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A couple of hours into the game, you might have switched this off, assuming a comfortable victory for South Africa. While that is exactly what it was in the end, the circuitous path this match took to get to that point made it arguably the most dramatic game of the entire tour. It needed a sixth-wicket partnership of 127 between Andile Phehlukwayo and Rassie van der Dussen to level the series in what had begun to look like improbable circumstances. Phehlukwayo and van der Dussen both scored unbeaten half-centuries, seeing their side through to the end. It was very much Phehlukwayo’s game, the Player of the Match achieving his best-ever bowling figures (4 for 22) and his highest score with the bat (75*).South Africa could have been chasing far less than 204. They did so thanks to a blistering half-century by Hasan Ali that rescued Pakistan from 112 for 8. Then, a stunning opening spell from Shaheen Afridi thrust the hosts onto the back foot early in their chase. The 18-year-old removed Hashim Amla, Reeza Hendricks and Faf du Plessis within the first 15 balls of his spell as South Africa slumped to 29 for 3. When Shadab Khan dismissed David Miller and Heinrich Klassen off successive balls, the hosts had lost half their side for 80 and Pakistan smelled blood.Early in his innings, it seemed improbable that Phehlukwayo would be the man to guide South Africa home. He charged Shadab when the bowler looked unplayable, looked to swipe across the line when he was miles from the pitch of the ball. Shadab was, initially, almost amused at what he saw as the left-hander’s ineptitude with the bat; his departure almost appeared a matter of time. When he was adjudged lbw with South Africa at 92, he was reprieved only by dint of the ball spinning too much.But against the odds, Phehlukwayo persisted, hanging around and scoring runs even when he played ill-advised shots. He reverse-swept and charged down the ground, swept across the line and skied the ball into the Durban night. It all brought runs, the dismissal seemingly around the corner but always elusive. Alongside him van der Dussen almost went unnoticed, even when he shouldn’t have been. He had been involved in an excellent little partnership with David Miller after the top order had been blown away, and when Phehlukwayo’s flamboyance stole the show, van der Dussen was mature enough to realise his role was a supporting one. Off the back off 93 on ODI debut, he finished unbeaten on 80 here today, including the winning runs with eight overs still to spare.Andile Phehlukwayo roars after taking a wicket•AFP

Sent in to bat, Pakistan continued to have issues with the short ball, even if it was at Durban where the quicks have lately tended to get less assistance from the pitch. Pakistan seemed to be back in the Test series, where the short ball was an unconquerable demon, and Duanne Olivier and Kagiso Rabada invincible tormentors. A series of dismissals when the ball was pitched short hampered Pakistan early on, before an inspired performance from Tabraiz Shamsi, deputising for Imran Tahir, reduced them to 112 for 8. The left-arm wristspinner, fighting for a World Cup spot, took three wickets, and at one point appeared to have set his side up for a seemingly straightforward chase.It required the most delightful sort of innings from Hasan, a character who matches that description to the fullest, to keep Pakistan in the contest, his uncomplicated hitting helping Pakistan recover to 203. Hasan was responsible for 59 of the 90 runs which came in a ninth-wicket partnership with Sarfraz Ahmed, and was last man dismissed after Phehlukwayo returned to remove both batsmen in the 46th over.Hasan’s innings remained in spirit the typical knock of a have-a-go hero, but the sweet timing of the strikes against legitimately world-class bowling gave it an unexpected air of classiness. It was only thanks to career-best figures from Phehlukwayo that his merrymaking didn’t go on even longer.Du Plessis won the toss again, this time deciding to bowl after much criticism around his side’s failure to pace their innings well in Port Elizabeth. Pace was never a problem for his fast bowlers, though, who accounted for Pakistan’s top four in the first hour with deliveries that grew big on the batsmen. Imam-ul-Haq mistiming a pull shot off a Rabada ball was a harbinger for what was to come, and Babar Azam was dismissed cheaply much the same way. Then came the now-customary Fakhar Zaman dismissal off a short ball, when Olivier got one to rise towards his grille, the batsman fending it off to gully.The middle overs might have been an opportunity for rebuilding, but Shamsi had other ideas. The first ball of his spell drew an edge from Malik that first slip would have pouched had one been placed, and off his fourth delivery he snared fellow spinner Shadab Khan. It wasn’t long before debutant Hussain Talat, curiously promoted ahead of Sarfraz, fell to perhaps the ball of the innings. An exquisite stock ball beat Talat’s outside edge, drawing him out of his crease while Heinrich Klaasen deftly removed the bails.The game might have ended on a similar note of South African joy and Pakistani despair, but for a short while in the middle, this was a proper contest. The series is very much alive and now, with the ODIs moving to faster surfaces, du Plessis’s men will feel confident they have the upper hand.

