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The visitors survived a late attack from debutant Christiaan Jonker to ensure they went home with both limited-overs trophies

The Report by Firdose Moonda24-Feb-20184:23

South Africa’s lack of depth exposed – Cullinan

India sealed the T20 series against South Africa with a victory in the decider that was almost snatched away from them by a feisty South African lower-order effort.South Africa were asked to pull off the second-highest successful chase at Newlands and then fell so far behind the required run-rate that they needed 59 runs off 21 balls. Then, debutant Christiaan Jonker and old-hand Farhaan Behardien plundered 51 runs in the last three-and-a-half overs but could not get the hosts over the line.South Africa were 114 for 5 in the 17th when Behardien joined Jonker. If Jonker was nervous, he didn’t show it. He took 18 runs off Shardul Thakur’s final over to reconstruct his figures of 3-0-17-1 into 4-0-35-1 and leave South Africa with 35 to win off the final two overs.Together, Behardien and Jonker scored 16 runs off Jasprit Bumrah and needed 19 off the last over and 12 off the last three balls but the mistakes their team-mates had made earlier were too big to rectify.A slow start – South Africa were 25 for 1 after the Powerplay and 52 for 2 after 10 overs – on top of a clumsy fielding effort left South Africa so close, yet so far from the win that would answered some of the questions about their depth and their ability to handle pressure.Shikhar Dhawan was India’s top scorer but only fortuitously so because South Africa, in the form of Tabraiz Shamsi, let him off twice. Dhawan was on 9, and India 54 for 1 in the sixth over, when he cut a Chris Morris ball to short third man, where all Shamsi had to do was accept, but he was unstable as the ball popped out of his hands.Seven overs and 49 runs later, Dhawan, who was on 34, top-edged Aaron Phangiso to Shami at short fine leg. Shamsi ran back but reprieved Dhawan again. Between the two chances, Dhawan found the boundary for the first time, off the 29th ball he faced, delivered by none other than Shamsi.But, Shamsi also saw some success in that period. Suresh Raina, who had announced himself with a six off Junior Dala, tucked into Andile Phehlukwayo’s first two balls and taken boundaries off short balls from Morris and JP Duminy, eventually holed out off Shamsi for a feisty 43. It was not Raina’s dismissal, but Manish Pandey’s that allowed South Africa to pull India back.Pandey hit his one meaty six off Shamsi and then tried to do the same off Dala, who returned in the 14th over and immediately banged in a short ball. Pandey could not control the pull and was caught at long-on. In addition to the wicket, Dala only conceded six runs in that over, none in boundaries, and Phehlukwayo followed up with an eight-run boundary-less over of his own. That was enough to create some pressure and Dhawan was run-out off the first ball of the over that followed.He hoicked a Shamsi delivery to deep midwicket, where Dala was stationed. A single was on, but Dhawan wanted a double and Dala effected a direct hit before Dhawan could complete his return to the striker’s end.At the end of 17 overs, India were 136 for 4, and had only scored 25 runs in the previous four overs. Instead of turning to Phangiso, who had kept things tight, Duminy opted for Morris, who conceded 21 runs in his last two overs, though he did also take two wickets. Still, India would have been satisfied especially with the way their attack started.South Africa were kept quiet early on and in-form Reeza Hendricks was dismissed by a Bhuvneshwar Kumar knuckle ball, a variation India’s seamers sprinkled liberally in their spells. David Miller started to find his touch with Duminy at the other end but before he could hit full flow, gifted a catch to Axar Patel at deep midwicket.The asking rate when Miller was dismissed was almost 12 runs an over, and Duminy had to accelerate. He found his first boundary off the 20th ball he faced, the delivery after Miller had fallen, and hit back-to-back sixes off Axar. He reached his fifty off 38 balls with a gorgeous cover drive but three balls later top-edged a Thakur slower ball to mid-off and South Africa’s hopes all but went with him. However, Jonker and Behardien mounted some fight but India had that little bit more.

The United States women's national team will face Germany, Australia and either Zambia or Morocco in the group stages of this year's Olympic Games.

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• USWNT will face Germany & Australia at Olympics
• Wednesday's draw produced three tough groups
• Final opponent for U.S. to be revealed next month

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The USWNT was given a very tough group by Wednesday's draw in Paris, which has pitted it against a giant of the game in Germany and Australia, which reached last year's World Cup semi-finals. The identity of its third opponent will be decided at the beginning of April, which Zambia and Morocco vying for that spot in a two-legged play-off.

