Category Uncategorized

Andrew Strauss has no intentions of marking his 100th Test by resigning from the captaincy after England’s 2-0 Test series defeat against South Africa, their heaviest defeat in a home Test series for 11 years.

George Dobell20-Aug-2012Andrew Strauss has no immediate intentions of marking his 100th Test by resigning from the captaincy after England’s 2-0 Test series defeat against South Africa, their heaviest defeat in a home Test series for 11 years.”Hope so,” was his brief response when he was asked at the presentation ceremony at Lord’s if he wanted to captain England as they try to reclaim the top Test ranking which they have held so shakily for the past year.But there was little disguising that England’s poor performances in their year as Test No 1, his own poor form and the stand-off with Kevin Pietersen, all hang more heavily upon him than he cares to indicate.Half-an-hour later, pressed whether his enthusiasm for captaincy of the Test side had been galvanised by a spirited run chase on the final day at Lord’s, he was more equivocal and declined to reaffirm his desire to remain in the role unconditionally.”It’s probably hard to answer that after the week that’s just gone by,” he said. “It’s been a tiring week. I’ve great faith in the team; I’ve great faith in the set-up. I’ve still got a lot of desire there. I’m keen to get away for a few days and have a bit of a break. Then we all need to sit down – myself and Andy Flower in particular – and try and map out the way forward. I’ve got great faith in the talent in the dressing room, and also the desire in the dressing room and we’re going to need that.”During England’s time as No 1, they have lost six of their 11 Tests this year, losing to Pakistan in the UAE and at home to a South Africa side who out-performed them in all facets of the game. The last time England lost a home Test series by more than one match was against Australia, who prevailed 3-1 in the 2001 Ashes.Strauss, who failed to make a half-century in the series, admitted that it had been a difficult year, one which he would remember: “Not with a great deal of fondness”.He said: “We have had some tough times and I think that is a good thing. Test cricket tests out your character and your resilience. When you are No. 1 people are trying to gun you down and we have come unstuck a few times. I think we have learned a lot along the way.Andrew Strauss said he hopes he is the man to lead England back to No. 1•Getty Images

“We’ve lost a lot more than we would have wanted to. Maybe that tag of being No 1 hasn’t sat as comfortably as it should have done with us. We haven’t been in that situation before, and maybe we’ve learned from some important lessons on how we should approach it in the future. Our first priority is to get back in that situation.”Whether it was because of a change of mindset – from being the hunters to the ones that are hunted – I don’t know. Or maybe we came unstuck in the sub-continent and lost a bit of confidence along the way. I don’t know the exact answers right now. But those are the sort of questions we need to find answers to.”When you reach No. 1 you have to up your performance, you can’t rest on your laurels, you can’t afford any bad days, you have to be hungry, just as motivated. Although I can’t fault the effort the guys have put in, in certain areas we haven’t been quite on the ball.”It will be a shame to hand over that mace to South Africa but right at the moment they deserve to be No 1 and we will come back.”Strauss identified England’s poor catching and flimsy top-order batting as the primary reasons England lost the series. “The obvious thing to focus on is that our batting was below-par and we dropped catches,” he said.”In a three-Test series in particular, dropping those sort of catches against a good batting line-up can be the difference between winning and losing games. We’ve got to sit back and have a look at everything, really: how we’re training; everything we can control; can we do it better?”We were never favourites to win the game today, but I thought the spirit the guys showed and the never-say-die attitude they displayed was a great credit to all the players. This was how I expected the whole series to play out – very close games of cricket, small margins between the sides.”

