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“Hindsight is a beautiful thing, and obviously, I wish now that I didn’t play that shot and get out,” Harry Brook says

Matt Roller04-Aug-20251:58

Bangar: Brook largely responsible for what unraveled

Harry Brook was “very confident” that England would win The Oval Test when he arrived at on Monday morning, but ended up looking back on his own dismissal with regret after their six-run defeat.Brook scored a swashbuckling 111 off 95 balls in a seemingly game-changing fourth-wicket stand with Joe Root on Sunday, taking England to 301 for 3 in pursuit of 374. But he miscued to mid-off while charging down and trying to hit Akash Deep over extra cover for a third consecutive boundary, and his dismissal was the first domino to fall in a collapse of 7 for 66.”My thought process was just to try and hit as many runs as quick as possible,” Brook said at the post-match presentation. “Like I said, the game’s done if we need 40 runs with me and Rooty in there; if I get out there [with 40 to win], the game’s still done. Obviously, it didn’t work. Hindsight is a beautiful thing, and obviously, I wish now that I didn’t play that shot and get out.”Related

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He told the BBC’s : “At the time, I was obviously very confident. If I’d have got a quick 30 off the next two overs, then the game is done. That was my thought process. I always try and take the game on and put them under immense pressure… I wish I was there at the end, but you can’t write them things.”I had no idea that we were going to lose seven wickets for 60 runs. You’ve got arguably the best Test cricketer in the world out there at the time as well in Rooty, and in the back of my mind, [I thought] I’d try and get as many runs as quickly as possible and the game is done. I had every faith in Rooty that he was going to be there at the end.”But while Brook said he regretted his shot, Ben Stokes sprung to his player’s defence and highlighted the wider value of his attacking approach. “Harry got us into that position by playing a particular way, putting the Indian bowlers under immense pressure to take them away from being able to consistently bowl the areas that they wanted to bowl in,” he said. “I’m sure everyone was applauding him when he brought up his hundred in the way that he did. Some of the shots he played were unbelievable. The dismissal and the way that he got out was a shot that we’d seen a lot of him do in that innings, which I’m sure was getting a lot of praise.”7:00

Stokes: ‘Series great for the wider game’

Brook had a life early in his innings, picking out Mohammed Siraj at long leg on 19 only for the fielder to tread on the advertising cushion on the boundary rope while steadying himself. “I thought the match was gone,” Siraj later said. “Had we got Harry Brook out before lunch, things would have been different. There would have been no fifth day.”Instead, Brook blitzed a brilliant hundred, doubling down on his attacking approach to reach a 39-ball 50 before shifting down a gear and rotating strike with Root. His second fifty took 52 balls and brought the requirement down into double figures. Despite his dismissal, he had put England on course to complete what would have been the second-highest successful chase in their history.They were clear favourites as long as Root was at the crease, but he was caught behind for 105 late on the fourth day – looking to steer a Prasidh Krishna outswinger away for a single – before rain intervened. Even then, with 35 runs required and four wickets in hand, Brook said he was sure Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton would see England home.”I came into the day this morning very confident,” he said. “We had two very good players out there at the time, and I just thought we were going to easily see it home. The way that the Indians fought back there and the way that Siraj bowled especially, I think he deserved every success there.2:19

