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Hazlewood pushes for Siddle inclusion for WACA Test

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Josh Hazlewood has expressed his desire to see Peter Siddle chosen as Australia’s third seamer for the WACA Test against South Africa, which starts from November 3, amid talk that a strong first-class record in Perth may play in favour of the potential debutant paceman Joe Mennie.On what the Australians ardently hope will be a more lively WACA surface than the strip that led to a dull draw against New Zealand last summer, Hazlewood said he wanted to be able to partner with Siddle, who has returned to the fold for the first time since February, when he broke down with a back stress fracture.Despite a sterling record both individually and in support of other bowlers in the Test team – specially as the foil to Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris during the 5-0 Ashes sweep four summers ago – Siddle has faced an apparent reluctance by the selectors to choose him at various junctures, most notably in England last year.This time around Mennie has been touted as a possible “into the wind” seamer given his strong record for South Australia in Perth and also a greater spread of matches this year for Australia A and the Redbacks, on either side of two appearances for the ODI team in South Africa. Hazlewood, however, spoke strongly for Siddle.”It is great to have Sids in the 12 and hopefully he gets a crack on Thursday,” Hazlewood said after the Test series launch at Elizabeth Quay in Perth. “It is great to have an experienced player in the squad who can talk about the different players and the way to go about it. He is valuable come team-meeting time.”Hazlewood will make his return to the national side having spent the past month resting up alongside Mitchell Starc, rather than playing in South Africa. He admitted the pair exchanged a few miffed text messages as Australia were throttled 5-0 by South Africa.”It did cross the mind occasionally watching from home,” Hazlewood said. “I didn’t watch too much of it. It was tough to watch at times. You would love to be on every tour and playing every game but the way the schedule is impossible for the quicks to do that.”Mitch Starc and myself were sending a few text messages back and forth wondering what was going on. Playing South Africa at home is tough in any format. The young bowlers will learn from that.”The flatness of some of Australia’s recent displays has caused some level of introspection about the way the team carries itself on the field, something Hazlewood acknowledged. “I don’t need to be angrier but I have to have a presence,” he said. “That is easier to do when you are at home and on top and playing well.”When you are down in the dumps, as we were in Sri Lanka, and coming from behind all the time it is a lot harder to do. If we get off to a good start on Thursday we can lead from the front.”For that to be possible, many eyes will be on the WACA pitch. “The Western Australia boys who played on it last week said there was a little bit there for bat and ball,” Hazlewood said. “Last year was a bit disappointing and hopefully there is a bit more pace and bounce than this year’s WACA wicket and it gets back to its traditional way it usually plays.”