Title-chasing Durham kept Nottinghamshire under pressure on the first day at Trent Bridge despite a century from Alex Hales, but the loss of three top-order wickets dented their advantage

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge22-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Alex Hales provided more evidence that Nottinghamshire’s long search for a consistently productive opening partnership is at least half complete but Durham emerged in better shape than they might have expected from a day that threatened to put their title challenge under real pressure, even though they have some work to do after closing on 44 for 3 on a surface producing some disconcertingly variable bounce.Presented with a pitch not much more than a firm push from the boundary on the Bridgford Road side, Notts captain Chris Read took the decision to bat first for only the second time at Trent Bridge this summer. As the day unfolded, it seemed he may have been thinking as much about not batting last, but one would imagine he would have wanted to give his bowlers at least 320 to defend.Instead, Notts fell 50 runs short of that, scraping a second batting point thanks only to a boisterous cameo from Darren Pattinson, who celebrated his recall under the county’s fast-bowler rotation policy by smashing three sixes in his 18-ball 28.Hales made his second century of the season, indeed his second in his last three Championship innings here, which will please Mick Newell even more given this ground’s reputation as a graveyard for opening batsmen. No problem has etched more lines on the face of the Notts director of cricket than the search for a winning combination at the top of the order but Hales at least seems to have got Trent Bridge’s measure.His 115 took his aggregate in the 2011 Championship to 795 from 10 matches at 49.68. He had a few hairy moments and should have been out on 96 when he steered a ball from Mitch Claydon into the hands of Callum Thorp, who spilled a straightforward chance at gully. Otherwise, the 22-year-old played with the authority Newell will hope to see from both his openers when Michael Lumb arrives from Hampshire next season.Given that, even taking into account the absence of Samit Patel – also on England duty – it was understandable for Newell to be disappointed with 270 all out. Karl Turner, who opened with Hales this time, misjudged a ball from Thorp that clipped the top of off stump as he offered no shot, and Darren Bravo, having looked in the mood to take full advantage of the short boundary, fell on 23, reaching into an expansive drive off Ruel Brathwaite, which he edged to the keeper.Nonetheless, 130 for 2 should have been a platform for better. Yet Riki Wessels, who had contributed only three singles in a stand of 51 with Hales, dangled his bat out to Claydon to give Phil Mustard the second of his four catches and Steven Mullaney thin-edged a pull, both men out in single figures.Mullaney’s wicket was a first in the Championship for the debutant Mark Wood, a 21-year-old who hails from Stephen Harmison’s home town of Ashington. Considerably shorter and with a whippy action, Wood has little else in common with the former England speed merchant and has on odd run-up that begins with him pushing off as if from a sprinter’s starting blocks and ends almost on the wrong foot. But he accredited himself reasonably well after a difficult start. He claimed a second wicket when Pattinson holed out to mid-off and would have had a decent day all round had he not spilled a skyer from Andre Adams at backward point off Brathwaite.Chris Read dabbed at one that kept low to be caught behind before Hales, perhaps becoming frustrated after Ian Blackwell’s accurate left-arm spin had stemmed the flow of runs, was caught on the square leg boundary with a miscued pick-up after Brathwaite had come back into the attack.Notts habitually find redemption in the lower order but after Adams had flailed away briefly and perished in predictable fashion on the long-off boundary, only Paul Franks was able to offer a shot in the arm this time and, after seven boundaries, his contribution was cut short when Claydon got one to move away enough to induce an edge to second slip, after which Graeme White was leg before trying to turn Blackwell into the leg side.Pattinson’s three sixes, all off Claydon to the short boundary, included one that was caught by Brathwaite but effectively carried the fielder over the rope and another that was almost one-handed.Those big blows evidently put an extra spring in Pattinson’s step and the Notts bowlers in general were able to exploit the vagaries in the surface to greater effect than their Durham counterparts.Luke Fletcher made one climb on Di Venuto, whose cut became more of a swish, Hales taking the catch at first slip. Then Pattinson brought one back to bowl Will Smith, who became the second batsman out on the day shouldering arms, and produced a fine, swinging delivery that Mark Stoneman edged to third slip to leave the visitors 27 for 3.After that, Paul Collingwood and Dale Benkenstein did well to weather the closing overs before a sharp bouncer from Fletcher in fading light prompted the umpires to terminate play a couple of overs early.

