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Australia coach Darren Lehmann said that under lights the pitch at the Adelaide Oval quickens up, and this could fit in well with the team’s plans of using the short ball against England

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide28-Nov-2017Rollover Brisvegas, and tell the WACA the news. Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has declared Adelaide Oval under lights to be the fastest pitch in the country, adding further ammunition for a pace attack intent on bouncing England’s middle order and tail into submission opposite the considerable wiles of Nathan Lyon.

No curfews for Australia Test team

No Australian team coached by Darren Lehmann has been handed a curfew, and he is not about to impose one now.
As England continued to squirm over Australia’s use of the Jonny Bairstow-Cameron Bancroft incident to discomfort the tourists, Lehmann responded to reports that Joe Root’s team may be asked to ensure they are back in their hotel by midnight by saying such restrictions would never be imposed on his watch.
“We wouldn’t have curfews but that’s our decision and that’s theirs,” Lehmann said. “We have faith in the blokes to do the right thing, but they’re grown men, they’re adults, and that’s just my personal opinion. You should enjoy your successes, there are no dramas with that. It’s just making sure you don’t cross the line. I’m happy with where our blokes sit with that.”
Lehmann became coach in 2013 immediately after David Warner’s suspension for punching Joe Root in a Birmingham bar, and has since allowed his players to use their commonsense in most situations, though levying the occasional fine – notably on Chris Rogers for turning up late to the team’s 2014 Ashes victory celebration at the Sydney Opera House.

The Ashes series leaders will wait until later in the week to decide whether any of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins are in need of rest after the Gabba Test – in which case the post will be filled by Chadd Sayers. Either way, Lehmann said that the uncertainty created by a moving pink ball, ostensibly suited to James Anderson and Stuart Broad, will be counterbalanced by extra zip off the surface that can aid the short-pitched attack telegraphed in Brisbane.Starc had noted during the first Test that he wanted to bowl at England on a faster surface than the uncharacteristically docile Gabba had been. Lehmann, present in Adelaide for both the South Australia versus New South Wales match, in which Sayers sorely tested Steven Smith and David Warner, and the tour match in which England got acquainted with the Oval’s nocturnal conditions, said that when the sun went down and the floodlights were turned on that is exactly what Adelaide would become.”It’s a fascinating Test match, there’s a lot of talk about it’ll seam and it’ll swing,” Lehmann said on Tuesday as the teams traveled from Brisbane to Adelaide. “The ball stays pretty good, but you can make runs if you play well as per normal. And it does quicken up at night – probably the fastest wicket around Australia at night, so that’s going to be interesting, how it plays.”[Bowling short] certainly hasn’t changed from four years ago. It’s a bit different in Australia than England where grounds are smaller and you can’t really get away with it, on bigger grounds you can. So that’s one for us that we see as an advantage. They did it quite a lot to us as well, it’s a ploy a lot of people do now. At the back end when the wicket quickened up and we could go after them a bit harder was helpful. That’s the blueprint, it’s no secret we’re going to attack their middle and lower order like that.”You’re more comfortable in your preparation [having played day-night Tests before], you know what you have to do to get ready. So the lead-in is a lot more normal for us than other teams having done it twice. This is the third time so we’re pretty comfortable where it sits. In terms of preparation and all that we’ll be fine, it’s just which team adapts the best I suppose.”Most conspicuously through the stratagems of the touring captain Joe Root, England showed their plans to the Australians at the Gabba, something Lehmann said would be useful for the remainder of the series. “We back-ended the first Test really well, but they played really well in the first innings and we learned a lot about them as a side. Nothing we didn’t already know but it just confirmed a lot of things along the way,” he said. “[We saw] more of their plans, how they want to tackle our group, which was good for us.”In weighing up whether or not the selectors would rest one of the three Brisbane pacemen, Lehmann pointed out that while their first-innings exertions had been considerable, the swift end of England’s second innings and a day five where they were not needed had already helped in terms of recovery.”First innings yeah [they bowled a lot of overs] but you cut it back in the second innings, only 70 [overall] and Lyon bowled 20 of those so it wasn’t too bad in terms of where they would be in a normal Test match,” Lehmann said. “We’ll just wait and see how we go at training over the next couple of days, if they get through then I think we’d be very similar, but we’ll have to wait and see the wicket. It’s just how they’ve recovered, as long as they get through main day [Thursday] they’re all good.”Equally valuable was how effectively Lyon was able to not only restrict the England run rate but also threaten consistently for wickets, to the extent that Lehmann even offered a conditional comparison to the role once played by the usually incomparable Shane Warne. At the same time he noted how much Lyon had grown since this time last year, when he came close to being dropped from the team at the end of five consecutive losses.Getty Images

