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India’s first World Cup-winning captain believes that match situations should dictate who bats at No.4 for the team

Sruthi Ravindranath03-Apr-2019While there have been umpteen suggestions on who should take up India’s No. 4 batting spot at the World Cup, former captain Kapil Dev does not believe the concept of slots applies in modern-day cricket.At the end of nearly every IPL match, a number of names – including the likes of Vijay Shankar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu and Sanju Samson – have been suggested by former players for the much-discussed spot, the only one that India are seemingly still unsure about. While India have tested a few names at the position with varied degree of success in the recent past, players like Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer have also admitted that they would fit the bill.So, has Kapil put the debate to rest?”There’s a lot of talk going on about No. 4, but you have to see the situation at that moment,” Kapil said, at an event hosted by Britannia that reunited him with Kris Srikkanth, Syed Kirmani and Roger Binny, members of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad.”I don’t think anybody these days have numbers [fixed positions in the line-up] – need of the hour is more important. You can send MS Dhoni, or anybody. No. 1 to 7 are all good enough to play there. One should not get confused. Play like you want to win the match and don’t go by the number. It should depend on the situation of the match.”Though he has been backed by various pundits, Rishabh Pant might not be a certainty to make the XI, but Srikkanth expected the wicketkeeper-batsman to make the cut, pointing to his match-winning abilities.Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni congratulate each other•AFP

“Rishabh Pant almost won a Test match from a no-win situation in England [The Oval Test, 2018],” Srikkanth pointed out. “You need to give him confidence. In my days, Kapil gave me that freedom. Like that Rishabh Pant should be given the freedom to play; he’s capable of winning at least three matches single-handedly.”Kapil, however, felt upcoming wicketkeeper-batsmen have a lot more to prove that they are dependable, especially considering that Dhoni has set high standards playing that role.”Dhoni has set the standard so high. They [other wicketkeeper-batsmen] have the ability and talent. Only the execution over a period of time is needed and it won’t happen overnight,” Kapil said. “Yes, they’ve done a couple of good performances but the standard is really high in today’s team. They have a long way to go.”While speaking of the importance of allrounders in the Indian team, Kapil also said that Dhoni was on top of his list.”Is a batsman-bowler the only allrounder? You can now say even a wicketkeeper is an allrounder. The meaning of allrounder is changed. It’s not just about a batsman who makes runs and takes wickets,” he argued. “Wicketkeeper should also be on this list. That way, Dhoni comes in very high. If you’re good in two departments – any two departments – everyone will come under that if you include fielding.”Former wicketkeeper Kirmani was also of the same view. “In our era, nobody considered a wicketkeeper an allrounder. Dhoni came and proved it. A wicketkeeper has to be an allrounder and since the advent of ODIs, there was more emphasis on a batsman and a wicketkeeper. Now a wicketkeeper is also an allrounder.”On being asked what the difference was between the 1983 World Cup squad and the current Indian squad, Kapil quipped: “They don’t have us, that’s the difference.”

The former U-19 bowler is hopeful of regular game time to secure a deal in South Africa for next season

Firdose Moonda12-May-2023Mondli Khumalo will travel to the UK on Friday to rejoin North Petherton Cricket Club in Somerset less than a year after an assault in which he suffered bleeding in the brain.The attack left Khumalo, a former South Africa Under-19 bowler, with his cricket career hanging by a thread. But he has now been cleared to play by a neurosurgeon and is hopeful of regular game time to secure a deal in South Africa for next season.He is no longer on the books of Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland, the provincial team based in Pietermaritzburg who were promoted to Division One for the 2023-24 season. “Getting game time under his belt in the UK is an important part of his preparation for the next SA summer,” Rob Humphries, Khumalo’s agent, told ESPNcricinfo. “He is buzzing to get back on the field.”Related