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• OLYMPIC WOMEN'S FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT DRAW

  GROUP A: France, Colombia, Canada, New Zealand

  GROUP B: United States, Zambia/Morocco, Germany, Australia

  GROUP C: Spain, Japan, Nigeria/South Africa, Brazil

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The U.S. will fancy its chances of progressing through the group, though. It is set to be under the charge of Emma Hayes when the Games get underway in July and has already started the year well, winning the CONCACAF W Gold Cup. Germany, meanwhile, exited the World Cup in the group stages last year and Australia will be without star striker Sam Kerr due to an ACL rupture.

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  No team has won more medals at the Olympic women's football tournament than the USWNT, which has four golds, one silver and one bronze to its name.

Virender Sehwag’s innings are exhilarating while Sachin Tendulkar’s batting is more calculated. Both of them played their part to lead India’s fightback

Sidharth Monga at the SSC28-Jul-2010Watching Virender Sehwag bat is a thrilling experience. From spectators to the players’ gallery to the bowler, even the umpires, he keeps everybody interested. Sachin Tendulkar kills that interest for the bowlers. At times, like today, India need both of them to do their thing on the same day. More so Tendulkar.It was a fascinating contest between Sehwag and Sehwag before he threw it all away. The fields were set to repeat his Nagpur and Galle dismissal. Third man, deep point and sweeper-cover were in “catching positions”. Angelo Mathews was bowling short, angling it away, almost trying to simulate what Chanaka Welegedara did in Galle. In reaction to that dismissal and the collapse that followed, Sehwag had said he would play the shot again in the series.Well, don’t believe those press conferences. Of course he lied. Of course he wouldn’t play that shot. Not in the air at any rate. But the possibilities remained. What if he gets annoyed again? What if he thinks “let me hit a six over those men on the off-side boundary”? In the four overs approaching stumps yesterday, and in five this morning, Sehwag kept leaving Mathews’ deliveries alone. He even smiled at the Sri Lankans, suggesting he knew what they were up to. He quelled that gnawing feeling he gets when runs don’t come by punching anything close enough to him through covers or through mid-on.Then Sri Lanka blocked those areas too. Sehwag started picking singles in response. There was a spell of play when he faced just 29 deliveries in 16 overs, hitting just one boundary, and still scoring 24 runs. M Vijay, the man with the majority of the strike then, did his part too. Sehwag was making up for the mistake in Galle, but then the sight of an offspinner proved to be too much.Sehwag had overcome all of Sri Lanka’s strategies until then. When they bowled full looking for swing, they were driven mercilessly. When they bowled short and wide, he didn’t go after them. When they bowled short into the body, he managed to keep them down. When they introduced Suraj Randiv, a rush of blood happened to the head, and Sehwag became only the third man in Test cricket to get stumped on 99.One of those three instances, with John Wright, led to an agonising defeat for New Zealand with a precious few minutes left in the Auckland Test of 1991-92. India haven’t quite averted that fate just as yet, but Tendulkar has made sure it is not the favoured result with two days to go.The thing with Tendulkar is, there aren’t many such formulae that work. You stop the fours, he can patiently work the singles. You stop the singles, he can easily find the gaps. You try to protect one side of the field, he can manoeuvre the ball into other parts. Bad shots, once he is set, are rare.Three wickets fell for eight runs then, in the minutes before lunch, but no procession followed after the break. Even as VVS Laxman kept looking to whip the spinners to the leg side, and kept getting leading edges, the bowlers kept meeting the middle of the bat at the other end.Randiv, who got the wickets of Sehwag and Rahul Dravid, summed up how difficult it was bowling to Tendulkar. He said it was difficult to get used to a particular line and length because Tendulkar would play almost identical deliveries off either foot. Then there was the paddle sweep. And when he went back, there were both the varieties of the cut. He also showed to Sehwag, off the same bowler, how the six should have been hit. Apart from that he hit 10 fours off Randiv, Sri Lanka’s most impressive bowler on the day.There was an odd nervy moment when the ball stopped on Tendulkar. One of them came early when he read an Ajantha Mendis googly, but ended up hitting it in the air towards silly mid-on. Another came when he looked to upper-cut Dilhara Fernando, but didn’t quite go through with the shot. Prasanna Jayawardene dropped him, and is still awaiting a second mistake.When Tendulkar reached the century, Sehwag was a relieved man, cheering from the balcony. “I am disappointed,” Sehwag said. “Not because I was out on 99 but because today’s day could have been very good for us if we were one or two down. We had a great opportunity to post a big total. But thanks to Sachin Tendulkar we are back in a good situation. If we play well tomorrow then we can avoid the follow-on and also bat the whole day.” It helps when, unlike in Galle, there is somebody to cover up for a rare mistake you make – that too on 109 and on 99.

