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Dane Vilas leads the way in fine fielding effort but Leicestershire escape with point

ECB Reporters Network29-Aug-2020Rain forced the match to be abandoned with the points shared after Lancashire had restricted Leicestershire to 150-9 in the North Group Vitality Blast match at Grace Road.It was particularly frustrating for the visitors, who played some fine out-cricket after captain Dane Vilas won the toss and put the Foxes in.Vilas himself led the way with a hat-trick of catches, including a brilliant one-handed effort leaping backwards to dismiss Leicestershire danger man Arron Lilley, and a diving two-handed take after a sprint along along the boundary from long-off to end Ben Mike’s innings and secure Lightning seamer Tom Bailey his best T20 return of 5-17. Lancashire had arrived at Grace Road with confidence taken from the manner in which they beat Durham by a comfortable 27 runs on Thursday. Understandably, they made no changes to the side which started at the Emirates Riverside, 22-year-old left-arm spinner Tom Hartley retaining his place, while Leicestershire gave T20 county debuts to Tom Taylor, George Rhodes and Ireland international Gareth Delany, signed at short notice last week after it was confirmed South African batsman Janneman Malan would be unable to travel due to pandemic restrictions.Delany, opening the innings, did not last long, losing his off stump to Bailey in the second over, but Lilley hit both Hartley and Liam Hurt for straight sixes in going to 26 before Vilas’ athletic leap as he tried to chip a Danny Lamb full-toss over mid-on brought his downfall.It set a pattern for the innings. In the 12th over Bailey took an equally brilliant catch, one-handed low to his left at extra cover, to catch Rhodes off Hurt, and wickets continued to fall as Leicestershire tried to pick up the scoring rate, though Mike hit Lamb for consecutive sixes in the penultimate over.The rain had already begun to fall, however, and after 90 minutes umpires Nick Cook and Rob White decided there was no prospect of play resuming.”I’ve not played white ball cricket in three years, and I didn’t think I was going to play this year either, so it’s nice to have an opportunity and I’ve taken it with both hands,” Bailey said. “We’re such a strong white ball side it’s always going to be tough to get in and I’ve had to wait in the wings.”We were good in the field in our first game but we fielded so well today as a group. My catch was an absolute worldie – I’ll never take one like that again. It was the highlight of my day, better than taking five wickets. And for a 35-year-old [Vilas] to throw himself around the field like that, it’s great to see.”Leicestershire captain Colin Ackermann said: “You want to get on a roll in this format, especially when there’s only ten games, so to lose the first two to the weather is frustrating. Saying that, I thought we were about 15 runs short. They were exceptional in the field and took four outstanding catches and saved 20 runs.”It’s our first chance to bat in the comp, we’ll learn from that display and come back strong against Durham at Headingley on Monday.”

Opener steps up after sleepless night, as infant daughter is taken ill on eve of game

George Dobell at Trent Bridge17-May-2019Jason Roy had to overcome a lack of sleep and concerns about his new-born daughter to make a match-winning century against Pakistan.Roy made 114 – the eighth century of his ODI career – to help England to the fourth highest successful run-chase in their ODI history at Trent Bridge; a result that gives them an unassailable 3-0 series win.But afterwards Roy revealed he had spent much of the night in hospital after his daughter, Everly, was taken ill and managed only a couple of
hours’ sleep. While Everly, who is seven weeks old, is understood to be out of danger, Roy returned to be by her hospital bedside immediately after the game.And while he admitted it “was not the most fluent innings of my life,” Roy described it as “a special” performance in testing circumstances.”I had a bit of a rough morning, so this one is a special one for me and my family,” Roy told the BBC. “It was my little one. We had to take her to hospital at 1.30 in the morning.”I stayed there until 8.30 and came back for a couple of hours sleep. I got to the ground just before warm-up and cracked on. It was a very emotional hundred.”Meanwhile Jos Buttler – captain in place of the suspended Eoin Morgan – expressed his confidence in England’s run-chase despite their apparently challenging total.”I thought the bowling unit did a great job to keep them to 340,” he said. “As daft as it sounds, I didn’t think 340 seemed such a vast score on a wicket like that with a very fast outfield and small boundaries.”The strength of the batting line-up has been a big plus for us overs the past few years. Jason played fantastically well and it is great to watch him in full flow.”We had four really poor overs with some soft dismissals, but Ben Stokes played fantastically well and for him to soak up that pressure and play so well will give him a lot of confidence.”England were also grateful for some flawed fielding from the Pakistan side, too. As well as several dropped chances, the ground fielding cost Pakistan at least a dozen runs while Tom Curran survived a run-out chance on 6. Curran, running for overthrows after a direct hit had removed one bail from the stumps but sent the ball ricocheting
into space, might have been run out had Sarfaraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, appealed when removing the remaining bail as Curran attempted to complete a second run.The Laws were updated a couple of years ago so that instead of removing a stump from the ground in such circumstances, only the remaining bail needs to be removed. Curran went on to make an important 31.”We had enough runs on the board,” Sarfaraz said. “If we had fielded well, we would have won this game.”The only thing we can do is work hard. Over the last year-and-a-half our fielding has been much improved, but in these three matches it is
a concern for us.”I’ve seen a replay of the run-out. I thought both bails came off and, if the third umpire saw on TV, hopefully he would tell the on-field umpires. But we didn’t appeal.”