• Mondli Khumalo 'fit and strong' after successful final round of surgery

Khumalo has been out of action since last May, when he was attacked while celebrating a team win outside a pub in Bristol. He was unconscious at the scene and received emergency medical treatment which required him to be put into an induced coma for four days. Khumalo’s brain injuries were serious enough to require four operations, three to relieve pressure on the brain and a final one to replace the piece of skull that had been removed to help with other procedures, and remained in the UK until November last year. A crowdfunding campaign was launched to assist with costs, including getting flights for his mother and uncle to travel from South Africa to be at his side.Throughout his time in recovery, Khumalo remained committed to making a comeback to the game. Ten days after being hospitalised, Khumalo was able to stand unaided and his club team-mate Lloyd Irish shared a video of Khumalo catching a sponge ball. On his return to South Africa, Khumalo was a regular attendee at Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland games. In February then, he suffered a seizure that threatened to set back his return, but he recovered quickly.Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland released their squad for the upcoming summer earlier this week and it includes the acquisition of left-arm seamer Mbulelo Buadaza from the Knights, who were relegated, and Thando Ntini from the Dolphins, which has left no room for Khumalo at this stage. ESPNcricinfo understands that if no opportunities arise in South Africa for the season ahead, Khumalo could look at playing club cricket in Australia, where several clubs have expressed interest in him after hearing his story.A 27-year-old man was arrested in connection with Khumalo’s assault and will go on trial in October.

Surrey seamers snare 15 wickets between them in comfortable win at Edgbaston

David Hopps29-Apr-2023If ever a day’s cricket warranted a trigger warning for the weather-ravaged occupants of the Hollies Stand, this was it. Expectations that Warwickshire could take the game deep into the final day were banished as Surrey took clinical advantage of ideal bowling conditions to brush their second innings aside in 40 overs, the match over with virtually a day and a session to spare.Five wickets for Kemar Roach brought him 8 for 67 in the match and took him past 500 first-class wickets; three for Dan Worrall took his tally to 7 for 93. Much is made of how much they enjoy bowling together and with these sorts of returns, it could hardly be a more satisfying alliance.”Kemar and Dan complement each other perfectly,” said Surrey’s coach Gareth Batty. “They are basic opposites which is great. They are highly-skilled, highly intelligent and with the experience to back it up. We have passed a few numbers their way and said, ‘look we just need to tighten up in certain areas, and the response has been through the roof.”Only Ed Barnard’s 49 saved Warwickshire from an innings defeat and even he bashed the ground in frustration when he was ninth out, nicking a rising ball from Worrall to the wicketkeeper. It all ended with a chucklesome tail-enders’ run out between Chris Rushworth and Oliver Hannon-Dalby with Hannon-Dalby’s series of indecisive, tiny steps down the pitch, after he had pushed the ball into the leg side, turning Rushworth’s brain to mush.Previous dispatches from Edgbaston might have intimated that Surrey and Warwickshire were the two most bloody-minded counties in Division One, both capable of soaking up considerable punishment yet still coming back for more. Well, they probably are. That is a measure of Surrey’s achievement in breaking the game in such startling fashion.Alec Stewart, their director of cricket, ably backed up by Batty and and skipper Rory Burns, have re-established the sort of Surrey dominance that was felt in the 1950s and again at the turn of the century. On and off the field, they are setting the standards. The Championship cannot be settled in April, especially by a side that has only won two matches in three, but it is already abundantly clear that they will take some stopping. Their sense of when to step up the tempo was another impressive element of their victory.Sixty-one runs in arrears with two Surrey wickets to get: for Warwickshire, the position at the start of play was ominous, especially in such a low-scoring match, but not quite irretrievable.In the Hollies, they settled in for the long haul, but things became ominous from the moment Worrall opened his shoulders and twice smote Hannon-Dalby heartily through mid-on. A pulled six against Chris Rushworth followed. A new ball that was only three deliveries old at start of play was becoming a little battered.Worrall made 35 from 24 balls before he perished at deep mid-on and by the time Jamie Smith was last out for 88 at deep midwicket, attempting an extravagant leg-side pick-up off one knee, 70 had been pummelled in 11 overs and Warwickshire’s deficit was 131. Batty dared to talk of Smith as a potential future England international.Surrey’s new-ball assault on either side of lunch was then of the highest order. By the time Roach and Worrall had drunk their fill, Warwickshire were 50 for 6 from 16 overs. A surface that had settled, but only slightly, when Warwickshire were bowling was still full of life, enlivened in part by a murky morning.Warwickshire’s coach, Mark Robinson, bemoaned: “We were on the wrong side of conditions for the first two days and did really well to stay in the game but then a bad hour costs us. We are an emerging team and an exciting team and it won’t be the only time we get beaten this season but we will have lots more wins to come, too.”Roach has had a wonderful game, a quality overseas player who seems to be utterly engaged with his task. He swung and seamed the ball throughout and nobody had more cause to rue that than Rob Yates, who was twice picked off in Roach’s second over. If Yates fell to a good delivery on the opening day, he received an unplayable one on this occasion, Roach attacking the left-hander from around the wicket and leaving him massively off the seam.Worrall’s addition of Alex Davies in the following over was also down to movement off the pitch, Cameron Steel holding on at third slip. Roach had soon befuddled Warwickshire’s batters so much that Sam Hain departed pushing at a wide one, and the left-handed Rhodes was lbw to one that failed to swing.Dan Mousley had resisted gamely in the first innings, but some discussion appeared to have taken place about a technique that Roach had dubbed “very different.” Worrall swung one very wide across him and he couldn’t resist, Dom Sibley holding the fourth slip catch in five.A run out would have been an ignominious addition, and Barnard narrowly avoided it, diving back into the crease to beat Worrall’s throw from mid on after Michaal Burgess had changed his mind over a single. Burgess soon fell, square cutting at Roach, who by then was threatening wickets no matter what he bowled.Surrey’s change bowlers had to settle for one wicket between them – Jordan Clark’s inswinger bowling Chris Woakes through the gate. But the clouds were darkening, the floodlights flickering into life and Burns, impatient to get on with it, even fashioned a change of ball. It was enough for the new-ball pair to return to enhance their figures.The 11 needed were meant to be secured by a collector’s-item opening pairing of Worrall and Tom Lawes. Why ever not? Apparently, neither of them has opened before at this level, and one of them hadn’t even dreamed of it, only for it to be all too much for Worrall who pulled one into the legside and fell for nought.

