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Fast bowler has learnt to pitch it up at Port Elizabeth but fears reverse swing may be in short supply

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth14-Jan-2020The fastest ball Anrich Nortje has bowled clocked in at “something 150″, but who’s actually counting? Not him. At least not, all of the time.”It [checking the speed gun] is not something I aim to do but once the blood gets flowing it is nice to see it on the big screen, to see where you’re at. It is nice to keep your eye out for it,” Nortje said.The quickest bowler in South Africa’s attack is gearing up to play his fifth Test and first at his home ground, St George’s Park, which carries the reputation for being the slowest and lowest of the country’s premier venues. It’s hardly the place that you would expect to produce a genuine quick, but Nortje has succeeded by learning to work with, and not against, the conditions.”It teaches you to pitch the ball up,” he said. “You have to try and be a bit fuller and hit your area a little bit more consistently. Up-country you might get away with certain things that you can’t get away with here. Pitching it up has helped me.”ALSO READ: Nkwe ‘confident’ in SA role despite effective demotionIf anything, the ability to bowl fuller has helped Nortje to develop the discernment to know when to drop it short. In the first two Tests, he chose his moments to pepper the England line-up with deliveries that fizzed off the surface, sometimes to bounce them out and other times to set them up. The best example of that could be seen in Nortje’s success against the England captain, Joe Root.Nortje has got Root out twice in two matches, in different ways. In the second innings at SuperSport Park, Nortje first bowled a ball back of a length and then drew Root forward to take the outside edge and have him caught behind; in the first innings at Newlands he followed up a length ball with a well-directed bouncers. Root was dropped initially but then gloved through to Quinton de Kock.Asked whether he sees his role in an attack with four frontline quicks as that enforcer or container, Nortje said he hadn’t labeled it. “Any role I can do, I am happy with,” he said. “Just to be playing is a big honour for me. Whatever the team needs, whether it’s containing, striking, I’m happy to do that for now and learn my game at international level.”He is equally thrilled to be able to show off the progress he has made in front of his home crowd, at the place where he toiled to make becoming an international cricketer a reality.”I’m really excited to be playing in Port Elizabeth. I’ve always been sitting on the grass embankments, watching the games. It’s really nice to be out here. It’s a lot of hard work over the years, a lot of sacrifices, a lot of Decembers in South Africa that I’ve had to play cricket rather than go on holiday, so it’s nice to finally get that opportunity and I am really excited just to go out there and give it my best.”The conditions are primed for Nortje to be able to do that, if South Africa have the opportunity to bowl first. The bowling breeze, the easterly, has been blowing in the build-up to this match and is expected to greet the teams on Thursday, which means there will be some swing on offer. By Friday, the wind is expected to change direction, which will make the pitch better for batting.At the time of writing, rain is forecast for the weekend, which may delay or prevent the deterioration required for the surface to take turn and the ability for either attack to generate reverse-swing, which has been a feature of previous Tests at this venue and has only made a small appearance in this series.England found some at Centurion but South Africa have struggled and Nortje is not overly optimistic that will change. “The square is quite green so it’s difficult to bang the ball in,” he said. “We tried a few cross-seam deliveries in Cape Town and didn’t really get it to reverse. Hopefully it’s something we can get here but if not, we will just have to adapt.”So will England. Having had the bulk of the crowd support for the first two matches, thanks to thousands of traveling fans over the festive season, this could be the venue where the balance shifts. The brass band will be attendance to spearhead the South African presence and Nortje said several acquaintances have asked him for tickets for the weekend. To those who have been lucky enough to receive one, he’s promised they will feel as close to the game as it gets.”It’s a nice vibe and atmosphere here, especially in the stands with the band. It’s one of the grounds where you feel like you are on the field. You don’t feel like you are too far back so it feels like you’re in it.”

South Australia continued to toil in the field and also had fitness concerns over pace bowler Dan Worrell

Alex Malcolm09-Dec-2018Moises Henriques fell one agonising run short of a second Sheffield Shield century of the season as New South Wales piled up a huge first innings total against South Australia at the SCG.After Daniel Hughes and Nick Larkin plundered twin centuries on day two, Henriques piled on the runs. Both openers fell early in the morning session.Henriques cruised to 99 from just 119 balls before falling caught and bowled to the part-time left-arm spin of Redbacks opener Conor McInerney. Henriques was his first Sheffield Shield wicket.Peter Nevill made 57 but also fell to part-time spin. Jake Lehmann finished with the pick of the figures of 2 for 17 from four overs as the Redbacks used eight bowlers.Of great concern for the Redbacks was that in-form quick Daniel Worrall was assessed for a back injury. He only managed 10 overs in the innings and won’t bowl again in the match.The Blues declared 161 runs in front and asked the Redbacks to face six overs before stumps. McInerney and Jake Weatherald survived the pace of Sean Abbott and the spin of Steve O’Keefe.

