All posts by csb10.top

St Lucia has hosted several outstanding Jazz Festivals in the past but it has never been the venue for the type of electrifying atmosphere that was generated at its new state-of-the-art Beausejour Stadium yesterday.International cricket’s newest venue was bursting at the seams to celebrate an enthralling six-wicket West Indies victory over New Zealand.It was set up by yet another outstanding contribution from Mr Can Do No Wrong Shivnarine Chanderpaul and equally vital input from Ramnaresh Sarwan and captain Carl Hooper.And significantly, it was achieved without anything noteworthy from their champion but now struggling world record-holder, Brian Lara.He made way for Hooper and Ridley Jacobs before he came in to end a successful run-chase in pursuit of a challenging 249.It was attained for the loss of four wickets with five balls in reserve when Lara spanked a boundary through extra-cover to trigger wild scenes.When Hooper emerged from the pavilion in Lara’s accustomed No. 4 position, the West Indies still required another 108 from 100 balls to take a 1-0 lead in the series that has now been reduced to four matches.By then, Chanderpaul, opening the batting in a One-Day International for the first time in a year, was firmly entrenched after sharing successive stands of 55 with Chris Gayle and 86 with Sarwan.For the remainder of the evening, the 10 000 fans in the stands screamed themselves hoarse with patois chants and did the Mexican Wave over and over as Chanderpaul and Hooper increased the tempo when it was so vitally needed.The unstoppable Chanderpaul remained to the end, unbeaten on 108 off 135 balls his fourth century of the season in both forms of the game.Hooper provided even more excitement with some scintillating strokes in a run-a-ball 47 before he was pacer Paul Hitchcock’s third victim in the 46th over.By then the West Indies had done enough to bring down an asking rate that stood at 7.40 after 42 overs to a more manageable 24 from 25 balls.This was a good victory. What made it good was the manner in which we chased, Hooper said.It wasn’t exactly a small total to get, even though the wicket was good and the outfield wasn’t huge, but the manner in which we got the runs; I was very pleased.It had been proposed more than once in recent matches that the in-form Chanderpaul would move up from No. 6 and it finally came to fruition yesterday.At the start, he allowed Gayle to do the bulk of the scoring, but he blossomed to play some enterprising strokes, none more memorable than a six over extra-cover off Daniel Vetorri’s left-arm spin.The left-handed Chanderpaul also counted eight fours on the way to his third hundred in limited-overs internationals in the identical position where he made his previous two.We have been thinking about Shiv opening for a while. Today was an opportune time to do it, Hooper said.He seemed pretty keen on opening. Batting through the innings is important and I thought it worked well for us.In contrast, Lara has been a shadow of himself since returning to the game with a bothersome elbow, but there were some who felt that he would never have been demoted from his accustomed slot.Brian has been struggling for form all during the Indian series and I’d like to say that the coach and Brian thought it best if I was promoted ahead of him, Hooper said.New Zealand’s total was clearly a lot more than the West Indies bargained for after Pedro Collins sliced through the Black Caps’ top half by snatching three scalps in five balls inside his first two overs.A position of 55 for four represented immense strife for New Zealand, but they recovered admirably after Collins removed Chris Nevin (to an irresponsible slash to a wide ball), Craig McMillan (bowled from a forcing back foot stroke) and Chris Harris (lbw shuffling across his stumps).Before those were gone, Mervyn Dillon enjoyed the distinction of claiming the first international wicket on the ground with the finest ball of the match, which cut back sharply and cut Nathan Astle in half.The noisy crowd, including many visitors from neighboring islands, might have anticipated an even lower total than New Zealand’s 176 in their opening abandoned match, but there was a splendid recovery in two significant partnerships that involved captain Stephen Fleming.Very early in the piece, he was showing bold aggression and the use of his feet against the faster bowlers, but as New Zealand lost wickets frequently, he changed to a lower gear and played responsibly for his 89 off 116 balls.The first phase of the fightback was in association with Lou Vincent the pair adding 57, but the more meaningful stand was one of 81 in 18.4 overs with Scott Styris.Styris, a big-hitter who specialises in the abbreviated version of the game, launched a calculated assault, especially in the closing stages when he clouted three sixes, including two off Dillon.His 85 off 83 balls, which also included eight fours, ensured that New Zealand raised 76 for the last ten overs, in which Dillon suffered badly. After the fast bowler’s first five overs went for 17, his second quota yielded 43 runs.With the runs flowing freely at the death, it was surprising that Collins, the West Indies’ best bowler on the day, was not utilised for his full ten overs, while the part-time spinners Gayle and Ryan Hinds did so.Still, it did not matter in the end.