Both teams will need their captains to fire and figure out their best XIs

Sruthi Ravindranath09-Mar-2023

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs UP Warriorz

Two sides, who need their captains – both world-class opening batters – to fire.All Royal Challengers Bangalore need right now is a bit of confidence after three straight losses, and a big Smriti Mandhana innings will be key to that. She has got good starts in all the matches but she’s not been able to convert those, getting out to offspinners all three times. UP Warriorz captain Alyssa Healy, meanwhile, has lost her wicket in the powerplay in both games so far.While bruised Royal Challengers will be looking for their first win in the tournament, Warriorz will be looking to add more points against their name to strengthen their position after a loss in the previous game.Royal Challengers came close in their third match against Gujarat Giants, eventually losing by 11 runs, after a big loss in their first two games. Though they are mathematically not out of the competition yet, another defeat will dent their slim hopes of qualifying for the knockouts.Warriorz, on the other hand, fell 42 runs short against the high-flying Delhi Capitals after completing an epic chase against Gujarat Giants to open their campaign.With the teams still figuring out their right combinations, the captains of these two sides have made a few baffling choices in their respective previous games. Warriorz had brought in legspinning allrounder Devika Vaidya for the match against Capitals but did not bowl her in the game. Similarly, for the match against Giants, Royal Challengers replaced batter Disha Kasat with legspinner Poonam Khemnar, who ended up not bowling even a single over. Warriorz also picked fast bowler Shabnim Ismail in the second match for allrounder Grace Harris, who had single-handedly won them their first match.

Players to Watch

Tahlia McGrath tried her best with an unbeaten 50-ball 90 against Capitals, but it all came a bit too late in the 211-run chase. She quickly got off the blocks and impressed with her power-hitting, taking on the likes of Jess Jonassen and Marizanne Kapp. Along with Harris – if she’s brought back into the XI – McGrath makes the Warriorz middle order look formidable.Heather Knight has quickly become Mandhana’s go-to bowler with her part-time offspin. She’s proved she can deliver too, getting crucial breakthroughs in both games she has bowled. Apart from her four wickets across two games, the England captain also played a 11-ball cameo against Giants, scoring five fours and a six on her way to an unbeaten 30.

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore (possible): 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Sophie Devine/Dane van Niekerk, 3 Disha Kasat, 4 Ellyse Perry, 5 Heather Knight, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Kanika Ahuja, 8 Shreyanka Patil, 9 Megan Schutt, 10 Renuka Singh, 11 Preeti BoseUP Warriorz (possible): 1 Alyssa Healy (capt, wk), 2 Shweta Sehrawat, 3 Kiran Navgire, 4 Tahlia McGrath, 5 Deepti Sharma, 6 Grace Harris, 7 Simran Shaikh, 8 Devika Vaidya, 9 Sophie Ecclestone/ Shabnim Ismail, 10 Anjali Sarvani, 11 Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Quotes

“I think every team is realising that to bowl on these wickets… they are batters’ paradise to be fair. There is no seam, there is no swing, quick outfield. It’s a real test as a bowling unit and I don’t think any team has been able to crack it yet. This is an area we improved on but we can get a lot more disciplined in terms of execution.”