World ODI champions Australia clash against India and South Africa their two warm-up matches, in Bangalore, ahead of World Cup 2011

Cricinfo staff19-Aug-2010Holders Australia will play India and South Africa in Bangalore in warm-up matches next February ahead of World Cup 2011, the two fixtures headlining the series of practice games involving all 14 participating teams. The matches – two for each side – will not have official ODI status and will be played in Bangalore, Chennai, Chittagong, Colombo, Dhaka, Nagpur and Pallekele.The tournament proper starts exactly six months from now and ICC president Sharad Pawar was bullish in talking of its prospects. “Let there be no doubt whatsoever that the ICC, along with the three co-hosts, will ensure that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is the best of all the World Cups staged so far,” Pawar said.Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal looked forward to playing in front of home crowds in the World Cup. “This will be my second World Cup but definitely the one I am longing for. In front of our own fans, families and friends we have the opportunity to make the country proud and deep inside every Bangladesh cricketer is a burning desire to excel,” said Tamim, who was instrumental in Bangladesh’s upset win against India in their opening game of the 2007 World Cup. The two teams will square off in the opening match of the 2011 edition, in Dhaka.

Warm-up matches schedule

February 12: New Zealand v Ireland in Nagpur, Zimbabwe v South Africa in Chennai, West Indies v Kenya in Colombo, Sri Lanka v Netherlands in Pallekele, Bangladesh v Canada in ChittagongFebruary 13: India v Australia in BangaloreFebruary 15: Australia v South Africa in Bangalore, Ireland v Zimbabwe in Nagpur, Kenya v Netherlands in Pallekele, Bangladesh v Pakistan in DhakaFebruary 16: India v New Zealand in Chennai, Sri Lanka v West Indies in Colombo, England v Canada in DhakaFebruary 18: England v Pakistan in Dhaka

NSW veteran Kurtis Patterson has scored an unbeaten 167 to lift his side to 463 for 9, leading by 252 against WA

AAP08-Dec-2024Sam Konstas has missed out on another century but teammate Kurtis Patterson managed to break a long drought to give New South Wales a chance of pulling off victory in their Sheffield Shield clash with Western Australia at the SCG.The Blues went to stumps on day three at 463 for 9 in their first innings, with a lead of 252 after WA were rolled for 211. Heavy rain washed out most of day two, but NSW made up for that lost time by piling on the runs on Sunday.Konstas (88) resumed on his overnight score of 80, but his hopes of scoring his fourth century of the summer were dashed when he edged Lance Morris to second slip.Patterson picked up where Konstas left off, scoring an unbeaten 167 off 255 balls to lift the home side to a big first-innings lead. It marked a big turnaround for Patterson, who was dropped last season amidst a form slump.He now has 527 runs this season at an astounding average of 105.40, thrusting his name back into the national selection puzzle to add to his two Tests.Patterson yelled out in joy upon reaching his century – his first ton in 769 days. The previous highest first-class total by Patterson was 157 on debut as an 18-year-old, but he surged past that late on day three.The 31-year-old struck 15 fours and three sixes during his glittering knock, while Chris Green (35) and Jack Edwards (30) added some handy runs lower down the order.WA paceman Brody Couch finished with 3 for 66, while Morris (2 for 69) and Cameron Gannon (2 for 99) also chipped in.Spinner Corey Rocchiccioli, who is trying to earn a spot on Australia’s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, returned figures of 1 for 87 off 27 overs.For WA, the final day will be all about survival given there’s no hope the defending champions can win the match. NSW sit second last on the table, and desperately need to win in order to revive their finals hopes.WA, winners of the past three titles, entered the match second on the ladder.