Sri Lanka will hope his form and class doesn’t taper off, like it did for some of the promising young batters in the last 10 years

Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Jan-2025To start with, the whole idea just feels off. A sober stock-take on the career of Kamindu Mendis at the beginning of only his second serious Test year? Yah, who asked for this?So much more fun to be stuck in that Kamindu Mendis fever dream. An average of 74 after 17 Test innings? Uff! Five hundreds out of nine 50-plus scores? Yes please. All 1110 of his runs from No. 5 or lower? That’s the stuff. And have you seen how this brother flicks even the fastest Test bowlers through the air over square leg? Right off his toes, sometimes all the way for six.But there are potentially universes where worse things happen. In one of the more cursed timelines, there might exist a pre-series column focusing on Kamindu, in which there is significant bringing back to reality, a ruining of the vibe, a killing of the buzz.Related

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Such a column might point out that Kamindu had his first less-than-stellar series in South Africa, where he averaged an unusually human 26.50 across four innings. He got some excellent deliveries from South Africa’s quicks, but there did also seem to be a tiny weakness to the shorter ball in the channel, angling across him from the right-arm seamers.There could also be warnings. Kamindu is not the first Sri Lankan batter to emerge in the last 10 years from whom greatness was expected. Many of those expectations haven’t quite panned out, with several batters unable to consolidate careers after starting well, and others plataeuing earlier than expected. There is the not wanting to thrust the mantle of greatness on him too early, but also the hard facts of middle-order runs needing to be scored if Sri Lanka are to improve, and Kamindu being pretty well-placed to score them.Or perhaps that column would draw attention to the greatest buzzkill subject of all – the Test schedule. Tests, the only format in which Kamindu has truly excelled at international level, are in short supply for Sri Lanka this year. Following this two-match series against Australia, there is a two-Test series against Bangladesh mid-year, and then nothing on the books until the middle of 2026, when Sri Lanka travel to the West Indies. Sri Lanka’s next World Test Championship cycle features exactly 12 Tests – the minimum required.(In the second Test of this Australia series, Dimuth Karunaratne is set to play his 100th Test. It may ultimately not matter how consistently Kamindu scores big runs, it seems unlikely he can play 100 Tests if Sri Lanka average only six matches a year.)Such a column might conclude that although Kamindu has had the best possible start to his Test career, the year ahead may be the definitive one for him. For starters, anyone who has had a year like Kamindu’s 2024 will now have had their technique pored over by opposition analysts and coaches. Bowlers will come with theories on how to get him out. Too often in the last 10 years, opposition bowlers have been right about young Sri Lanka batters.Beyond this, another exam. With Sri Lanka’s Test schedule likely to dwindle, there is also now the heat to become a more productive limited-overs player. Kamindu’s domestic T20 career in particular suggests that he has the range and skill to become a success in white-ball cricket, but he is yet to crack the shorter formats in international cricket.It is not often that a batter who has scored more than a thousand Test runs in the previous calendar year has this many hurdles still to overcome. But cricket’s sands are shifting, and these are the breaks.On Kamindu’s side is his obvious talent for expanding his game. But also, the fact that the next challenge is one he should relish – playing two Tests in his home town, in the format he has already made a name for himself in. He also averages 123.33 in Galle, after three Tests there.But Australia’s tall fast bowlers will have watched the footage from South Africa, and will try him where they think he is weak. And this next step is where many Sri Lanka batters have stumbled.Or so at least that column would say.