More overseas quality must be brought into the Big Bash via the introduction of a marquee player fund and draft before authorities can consider stretching the depth of the tournament by adding more teams, according to Melbourne Renegades title winning coach Andrew McDonald.Expansion of the BBL to 10 teams or more was in Cricket Australia’s long-term strategic planning but has been shelved for the time being as a number of other key issues need to be addressed.The length of this year’s tournament and the quality of players available is at the forefront of those issues, which also includes pitches and crowd numbers. The Renegades won the final with only one overseas player after Mohammad Nabi was withdrawn for international duty.Speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s , McDonald said the BBL needed to look at allowing three overseas players per team to aid with the quality of cricket, but at the same time should not look to expand the competition even though eight fewer spots would be available for local players if the rules on overseas players changed.LISTEN: The making of the BBL champions“Three overseas I reckon would be a start,” McDonald said. “I think the depth of Australian cricket has been tested at the moment with eight teams. There was some talk of potentially 10 teams down the track. I would say steady on with that. Get three overseas in with each team and then really making the Australian players available.”The quality of overseas players available is another key talking point with rival leagues such as the PSL and BPL offering money well over and above what the BBL franchises can for shorter stints in shorter tournaments.Cricket Australia is already looking at a marquee fund for key overseas signings that would sit outside the BBL’s strict salary cap in order to try and attract the best talent from around the world for the entire tournament. McDonald believes a fund and a draft would be the best way to get those players to the BBL.”I think the only way you could do that is to have a marquee [fund],” McDonald said. “[CA] is talking to us. Everyone is talking essentially. Our CEO is talking to us as coaches, that’s going back up to Cricket Australia.”We’ve identified that there is a problem or a potential problem, if we don’t get it right going forward. I think the only way to do it is if we have eight marquee spots available, get 16 players from around the world to nominate, and then you have a marquee draft.”Just have a lottery draft. Pull the Melbourne Stars out of the hat first, whoever out of the hat second and they pick eight marquee players, and those marquee players have to sign up for the entirety of the tournament.”And I don’t know what money that would take or cost, but that’s the only way to do it. You can’t change the rules and regulations on list management now because some of the teams have signed up overseas players for a couple of years, so we’ve got problem there. I think it has to be a marquee player that comes in from outside the cap and it’s a lottery draft.”

Hashim Amla will return to cricket with the Cape Cobras during Cricket South Africa’s upcoming T20 Challenge, coach Ashwell Prince confirmed in Cape Town on Thursday. Prince also revealed that CSA were hoping Amla would be able to take up a short county stint in England to acclimatise ahead of the World Cup, but Amla wanted to stay in South Africa to be closer to his ailing father.”He is available,” Prince said at Newlands. “My understanding is that CSA would have preferred for him to be playing in the UK, but he wanted to be closer to home.”Cape Cobras will play five games in the domestic T20 tournament before South Africa’s World Cup squad is named on 18 April, and their tournament opener against Lions at the Wanderers on Sunday will be Amla’s first participation in competitive cricket since March 1. Amla last playedfor South Africa in the two Tests against Sri Lanka in February, and was granted compassionate leave from the one-day squad to be with his critically ill father.The situation has improved a little but Amla, who turned 36 on March 31, is short of form and match practice ahead of the deadline for the announcement of South Africa’s World Cup squad. His place in that squad is not settled, and CSA’s selection convener Linda Zonditold that the process of deciding upon that squad is giving him “sleepless nights”. Amla started this season in dreadful form, averaging just 10.14 with the bat with two ducks in seven innings for Durban Heat in the Mzansi Super League before turning things around somewhat with vital runs – including a 27th ODI hundred – during Pakistan’s visit. After some time away from the game to be with his family, Amla returned to the nets in Durban this week and will be flying to Cape Town to join the Cobras squad ahead of their first game of the CSA T20 Challenge. Prince believes that the tournament could provide Amla with valuable time in the middle.”I don’t think extending an innings has ever been a problem for Hashim,” Prince said. “It’s about getting in. In the Mzansi Super League, he didn’t manage that, which can happen after a long lay-off.”I still think there is a place for somebody to bat through the innings, and he is well capable of doing that. If he bats through the innings at a 120/130 strike rate, it allows other more natural ball strikers to play their game around him. There is an opportunity for Hashim to bat through the innings and if he does that half the time, then I think he is getting enough batting.”Prince also confirmed that JP Duminy will not be available for the Cobras’ first few games of the tournament as his rehabilitation from a shoulder injury that necessitated surgery and kept him out of action for most of the summer continues with strength and conditioning work as per CSA’s wishes.