The review of the code of conduct will seek to clearly define what the spirit of the game is, identify what is acceptable behaviour, and assess whether the offences are being dealt with appropriately

Sidharth Monga29-Mar-20182:28

The Rough Side: A brief history of ball-tampering

Ball tampering, currently a level 2 offence, will most certainly be considered a graver indiscretion as ICC reviews its code of conduct following recent poor behaviour from players, which culminated in the ball-tampering scandal in the Cape Town Test between South Africa and Australia. Like other things, handling of the ball and what is considered legal will go through a thorough reassessment and will be defined more clearly. The review of the code of conduct will seek to clearly define what the spirit of the game is, identify what is acceptable behaviour, and assess whether the offences are being dealt with with appropriate seriousness and handed appropriate penalties.Player behaviour has been an issue for years of late with ICC introducing a demerit points system, which stick to a player’s record for 24 months. It has clearly not been a big enough deterrent. A review of the code, the ICC CEO David Richardson said, was imminent but the recent events have necessitated urgent action. The matter was supposed to be discussed at ICC meetings in April, but will be dealt with alacrity now. This was an appropriate time and a great opportunity for the ICC to draw a line in the sand, Richardson said.”We have seen a number of incidents of poor player behaviour in recent weeks including things like some ugly sledging, abusive language, send-offs, dissent against umpire decisions, we had a walk-off in the tri-series in Sri Lanka, and now this ball-tampering episode in the latest series,” Richardson said. “In fact player behaviour and player conduct was already on our agenda for the April meeting, but I think what happened in Cape Town has certainly created an additional sense of urgency that something needs to be done.”The review of the code of conduct will be carried out by a group that will involve the ICC’s cricket committee, the MCC, and former players who according to the ICC played the game in the right spirit. Current players will also be represented. Richardson emphasised the need for getting on board former players with repute. “Players from the past that we think have epitomised the way the game should be played… Names that come to mind immediately are Allan Border, Anil Kumble, Shaun Pollock, Courtney Walsh… these are all players that played with aggression, passion. Richie Richardson will be another one. He was brilliant when he was captain of West Indies. These are players that played with passion and aggression and determination but never never overstepped the mark. Never were abusive. Never resorted to personal sledging. And – to my knowledge anyway – no tampering of the ball.”Richardson said he was taken aback by the enormity of the reaction the specific incident of ball tampering has received. “It has been an eye opener for me, that, ‘Hang on, ball tampering around the world is considered cheating.’ And if we are going to take the attitude that everyone does it, if we allow a little bit of lip balm on occasion, raise the quarter seam on another, then where do we draw the line? Is that okay and using sandpaper is not? We probably need to look at it again. Let’s be absolutely clear what we mean when we say ball tampering is not allowed. And what we mean by ball tampering.”Richardson admitted the penalty available for ball tampering in this instance – maximum of a one-Test ban for captain Steven Smith – handicapped the ICC a little. He said that was not the case when the playing conditions were first formulated. “It is only subsequently that we have come to realise that, ‘Hang on, the world, not only Australia, regards ball tampering in a very serious light. That, I think we identified as the need to look at the level of the penalty imposed specific to ball tampering.”The ICC’s history with controlling ball tampering has been eventful with officials mostly being aware of a certain level of tampering they felt they could live with. “The way the match officials have looked at it is, we have been aware of it,” Richardson said. “When it became obvious that some of the teams were doing things to the ball that they shouldn’t, ICC directed the umpires to conduct regular inspections of the ball. At one stage we were inspecting the ball at the end of every over. This is going back to the early 2000s.”Then there was a feeling that we have got it under control a bit, and maybe they were inspecting the ball on irregular occasions. They still do that. They are trying to enforce but it is very difficult to impose. I remember Steve Bucknor used to always sniff the ball for sunscreen or all that on the ball. I think we are aware that ball tampering to some degree takes place.”In recent times we are getting a sense that teams might be going to more extraordinary lengths to tamper with the ball. Australia in Cape Town was an example of that. As I said it is very difficult to impose but what is more difficult is when you accuse the player of tampering with the ball, you are effectively accusing him of cheating. So the match officials are reluctant to step in unless they are absolutely sure. At international level, they are so many cameras in the game, if they can help us in identifying them – I don’t think we should go out of the way and instruct television crews to specifically look for it – but when it becomes apparent then we need to take strict action.”In the short term, Richardson said, it was important to identify and define these offences so that it is easier to implement them. “I think it will take a longer time to implement a culture of respect,” Richardson said. “That doesn’t happen overnight. So that might take a little bit longer, certainly I don’t see there will be total revamp of code but being clear in knowing what do we mean when we say ball tampering and what do we mean when we say you can’t use abusive language.”In my view, we can be more definitive in those regards. Look we can say if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. That’s what we can do short term but as we say, implementing it will take a bit longer.”