Laura Wolvaardt is the favourite to take over; vice-captain Chloe Tryon has opted out of the tour, requesting a “leave of absence”

Firdose Moonda18-Aug-2023 • Updated on 20-Aug-2023Sune Luus has stepped down as South Africa’s captain, less than six months after leading the team to their first senior World Cup final – for women or men – with CSA set to unveil a new leader ahead of their white-ball tour of Pakistan in two weeks’ time. Luus is part of the squad, with Laura Wolvaardt the favourite to replace her.Confusion surrounds Luus’ decision, for which no reason was initially given in a press release issued by CSA. It read that Luus “will no longer continue her interim captaincy”, even though Luus had herself said she was “appointed official captain” prior to the T20 World Cup in February. A senior official at CSA told ESPNcricinfo that the board “understood Sune was given the captaincy permanently”, with Chloe Tryon as her understudy.After ESPNcricinfo first published this story, a CSA spokesperson said Luus had “asked to step aside to focus on her cricket.” The same reason was not made public on any CSA channels.Related

• Wolvaardt to test the waters as SA women's team interim captain

• Moreeng claims South Africa women's dressing room is not divided

• South Africa name Wolvaardt as women team's interim captain

• South Africa's women's team to get equal match fees as the men

Privately, it has been communicated that Luus does not want to lead under the existing management structure.Tryon will not travel to Pakistan after requesting a “leave of absence”, according to CSA, which further underlines what several sources have called “significant challenges” facing the women’s team. Chief among them is an unhappiness in the squad with the decision not to appoint a new coach after the T20 World Cup, with Hilton Moreeng now in his 11th year in the job.Moreeng had been informed that CSA was going to advertise his post this winter, which he was welcome to reapply for, but that did not happen. Instead Moreeng’s tenure has been extended until December 31, and he will oversee South Africa’s series against Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh.Last week, ESPNcricinfo reported that a group of players had written to CSA expressing their desire for change in the backroom staff. It is understood that while the players do not have a personal issue with Moreeng, they are looking for a different approach and fresh ideas after more than a decade of development under Moreeng.Tumi Sekhukhune is back in the squad while Chloe Tryon has opted out of the tour•Sportsfile via Getty Images

In that time, he presided over the professionalisation of the women’s game and took the team to the last two 50-overs World Cup semi-finals and the most recent T20 World Cup final. His success is believed to be a reason why a section of the CSA board has pushed for him to continue, and neglected to seek a replacement over the off-season.Similarly, CSA did not hold any camps for their women’s team from the end of the World Cup until earlier this week, though several players have been involved in overseas leagues. They also did not have any discussions over the captaincy, leading to an 11th hour appointment ahead of the Pakistan series. One source said “someone has dropped the ball” when it comes to the women’s game and there was a lack of focus on this area of the game after the highs of the team’s T20 World Cup performance.The bulk of the squad who will travel to Pakistan – 12 of the 15 – were part of the T20 World Cup group. Tumi Sekhukhune has replaced Shabnim Ismail, who retired from international cricket in May, allrounder Nondumiso Shangase, who captains the Dolphins, is back in the squad, and there is one uncapped player: wicketkeeper-batter Meike de Ridder. Tryon and Annerie Derksen, who is recovering from a fractured finger, are the two other players from the T20 World Cup who are not in this squad.South Africa will play three T20Is and three ODIs in Pakistan between September 1 and 14. The ODIs are part of the ICC Women’s Championship, which determines qualification for the next World Cup.South Africa squad: Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Mieke de Ridder, Lara Goodall, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Delmi Tucker, Laura Wolvaardt.GMT 1510 The article was updated to reflect the CSA spokesperson’s statement on Luus stepping down.