To the backdrop of noisy, happy, flag-waving celebrations, the West Indies completed yet another emphatic victory over India at Kensington Oval in the third Cable & Wireless Test yesterday, their seventh in eight Tests between the teams on the ground.The outcome, settled 25 minutes after lunch on the fourth day, levels the series at 1-1 with two Tests remaining.It was predictable as early as the first day when India tumbled for the all-out first-innings 102, but it was not finalised in quite the way expected.That the West Indies were obliged to go in a second time to knock off five runs was due mainly to India’s No. 9, Zaheer Khan, who batted with all the carefree abandon of an old-fashioned tailender for a personal best, run-a-ball 46.Twice he clobbered fast bowler Adam Sanford over the mid-wicket boundary for sixes, twice top-edged fours over the slips that prompted the installation of a fly-slip and drove through the covers and mid-off with more authentic strokes.Only opener Wasim Jaffer, with his second innings 51, and dogged captain Saurav Ganguly, following his first innings’ last-out 48, with 60 not out this time, scored more in the match.As unusual, and unorthodox, as Zaheer’s merry-making was, the West Indies had their own little trick up their sleeve.As Zaheer swashbuckled and Ganguly kept accumulating runs in an eighth-wicket partnership of 74, Ramnaresh Sarwan was offered the last speculative over before lunch to toss up his leg-spin.Soon, he was contemplating one of Test cricket’s most bizarre hat-tricks.His first ball got rid of Zaheer, who touched a long-hop to Ridley Jacobs, a signal for the players to head for the Sir Garfield Sobers Pavilion for lunch.On resumption, Sarwan struck again with his first delivery as Javagal Srinath stabbed a faster straight ball into Chris Gayle’s lap at gully.It was not easy to tell who was more delighted the beaming bowler, his whooping teammates or the noisy and animated crowd, although it wasn’t difficult to guess.Last man Ashish Nehra prevented the hat-trick and the prospect of months of incessant bragging after which Brian Lara, leading the team in the temporary absence of Carl Hooper, was judicious, and courageous, enough to thank Sarwan for his one-over effort and return to his major fast bowler, Dillon, to put a seal on the deal.It took him two balls. Like Zaheer, Nehra is a left-arm swing fast bowler and right-hand batsman and, copying Zaheer’s earlier approach, he swung Dillon high, wide and not so handsome towards mid-on.Pedro Collins, running ten yards to his right and sighting the ball as it came over his shoulder, collected the catch at third attempt.A joyous Sunday crowd of around 6 000 had gathered early in confident expectation of a rare West Indian success and were well primed for their celebrations by the time Stuart Williams cut Harbhajan Singh to the Kensington Stand boundary to settle the matter.They had been in the stands throughout, fluttering the flags of the several cricketing West Indies’ nations, and now they poured onto the ground.The disco boomed out appropriate sounds in the background, a West Indies captain collected the sponsors’ winning cheque for the first time at Kensington since Brian Lara did, following his breathtaking unbeaten 153 against Australia three years ago and Dillon took the Man-Of-The-Match award for his eight wickets.These have been rough times for West Indies cricket so that its passionate public craves any morsel of success.This was a whole, satisfying meal.The recovery from the disappointment of the narrow second Test defeat in Port-of-Spain (by 37 runs) reflected an encouraging spirit.Not everything is right and there remains a lot wrong with the openers, with the tailend and with the inability of all four fast bowlers to be consistent every session.But the result should be an enormous tonic for the remaining Tests in Antigua, starting on Friday, and Kingston from May 18 to May 22.It was the West Indies’ first triumph in nine Tests, since they defeated Zimbabwe by an innings in Bulwayo last July, and their seventh in eight Tests at Kensington Oval over the Indians, who have never won a match on the ground.India started the morning at 169 for four, still 123 away from requiring a West Indies second innings, with their batting champion, Sachin Tendulkar, and the reliable Rahul Dravid already dismissed cheaply.Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman, the last specialist batsmen, carried their hopes of making a fight of it but the left-handed Ganguly was left with only young wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra and the four bowlers when Laxman edged a low catch to Hooper at second slip off Collins 20 minutes into the day. He was 46 when he was undone by Collins.The preceding scores for wicketkeepers on both sides had been 0, 0, 1 (Junior Murray) and 0 (Jacobs), 0 (Deep Dasgupta) and 0, 2, 1 (Ratra).Ratra was a couple of inches short of another 0 to add to the list when he edged Collins to fourth slip but he more than tripled the combined keepers’ amount until he fell lbw to Dillon, using the second new ball.In the next over, Cuffy bowled Harbhajan Singh off the inside edge with the second new ball before Zaheer and Sarwan became the two unlikely stars of the finale.