Hopes are high for a resurgence from Renegades with the help of new overseas players including Andre Russell, Martin Guptill, Akeal Hosein and Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Alex Malcolm14-Dec-2022Captain Nic Maddinson

Coach David SakerSquad Nic Maddinson, Zak Evans, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Martin Guptill (New Zealand), Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Ruwantha Kellapotha (Sri Lanka), Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli, Tom Rogers, Andre Russell (West Indies), Will Sutherland, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Jon WellsIn Martin Guptill, Peter Handscomb, Akeal Hosein, Ruwantha Kellapotha, David Moody, Corey Rocchiccioli, Tom Rogers, Andre Russell, Mujeed Ur Rahman

Out Unmukt Chand, Jono Merlo, James Seymour, Mohammad Nabi, James Pattinson, Cameron Boyce, Josh Lalor, Zahir Khan, Reece Topley

What happened in the draft

Renegades had an excellent draft on the night but their best-laid plans were thrown in chaos when Liam Livingstone, the No. 1 platinum pick and most sought-after man in the draft, was picked in England’s Test squad and decided to withdraw from the BBL. Renegades’ two other draft picks, Akeal Hosein and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are still coming to the BBL and could form a destructive spin duo, especially at Docklands Stadium and Kardinya Park in Geelong. But both will leave the tournament in early January to head to the ILT20 in the UAE. Renegades have been able to secure some very good replacements for Livingstone at least with Andre Russell available to play the first four games of the season while Martin Guptill is available for the next 10 after that, giving Renegades some real international quality in their batting department.Related

• Guptill joins Renegades in BBL following release from NZ contract

• Melbourne Renegades sign Andre Russell in short-term BBL deal

• Liam Livingstone withdraws from BBL in major blow to the tournament

Last season: Eighth

Despite a change of coach and a stronger looking attack Renegades maintained their stranglehold on the BBL wooden spoon last season, finishing last for the third tournament in a row. They had aimed to build a game plan around a strong well-rounded attack but injuries cruelled them with only Zahir Khan managing to play the entire season. Their batters struggled again with not one single player capable of striking at more than 132 and availability was also an issue with Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh also battling injuries. They only managed three wins for the season, with one coming against a Covid-depleted Melbourne Stars side. Even in the last game of the season, they failed to get over the line against Sydney Thunder despite legspinner Cameron Boyce bagging four wickets in four balls and Finch making 82.

International impact

Marcus Harris is currently away with Australia’s Test squad but there is a possibility he could be released to play in the BBL at various stages where it suits. They had already lost Livingstone to England duty. Russell is playing the first four games but that will be offset by Guptill’s arrival. They will also lose Hosein and Mujeeb to the ILT20 after the January 7 game against Hobart Hurricanes but they are available for the first nine games of the season.

Key player

Nic Maddinson has flattered to deceive in T20 cricket. He has all the tools to be an outstanding T20 player. He has the power, the 360-degree capabilities and the experience having played for Australia, in the IPL, CPL and the Blast. But since moving from Sydney to Melbourne for a fresh start with Victoria, he has really struggled in the BBL despite flourishing at first-class level. He has averaged 14.44 struck at just 104 in his last 39 T20 innings. Renegades made him captain last year in his first season after moving from Melbourne Stars but he struggled in the difficult middle-order roles. He is set to go back to the top where he made his name for Sydney Sixers in the past. Fast starts and big runs from Maddinson will help set Renegades up for success given they have added more middle-order experience in Jon Wells.

Young player to watch

It’s hard to call Sam Harper a young player given he is 26 and in his seventh season as a professional cricketer, but his batting looks in the best shape it has done for quite some time at Sheffield Shield level having posted a century and a half-century this season. He has shown glimpses in BBL’s past, including some excellent contributions in Renegades’ lone title in 2018-19. However, he has struggled to bed down a defined role since, but this might be the season where he could string together some consistency. He will be given the chance to play with some freedom given there are likely to be more experienced players around him than there has been in the recent past.