“He kept us in the game day one, he was fantastic. He’s just grown with confidence and success breeds that,” Lehman said. “For him he’s actually come out of his shell a lot as well, he wants the ball day in, day out, a bit like Warney did when he played. He’s not as confident as Warney was, but he’s just really starting to lead and help the bowlers out, which is great.”We talked [last year] about how he needed to perform but that was like everyone. When you get to that stage everyone needed to perform, everyone was put on notice. The pleasing thing is that he’s bounced back from that, and from that moment on he’s really led the attack. That was a low part, we changed the side around and made it a youth policy if you like from a [Board] directive, so for us he’s done really well.”He obviously had to change a few things when he two’d and fro’d, but he didn’t need to change much in Australia, because you need to the bounce. It was more when he went away from Australia to the subcontinent he changed a few things, he did that and had success. So he started to believe he could change when he needs to, which is important.”Nevertheless, Lehmann said the Australian selectors were still on the lookout for an allrounder of quality to ease the load on the rest of the attack while also making substantial middle order runs. He was happy to hear that Mitchell Marsh is soon to resume competitive bowling after shoulder surgery, while Marcus Stoinis is also thought to be in calculations.”You’d always like one,” Lehmann said. “At the moment some of the allrounders aren’t knocking down the door like they should be. If you look at the past, when we had Shane Warne bowling at one end, you didn’t have an allrounder but you had Steve and Mark Waugh who took [150] Test wickets, so there’s an allrounder in itself. They’re just handy when you have that long second innings more so than not, and if you get an injury during the game. At the moment it’s ok, but you certainly look at it.”

A fracture has ruled Leigh Kasperek out for eight weeks, including six qualification games

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2016New Zealand Women offspinner Leigh Kasperek has been sidelined for a minimum of eight weeks with a broken finger. X-rays confirmed she sustained an avulsion fracture to her right index finger while training in South Africa last week for the seven-match ODI series which starts on October 8. Kasperek will miss that series as well as New Zealand’s home series against Pakistan in November.Auckland allrounder Maddy Green, who also bowls offspin, will replace Kasperek for the South Africa tour. Green, who last played for New Zealand in July 2015, has played eight ODIs so far but has only one wicket to her name. She is yet to score an international fifty.”We do feel our bowling stocks are quite well covered,” coach Haidee Tiffen said. “Maddy provides cover if we do need it, but we’ve also already got the experience of [off-spinning allrounder] Amy Satterthwaite who now steps up into that bowling role for us, as well as [legspinners] Sam Curtis and Erin Bermingham up our sleeves. And, of course, the class of Morna Nielsen.”While it’s obviously extremely disappointing for Leigh, and we wish her a swift recovery, she returns to Dunedin safe in the knowledge that the team has had very good preparation here and a really good lead-in.”Kasperek, who made her international debut last year, has been one of the leading bowlers for New Zealand. She was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the World T20 in India earlier this year, with nine scalps from five matches and an economy rate of 4.91.New Zealand will miss Kasperek for the six ODIs that will count for the ICC Women’s Championship to qualify directly for next year’s World Cup. Australia, who have already qualified, lead the table (30 points) followed by West Indies (20) and England (19). New Zealand lie fourth on the table with 16 points.