Left-arm swing bowler Bilal Khan bagged four wickets on one of his favourite hunting grounds at Wanderers before Jatinder Singh’s half-century paced a simple chase. Oman thus continued their undefeated run at WCL Division 2 with a seven-wicket win over Hong Kong. Oman are now in the driver’s seat for one of the four ODI status berths up for grabs in the tournament, and can be the first team to clinch it with a win over Namibia on Wednesday.Man of the Match Bilal struck a massive blow in the third over, claiming the tournament’s leading scorer Anshy Rath for just 3, caught in the slips by Jatinder. Hong Kong’s innings finally started to stabilise around Babar Hayat and Tanwir Afzal, who added 62 for the fifth wicket to take them to 109 for 4 by the 32nd, but Bilal’s intervention broke the stand with Tanwir dismissed for 32.Hayat carried on to top-score with 56, but was the third of legspinning allrounder Khawar Ali’s victims, leaving Hong Kong 149 for 7. Bilal was then brought back to wipe out the tail in the 48th over. A run out of last recognised batsman Scott McKechnie for 26 was followed by wickets on back-to-back balls for Bilal, which finished Hong Kong off for 176 with two overs unused.Oman faced little pressure in the chase, with the Hong Kong bowling unit lacking any spark as Jatinder and Khawar coasted through a 79-run opening stand in the first 21 overs. Khawar was run-out for 28 to break the stand, but Jatinder compiled 49 runs in tandem with Aqib Ilyas before both fell in quick succession to the spin duo of Kinchit Shah and Jhatavedh Subramanyan. Captain Zeeshan Maqsood and Mohammad Nadeem knocked off the remaining 43 runs without much fuss. Nadeem ended unbeaten on 31, and has yet to be dismissed in the tournament.The last time these two teams met in one-day cricket was in 2011 at WCL Division 3 in Hong Kong, when Papua New Guinea sent USA in to bat under a heavy cloud cover and bowled them out for 44. It took eight years, but USA finally exacted a heavy dose of revenge. The new-ball exploits of Ali Khan and an incisive spell of left-arm spin by Karima Gore decimated the PNG middle order.Monank Patel drives over mid-off•Peter Della Penna

On a ground where chasing targets has traditionally been best after the pitch flattens out in the afternoon sun, PNG chose to bat first at the toss and paid the price as Ali Khan produced another hostile spell of fast bowling to take three wickets in the Powerplay, giving him a tournament-best 12 wickets after three matches. It began with a brute of a delivery to Tony Ura, who edged to Steven Taylor at second slip, before a pair of inswingers trapped Sese Bau and Assad Vala leg before to leave PNG 19 for 3.Gore arrived in the 24th but attacked the stumps from ball one. His first three wickets were lbw decisions. Chad Soper and Lega Siaka prodded down the wrong line to arm balls before Jason Kila was late on a sweep. Damien Ravu was bowled by Gore for the final wicket as the innings lasted just 39.3 overs.Monank Patel and Xavier Marshall batted ten overs before lunch to take USA to 49 for no loss. PNG extended a streak of three maidens with two more to start after the break, but Monank and Marshall exploded shortly thereafter, scoring 79 off the next 43 balls to end the match. Monank took Siaka’s part-time spin apart in the 19th, driving three sixes in a 22-run frame, and was named Man of the Match.Stephan Baard’s 90 at the top of the order was bookended by an unbeaten 65 from Craig Williams as Namibia bounced back from their final-over loss to USA to notch a 98-run win over Canada. Namibia moves to 2-1 with the win while Canada remains the only winless team in the tournament at 0-3, as their hopes of reclaiming ODI status hang by a thread.Baard and Jean Bredenkamp added 73 for the second wicket to steady the innings after the loss of JP Kotze in the Powerplay for just 6. Bredenkamp eventually fell to left-arm spinner Saad bin Zafar, who along with Nikhil Dutta took two wickets each to slow down Namibia in the middle stage of the innings.But Williams produced half-century stands with Baard and JJ Smit to keep Namibia on course for a well-above par total at United’s sluggish outfield. Smit clubbed three sixes in his 35 off 23 balls to dominate a 51-run stand with Williams before falling in the 49th over to Romesh Eranga.Canada’s batting struggles in Namibia continued as six of the top seven got starts but none passed Rodrigo Thomas’ 28. Dilon Heyliger wound up top-scoring from No. 10 with an unbeaten 29 to save Canada from taking an even bigger hit to their net run rate.