The Australia fast bowler will miss the opening round of Sheffield Shield matches later this month, as he continues to recover from a side strain

Daniel Brettig18-Oct-2017Josh Hazlewood, part of Australia’s pace trio with Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, is behind his preferred fitness schedule and will miss the opening round of Sheffield Shield matches ahead of the home Ashes series, as he continues his recovery from a side strain suffered in Bangladesh.There are three Shield rounds scheduled before the first Test against England at the Gabba on November 23, but Hazlewood will be missing when an otherwise full-strength New South Wales meet South Australia under lights at Adelaide Oval from October 27.Hazlewood’s absence will put him a match behind Cummins and Starc in their Ashes preparations, and potentially open a conundrum for selectors in terms of how much he will bowl in the second and third Shield rounds. NSW are scheduled to play their third match in Brisbane against Queensland, the better to allow the majority of the likely Test squad to move smoothly into their training for the Gabba.”You’d much rather play one or two (games), I guess, then freshen up in that third week,” Hazlewood said in Sydney. “But you can always just bowl a little bit less at training in those days leading into the Test. There’s still a decent enough gap there.””The side is really good. I’ve been off the full run the last three or four sessions, so getting back to 100%. I’m probably about 85-90%. The timing was a bit unfortunate but it’s given me a chance to freshen up and get some good work in the gym and on the running track. I’m feeling nice and fit. It’ll be good to put everything together in club cricket – bowl 10-12 overs; field for a couple of hours.”While Starc has resumed bowling for NSW with a trio of improving displays in the domestic limited-overs tournament and Cummins has remained fit despite his heavy workload in Bangladesh and India, Hazlewood is now running out of time to be in the best possible condition for the start of the Ashes.Australia ran into trouble last summer when choosing to rush back both Starc and Peter Siddle from injuries to face South Africa. Starc did well to maintain his fitness when playing only a matter of weeks after suffering a serious leg gash in training, but Siddle suffered a recurrence of a back stress fracture, which ruled him out of all cricket for the summer.Adding to the complications for Australia is that the selectors appear to be leaning towards picking the best six batsmen irrespective of whether or not they have adequate all-round cover for a fifth bowler – a role played by Shane Watson in 2013-14. Hazlewood said the balance of the Australian bowling attack was vital to success against England.”It wasn’t just all about Mitch [Johnson]. He obviously got the rewards but, on any other day, Ryno [Harris] could have got the 30-odd wickets,” Hazlewood said. “Gaz [Nathan Lyon] is obviously going to be key in that talk as well. Hopefully, we can mirror that … keep that pressure building.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the second one-day international between England and Pakistan

The Preview by Andrew Miller26-Aug-2016

Match Facts

Saturday, August 27, Lord’s

Start time 10.30am (0930GMT)

The Big Picture

The rain that swept in for the closing stages of Wednesday’s first ODI provided an anticlimactic finale for a packed ensemble at the Ageas Bowl, but not even the weather could disguise another formidable show of all-round strength from an England one-day team that is starting to look like something really rather special.Unbeaten in ODIs this summer, ever since Liam Plunkett’s six at Trent Bridge swiped a tie in their opening game against Sri Lanka in June, England have showcased the sort of depth and balance that would be the envy of a Russian synchronised swimming team.At no stage in Pakistan’s somewhat old-school grind to 260 for 6 did they ever look like setting a total that would trouble an extraordinarily confident England line-up, and if Jason Roy’s dizzy spell was an alarming moment in an otherwise serene chase, then his brief disorientation was nothing compared to the spin that his power-packed innings had already inflicted on his opponents.England, therefore, are surely ripe for a fall. Nothing guarantees an English comeuppance more readily than the suggestion that they have finally cracked one format or another (the prosecution calls for its first witness: the fourth Test at The Oval). And if any team is capable of penetrating England’s wall of allrounders in their batting ranks, it is Pakistan with players such as Wahab Riaz or the surely-to-be-recalled Yasir Shah, whose individual bursts of brilliance can transcend mere circumstance.But even on the bowling front, the evidence from the opening ODI is that England have the edge. Mark Wood’s stunning speed on his return to action provided a point of difference that Wahab, for one, couldn’t emulate this time out, while Joe Root’s cheeky allsorts offspin – and the early wicket of Mohammad Hafeez – epitomised the confidence coursing through England’s one-day ranks. And there’s variety in their depth as well. In Adil Rashid, they possess one of the most reliable legspinners in modern one-day cricket – his new-found control, allied to an always deceptive googly, makes him extraordinarily hard to dominate.However, domination is what Pakistan may require to get back on level terms in this series. Their batting in the first match was undermined by a very untimely rain delay after 42 overs that swiped the momentum from a promising stand between Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, and arguably cost them 20-30 runs in the final reckoning. But even a total in the region of 300 might not have been sufficient to deter England’s advances.That said, there’s no knowing how unsettled England’s players will be following last night’s security briefing ahead of their forthcoming tour of Bangladesh. The tour is set to go ahead, but one or two players will surely be harbouring a few doubts about travelling in spite of the ECB’s efforts to allay their fears. They’ll need to push all such thoughts to the backs of their minds if they want to continue their upward surge.Jason Roy and Liam Plunkett head for the Lord’s nets•PA Photos