Former South Africa fast bowler Andre Nel is set to coach provincial side Easterns at the Africa Cup T20 tournament

Firdose Moonda02-Sep-2015Andre Nel, South Africa cricket’s original scary eyes, is back. Not to inflict another bruise on a hero, like he did when he felled Allan Donald with a fierce bouncer in a first-class match, or to stick his tongue out at the opposition and induce impromptu bat-swinging breakdance like he did against Sreesanth, but to teach others how to.Nel, who has been coaching at a school and a university academy, will coach provincial side Easterns at the Africa Cup T20 tournament, a coming-of-age position for the now-placid paceman. “I feel like life has come full circle for me because this is where I started and now I just want to help Easterns get back to the where they were,” he told ESPNcricinfo. Nel was part of the Easterns provincial side that won the premier first-class competition in the 2002-03 season, before South African domestic cricket was franchised.Since the franchise system formed, Easterns have been one of the feeder teams to the Titans. But as a semi-professional side, Easterns have underwhelmed in the three-day and List A competitions, with no titles to their name. Nel wants to begin changing that in his first assignment, a T20 competition, played between South Africa’s provincial teams as well as invited outfits from Zimbabwe, Kenya and Namibia, which starts this weekend.Easterns are grouped with their franchise partners, Northerns, Western Province and Zimbabwe. Only the top team in each pool advances to the knockouts, so Nel knows he has a difficult task ahead. “We’re in a tough pool and everybody expects us not to win so it’s definitely going to be a challenge,” Nel said. “But if everything in life was easy, everyone would be doing it.”But Easterns have two major advantages. The weekend’s fixtures, which incorporate all six matches in the group, will be played at their home ground, Willowmoore Park and they have a rejuvenated international in their squad. Quinton de Kock will turn out for Easterns in a bid to continue with his new-found form and play himself back into the national team after he was dropped during the Bangladesh series.Nel hopes to nudge de Kock in the right direction by putting no pressure on him and providing advice as someone who also had to work his way back into the senior side.”He has been through a tough time. I know what it is like to be dropped and then have find your way back and the most important thing is to be humble. When you get in quite young, there is extra pressure on you to stay in the side and you have to take that out of the equation.”I just want to give him the freedom to go out and express himself. Sometimes maybe he gets too nervous. He must just go out and be Quinton de Kock and not try to be someone else.” Although Nel was no batsman, his only other advice for de Kock is “work on his on-side game.”The technical tidbits will be saved for the bowlers and Nel has a number to work with, including Junior Dala, who featured regularly for the Titans last season.Dala is quick with an unusual slingy action and Nel is looking forward to moulding him for future success. “I worked with Junior at the University of Johannesburg academy so I know him pretty well. He has just come back from Sri Lanka with the South African Emerging side so he is definitely on the radar and he should be. He is looking strong and fit and he offers something different.”

Ashton Agar’s stay in India has been extended to take in Australia’s major warm-up for the Test series as the possibility grows that he may be in line for an extraordinary international debut in Chennai

Daniel Brettig15-Feb-2013Ashton Agar’s stay in India has been extended to take in Australia’s major warm-up for the Test series as the possibility grows that he may be in line for an extraordinary international debut in Chennai.Previously scheduled to depart for India once the full touring squad had assembled, Agar will now be playing the three-day match against India A beginning on Saturday, and may yet have his time on the subcontinent expanded to include the Tests.Agar is one of three spinners Australia will field in the practice game, Xavier Doherty and Nathan Lyon being the other two. Michael Clarke and David Warner will miss the match, following their recovery from injuries, to be ready for the first Test on February 22.Only 19 years old and having played just a pair of Sheffield Shield matches for Western Australia following the shoulder injury to Michael Beer that ruled him out of this tour, Agar’s left-arm spin has stuck in the memory of all who have witnessed his bowling in recent weeks.His mature approach and skill in the field and with the bat has notably impressed the national selector John Inverarity, who is en route to India to discuss the composition of the team ahead of the first Test with the captain Michael Clarke and the coach Mickey Arthur.”The plan at the moment is that he returns in time to play for Western Australia but there is a possibility that he could stay a bit longer,” Inverarity told . “We needed someone to make up the XI and it was a very good opportunity to invest an opportunity in a promising young player.”Inverarity’s panel named numerous spin bowling options for the tour behind the incumbent Test tweaker Nathan Lyon, including the Tasmanian Xavier Doherty and the allrounders Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith. Agar lost little by comparison to his more experienced slow bowlers when he delivered eight overs during a two-day practice match earlier this week, and now has a further opportunity to usurp his seniors.”Ash bowled really well in the two-day game,” Clarke told . “Everyone knows he’s very talented. He’s had success for Western Australia [eight wickets at 30.12 in two matches].”I spent some time with him yesterday in the nets and tried to get him to watch some of the Indian spinners in the nets and see what he was learning from what they were doing. He’s going to be a very good bowler. He wants to learn – he wants to get better.”You never know what could happen. He’s very lucky now. He’s been given the opportunity to play in this three-dayer. We have Xavier Doherty, we have Nathan Lyon, we have Glenn Maxwell and we have Ashton Agar who all bowl spin. We want to make sure we’re doing everything in our power to make the right decision for the first Test.”In this there are parallels with Lyon, who was chosen for Australia’s Test side in Sri Lanka in 2011 after only a handful of Sheffield Shield appearances for South Australia, and to date has played more than half his 35 first-class matches at Test level. In the absence of outstanding spin bowling talent bolstered by experience, the selectors have been inclined to flights of fancy, of which Agar would be another.His spells for the Warriors against New South Wales on his Shield debut at Blacktown Oval were noteworthy against batsmen well versed in tackling spin, the wickets of Scott Henry and Peter Nevill gained through genuine turn and changes of pace.Agar’s Shield batting has also been useful, reaping one half-century and one other handy score in four innings so far. He went to India on the cricket equivalent of an internship, but is now a chance of making a most rapid graduation to full duties.’I wasn’t expecting too much at the start of the summer but it has all happened very quickly and it has turned into a bit of a dream,” Agar said. ”Michael Beer was bowling really well but he got injured. That gave me an opportunity to play for Western Australia, now to tour India for a week. It has been great.”

