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South Africa were on a downward slide until de Swardt and von Berg stood tall in a defiant partnership

Ekanth13-Feb-2024Ruan de Swardt and Shaun von Berg dug deep to pull South Africa out of a hole on a typically attritional day of Test cricket. New Zealand’s seamers prised out the top-order batters and were economical. Rachin Ravindra found purchase and dismantled the middle order but the numbers 7 and 8 were resilient saw off 27 overs in the extended final session.The day started with captain Neil Brand springing a surprise at the toss by batting first on a grassy pitch and going with two spinners. “All the wickets have been green and it tends to burn off after a couple of days,” he said. South Africa, repeating their feat from 2017, are the only side to have done it in the last ten years at Hamilton.In contrast, New Zealand went with four seamers, including captain Tim Southee, who said he’d have bowled first if they’d won the toss. The hosts brought in Will Young in place of the injured Daryl Mitchell. Neil Wagner came in for Mitchell Santner, and William O’Rourke was handed a debut as Kyle Jamieson pulled up sore after the first Test.Related

• A 'weird' dismissal, a rare decision to bat and a fight from South Africa

• Mitchell ruled out of second South Africa Test and Australia T20Is

• Neil Brand doesn't think makeshift South Africa are 'miles off' New Zealand

Clyde Fortuin’s promotion to the top didn’t pay off as he bagged a golden duck. He flashed on the up against Matt Henry and Glenn Phillips took a one-handed stunner at gully. Henry troubled the batters with seam movement and Southee found swing but Brand and Raynard van Tonder left the ball confidently and weren’t bogged down by the ball occasionally beating them.Brand capitalised on overpitched balls with aesthetically pleasing punches through the offside. O’Rourke, the debutant brought on in the ninth over, was at the receiving end a couple of times, but he got a length ball to nip back past the inside edge and pin the skipper in front of middle.Zubayr Hamza started cautiously and was given lbw when he shouldered arms to a length ball angling in Neil Wagner’s first over. Hamza reviewed successfully with ball tracking suggesting that it would go over the stumps.Hamza was resolute in defence but couldn’t rotate strike. Southee and Wagner held onto their discipline and gave away just five runs between the 21st and the 25th over. Wagner then telegraphed the short-ball plan by pushing the fielders to the deep on the leg side. He hit the deck, angled it outside off and got spongy bounce off the pitch but van Tonder couldn’t ride the bounce and ended up fending it to Tom Latham at gully. The third wicket tilted the session in the hosts’ favour.The second session played out like an exercise in psychology as David Bedingham and Hamza were ready to blunt out the bowling despite the runs coming to a standstill. Henry and O’Rourke held their lines and lengths, Ravindra, brought on in the 36th over, started his spell with four maidens.The ball was beating bat every now and again and the shots, when middled, went straight to the fielders. From overs 31 to 44, South Africa scored 12 runs and the duo collectively had 33 runs in 154 balls.However, two overs later, Hamza’s patience was swiped across the line, as was the loopy wide ball from Ravindra, and – out of nowhere – Hamza holed out to backward point for a 99-ball 20. Ravindra then extended Keegan Petersen’s poor run of form by having him push out at a length ball and caught at slip.It was a case of dots or boundaries from then till tea but de Swardt’s proactivity followed by solidity in defence was a rare positive that South Africa could take from a frustrating session.At the other end, Bedingham looked assured and even capitalised on a couple of rare instances where Ravindra dropped it short. The action-packed 62nd over took South Africa to 150, brought Bedingham two fours, but also ended with his freak dismissal. He flicked a full ball seemingly onto the ground and straight into the hands of Young at short leg. Young tossed the ball to the keeper, who dislodged the bails. An appeal for run out was sent upstairs by the umpire only for the spin-vision replay to reveal that the ball never hit the ground, and went to Young off Bedingham’s boot. So, Bedingham had to walk back after another start.Von Berg, the fifth-oldest player to make a Test debut for South Africa, was particularly tentative at the start of his innings. He looked for a couple of sharp singles to get off the mark but was sent back. He survived a close lbw call in the 68th over off Wagner, where the third umpire felt the ball hit bat and pad simultaneously.His confidence grew gradually, dispatching a couple of short balls from O’Rourke to the boundary and settled in as the soft, old ball lost its spite. De Swardt, at the other end, was steady.New Zealand took the new ball right after the 80th over. Southee induced an edge from von Berg but the ball went over the slip cordon for four and brought up South Africa’s 200. Southee and Henry were taken for boundaries on the odd occasion they went too full but they hit a good length more often than not.Southee hit von Berg’spad with no shot offered in the 85th over. It was given not out and the skipper ended up burning a review as Hawk-Eye showed that the ball would comfortably go over the stumps. In his next over, Southee hit de Swardt in the box. The batter was down but that was all the blows South Africa would face for the rest of the day.The green on the pitch had gotten significantly lighter by the end of the day. The visitors will be happy that their inexperienced line-up clawed back despite having their resistance shaken. But the hosts ensured the scoring was always in check and will be pleased with spinners being among the wickets at home in successive Tests.

