du Plessis in the No. 3 spot, Stiaan van Zyl filled in for Duminy and now Bavuma is at the front of the queue.He was the only other reserve batsman in the South African squad as it was originally announced, and in keeping with both the policy of promoting players who spend time with the squad before searching outside and a strategy which is set on using seven batsmen, one source described it as “fitting” that Bavuma plays at St George’s Park. The man himself could not have asked for a better Christmas present.”I’m looking forward to the prospect of making my debut here at St George’s Park. I made my first-class debut here as well so it will be quite nice to make my debut for the national side as well,” he said.Bavuma’s first-class average of 35.95 may not strike as significant enough to merit an international call-up but the 24-year-old’s career has been on the rise since it began six seasons ago. He was the sixth-highest run-scorer in the first-class competition last season and was included in a South Africa A tour to Australia. There, he scored 162 in a match South Africa A won and shared a 343-run stand with Rilee Rossouw, who is also in the Test squad and next in line. Bavuma’s maturity and even temperament have elevated him to vice-captain of his franchise, Lions, and earmarked him for the step-up.Already, he has had a taste of the big time when he came on as a substitute fielder during the first Test. Bavuma was on the field for the entire West Indies innings and took two catches, including an impressive low grab at backward point. “It was quite exciting running on and fighting it out there with the guys. It gave me a sense of what it’s like,” he said. “When you walk onto the field and you look around, there’s more people, the intensity of the play is higher. It feels different.”And it will be even more different this time because Bavuma will officially be on the team sheet and will be expected to do much more than just field. He will bat in the lower middle order, out of his regular spot, but somewhere he has had experience before. “I’ve batted in different positions over my domestic career so I know what to expect,” Bavuma said.Whether West Indies are similarly prepared will show in how they approach Bavuma’s height. At 1.61 metres, Bavuma is seven centimetres shorter than England’s James Taylor, and as a youngster was told he may not be tall enough to play cricket. “I’ve always been short, so my whole game is built around being short,” he said. “There are disadvantages, but there also are benefits. I’ve heard from many bowlers that they struggle to find the right lengths bowling to me. In South Africa, it might be a disadvantage with the extra bounce in the wickets but I’ve played here.”That is not the only aspect of Bavuma’s appearance that will be in the spotlight. If he plays, he will become the first black African batsman to play for South Africa in any format and only the sixth to don Test whites. He follows after Makhaya Ntini, Mfuneko Ngam, Monde Zondeki, Thami Tsolekile and Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who was the last to play in January 2011. That means there has been an almost four-year long wait for a member of the country’s majority population group to play in the nations’ second-most popular sport, after football.”I’ve come to realise there’s a lot of people I do represent. I am not just playing for myself,” Bavuma said. With that comes enormous pressure but Bavuma has a plan for handling it. “I think I’ll just go out and play. I’ll obviously be aware that there are people I represent and they will be looking at me to do well but it doesn’t change the ball game for me.” Somewhere in the United States, will be the two people who most want him to put on a good show and who he may feel he represents most.

In Colin Munro, New Zealand will have one more allrounder in their armory as they look for victory in their one-off Twenty20 against Bangladesh on Wednesday

Mohammad Isam05-Nov-2013New Zealand may already have three capable allrounders in Corey Anderson, James Neesham and Grant Elliot, but Colin Munro’s performance on Sunday has given the team one more option to bank on, as they look for victory in their one-off Twenty20 against Bangladesh on Wednesday.Munro struck his second ODI half-century in Fatullah- an adventurous 85 which included plenty of reverse hits and blows down the ground. He dominated the 130-run fourth-wicket partnership with Ross Taylor, but eventually tried one reverse hit too many and was caught behind in the 44th over.”It is the way I play,” Munro said. “I have developed that [reverse] shot in the last two-three years. In the subcontinent where world-class bowlers are bowling at you and with the new rules they have backward point open, so it is a really good option.”It was an important innings for Munro because his previous ODI score was a first-ball duck against England in Nottingham in June this year. Although New Zealand had already lost the series going into this game, Munro said that he had a lot to play for.”Some guys said it is a dead rubber so go out there and play with freedom,” he said. “I got a duck in my last international match and so had a lot to prove yesterday. It was very pleasing to score runs in my first game here because I have been working on playing against spin.”Though New Zealand have also had good performances from allrounders Anderson, Neesham and Elliott at different times during this tour, the team hasn’t gelled as a whole. Munro, however, believes that the fight for places in the side could only be seen as a positive.”There’s a lot of competition and it is good for the team. I think the two best allrounders are Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham because they can bowl the full quota of overs and can contribute with the bat.”Grant Elliott and myself are more like part-timers in these conditions and at this stage of my career, I need to be realistic and work on areas that I am not good at. I have to keep doing what I am doing. I can’t rely on just one score.”Munro was praised by Taylor after their partnership, and the 26-year-old is now looking for an extended run in the team. “Ross said some good things at the end of the game. It was great batting with him as I think he absorbed the pressure in the middle period well yesterday,” he said. “Hopefully I have put my hand up and said I can play in the subcontinent, and play the first one-dayer in Sri Lanka.”Even Tim Southee viewed allrounders as New Zealand’s biggest strength, because of their ability to control the run-rate with ball, and “clear the fence”. Now New Zealand would be really hoping their strengths translate into a victory in the T20, so that they finish what has been a dismal Bangladesh tour on a high.Munro said the team hadn’t given up yet. “It would be silly of us to have our heads down halfway through a long tour [of the subcontinent]. We have a lot of cricket left, including the Twenty20 game here. If we can win that one and go to Sri Lanka, that would be great for the team.”