Cricket South Africa is committed to letting its players go and participate in the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jul-2020West Indies are hoping to host South Africa for either five T20Is or two Tests in September, according to Johnny Grave, the Cricket West Indies chief executive. But how they manage to squeeze either of this in between the CPL and the IPL is a puzzle: the CPL is scheduled to end on September 10 in Trinidad and the IPL is set to begin on September 19 in the UAE. On top of that, the South African government is yet to grant permission to its cricket team to leave the country since its borders shut down because of the Covid-19 situation in the country.CSA director of cricket, Graeme Smith, had earlier indicated that South Africa players will need a minimum of six weeks to prepare for a series and they are currently not in an official training camp.South Africa were originally scheduled to tour the Caribbean to play two Tests and five T20Is from July 23 to August 16 but the visit had to be postponed, like many others, because of the pandemic.”We very much hope that South Africa will be able to come here in September for either a T20-only tour or a Test-only tour at the very least,” Grave told Starcom Radio’s Mason and Guests cricket show. “It will be dependent on the IPL. South Africa have a number of their Test players who have IPL contracts, whereas in this current Test team we don’t have any IPL players.”We won’t be able to play Test cricket against South Africa during the IPL, Cricket South Africa have made that very clear to us. They’ve got a commitment to their players to allow them to go and play in the IPL.”West Indies are currently playing a Test series in England, and most of their players will then be seen in the CPL, scheduled for August 18-September 10.”The plan as we are working on now is that the players would come home [from England], they will have the weekend at home. Those that are in the Caribbean Premier League will head down to Trinidad on probably August 3 so it’s a quick turnaround,” Grave said. “CPL finishes on September 10. We hope very much that South Africa will follow immediately after that. Whether we can get the full tour in or we’re going to have to look at a split tour between the Tests and the T20s, we don’t know.”

It is understood he will arrive a week or ten days later than the others

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2020Harbhajan Singh will not be leaving for Dubai with the rest of the Chennai Super Kings players on Friday due to personal reasons. ESPNcricinfo understands that he will arrive a week or ten days later than the squad in the UAE ahead of the 2020 IPL.The 40-year-old offspinner will not be in Chennai when the franchise boards its flight after a five-day training camp in the city. Singh’s late arrival will make it five players for the Super Kings who won’t be part of the squad when it first arrives in the UAE. Faf du Plessis and Lungi Ngidi, who will arrive in early September from South Africa, and Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner and Dwayne Bravo who are playing in the CPL, are the others. Ravindra Jadeja had also missed the camp in Chennai due to personal reasons, but he will be on the flight on Friday.The Super Kings have been proactive in their efforts to begin training as soon as possible, and had even sought to begin their conditioning camp as early as August 9 in the UAE, more than a month before the tournament begins on September 19. The chief reason behind this was the fitness of their squad, which has the oldest average age in the tournament and has a mix of retired and inactive players.ALSO READ: Ponting promises ‘hard conversation’ with Ashwin on running out non-strikers backing upSingh is one such player, having last played a competitive match in May last year, for the Super Kings in the IPL final which they lost by one run to Mumbai Indians. He was their third-highest wicket-taker last season, with 16 wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 7.09. Another key player, Suresh Raina, also last played in that fixture, whereas MS Dhoni’s last match was during India’s World Cup semi-final loss last year.Given these concerns around fitness and preparedness, the Super Kings were the first team to begin their training camp even in the pre-covid world. Senior players like Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training as early as December 2019 to get in shape for the tournament that was originally scheduled to begin on March 29. There won’t be quite as much time for this edition, which will comprise 60 matches and last 53 days.The Super Kings also plan to travel with exclusive net bowlers, mainly comprising first-class, Under-19 and Under-23 state-level players for practice sessions in the UAE. Singh will otherwise be part of a spin-heavy Super Kings attack, featuring Jadeja, Tahir, Santner, Karn Sharma and Piyush Chawla.

Despite the No. 1 ranking, it was the area of uncertainty heading into the England series and remains that way