James Vince and Mark Stoneman produced valuable fifties to build on England’s hard-earned advantage at Christchurch

The Report by Andrew Miller01-Apr-2018England 307 (Bairstow 101, Wood 52, Southee 6-62, Boult 4-87) and 202 for 3 (Vince 76, Stoneman 60) lead New Zealand 278 (Watling 85, Broad 6-54) by 231 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAt the Gabba in November, James Vince and Mark Stoneman began a long and arduous winter as a pair of question marks in England’s Test-match top three. At Christchurch in April, the pair came good in a vital century partnership for England’s second wicket – good enough, that is, to set their side up for what may yet turn out to be a series-levelling victory against New Zealand, if not quite good enough to assuage the lingering doubts about their futures at the highest level.For the record, Vince made 76, and Stoneman a career-best 60 – a pair of crucial, balm-applying performances that helped to turn a slender 29-run first-innings lead into an overall advantage of 231 on the third day at Hagley Oval, with seven wickets in hand.By stumps, Joe Root and Dawid Malan – himself in a lean run of form – had added 37 for the fourth wicket with few alarms beyond a mix-up between the wickets, as the Barmy Army went through their full repertoire at a sleepy and autumnal venue, where the overnight changing of the clocks had lent a decidedly end-of-season feel to the contest.And if, in two days’ time, England do manage to secure their first overseas win in 13 attempts, they will owe a major debt to a 123-run stand for the second wicket between Vince and Stoneman, who showcased from the outset the sort of fluency and resolve that the selectors have long believed was within their capability.They came together in the ninth over, following another troubling failure for Alastair Cook, and were not separated until the 47th, by which stage the shine had long gone from the new ball and New Zealand’s over-reliance on the brilliance of Tim Southee and Trent Boult was beginning to be felt.Both men began their innings knowing that further Test chances could not be guaranteed, especially after such a winter of underachievement from England’s red-ball outfit. And Vince in particular – recalled for this Test having sat out in Auckland – seemed determined to go out on his own terms. He lashed his second delivery from Boult for a typically glorious cover-drive, the sort of flash of beauty that has earned him selectorial forgiveness in spite of his very average average.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Vince added two more off-side boundaries in his first seven deliveries (one of them a bit chancy, if truth be told), to establish the parameters of his innings. And his commitment to calculated aggression served him well in a typically attractive performance studded with ten boundaries, arguably the best of which was a trademark creaming through the covers, shortly before tea, to bring up the third half-century of his Test career.At the other end, Stoneman took a more attritional route to the top – at least in the early part of his innings – as he drew the sting of New Zealand’s new ball before cashing in with a quartet of rifled boundaries through the covers. He played his strokes with less flourish than Vince, maybe, but no less authority, as he bided his time on each occasion and made sure he punished the loose delivery.But then, on 35, the composure of Stoneman’s innings seemed to dissipate after he was struck on the shoulder by a Neil Wagner lifter and given out caught behind. He successfully reviewed the decision, but seemed unable thereafter to shake off the shadow of impending doom, as he developed a death wish to balls outside the off stump, particularly against the medium pace of Colin de Grandhomme.Twice in the space of three balls, he edged de Grandhomme into the slips from round the wicket – the first looped safely away to the boundary but the second, an open-faced steer, went into Ross Taylor’s right hand at first slip and straight out again. Two overs later, Stoneman brought up his fifty with another chancy slap over the cordon, off Southee, and was dropped for a second time off de Grandhomme when Southee himself, now at first slip with Taylor off the field, tipped a flying edge over the bar.In the end, it took a brilliant spring-loaded leap from BJ Watling to bring Stoneman’s innings to an end, but the manner of his departure had been sadly telegraphed for several overs before his demise.And the same, cruelly, could also be said of Vince, who had not played with such fluency since that fateful 83 on the first day of the Ashes in Brisbane. That effort eventually ended with a “what if?” run-out, but today’s provided a more familiar ending. Another ball in the channel, this time from Boult, and a cramped drive straight into the hands of first slip. He’s not the first batsman whose greatest strength is also his greatest weakness – David Gower, for one, endured a career of stick for getting out so often on the drive. But Gower also averaged 44.25 to Vince’s 24.90.Still, at least England’s Nos. 2 and 3 produced scores that enhanced their reputations. The same unfortunately could not be said of Cook, England’s leading Test run-scorer, whose dismissal for 14 took his tally for the tour to a dismal 23 runs in four innings, at an average of 5.75 that is, by a distance, his worst return in any completed Test series.Stuart Broad finished with a six-wicket haul•Associated Press

