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The first World Cricket League ODI was abandoned without a ball bowled despite pleasant conditions at Clontarf

Ger Siggins at Clontarf04-Jul-2012Ireland v Afghanistan – Match Abandoned
The first World Cricket League ODI was abandoned without a ball bowled despite pleasant conditions at Clontarf. Ireland and Afghanistan share the points which gives the home side a one point lead over UAE at the top of the table.Despite a balmy day in north Dublin, and a stiff drying breeze, the inundation of the previous week had taken its toll on the outfield. The umpires suggested to the players that they remain in their hotel till noon as the ground remained sodden after heavy rain hit the ground in mid-afternoon on Tuesday.The Irish physio remained buoyant, although he denied that he has been more concerned with trench foot than hamstrings this week.The run-ups at the Killester End were the problem on the original date, and their condition appeared to have worsened on the reserve day. The noon inspection led the umpires to resolve to meet again at 2pm, by which they decided that there was no chance of the run-ups drying sufficiently by 4.40pm to allow a 20-over game.Ireland coach Phil Simmons said: “The run ups were too wet, it was the correct decision by the umpires. It’s a good pouint for us, and it puts the Afghans under pressure. I fancy our chances over 50 overs, a shortened game is more to their advantage.”The doughty Clontarf groundstaff were hopeful that the weather would remain fine in the evening to allow the second World Cup qualifier to take place on Thursday. With most of Ireland’s home fixtures set to move to the new Malahide arena next summer, the Clontarf club is keen to say goodbye to international cricket in something more than a damp whimper.

Mohammad Amir, the banned Pakistan fast bowler, has confirmed that he played for Addington in a Surrey Cricket League Division One match on June 4

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2011Mohammad Amir, the banned Pakistan fast bowler, has confirmed that he played for Addington in a Surrey Cricket League Division One match on June 4 but said that he took part only because he was told playing would not violate his ICC ban. His comments come in the wake of revelations in the that the ICC is investigating whether he violated his five-year ban for spot-fixing by turning out for Addington.”I was informed by club representatives before the game that it was a friendly match, being played on a privately owned cricket ground,” Amir told . “I asked the club representatives if the match fell under the jurisdiction of the ECB and they informed me that the match did not. I spoke to several club representatives about the issue and they all told me that it was a friendly match and therefore would not contravene my ban from the ICC. I was informed that I was fine to play.”Amir also denied that he had signed any registration documents with the club and insisted that he would never have taken the risk of playing had he known it was an official match.”I would not be stupid enough to knowingly play in a match that I knew would contravene my ban. Wherever I am going to play cricket, the world will know about it. I would not be stupid enough to play in a match where I knew that I would be taking a risk”.Amir was central to Addington’s 81-run victory in the game, against St Luke’s CC. He surprisingly opened the innings and scored 60 before returning figures of 4 for 9 in seven overs.This is not the first time Amir has appeared in a game which has had to be investigated by cricket authorities. Earlier this year in January, when he was under provisional suspension and still awaiting punishment for the Lord’s scandal, he turned out for a Rawalpindi club to play a friendly game. That prompted the ICC and PCB to investigate the nature of the game before the former eventually concluded that it was an unofficial game and the club wasn’t registered with the Rawalpindi cricket association; Amir was thus found to have not broken the ICC’s anti-corruption code of conduct.

An extraordinary return of 3 for 5 by Isle of Wight-born spinner Danny Briggs eased Hampshire to an emphatic 45-run Friends Provident t20 win over Kent in Canterbury