Andrew McGlashan09-Sep-2020At the third time of asking in a tight chase, Australia’s middle order got them across the line. After making a mess of things in Port Elizabeth back in February and the opening match of this series they threatened a repeat as Adil Rashid spun them round corners, but Mitchell Marsh overcame a jittery start to see them home.However, have these three matches got Australia closer to knowing who is part of their best middle order as they plan for the 2021 T20 World Cup? Despite the No. 1 ranking, which the consolation victory retained, it was the area of uncertainty heading into this series and remains that way. It would have been interesting to see how they would have lined up had the tournament remained in Australia next month.While a degree of flexibility is to be expected, even encouraged, in a T20 batting order the only member of the top order to stay in the same position through the series was captain Aaron Finch (albeit his opening partner David Warner was rested for the final game). Steven Smith – 31 runs in three innings – started at No. 3 and finished at No. 5; Marcus Stoinis started at No. 5 and finished at No. 3; Glenn Maxwell was at No. 4 and No. 6 and Alex Carey went from five to three to out of the side.ALSO READ: Ashton Agar taking ‘small steps’ as he aims to fulfil Australia’s finisher need The omission of Carey was an interesting decision. Unlike Warner and Pat Cummins, the indication was he had been omitted rather than rested. He had cracked a century and a half-century in the final pair of intersquad warm-up matches, but looked out of sorts in the first two T20Is – dismissed by Mark Wood’s pace on both occasions.He did not get a bat at all in six matches in the last Australian summer against Sri Lanka and Pakistan and in 30 T20Is the most deliveries he has faced in an innings is 24 which came in his ninth match back in 2018. As with so many of Australia’s batsmen, he has forged his T20 domestic career at the top of the order with the Adelaide Strikers, either as an opener or at No. 4.He was previously left out of the T20 side against India early last year when Peter Handscomb was given the gloves to help balance the side. This time Matthew Wade came in and opened alongside Finch, although that will not be a permanent move given Warner has that position locked. However, it feels as though the jury is still out over Carey’s batting role in T20Is.Before the series Justin Langer said that Stoinis was better suited to the top order which made his initial return for the opening match somewhat of a surprise. His 26 off 18 balls in the final match, batting at No. 3, was certainly more akin to the displays he has shown in the BBL and his 35 off 26 balls in the second match came when he had some time to get settled.Maxwell, playing his first international cricket since last October, played two shots against Rashid that were probably uncalled for in the situations – driving to cover in the first match and reverse sweeping to fine leg in the third – but they are part of the package that comes with him. He has it in him to win matches off his own bat and his offspin is very useful.There is a school of thought that Smith, with his ability to place the ball and read a game situation, could be a solution in the middle order, particularly in a chasing scenario, to allow the heavy hitters to slot higher up. That is how the series finished, although Smith chipped a return catch to Rashid for 3.In what was Australia’s first cricket for six months there does not have to be a huge amount read into what happened over these three matches but, assuming the T20Is against India take place later in the year, there will be intrigue into which combinations of the middle order they utilise.It also feels there could yet be a chance for someone to push their case during the BBL. Last season Jonathan Wells stood out as a finisher for the Adelaide Strikers and was touted for a possible international call-up. If anyone can make a name for themselves in that role, there could yet be a chance for them to make the step up.

Babar becomes third-quickest to 5000 T20 runs as Somerset maintain quarter-final bid

ECB Reporters Network16-Sep-2020Babar Azam’s career-best 114 not out from only 62 balls set up a convincing win for Somerset in Cardiff, maintaining their outside chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.They also improved their net run rate, with Glamorgan losing ten wickets with 25 balls of their innings remaining.The Glamorgan bowlers weren’t at their best, and the fielding was sub-standard, with Babar dropped twice. He then made the home team suffer as he guided his team to a total far beyond the par score at Sophia Gardens this season.Glamorgan’s reply was a pitiful affair from the moment they lost their first two wickets in nine balls balls, with the game over as a contest when they collapsed to 47 for 5, and then 62 for 6 at the halfway stage. Somerset, who were put in on the same slow pitch where Glamorgan defeated Northants the previous Sunday, lost two wickets in the opening three overs and were 39 for 2 after the Powerplay.Steve Davies was the first to go when he was stumped from Prem Sisodiya’s quicker ball, and in the following over 18-year-old Will Smeed, who made 82 against Gloucestershire last week, mistimed an intended pull to give mid-on a simple catch.Babar, who was dropped from a difficult chance to cover on 10, scored freely on either side of the wicket, and reached a rapid fifty from 34 balls, and put on 52 with Tom Abell for the third wicket, before the Somerset captain lifted Andrew Salter’s offspin to long-off.Babar was reprieved on 67, when Marchant de Lange, whose first over went for 18 runs, had him dropped at third man, where Owen Morgan misjudged a top-edged cut. He was well supported by Lewis Goldsworthy, the 18-year-old debutant who impressed bowling left-arm spin in England’s U-19 World Cup campaign.Babar reached his century in the 19th over, the second fifty coming from just 23 deliveries, with the partnership for the fourth wicket yielding 110 in 10.4 overs. He also reached the landmark of 5000 runs in T20 cricket, becoming the third-fastest man to get there after Chris Gayle and Shaun Marsh. Roelof van der Merwe started Glamorgan’s demise by having David Lloyd and Chris Cooke caught at backward point in his opening over, both by the substitute fielder George Bartlett. They reached 38 for 3 off the Powerplay, but the rot then set in as the batsman found ways of getting themselves out.Morgan top scored with 24, but there was little resistance from the others, with the margin of victory testament to Somerset’s overwhelming superiority.Matt Maynard, Glamorgan’s coach, rued his side’s slipshod effort in the field. “Catches win matches, and when you drop the world’s best T20 opener in the third over, you are going to suffer,” he said.”I have been involved here for some years and have spoken about this, and nothing has happened. The fielding tonight was poor, and it has to improve.”