After having battled each other for Associate supremacy throughout the 2010s, the sides come together for their first meeting in a T20 World Cup proper

Peter Della Penna27-Oct-20224:54

O’Brien: ‘Huge game for Ireland after the England win’

Big picture

On geographical terms, Afghanistan and Ireland are perhaps two of the most peculiar rivals across cricket, but the intensity of this rivalry was borne out of a battle for Associate supremacy throughout the 2010s before both sides were elevated to Test status in 2017. Whether locked in a virtual dead heat in that era, or joined at the hip in the time since then as the fresh faces of the Full-Member society, these two sides know each other better than most at this tournament.Ireland and Afghanistan faced off in three consecutive tournament finals at the Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in 2010, 2012 and 2013, of which the men in green won the latter two. Those are part of the 23 times these sides have met before in the format since their first encounter in 2010. Remarkably though, this will be the first time they face off in a T20 World Cup proper.Barring those back-to-back wins in the finals of the qualifier, Afghanistan have dominated the rivalry, thanks in large part to Ireland’s inability to negotiate Rashid Khan. But the tide shifted this past summer in Belfast when Ireland took a five-match series by a 3-2 margin. Rashid only took one wicket in the three matches that Ireland won, highlighting a simple equation that has often determined the fate of the result over the years. Rashid takes wickets – Afghanistan wins. Ireland sees him off – Ireland wins.

Form guide

Afghanistan: LLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent result first)
Ireland: WLWWL

In the spotlight

For most of his career, Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie batted at No. 3. But since Kevin O’Brien was dropped following Ireland’s disastrous performance in the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, Balbirnie has moved himself into the opening role and has justified the decision by doubling his prior career tally of four T20I half-centuries. The most recent of those came against England at the MCG, and he also served as a catalyst for the opening round win over West Indies that took them into the Super 12s with 37 off 23 balls.Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the best six-hitter in the Asia Cup, clearing the ropes on 12 occasions to make 152 runs at a strike rate of 163. It might take that kind of muscle to clear the ropes at the MCG. He was also one of only three players to score a half-century for Afghanistan during the five-match series held in Belfast in August.Rashid Khan vs Ireland batters could be a key contest at the MCG•ICC via Getty Images

Team news

George Dockrell has recovered from Covid-19 – he played anyway against England and Sri Lanka after testing positive – and should be fine to go against Afghanistan. It’s unlikely Ireland will change the winning combination that saw them beat England at the same ground.Ireland (probable): 1 Paul Stirling, 2 Andy Balbirnie (capt.), 3 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 4 Harry Tector, 5 Curtis Campher, 6 George Dockrell, 7 Gareth Delany, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Fionn Hand, 11 Josh LittleAfghanistan too are likely to stick with the same combination that took the field five days earlier against England despite a losing effort.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Usman Ghani, 5 Najibullah Zadran, 6 Mohammad Nabi (capt.), 7 Azmatullah Omarzai, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Fareed Ahmad, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Pitch and conditions

The MCG has favored seamers in this tournament and historically favors chasing sides with 10 out of 16 men’s T20I matches won by the team batting second. The decision to chase may be even more enhanced by the forecast for Friday. Following the rain that halted England’s chase against Ireland and forced Afghanistan’s match against New Zealand to be washed out entirely, an 80% chance of showers is forecast from 8 am until 8 pm on Friday.