If arrogance was a recent hallmark of Australia’s cricketers and the governing body that groomed them, then humility will be critical to Steven Smith and David Warner’s return to international ranks a year after the Newlands scandal brought them tumbling down from the rarified positions of captain and deputy at the vanguard of the national team.Justin Langer, Australia’s coach, has bluntly acknowledged that the development of humility will be vital to Smith and Warner’s successful return to a team that had only recently grown into a winning combination without them. Neither are permitted to be formal leaders – Smith for another year, Warner for life – and the transition will take some careful work on both sides.Already, there has been considerable work done through the leadership consulting of Tim Ford, formerly of Heidrick and Struggles, the recruiting and leadership firm deeply involved in the 2011 Argus review of Australian team performance. And from now there will be adjustment, particularly for Smith, from captain to foot soldier; even if the Cricket Australia contracts granted to him and Warner returned them to the top five richest members of the national squad.”We’ll draw on their experience on and off the field and it will be crazy not to. There’s certainly going to be challenges for both of them though,” Langer said in Brisbane. “You’ve come from a titled position of captain and then you’re not, then there’s going to be a certain degree of humility that comes from that. One of our really strong values is humility, so it’ll be a great opportunity for them to develop that, but their leadership’s going to be crucial for us to win on the field and win off the field, so we’re looking forward to them developing that.ALSO READ: Australia’s top three, Smith’s fielding, Nicholls’ new role: Brisbane talking points“It’s going to be a huge opportunity for him [Smith] to share with the group what he’s learned, on and off the cricket field. He’s an all-time great player so we would be absolutely crazy not to draw on that, and we will draw on it, as we do with the way Davey plays his cricket, the way he runs between the wickets, his body language on the field. Those things epitomise great players and great Australian cricket teams. We’ll use that leadership and use it on and off the field.”We’ve had a very humbling experience and we brought it on ourselves. I still have that vision of Steve almost being frog-marched out of South Africa, we saw some sad vision 12 months ago to some really positive, happy vision of where were at now. Every opportunity we get to celebrate Australian cricket and to make Australians proud of us again, every opportunity it important for us.”The process of reintegration has not necessarily progressed in a smooth or linear manner. Some players, it is said, were intimidated by the presence of the still suspended Smith and Warner in their midst during the UAE tour. There was nervousness, too, about who would have to make way for them – Peter Handscomb and Ashton Turner paid a hefty price despite recent performances, leaving the onus on Smith and Warner to ensure they contribute to an Australian team faring rather better in ODI matches now than when both were previously available.Langer, who is known to have mulled over how Warner and Smith might be returned to the team virtually from the first month of his coaching tenure, described the initial Brisbane meeting as a “check-in” to remind all and sundry of values such as the aforementioned humility. “With all values they’re just words on a bit of paper unless you live them,” he said. “It’s just another little check in yesterday, so it was really good, worthwhile.David Warner chats with Greg Chappell•Getty Images

“There’s no tension, honestly. We’re so excited to have the boys back, we’re just excited about playing cricket. There’s been a big build up to it, it’s a bit like facing fast bowling, you worry about it until you get out there and it’s not as bad as you thought it was. They came to Dubai, it was great, they’re back in the team now, they’ve been selected, which is brilliant, I just can’t wait to see us playing cricket.”The composition of the Australian team, particularly in terms of batting, now leans heavily on a top order capable of making hundreds as a platform for the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis to tee off in the later overs. Langer suggested that Smith may find himself batting lower in the order to accommodate the others, given how unlikely it is to see Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, captain Aaron Finch or Warner batting any lower than No. 4.”It’s awesome to have options,” Langer said. “The way Usman and