02-Jul-2010
ScorecardAn extraordinary return of 3 for 5 by Isle of Wight-born spinner Danny Briggs eased Hampshire to an emphatic 45-run Friends Provident t20 win over Kent in Canterbury.
The 19-year-old slow-left arm spinner ran through the Kent middle order in the space of four overs to secure Hampshire’s sixth win in 11 in the South Group, while inflicting an eighth defeat on the Spitfires, who now look unlikely to qualify for the knockout stages.Batting first in what transpired to be a low-scoring clash on a spin-friendly pitch, Hampshire limped along at seven an over – a sedate pace for t20 – especially against an injury-ravaged Kent attack.Sean Ervine comfortably top-scored for the visitors, clattering 44 from 26 with six fours before he top-edged a catch to the keeper off Malinga Bandara.Otherwise none of the Royals top order moved to 20 as Sri Lankan legspinner Bandara took 3 for 14 and occasional offspinner Martin van Jaarsveld 3 for 25, a haul that included the experienced scalps of Nic Pothas (13) and Dominic Cork for a first-ball duck.Kent lost Joe Denly early in the reply when a crisp pull-shot against Chris Wood, which the right-hander believed might sail for six, simply picked out Jimmy Adams at deep square leg.Spitfires skipper Rob Key (22) and van Jaarsveld coaxed the home score through to 28 before Key, in looking to pull a short one from Wood through the leg side, bottom edged the ball onto his foot only to see it trickle back onto the stumps and remove one bail.Without the experienced duo of Darren Stevens and James Tredwell, both absent on England Lions duty, Kent’s rookie middle order struggled to hit boundaries as Hampshire skipper Cork took pace off the ball through Briggs.The teenage slow left-armer, who said afterwards he “didn’t bowl one bad ball”, had left-hander Alex Blake caught at backward square-leg off a miscued paddle and Matt Coles (one) snaffled at deep cover.Kent’s last hope rested on the shoulders of former Pakistan allrounder Azhar Mahmood, who reached 16 from 17 balls, but when he slogged across the line to be bowled, Kent’s hopes of progressing beyond the knockout stages went with him.Talking after securing the win with 21-balls to spare, Briggs said: “It came out well. I just kept to my plans and have got more confident as the tournament has gone on.”

Sri Lanka two down chasing 483 after Root becomes fourth man to score twin tons at Lord’s

Alan Gardner31-Aug-2024For the second time in three days at Lord’s, it was all about Joe Root. England’s batting bellwether continued a bumper Test match by producing twin tons for the first time in his storied career, his 34th century in the format setting new records for his country – and setting his team on their way towards what would be a series-sealing win.England began the day in a position of comfort, 256 runs ahead with nine wickets standing, and Root allowed an expectant crowd to drink in the experience of a Lord’s Saturday. If there was data on champagne corks popped, Root would probably set have another benchmark. As it was, his innings of 103 was garlanded by several entries in the record books: his seventh Test hundred the most by an individual at Lord’s, as he surpassed Graham Gooch as the leading run-scorer on the ground. Alastair Cook’s overall England run-scoring records is now less than 100 runs away.This effort, coming from 111 balls, was also his fastest in the format. He reached the mark, in the company of the No. 10, Olly Stone, by swatting Lahiru Kumara’s bouncer in front of deep point, amid a rising crescendo of “Roooooooot!” rolling around the ground. The next-highest score by one of his team-mates was Harry Brook’s 37 off 36 balls.Related

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With Sri Lanka asked to chase a target of 483, Root was at it again in the field – his two catches at first slip to remove Nishan Madushka and Pathum Nissanka making him the fourth man to take 200 in Tests. Rahul Dravid, the record-holder with 210, is very much in his sights.That Sri Lanka finished the day only two down was in part due to an early finish brought about by bad light. A world-record target looked a long way off for a team short on batting confidence, though Dimuth Karunaratne survived being given out lbw to his third ball – a poor decision from Paul Reiffel overturned – to negotiate 90 minutes in the gloom after tea. He walked off in the company of “lightwatcher” Prabath Jayasuriya after England had been instructed to bowl their spinners for a second time, with Ollie Pope preferring to preserve the condition of the ball for Sunday.Madushka was the first wicket to fall, edging Gus Atkinson to slip to continue a difficult first tour of England – having been replaced behind the stumps by Dinesh Chandimal on the third morning, he also dropped two catches in the field (although one still resulted in the dismissal of Ben Duckett, as Angelo Mathews snaffled the rebound). Nissanka survived on 2 when the faintest of under-edges to leg slip off Shoaib Bashir went undetected, only to be dismissed by a snorter in Olly Stone’s first over as the light briefly improved enough to allow a return to pace.Bad light forced an early finish on day 3•AFP/Getty Images