Stats and trivia

• Hazratullah Zazai needs 33 runs to get to 1000 in T20Is. Nobody has more runs or a better average for Afghanistan against Ireland in T20Is than Zazai, who has made 466 at an average of 51.77, including a famous 162 not out off 62 balls at Dehradun in 2019.
• Paul Stirling has an equally enviable record at the top of the order in this rivalry, scoring nearly 20% (614) of his T20I career runs (3133) against Afghanistan. He’s saved his best for ICC tournaments against Afghanistan. Two of his four half-centuries in 22 innings against Afghanistan came in Player-of-the-Match performances to win the final of the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier.

Quotes

“I’ve seen a lot of rain in my time playing cricket, and I’ve never been happier to see that rain come down when it did.”
“We’re not just here to participate but here to win matches. We’ve got players and a squad that can do that.”

Half-century from 18-year-old prodigy sets up first home Blast win since 2019

ECB Reporters' Network02-Jul-2021Hampshire’s teenage batting prodigy Tom Prest inspired his side to only their second Vitality Blast win of the season with an unbeaten 59 helping seal an 10-run victory over high-flying Gloucestershire at the Ageas Bowl.The visitors needed 20 from the last over but fell short thanks to some fine death bowling from Chris Wood to secure a morale-boosting success for the bottom-placed Hawks who earlier won the toss and elected to bat.Prest, who recently scored a triple century in a second XI match, showed maturity above his years in only his third senior appearance after the hosts lost their much-vaunted opening duo of James Vince and D’Arcy Short cheaply once again.The 18-year-old anchored the innings superbly after the hosts were teetering at 34 for 3 when Colin de Grandhomme chipped a Josh Shaw delivery to Benny Howell at mid-off for 1.Joe Wetherley’s breezy 30 off 24 balls breathed some life into the Hampshire innings alongside Prest before he fell lbw to Tom Smith who then immediately dismissed Lewis McManus for a first-ball duck as the Hawks slumped to 90 for 5 after 12 overs.But a crucial 53-run stand between Prest, who hit six fours and two sixes off 42 balls, and 38 from James Fuller saw the Hawks motor to 163 for 6 before Wood thumped 11 from five balls to help his side finish on 176 for 6 – their second-highest total of what has been a difficult season.Hampshire dismissed Miles Hammond and Benny Howell inside the first four overs for the powerplay but an 82-run stand for the third-wicket from Chris Dent and in-form New Zealand international Glenn Phillips put the visitors in a good position to push for victory.But Dent fell for 42 when he was stumped by McManus off Short before Phillips, who scored 94 in back-to-back innings last month, fell for 57 when young quick Scott Currie tempted him into a pull shot which he mistimed and was caught on the boundary edge by Fuller.Needing 47 from the last four overs, skipper Jack Taylor did his best to push for victory with 30 off 18 balls,but some tight bowling from Brad Wheal and Wood got their side home – much to the delight of the home crowd who witnessed a first T20 win by their side in 22 months.

Attack leader has not played competitively since aggravating calf injury in August