Cheteshwar Pujara contributed with 83 and broke the record for most runs in an Indian first-class season

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu09-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:38

‘Kohli ran Bangladesh into the ground’

M Vijay, who was reprieved on 35, and his captain Virat Kohli punished Bangladesh with contrasting centuries, which led India to 356 for 3 on the first day in in Hyderabad. Vijay combined with Cheteshwar Pujara, who was handed a life on 11, in a 178-run partnership, before Kohli seamlessly took charge of the innings.Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim termed his side’s first bilateral international in India as a “great moment”; he might have later felt it was a wild roller-coaster ride. At the end of the day, in which Bangladesh’s fielding went from bad to worse, they were left nauseous and with a teasing thought: what might have been?Pujara and Vijay, India’s most prolific pair in Test cricket in the last decade, extended their dominance on Thursday with another century partnership, their fifth this home season and eighth overall.Kohli looked like he was on autopilot right from the moment he arrived, 30 minutes before tea. He began with two fours off his first three balls, the second of which was punched fiercely to the long-off boundary. He brought up his fifty off 70 balls at the end of the 73rd over, then brought up his next fifty off 60 balls with a signature whiplash to the midwicket boundary. Kohli now has a Test hundred against every opposition he has played against (he has not played against Pakistan and Zimbabwe).Bangladesh, though, had enjoyed the perfect start to their first bilateral international in India with fast bowler Taskin Ahmed removing KL Rahul in the first over. Rahul chased a full, wide ball – wider than a set of stumps outside off – and dragged it back onto the stumps. Taskin and Kamrul Islam Rabbi then found movement in the air and off the seam, and took regular trips past the edges. They also sent down rising short balls, which forced Vijay and Pujara to throw their gloves in front of their faces.At the end of five overs, India had only played four scoring shots. The first boundary arrived in the next over when Pujara uncharacteristically drove away from the body and sent an outside edge flying to his right of gully.Four balls later, Pujara watched a leading edge drop in front of cover. About three overs later, Kamrul drew an outside edge from Pujara, which dropped well in front of Shakib Al Hasan at first slip. Mushfiqur could possibly have caught it had he dived to his right, but he was unmoved. Then, in the 15th over, Mehedi Hasan Miraz produced an outside edge each from Pujara and Vijay, which flew to the right of Shakib at slip.1:09