England left the field at just after 5pm, content that there is plenty of time left for them to take the eight wickets required for a 2-0 lead in the series. Kamindu Mendis had held out the hope on the second evening that Sri Lanka could find a way back into the game if they could get England out for “under 150-175” – they gamely chipped out five wickets by that stage but couldn’t prevent a Root march carrying the hosts to 251 and a seemingly impregnable position.Root’s reliability had allowed England to negotiate the morning session with few alarms, and the game continued to revolve around him after the interval. A nudge down the ground off Jayasuriya took him to fifty from 65 balls, and he began to push the tempo with three fours – two hauled through wide long-on, one delicately reverse-swept – in four balls.Sri Lanka kept at it, Jayasuriya removing Jamie Smith lbw despite a review from the batter, before Chris Woakes flat-batted Milan Rathnayake to cover. Atkinson’s dismissal, meanwhile, came in complete contrast to the elegant simplicity that characterised his maiden hundred in the first innings: caught behind the keeper at long-stop when top-edging a reverse-pull at Asitha Fernando. Matt Potts then gloved the same bowler behind but Stone hung in to get Root to his milestone.Getty Images

Stone was caught at fine leg in the same over, and although England’s approach had seemed to have a declaration in mind, they batted on. Root eventually gave Kumara a third wicket, top-edging a tired heave to deep-backward square leg, with tea taken early at the close of the innings.England’s batting effort was uneven, Root aside, reflective of their strong grip on the game. Three wickets went down during the morning session, including that of Pope, England’s stand-in captain, who made his highest score while deputising for Ben Stokes but again fell in perplexing fashion, slashing an Asitha bouncer straight to deep backward point for 17, shortly after Sri Lanka had put four men back for the ploy.The hosts resumed on 25 for 1, after Dan Lawrence’s dismissal on the second evening, and Ben Duckett was the first to depart, thanks to an accidental piece of choreography between slip and gully. Rathnayake pitched the ball up from round the wicket, tempting the drive – and while Madushka could not hold on diving to his right, he managed to scoop the chance back towards Mathews for a regulation catch.At the other end, Pope was looking to quell some of the noise around his batting. He moved into double-figures for the first time in the series with a clip off his legs, then survived a review for lbw against Rathnayake, with ball-tracking showing the ball would have cleared the stumps. But he did not last much longer, as Asitha targeted him from round the wicket.The first of Root’s four boundaries was a thick outside edge between slip and gully, but he was otherwise serene in progressing towards a third consecutive 50-plus score. Jayasuriya was picked off on the sweep and twice down the ground, though Root was initially happy to tick along at a strike rate in the 70s, allowing Brook and then Smith to play the aggressor.Brook’s intent during a half-century stand seemed to suggest that England were already thinking about the declaration. Brook was badly dropped on 9, Madushka making a mess of a skied slog-sweep at midwicket, then launched Jayasuriya’s next delivery into the Tavern Stand to rub in the pain. Sri Lanka’s spinner bore the brunt of the attack, but he had the satisfaction of removing Brook when another attempt to haul him leg side was safely held by Madushka in front of the rope.