South Africa bounce back on eventful day

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWhen Australia and South Africa play, you should expect the unexpected. Not literally, of course, because then it wouldn’t be unexpected anymore. But in recent Tests between these two nations there have typically been more swings than a children’s playground, more roundabouts than Canberra. It is always hard to predict the direction of the contest. Such has been the case over the first two days at the WACA.The second morning began with Australia firmly on top; the third will start with South Africa in a position of strength. By stumps on day two, the visitors had a lead of 102 runs with eight wickets in hand, a quite unbelievable state of affairs only eight hours earlier. Dean Elgar was on 46 and JP Duminy had 34, and South Africa had completely loosened the tight grip Australia had held on the match the previous evening.It all started with David Warner dabbling outside off and edging Dale Steyn to slip on 97. Strange things then started to happen. Firstly, Steyn failed to complete his next over; clutching his right shoulder he walked off the field, a sorry sight for South African fans, who have seen their team win a Test without him only once in the past eight years. Late in the day, Steyn’s injury was confirmed as a fracture that ruled him out of the entire tour.Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and debutant Keshav Maharaj ran through Australia’s order with renewed vigour, completing a remarkable collapse of 10 for 86 that began with the single wicket taken by South Africa’s best bowler, perhaps of all time, who was otherwise absent. Philander became the leader, and they applied constant pressure on Australia’s batsmen.Philander and Rabada found some reverse swing, and Maharaj bowled impressively, keeping things tight enough at his end while also picking up a few wickets. He is the first specialist spinner in Test history to make his debut at the pace-friendly WACA, and he justified his inclusion by dismissing Australia’s captain Steven Smith, wicketkeeper Peter Nevill, and then Mitchell Starc.The wicket of Smith was particularly jaw-dropping, mostly for the brazen – though legitimate – lbw decision given by umpire Aleem Dar. Smith, yet to score, advanced down the pitch from his fourth delivery and could not get bat on ball, which prompted a zealous appeal from Maharaj but a half-hearted one from his team-mates. It was, as the police might say, just a routine enquiry – until Dar unholstered his finger.Steven Smith was lbw for a duck as Australia lost all 10 wickets for 86 runs after being 0 for 158•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Smith looked dumbstruck, and immediately asked for a review. The broadcaster’s technology suggested he was well down the pitch – 2.8 metres from the stumps when struck – but the ball was hitting in line, and was going on to clip the top of leg stump. The umpire’s decision stood: Maharaj had his first Test wicket, and Australia were starting to wobble at 3 for 168.Already Usman Khawaja had been and gone, bowled for 4 by a beauty from Rabada, who angled one in from around the wicket and sneaked through the batsman’s defences. Shaun Marsh, who had batted so solidly with Warner in a 158-run opening stand, fell to a similar delivery from Philander for 63 – he did get his pad in the way, but Nigel Llong’s lbw decision was also upheld on review.There was precious little resistance from the rest of Australia’s order, although Adam Voges and Peter Nevill at least reached the 20s. But Mitchell Marsh, under pressure to hold the No. 6 spot after selector Rod Marsh said last week “he needs to get a Test hundred I reckon”, fell a hundred runs short. He was lbw for an eight-ball duck to Philander, and perhaps the biggest worry was the distance by which he missed the ball.Voges spooned a return catch to Rabada for 27, Starc was caught at midwicket for a duck off Maharaj, Nevill was caught at slip off Maharaj for 23, though was unlucky Australia’s reviews were exhausted for he appeared not to have touched the ball. Josh Hazlewood was taken at gully off Philander for 4 and Nathan Lyon was caught at slip off Philander for 0. Peter Siddle remained unbeaten on 18, having helped Australia squeeze into the lead.It was a quite remarkable collapse; not on the scale of Australia’s 47 all out in Cape Town, of course, but remarkable mostly because South Africa achieved all but one of the wickets without their best bowler. Australia went rapidly from complete dominance to serious danger of conceding a first-innings lead. By the change of innings, the Test was effectively all square.Still, South Africa needed to avoid the kind of top-order wobbles that had left them at 4 for 32 on the first morning. Stephen Cook and Elgar provided a more solid opening stand on this occasion, although Cook still could not survive for too long, and was caught for 12 pulling Siddle to midwicket.The loss of Hashim Amla, who chopped on to Hazlewood for 1 – his first-innings duck meant a Test aggregate of one run in this match, equalling his career worst – had the potential to give Australia the momentum, but they could not find another breakthrough. By stumps, Elgar and Duminy had moved the total on to 2 for 104.On the first day, Australia’s bowlers had run through South Africa for 242, and their openers had then cruised to 105 without loss. The question was not whether Australia would take the lead, but by how much. That was even more the case when the score moved along to 0 for 158. Then the unexpected began to happen. Who knows, then, what might happen on day three?