Miller: Woakes’ bravery epitomises the value of Test cricket

“We were thinking the bowlers would stiffen up a bit [overnight] and the pitch would be a little bit flatter, but obviously with the overcast conditions – lights on again – it started to zip around a bit. Like I said before, Siraj, he’s played five Test matches in a row, bowled 85mph-plus every ball, and he’s had a phenomenal series. I respect him a lot for what he’s done this series.”Brook was nominated as England’s Player of the Series by India’s coach Gautam Gambhir after scoring 481 runs at 53.44 in nine innings, including hundreds at Edgbaston and The Oval and 99 at Headingley. “I’ve played all right,” he said. “I could have won that game yesterday, which is devastating, but I’m just happy to contribute to as many games [as I can].”He plans to play the full Hundred season as Northern Superchargers captain – starting this week – before leading England into white-ball series against South Africa (at home) and Ireland (away). He will then finally get a short break before travelling to New Zealand for a white-ball tour, leading into the main assignments of the winter: the Ashes, then the T20 World Cup.”My first game is on Thursday, so it’s a fairly quick turnaround. We’ll see how I get on. It’s a completely different ball game,” he said. “I’ll go out there and try and work on a few things and get ready for another long winter ahead. It’s going to be awesome. We’ve got a lot of cricket to be played… There’s a lot to look forward to. Hopefully, everybody stays fit and we’ll be raring to go.”

Her 128-ball innings lifted the hosts to 270 for 6 in East London

Firdose Moonda09-Apr-2024No result Tazmin Brits’ second ODI century was scored in vain as the first ODI between South Africa and Sri Lanka was washed out in East London.After a delayed start from a wet outfield, Sri Lanka were set a target of 271 but only faced 6.5 overs before rain forced the fixture to be called off. Sri Lanka were 23 without loss at the time.Brits and Laura Wolvaardt were off to a strong start and put on 94 for the first wicket, largely unthreatened by a Sri Lankan side that chose to bowl first. Brits was the early aggressor, kept the bulk of the strike and allowed Wolvaardt to find her tempo. They posted 55 in the first Powerplay and Sri Lanka looked uninspired, with the ball and in the field.Brits reached 50 off 56 balls and the partnership grew to 94 when, against the run of play, Wolvaardt was caught behind off Kavisha Dilhari. Anneke Bosch, playing in her 17th match, was in at No.3 and shared in a 70-run second wicket stand with Brits and brought up her third highest ODI score in her 17th match.Her dismissal brought the struggling Sune Luus to the crease and she scored 22 off 30 balls before being caught and bowled by Sugandika Kumari and sparking a mini-late collapse. South Africa lost 3 wickets for 28 runs, with Chamari Athapaththu creating pressure at one end and the offspinners Kumari and Oshadi Ranasinghe benefitting with wickets at the other. In that time, Brits brought up her 100 off 118 balls, her second this summer after a maiden century against Bangladesh, and was also dismissed which meant she could not finish the innings off.Before the match, Wolvaardt stressed the need for South Africa to push past totals of 170 into the 200s and Nadine de Klerk, having now embraced her role as a finisher, took that to heart. She scored 34 off 22 balls, including the innings’ only six to push South Africa to 270.That meant Sri Lanka had to pull off their highest successful ODI chase to win, after a previous best of 257 for 7 against India in 2018. They were steady in pursuit and saw off Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka’s opening spells and did not have the opportunity to test themselves against South Africa’s change bowlers. The second match takes place on Saturday in Kimberley, where conditions are expected to be drier.

Thinks his side’s semi-final finish at the Women’s Asia Cup will help grow the game back home; happy with the spirit shown after early defeats

Mohammad Isam13-Oct-2022You couldn’t fault the Thailand contingent for being excited despite their 74-run loss in the Asia Cup semi-final against India. There was hardly any buzz in the atmosphere at the Sylhet International Stadium, but Thailand’s excitement was infectious. After the match, the two teams posed for a group photo, while some of Thailand’s players sought out their Indian counterparts for selfies.There were many reasons to be happy. Thailand didn’t really make a fist of things on their big day, but restricting India to 148 for 6, and then batting out the 20 overs was a big step for them. For the 12th ranked T20I team in the world, the performance, according to coach Harshal Pathak, was a big deal.Related