Sri Lanka’s T20 league to be held in its original window for the first time

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2023The fourth edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will take place from July 31 to August 22 this year, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed. If it goes ahead as planned, this will be the first LPL season held in its originally scheduled July-August window.Similar to last year, the five-team tournament will take place at three venues, likely to be Hambantota, Colombo and Kandy, with each squad comprising a maximum of 20 players – 14 local and six overseas players. The Jaffna Kings have won all three editions of the tournament so far.”We have decided to hold the tournament during July and August this year, as conducting the tournament during this period gives us the best possible opportunity to attract top international talent and also suits well with Sri Lanka’s international cricket calendar,” LPL tournament director Samantha Dodanwela said.However, the Major League Cricket tournament in the USA is set to run from July 13 to 30, and the Hundred in England is scheduled between August 1 and 27, and both those tournaments could impact overseas player availability in the LPL.All three previous editions of the LPL had been postponed to November-December, having initially been slated for a July-August window. The inaugural edition in 2020 was impacted by strict Covid-19 restrictions in Sri Lanka at the time; in 2021, an increase in coronavirus cases combined with an unavailability of foreign stars due to scheduling clashes with other franchise leagues saw the tournament pushed to the end of the year; while last year, Sri Lanka was in the midst of a full blown economic crisis.

An all-star batting effort from the New Zealand middle-order helps them pull off the second-highest successful chase in women’s ODIs

S Sudarshanan17-Feb-2022Lauren Down’s unbeaten 64, and her 76-run partnership with Katey Martin for the seventh wicket, and Frances Mackay’s cameo down the order helped New Zealand beat India by three wickets in the third ODI and seal the five-match series with two matches to spare in Queenstown on Friday.When Lea Tahuhu, who went off the field towards the end of the Indian innings because of a hamstring strain, holed out at deep midwicket in the 35th over, New Zealand looked down for the count at 171 for 6, chasing 280. However, Down, who replaced Brooke Halliday in the XI, and Martin kept New Zealand on course with their alliance and tilt the balance.When the win was sealed, Down hitting Deepti Sharma for a six over the bowler’s head first ball of the final over, it became the second-highest successful chase in all women’s ODI cricket. It also extended India’s losing streak in ODIs while batting first to ten, the last win having come in November 2019.New Zealand were rocked early in their chase by Jhulan Goswami, who returned to the XI after missing the previous match. She first trapped Sophie Devine in front of the stumps in the first over, before cleaning up her opening partner Suzie Bates in her next.But Amy Satterthwaite then got going with Amelia Kerr to bring New Zealand back on track. The two found the ropes regularly as New Zealand got to 58 for 2 after the powerplay. They were also helped by a couple of dropped chances – Deepti and S Meghana spilt chances off Satterthwaite, while Deepti also let go of a tough chance from Kerr and wore it on her foot.The introduction of spin led to Satterthwaite employing the sweep, often playing the shot to deliveries well outside off. She brought up her 26th ODI fifty in some style and looked unstoppable, until she gave Mithali Raj catching practice at mid-on off Goswami’s bowling. That ended the 103-run stand between Satterthwaite and Kerr.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kerr, who had scored an unbeaten century in the second match, took over after that with her sweeps and cuts. There was hardly a dot ball as Kerr and Maddy Green moved quickly, and Kerr brought up her third ODI fifty soon after.However, with the required rate creeping up, Kerr looked to take on birthday girl Sneh Rana and holed out at long-on when on 67. And then, debutant Renuka Singh Thakur, one of five changes India made on the day, knocked Green’s stumps back for her maiden wicket in ODIs.India had a chance at that stage, but Down, Martin and Mackay ensured the result went New Zealand’s way.Earlier, India, again without Smriti Mandhana – she has finished her quarantine but “MIQ rules,” coach Ramesh Powar said, kept her out – were asked to bat first and were given a fast start by openers Meghana and Shafali Verma. The pair added 100 for the opening wicket in just 13 overs.Meghana brought up her maiden international half-century, while Verma got to her second in the format. New Zealand’s butter-fingered fielding helped them along.Meghana was unafraid to play over the infield and hit the first six of the match off Hannah Rowe, who was taken for 16 runs in the fourth over of the game. Verma, on the other hand, played second fiddle but not without some big hits of her own. She was happy to cash in on any width provided either by Tahuhu or Rowe, and was patient in ducking and leaving balls that caused her discomfort.But Rosemary Mair bounced Meghana out and then did the same to Yastika Bhatia.Soon, Verma was dismissed by Kerr for a well-made 51. When Harmanpreet Kaur and Raj also fell with India yet to reach 190, the visitors’ hopes of a tall score faded.But Deepti chipped in with an attacking 69. She peppered the on-side boundary at will, using Rowe and Mair’s angle into her from around the stumps to explore the arc between midwicket and fine leg. She also used the sweep to good effect against Mackay and Satterthwaite, as India made 279, their highest ODI score in the last four years and second-best since the Women’s World Cup, back in 2017.