Cobb, Gay, McManus contribute fifties as Warwickshire bowlers battle

ECB Reporters Network26-Jun-2022Rob Keogh’s first century since the season’s opening game led the run glut for Northamptonshire on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Warwickshire at Wantage Road.The county’s longest-serving player struck 130 with 20 fours in a three-and-three-quarter-hour stay of elegant stroke play as the hosts reached 420 for 6. The right-hander shared a fifth-wicket stand of 161 with Josh Cobb (88) – all this after Emilio Gay had caressed his way to 70 in the morning session.For much of the day the defending champions’ bowling could be classed as wayward, skipper Will Rhodes the honourable exception with 2 for 44 from 20 frugal overs.Ricardo Vasconcelos, in his first game back from injury, didn’t cash in on his decision to bat first after winning the toss, making only 5 before driving loosely at one from Henry Brookes to be caught behind.South African international, Ryan Rickleton, parachuted in for two championship games to cover for Will Young, away on Test duty with New Zealand, was almost run out for nought before also falling cheaply to a brilliant left-handed catch by wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.Thereafter, the morning was dominated by Gay’s stylish innings. The young left-hander was beautifully still at the crease, compact in defence, playing the ball right in front of his eyes. From that base, Gay unfurled some sumptuous off and cover drives in reaching 50 from 62 balls. However, with a century in the offing, lunch beckoning and having just pulled Nathan McAndrew for successive fours, the former Bedford School scholar tried the shot a third time to a straighter bumper and only succeeded in finding the safe hands of Matt Lamb at fine leg. The way the youngster dragged himself off suggested he knew he’d missed an opportunity.When Luke Proctor fell lbw to the nagging accuracy of Rhodes, the hosts were 139 for 4. However, this brought together Keogh and Cobb, who feasted on some friendly offerings from the visitors for much of the afternoon.The two batters provided a great contrast of styles Keogh all timing and elegance as he peppered the mid-off and cover boundaries in racing to 50 at quicker than a run a ball with 11 fours. Cobb matched Keogh’s boundary count but took 25 balls more, mixing defence with brutal ball striking.Once passed 50 Cobb cut loose in what appeared to be a race to a hundred between the pair. However, on 88 the county’s one-day skipper pulled a rare long-hop from Rhodes which looked to be going for six until Craig Miles took a superb catch falling backwards just inside the rope at deep square.Keogh though found another batting ally in Lewis McManus and pushed on to complete a chanceless hundred soon after tea courtesy of an 18th four.The hosts had reached 372 for 5 by the time the second new ball was due and Oliver Hannon-Dalby made the shiny cherry count, ending Keogh’s vigil with one which bounced on him and took the edge, Dom Sibley taking the catch at slip.It was though their only reward as McManus became the fourth player to pass 50 shortly before the close.

The captain has been troubled during the second part of the season although he is expected to be available for the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2021New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the ODI series against Bangladesh due to an elbow injury.The small tear in his left elbow tendon has been troubling Williamson in the second half of the season and it has reached a point where he needs to take some time out.Williamson made one significant score in the T20I series against Australia, 53 in the second game in Dunedin, but fell for single-figures in the last three matches.It was already likely that Williamson would miss the T20I series against Bangladesh due to his commitments at the IPL, a tournament coach Gary Stead still expected him to be available for.Related

• Tamim Iqbal grateful for NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern's help after 2019 Christchurch terror attack