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He said the team’s effort will have a dual effect on the game back home. The team won’t be given a parade, but there will be a lot of appreciation among the few who follow the game. The bigger influence, though, will be on those who dream of playing for Thailand in the future.”There will be more awareness among the public after the team does well. If you think about the focus group of new cricketers, obviously they will be inspired,” Pathak said. “They are looking up to someone like [Naruemol] Chaiwai, Natthakan [Chantham] and Chanida [Sutthiruang].”Pathak said that after a short break, he will speak to the team about this Asia Cup experience, and how they can grow from it. “We will really evaluate what we have done well, what we want to achieve and how we are going to go about it. We have faced a lot of high-quality bowlers in different situations. We have to understand how we can play dominating cricket.”After crushing defeats at the hands of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Thailand shot back with a four-wicket win over Pakistan. This was followed by wins over UAE and Malaysia, putting them above Bangladesh on the points table. After Bangladesh, the defending champions,lost to Sri Lanka and had their last game rained out against UAE, despite being routed by India to end their round-robin stage Thailand could celebrate at their team hotel in Sylhet with a semi-final spot in the bag.”I expected a little more at the start of the tournament. I was targeting going to the final. But I am very happy with the way the team bounced back after the two [early] losses,” Pathak said. “They have shown character. Adjusted and adapted well.”We had better intent today compared to the first game against India. We got back into the game in the last ten overs with the ball. We took control after they got off to a good start. The bowlers did well, and [the captain] put some really good field settings. We had very good plans today.”He said that his coaching method is also evolving according to the needs of the team. When he joined four years ago, Pathak had said he had to get into a lot of details when explaining things to the players. But now things are different.”Cricket is not the main game in Thailand. In India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, cricket is a religion. You pick up the game by watching around you, and the knowledge base keeps growing as you go through the system. Coaches need to tell the players about plans or fine-tune the mindset.”For a developing [cricket] country like Thailand, a coach has to go quite deep to explain things. At the start of my stint with Thailand, I used to go into a lot of details. Now I have confidence that they can do a lot of things on their own. Now we have to take it to the next level.”

Kent stumble in reply with bat after scrambling to find replacement team

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2021Kent 69 for 5 trail Sussex 181 (Singh 4-51) by 112 runsSussex reduced a Kent side hobbled by a Covid-19 scare to 69 for 5 on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Canterbury, leaving them 112 behind the visitors’ first innings score of 181.Jamie Atkins took 3 for 21 and Ollie Robinson 3 for 21, as Kent’s makeshift top order failed to build on their best red-ball bowling display of the season. Nineteen-year-old debutant Jas Singh took 4 for 51 and Harry Podmore 3 for 49, while James Coles was Sussex’s top scorer with 36.Singh was one of five debutants selected after a positive PCR test forced 14 members of Kent’s first-team squad into isolation.”I think actually after the England situation happened we spoke to the group to take a step back, to go back to where we were last year at the start of the season, when Covid was around us, to limit their access to people outside the group, to avoid busy areas like pubs, bars, coffee houses and just make sure we’re doing everything we can to be careful,” Kent’s coach, Matt Walker, said. “Ironically a few days later we had our first case.”The results came back to us at 7pm last night. Obviously it turned out to be a positive test and the mad scramble started to happen, it was all hands on deck from everyone involved. We were prepared in a way that if that test was positive, we had a few players on standby which made things a little bit easier. Trying to organise everything logistically was a bit of a headache, but we got there in the end and managed to get a game on.”Kent’s preparations for Canterbury Week were thrown into chaos when an unidentified member of the Vitality Blast side that beat Surrey on Friday tested positive for Covid-19. As his team-mates were all identified as close contacts, Heino Kuhn was named captain of an improvised XI that included five new faces: Singh, Joe Gordon, Harry Finch, Dan Lincoln and Harry Houillon, joined regular first-teamers Podmore, Matt Quinn, Nathan Gilchrist and Marcus O’Riordan, while Hamid Qadri was selected for the first time this season.The start was delayed until noon to allow Kent to register their new players and after winning the toss and choosing to bowl they entered the arena to warm applause.”Fortunately half the side weren’t at The Oval so that gave you half a team,” Walker said. “We didn’t want to cancel the game, that’s for sure. As much as it was going to be a challenge to get 11 players we felt we could do it. It’s Canterbury week, it’s festival week and I think we had a duty to put a team together.”It was late to bed, that’s for sure. The phone didn’t stop ringing and pinging with texts until midnight, but as soon as the phone went off I went to sleep very quickly! For all the downside of having a squad isolated you get a chance to see what these young players can do.”Sussex’s openers Ali Orr and Tom Haines made 50 without loss, but the former cut Singh and was brilliantly caught by O’Riordan for 21. Singh then had Haines caught for 25 in his next over, held by Kuhn at first slip after the ball was parried by Finch, leaving Sussex on 51 for 2 at lunch.Gilchrist trapped Harrison Ward for 4 and Travis Head then drove Singh to Kuhn for 12. Singh claimed his fourth wicket when he had Oliver Carter caught behind for 32, making him Houillon’s maiden first-class victim.Qadri got Coles lbw with his first ball, Gilchrist had Dan Ibrahim caught behind for 6 and Podmore swept away the tail, getting Robinson caught behind for 21 before trapping Sean Hunt lbw and bowling Atkins, both for nought.However, Kent’s batsmen struggled to emulate the bowlers’ heroics. Gordon was lbw to Robinson for 8, before Atkins had O’Riordan lbw for 18. The latter then bowled Kuhn for 8 and Lincoln for nought. Robinson had Houillon lbw for a duck before bad light stopped play at 6.50pm, with former Sussex batter Finch 24 not out and Podmore unbeaten on 3.