In putting together a cricket committee that will be headed by Mohsin Khan and includes Wasim Akram as a member, PCB chairman Ehsan Mani appeared to cast doubt on the findings and recommendations of Justice Qayyum’s report

Umar Farooq27-Oct-2018Eighteen years after it was made public, and in the process of putting together its new cricket committee, the PCB appears to have disowned the Justice Qayyum Report on match-fixing. At the time it was released, in May 2000, the 150-page report by the former chief justice of Lahore High Court (Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum) was acknowledged as the most comprehensive report into corruption in Pakistani cricket.But in putting together a committee that will be headed by Mohsin Khan and includes Wasim Akram as a member, PCB chairman Ehsan Mani appeared to cast doubt on the findings and recommendations of the report.Akram was a leading figure in it, ultimately fined and censured by Justice Qayyum, as well as removed from the captaincy. Now he is part of a four-man committee with a wide remit into cricketing affairs, and even though it is an honorary position, it is the first time he has been appointed to an official PCB position since the Qayyum report.

Qayyum report punishments

Saleem Malik – banned for life and fined Rs 1 million. Malik has not been involved or engaged with cricket since then, but had his ban overturned by a local court in 2008.
Wasim Akram – fined Rs 300,000. Has held fast bowling camps and worked as a coach in the PSL and other leagues, as well as a commentator. He was part of a PCB coach-finding committee but has never held a high-profile administrative role with any cricket board.
Mushtaq Ahmed – fined Rs 300,000. Worked with England as spin-bowling consultant. Later worked with the PCB in different coaching capacities at national and academy level.
Ata-ur-Rehman – banned for life and fined Rs 100,000. Removed from cricket until Lahore Qalandars engaged him for their player development program.
Waqar Younis – fined Rs 100,000. Head coach of Pakistan twice, was interviewed for Australia bowling coach and has been engaged with various T20 leagues around the world.
Inzamam-ul-Haq – fined Rs 100,000. Captained Pakistan afterwards and is now PCB chief selector. He has also served as Afghanistan head coach and worked as batting consultant with Pakistan.
Akram Raza – fined Rs. 100,000. Following his retirement he officiated in domestic cricket as a first-class umpire for six years until 2012.
Saeed Anwar – fined Rs 100,000. Has not been engaged or involved with cricket since retirement.

Mohsin has long been sceptical about Akram and has been very vocal about not working with players he considers tainted by corruption. Before his appointment to the head of this committee, he had raised concerns about working with Akram. But he was briefed extensively by Mani and the PCB’s chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad (who was a board official during that period) about the Qayyum report – to not read too much into it, it would appear.”How many of you have read the Justice Qayuum report?” Mani asked in a press conference after meeting with Mohsin and Akram. “Mr Qayuum made some allegations, then said he would provide details of the allegations later.”No one has ever seen those details since. Many people named in the report were acquitted thereafter and have gone on to coach around the world. Those countries who used these players’ services undertook complete enquiries but found nothing that perturbed them.”That assessment would appear to be a skewed reading of the report. The allegations were not by Justice Qayyum, but the focus of his judicial commission’s investigations. Only in Mushtaq Ahmed’s case was there a promise of further investigation, which ultimately was not carried out.The claims that the players were acquitted seems generous. It is true that a number of them have worked in Pakistan and abroad in some capacity – the current chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq was punished in the report; Mushtaq has held various positions in Pakistan and abroad. But they haven’t been exonerated officially from the charges and punishments detailed in the report. Salim Malik’s life ban was overturned by a sessions court in Lahore in 2008 and Ata-ur-Rehman’s life ban was also revoked.In the recent past, Mohsin has refused to apply for the role of Pakistan head coach specifically because he felt a tainted Akram should not be in a committee overseeing the hiring (as he was).”You’re right, for the past four or five years I haven’t worked with the PCB for this reason,” Mohsin said.”But today, I spoke to Mr Mani and Subhan and received a huge clarification. They revealed that the allegations in the Qayuum report never brought forward those authentic proofs which are required. I’m not saying I’m 100% convinced, but I am 99% convinced. There is a difference between an accused and a criminal. After the clarifications I’ve received today, I’m very happy to realise there was no authenticity in the allegations, and I’m happy to work with the PCB now.”The Qayyum inquiry began in 1998 and continued for 13 months, with over 40 hearings held in court. The commission interviewed nearly 70 players, ex-players, administrators, bookies and police officers. The inquiry received positive initial reactions, for being the first instance of a board taking the matter of corruption as seriously as it merited.Over time shortcomings were acknowledged, including those pointed out in the report itself – namely that it was hindered by a lack of what would pass as hard evidence in criminal cases. But there has remained recognition that it didn’t shirk from going after some big names and went as deep into some cases as it could.”The allegation that the Pakistan team is as a whole is involved in match-fixing is just based on allegation, conjectures and surmises without there being positive proof. As a whole, the players of the Pakistan Cricket team are innocent,” the report opens.Ehsan Mani addresses a press conference•AFP