Finchy have batted together in the Test matches they played together in the UAE plus what they did in the last two one-day series is brilliant. Dave Warner’s a world-class opening batsman, Shaun Marsh’s been brilliant at No. 3, good at No. 4, Steve Smith can probably bat where he likes or wherever he is in the side, so it’s really exciting to have those five hundred makers at our disposal really.ALSO READ: ‘It’s all rosy’ for Australia as Warner, Smith rejoin“We’ve had so much success, we’ve had such a proud history Australian cricket and we know what works and we just had to keep trusting that. There was a lot of talk about strike rates and scoring, how many runs you’ve got to score, but we saw in India when the games allow you score big scores. You play in different grounds around England, we’ll score big scores because we’ve got hundred makers, really talented finishers, we’re playing spin much better and we’ve worked really hard on playing spin, so the game hasn’t changed too much.”As for the team’s collective behaviour, in the same week the former assistant coach David Saker insisted the former coaching regime led by Darren Lehmann had “never, ever” encouraged cheating in terms of trying to generate reverse swing, Langer noted a clean slate in terms of the ICC code of conduct since Newlands. This in itself can now be seen as equally important to Australia as the ICC’s other metric – the international rankings, which have Australia down at No. 5 in both Tests and ODIs.”Hopefully we’ve shown over the last 12 months,” Langer said when asked about regaining Australia’s respect. “Our behaviours on and off the field, we’ve played good cricket, we’ve won and lost with respect, which is important. We had a tough summer, no doubting that, but the boys still competed really hard. I think it’s the first time in a very long time we’ve had zero code of conduct [breaches] in the last 12 months, which is an awesome achievement by the players.”I said 12 months ago I can say all the words in the world, we can say all the words, we can talk as much as we want, [it’s] our actions. It’ll be a million different behaviours, a million different actions which will earn back the respect. We actually can’t control that, but what we can control is doing the right things and hopefully we’ve done that for the last 12 months.”

Aaron Finch has been giving Australia rapid starts at the World Cup, but he has all but given up on his professional stay in England extending past mid-July and into the Ashes. On the eve of Australia’s fifth World Cup match, against Sri Lanka at The Oval, Finch was asked if he had any hopes of a surprise call-up. “I doubt it,” he answered. And that “the short answer is no”.However, Finch was glowing in appreciation of the batsmen who have taken the place he vacated at the top of the Test batting order after the series against India. He was asked whether he at least hoped to play the practice match, which happens to be before the selection for the Ashes. “I haven’t honestly thought about it whatsoever,” Finch said. “I’m not sure what they are planning with the squad or anything like that. Obviously, I’d love to play if the opportunity comes up. I think I’m way down the list, having missed my opportunity throughout the summer.”But the guys who’ve come in, the young guys came and played really well. Kurtis Patterson played beautifully. Heady [Travis Head] has done a great job. We saw him evolve over the summer and change his game or change his mental attitude, I think, really quickly to Test cricket, which was a real positive from such a young guy.”Will Pucovski, he’s an absolute superstar in the making. I think that between them guys, and you’ve got [Cameron] Bancroft who started off the summer over here really well. Joe Burns, unfortunately, had to go home for some personal reasons. But they are all guys that are right there in the mix with Steve [Smith] and Dave [Warner] coming back into the frame, as well.”The short answer is, no. I would love; of course I’d love to. But the young guys have come in and done such a good job, and they have got such bright futures, all of them. Whether they all get picked or whether one or two misses out, I don’t think that will be the end of the world for them.”Yes, there will be some short-term disappointment, but they are going to have long careers, all of them, I can tell you. There’s some seriously good players in Australia, especially them young guys who have had a little taste. Will missed out on selection for two Tests against Sri Lanka. But they are all seriously good players. I think them guys will be really well placed to take the spot for the Ashes and make it their own for a long time.”