The challenge of opening, keeping and captaining is one that few players have managed successfullly

Firdose Moonda10-Mar-2020Quinton de Kock is a man of few words and he had just one when he was appointed South Africa’s permanent white-ball captain and asked if he would consider giving up the wicketkeeping gloves to accommodate the extra responsibility:”No.”It was one of the few times de Kock has been adamant, even aggressive, when answering questions. He usually mumbles and stumbles his way through in that charmingly naive way that people who don’t like to speak in public have when they are forced to. But on the issue of the triple-task of leading the team, opening the batting and keeping wicket, de Kock was unequivocal that he wanted to do it all.It’s a job only three other players have done for more than 10 matches across all formats and one that, if it goes well, could see him involved in every ball of every match. Rather than express concerns about overload, de Kock said it was essential that he does it that way because he regarded glovework as “the one thing that helps me with my captaincy and my batting”. And the early evidence suggests he is not wrong.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In 16 matches in his new super-role, de Kock has a marginally higher-batting average than in the 194 in which he has not been a three-in-one. He has scored a century and seven fifties, has caught everything that has come his way and though he led South Africa to three series defeats, he also oversaw an ODI clean-sweep over Australia – no mean feat in their toughest summer since readmission.But is it sustainable? Andy Flower, who did the same job 13 times between 1993 and 1996, tells ESPNcricinfo that it could be, if it’s cleverly done. “It’s hard work. It’s quite a load which doesn’t mean it’s not doable, but you have to be smart about the way you expend your energy,” Flower said. “One of the key strategies will be how he recovers, rests and re-energises.”Player workload is a much-talked-about subject for all professional cricketers and rotation policies are commonplace in national squads. The trouble is that it’s difficult to rest someone who wears as many hats as de Kock, especially as South Africa are still working on their combinations and could do with the certainty of having three roles taken care of. “You don’t want anything to give,” Flower said.
“A player of Quinton de Kock’s quality gives your incredible flexibility on selection. He is a genuine allrounder and allows you to balance your side easily.”Beuran Hendricks and Quinton de Kock celebrate the end of Jason Roy’s knock•Getty Images