Somerset legspinner needs six more wickets to become county’s leading T20 wicket-taker

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2020Max Waller has signed a new two-year T20 deal with Somerset that will keep him at Taunton until at least the end of the 2022 season.Waller, 32, made his debut for Somerset in 2009, having attended Millfield School, and has gone on to become a key cog in the county’s T20 team, with 132 wickets in 133 matches at 23.80, and an economy rate of 7.28.His haul is the most by any legspinner in the T20 Blast, and he needs just six more wickets to overtake Alfonso Thomas and become Somerset’s leading T20 wicket-taker. In this year’s competition, he took eight wickets at an economy rate of 6.23.”I’m delighted to have extended my contract at Somerset for another two years,” Waller said. “Having represented the club since I was 10 years old, the County obviously has a very special place in my heart.”I look forward to helping the team win silverware in T20 cricket over the next few years as we look to keep improving in the shortest format of the game.”It is always fantastic to play in front of our Members and passionate supporters, so hopefully we will be able to do that again next summer. Thanks as always for all of the support and I can’t wait to get back out there for the 2021 season and beyond.”Somerset Director of Cricket, Andy Hurry said: “It’s fantastic news that we have extended one of the shortest formats leading domestic players for the next two seasons. This extension creates a great opportunity for us to continue to work with Max and grow his contributions to the T20 side.”He has been such a valuable member of our Vitality Blast team over the years and we certainly all know what he brings to the team on the field. He is not only capable of squeezing opposition batsman through pressure created with the ball, dynamic fielding and competitive drive, but also his significant contributions off the field reflecting the Club values add so much additional benefit.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner confirms injury, no update from BCCI yet

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2020Wriddhiman Saha has torn a hamstring, forcing him to miss the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2020 for the Sunrisers Hyderabad against the Delhi Capitals in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. This is the second match in a row Saha has missed because of the injury, having sat out the Eliminator against the Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier.David Warner, the Sunrisers captain, confirmed the injury at the toss prior to the Sunday evening game. However, it remains unclear how bad the injury is, as the BCCI has not made any comment on it so far.The timing of the injury would be a concern for the Indian team management and the national selectors, because Saha has been named in the Indian Test squad for the four-match series in Australia, which is scheduled to begin on December 17 in Adelaide followed by fixtures in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Rishabh Pant is the other wicketkeeping option in the long-format squad.India have already had to leave out Rohit Sharma (hamstring injury) for the tour, even though he has continued to play for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL after a short layoff, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has a thigh injury. But Ishant Sharma, who had to miss most of the IPL with a muscle tear, is expected to be fit for the Tests in Australia. An earlier BCCI media statement had said that both Rohit and Ishant would be “monitored”.Saha had stretched his groin while batting against the Capitals in an earlier game at IPL 2020, but then played against the Mumbai Indians in the Sunrisers’ final league game, where he played a lead role in a crucial win. He has had a good time with the bat on the few occasions he has played this season, scoring 30 in 31 balls from the middle order first up against the Kolkata Knight Riders but then blossoming when pushed to the top of the order as the team dropped Jonny Bairstow to accommodate Jason Holder. Saha’s scores after that were 87 in 45 balls against the Capitals, 39 in 32 against the Royal Challengers and 58* in 45 against the Mumbai Indians.Apart from Pant, the Test squad bound for Australia has KL Rahul, the chosen man behind the stumps in the shorter formats, in the set-up. Rahul is the only stumper in the ODI squad, while Sanju Samson is also in the mix in the T20I party.