When big runs were not enough

Vijay’s major reprieve came when he and Pujara found themselves at the same end. Kamrul put in the dive at square leg to create the run-out chance, and lobbed the ball back to Mehedi, the bowler. With the ball travelling slowly to him, Mehedi panicked and failed to collect the throw cleanly.India enjoyed these breaks in the field but the runs began to flow only after lunch. Vijay drove fluently through the covers and launched Shakib straight back over his head. Pujara brought out his staple shots – the bottom-handed drive and late-cut – and looked increasingly confident against the old ball on a slow track.The three spinners bowled 15 consecutive overs between them in the second session and conceded 54 runs. Overall, the second session yielded 120 runs in 31 overs.When Pujara drove Mehedi straight down the ground for four in the 51st over, he broke the record for most runs in an Indian first-class season, surpassing Chandu Borde’s tally of 1604 in 1964-65. The joy, though, was short-lived as he misread the next delivery – a straight ball from Mehedi – and edged behind, Mushfiqur diving to his right this time and pouching it via a ricochet off the pad.Kohli announced himself with authoritative boundaries, while Vijay got to his ninth Test hundred before being bowled around his legs in the sixth over after tea.Ajinkya Rahane, picked over Karun Nair, seemed comfortable while moving to 45 off 60 balls in an unbroken 122-run stand with Kohli. Bangladesh, though, were far from comfortable: the fumbles continued in the field and they even wasted a review.In the 62nd over, Taijul Isam tossed one up on middle and leg, and Kohli his forward defensive. Taijul and the close-in fielders reckoned it was pad first, only for the replays to throw up how embarrassing Bangladesh’s decision to review the on-field not-out call was. The second new ball wasn’t spared either, and Kohli went onto middle everything. He claimed 94 of the 150 runs India scored in the post-tea session.

ESPNcricinfo has been named Online Publication of the Year for the fourth year running in the ECB’s annual County Journalism Awards

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2015ESPNcricinfo has been named Online Publication of the Year for the fourth year running in the ECB’s annual County Journalism Awards, following another domestic season in which the site’s ever-popular County Cricket Live blog anchored its peerless in-depth written and video coverage of the LV= County Championship race.Tim Wigmore, one of ESPNcricinfo’s regular county reporters, was named Christopher Martin-Jenkins Young Journalist of the Year, and receives a £5000 prize supported by the .The Times reclaimed the award as National Newspaper of the Year for the first time since 2011 (with a commendation for The Cricket Paper, last year’s winner).There are new winners for the Regional Newspaper of the Year Award, with The Journal and the Sunday Sun sharing the prize, for their coverage of Durham and county cricket in general. Two new names to the awards are commended in this category for different forms of coverage; the South London Press for its weekly coverage of Surrey, and The Sentinel, for its comprehensive coverage of Minor Counties and league cricket in Staffordshire.Clive Eakin, who covers Warwickshire for BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire, wins the County Broadcaster of the Year Award, one of two awards named after Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the former BBC Test Match Special commentator and cricket correspondent of The Times and the Daily Telegraph, who passed away in 2013.Mark Baldwin, the chairman of the Cricket Writers Club, a member of the five-strong judging panel, said: “The awards were started in 2011 to celebrate and encourage outstanding coverage of county cricket, so it was heartening for all of us to reflect on the quality of the competition this year.ESPNcricinfo general editor David Hopps and Young Cricket Writer of the Year Tim Wigmore collect the award for Online Publication of the Year in the ECB Business Awards•ECB