After his tentative displays in the first three innings of the series, Cook seemed determined to make his presence felt this time out. His footwork was more confident as he latched on a brace of short balls from Southee to pick up his first boundaries of the series, but from his very next delivery, he was trapped in no-man’s land by his nemesis Boult, who nipped a length ball off his outside edge to claim his wicket for the ninth time in Tests. Cook trudged off for 14 with a huge amount to ponder before England’s next Test engagement, against Pakistan in May.Cook might have anticipated being called on to bat earlier in the day, but for a combative morning’s work from New Zealand’s lower order. Stuart Broad eventually wrapped up the innings for 278 with figures of 6 for 54, but not before Southee had posted his first Test half-century since 2014 and Wagner and Boult had reduced the deficit to 29 in an enterprising 39-run stand for the tenth wicket.After resuming on 192 for 6, Southee signalled New Zealand’s intent by pulling the fourth ball of the morning over wide long-on for the 64th six of his Test career, drawing him level with AB de Villiers for the most by any active player, and it took the arrival of the second new ball for England to regain a measure of control, as Watling was uprooted for 85 by the ball of the innings, a full-length outswinger from James Anderson that bent from leg to off to smash the stumps. Watling had been denied his seventh Test century, but having hauled his team off the canvas at 36 for 5, he had more than played his part.Ish Sodhi edged to the keeper to give Broad his first five-wicket haul since the Johannesburg Test against South Africa in January 2016. And when Anderson ended Southee’s fun, plucking out his middle stump three balls after he had reached his fifty, England were looking at a substantial lead.Boult and Wagner, however, had other ideas. Wagner, pinned on the helmet by a fierce Broad lifter early in his stay, slapped Anderson out of the attack with a 13-run over, including an impulsive hook over fine leg for six, while Boult – as idiosyncratic as Courtney Walsh in his pomp – ducked and dived at the crease, and occasionally connected with power. He rattled along to 16 from 22 balls before top-edging Broad to fine leg to ensure, for the second innings in the match, that all ten wickets were shared by just the opening bowlers.

The South Africa quick on his injury setbacks, a difficult IPL 2024, turning down a CSA contract, and more

Melinda Farrell19-Jun-2024Anrich Nortje is used to feeling the heat on the field but he’s struggling with Antigua’s sultry days, which crank up the heat until a thunderstorm breaks, offering sweet – if brief – relief, before the sauna steams up once more.A day before South Africa’s first Super Eight match in the men’s T20 World Cup 2024, against USA, he’s staying inside the team hotel, nestled by the pale sands and calm turquoise waters of Antigua’s east coast.”This place is too hot,” he laughs. “There’s optional training and maybe a meeting or two left, but otherwise, maybe a little bit of a swim. But yeah, it’s just very hot so I’m trying to be fresh as possible for tomorrow.”Nortje has the added challenge of trying to keep a baby cool. He’s been joined on this tour by his wife, Michaela, along with his daughter, Amelia, who was born exactly 13 weeks earlier, just days before Nortje left South Africa for the IPL.Related