The game also saw both sides using the X-Factor substitute for the first time in the tournament

Alex Malcolm15-Dec-2020Peter Siddle produced a masterful career-best 5 for 16 before a century stand from Jake Weatherald and Alex Carey helped the Adelaide Strikers put the Hobart Hurricanes to the sword in Launceston.It was Siddle’s first five-wicket haul in T20s on a night of firsts for the BBL with both sides using the X-Factor substitute for the first time in the tournament, eight games in.Siddle did his damage late in the innings after burgling D’Arcy Short down the legside in the powerplay. His outstanding mix of slower balls and yorkers completely deceived the Hurricanes middle order and destroyed any chance of a late surge to post a competitive total.Weatherald and Carey were then re-united at 2 for 9 in the chase after two early James Faulkner strikes, and plundered their third-century stand against the Hurricanes. Carey set the tone with 55 off 40 while Weatherald finished the job guiding his side home with 68 not out off 48.X-Factor frenzyIn the first seven games of the tournament, the new X-Factor substitute rule was not used at all with most teams thinking it won’t be needed. But the circumstances of the first ten overs in Launceston forced the hand of both sides. The ball nipped and swung from the first over for the Strikers quicks and the Hurricanes crumbled to be 3 for 20 after the powerplay with Will Jacks, D’Arcy Short and Peter Handscomb all back in the pavilion. The Strikers tried to hurry through two overs of spin in the first ten overs and Ben McDermott and Colin Ingram mauled them taking a combined 26 runs from the overs of Matt Renshaw and Danny Briggs with the ball hardly spinning, and sliding onto the bat beautifully. With the Hurricanes 3 for 70, both sides used their X-Factors in the same manner, subbing out spinners for batsmen. Briggs suffered the ignominy of being removed from the game with the figures of 1-0-0-15 with Matt Short replacing him. Johan Botha didn’t even set foot on the ground as he was subbed for the Hurricanes batsman Macalister Wright.Siddle shinesSiddle rolled back the clock with a destructive display of death bowling and exposed the Hurricanes tactics in the process. McDermott fell at a critical time in the 12th over having done an outstanding job to get the Hurricanes out of a hole. He and Ingram were poised to take the Power Surge but he popped a leading edge to cover off Rashid Khan for 46 from 33. The Hurricanes then sent the X-Factor Wright ahead of Tim David, who had been Man of the Match against the Sydney Sixers with a devastating display in the last ten overs. Hurricanes coach Adam Griffith told they wanted to hold David back. They held David and the Surge back too long.Siddle came back in the 18th over and the Strikers skipper Carey assumed the Surge was taken, when it hadn’t been, and brought the field up. Wright was bowled by Siddle. Carey clarified with the umpires and spread the field again. Three balls later, Faulkner holed out and David was left with too much to do without much support as the Surge was left to the final two overs. Nathan Ellis was run out by a superb Renshaw direct hit from the boundary. Then Siddle produced his best in the last. He came around the wicket to David with no one back on the off-side, predicted David would back away and cramped him for room with a short slower ball and David chopped on. He clean-bowled Riley Meredith next ball with a searing yorker to claim his first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket.Faulkner fires upFaulkner produced an outstanding opening over. Phil Salt was intent on assaulting him verbally and with bat in hand. He clubbed the first ball for four but Faulkner had the last laugh swinging one through the gate as Salt attempted another wild slog. He was a little fortunate to get Renshaw. Faulkner first forced a leading-edge that perhaps deserved to find a fielder. But his worst ball of the over, a half volley on leg stump did find a fielder with Renshaw picking out deep square leg to leave the Strikers 2 for 9.Dynamic duo haunt HurricanesWeatherald and Carey were the key to the Strikers title in BBL 07 as a prolific opening duo. They previously had scored two century stands against the Hurricanes. But Carey has moved to No. 4 due to his international ambition. They were reunited at 2 for 9 in the second over and it was like the band had never broken up. Carey struck the ball crisply while Weatherald worked through the difficult new-ball conditions placing balls into gaps. The pair cruised to the Bash Boost without too many risks. Carey breezed to his half-century and their third-century stand came and went. The Hurricanes rarely attacked Carey from around the wicket until Boland came on in the 14th. Carey was cramped for room trying to pull and was caught at square leg. But the damage was done. Weatherald accelerated past a half-century and guided the side home with eight balls despite a couple of late wickets.