We recently announced our winter squads to prepare for next season. Traditionally this time of year is busy one for me and coming off my first season as a first-class coach I hadn’t realised just how busy it would be.The coaching process contains four very distinctive phases: Observation, Planning, Implementation and Review.When I first arrived in Hamilton to begin my new challenge, I met with a number of different people (including players, administrators, interested supporters and players from opposition teams) with a view to forming an objective opinion about what stage of development the Knights were at.I have been in the role now for nearly nine months and this time encompasses four months of actual play. In this period I have observed the players in competition, in training and as people generally. While it is a relatively simple task for a skilled coach to look at a player and gain a good feel for the technical abilities of the player, getting to know the make-up of people in terms of their personal philosophies and values about the game, can take significantly longer.It is important to me that I gain an understanding of:

• Why the players play the game (because this assists me to understand where the motivation drivers lie)
• What their ideal performance state is (in terms of arousal levels – psych up, not out)
• The player awareness of the skills they require to perform consistently (this is vital if you value the players having the ability to self-analyse)
• The player understanding of their strengths and weaknesses
• The quality of the personal planning of the player
• The player’s ability to make decisions (whether they have a process they follow)
• The player’s ability to analyse (what needs to be taken care of right now, then the ability to execute)

People say that cricket is played 90% in the head and 10% in the hands, so for me it does not make sense to spend 90% of my coaching time on developing the 10%.Coaches should not feel that they have to have all the knowledge because we don’t and, in my case, working with elite players I know that each of them has a personal style which has been developed over a long period of time. They know far more about themselves than I do. The challenge for me is to develop this understanding. I would do them a major disservice if I looked to clone them technically.I believe it is important to understand how much the player thinks about, knows and is able to verbalise about themselves in all aspects of their game.Smart coaches get the players to teach them about themselves.What I know is not as important as me knowing how much the player knows. Once I ascertain these things from the player I am better placed to assist them in the development process and therefore motivate, and develop, the tools that will release their maximum potential.It can be daunting for coaches sometimes. I know I have felt intimidated when working with players who have exceptional skills, or a high level of understanding of the game’s skills, because you feel that they know more than you. But that’s OK, as long as someone knows.Your role just shifts in its function.The less aware technically and tactically the player is, the more leadership you are required to provide. At the other end of the scale with the high achievers/performers your role becomes one of challenging the player to think about the mechanics and tactics of their game – they are working if they are thinking. The other significant benefit in this approach is that you also develop your learning about the player which, after all, is paramount.Over April and May I have been preparing my player reports on the State Northern Knights and also conducting the major component of my winter planning. It was quieter watching I can assure you.There were some very positive performances through the season in both competitions for the State Northern Knights and as the result of the recent elevation of Robbie Hart, Ian Butler, Scott Styris and Matthew Hart to join Daniel Vettori and Daryl Tuffey in the Black Caps, things are looking promising for next season.I feel we have made significant progress in our pursuit of creating an environment where the players are challenged, and encouraged, to be the best they can be.Our primary objective is to develop the players and an outcome of that, if we are successful, is that we will be without players for our domestic competitions which will provide us with some interesting challenges and opportunities for an exciting crop of young players who seek to earn a Knights cap – roll on next summer.