Hobart Hurricanes’ last gasp victory over Melbourne Renegades at Bellerive Oval secured Xavier Doherty’s side a Big Bash League semi-final at home

The Report by Alex Malcolm18-Jan-2012
ScorecardOwais Shah played a match-winning innings for Hobart Hurricanes•Getty Images

Extraordinary. Thrilling. Bizarre. That summed up Hobart Hurricanes’ last gasp victory over Melbourne Renegades at Bellerive Oval, which secured Xavier Doherty’s side a Big Bash League semi-final at home.Chasing 174, it came down to the last over. Renegades captain Andrew McDonald gambled by entrusting Shahid Afridi with the job. Hurricanes needed 10 to win from Afridi’s six balls.Before that climax, Renegades had been in control. Hurricanes needed 52 off 30 balls with Owais Shah on 26 and Jonathon Wells on 62. Afridi conceded 18 from the 16th over, including one delivery that cost five wides, as he was unable to combat the pre-delivery movement and unusual hitting of Shah.Shah was still there at the start of the final over but he was stuck at the non-striker’s end. Phil Jaques had moved down the order to five to accommodate Mark Cosgrove’s inclusion. With 8 from 4 balls faced, Jaques top-edged a reverse-sweep over short third man for three runs. The equation was seven off five. Shah cut the next to point for one. Six off four. Afidi fired a quicker full toss that struck Jaques on the pad. No run. Jaques squeezed a single from the next, leaving Shah five to win from two balls. Afridi was on the verge of being the hero.Then the twist. Shah backed away, Afridi fired full and wide, Shah managed to edge it fine to third man for four. Hobart needed one off the last ball to avoid a super over. Afridi obliged with a wide. Shah was not required to play a shot to win his side the game. He was named Man of the Match for his unbeaten 49 from 30 balls.Earlier in the game, Renegades looked like they had saved their best performance of the tournament for their last appearance. After winning the toss, Brad Hodge and Aaron Finch rollicked along in the Hobart sun. They thumped an opening stand of 126 from just 13.3 overs. Finch made 67, Hodge 63, as the pair struck four sixes and thirteen boundaries between them. The coup de grace was Finch’s three consecutive sixes against Jason Krejza. The offspinner had the last laugh, though, having Finch caught at long-off. Despite being expensive, Krejza picked up three important wickets.Renegades were unable to capitalise on the incredible foundation that was laid. After Hodge departed in the 14th over, they managed just 43 from the last 36 deliveries of the innings.It made the chase an enticing one for the inform Hobart top-order. Jonathan Wells made his highest score of the tournament – a well-compiled 72 from 61 balls. He was ably supported by the Big Bash League’s leading run-scorer, Travis Birt, who clubbed 25 from 16 balls, including three sixes in the space of six balls.When Afridi trapped Birt lbw, Renegades regained the ascendancy before Shah entered to do what he does best. He controlled the chased with clever placement and superb timing. He did leave it to the last ball to seal victory, but he got the result he required and secured his team a home semi-final in the process.