Says left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and legspinner Hayden Walsh among West Indians to watch out for in the ODI series

Mohammad Isam12-Jan-2021West Indies men’s coach Phil Simmons is relying on his team’s “enthusiasm and hunger” to overcome “clear favourites” Bangladesh in the ODI series starting next week. Several top West indies players opted out of the tour, their third since the resumption of cricket after the Covid-19 pandemic’s onset. They have been replaced by nine uncapped cricketers in the 15-man ODI squad.Simmons said that West Indies are aiming for a series win over a side that has beaten them in the last two bilateral series, played two years ago, and one that has won eight out of their last ten bilateral ODI series at home. For Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan returns after completing his ICC-mandated suspension last year. They also have in the mix Tamim Iqbal, who was appointed ODI captain and Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, two of their most experienced players.”Bangladesh is clearly favourites because they play well at home,” Simmons said. “We can’t argue with that. Sometimes experience plays a part but sometimes enthusiasm and hunger trumps experience. We do have a few experienced players. We left the Caribbean with the aim to win the ODI series. You might say that we don’t have our full team, but at the same time we have a team here which is hungry, wants to do well, and eager to play, fight and scrap in these conditions.”Simmons didn’t want to comment on the players who have pulled out. However, he had a clear message for those who are on this tour, particularly the younger ones from whom he expects performance and positive attitude, with one eye on the ODI World Cup Super League.”It is the tournament to qualify for the [2023 ODI] World Cup, so it’s a start. My rule and message to all the players here is that you are not here to fill in. You are here to give yourself a chance. You have a chance now to seal your place in the team,” he said. “If you do well here, it augers well for you moving forward. You come here and do well in the three ODIs and two Tests, you are putting yourself in a place from where nobody can move you. Only you have the opportunity.”Simmons said that with a busy schedule coming up for West Indies over the rest of the year, particularly at home where they are slated to face Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and South Africa, the upcoming series against Bangladesh is a good chance to audition for an extended run with the side.”When we went to England, we carried 25 players. We have seen couple of young players including the two that made their debut in New Zealand, come through from that. We have seen a few of the other young players that we know on this tour that we didn’t know before. This opens up the pool,” he said. “Some of the places are in the players’ hands. If they do well here, they can put themselves in line to play most of these series coming up.”Simmons, however, said that they are not yet fully sure of who would slot into the playing XI come January 20, and that the final decision would depend largely on what they see at training, from January 14, including their solitary practice match on January 18.”I think nine out of ten it will be on what we see as we go along. I think originally you will have somebody like the captain in the middle or late middle order and we will work out how we balance the team around him,” he said. “I think we are here with a balanced team. We have three spinners and three fast bowlers. We have a seaming allrounder. We have balance all around. The decision on whether we go with three fast bowlers and two spinners, or two fast bowlers and three spinners, hasn’t been made yet.”One of the interesting aspects of West Indies’ ODI squad is the likely combination of newcomer Akeal Hosein, a left-arm orthodox spinner who starred in Trinbago Knight Riders’ CPL 2020 triumph last year, and legspinner Hayden Walsh.”Akeal has done well. He has played for Trinidad for a number of years now, but he has done well recently in the CPL. We saw what he can do in the Powerplay and latter part of the innings. He is also a brilliant fieldsman and hold his own with the bat. He is an allround cricketer. We hope he can settle and maybe form a partnership with Hayden,” Simmons said.

The former England opener thrashed his fourth T20 century in a match that produced more than 400 runs

Andrew McGlashan22-Jan-2021You wait for a BBL century and then two come along at once. Well, almost. After Alex Carey’s outstanding innings last night, Alex Hales produced a barnstorming display against the tournament leaders with a 51-ball century, his fourth in T20s, to power Sydney Thunder to the highest total in the competition’s history.Against a Sixers attack that could not stem the tide at any point, the Thunder formed three consecutive 50-plus partnerships on their way past 200 for the third time this season. At the 10-over mark it looked like something huge was on the cards at 2 for 109 which proved the case – 13 of the 20 overs went for double figures. Hales’ innings took him back to the top of the run-scorers chart the day after England selector Ed Smith indicated there was no quick route back into the team.The Sixers did not fold as some sides have done in big chases this season, but the pursuit of 233 needed a perfect performance and, after losing 3 for 22, there was a period of consolidation that pushed the asking rate even more stratospheric. However, Moises Henriques marked his first match of the season with a half-century that became ever-more fluent until he became the victim of another very poor umpiring decision.Hales at his bestHales had threatened an innings like this during a tournament where he has struck the ball superbly. He actually played out four dots in the first over from Jackson Bird, but wasted no time getting into his stride against Steve O’Keefe as the second over went 18 and then he deposited Bird into the stands as well. His half-century came from 26 deliveries with a slog-swept six off Lloyd Pope in the eighth over which gave him plenty of time to double up. Either side of the 10-over he lost a bit of the strike but did not lose any momentum. The Thunder delayed their Power Surge until the 18th over and Hales then sent four consecutive deliveries from Dan Christian for four, six, four, four to bring up his century. Whether Hales ever gets his England place back has clearly nothing to do with the runs he scores but he remains one of the best T20 batsmen around.