West Indies seal series after India implode for 106

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ScorecardFile photo – Deandra Dottin played a substantial role in West Indies’ win with a rapid 35 and three wickets•WICB Media/Athelstan Bellamy

West Indies Women took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series after India Women collapsed for 106 in their case of 138 in the second match in Mulapadu.The hosts, having limited West Indies to 137, did not recover from an early batting slump and their innings folded with the loss of six wickets for 33 runs. Only three India batsmen scored more than 15, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s 43 the top score. For West Indies, Anisa Mohammed and Deandra Dottin took three wickets each, mopping up the middle and lower order after Shakera Selman and Hayley Matthews had accounted for the openers and No. 4 Veda Krishnamurthy.Earlier Stafanie Taylor’s 47 anchored West Indies after they were put in to bat. Taylor was part of two 48-run partnerships for the third and fourth wickets – with Dottin and Merissa Aguilleira respectively. The Taylor-Dottin stand looked set to lift West Indies to a total higher than their eventual 137, before Taylor and Aguilleira collected 48 runs off the last six overs.

Comilla sign off with eight-run win

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsImrul Kayes hit seven fours and two sixes in his 35-ball 52•BCB

Rangpur Riders fell short by eight runs against Comilla Victorians and were unable to make it to the playoffs after Khulna Titans beat Dhaka Dynamites later in the evening on sunday. Rangpur were left to rue a batting collapse that cut short their tournament as Comilla signed off with a consolation win.

No regrets for Mashrafe after Comilla exit

For the first time in the BPL, there won’t be a Mashrafe Mortaza-led team in the knockout stage of the tournament. Comilla Victorians finished the tournament with five wins.
“It is clear now that we could have made it had we won one of those first five games,” Mashrafe said. “It could have been different too. So there’s no point in having any regret.”
Wearing the analyst’s hat, Mashrafe said Dhaka were the clear favourites for the title. “They have the right balance. They bat deep till No 8 or 9. I think Chittagong was doing well at the later stages, so they will also be competitive.”

Ziaur Rahman waged a fightback to make an unbeaten 21-ball 38, but it wasn’t enough. Mohammad Shahzad did a bulk of the scoring initially – he made 45 of Rangpur’s 57 runs. But the loss of four wickets in the process hampered their chase.When Rashid Khan, the Afghanistan legspinner, had his hero Shahid Afridi stumped off a googly for a 19-ball 38, Rangpur were all but out of the contest. Rashid was the best bowler on the night, taking 3 for 13 off his four overs.Earlier, Comilla werre driven by an 88-run stand in just 10.2 overs between Imrul Kayes and Khalid Latif. Imrul brought up his first fifty this season; he made 52 off just 35 balls with seven fours and two sixes, while Latif struck 43, before the middle order stumbled to ensure they finished with far less than they should have got.For Rangpur, Arafat Sunny and Rubel Hossain took two wickets apiece while Afridi had one.

Shahzaib 171 leads Karachi Whites to final

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ScorecardFile photo – Shahzaib Hasan drilled 18 fours and seven sixes during his 171 off 117 balls•PCB

It was tale of two centuries at the National Stadium in Karachi with Karachi Whites opener Shahzaib Hasan’s 171 trumping Islamabad opener Shan Masood’s 136. In a 680-run match, Anwar Ali, who last played for Pakistan in March 2016, also made an impact, sealing Karachi Whites’ place in the final with career-best List A returns of 5 for 49.After being sent in, Karachi Whites lost Arsalan Bashir to seamer Shehzad Azam in the third over, but Shahzaib and captain Akbar-ur-Rehman lifted their side with a 162-run stand in 27.1 overs. By the time Akbar departed in the 31st over, Shazaib was into the 120s. He pressed onto his 150 off 106 balls, then fell in the 40th over for 171 off 117 balls, including 18 fours and seven sixes.Saad Ali (61), Anwar Ali (45), and Tariq Harron (31*) followed up with late blows as Karachi Whites got their total up to 375.Anwar then sparkled with the ball, slicing through Islamabad’s middle and lower order. At 235 for 3 in the 36th over, Islamabad were in the hunt, but they lost their last seven wickets for just 70 runs. The collapse came after Masood was the architect of a pair of strong stands with Abid Ali and Faizan Riaz, 99 and 91 respectively. Masood went onto hit 136 off 116 balls before he was the fifth Islamabad batsman to be dismissed.