Jason Roy has avoided suspension, and only been slapped with a 30% fine of his match fees, for his animated outburst aimed at umpire Kumara Dharmasena after being given out – incorrectly – in the World Cup semi-final against Australia at Edgbaston on Thursday.Roy, leading England’s chase of Australia’s 223, was batting on 85 when he attempted to pull Pat Cummins’ short delivery and missed by a fair margin, as replays later confirmed. Alex Carey dived to his left behind the stumps and pulled off an excellent collection and went up in appeal along with the bowler and some of the Australian fielders. Umpire Dharmasena looked uncertain but raised his finger, and with Jonny Bairstow having wasted England’s review earlier in the innings, Roy had to go.He stood his ground at first and then walked off clearly unhappy, remonstrating with the umpires – Marais Erasmus was the other on-field official – on his way out and making his displeasure obvious. The stump mics even caught a furious Roy yelling “that’s f***ing embarrassing”.It seemed that he might draw the ire of the match officials for his show of dissent and cop a serious sanction, but was allowed to get away with the fine and two demerit points.Demerit Points stay for a period of two years on a player’s disciplinary record from the date of enforcement. If Roy is handed two more demerit points, he will run the risk of a suspension point, two of which will then lead to a ban of one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whichever is scheduled first.Roy’s performance with the bat – 85 off 65 balls with nine fours and five sixes – made a big difference to England’s cause as they crossed the line with eight wickets and 107 balls in hand, reaching their fourth World Cup final and first since 1992.Roy is a key member of their plans, his blazing starts, which have so far added up to 426 runs in six innings, a big part of their success in recent years. So the fact that he has been let off with a rap on the knuckles and not handed a more severe punishment, perhaps even a one-match suspension, will make the England camp happy.

Brett Hutton took 6 for 57 to help Northamptonshire bowl Worcestershire out for just 186 on the first afternoon at Wantage Road before Alex Wakely and Rob Keogh shared a century stand for the third wicket as the home side then replied with 140 for 3.Hutton’s first five wickets came in the opening 50 minutes of play as he shot out the visitors’ top order. But from 108 for 8 just after lunch, Jack Leach made a 38-ball fifty to help cobble something together for Worcestershire after choosing to bat first.Twice Hutton was on a hat-trick as he claimed his eighth first-class five-wicket haul on a breezy day in Northampton. He began with a perfect delivery that moved away to flick the off bail of Championship debutant Jack Haynes and soon trapped Callum Ferguson lbw for 1 shuffling across his stumps.Alex Milton nicked a lifter to wicketkeeper Adam Rossington and although Riki Wessels survived the hat-trick ball and sliced an edged at catchable height past between third and fourth slips, he soon fell for 6, lbw to Hutton. Next delivery Ben Cox edged to Keogh at third slip but in his next over, Moeen Ali kept out Hutton’s second hat-trick ball of the morning.Moeen’s return for Worcestershire was unconvincing. Very short of form this summer, he looked unsure, driving loosely and twice in successive balls from Hutton, on 12 and 16, should have been held behind the wicket, slicing past third slip’s shoulder and then between the wicketkeeper and first slip. He also drove in the air through cover before eventually slapping Nathan Buck to extra-cover. His 42 may have looked reasonable on the card but in terms of playing himself back into form, this knock would have counted for little.By contrast Ed Barnard looked very assured, leaving the ball well and surviving 79 deliveries for a calm, composed 27 before he dragged Dwaine Pretorius into his stumps.His was the second wicket to fall after lunch after Hutton struck again just after the break, finding the outside edge of Wayne Parnell whose chancy 30 was ended by Keogh’s catch. But Worcestershire added useful runs from the tail, including a 52-run stand for the 10th wicket.Leach led the progress making a merry unbeaten 53, playing positive but never reckless strokes. Josh Tongue providing competent company in making 20 before edging Buck to first slip.In reply, Rob Newton dragged Tongue into his stumps for 2 and Ben Curran was given out lbw to Parnell for 10 – but replays suggested the ball would have missed leg stump and was possibly high too.But Wakely and Keogh ensured Northants ended the first day firmly on top. Wakely skipped down the wicket to lift Moeen over long-on for six and turned Leach through square-leg for a sixth four to reach fifty in 101 balls – his third in the Championship this summer.Keogh wristily drove Leach through the covers to raise the half-century stand and punched Moeen past extra-cover before competing his own fifty in 60 balls. But with six overs remaining in the day, went to work Parnell through midwicket and got a leading edge that was sharply held by Mitchell at second slip.It rewarded a sustained period of pressure from Parnell and Moeen and forced Buck to come out as nightwatchman to see out the day – he got within three balls of doing so before ducking into a bouncer from Tongue, forcing play to a marginally premature end.