The burden of proof for finding guilt ultimately fell somewhere between the standards required in criminal cases and civil ones. Reliant in large part on the spoken testimonies of some players against others – and this in an especially fractious period for the Pakistan team – the report banned Malik and Ata-ur-Rahman for life, fined Akram (Rs 300,000), Mushtaq (Rs 300,000), Waqar Younis (Rs 100,000), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Rs 100,000), Akram Raza (Rs 100,000), and Saeed Anwar (Rs 100,000).The report added: “It may be recommended inter alia that a watchdog Review Committee be formed to deal with future allegations if any. Further that all Pakistani cricket players should declare their assets at the time they start their career at the national level and annually submit their asset forms to the Pakistan Cricket Board. A zero tolerance approach be taken against match-fixing in the future and strict discipline generally be maintained.”Akram has rarely spoken about the report but said on Friday: “It’s very difficult, it was a long time ago, I only remember the whole episode vaguely. I remember the PCB lawyer questioning me for a whole month. They were very tough times for me, and for my family. It still is very tough. But as Mohsin and the chairman said, there is no conclusion there. The secondary report that was supposed to follow never did. The reason I’ve got jobs around the world is I do what I do with all my heart and give my all because my reputation is on line.”In the report Justice Qayyum said, “The evidence against Wasim Akram has not come up to the requisite level, primarily because of Ata-ur-Rehman’s perjuring himself. This Commission is willing to give him the benefit of doubt. However, there has been some evidence to cast doubt on his integrity. As such, this Commission recommends that he be removed from the captaincy of the Pakistan Cricket Team and a person of impeccable character be appointed. Moreover, he should be censured, kept under watch and his finances should be investigated.”In 2006 Justice Qayyum told ESPNcricinfo that “a soft corner” for Akram might have influenced him in the punishment he handed out. That would imply, however, that Akram got off lightly rather than that there was no basis to the charges, as the PCB now seems to be suggesting.

Holkar stadium’s small boundaries promise another run-fest

Shashank Kishore03-Oct-20223:44

Jaffer: ‘India won’t want to chop and change’ this close to the T20 World Cup

Big picture

From the far east in Guwahati, the caravan rolls to dead center in Indore. It’s a city that loves its cricket so much so that they packed the stands just to be able to watch Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh roll the clock back at a net session during the Road Safety Exhibition series two weeks ago.On Tuesday, they will make a beeline for the Holkar Stadium, to be able to watch Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma, and maybe Quinton de Kock and David Miller, when India and South Africa square off in the final T20I of the series.Related

• Pieces shuffle into place in India's batting jigsaw

• Suryakumar had 'a bigger impact on the game', says Player-of-the-Match Rahul

• Maharaj hits the perfect awkward length to give India's batters a working over

It may be a dead rubber, but that doesn’t mean much for India’s tier-two cities. They don’t get to see a lot of live cricket so every game is deeply appreciated. The (passion) is actually at an all-time high. Cricketers from the region are being recognised like never before. Two Indore residents – Venkatesh Iyer and Avesh Khan – have already made their India debuts. Next week, another one – Rajat Patidar – could well join the list. Madhya Pradesh, of which Indore forms a big part in terms of cricket, are also Ranji Trophy winners. So the interest couldn’t be higher. Throw in the backdrop of the T20 World Cup, and the lines between a dead rubber and a must-win get blurred even more.South Africa have been ambushed by India once with the ball and once with the bat. But they gave a good account of themselves in trying to scale Mount Everest when Miller’s breathtaking century took South Africa close to India’s 237 and Tuesday is an opportunity to get over the line and carry some confidence into Australia.India have continued to push boundaries as a batting unit, but with the ball, especially without Jasprit Bumrah, the pieces of their jigsaw aren’t yet fully settled. Tuesday is their opportunity to get the death-bowling spot on.Given the short turnaround time, the game will be as much a test of the player’s fitness as it will be of their skill. Over to the twenty-two players then. Can they put up another spectacle, less than 48 hours after the big bash in Guwahati?