FULL NAME: Patrick Kudzayi Gada
BORN: 5 May 1978, at Harare
MAJOR TEAMS: CFX Academy (1998/99), Manicaland (1999/2000-2000/01),Mashonaland (2001/02). Present club side: Takashinga
KNOWN AS: Patrick/Paddy Gada.
BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Right Arm Medium Fast
OCCUPATION: Professional cricketer
FIRST-CLASS DEBUT: CFX Academy v Australian Cricket Academy, at AlexandraSports Club, 27-29 March 1999
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaitedBIOGRAPHY (updated March 2002)Patrick Gada, Academy student in 1999, is one of the most promising young all-rounders in Zimbabwe. He is highly rated for his attitude and self-discipline. He is a non-smoker and does not drink alcohol; from a young age he practised hard and worked on his fitness. He is a pleasant and quietly-spoken young man who deserves to go far in the game.Like most black players at the present, Patrick has no family background in cricket, although his family has always been very enthusiastic about soccer. His interest in cricket began at Chengu Primary School in Highfield, a high-density suburb of Harare, and he well remembers the times when Dave Houghton used to come and coach. Later on Lazarus Zizhou and Dave Levy took over, and both had much to do with developing Patrick’s interests and skills. Patrick has always been first and foremost a batsman, but he has kept up his medium-paced bowling and occasionally bowls useful off-spin as well. He opened both batting and bowling from a young age.His first match, as far as he remembers, took place when he was about ten years of age. Once he scored 125 in a thirty-over game, when he was captaining his team, and won the Willards Trophy for his school. He took part in the national primary schools cricket week, captaining the Harare South team and being selected for the national B team.He progressed to Prince Edward High School, having been offered a place there by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union because of his cricketing potential. He had also been offered a place at Chinhoyi High School, but preferred Prince Edward mainly because of the better sporting and academic opportunities it provided. He was immediately appointed as captain of the Under-13 team and progressed up the school year by year. He remembers his best scores when he reached the first team as being 90 against St John’s and 78 against Eaglesvale, batting at number four. He used to bowl regularly as well, opening the bowling at times and taking useful wickets, with seven in an innings being his best performance. In 1995 he went on tour to England with the school team. He names the late `Bunny’ Brereton as the high-school coach who helped him the most.At school Patrick was also an athlete, notably in triple jump and long jump. He played rugby and soccer as well, but cricket remained his premier sport. He played his first club match in 1992, for Bionics Cricket Club, which became in turn Hungwe, Winstonians and now Takashinga.In 1993 Patrick was selected for the Mashonaland Under-15 team, where he did well and was a reserve for the national side; he progressed to the Mashonaland Under-19 team along with such players as Brian Murphy, Gavin Rennie, Darlington and Everton Matambanadzo and Gary Brent. Even at the age of 16 he made some good scores, but just missed selection for the national side. He left high school after gaining his O-Levels in Form Four, but hopes to improve his academic qualifications at some time in the future.He followed his cricket interests, doing some coaching privately in the high-density areas and assisting the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and the Mashonaland Cricket Association on a private, part-time basis. In 1995/96 he began to play for Old Hararians Sports Club, coaching and practising in Highfield and at Harare Sports Club during the off season. His best club performance has been 96 not out against Kwekwe in 2001/02. In 1998 he was encouraged by the Old Hararians captain Trevor Penney to apply for the Zimbabwe Cricket Academy, and he was accepted for the 1999 season.His main memory of that year, along with many other students, was the visit of the Australian Cricket Academy team, which completely outclassed the local academy, mainly due to the express pace of Brett Lee who terrorized the locals and caused Patrick himself much concern. "It was a great turning point for all the Academy guys," he says.From 1999 Patrick played and coached in England. It was a good experience, although he found the pitches too slow, sub-standard and uncovered. He did learn to adapt to the various pitches, both good and bad. In the years 2000 and 2001 he played for Preston Nomads in Sussex, enjoying both seasons with bat and ball. "It is always good fun and experience playing in the UK," he says.After leaving the Academy, Patrick went to Manicaland for the remaining two years of his Academy contract. He opened the batting for them in the Logan Cup and played some useful innings, gradually finding the confidence to play his strokes more readily at that level.In September and October 2001, after the English season, he also visited the United States of America and played in Florida and Hartford, Connecticut. He came across some good players, especially from the West Indies, and had a good time both on and off the field. On his return, having completed his three-year contract with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, he decided to return from Manicaland to Mashonaland, especially as he had family responsibilities after the death of his mother. He signed a new contract and returned to Takashinga, who are now based in his home town of Highfield. He enjoyed a good all-round season in the national league, and expected to finish with the most wickets and the best bowling average for the league season.As a batsman his main attribute, he feels, is his concentration and the ability to bat for long periods of time, while as yet he is not fully fluent with his strokes at the top level. He is a strong back-foot player, scoring the majority of his runs on the on side and square of the wicket, while he also cuts well. He admits to having difficulty with the moving ball outside the off stump but is working on the problem. He is happy to open the innings, but given the choice feels he would prefer number four or five. He usually fields in the middle distance or in the gully. He has a very safe pair of hands and enjoys fielding, and is fairly quick to the ball.Cricket heroes: Viv Richards, Richie Richardson and Graham Gooch.Toughest opponents: "Brett Lee still sticks out in my mind, no doubt about that, for his express pace! I would love to face him again sometime, hopefully take him on, but if not to stick around for a long period."Future ambitions: "I hope to stay in the game and keep working on my game all the time. It will take time, but I hope to keep improving. I would like to play cricket at the highest possible level, and do well. I also want to assist youngsters as we keep trying to build up Zimbabwean cricket. My biggest wish at the moment is to represent Zimbabwe in the coming World Cup as we host all our home games."Biggest influences: "My late mother, my dad in Highfield, my family and good friends all around the world."Proudest achievement: "I remember when I was captain of Harare South and my junior school in Highfield, the England A side came over, including Michael Atherton, Neil Fairbrother, Derek Pringle and `Sid’ Lawrence, in 1989/90, and I got an autographed bat from them. Then I was rated High Glen Best Junior Batsman, in 1990. Also when I was awarded my cricket colours at Prince Edward High School in 1994 for the most outstanding performance and service. Also meeting the master King Viv Richards at the Malcolm Marshall Memorial match in London in 2000, and again in America in 2001, in Hartford, Connecticut."Best friends in cricket: "Amos Maungwa – he’s always out there, he tries very hard and we play and practise together for Takashinga. All those who love the game and always think positively. My late mother and all my remaining family for all their trust, love and encouragement; Devon Malcolm, the Hopkins family and Mr John Smith, all in Sussex, England."Other interests: "I like reading, especially cricket magazines and current information. I like fitness training; every time I’m free I go out and work on my fitness. I also like listening to music and watching cricket on television or on tape."Personal views: "I would like to help juniors coming up and offer a helping hand from the knowledge I’ve gained from the game so far. I can’t wait to see Zimbabwe get on top of world cricket and dominate more than West Indies did and more than Australia will ever do. My young players for the future are team-mates Tatenda Taibu, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Hamilton Masakadza, and Joe Gatting (son of Mike) who plays for Preston Nomads and Sussex CCC juniors. My motto in life is to respect and learn from others, and above all give thanks to the Almighty."