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2019James Anderson is set to bowl in a match situation for the first time since August, after being declared “in a great place” by head coach, Chris Silverwood, ahead of England’s first warm-up match of their tour of South Africa.Anderson has not played competitively since aggravating a calf injury after bowling just four overs of the first Test against Australia at Edgbaston on August 1, a match that England went on to lose by 251 runs in his absence.However, he has been acclimatising at a fast-bowling camp in Potchefstroom for the past fortnight, having also worked with Manchester City’s training staff during the off-season, in a bid to overcome an issue that he first encountered while bowling for Lancashire in a county fixture in July.And, with the first Test against South Africa looming in Centurion on Boxing Day, Silverwood is increasingly confident that England’s attack leader will be fit to resume a Test career in which he has claimed 575 wickets in 149 matches to date.”Jimmy Anderson is absolutely flying at the moment, he’s in a great place,” Silverwood told reporters in Benoni, on the eve of a two-day non-first-class warm-up against a South Africa Invitational XI, in which several members of England’s squad will be given a chance to stretch their legs.That number, however, will not include the newly crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Ben Stokes, who is due to fly into Johannesburg after the match has begun, having attended Sunday night’s ceremony in Aberdeen.Nor will Mark Wood be put through his paces just yet. He too has been at the training camp in Potchefstroom, having missed the Ashes due to a side strain sustained while bowling in the World Cup final. But Silverwood warned that his comeback will be postponed until the New Year.”Woody, we’ve got to be a little bit patient with,” he said. “We are looking at somewhere around the third Test [at Port Elizabeth on January 16] but we’ll be guided by how his body pulls up as well.”England arrived in South Africa off the back of an arduous tour of New Zealand, in which their bowlers struggled for penetration in the two-Test series, claiming just 21 wickets all told in a 1-0 defeat.ALSO READ: Ben Stokes crowned as Sports Personality of the YearSilverwood, however, is optimistic that South Africa’s wickets will be better suited to his attack, including Jofra Archer, who claimed two wickets at 104.50 in New Zealand, but whom he insisted was fit and raring to go.”There’s a bit more bounce here,” Silverwood said. “A bit more pace in the wickets will suit our bowlers. But the bowlers as a unit have worked so hard on finding ways to get 20 wickets, it’s been a struggle at times but that’s something to work on.”It’s something we are working on constantly,” he added. “We really want to drive forward the Test team, and in New Zealand we were looking at new ways of doing things. It was a great learning curve in New Zealand and we’ll keep pushing on from that.”One man who did make a positive impression in New Zealand, albeit in the second Test, was the captain Joe Root, who had gone into the match under intense pressure – not least for his captaincy – but responded with a hard-earned innings of 226.”It certainly settled the form issue,” said Silverwood. “To get a double was great for him and great for us as a team, and obviously puts him on the front foot coming here, and from a captaincy point of view, he’s learning moving forward and doing well.”More generally, Silverwood had a simple formula for further success from England: “We need to get more first-innings runs, and as soon as we do that, we’ll be very hard to beat.”However, he promised no complacency going into the South Africa series, against an opposition who were beaten by Sri Lanka in their most recent home series, and were routed 3-0 by India in October.Off the field, CSA have been beset with controversy, but with Mark Boucher newly installed as head coach, Silverwood expects a side who prove very tough to break down.”[Boucher] was a fine player, and I’m looking forward to what’s going to be a very hard-fought contest,” he said. “South Africa are a proud nation, we’ve seen that in other sports, and I think it’s going to be a hard fought contest.”From our point of view, complacency is one thing we won’t have going forward, we expect South Africa to come back hard, in all departments and with hunger.”

Hayley Matthews caned West Indies with the bat at the start of the match, before rushing through their lower order with three wickets as West Indies won by 83 runs

The Report by Varun Shetty17-Nov-2018Hayley Matthews unfurls a cover drive•Getty Images