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In India, he faced heat of another kind, a batting paradise of a tournament where bowlers saw their economy rates balloon, none more so than Nortje. In six matches for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024, he took seven wickets from 22 overs at an average of 42 and economy of 13.36. But he is circumspect in reflecting on the tournament, which was a major stepping stone in his return from a back injury which sidelined him for more than five months.”It was about finding ways to get better over there,” Nortje said. “And the training after the games was good, working with the coaches there at Delhi, with [bowling coach] James Hopes. I wasn’t worried much about what the scoreboard did at that stage.”Nortje’s cheerful and smiling demeanour is a stark contrast to his reputation as one of the world’s most ferocious fast bowlers, capable of melting speed guns with deliveries in the mid-150kph range. But it kept him grounded when dealing with the latest and most severe of the string of injuries that are a result of pushing his body to the limit.”It’s definitely been tough on everyone, but the time off was great. Starting again was about getting to the right intensity. The medical team did a really good job to assure me that everything was fine with the stress fractures. I played a few games back home, trying to push as much as possible, as soon as possible, and when I was cleared to go ahead, full out.”The lower back stress fractures struck last September, just before South Africa’s ODI World Cup campaign in India. Before he was ruled out of the squad, Nortje was considered one of the team’s key strike weapons, as he had been in all formats since making his international debut in 2019. That year, too, he was also ruled out of the World Cup in England due to a shoulder injury.The times between injuries have been spectacular. From June 2021 to the end of IPL 2023, Nortje took 86 wickets in 61 T20 matches at an average of 18.83, easily the best of 42 fast bowlers to take 75 or more wickets in the same period. If you include spinners, only Wanindu Hasaranga had better returns with 145 wickets at 18.03. His combination of searing pace and venomous late swing made him one of the hottest T20 properties in the world.Nortje took 7 wickets from 22 overs at an average of 42 and economy of 13.36 in IPL 2024•BCCIBut this latest layoff forced Nortje to make a difficult decision, opting to forego the security of a contract with Cricket South Africa (CSA) in order to maintain control over the amount of international cricket he plays. He is keen to make it clear that he had, and has, the support of CSA.”It was my decision. It was just to see how my body goes. I hadn’t had a stress fracture since 2010 and I just had a little bit of ‘nervy’ in the back, so I just wanted to take the time to play when I can, play when I know I’m ready, rather than having to play every series or every whatever is coming up.”So to make that decision on my own according to my body has been good so far. Still happy with the decision, and it’s more just for me to have the calmness and to know that, if I need a break for a week, if I need a break for a month, then I can do that.”The most immediate thing that has a question mark around would probably be the one-dayers, having a Champions Trophy coming up at the start of next year. So that would be the big question mark on how we’re going to go about that. So far, things have been going good, but they’re still chats that I need to have with Cricket South Africa, which I haven’t had. I haven’t really made a decision on what’s going to happen with one-day cricket in the next few months. So we’ll take that as it comes. But for now, it’s obviously focusing on the World Cup and trying to get through this and bring the trophy back home.”Nortje’s impact on South Africa’s success in the T20 World Cup illustrates why CSA is happy to accommodate him. He is their leading wicket-taker of the tournament, and joint second overall, with nine throughout the group stage, conceding just 70 runs at an average of 10.66 and an economy rate of 4.37. The contrast to his returns in the IPL is striking.Nortje pulled his lengths back in the US, where South Africa have played all their matches until now. In fact, 59.38% of his deliveries have been short or short-of-length balls compared to 38.64% at the IPL. Those shorter deliveries have accounted for six of his wickets at an average of 7.83.

“Every game is a big game, but once you start worrying about the next game I think you lose a little bit of focus on what you have to do now. We’re in it to win it”Nortje and South Africa’s focus is crystal clear

This was not so much a preconceived plan as it was a response to pitches that offered plentiful assistance off the surface.”So far, the wickets have been sort of try and build your best delivery, with what we’ve had in the last few weeks. It’s obviously been low scores, but still just trying to put the ball in the right place.”It’s just a case of what’s working on the day. We played three games in New York, so I suppose it was probably copy-paste for those three games, but now it’s changing every game again, with different venues most of the time. So you try and find out and see what’s happening in the first few overs, and then try and adapt to that. I’m sure the lengths will be different, but it’s not really about going out before the game and saying, this is the length, or that’s the length, just about finding it.”If South Africa make the semi-final, their unwelcome tag of never yet playing in any men’s World Cup final will inevitably surface, but Nortje is not phased by any historic hoodoo.”We do know that it is a World Cup and it is a big occasion. I don’t think anyone is downplaying that. It’s not just another game. Every game is a big game, but once you start worrying about the next game I think you lose a little bit of focus on what you have to do now. We’re in it to win it. We’re really focused and well prepped to go all the way.”And for Nortje, that means the handbrake is off.”I don’t think there’s any holding back. The stress fracture, all of that from the injury, has been fully healed. I’m very happy with that, and it’s just about what we need to do to win and whatever I have to do to get to that stage, I’ll do it.”

Cricket Australia has said it is up to the on-field umpires and the match referee to decide upon the future course of action with regard to the incident