Yousuf Youhana became a doubtful starter for next week’s Sharjah Cup after he was forced to pull out from Thursday’s National One-day Championship final.Youhana’s employers PIA said Wednesday that the middle-order batsman was carrying a groin injury he had sustained during the last league match against Allied Bank in Karachi.The title favourites further said Youhana left the field Tuesday in PIA’s nine-run victory over National Bank after just five overs. He was limping and looked in discomfort, they said.”His injury seems to be severe otherwise he would not have pulled out from the final,” the team management said in a statement. However, Yousuf Youhana played down his injury scare saying the groin muscle was only tight.”I am just being careful and there is nothing serious or alarming. I don’t want to miss the Sharjah tournament or the series against New Zealand,” Youhana said from Lahore.Pakistan coach Mudassar Nazar was surprised when contacted in Lahore. “If he doesn’t play on Thursday, naturally questions will be asked. If he says he sat out because of groin trouble, then the doctors come into picture,” he said.Mudassar said Youhana was too valuable a player to be risked. “Of course, we will ask him how he feels. If he says he can play in Sharjah and then in the series against New Zealand, we have no problems. “But he will have to pass a fitness test for Sharjah ,” he said. The Sharjah triangular begins Monday.He added: “Youhana did the usual running at the Gaddafi Stadium and I didn’t notice that he was uncomfortable. But then groin doesn’t hurt much when you running in a straight line.”Mudassar said if there was enough doubt on Youhana’s fitness, Faisal Iqbal would be drafted in the side.”Faisal is the 16th player and he is a deserving candidate.”Faisal was last week added as non-playing member for which the critics slammed the youngster instead of targeting people who named him as a tourist. Faisal has scored consistently in the top order for PIA in the ongoing One-day Championship.

Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton are both hopeful the SA20 will serve as a launch pad to national selection after being overlooked for key series in the recent past.The pair have been first off the blocks at the SA20, with Rickelton leading the run charts with scores of 87 and 98 from the first two games and van der Dussen smashing a 50-ball 104 at the weekend. It was van der Dussen’s fourth T20 century but first in ten years and serves as a reminder of what he can do in this format, especially as an opener.”There’s a T20 World Cup later this year and I want to be in a position to hopefully put in strong performances for that,” van der Dussen, who has only played two T20Is since August 2022, said after his hundred in Johannesburg. “The last few series, I haven’t been playing and there’ve been some guys who have played really well. The last time I played was against Australia where I got one or two starts but I did not really convert. I am realistic in the sense that maybe my international T20 numbers in the last year or two, albeit not being bad, haven’t shot the lights out.”Related

• ICC confirms New York's Eisenhower Park will not host international games before T20 WC

• T20 vs Tests: New year begins with a new reality for South Africa

• SA20: Pollard replaces injured Rashid Khan as MI Cape Town captain

• No SA20 without South Africa's best – du Plessis and Markram okay with new reality

In his last seven T20Is, van der Dussen scored a total of 63 runs and has only gone past 20 once. Before that, he scored 1008 runs in 32 T20I innings at an average of 42.00 and a strike-rate of 132.80 and it’s those kinds of numbers he believes could force him into the national side. “I know what I can do. I know what kind of T20 player I can be and hopefully today is the start of that,” he said.With no T20Is before South Africa name their squad to go to West Indies (where they will play three matches before the World Cup starts), white-ball coach Rob Walter indicated he will use the SA20 and other leagues to select his final XV and van der Dussen has lined up the tournaments he will use as auditions as best he could. “I have this SA20, then I am going to PSL and then we have domestic CSA T20, so it’s going to be three to four months of T20 cricket and I can really focus on that,” he said. “As a player all you can really do is put on the performances and put the numbers on the board. I am not special, I am not above anyone else. If it’s going to be a shoot out but if they are going to select performances, then your name needs to be up there.”One of his direct competitors is his MI Cape Town team-mate, Rickelton, who was overlooked for all South Africa’s squads against India this summer, despite being considered across formats last season. There hasn’t been an official reason given for Rickelton’s omission, particularly in Tests where red-ball coach Shukri Conrad identified him as a batter he could build a side around, and van der Dussen’s assessment was that Rickelton has been unlucky.”I think he’s been hard done by to not be involved in any of the squads against India. He’s had a really good two to three years in all formats and he was in the mix earlier in the year and got left out. I know how badly he wants to play international cricket. He has had a taste of it at Test level but he is a brilliant fifty-over and Test player,” van der Dussen said.Like van der Dussen, Rickelton has had most of his success at T20 level as an opener and van der Dussen sees a spot for him in both white-ball formats for South Africa. “Quinny (de Kock) will be moving on and Ryan fits into that mould of someone who can replace Quinny. He definitely has the game. He’s very resilient and sometimes setbacks give you a platform to come back,” van der Dussen said.De Kock has retired from ODIs but remains available for South Africa in T20Is, although that may not be guaranteed. Late last year, Walter confirmed de Kock wanted to walk away from international cricket entirely but was convinced to stay on. There is every chance he may change his mind ahead of the World Cup but even if he does not, his opening partner is not secured. Reeza Hendricks is the most likely candidate but van der Dussen believes Rickelton, who is uncapped in T20Is, could make a strong case.”I know how hard he works, he keeps his head down, he was disappointed not to be in the Proteas squads, anyone would be, but he has worked on it,” van der Dussen said. “I really hope it continues and he has a strong tournament to remind people he’s still there and he’s a world class player. I’ve seen what he can do and I suppose if he puts the numbers on, you can’t really ignore him.”MI Cape Town’s next match is against Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Newlands on Tuesday.