Form guide

India: WWWWL (last five completed T20Is; most recent first)
South Africa: LLWWWTemba Bavuma is coming on the back of successive T20I ducks•Associated Press

In the spotlight

Four-ball duck in Thiruvananthapuram. Seven-ball duck in Guwahati. What does Indore have in store? Temba Bavuma’s T20 form and approach have been under much scrutiny. The debates rage on about whether he’s the best player to lead South Africa in this format. That he didn’t attract any bids at the SA20 auction last month has magnified his struggles even more. Some runs and confidence will be welcome heading into Australia. At Holkar stadium, a good pitch and small boundaries await. Can he turn the tide?Arshdeep Singh is just 13 T20Is old but has already seen different ends of the emotional spectrum. At the Asia Cup, he was at the centre of merciless trolling for a dropped catch in a tight game against Pakistan. He bounced back with superb final overs even though it didn’t translate into Indian victories. In Guwahati, he came in on the high of a three-wicket over that set up India’s win but got his radar wrong and was taken apart for 62 off his full quota. With a huge cloud over Bumrah, Arshdeep will want to do everything he can to stay in contention because there are a lot of options at India’s disposal.

Team news

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been given a short break to head home and recuperate before departing for the T20 World Cup on October 6. This could mean an opportunity for Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer to get some batting time out in the middle. Shahbaz Ahmed, the batting allrounder, may also stand a chance of making his India debut.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Rishabh Pant (wk), 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Axar Patel, 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 R Ashwin, 11 Arshdeep Singh2:05

Rahul: ‘When batting first, we always try to be aggressive and take a lot of risks’

South Africa will want to win and may not want to experiment too much. Can they find a way to fit in Reeza Hendricks though?South Africa (probable): 1 Temba Bavuma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Rilee Rossouw/Reeza Hendricks, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi Ngidi

Pitch and conditions

Indore is known to provide batting belters. It’s also one of the smallest grounds in India. Is there more to be said? Expect a high-scoring encounter. There could be a hint of dew in the second half that could make it easier for the team chasing.

Stats and trivia

• Arshdeep’s 62 were the second-most runs conceded by an India bowler in T20I cricket.
• In T20Is, South Africa haven’t conceded more than the 237 they did in Guwahati
• On Sunday, Rohit became the first Indian to feature in 400 T20s
• The Indore T20I will be India’s 31st in 2022, the most-ever by a team in a calendar year
• Quinton de Kock is 36 short of being the second South African to 2000 T20I runs; Miller became the first in Guwahati

Nottinghamshire had control for large parts of the day, but a 133-run eighth-wicket stand between Liam Dawson and Kyle Abbott turned the tables