Some of the pressure can be taken off him through a strong core of senior players, something South Africa barely have but are trying to hang onto. That’s one of the reasons Faf du Plessis has travelled with the ODI squad to India. “For any captain, his lieutenants are important, not any more necessarily for a keeping captain.” Flower said. “But for any captain to have a core nucleus of influential players is important.”South Africa are also in the process of building that so, for now, de Kock is the fulcrum around which everything turns. He is likely to continue captaining, keeping and opening the batting for the foreseeable future and Flower has some advice: while captaining and keeping wicket go hand-in-hand, captaining and batting may not.”The physical positioning of being behind the stumps is a wonderful place to assess the game from; it’s the prime place,” Flower said. “From there, you can see if its swinging, reverse-swinging, read the pitch and the bounce. It’s about the skill of compartmentalising after that. It’s about being able to take off the captaincy hat and put on the batting helmet and shifting from leader to batsman. If he can keep his thoughts as simple as that, and be disciplined in making that switch, he will fine.”And yet despite this, if any aspect of the triple role is likely to suffer, it will probably be de Kock’s glovework, as Flower himself experienced when his concentration on the specific role wavered. You don’t want to make any mistakes and I didn’t feel like I could dedicate enough time to it in training and on the field,” Flower said. “Because of the flow of the game, that really close focus on expecting every ball to come your way and taking every sharp chance, can be lost sometimes. Any mistake you make is highlighted and you feel like you are letting everyone down. Maybe it’s a little easier in a fifty-over game.”ALSO READ: South Africa should do “anything” to get de Villiers back for T20 World Cup – RhodesFlower captained and kept wicket for 16 Tests (albeit he didn’t open), averaging a creditable 49.28 with three hundreds. However he gave up the gloves when Tatenda Taibu broke onto the scene and he was only too happy to do so. “It was so much easier to be lolling about on the outfield and I had so much more time and energy,” he remembered.That’s not advice de Kock will want to hear but it’s something for South Africa’s management to keep in mind. Luckily, they have two other wicketkeeper-batsmen in the current squad who could step up if needed. Heinrich Klaasen, who was the leading run-scorer against Australia, is one option while Kyle Verreynne, who impressed in his debut series with scores of 48 and 50 in two of the three games and stunning outfield work, is another. Both of them are relatively new to the international scene and need time to find their feet and secure a spot before any of talk of them taking over from de Kock can be entertained.Meanwhile de Kock has to keep trying to turn South Africa’s fortunes around, after their worst summer since readmission and as they build for major white-ball tournaments. There’s three in the next three years with back-to-back T20 World Cups and the 50-over World Cup in 2023 and the new management staff were appointed with that as their end-goal. South Africa’s obsession with winning a World Cup will only end when (if) they finally succeed, and until then, they will have to deal with every criticism, from team composition to mental fortitude. That will be de Kock’s biggest test of all.”He is very physically talented and looks fit, and he is a beautiful batsman to watch,” Flower said. “But it will also be about how he deals with criticism about himself, and how he deals with that emotionally on behalf of the team.”

In their quotas of 10 overs each, Diana Baig claimed 4 for 34, Sana Mir ended with 3 for 21 and Nashra Sandhu took 2 for 38