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
England WWWWT

Pakistan LWLLL

In the spotlight

If Alex Hales is enduring something of an ebb in form and fortune, then his opening partner, Jason Roy, is positively flowing at present. He put his funny turn at the Ageas Bowl down to a lack of sugar, but he could not have timed the ball any sweeter in rampaging to 65 from 56 balls, and a summer’s tally of 381 runs from 320 balls, at an average of 95.25 and a strike rate of six runs every five balls. In between whiles he has clocked up his first first-class century of the summer, for Surrey against Middlesex on this very ground three weeks ago, to drop a subtle hint that his talents and technique need not be confined to white-ball cricket forever.Mohammad Amir’s summer has been one of intermittent highs and lengthy periods of frustration. On Wednesday he watched yet another chance go down off his bowling – Sarfraz spilling a top-edge from Roy to add to the seven drops that Amir endured during the Tests. It cannot help that his every move has been scrutinised all summer long, and there’s little question that he is struggling for form in a way that he rarely experienced during his comet-like first coming as a teenager. But now, with the circus moving back to the scene of his mis-steps in 2010, he has another opportunity to charge in and let rip. If he was palpably nervous on his first return to Lord’s during the Test match, then maybe, with the emotion of that day behind him, he’ll emerge from the pavilion feeling rather more liberated by the occasion.

Team news

David Willey remains out of contention with his hand injury, but Chris Jordan would be raring to go after a successful recent spell for Sussex although Wood’s impressive comeback makes changes seem unlikely. Ben Stokes will play as a batsman once again as he continues his injury comeback, while Root’s successful spell at the Ageas Bowl means that Liam Dawson is surely superfluous as a third spinning option. If he isn’t selected, Jonny Bairstow is likely to be released for Yorkshire’s Royal London semi-final against Surrey on Sunday.England (probable) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Mark WoodYasir Shah was overlooked for the first match in favour of the greater control that Imad Wasim’s left-arm tweakers were able to impose, particular in the Powerplays. But Pakistan surely won’t be making that same mistake again. They need wickets by the bucketload if they want to keep England’s batsmen under wraps, and Yasir has a presence that cannot be under-estimated – especially after his heroics in last month’s Test win. Mohammad Amir will have to come through a fitness test after leaving the field in Southampton with a side problem.Pakistan (possible) 1 Sharjeel Khan, 2 Azhar Ali (capt), 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz/Imad Wasim, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Mohammad Amir

Pitch and conditions

There is a bit of grass at present on another typically true Lord’s pitch, which may tempt England to contemplate an extra seamer in place of Moeen Ali, whose bowling has been a bit subdued in recent weeks. But then again, the baking hot weather in London at present will surely persuade them otherwise. Another high-scoring contest seems on the cards.

Stats and trivia

• England have recently lost that winning feeling in Test cricket at Lord’s, but it’s nothing new where their one-day fortunes are concerned. They’ve been beaten in their last three ODIs at HQ, with their most recent win coming against South Africa in 2012.
• Pakistan also won their most recent ODI at Lord’s, beating England by 38 runs in an emotionally charged contest soon after the 2010 spot-fixing saga, perhaps best remembered from an altercation in the nets between Wahab and Jonathan Trott.
• Jos Buttler, who did not bat on Wednesday, still needs 22 runs for 2000 in ODIs – he has the highest strike-rate of the year (126.51) of any batsman with more than 200 runs

Quotes

“It’s tricky for us at the moment, we’ve got a game tomorrow and international cricket needs your full focus to perform well. It’s down to us to try and put those things to one side, the decision has been made by the board and now we get on with the job in hand.”
“We’re going to build a team we think can compete in a year or two’s time. The invitation is there to every player: step up or we’ll find somebody else who can step up, it’s as simple as that.”