Dhoni to captain Jharkhand in Vijay Hazare Trophy

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MS Dhoni has been named captain of the 18-member Jharkhand squad for the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, starting February 25. Dhoni had stepped down as India’s limited-overs captain at the start of 2017, ahead of the ODIs and T20Is against England. Later on the eve of the IPL auction, Rising Pune Supergiants replaced Dhoni with Steven Smith as captain for the tenth season of the IPL.Dhoni represented Jharkhand in last season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy – before that he had last played a domestic game for the state in 2007 – but did not captain the team. Instead, fast bowler Varun Aaron led Jharkhand to the quarter-finals.Dhoni has had stints with Jharkhand as a mentor. He first worked with the team in the the lead up to the Buchi Babu All-India Invitational Cricket Tournament run by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) in August 2016. Then he mentored Jharkhand in the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy.Jharkhand are placed in Group D in the Vijay Hazare Trophy along with Chhattisgrah, Hyderabad, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Saurashtra and Services. Jharkhand will play their first game against Karnataka in Kolkata on February 25.Jharkhand squad: MS Dhoni (capt.), Ishan Kishan, Virat Singh, Ishank Jaggi, Saurabh Tiwary, Kaushal Singh, Pratyush Singh, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sonu Kumar Singh, Varun Aaron, Rahul Shukla, Anukul Roy, Monu Kumar Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Anand Singh, Shahsheem Rathore, Vikash Singh, Kumar Deobrat

'New Zealand deserved to have a crack at us today' – du Plessis

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When the first drops of rain began falling in the early hours of Wednesday morning, it woke Kane Williamson up.”I was hoping it might stop or it might come a little bit early and fine up,” he said.Faf du Plessis did not say whether he was disturbed or not but if he was, it would have been a pleasant interruption. He knew it was probably the only thing that could save South Africa from defeat.”Everyone would say New Zealand can count themselves very unlucky. The rain has come at a terrible time for them,” du Plessis said. “They dominated this Test match and deserved to have a crack at us today. It’s a real fair assessment to say we’ve been saved by the rain.”The rest of the South African squad would probably also have settled into their sleep a little easier. Although they had high hopes on du Plessis, who had told JP Duminy that he was “going to block for two days,” they knew their resistance would likely end with him too. Quinton de Kock was the only recognised batsmen left and, talented as he is, few expected him to have the restraint to bat out the day.”You can’t expect Quinny to do exactly the same because he will possibly get out doing something like that but he will put pressure on the opposition by scoring like that,” du Plessis said. “If New Zealand had got a wicket early doors it would have been tough for us to get through that.”New Zealand were thinking the same thing. Having had South Africa’s line-up on the ropes in the last two matches, they were finally ready to deliver the knockout punch, despite being without their two premier bowlers. Tim Southee and Trent Boult both sat out injured and, with Ross Taylor also sidelined, New Zealand’s fight over the last four days went down as “one of our best performances of the home summer,” according to Williamson.”The guys picked up the roles they were given with a number of players out and ran with it. There was a great buzz amongst the group, although fairly inexperienced and young, the guys really took it on and had a good time and enjoyed themselves,” Williamson said. “It’s not easy to do at times in Test cricket, against one of the best nations and the contributions from all the boys throughout this match were fantastic.”What could have been has been the theme of the series – the fifth day of the first Test in Dunedin also washed out – and du Plessis wished there could have been another match. “This series has been series of what-ifs,” he said. “You feel like even after this match, there could have been more, because the teams are playing some competitive cricket and for most of the series its been 50-50.”Ultimately it was one hour in Wellington, which Williamson described as a “bad day, but a game-defining day,” that distinguished the victors from the vanquished. A single hour that du Plessis admitted was “similar to what we had yesterday,” when South Africa lost 5 for 46 in Hamilton.There was no play on the final day in Hamilton, just like Dunedin•AFP