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2019Brisk half-centuries from Sidra Ameen and Nida Dar, and stifling bowling shows from Diana Baig, Sana Mir and Nashra Sandhu helped Pakistan women level the three-match ODI series 1-1 in Dubai. After being dismissed for 240 in 49.4 overs, the hosts bowled West Indies women out for 206 in as many overs, as Baig claimed 4 for 34, Mir ended with 3 for 21 and Sandhu took 2 for 38 in their quota of 10 overs each.Opting to bat, Pakistan were in a spot of bother at 52 for 3 after Nahida Khan, Javeria Khan and captain Bismah Maroof were all dismissed for single-digit scores. Opener Ameen, who fell for a duck in the previous ODI, and Dar then revived them with a century stand in under 20 overs. Ameen was, however, run-out for 96 by Stafanie Taylor after she had struck 14 fours. Dar, on 35 then, continued to steer the score past 200 with the lower order even though only one other batsman scored in double digits: Mir’s 21 off 30. Not long after Dar was trapped lbw by Deandra Dottin for an 86-ball 81 in the 48th over, Pakistan were bowled out when Sidra Nawaz and Baig were also run-out.West Indies’ chase didn’t see a smooth start either; Baig struck early to send back Dottin, Shemaine Campbelle and Kycia Knight cheaply to place them on a precarious 27 for 3. After a brief resistance from Taylor and Chedean Nation that nearly took them to 100, Sandhu had Nation caught behind for 21 and Mir trapped Taylor lbw for 48 to reduce them to 94 for 5 in 27 overs.With nearly 150 more still to get, No. 6 Natasha McLean hammered 82 off 76 with eight fours and two sixes, even as wickets fell around her. Even though West Indies were reeling at 144 for 9, McLean carried them past 200 with a stand of 62 for the last wicket with Shamilia Connell, who remained unbeaten on 15 off 28. But soon after McLean struck three consecutive fours off Kainat Imtiaz in the 49th over, she was caught and bowled by Dar in the last over, as the visitors fell short by 34 runs.If Pakistan win the deciding ODI on Monday, they will overtake West Indies in the ICC Women’s Championship table by jumping from sixth to fourth place.

The offspinner will become the third Afghanistan player to join Comilla Victorians, following the footsteps of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan

Mohammad Isam24-Nov-2017Comilla Victorians have signed 16-year old Afghanistan offspinner Mujeeb Zadran for the remainder of the BPL season. Zadran arrived in Chittagong on Friday, and will be available for their next game against Rajshahi on Saturday.Zadran claimed a five-wicket haul against Pakistan Under-19 in the final of the Youth Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur last Sunday to lead Afghanistan to their maiden Asia Cup triumph. He also took 6 for 28 in the semi-final against Nepal, having already taken a six-wicket haul against Pakistan in the tournament’s opening contest. He finished the tournament with 20 wickets in five games.Last month, Zadran took 17 wickets in the Youth ODI series against Bangladesh, becoming the highest wicket-taker in a bilateral Youth ODI series. He has also played six T20s, taking five wickets at an average of 26.80 and an economy of 7.24.Comilla, currently second on the points table with five wins in six matches, already have two senior Afghanistan players in their squad – Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan.

BCCI president Anurag Thakur has been asked to submit a “personal affidavit” to clarify whether he had sought ICC intervention against the Lodha Committee’s recommendations