Pravin Tambe, who played in a private T20 tournament in New Jersey that also featured banned Bangladesh cricketer Mohammad Ashraful, could avoid penalties because of the nebulous state of affairs at USACA

Nagraj Gollapudi05-Aug-2015Rajasthan Royals legspinner Pravin Tambe, and a host of players from various other countries, who participated in a private T20 tournament in New Jersey that also featured banned Bangladesh player Mohammad Ashraful, could avoid penalties because of the nebulous state of affairs at the USA Cricket Association (USACA).A day after ESPNcricinfo revealed that Tambe, who has also represented Mumbai in the Ranji trophy, had played with Ashraful in the Laurel Hill Cricket Twenty20 tournament in the last week of July, officials familiar with the code of conduct set up by the ICC watchdog ACSU said Tambe had not breached any regulations. Both the Mumbai Cricket Association and the BCCI have not yet given a formal reaction though.”He has not violated any code of conduct,” a BCCI official well versed with the anti-corruption code said. Though the ICC did not want to comment on the matter, a source revealed the prevailing view was that Tambe had not broken any code by playing alongside Ashraful.The BCCI official said that normally the blame for Ashraful’s participation would lie with the host country, but because the USACA had been suspended by the ICC in June, the case was not so straightforward. “Normally it is the responsibility of the host association to ensure that no banned player participates in any match organised by them. In this case it is not known if this match was played under the aegis of USACA.”According to him the BCCI or ICC communicates information on bans imposed to the affiliated associations only. “Hence there may be occasions when players are actually not aware of every player they are playing with or against.”He said Tambe could not be blamed directly. “If it was local club cricket and Tambe claims he did not know that Ashraful was participating, then we have to take Tambe’s word for it unless proved otherwise.”When asked if Tambe was at fault for not seeking a no-objection certificate from the MCA, the official said that it would not have been aware of Ashraful’s presence in any case. “Even if MCA had given him a NOC, MCA themselves would not verify the players playing. It is the duty of the host association to see no banned players are participating in the tournament.”On June 26, at the end of its annual conference in Barbados, the ICC announced it was suspending the Associate membership of USACA. The ICC thus became the adjudicator for sanctioning official tournaments in the USA. Other than the overseas players, when asked whether any of the USA or Canada players picked for an ICC Americas tryout scheduled for September in Indianapolis could face local sanctions for playing in the same tournaments as Ashraful, an ICC spokesperson replied in the negative.”The ICC is aware of the issue you have raised and will be reminding its members and other relevant parties of the regulations regarding players who have been banned by other boards,” an ICC spokesperson said in an email. “This matter will not affect players selected in the [Indianapolis] Combine.”

B-team, hey? An Australian outfit led by George Bailey and featuring three debutants did what sides captained by Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Shane Watson have not managed to do in the past three ODIs against Sri Lanka at the MCG: win

The Report by Brydon Coverdale at the MCG11-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Phillip Hughes and George Bailey had a 140-run stand for the third wicket•Getty Images

B-team, hey? An Australian outfit led by George Bailey in his 14th ODI and featuring three debutants did what sides captained by Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Shane Watson have not managed to do in the past three one-day international encounters against Sri Lanka at the MCG: win. One of those first-gamers, Phillip Hughes, became the first Australian to score a century on ODI debut and Bailey fell just short of a captain’s hundred to drive Australia to 5 for 305, before a series of run-outs derailed Sri Lanka’s chase.In the end, the Australians – without Clarke, Watson, David Warner, Michael Hussey and Matthew Wade – cruised to victory by 107 runs. If they can do something similar in the second match in Adelaide on Sunday, it might be hard for the selectors to make too many changes. But whatever happens, what can’t be altered is the strong performance Bailey’s side put up at the MCG. They had the best of the conditions, forcing Sri Lanka to field on a very hot afternoon, but they also grabbed their opportunities.Literally. Brad Haddin, recalled for his first international match in nearly a year, took a stunning catch to end the innings of Dinesh Chandimal, and any lingering hope Sri Lanka had of pulling off a heist. On 73, Chandimal got a thick edge to a delivery from Clint McKay and Haddin, 35, hurled himself in the air and to his right with the athleticism of a man ten years his junior, and plucked the ball out of mid-air. It was that sort of night for the Australians, who completed three sharp run-outs.One of those ended the 94-run stand between Chandimal and Tillakaratne Dilshan, a partnership that might have left Bailey slightly nervous as they gained momentum. But a direct-hit from debutant Khawaja ended Dilshan’s innings on 51, before two run-outs from consecutive deliveries – one a direct hit from Glenn Maxwell and the second a combination effort from Maxwell and Haddin – got rid of Angelo Mathews for 12 and Lahiru Thirimanne for a diamond duck.