Northamptonshire 183 for 2 (Gay 84*) beat Derbyshire 177 for 9 (Hudson-Prentice 64, White 4-20, Sanderson 3-29) by eight wicketsEmilio Gay’s unbeaten 84 led Northamptonshire to an eight-wicket victory over Derbyshire, securing their first win of the Royal London Cup campaign.The academy graduate saw the hosts over the line with three balls to spare in their chase for 178 for victory in a game reduced to 28 overs-a-side by morning rain.The left-hander’s heroics came after the Steelbacks’ new-ball pairing of Curtley-Jack White and Ben Sanderson had taken 4 for 20 and 3 for 29 respectively, reducing Derbyshire to 8 for 4 before Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s swashbuckling 64 gave the still winless visitors something to defend.Derbyshire’s batting woes this season have been well documented, and they were in trouble from the very first ball when White’s lbw appeal against Mitch Wagstaff was upheld.Sanderson’s first over brought greater carnage. Harry Came tried to hit the Steelbacks’ seamer over the top, only for Rob Keogh to pull off a stunning catch running back from mid-off.The next ball ripped out Tom Wood’s off-stump and although Alex Hughes survived the hat-trick, it was three in four for Sanderson when the Derbyshire skipper gloved one banged in short through to wicketkeeper Vasconcelos.The visitors were in disarray, but Hudson-Prentice led a thrilling counter offensive, hooking Wayne Parnell for a huge six.The all-rounder took three fours in an over from Freddie Heldreich and when the in-form Tom Taylor came on to try and halt the onslaught he too was hit for six over mid-on before Hudson-Prentice smote three fours back over the bowler’s head.His 50 came off 37 balls before he took one swing too many at Graeme White and lost his off-stump, ending a fifth wicket stand of 106 with Brook Guest (45) who proved a perfect foil.Another collapse followed as Anuj Dal, Alex Thomson and Guest were sent packing in rapid succession by Curtley-Jack White, but some late blows by Nils Priestley in a cameo of 25 gave Derbyshire hope.Vasconcelos and Gay began steadily, the latter the more fluent, striking Dal back over his head for four as 50 came up in the ninth over.Derbyshire fielded tigerishly pulling several shots back from the ropes, but the openers continued to accumulate and keep their side well up with the rate.The hundred came up in the 16th over with Gay first to 50 from 41 balls with four fours, Vasconcelos (50) reaching his half-century soon afterwards with the help of six boundaries, before the Northamptonshire skipper skied one to deep mid-off off Thomson, ending the stand at 105.Ben Curran made only 12 and 27 were needed from the last three overs, but Keogh’s 33 from 16 balls including two huge sixes settled matters.

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club has lodged a complaint against Legends of Rupganj player Sabbir Rahman for racially abusing and throwing stones at their player Elias Sunny. The alleged incident took place during the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) T20 match between Dhanmondi and Old DOHS Sports Club at the BKSP 3 ground in Dhaka on Wednesday.Rahman, who had a match lined up against Partex Sporting Club starting later in the day at the BKSP 4 ground, allegedly abused Sunny, who was on the field, and threw stones at him shortly after arriving at the sporting complex.Play was stopped for a few minutes when Sunny, fielding at the time, informed the on-field umpires Habibur Rahman and Mozahiduzzaman about the incident. After the match, Dhanmondi wrote a letter to the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) – the BCB committee that oversees club cricket in Dhaka – requesting disciplinary action.”[Sabbir Rahman] used abusive and racially discriminate language against Sunny. As a professional cricketer, such behaviour is not only indecent but also a punishable offense,” the letter said. “In this case, you are specially requested to take disciplinary action against Sabbir Rahman.”Sunny said that Rahman’s behaviour was not an isolated one. He said it had started earlier in the week when Dhanmondi played Rupganj.”Sabbir started abusing me when I was batting against Rupganj on June 13,” Sunny told ESPNcricinfo. “I asked him thrice whether he himself understood what he was saying, but he kept repeating it. I got angry, after which the umpires had to separate us. But he kept calling me (referring to his skin colour) repeatedly from the outfield. We won the match so I didn’t react too much.”During today’s match, when we were fielding, Rupganj’s bus had arrived near the BKSP 3 ground. He started teasing me with the same . I didn’t react at first. But shortly afterwards, he threw a stone at me. I maintained the protocol by telling the umpires. Play was stopped for a while. I also spoke to the match referee.”Speaking to the , Rahman denied that he had used a racial slur, adding, “There is no question of throwing a stone. Is it easy to throw stones? Why would I do something like that? He is my senior.”The CCDM, which will hold a hearing on the incident, has to investigate the matter since Rahman was technically an outsider or bystander during the Dhanmondi-Old DOHS game. If the match officials of the Dhanmondi game also report Rahman, it would be used as evidence against him.Rahman has a long record of disciplinary breaches. He received a six-month ban for abusing a fan on social media (that was later reduced by one month) in 2018. It came a few months after his central contract was revoked after he physically assaulted a fan during a first-class match in late 2017. During the 2016 BPL, the BCB fined him 30% of his BPL contract for “serious off-field disciplinary breaches”.