ECB Reporters Network19-Aug-20181:40

Edwards leaves Notts with a headache

ScorecardFidel Edwards produced a blistering evening six-over spell of 3 for 9 to complete an action-packed first day of Hampshire’s Specsavers County Championship fixture with Nottinghamshire.Nottinghamshire were forced to negotiate 15 evening overs having bowled Hampshire out for 277.And Edwards, who now boasts 20 wickets against Nottinghamshire in five innings, blasted through fellow West Indian Kraigg Brathwaite, Jake Libby and nightwatchman Matt Milnes in an incredible fast bowling showcase.Gareth Berg also managed to claim a scalp as the visitors struggled to 39 for 4, a deficit of 238.James Vince’s 74 along with Liam Dawson and Kyle Abbott’s half centuries in a 133 eighth-wicket stand had earlier produced responses after Hampshire suffered three mini batting collapses.Steven Mullaney found three wickets in five balls, before Luke Fletcher lead a spell of three wickets for the visitors without a run and then Matt Henry rounded off the innings with another flurry.Mullaney elected to bowl without a toss but only managed to use the fast-bowling friendly conditions of heavy overcast clouds and floodlights to wrangle a single morning wicket.Having seen play delayed by 45 minutes, Mark Footitt, on his first Championship appearance for Nottinghamshire since last August, found the outside of Weatherley’s bat, with stand-in keeper Riki Wessels completing the catch.It was two overs after lunch, though, when Nottinghamshire sparked Hampshire’s first mini collapse with Mullaney’s nagging top of off-stump length proving awkward to face.Jimmy Adams, Sam Northeast and Tom Alsop will all compare notes of how Mullaney sneaked past their outside edges with just a hint of seam movement to clip the top of their bails. It meant Hampshire fell from 58 for 1 to 62 for 4 inside five Mullaney deliveries, over two overs.Vince had watched the carnage unfold from the non-striker’s end, unmoved with a steely stare after each team-mate moped back to the pavilion. The Hampshire captain sensibly, yet with plenty of aggression, dragged his side away from immediate danger by unfurling a series of off-side glorious shots.Vince’s recovery act saw him score 11 fours in a counter-attacking 74, his fifty coming from 68 balls. He had added 75 with Rilee Rossouw for the fifth wicket before a second crumple which saw Hampshire lose three wickets without scoring a run.Rossouw was the first of the trio of scalps as he drove loosely to Matthew Carter at first slip off Luke Fletcher. Vince’s rearguard ended when his attempted cut flicked up to Mullaney at first slip, who caught on the second juggle. Fletcher pinned Berg on the pads to complete the treble of wickets on 137.But like the first flurry, a large partnership followed, this time between Dawson and Abbott. Dawson had only managed 101 runs in his first seven Championship innings of the summer, with a top score of 34 not out, but maturely batted his team out another sticky situation.An innings built on hard running, with just five fours and a six, Dawson reached fifty in 69 deliveries. He fell for 72 when he charged down the wicket, swung his bat wildly, and was bowled by Carter.Abbott had been the more watchful in the partnership but collected his own half-century in 95 balls. But Dawson’s dismissal sparked another burst of wickets, with Steyn caught at first slip and Edwards run out by fellow West Indian Brathwaite – with Hampshire bowled out for 277.Edwards got his revenge on Brathwaite in just the eighth over when Adams pulled off an impressive catch at second slip. Nash, who had two massive lbw appeals from Edwards turned down, was caught behind off Berg, before Edwards castled Libby and Milnes.

Seamer backs himself to adapt well despite batters trying to anticipate his variations

Hemant Brar16-Jun-20220:36

Harshal -‘Playing consistently on pitches like Delhi can hamper your confidence’

India seamer Harshal Patel is not worried that batters have started anticipating his variations. In the first T20I, Rassie van der Dussen had smashed Harshal for three sixes and a four in an over to turn the game around. After the match, van der Dussen had said that post the first two sixes, he knew Harshal would turn to his slower balls.”People have been trying to anticipate for the past two years,” Harshal said on the eve of the fourth T20I against South Africa. “To be very honest, with every bowler, the longer they play, the more the opposition will realise what their strengths are, what the patterns are, and try to adapt to it. But as a bowler, my job is to stay one step ahead of batters.”At the end of the day, you can have 15 different plans, but on a particular day, in a pressure situation, if you don’t go out and execute with confidence, everything doesn’t really fall in place. So my focus has always been on how to read the game better in that particular moment and how to execute the best possible delivery at that point in time.”Related

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• Anrich Nortje 'not 100% there yet' but hopes he is on the right path

Harshal is currently the joint-leading wicket-taker in the series, with six scalps in three games. In the third T20I, the Visakhapatnam pitch was on the slower side, which suited Harshal’s style of bowling, and he duly picked up 4 for 25 in 3.1 overs.”Although there was not a lot of variable bounce or lateral movement from the pitch, it was definitely slow,” he said. “So that allowed us to bowl hard length and slower balls into the pitch. It was difficult to clear the boundary from those lengths.”I would certainly prefer playing on slower pitches because it allows you a bit of fighting chance. If you consistently keep playing on pitches like Delhi, it can hamper your confidence a little bit. We also have world-class spinners in the team, who can bowl well on any pitch, but it does bring them a little more into the game when we have slightly slower pitches and slightly bigger ground dimensions.”From head coach Rahul Dravid to stand-in captain Rishabh Pant, everyone has spoken about how the team has been building towards the T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia in October-November. Harshal said while that is true, they are also focused on winning this series.”To be honest, you cannot play your cricket thinking too much about the future or past. Like everyone has said before as well, the World Cup is at the back of our minds and we are trying to work towards that goal. But at the same time, we are 2-1 behind in the series, so the focus is on how to win the next two games. After that, we are going to Ireland, so things will move towards that direction but at this point, our focus is on how to win this series.”

Our rolling report from the first women’s ODI between England and South Africa at New Road

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2018Welcome to our rolling report from England women’s first ODI against South Africa at Worcester. We will bring you colour, pictures, statistics and intermittent updates from New Road, as England’s World Cup winners begin their home season. For live score updates, click here for our match card.