Sri Lanka were caned by Hayley Matthews, first with the bat at the start of the match, and then with the ball at the end as they crashed out of the tournament with an 83-run loss against West Indies. The result also meant that the last two semi-final qualification spots were sealed, with England and West Indies going through from Group A with a game each to spare.Matthews was imperious in the Powerplay after West Indies had elected to bat, racing to 49 off 23 balls as she and Deandra Dottin made 72 runs in the first six overs. Sri Lanka had conceded that many against Bangladesh in 20 overs during their last game at the same venue. With three changes, most crucially the ouster of seamer Sripali Weerakkody, they struggled to settle in the face of West Indies’ assault against an attack that was almost exclusively made of spinners.The spinners found no control – the flighted deliveries were lofted straight or over covers, and every time they went flat, they were carved behind square on the off side. Udeshika Prabhodani – their frontline seamer, and the only one in the XI on Friday – got the ball to move around as she had all tournament. But against significantly more aggressive and powerful batsmen, she struggled for support from the other end.For the most part, Sri Lanka’s strategy was to get their spinners to bowl full and wide outside off with a packed field on that side, but Matthews circumvented that challenge with the use of her feet to hit straight over the bowlers, or to bring her reach into play with heaves over midwicket. She also managed to do this with a decent control rate, offering the first chance after she had made her 25-ball fifty; that chance was dropped at point, but Hasini Perera held on in that same position the next time Matthews went aerial.Dottin hadn’t quite hit the straps in Matthews’ company, despite striking comfortably over a-run-a-ball; but within two overs of their partnership ending on 94, she moved from 27 off 22 to 47 off 32.That momentum was kept even after her dismissal for 49, with promoted No. 4 Natasha McClean making no effort to settle in. She went after the bowling straightaway, hitting a six and a four in her brief knock before she was run out by Ama Kanchana, who got a direct hit from deep midwicket at the non-striker’s end. It was Sri Lanka’s only inspired moment on the field.Sri Lanka’s captain, Atapattu, had mysteriously strived all evening to have five fielders inside the circle even after the Powerplay. Several runs that could have been saved were scored through cover and past mid-off, particularly by Stafanie Taylor who accelerated late into the innings to get West Indies to 187 after a dull between overs 16 and 18 where they hit no boundaries.Sri Lanka’s response was spirited, but ineffective. The intent to score was there, but the runs themselves weren’t coming. Against West Indies’ varied bowling attack and more considered strategies, only Atapattu could get deep into the innings with a passable strike rate. The other experienced batsmen – Shashikala Siriwardene and Eshani Lokusuriyage – came in with the required rate well above ten per over and had no choice but to attack almost every delivery they faced. Their attempts weren’t sustainable and, with their wickets, Sri Lanka were truly out of the chase even though their captain battled.West Indies used the opportunity to slip in overs from seven bowlers, and by the end of the night, six of them got at least a wicket. Matthews came close to getting the second hat-trick of the day – England’s Anya Shrubsole got the first against South Africa in the previous game – and Sri Lanka lost their last six wickets for 16 runs. If it weren’t for the last-wicket stand of nine, they would have finished the tournament without once going past 100.

“We will have content for Boxing Day but we’re not yet in a position to announce that. We need to secure it first,” CSA’s CEO said

Firdose Moonda19-Sep-20173:25

Cullinan: Not having a traditional New Year’s Test disappointing

Despite India not touring till early 2018, South Africa will play a Boxing Day Test. CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat confirmed his organisation is in the process of securing an opponent for the festive season fixture.”We will have content for Boxing Day but we’re not yet in a position to announce that. We need to secure it first,” Lorgat said.Lorgat also said a Test match is preferred over other formats for the last week of the year. “First prize is a Test match. We would love Boxing Day and New Year to remain as Test content. I know in the past there have been one-day matches and there has been discussion internally to consider one-dayers, but personally I would love to see a Test match played.”Though the Boxing Day Test – which has switched between Durban and Port Elizabeth in recent years – is fairly poorly attended, it is still a popular television event. When CSA chose to play T20s over the same period in 2012, there was an outcry over their breaking with tradition. The Boxing Day Test has been held every year since.CSA were thought to be interested in inviting Pakistan for a one-off match over that period but with their series in New Zealand starting early in the new year, that seems unlikely. Instead, it looks increasingly like Zimbabwe could make their first Test appearance in the country since 2005, and may also be persuaded to play in their first pink-ball match.There is talk of a day-night Test at St George’s Park, which will have newly-installed floodlights by December, which will be a first in South Africa. West Indies are the other team available during that period, unless CSA reach out to Test newcomers Afghanistan or Ireland.Should the fixture be finalised, South Africa will play an 11-Test home summer with two matches against Bangladesh starting later this month, one over Boxing Day, four against India and four against Australia. Despite India’s tight time frame, CSA are confident the tour will not be reduced from its original itinerary, and hope to be able to announce match dates soon.”We are pretty close to closing off with India. I’m hoping we can make some announcements towards the latter half of this week. It’s less than ideal – we would have loved that schedule to have been announced a long time back but it is what it is,” Lorgat said.