For South Africa to have won so narrowly was not ideal, even though it allowed them to accomplish their goal of getting to No.2 on the Test rankings, from No.7 nine months ago. “We didn’t play great cricket but we still won,” du Plessis said. “We had a roadmap of how we can get there and visualised getting there, and we are here today. Although I am disappointed with this Test, it doesn’t take away the unbelievable achievements we’ve had this season.”The form of their top six is a concern, which left them playing with their “backs against the wall most of the time,” as du Plessis put it. They would like to channel more of the opposition captain Williamson.”New Zealand played some good cricket, especially Kane,” du Plessis said. “I would like to congratulate him on a good series. Two hundreds out of three games is extraordinary.”New Zealand also learnt from South Africa. They wanted to be able to take small opportunities and turn them into big results so that they can set the agenda instead of having to fight against it.”You give a team like South Africa an inch and they run with it. That was perhaps a little frustrating but a good learning curve,” Williamson said. “We have the belief and what it takes. It would be nice to not have to bounce back. We do want to be more consistent in that area.”Both teams could be proud of the show they put on in a series played in good spirits despite the weather. Shortly after du Plessis and Williamson passed each other in the corridor and made arrangements for post-series drinks, the drizzle drifted away. For a few minutes, there was sunshine over Seddon Park. Oh, what could have been

Taylor omitted from England Women training camp

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Sarah Taylor remains in contention for the Women’s World Cup in June and July, according to head coach Mark Robinson, despite her omission from a 24-player training camp in the United Arab Emirates next month.Taylor, arguably one of the most talented female cricketers in the world, has not featured for England since their defeat to Australia in the World T20 semi-final in Delhi 12 months ago.

England Squad

Heather Knight (captain), Anya Shrubsole (vice-captain), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Georgia Elwiss, Tash Farrant, Jenny Gunn, Alexandra Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Amy Jones, Beth Langston, Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danielle Wyatt, Georgia Adams, Hollie Armitage, Alice Davidson-Richards, Sophie Ecclestone, Evelyn Jones, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith.

She took a break from cricket last year to undergo treatment for anxiety issues, and though she has returned to training with the England squad, the management are keen not to rush her back into the team before she is fully ready.”Sarah Taylor is going really well at the moment and is back in training,” said Robinson. “Her return is a graduated one which is regularly reviewed as she works herself back to hopefully full fitness. There are no timescales in place for her, but her goal is still to give herself the best chance of being able to play in the World Cup.”The squad, which will be led by Heather Knight, includes 17 of England’s centrally-contracted players, alongside seven members of the England Women’s Senior Academy players.Their UAE trip will include several inter-squad matches, alongside three 50-over matches between an England XI and their Irish counterparts, at the Sheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi on April 24, 26 and 28.”This is an exciting step in the build-up to the World Cup,” said Knight. “We’ve begun to show who we are as a side over the past year and we’ll continue to work hard and continue to progress.”We are looking forward to getting back outside and testing ourselves against Ireland. I’m sure there will be a few of the squad who will be keen to see who comes out on top when we play each other as well.”Robinson, who maintains that England are still a work in progress as they continue to rebuild with a new-look squad, was enthusiastic about the tour, which will be England’s first engagement of 2017.”The trip will give us the opportunity to play some internal games to get us back playing competitive cricket,” he said. “With places up for grabs, the players will start the process of building a case for selection this summer.”Having some of the Academy players with us is exciting as we are always looking for opportunities to increase their learning and exposure.”Ireland joining us will give us some different opposition and hopefully we can play our part in giving support to one of the Associate countries.Cricket Ireland Performance Director Richard Holdsworth said: “We are very grateful to the ECB for agreeing to play three matches against an England XI. These matches will not only serve as very useful preparation for our Quadrangular Series in South Africa, but also an excellent development opportunity for our players.”