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2018Following an off-field altercation between David Warner and Quinton de Kock on the fourth day in Durban, Cricket Australia has said it is up to the on-field umpires and the match referee to decide upon the future course of action with regard to the incidentCA had said early on Monday morning – the fifth day of the Test – that it would investigate the incident, which was caught on CCTV and first aired by South African outlet . “The incident was discussed between the two team managers and the match referee last night and it is now in the hands of the on field umpires and the match referee,” CA said later on Monday. “Both teams were reminded by the match referee of the spirit in which the game should be played.”The footage shows Warner being moved away from the incident by team-mates, including captain Steven Smith, after walking up the steps during the tea interval on the fourth day.Australia had managed just one wicket between lunch and tea with de Kock and Aiden Markram forging a partnership that would threaten to take South Africa close to their 417-run target before Australia struck back late in the day.In the video, Warner’s anger is directed at de Kock, who is following the Australians up the steps. At the start of the clip, the Australian players first up the stairs are seen peering back over the handrails then Warner emerges around the corner and is already involved in a heated exchange.He is ushered up the steps by Usman Khawaja but does not immediately enter the away dressing room, even though Tim Paine also urges him to move and go inside. Smith then drags his vice-captain away as de Kock squeezes past into his dressing room. There was no indication from the footage what started the incident.South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee said: “It’s rather unfortunate that the incident took place and certainly not in the spirit of the game. The match referee has spoken to us after the day’s play. We will await any further communication from the ICC around this incident.”Warner’s behaviour came under the spotlight earlier on the fourth day when he ran out AB de Villiers after a mix-up with Markram with him then yelling in Markram’s direction during the celebration. Warner was not charged for that incident, but Nathan Lyon was, because the bowler had dropped the ball in de Villiers’ vicinity.

USMNT defender Sergino Dest revealed a bizarre bet he has with PSV's assistant coach to reach three goals by the end of the season.

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• PSV defeat Go Ahead Eagles 1-0
• Dest scores winner
• Revealed bizarre bet with coach

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 23-year-old fired PSV to victory over Go Ahead Eagles on Friday with a wonderful curling effort in a 1-0 victory to push their unbeaten streak in the Eredivisie to 25-straight games. Celebrating after the match, the USMNT defender shared the motivation behind his effort.

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  WHAT DEST SAID

  Speaking to , the USMNT defender revealed the bizarre bet he has with a PSV assistant coach.

  "A wonderful goal, I can't say anything else. I am proud of it," he said. "I need one more. I had a bet with Rob Maas. I have to score three goals before the end of the season. Otherwise I'll have to wash his car by hand. And I'm not going to do that. If I score three times, he has to fill my car with gas. I have a big car with Euro 98."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Dest is already up to nine goal contributions across all competitions in 2023-24 for the Dutch club, excelling on nearly every level possible for PSV while on loan from Barcelona. His performances have impressed so much that the Eindhoven-based club are now looking to make his loan there a permanent move. However, if he wants to avoid scrubbing Maas's vehicle with his own hands, he only has a few months to bag another goal!

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  WHAT NEXT FOR PSV?

  The Dutch side will clash with Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League next week in a leg two meeting. They drew 1-1 in the first leg, and with no away goals advantage this year, the winner of Wednesday's clash advances to the final eight.

They are 1-0 down and will be led by Suranga Lakmal in Dinesh Chandimal’s absence. West Indies, meanwhile, have won their two most recent Tests at the Kensington Oval

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando22-Jun-2018

Big Picture

Forget the controversy for a moment. Forget the charges faced by the Sri Lanka leadership, forget the video clips, and the due process. From a purely cricket perspective, this series deserves a close finish. It hasn’t quite been an epic, but aspects of it have been a wonderful surprise.How many series have two 145kph-plus quicks at the top of the series’ wicket-takers’ list? Shannon Gabriel and Lahiru Kumara have forced one opposition batsman to retire hurt apiece. The cricket has never been more interesting than when either man is hurling deliveries at ribs and throats. On this tour both players may have had breakthrough performances. For years West Indies and Sri Lanka have searched for quick strike bowlers worthy of the title.At different times, both teams have made major gambles. Jason Holder declared at 414 for 8 on a Trinidad track that was not especially helpful to bowlers. In St. Lucia, Sri Lanka made four changes to their XI and might have won had rain and their own refusal to take the field on day three not sapped precious hours from the game. Various batsmen have shone at various points – Shane Dowrich, Kusal Mendis, Kraigg Brathwaite, Dinesh Chandimal, all playing different types of innings, all utterly committed to the team cause.The teams now move to the first-ever day-night Test in the region, played at one of the Caribbean’s most iconic venues. West Indies have not won a day-night Test in two attempts, losing to Pakistan in Dubai and England at Edgbaston. Sri Lanka have won their only day-night Test so far, last year in the UAE. These are small sample sizes, but one phenomenon that has been observed across the nine day-night Tests played so far is that the evening session tends to be especially fruitful for fast bowlers. Given the prominence of quicks so far, that is a tantalising prospect.Sri Lanka will quite likely miss the experience of Rangana Herath in this Test, however. He has been ruled out with a split webbing in his hand, sustained during fielding drills in the approach to this game.