West Indies and Jamaica Tallawahs allrounder Andre Russell has made his first public comments since being charged by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission with committing an “anti-doping whereabouts” violation earlier this year

Peter Della Penna in Florida26-Jul-2016West Indies and Jamaica Tallawahs allrounder Andre Russell has made his first public comments since being charged by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) with committing an “anti-doping whereabouts” violation earlier this year for having allegedly missed three drug tests in a 12-month period. Three missed tests trigger a failed drug test ruling under anti-doping regulations.Preparing for Tallawahs’ final two games of the league stage of the Caribbean Premier League, in Lauderhill, Florida, Russell was asked what it had been like to play with the uncertainty of the JADCO tribunal process hanging over his head. Russell replied by describing the mental strain he has gone through since reports first surfaced in March that he was facing a two-year ban.”It’s not easy, honestly, it’s tough,” Russell said. “When I cross the rope, I definitely block it off my head but then when you go back to your room and you know you have to face reality and know that something is going on like that, it’s kind of stressing and depressing. But I have an amazing bunch of guys around me. So they keep me occupied, they keep me laughing. I just think that is a very good thing to do while going through something like that.”Everything is in place. My lawyers are doing whatever they have to do so I don’t really want to have to talk about it that much.”Russell avoided questions about last week’s independent panel hearing, offering a “no comment” when asked about the most recent events. According to , Russell’s lawyer Patrick Forster claimed at the hearing of an independent panel on July 20 that his client had received correspondence from JADCO for only twice – January to March, 2015 and July to September, 2015 – for allegedly missing the out-of-competition doping tests.In the mean time, Russell said he was focused on helping the first-place Tallawahs secure a second CPL title, after first winning it in 2013. Tallawahs round out their league stage by playing St Lucia Zouks twice, on July 30 and 31. Heading into the playoffs, a win in either game will clinch first place for Tallawahs, giving them two chances to reach the final.”This is what we live for, to be on top of the table,” Russell said. “We still have a few games to go. We’re still not going to take anything for granted. We’re going to try and play our best cricket so we can be in form going into the crucial games.”

Pragyan Ojha has joined Bengal as a professional after leaving his home team Hyderabad to strengthen his case for a national recall

Amol Karhadkar02-Jul-2015Pragyan Ojha has joined Bengal as a professional after leaving his home team Hyderabad. Ojha, who was cleared to bowl in February after being suspended for using an illegal action earlier in the 2014-15 season, confirmed that he decided to move to Bengal for strengthening his case of a recall into the national team.”With all due respects to Hyderabad, I wanted to play for a team that is in the top rung (of the Ranji Trophy) and Bengal suited my cause. With so many Test matches coming up, I hope to come up with stronger performances in the coming season,” Ojha told ESPNcricinfo.Ojha will start the new season next month, playing for India A in two four-day games against Australia A. India are scheduled to play three Test matches in Sri Lanka in August-September, followed by four matches at home against South Africa in October-November.With Hyderabad playing in Group C, the lowest rung of the Ranji Trophy, Ojha opted to switch allegiance to a higher-ranked team. Bengal were happy to have him on board since they were struggling to find a lead spinner.Ojha will thus become the second high-profile cricketer to leave Hyderabad in recent seasons. After a spat with the Hyderabad Cricket Association hierarchy, Ambati Rayudu had moved first to neighbouring Andhra before settling on Baroda. Ojha’s switch, on the other hand, looks like a smooth one.”He approached us and explained his rationale honestly,” John Manoj, the HCA secretary, said. “Once he had made up his mind, we just respected his decision, supported him and issued the NOC.”According to BCCI rules, players who wish to turn professional have to first obtain a No-Objection certificate from their home association and submit it to the BCCI. The deadline for domestic transfers is September 1.Bengal, meanwhile, have approached Lalchand Rajput, the former India opening batsman, to replace Ashok Malhotra as coach. It is understood that Rajput has also been in talks with Uttar Pradesh, who are looking for a replacement for Venkatesh Prasad.