• Bangladesh leave out Taijul Islam for NZ tour

• Ferguson keeps his sights on Test cricket during comeback trail

• NZ rewarded for thinking outside the box to maintain winning season

“Kane loves playing for his country – so it hasn’t been an easy decision to step back,” Stead said. “A batsman’s front elbow is crucial to his game and with the injury not improving it was clear something needed to be done.”You’ve probably got to think the amount of time he’s been batting this year has actually brought on these symptoms, a bit of an overuse injury.”We’ve got a huge year of cricket ahead with an England Test tour and ICC World Test Championship Final first up in May and June, and we want to make sure we have Kane fit and firing for that.”We will certainly miss his class and leadership in the upcoming Bangladesh series, but his omission will no doubt present an opportunity for someone else when the ODI squad is named.”Williamson’s recovery timeline, which is due to see him aim to start batting again in 10-12 days, is expected to fit with the IPL which starts on April 9 .”It’s likely in about three weeks that Kane will be pretty close to being right up ready to go so that fits in with the time frames around the start of the IPL,” Stead said. “We’ll keep talking with him and Sunrisers Hyderabad as well and just making sure he is 100% before he starts again.”What we want Kane to do be able to do is bat pain free and bat for long periods of time. We’ve taken that view, looking after him after making sure his body is in the best condition it can be is paramount for us. I don’t expect there will be any long term problems with this, just this period of rest is what he needs right now.”Williamson’s absence will likely create an opening for Devon Conway to make his ODI debut following a prolific start to his T20I career where he is average 52.28 after nine innings. Tom Latham will likely take over the captaincy from Williamson in a format New Zealand have only played four times since the 2019 World Cup final.New Zealand will name their squad on Thursday with the series starting on March 20 in Dunedin.

The England captain feels Tim Paine’s ‘new Australia’ will be tested in the crucible of an Ashes series

Daniel Brettig in Birmingham31-Jul-2019England captain Joe Root will believe Australia have ceased to be the mouthy, win-at-all-cost combination he had encountered two years ago only when the behaviour of Tim Paine’s men stands up under the extreme pressure of an Ashes series.Numerous members of England’s squad were left bruised if not outright scarred by their experiences on that tour, bullied by Australia’s pacemen and batsmen and also subjected to plenty of hostile and at times outright abusive language. The subsequent Newlands scandal and its fallout pushed Australia in a fresh direction, ruling out premeditated abuse, but it was evident during their Southampton internal trial match that there would still be plenty of chatter on the field.In the lead up to the first Ashes Test, Root admitted he was yet to be convinced that the new, more respectful Australian approach would stand up when they were in the crucible of an Ashes series in England – where they have not won since 2001.”Not sure, to be perfectly honest. We’ll have to wait, obviously we’ll find out,” he said. “Some of the comments that have crept out over the last couple of weeks makes me suggest that maybe not. But we’ll see. Certainly would be different [if quieter].”I’m sure it’ll come up in the preview to the game with the match referees and stuff. We’ve got a way of playing our cricket and we don’t want to get involved in anything that’s unnecessary, or – we just want to play good cricket. We want it to be entertaining; we want the crowds to enjoy themselves at every ground. But we want it to be done in the right way.”At the World Cup, England, the eventual champions, faced Australia twice. In the group-stage game, Root scored 8 in a 64-run defeat at Lord’s, while in the semi-final at Edgbaston, he hit an unbeaten 46-ball 49 in just over an hour to guide England to an eight-wicket win.”The first game I wasn’t out there long enough to find out. The second game… by that time we were in a very commanding position,” Root said. “So it’s very different – and it was hard to hear anything above the noise at this ground. It was an incredible atmosphere, for the English anyway. Yeah, we’ll see.”The comments that Root referred to included Josh Hazlewood’s suggestion that Jason Roy would struggle as a Test match opener, while the inclusion of the highly talkative Matthew Wade should also mean things are seldom quiet when he is in the field.”I saw a few comments, yeah,” Root said of Hazlewood. “You expect those ahead of a big series. So, anyway, it’s always tasty when people have a bit to say. I think with selection, he [Roy] is there to go and play in his own manner at the top of the order. He’s a very talented player, he can take a game away from a number of sides.”People have opinions he might be better suited to No. 4. I think it’s really exciting having him at the top of the order and he deserves the opportunity to go out there first up and have a good crack at the top, and hopefully apply some pressure back onto Australia.”As for the reception expected for Australia’s players from the Edgbaston crowd, particularly Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, Root said he was expecting the noise to play a significant part in the series. “I’m certainly not going to be stood there booing, that’s for sure,” Root said. “It must’ve been a really tough time for the three of those guys.”I can’t control how other people are going to react within the ground, and how the crowd go about that. I think the [World Cup] one-dayers gave a small idea of what it probably will be like for them. But we’re not going to get involved in that as a team, we want to play good cricket, and make it a really memorable series. It’s been a great summer for us so far, and it’s an opportunity now, five more Test matches to build on that and hopefully make it a very special year to remember.”