Peter Ingram, the New Zealand opening batsman, has said his international career is “pretty much gone”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2011Peter Ingram, the New Zealand opening batsman, has said his international career is “pretty much gone” after being left out of the 30-man preliminary 2011 World Cup squad that was announced last month.I’ll just play for Central Districts and Taranaki if I get a chance,” he told the yesterday. Ingram, who played eight ODIs in 2010, scoring 193 runs at an average of 27.57, said he didn’t even get a call from the selectors telling him he hadn’t made the cut for the World Cup.”I was third in the one-day averages last year for New Zealand and I didn’t even get a call. It just shows what they [selectors] are like.”Ingram plays domestically for Central Districts, which narrowly failed to defend their HRV cup title, losing to Auckland by four runs last weekend. “We’re pretty gutted, but that’s cricket,” he said. “We’re still pretty pumped, we’ve still got two competitions that we want to win and we’re pretty excited about that. It can still be a pretty good summer.”New Zealand Cricket decided to move the HRV Cup to December from its traditional spot in January so that it wouldn’t clash with the international calendar, which resulted in lower attendances, but Ingram said the change was the right move. “We have to have the Black Caps available. We need the likes of Rossco [Ross Taylor] playing. He brings an extra 1000 people into the ground, I reckon.”Central Districts currently lead New Zealand’s domestic four-day competition, the Plunket Shield, having notched up three consecutive victories.

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif and the Karachi city government have come together to launch, from next week, what might be the most lucrative club tournament to have been played in Pakistan

Osman Samiuddin02-Feb-2010Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif and the Karachi city government have come together to launch, from next week, what might be the most lucrative club tournament to have been played in Pakistan.The Karachi Champions League, a Twenty20 league, for the leading clubs of the city will begin next week with Rs 10 million (around USD 117,200) as the top prize for the winners. The tournament, a brainchild of Latif and the Rashid Latif Cricket Academy (RLCA) will feature a number of Karachi-based international players, as well as a host of domestic cricketers. Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Khalid Latif, Fawad Alam, Khurram Manzoor and Sarfraz Ahmed, among others, will be playing.”It was an old idea of mine, one that I had been working on,” Latif, who captained Pakistan as well, told Cricinfo. “I am a big follower of English football and I love the history of clubs over there, like Chelsea and Fulham. We have so many old clubs in Karachi and we need to revive that club culture once again here.”The idea was put into practice after Latif ran the idea by the city’s mayor Mustafa Kamal during what was supposed to be a five-minute meeting. “We ran the idea by him and he agreed after a minute,” Latif said. The prize money has been put up by Kamal’s city government; as well as the winning club getting Rs 10 million, the runners-up will receive Rs 5 million (around USD 58,900), the semi-finalists Rs 500,000 (around USD 5900) each and the quarter-finalists Rs 250,000 (around USD 2900). All told there is Rs 17 million (nearly USD 200,000) in prize money at stake, easily the most lucrative local tournament in the country’s history.The tournament is expected to last nearly a month and will be played at various grounds around the city that are supervised and run by the RLCA. Malir Gymkhana, North Nazimabad CC, Korangi Al-Fatah CC and Airport Gymkhana are some of the more renowned 16 clubs in the tournament and each will be allowed only one international player.The tournament will be televised on , a local sports channel and plans are already underway to make it a national league – the Pakistan Champions League. “Karachi is the financial centre of Pakistan and a lot of MNCs are based here,” Latif said. “The plan is to get them to sponsor a club each. Next season we will introduce player trading and hopefully in time, it can be pushed to a national league.”

Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper strikes his highest professional score in rain-affected match

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Aug-2025Tom Moores smashed a career-best 148 from 93 balls as Notts Outlaws launched their Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign with a comfortable victory over Essex.It is the 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter’s highest score in senior cricket, eclipsing his first-class best of 106. He hit five sixes and 18 fours, sharing a 137-run sixth-wicket partnership with Daniel Sams (45 off 42) as the Outlaws recovered to 283 for 9, having been 41 for four inside the first hour thanks to Essex seamer Jamie Porter taking a List A career-best 4 for 29.Robin Das (46) and skipper Tom Westley (43) gave the Essex a solid start as they chased a revised target of 286 after squally showers had limited the home side to 46 overs in their innings, but from 101 for one they collapsed to 156 for 6, former Lincolnshire left-arm spinner Joe Pocklington taking 3 for 53 on his Outlaws debut, and despite an excellent unbeaten 46 from 41 balls (two sixes) from wicketkeeper Simon Fernandes, still fell for 234, seamer Rob Lord finishing with 3 for 30.After Westley won the toss and asked the home side to bat first in typical outground conditions at the John Fretwell Sports Complex, just outside Mansfield, Porter bowled his 10-over allocation in one spell to have Notts struggling.Having picked up a gift wicket when Outlaws skipper Haseeb Hameed chipped to mid-off, he found movement with the new ball to bowl Ben Slater and the 18-year-old debutant Sam Seecharan before Jack Haynes was caught behind off a thin edge.The hosts stumbled further to 74 for 5 as Lyndon James cut straight to cover, but with Porter bowled out, an Essex attack lacking Simon Harmer (on paternity leave) looked much less menacing.Moores was dropped at deep backward square on 21 off Noah Thain but responded by launching the same bowler over the same boundary for the first of his sixes in an innings that showcased his strengths square of the wicket. His first fifty came off 35 balls, his hundred from 69. His previous List A best had been 76 against Leicestershire in 2018, although this was only his 30th match in the format.Sams – available for Notts until he begins a Caribbean Premier League stint later this month – cleared the rope three times before top-edging to midwicket. Essex’s 19-year-old seamer Charlie Bennett, on his List A debut, recovered from a wobbly start to pick up the wickets of both Sams and Moores, who was eventually held at long-on.After losing Matt Critchley early, Essex looked well placed at 101 for 1 in the 16th over but after Das, who made a match-winning century for his county at Trent Bridge last summer, had miscued Lord to mid-on, Essex were never able to regain full momentum.Westley was well taken at short midwicket as Lord struck again, before 24-year-old Pocklington – handed a contract only this week after call-ups to The Hundred and Matt Montgomery’s move to Derbyshire left Notts with effectively no spinners – marked a memorable debut by bowling Luc Benkenstein, snaring Charlie Allison with a return catch and having Nick Browne caught behind off a botched reverse sweep.Lyndon James had Noah Thain and Bennett both caught at midwicket and Shane Snater caught behind as Essex – who have won just seven of 25 One-Day Cup fixtures since they reached the semi-finals in 2021 – were bowled out for 234.

Broadcaster set to move across from President role in October, following Bruce Carnegie-Brown’s tenure

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2024Mark Nicholas is set to take over as MCC’s chair when his one-year term as President expires in October, after being recommended as Bruce Carnegie-Brown’s successor in the role.Nicholas, 66, will be recommended as the new chair at the club’s AGM in May, working in conjunction with the chief executive, Guy Lavender. He has been a member of MCC since 1981, and has served on the club’s Cricket, Marketing and Main Committees since the 1990s.In his playing days, Nicholas scored over 25,000 runs and took 173 wickets in a professional career spanning over two decades. As captain of Hampshire, he guided the side to four trophies between 1986 and 1992, including three victories in Lord’s finals, and he also captained England A.The position of MCC chair has existed since 2000, and Nicholas is set to become its seventh incumbent, but the first former professional cricketer in the role. In the course of his presidency, he has expressed the opinion that MCC should take over the ownership of the Lord’s-based Hundred team, London Spirit, and this move may be an indication of the club’s ambition on that front.Nicholas is currently chair of the Hampshire-based Southern Brave team; a non-executive director of the media rights agency, River Media Partners, and co-founder/director of Century Cricket which runs IPL-style T20 tournaments for club and junior cricketers in Australia.In 2005, he co-founded Chance to Shine, the cricket charity that has helped to re-introduce the sport to 4,000 state schools in England and Wales, and given 6 million children a chance to play the game. His long and successful media career is synonymous with the Ashes summer of 2005, for which he anchored Channel 5’s coverage. He has worked extensively with Channel 9 in Australia, Supersport in South Africa, and also writes columns for The Telegraph and ESPNcricinfo.”The role of MCC chair is a huge responsibility and I am honoured to have been named as the Committee’s recommendation to the membership,” Nicholas said. “Amongst many aspects of the club’s immediate future, is the need to engage more with Members. In addition, we are embarking on many new projects and opportunities as we look to embrace this ever-changing game. I hope to ensure that we can play our part in cricket’s development over the coming years.”Chris Rogers, MCC Treasurer, said: “The Nominations committee found that Mark was the outstanding candidate for the role, noting that he has a deep and personal knowledge of the game. In making its recommendation, the MCC Committee feels that his experience, as a player, broadcaster, journalist and administrator, would be of huge benefit to MCC.”