“In the Young Journalist of the Year category in particular, the standard was as high as it has ever been. Tim Wigmore is a worthy winner, having been commended last year, for writing with intelligence and authority across a range of subjects for different publications. He had to be, given the competition from several other entrants, all of whom relished the range of opportunities available to young writers across various platforms.”They include ESPNcricinfo, whose all-round coverage of the county game remains excellent, and also The Cricket Paper, whose continued commitment to county cricket was noted and praised by the panel. But we felt that The Times should be recognised both for continuing to invest in eye-witness coverage of county cricket, and for providing regular space for the county game.”Clive Eakin’s award is also deserved recognition for one of the BBC’s longest serving local radio commentators; he is someone who has an intimate knowledge of the county scene and is now gaining more exposure than ever before thanks to the BBC’s ball-by-ball coverage of domestic cricket.”ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said: “At the end of a season which saw record attendances for domestic and international cricket, it’s important that we recognise the role played by a wide range of media in promoting county cricket to a wider audience.”These awards have once again attracted a high number of entries and demonstrated that our county game continues to attract significant interest from print, online and broadcast media nationwide. We send our congratulations to all the winners and would like to thank everyone who entered the awards and everyone who helps to support the county game. “

Preview of the Group B Champions Trophy match between between India and West Indies

The Preview by Sidharth Monga10-Jun-2013

Match facts

Tuesday, June 11, 2013, The Oval

Start time 1030 (0930GMT)Can West Indies wipe that smile off?•ICC/Christopher Lee

Big Picture

It is a little surprising that these two sides, hugely popular among the expatriate population in England, haven’t faced each other in an ODI in England in the last 30 years. When India last played West Indies in an ODI in England, ODI cricket and West Indies were the kings. India upset West Indies that afternoon, became the new kings of ODI cricket, and paved the way for a whole new commercial explosion in the format. Thirty years later, as they face off in England again, India are the world champions and the No. 1 ODI side, but the format itself is fighting for relevance, at least in popular discourse.West Indies, knocked off their proud perch long ago, will like to believe they have begun the resurgence through Twenty20, the format that is supposed to be the premier limited-overs format. This Champions Trophy provides them a big opportunity to carry that resurgence into the ODIs. And if they can beat India, the only way to keep West Indies out of the semi-finals will be net run rate. If India win, they are through to the semi-finals as only one out of West Indies and South Africa would then be able to secure two wins*.These are teams built around batting might. The new regulations might have made India sacrifice one of the seven batsmen they loved to play, but they still rely on their batsmen, who racked up 331 against South Africa. West Indies’ win might have come in a low-scoring game, but they played with just three specialist bowlers, with captain Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle left to share 20 overs between them. West Indies might add one bowler to the line-up, but it still remains a contest between the mighty batting units.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
India WLWWW
West Indies WWWWL

In the Spotlight

Before Shikhar Dhawan stunned the world with his back-to-back centuries in international cricket, he was discarded because he had failed against West Indies in the West Indies. Going through a phase of supreme form and high confidence, Dhawan now has a chance to set that record straight. Or do West Indies know how to bowl to him better than others do?India’s policy has been clear: play out the initial overs, and the batsmen coming in later can make up for the run rate if there are wickets in hand. Kemar Roach is a man who can put spanners in those works. He did so against Pakistan too, with 3 for 28.

Team news

India had to make two choices going into the Champions Trophy, and both have come off. Rohit Sharma succeeded as opener, and Ravindra Jadeja as allrounder. Don’t expect any changes thereIndia (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Dinesh Karthik, 5 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh YadavDenesh Ramdin will not be available for selection after he was suspended for two ODIs by the ICC. Johnson Charles is likely to keep wicket, and either Darren Sammy or Tino Best will play. Charles had good wicketkeeping practice at The Oval on the eve of the game, first standing to Sunil Narine and then having more drills from the fielding coach.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles (wk), 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 6 Dwayne Bravo (capt.), 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Darren Sammy/Tino Best, 9 Ravi Rampaul, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Kemar Roach

Pitch and conditions

Conditions have been quite unpredictable. On the same Cardiff pitch that India scored 331, New Zealand and Sri Lanka lost 19 wickets for 277 runs. West Indies might have played a low-scoring thriller against Pakistan at The Oval, but you can’t surely say this game, too, will be difficult for the batsmen. A cool day with a 10% chance of rain is expected.

Stats and Trivia

• In 23 matches against West Indies, Suresh Raina has scored just one fifty and averages 19.72 with a strike rate of 77.
• Chris Gayle, with 734 at 56.46, has scored the most runs in Champions Trophy.