Robin Uthappa has been named captain of Kerala’s limited-overs squads for the upcoming Indian domestic season, and feels he and the team will be “the perfect fit”.Uthappa, who had a shortened season as a professional with Saurashtra last year because of injuries, will play his first season as a professional for Kerala in 2019-20. The 33-year-old batsman last captained in recognised cricket in 2014, when he led a touring India A side in a quadrangular one-day series in Australia. He also captained Karnataka sporadically between 2008 and 2012.”Well, whether in Karnataka or Saurashtra or even at KKR [Kolkata Knight Riders, in the IPL], I have always had a role within the leadership group, as a senior cricketer in the team. So even when I was not the captain, I had a role as a senior player. I’ve always enjoyed it,” Uthappa, currently in Chennai to take part in a pre-season camp for Kerala, told . “And as a senior pro, I have done my bit. So why not? We have a wonderful bunch of boys and … when they asked me, I was happy to take up the offer. All of them, I think of them as younger brothers and I can add value to the team.”This [the Kerala offer] was supposed to come through a couple of years ago, but didn’t happen at the time, and then Saurashtra happened. My two years were up with Saurashtra and Kerala were looking for a professional and it looks like the perfect fit.”Uthappa had led Kerala Cricket Association XI in their last match of the Dr Capt K Thimmappiah Memorial Cricket Tournament in Bengaluru last month in the absence of regular captain Sachin Baby. With the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy starting at the end of September, he has now been given a more stable role, but the association hasn’t made a decision regarding the captaincy of the Ranji Trophy team, which made it to the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively under Baby in the last two years.”Ranji is quite far away, right now the focus is on … it doesn’t matter who leads the side,” Uthappa said. “There is mutual respect within the group. The team’s had its own journey, everyone is happy, and I’m waiting to get in there and be part of it. Who the captain is is inconsequential. It’s a happy unit. Sachin has been a massive help for me. It’s a different team culture too, and he has been a huge help. He is going to continue to be a huge help. It’s quite a good atmosphere.”Uthappa is a two-time Ranji champion with Karnataka and a two-time IPL winner with Knight Riders. There’s that experience, plus that from 46 ODI and 13 T20I appearances for India, including at the World Cup and World T20 in 2007, the last of which India won. And at Kerala, he will have for company 1996 World Cup-winning coach Dav Whatmore, under whom Kerala made the Ranji semi-final for the first time in 2018-19.Whatmore was away, back home in Australia, while the team conducted it’s camp in Chennai, but he is expected to link up with the boys soon.”We have a World Cup-winning coach, he brings great value within the group that I will also try to learn from. We have been in touch on and off,” Uthappa said. “We have a little time to go for the Vijay Hazare, so we’ll work out the permutations and combinations between now and then.”It’s an extremely talented bunch of lads. There’s a lot of hard work. They are very committed. Well, they could do with more of direction and intention as far as winning tournaments are concerned, instead of just doing well and participating. But that will happen as we go along. I think what we will be looking for is a bit more consistency. If we can provide the players with more security about their positions, then performance will be the next step.”Uthappa has played 136 first-class matches, 189 List A matches, and 250 T20s since his professional debut in 2002-03, and has been among the most prolific IPL batsmen since his move to Knight Riders in 2014.