Greaves, Warrican ensure Barbados finish second

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Barbados ensured a second-place finish, beating nearest rivals Jamaica by 26 runs at Kensington Oval. A five-wicket haul on the final day from Jomel Warrican sealed the narrow win, after a blazing half-century from Fabian Allen had threatened to snatch the game away.Jamaica, chasing 341, resumed on 114 for 1. Chadwick Walton (93) and Trevon Griffith (53) stretched their overnight second-wicket stand from 89 to 137 before Barbados dismissed both in the space of eight balls. Jamaica’s slide continued all the way to 251 for 8, with Warrican and fellow left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn taking the bulk of the wickets, before Allen hit back. He added 44 for the ninth wicket with Nikita Miller (4) and 19 for the tenth with Jerome Taylor (6*) before Warrican dismissed him for 60 off 35 balls (3×4, 6×6).Warrican aside, Barbados’ biggest match-winner was Justin Greaves, who scored 114 and took three wickets with his medium-pace to give his side a 113-run first-innings advantage. Sent in to bat, Barbados had been in trouble at 98 for 5 before Kenroy Williams (82), Greaves and Ashley Nurse (60) led a recovery to 377. In response, Jamaica folded for 224 with only Devon Thomas (59) and Griffith (39) getting past 30.Jamaica fought back by rolling Barbados over for 187 in the second innings, with Allen and Miller picking up four apiece, but a target of 341 would prove to be just beyond them.An 11-wicket haul from the legspinner Imran Khan gave Trinidad & Tobago victory by an innings and 17 runs against Leeward Islands in St Kitts. Imran took five wickets in Leewards’ first innings and six when they followed on, after rapid hundreds from Yannic Cariah (196, 261b, 15×4, 5×6) and Tion Webster (109, 116b, 9×4, 5×6) had given T&T an imposing first-innings total of 553.Leewards began well in reply, with each of their top three batsmen – Montcin Hodge, Chesney Hughes and Keacy Carty – scoring half-centuries, but they slumped dramatically from 223 for 2, losing their last eight wickets for 76 runs. Hodge (96*) carried his bat through Leewards’ second innings, with only Carty (54) and Akeem Saunders (41) giving him any support as Imran and the offspinner Bryan Charles ran through to bowl them out for 237.

Wright steps down as Sussex captain

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Luke Wright has announced he will step down as Sussex captain with immediate effect, with Chris Nash taking charge for this week’s Specsavers County Championship clash with Worcestershire.Wright, 32, joined Sussex from Leicestershire in 2004, and was originally appointed NatWest T20 Blast captain in 2015. He took over in all three forms of the game when Ed Joyce stepped down as club captain in 2016, but he has struggled for form this season, and believes a return to the ranks is best for all concerned.”Firstly, I would like thank Sussex for the privilege and honour of being made captain of this fantastic club,” Wright said.”I have always been someone that loves and enjoys the game, but over a period of time now whilst being captain, this has not been the case and it has affected me both on and off the pitch.”After taking some time I decided that stepping down was in mine and the club’s best interests going forward. I look forward to giving my full commitment as a player to future Sussex successes.”Wright has a top score of 38 in seven first-class innings so far this season, while Sussex have already been eliminated from the Royal London Cup, having missed out on a quarter-final berth.”Luke has made this decision with the best interests of himself, his young family and the team,” said Keith Greenfield, Sussex’s director of cricket. “We thank him for all of his efforts while captaining the club. It is an all-encompassing position, particularly whilst rebuilding the team.”Luke plays his best when enjoying his cricket and playing in an attacking manner. We all want to see Luke play with a smile on his face and enjoying his cricket.”This way, we will all see the best of Luke and we know he’ll continue to drive success for Sussex Cricket going forward.”Head Coach Mark Davis said, “I would like to thank Luke for everything he has done for the team in his role as captain. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Luke and establishing a new-look Sussex team that will bring success back to our great club.”His passion and enthusiasm for the club is second to none and without the stress and strains of captaincy, I am convinced he will be back to winning games for the club.”