Aaron Finch, the Australia opener, will return to Surrey for the whole of the 2017 NatWest T20 Blast. He will also provide cover in the Championship when Kumar Sangakkara is away playing in the Caribbean Premier League.Finch featured as an overseas player for Surrey last season, scoring 259 runs at a strike rate of 144.69 in six Blast games, as well as averaging 48.66 in the Championship. At Guildford in July, he hit his first ball faced as a Surrey player for six. He has previously had two spells in county cricket at Yorkshire.Currently rated the No. 2 T20 batsman in the world according to the ICC rankings, Finch also holds the record for the highest T20 international score.”We are very pleased to welcome Finchy back to the Kia Oval after his positive impact on and off the field last season,” Surrey’s director of cricket, Alec Stewart, said. “He remains one of the most destructive batsman in world cricket and I’m sure our members and supporters will enjoy watching him again.”From the next season, the NatWest T20 Blast reverts to a single block in middle of the English summer, running through July and August – a move in part designed to try and make overseas players available for more of the competition.

Seven months ago, South Africa were “not keen” to play a day-night Test match, primarily because they had never done it before. Five months ago, they agreed to the fixture, after being assured of adequate preparation time. Now, on the eve of a match which has been dominated by discussion over their stand-in captain Faf du Plessis’ ball tampering offence, they are – in coach Russell Domingo’s words – “very excited” about featuring in only the third fixture of its kind. What changed?”When they said they changed the seam, made it black and it would have better visibility, things started changing,” du Plessis said. “We just wanted to be part of something and not miss out and see what’s its all about.”Cricket South Africa made it clear that keenness and not cash changed the players minds, and confirmed that Cricket Australia did not offer any financial incentive for their participation in this match. Instead, the hosts promised South Africa two warm-up matches, one pre-series, one mid-series under lights, and agreed to use the pink ball for a winter series between South Africa A and Australia A. Six of the current Test squad members were part of that series.South Africa A lost both unofficial Tests but gained reassuring experience. At the time, Vernon Philander still had some doubt about the ball’s softness but his report was better than last year’s, when even Australian players believed the ball needed improvement.It was those concerns that initially dissuaded South Africa. In chats before the World T20, when Australia visited South Africa for three T20s, and at the IPL, South African players “spoke to the Australian players and read the comments around the pink ball”. “There were a lot of question marks around it and at the time, it didn’t sound like it was ready for it to be perfect,” du Plessis said.Since then, the ball has undergone changes and players are more comfortable with it. Steven Smith confirmed it doesn’t swing as much because of the extra layer of lacquer, but it still is most effective under lights: “If you look at pink-ball statistics, most wickets have been lost in the third session of play. That is the pattern that has happened.”Quinton de Kock made batting against the pink ball look very easy during South Africa’s first day-night warm-up match•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

For Faf du Plessis that is not a major issue because “two-thirds of the game happens during the day”. With the sun setting at around 8pm, only some part of the final session takes place in complete darkness. “When you say day-night, you think everything is happening at night but most of it is happening in the day. It’s only an hour of night game. It’s actually a short time,” du Plessis said.But a significant part of the second session will be played in the twilight period when it is said to be most difficult to bat. South Africa have tried to downplay the twilight period and are taking inspiration from Quinton de Kock, who scored 122 in the first warm-up and felt so comfortable that he didn’t play the second.”The beauty of Quinton de Kock and the way he plays is the simplicity he gave with that answer about the pink ball. Its just another ball. Someone asked him about batting at dusk, he said it was the easiest time to bat. So that’s the sort of attitude we are going into it with,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, said. “It’s just another cricket ball. It might be a different colour. It’s just another cricket pitch. They have all played under lights before. We’re not too concerned whether its pink, white or red at the moment. We just want to play the Test match.”The ball aside, South Africa are also looking forward to the match because it presents them with the opportunity to make history. After achieving a third successive Test series win in Australia, they have the opportunity to become the only team to whitewash Australia 3-0 at home. Several South African players have called a 3-nil scoreline, their “mission”.Despite the attention on the ball-tampering claims, South Africa still consider themselves to have the advantage because of the state of the Australian team. Their XI has five changes from the Hobart Test, including three debutants, and du Plessis did not hide the satisfaction he is getting from seeing Australia in strife.”When you see all the changes they are making now, that brings pleasure to me as a captain to see that what we are doing is creating something in the Australian team that they feel they need to change. If I was sitting in that team, a lot of changes means you are trying to change everything in your team. I’d rather be sitting on my side,” du Plessis said.His coach was more cautious and warned that Australia won’t go down without a fight, especially in a match this important. “I don’t think there has ever been an Australian team that has just given up or been easy to beat,” Domingo said. “We know they will be desperate to do well and get their cricket going again.”