Quotes

“The Gayle factor will always be there. These are sort of individuals who have a big impact on the game. So it is good to get them out early. Our fast bowlers will have fair chance in the sense they have two new balls and with overcast conditions they will get a bit of help, too.”
*07.50GMT, June 11: The preview has been updated after the Pakistan-South Africa game

Sri Lanka Cricket has signed a new deal with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to hold the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) in 2012, ESPNcricinfo has learned

Tariq Engineer07-May-2012Sri Lanka Cricket has signed a new deal with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to hold the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) in 2012, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The deal was signed on May 5 and the tournament has been tentatively scheduled to be held between August 10 and August 31, just ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 that will be held in Sri Lanka in September.The SLPL was supposed to kick off last year, with SLC’s then interim committee signing a five-year deal with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to organise the event. However, the Sri Lankan board was forced to postpone the tournament after the BCCI refused to allow its players to participate at the last minute, causing a delay in the naming of the final composition of the teams and affecting overall preparations for the event. In addition, the interim committee that signed the deal was subsequently replaced and there was criticism of some of the clauses in the contract by the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).A new set of administrators were elected in January and they have been negotiating with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to resolve their differences. The new deal has addressed the concerns raised by the COPE report and has been cleared by the office of the Sri Lankan attorney general, ESPNcricinfo understands.The format of the tournament remains the same. SLPL will have seven teams that will play each other in a league format followed by semi-finals and finals. The games will most likely be played in Colombo and Kandy. Last year’s event was scheduled to kick off on July 19, 2011, with the final to be played on August 6. The tournament hit its first hurdle when the BCCI decided to withhold its permission to allow Indian players to take part on the grounds that Somerset Entertainment Ventures, which owned the commercial rights, would be handling the contracts for international players and that it could lead to complications, should disputes arise over payments.In order to assuage the Indian board, SLC was willing to back the Indian players’ contracts so that their financial interests were protected, but that was not enough to satisfy the BCCI. There were also suggestions that former IPL chairman Lalit Modi had a hand in the event, but SLC and Somerset Entertainment Ventures repeatedly denied them, as did Modi.

Paul Winslow, who played five Test for South Africa as a middle-order batsman in the decade after the war, has died at his home in Johannesburg

Peter Martin29-May-2011Paul Winslow, who played five Tests for South Africa as a middle-order batsman in the decade after the war, has died at Rosebank Netcare Clinic, Rosebank, Johannesburg. He had turned 82 earlier in the week.Winslow gained the reputation of a big hitter and throughout his career attacked the bowling, in contrast to most of the batsmen of his era.His most memorable innings came in the third Test at Old Trafford in 1955. South Africa went into the match trailing 2-0, and in reply to England’s 284, were 245 for 5 when Winslow joined wicketkeeper John Waite. The pair added 171 for the sixth wicket, Waite scoring 113 and Winslow 108. Winslow brought up his maiden first-class hundred with a towering straight six off Tony Lock which sailed out of the ground.Set 145 at a little over a run-a-minute, South Africa scrambled home by three wickets with minutes to spare, Winslow making a rapid 16.Winslow failed in the fourth Test – also won by South Africa – and thereafter did nothing of note in his career except for scoring 81 and 139 for Rhodesia against the touring Australian team of 1957-58 in Salisbury.There was talk of him being recalled for the Test series, but this did not happen. He did, however, play for a South African XI in a match at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, scoring 12 and 22.Winslow was educated at King Edward VII and represented the SA Nuffield XI in 1947 and 1948 before playing for Sussex second XI in 1949. He played in one first-class match for Sussex against Cambridge University two weeks before his 20th birthday. Returning to South Africa, he played for Transvaal in two matches against Lindsay Hassett’s 1949-50 touring Australian team, making his Test debut in the fourth match of the series at Ellis Park, with little success.In 1954-55 he had a successful season for Transvaal, scoring 379 runs (42.11) with a highest of 94 and was recalled for the tour of England. In 22 matches on tour he scored 758 runs at an average of 23.68, 156 of the runs in the three Tests he played (26.00). Against Lancashire he smashed 61 in only 43 minutes, smiting spinner Jack Ikin for 30 (4,4,6,6,4,6) off an over.He retired at the end of the 1959-60 at the age of 30 to concentrate on his business career, having scored 2,755 runs in 75 matches (ave 23.34) with two centuries and 13 fifties.He is survived by his wife, Moira, who he met on the 1955 tour. She was the co-ordinator of Drive Alive after the death of four family members in 1989.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle pulled no punches in his assessment of the team’s failings, after they lost to South Africa by one run in the second Twenty20 international.