Form guide

Sri Lanka DLWDD (completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies DWLLDCWI Media

In the spotlight

Almost every time Shannon Gabriel came to the bowling crease in the second Test, the game seemed to change. Sri Lanka batsmen who had been cruising, suddenly had the ball seeking out the edges and shoulders of their bats. They found themselves struggling to contend with Gabriel’s pace. More than anything, they had to contend with balls leaping menacingly at them, Dhananjaya de Silva copping a painful blow to the wrist in the second innnings. In the end, his 13 for 121 in St. Lucia were the best figures ever in the Caribbean. If Sri Lanka can tear themselves away from other distractions to plan for this Test, it is Gabriel who will come up most in team discussions.The dropping of Kusal Mendis for the tour of India last year now seems like an outstanding call from the national selectors. Since he has returned, he has not only rediscovered limited-overs form, but has scored heavily in Tests as well. With 238 runs and an average of 59.50, he is the leading run-scorer in the series so far, and it was his second-innings 87 around which Sri Lanka built their first commendable batting effort on tour. His average took a bit of a beating in 2017, but it is on a forward march again, currently sitting at 39.00. Many feel he has the talent to be a 45-plus player.

Team news

West Indies may draft 20-year-old quick Keemo Paul into the XI in place of Miguel Cummins, who has gone wicketless in three of the four innings he has bowled in in the series. Apart from that change, they are likely to keep the same side. Holder said everyone was fit for the Test.West Indies (possible): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Kieran Powell, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Shane Dowrich (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Devendra Bishoo, 9 Keemo Paul, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Shannon GabrielWith Chandimal out of the Test, it is difficult to predict the exact make-up of the Sri Lanka side. Suranga Lakmal is going to lead the, SLC confirmed on Saturday. Danushka Gunathilaka may replace the misfiring Kusal Perera at the top of the order, but it is possible that Perera merely moves down the order.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Mahela Udawatte, 3 Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Roshen Silva, 6 Kusal Perera, 7 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 8 Suranga Lakmal (capt.), 9 Akila Dananjaya, 10 Kasun Rajitha, 11 Lahiru Kumara

Pitch and conditions

The weather in Barbados is expected to be cloudy but dry for the majority of the Test. Pitches at the Kensington Oval have recently favoured seam bowlers.

Stats and trivia

• Mendis’ scores in the series are 4, 102, 45 and 87. He averages 72.71 across four Tests this year.
• Gabriel’s bowling average has also been on an improve since the start of 2017. In that period he has 51 wickets at an average of 23.49. His average before that period was 38.12.
• West Indies have won the two most-recent Tests at Kensington Oval, beating Pakistan and England.

England’s limited-overs captain expects to only be out for a week, but will be replaced in the World XI team by Sam Billings

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2018Eoin Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, has pulled out of the World XI charity T20 against West Indies after suffering a finger injury. He will be replaced in the team by Sam Billings, with Shahid Afridi taking his place as captain.Morgan sustained a crack to the ring finger on his right hand while fielding in Middlesex’s last Royal London Cup game. England expected him to be out for 7-10 days, meaning he would be fit to lead the ODI side against Scotland on June 10, ahead of their five-match series against Australia.England are set to announce their ODI squad on Wednesday, but Morgan was hopeful of returning for Middlesex before the end of their Royal London Cup campaign.”It caught me on the top of the finger, initially it was quite bruised,” Morgan said. “I went for a precautionary X-ray about two hours ago and there’s a slight fracture at the top of my ring finger on my right hand.”It’s not a huge concern, one we can hopefully manage past about a week, once the swelling goes down. It’s not fractured into the joint, which is a really good result, but obviously disappointing to miss any cricket.”Surrey allrounder Sam Curran, who has yet to be capped by England, and left-arm quick Tymal Mills have also been added to the World XI squad as cover for Thursday’s game at Lord’s.Morgan was absent from the early weeks of the season after breaking a thumb in the nets, but was fit enough to play his first Championship match in three years in May. He has since featured in five Royal London Cup games, scoring two half-centuries, but will definitely miss Wednesday’s game against Hampshire at the Merchant Taylors’ School.