The South Africa captain explains what else went wrong for his team in Galle, such as the absence of reverse swing

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle14-Jul-2018South Africa let the opposition tailenders score too many runs, their own batsmen were too defensive against spin in the first innings and too aggressive in the second, and reverse swing did not play as big a role in the Test as they had expected. These were the gleanings of captain Faf du Plessis, after South Africa crashed to a 278-run loss in Galle inside three days.As if the margin of victory was not bad enough, South Africa’s totals were their two lowest in Sri Lanka. What’s more, their 73 all out in the second innings was their worst since readmission. Several batsmen were out playing aggressively, which du Plessis put down to a muddled approach; having been spun out playing defensively in the first innings, South Africa wanted to get on top of the spinners early in the second, but got even worse results with that approach.”It’s just a case of our batters somehow trying to put pressure back on the quality of spin bowling that Sri Lanka have,” du Plessis said. “There’s two ways of looking at it. You could sit it out and try and bat for as long as possible, but you also need to put pressure on the opposition. There were one or two more expansive shots than we would normally play, but the thinking behind the batting was to try and put some pressure back on the bowling, because they don’t give you anything. That’s the quality the spinners have over here. If you sit there the whole day you’re also not going to score runs. There’s an element of what is a medium risk, compared to a high-risk shot, especially on the wickets that we’re playing on, with the ball stopping a little bit more than we’re used to. It is lessons that we can learn. But we weren’t good enough in this game, and Sri Lanka showed us why they were better.”Sri Lanka had got their wickets in clumps right through this Test, with South Africa losing their first five wickets for 48 in the first innings, and 32 in the second. Du Plessis wished his batsmen had emulated Dimuth Karunaratne, who had been solid at one end, even while wickets were falling at the other, as he scored 158 not out and 60 – the only batsman to make a half-century in the Test.”If you keep losing wickets, it is tough coming in – I think that’s the biggest difference when you play in the subcontinent,” he said. “When you do lose a wicket, that next five overs become tricky – you need to make sure you get through that. Karunaratne was there the whole time for them in the first innings. He scored more than half the runs of their total. So he was fantastic this game. As bad as we were in our batting, he was very, very good.”That South Africa have lost as badly as this is all the more incredible for their having more-or-less controlled the game for much of day one. South Africa had reduced Sri Lanka to 176 for 8 just after tea on Thursday, with Kagiso Rabada in particular proving effective with the short ball. But then Karunaratne struck up productive partnerships with the Nos. 10 and 11 batsmen, and Sri Lanka’s total grew by a further 111, completely changing the outlook of the game.”We had them 170 for 7, so there you should get the tail out quickly,” du Plessis said. “If we had got them out for 200 to 220, the whole structure of the game would have changed. But we were very soft in that period. We let the tailenders pretty much boss the show.”One reason why South Africa failed to dislodge those batsmen may have been down to conditions. There had been a brief torrential downpour just prior to those partnerships and residual moisture from the outfield dampened the ball and hampered his bowlers, du Plessis said.”Our fast bowling wasn’t as effective because the ball wasn’t reversing,” du Plessis said. “Our deadly instinct when they had the tail in there wasn’t there, and those extra 100-run partnerships towards the end happened. When it’s spinning in conditions like these, we rely on reverse swing to be just as effective a weapon, because we have the pace. But because of the wet outfield reverse swing wasn’t a factor, and therefore it eliminated the threat we didn’t have in our pace. That was something we didn’t plan for.”Having failed to make a match aggregate of 200, South Africa must also now consider beefing up their batting order for the second Test, at the SSC. They had fielded five specialist bowlers in this match, with Vernon Philander coming in at No. 7.”If you play six batters on pitches that are not flat – whether it be green or spinning – it puts a lot of pressure on your top six to score the runs,” du Plessis said. “Especially after a game now where we haven’t scored the runs, that is something that us as a brains trust need to think about – what’s the best way we can counter their strengths? We’ll have those conversations.”