Cricinfo staff21-May-2010Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has questioned the batsmen’s mindset following his team’s one-run defeat in the second Twenty20 international against South Africa in Antigua. Gayle said they “have to look into themselves and try and redeem themselves as quickly as possible” after losing the series 2-0.”It is a pressure situation,” Gayle said. “The mindset is just not right. They’re maybe a bit too worried about the position.”South Africa finished with a modest 120 for 7 but West Indies struggled from the start, losing Gayle for a duck, and the rest of the batsmen never quite got going. With 15 needed from the final over, Darren Sammy managed two boundaries, including an all-run four thanks to some loose fielding, but Ryan McLaren held his nerve to leave West Indies a run short.”It’s blatant,” Gayle said. “It’s not right. We need to have discussions on it. The guys need to free up and go out there with a free mind to play some good cricket. We should have won that game…no doubt about it. To chase 120 runs, I don’t see why we shouldn’t get it, but we didn’t get it.”It was the second straight game in which the West Indies batsmen failed to perform. On Wednesday, they lost by 13 runs chasing 137 to win.”It’s very disappointing but credit must go to the bowlers. I thought they bowled well on an on-and-off pitch,” Gayle said. “In the end we allowed the run-rate to climb up a bit too much. We should have tried to take a few more chances.”He denied experience was the problem, saying, “We have quite a few experienced guys in the team, guys who have been in big situations before. Experience is not a problem.”The problem, according to him, lay with individual players, who need to start taking responsibility for their performances. “It’s up to the individual. They have to look into themselves and try and redeem themselves as quickly as possible. I can’t do it for them. I have a lot to think about as well. It is up to the individuals to try and get over these situations as quickly as possible.”In contrast, South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith was full of praise for his team’s ability to keep calm in the clutch, although he couldn’t resist a wry comment on the team’s history of coming up short in high pressure situations.”It was a bit tense at the end so we had to find somebody to remain calm, and Ryan kept a good sensible head, although we had a few guys running all over the place. It was an exciting finish, and nice again to get over the line,” he said. “We have performed well enough in tense situations like this before, although our record in such situations in competition play is quite poor, but we have performed really well again under pressure in a game that we probably shouldn’t have won, so it’s to our credit, and the confidence is definitely growing.”

With Kagiso Rabada missing the Kolkata Test with a rib injury, the visitors have bolstered their fast bowling stocks

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2025Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi has been added to South Africa’s squad for the second Test against India in Guwahati which starts on Saturday.Ngidi’s inclusion suggests Kagiso Rabada, who missed South Africa’s sensational victory in Kolkata with a rib injury, is a doubtful starter again. The visitors’ other fast bowling options on tour are Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch and Wiaan Mulder.Ngidi joined the team at their Kolkata hotel on Tuesday before their scheduled departure to Guwahati on Wednesday.Ngidi has played 20 Tests in his career so far, but only three since making a comeback in Cape Town against India in January 2024. His last red-ball appearance was the World Test Championship final against Australia in June. He has played just one Test match in India, going wicketless in Ranchi in 2019.Related

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Ngidi does have overs in his legs having been part of South Africa’s ODI and T20I series in Pakistan in October and November. Last week, he played a game for Titans in the CSA T20 Challenge.At Eden Gardens, South Africa’s quicks sent down 40 overs and returned six wickets as the team registered their first Test win in India since 2010. That Kolkata pitch provided enough assistance for the seamers but it is still unclear what the conditions in Guwahati will be like given the venue has never hosted Test cricket before.