Is Rohit Sharma the answer to India’s opening woes in Test cricket? Former captain Sourav Ganguly is strongly in favour, and believes India should try their ODI opener in place of incumbent Test opener KL Rahul, whom he feels has got a long rope yet “flattered to deceive.”Ganguly’s suggestion to open with Rohit comes on the back of Rahul’s failure to once again convert watchful starts in the recently concluded two-Test series in the Caribbean which India won 2-0. Rahul started confidently in both innings in the first Test in Antigua, scoring 44 and 38, but could not carry on.In Jamaica, West Indies captain Jason Holder made him to play at a ball that moved away viciously, but in the second innings Rahul’s struggles became more pronounced as he struggled for 63 balls to make 6.”After the World Cup, India embarked on the tour of West Indies with few areas to be figured out and also the role of few cricketers,” Ganguly said in his column on Thursday. “The opening still remains an area to work on. Mayank Agarwal looks good and will need a few more opportunities to thrash out his game. But his partner is the area to be looked into. KL Rahul flattered to deceive and has not come off and that leaves with an opening at the top.”Although Virat Kohli became the most successful Test captain for India after the series win, the inability to find a pair of openers who can offer consistency is bound to be a concern. It has been India’s weakest suit in the past two years.Since 2018 India have tried out seven openers in Tests including Rahul, M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Parthiv Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari. In this period Rahul has got the most opportunities – 13 Tests and 23 innings – and averages 22.31 with a solitary century and four fifties.Watching Rahul closely in the Caribbean was another former captain and one of the best openers in Test cricket, Sunil Gavaskar, who was a commentator during the series. Gavaskar summed up Rahul’s struggles as stemming from the fact that he was not sure where his off stump was.ALSO READ – Patience key as KL Rahul grapples with tweaked technique
Ganguly’s suggestion to open with Rohit is not whimsical. As soon as Rohit finished the World Cup in England as the leading run-scorer and an unprecedented five centuries, Ganguly had immediately suggested that he should be tried as an opener in the Caribbean.”I had suggested earlier about trying Rohit Sharma as an opener in Test cricket and still believe that he needs to be given an opportunity because he is too good a player to be left out in the cold. After a fantastic World Cup, I believe he will be itching to grab the opportunity to open in Test cricket. With [Ajinkya] Rahane and Vihari nicely settled in there is not much chance to tamper with the middle order.”Incidentally, last year while India were playing the Test series in England, Rohit had said he was open to playing the role if given the opportunity despite having opened only thrice in first-class cricket. He averages 63, but those innings came in the early stages of his career, between 2009 and 2012. Rohit said he was confident only because he was never a specialist opener even in ODIs, where he is now one of the modern-day greats.”Look, I have never been offered [to open the innings in Tests] yet but I am open to anything, as in whatever the team management wants,” Rohit said last August during a promotional event. “I never thought I will be an opener in ODIs when I started playing or when I was playing for India. But it happened along the way, so I [want to] keep my options open. No option is shut for me, so if the opportunity comes, I will take it.”The pressure on Rahul will not cease soon. Even VVS Laxman, former India batsman, felt Rahul has failed to deliver.”There were lots of positives for India [after West Indies tour], but question marks hang over the batting,” Laxman wrote in his column in the on Thursday. “Cheteshwar Pujara must be disappointed at a modest start to a new season, but the greater concern is over KL Rahul. His ability is never under question, and he is no longer a newcomer to Test cricket. He has got numerous opportunities, but he has often flattered to deceive. India will look to more from him.”India’s next Test assignments include a three-match home series against South Africa in October, followed by a one-off Test against Bangladesh later in the year. India’s next overseas Test series will be in New Zealand in February-March where they play three Tests.It remains to be seen whether the selectors and the team management would bring youngster Prithvi Shaw back into the fold as soon as his doping ban ends on November 15, or whether they will want him to play in the Ranji Trophy, which starts in December.The one other option for the opening slot could be Vihari, who Kohli said was the “find” of the West Indies tour. Vihari got his maiden Test century in Jamaica and backed it up with a half-century in the second innings while finishing as the leading scorer in the series on both sides.In his short Test career, Vihari has already opened once, with Agarwal during the Boxing Day Test last year against Australia. Although he made just 8 and 13, India survived the first hour with the new ball confidently. Overall, in first-class cricket, Vihari has opened in four matches, and has two centuries at an average of 71 in five innings.However, Laxman feels Vihari’s calm approach is an asset in the lower order. “I can say that batting at No. 6 is not an easy task. But Vihari has been at home, enhancing his reputation as a Test batsman with every outing. He is very calm and mature at the crease, looks to dominate the spinners with exemplary use of the feet, and is assured against fast bowling. I look forward to greater things from him.”