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Oct-20162:49

Supreme Court wants BCCI president to clarify approach to ICC

The Supreme Court has put BCCI president Anurag Thakur in what could be a difficult position by asking him to submit a “personal affidavit” to clarify whether he had sought ICC intervention against the implementation of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.Last month ICC chief executive Dave Richardson had told that Thakur had verbally asked the ICC for a letter asking whether implementing one of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations would constitute government interference in the BCCI. The Lodha Committee had said that one of the nine members on the Apex Council should be a nominee from the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office, a government organisation. The ICC does not permit any government interference in its member boards.Richardson had said that ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, Thakur’s predecessor at the BCCI, had refused to intervene unless the Indian board put its request in writing.Amicus Curiae Gopal Subramanium had drawn the Supreme Court’s attention to the issue while reading out from the Lodha Committee’s status report on Thursday. “Interview aired by media with ICC CEO David Richardson showing that President BCCI had requested ICC to issue a letter stating that the intervention by this Hon’ble Court amounted to Governmental interference,” the status report said.Subramanium told the court that the BCCI had denied that Thakur had asked the ICC for a letter and instead said Richardson was “confused”. “It is being incorrectly alleged that the President BCCI made a request to the ICC to issue a letter stating that this Committee amounts to Governmental interference. This suggestion is denied,” the BCCI affidavit, submitted in court on October 5 as a response to the status report, had said.The affidavit said Richardson “falsely” stated events. “It appears that an interview was given by Mr. David Richardson the ICC CEO falsely stating that the BCCI President had requested the ICC to issue a letter stating that the intervention by this Hon ‘ble Court amounted to Governmental interference. It is submitted that no such letter or oral request was ever made to the said gentlemen either by the BCCI President or any office bearer of the BCCI. It is apparent that Mr. Richardson has confused himself in relation to the issue.”The Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, leading the three-judge bench, wondered if Richardson was aware of the BCCI’s remarks. “Is he [Mr. Richardson] still the CEO? Does he know that he is being maligned … the accusation is that David Richardson made a false statement that the BCCI asked him to issue a letter,” Chief Justice Thakur was quoted as saying by the on Thursday.The BCCI’s affidavit also said that during his tenure as board president Manohar had also expressed reservations against having a CAG nominee on the Apex Council. According to the BCCI, Manohar had changed his stance since becoming ICC chairman.”This issue is required to be considered in the light of the fact that Mr. Shashank Manohar Senior Advocate had clearly opined as the BCCI President that appointment of the CAG in the BCCI shall result in suspension of the BCCI as it would constitute governmental interference. In fact the same had been submitted on affidavit before this Hon ‘ble Court.”However, as Chairman of the ICC, Mr. Manohar had taken a contrary stand and clarification was sought by Mr. Anurag Thakur during an informal discussion on what the exact status would be if the CAG was inducted by the BCCI as part its management and whether it would amount to governmental interference as had been advised and affirmed by Mr. Manohar during his stint as BCCI President,” the board’s affidavit said.Chief Justice Thakur then asked Subramanium who had sworn to the BCCI affidavit. When he was told it was Ratnakar Shetty, the board’s administrative and game development manager, the court was curious as to how Shetty had been privy to an alleged conversation that took place between Thakur and the ICC.The court then asked Shetty to file a separate undertaking stating how he was allowed to sign the affidavit as a response to the Lodha Committee’s status report. It asked Shetty to, “place on record a copy of the authorisation/resolution passed by the BCCI on the basis of which he has filed the affidavit supporting the response of the BCCI to the status report.”BCCI president Anurag Thakur is set to leave for Cape Town to attend ICC board meetings between October 10 and 14, where he will meet Richardson and Manohar, the ICC parties mentioned in the Lodha Committee’s status report and BCCI affidavit.

With eight matches to go before the World T20, South Africa have “covered all the bases,” in terms of squad make-up but are still not savvy enough in unfamiliar conditions, according to stand-in captain AB de Villiers