Labuschagne and Khawaja hit half-centuries on a truncated day before Nortje helped SA claw back

Tristan Lavalette03-Jan-2023Stumps Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja hit half-centuries for Australia on a truncated day one before Anrich Nortje helped South Africa claw back into the third Test at a gloomy SCG.After captain Pat Cummins won a crucial toss and elected to bat on a dry surface, Australia reached stumps at 147 for 2 with Khawaja unbeaten on 54 and Steven Smith yet to face a delivery.Labuschagne fell for 79 on what turned out to be the final delivery of the day’s play. Only 47 overs were bowled due to bad light and rain much to the disappointment of the 31,000 crowd in another Sydney Test match affected by inclement conditions.Labuschagne and Khawaja had built a strong platform with a 135-run partnership after the early loss of opener David Warner for 10. There was a delay of more than two hours due to bad light before five overs were squeezed in late in the day and Nortje capitalised with a cracking delivery to remove Labuschagne.Exerting plenty of energy, Nortje conjured sharp bounce and pace on the slow surface to produce an unplayable delivery that had Labuschagne caught behind.After a lionhearted effort in Melbourne, Nortje was again the standout with 2 for 26 from 11 overs having earlier taken the wicket of Warner. He has kept a struggling South Africa buoyant after Australia threatened to grab an early stranglehold of the contest.Labuschagne had been irrepressible until on 70 he appeared to be dismissed out of nowhere when he edged seamer Marco Jansen to first slip where Simon Harmer claimed a low catch.It was given out on the soft signal but Labuschagne stood his ground and it seemed difficult to prove from replays whether Harmer had his hands under the ball close to the turf.Third umpire Richard Kettleborough overturned the decision much to the frustration of South Africa. It only furthered Labuschagne’s reputation as a rather charmed batter but he had played imperiously before that contentious incident with five boundaries in 12 balls to go from 40 to 61.After bowling well before lunch, Harmer trapped Khawaja lbw with the second delivery of the second session only for the decision to be reversed when replays showed the ball hit the glove first.Having revived his career a year ago with twin centuries against England on this ground, Khawaja passed 4000 career Test runs en route to a half-century.Usman Khawaja drives through the covers•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Under-pressure South Africa captain Dean Elgar once again made questionable decisions, including under-utilising Harmer who bowled just five overs even though his off-spin particularly threatened left-handed Khawaja.Elgar, however, backed underperforming left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj who bowled nine overs for 35 runs with Labuschagne and Khawaja sweeping effectively against him.Maharaj has now bowled 52.5 overs without reward in this series.While Nortje toiled, spearhead Kagiso Rabada continued his underwhelming series to finish with 0 for 45 off 12 overs. He unsuccessfully reverted to bowling short against Labuschagne, who counterattacked with ease.Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood and Matt Renshaw were named in an Australia team attempting a clean sweep of the series and a spot in the World Test Championship final in June.There was drama when Renshaw, playing his first Test since 2018, tested positive for Covid-19 on a rapid antigen test after feeling unwell before the day’s play, but he will continue to play in the match.With the SCG surface set to play more traditionally, Australia named two frontline spinners at home for the first time in six years with left-arm spinner Agar making his return having not played Tests since 2017.Regular quick Hazlewood returned from a side strain having edged out Scott Boland and uncapped tearaway Lance Morris.Along with Harmer, who replaced Lungi Ngidi, South Africa named batter Heinrich Klaasen in place of Theunis de Bruyn who returned home for the birth of his first child.South Africa still have a slim chance at qualifying for the WTC final with a consolation victory as their spirit lifted after Njorte’s late heroics.