Delhi Daredevils are second from bottom but have a potent pace attack and will hope they can exploit the movement and bounce that is likely to greet them at Kolkata Knight Riders’ fortress

The Preview by Nikhil Kalro27-Apr-2017

Match facts

Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils
Kolkata, April 28, 2017
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)3:30

Agarkar: Mathews for Rabada to beef up Daredevils’ batting

Head-to-head

This season: Kolkata Knight Riders completed a stunning comeback, from 21 for 3, to chase 169 with one ball to spare at the Feroz Shah Kotla. With eight runs required off the last three balls, Manish Pandey struck a six, followed by a bunt into the covers to finish the chase.

Form guide

• Kolkata Knight Riders: beat Rising Pune Supergiant by seven wickets, beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 82 runs, lost to Gujarat Lions by four wickets

• Delhi Daredevils: lost to Mumbai Indians by 14 runs, lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 15 runs, lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets

Overall: In 19 games between these two teams, Knight Riders have won 11 times. At the Eden Gardens, Knight Riders have won five of six games, their only loss coming in 2012.

In the news

With Knight Riders moving back to the Eden Gardens, Nathan Coulter-Nile is expected to reclaim his spot in the XI, at Darren Bravo’s expense. Knight Riders are likely to persist with the same bowling combination that demolished Royal Challengers Bangalore for 49.Daredevils signed Marlon Samuels as Quinton de Kock’s replacement, but he is expected to join the squad only on April 29. A relaid surface at Eden Gardens, favouring seam more than spin, could mean Daredevils stick with their overseas combination – Corey Anderson, Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris and Pat Cummins – from their loss against Mumbai Indians.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The likely XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa (wk), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Umesh YadavDelhi Daredevils: 1 Aditya Tare, 2 Sanju Samson, 3 Karun Nair, 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Zaheer Khan (capt), 11 Amit Mishra

Strategy punt

Zaheer Khan has the third-worst economy rate in the IPL this season outside the Powerplay (9.91). In the Powerplay, Zaheer has an economy rate of 6.45 this season, the fourth best among all teams and best for Daredevils. Zaheer has also dismissed Gautam Gambhir six times in the IPL. A mixture of slower balls and his wiles could make him effective against Sunil Narine as well. Zaheer could, therefore, bowl three overs within the Powerplay, leaving their overseas seamers to bowl in the end overs.

Stats that matter

• Sunil Narine has dominated Daredevils’ top order in the IPL. In a combined 56 balls against Sanju Samson, Karun Nair and Corey Anderson, he has conceded just 49 runs with three dismissals.
• Chris Morris has been Daredevils’ end-overs specialist with both bat and ball. He has scored 319 runs in just 173 balls in the end overs in the IPL, at a strike rate of 184.39 and an average of 53.16.
  With the ball, he has taken 29 wickets in 36 innings at an economy rate of 8.18.
• Narine has scored 89% of his runs this season in boundaries. He has hit 122 runs of his 137 in fours and sixes.
• Rishabh Pant hits a boundary nearly every two dot balls he faces in the IPL. He has hit 44 boundaries – 28 fours and 16 sixes – and has faced 90 dot balls.
• Robin Uthappa has struggled against Daredevils’ bowlers in the IPL. He has been dismissed nine times in the 134 combined balls he has faced from Chris Morris, Amit Mishra and Zaheer Khan. He has scored just 139 runs in those 134 deliveries.