Michael Clarke’s prolific batting and captaincy has been critical to the development of the team but so too has Peter Siddle’s bowling old-fashioned aggressive bowling

Daniel Brettig at Bellerive Oval18-Dec-2012In the hour after Australia’s first home Test win of the summer, it was entirely fitting that the captain Michael Clarke found himself sitting next to the man of the match Peter Siddle. Clarke’s prolific batting and flair-filled captaincy has been critical to the development of a team far better than the one that was trounced by England in 2010-11, but so too has Siddle’s bowling, which in the past 15 months has added patience and wit to physical endurance and old-fashioned aggression. His place as Australia’s spearhead is as undisputed as Clarke’s vitality as leader.Clarke’s chances of finding the 55 runs he needs to claim Ricky Ponting’s Australian record for most runs in a calendar year now hinge on whether or not his strained hamstring will recover in time for Boxing Day, but he said his personal success was now closely intertwined with that of his team.”It is nice, there’s no doubt about it to be scoring runs and to be leading from the front as captain of the team,” Clarke said. “But I’ve said for a while I’ll take no runs if we keep playing the way we’re playing and we keep having success like we did through this Test match. That’s as pleased as you can be as a captain.”I’d like to say there’s an easy way but there’s not. There’s been a lot of hard work. It’s taken a lot of years for me to learn my game, and there are still areas of my game that need to continue to improve.”A bit of old advice from my father, he’s been doing a lot of my one-on-one batting stuff over the last couple of years that’s been great, but I think the one thing he continues to push with me is to keep that hunger. As a kid he always said make sure you’re hungry to score runs, and that’s the thing I’ve tried to do this summer. It’s always hard to get in, you can get out early, but once I’ve got in and got a start, I’ve tried to be as hungry as I can to go in and get big scores.”That hunger was evident again on the fourth day, when Clarke crafted a wonderfully rapid innings to ensure Australia could set their target in a timely manner. His knack for not only scoring vital runs, but scoring them in a manner entirely appropriate to the match situation, is perhaps unrivalled around the world.”If you look at since he’s become captain, the way he’s played and performed, you always want your leader to stand up and be the one who leads from the front, and he’s been phenomenal at that,” Siddle said of Clarke. “He’s been outstanding, it makes us better players, he’s been producing targets we can defend, and given us time to do our work.”That makes it a lot easier, and yesterday it showed. On a wicket that was hard to score on, that he went about it his way and got us into a position that we could set a nice target, and go out there and do our business.”As for Siddle, his lift in consistency and reliability since last year’s Sri Lanka tour has allowed Clarke to turn to him in most circumstances, and there was no bowler more dearly missed during the chaos of the second afternoon against South Africa in Perth, when inspiration and direction eluded Australia for a critical two hours.”The man beside me continues to lead our attack,” Clarke said. “I think he has done for a while now, he’s loved that opportunity to be our No. 1 strike bowler, he really looks forward to the pressure situation, doesn’t care if he opens the bowling or bowls first change, it’s about helping the team have success. If everyone’s got the heart he has, we’ll definitely get back to being the No. 1 Test team in the world.”Siddle’s heart and skill, and Clarke’s runs. Australia would be lost without them.

A round-up of the action from the Stanbic Bank 20 Series 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2011Mid West Rhinos took a close game against Mashonaland Eagles by seven runs, defending 184. After being put in, Rhinos were given a solid start by their openers Brendan Taylor and Riki Wessels: the pair put on 111 in 13.5 overs before Wessels fell for 51. Taylor fell soon after for 54, but Gary Ballance built on the start with a rapid knock of 53 off 25 that included five sixes. Rhinos finished with 184 for 2, and Eagles launched a solid reply through Stuart Matsikenyeri. The opener hit 73 off 55 before falling to Michael Chinouya. He was backed up by Peter Trego, who slammed 71 not out of 49, but the run out of Ryan ten Doeschate for six in the final over just about secured the match for Rhinos.Mountaineers registered their third win in four games, beating Southern Rocks by 43 runs to move to the top of the Stanbic Bank 20 points table. The win was fashioned by a team performance. After being put into bat, Mountaineers put on 166 for 6, as six of their eight batsmen got into double figures. Opener Phil Mustard was their top scorer, with 40, but the fire power was provided by Kudzai Sauramba – he slammed 36 not out off 15 balls to carry the side past 150. Southern Rocks’ reply was mainly driven by a quick half-century from Shane Burger, but he fell for 62 to Dirk Nannes. There was not much of a challenge raised from the other, as Southern Rocks managed only 123 for 6 in their 20 overs. Shingi Masakadza was the pick of the Mountaineers’ bowlers, taking three wickets in a miserly spell.