Firdose Moonda16-Aug-20153:37

Excited to see Rabada grow – AB de Villiers

With eight matches to go before the World T20, South Africa have “covered all the bases,” in terms of squad make-up but are still not savvy enough in unfamiliar conditions, according to stand-in captain AB de Villiers.South Africa squared the series against New Zealand after losing in Centurion, where, like Durban, an international had never been played in the city in August before. Unlike at Kingsmead, South Africa could not find their feet on a surface that appeared stripped of moisture and suited to spin, but surprisingly rewarded use of the short ball. South Africa’s attack did not suss that out and some of their batsmen were done in by it.”It wasn’t the perfect wicket that I have played on at SuperSport Park but you need to adapt and we didn’t adapt well enough,” de Villiers said. “It’s a little bit early to play cricket in South Africa but it’s an opportunity and a challenge to test ourselves and to ask: can we think on our feet, are we smart enough as a cricket team to turn games like this around and to actually win them? We are not there yet but we will try and figure that out in the ODIs.”De Villiers did not put the lack of adjustment down to personnel problems, instead insisting South Africa have the right mix of players involved in their preparation for the World T20, which started with the tour to Bangladesh last month.”From a players point of view, I feel we have covered the bases. We went to Bangladesh and won 2-nil there which was massive – everyone knows Bangladesh are playing great cricket at the moment and that’s where we are going to play the World T20 as well in sub [continental] conditions,” he said. “Some new guys got a chance like Eddie Leie, who got to bowl again and Kagiso Rabada, who was able to keep building on what he has been doing.”Rabada has earned most of the plaudits from South Africa’s recent limited-overs matches for his raw pace, ruthless short ball and resourceful variations which have twice, allowed him to come back from a poor start to finish with respectable figures. In the first match, Rabada’s second over cost 12 runs, two fewer than his next two overs, which included two wickets. In this game, he conceded 13 runs in his first over and 17 runs in the remaining three overs, which included three wickets.Both these experiences have taught Rabada that there is “very little margin for error,” in international cricket and “you have to be on the ball every ball.” He has already identified that he “needs to work on,” the way he starts.The maturity in making that self-assessment is why Rabada is regarded as the next big thing in South African bowling. Not only is he more than good enough but he already knows where he wants to improve. “He has a bright future and he knows that but he also knows there is a lot of hard work around the corner for him,” de Villiers said. “He has got the backing of the whole side, especially the senior players and the management group. We are excited to see him grow into a great player one day.”De Villiers has already taken on the role of one of Rabada’s advisors and in this match, gave the bowler the freedom to crank it up in his final over – which resulted in two wickets in two balls. “AB gave me freedom in that over. He just said, ‘do whatever you want.’ It shows that he backs me and so does the rest of the team,” Rabada said, before quickly clarifying that de Villiers does not issue instructions. “It’s not like he tells me what to bowl all the time, he comes up with suggestions and most of the time they are right anyway.”Suggestions come from other quarters, too, because Rabada has accepted “everyone as a mentor because these guys have been playing for a long time,” he explained. “They have competed very well. They’ve been the best in the world and I grew up watching them so everyone is a mentor to me.”There is less certainty over some of the other positions in South Africa’s starting XI. Kyle Abbott has not looked himself in recent matches and struggled for control, David Miller has been flagging as a finisher and there has not been a lot of clarity over David Wiese’s role as the main all-rounder. De Villiers, whose own new role as opener and wicketkeeper in the shortest format has not been fully explored, said all these questions form part of the “covering of the bases” which must be done ahead of playing the first-choice XI in the World T20.”It’s a very difficult balance because I love winning. To me that’s more important than trying things out but sometimes you are forced to get a player in to have a look at what he is all about,” de Villiers said. “Sometimes during a series you get used to seeing 11 or 12 players but you are not sure of 13, 14 and 15, Going into a World T20 where you are playing different teams on different fields. 13, 14 and 15 become so much more important.”Morne van Wyk may hope to be among the 13th, 14th or 15th player, but that seems unlikely even if Quinton de Kock remains out of the squad. De Villiers wants to return to the top of the order to get used to his new role ahead of the World T20, which may not be for too long.”I would have liked to open the batting in the last few games but I will still get a few opportunities before the World T20 to do so,” de Villiers said. “It’s a fantastic spot to play at and I will definitely have the skill to adapt, whether I am going to perform… we’ll need to wait and see. I am very comfortable there and looking forward to win a game or two.”

Mumbai’s Abhishek Nayar has been selected to play for the India A squad in a tour game against Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2013Mumbai’s Abhishek Nayar has been selected to play for India A against Australia in a tour match in February. Nayar was not a part of the India A and Board President’s XI squads announced earlier this week.Nayar, who was the second-highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy this season, scored 966 runs for Mumbai, including three centuries and eight 50s. He also picked up 19 wickets to play an important role in the team’s 40th Ranji Trophy title.The India A team, led by Delhi’s Shikhar Dhawan, will play a three-day game against Australia from February 16-18 in Chennai.India A squad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Jiwanjot Singh, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Ajinkya Rahane, C Gautam, Rakesh Dhruv, Jalaj Saxena, Manpreet Gony, Vinay Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ashok Menaria, Abhishek Nayar.