“If it looked like there was a lack of respect there, that certainly wasn’t the intention of our team”

Daniel Brettig15-Sep-2020Australia’s coach Justin Langer has admitted that the national team did not commit enough time to understanding and learning about the Black Lives Matter issue before choosing not to take a knee prior to their first game since the movement entered the cricket world in a big way earlier this year.Following blunt criticism from Michael Holding, Langer said that as Cricket Australia went through its own extensive process of reflection about how inclusive it has been for people of colour, the team should have found more time to contemplate taking a knee before the opening match of the T20I series in Southampton.”In terms of the taking a knee, to be completely honest we could’ve talked more about it perhaps leading up to that first game; there was so much going on leading up to us getting here, maybe we should’ve thought and talked a bit more about it,” Langer said. “What we do talk about in the team is we want to have a response that is sustained and powerful and it can go, not just in one action, but sustained periods, not just throughout this series, throughout our summer, but throughout time.ALSO READ: Holding ‘doesn’t know anything that’s going on’ – Archer“We’re looking at ways, I know there’s a lot of talk going on within our group about how we can, I know there’s a lot of talking going on about the Australian women’s team as well, about how we can have a sustained and powerful response to Black Lives Matter. It’s incredibly important, and I just hope and certainly from Mikey’s point of view I hope if it looked like there was a lack of respect there, that certainly wasn’t the intention of our team.”We’re very aware of it, and when Mikey says what he says, then it’s certainly worth listening to and we’ll be doing that.”Prior to the game, Australia captain Aaron Finch had explained that “education around it is more important than the protest”, in reference to the symbolic gesture made by a succession of sporting teams around the world in recent months.Holding had bridled at this attitude. “Now Australia come here and I see another lame statement from the Australia captain who is saying that he and the England captain have spoken and they decided not to take a knee,” Holding had said on “I would hope that anyone who gets involved in something like this [does it] because they want to get involved.”So I would hope that people who are joining in, and are still willing to accept that things need to change and need to send a signal, will voluntarily do what they think is right.”Langer, who has overseen a reinvention of the Australian team’s image since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal in 2018, conceded he and others had been stopped in their tracks by Holding’s words.”Michael Holding is one of the great people of world sport, and certainly our game,” Langer said. “He’s a person who I personally have great admiration, great respect, great love for, and we all watched his presentation, his heartfelt thoughts at the start of the summer. When someone like Michael says something like that, it is certainly important we all listen to it.”It was a powerful statement by Mikey, as it has been consistently from him and from others throughout the summer, and because of that, it was a powerful message.”

Taylor claims career-best figures after middle two days lost to weather

ECB Reporters Network30-May-2019Matt Taylor claimed career-best figures of 5 for 57 as Gloucestershire’s County Championship Division Two match against Lancashire at Cheltenham ended in a draw, after days two and three were lost to a wet outfield.Gloucestershire had reached 68 for 2 by 4.50pm local time, when the sides shook hands after an eventful match which will be remembered for the freak storm on the first night.Gloucestershire’s opening pair – Miles Hammond and Chris Dent, who reached 8,000 first-class runs during his innings – had put on 55 in 25 overs on the first day as the home side reached 205 in their first innings. Dent and Jack Taylor added 83 for the fifth wicket.England Lions seamer Saqib Mahmood was the stand-out bowler on day one, picking up 4 for 48, with Hammond scoring 82.Lancashire had lost Haseeb Hameed and Jake Lehmann, with David Payne conceding just four runs in an eight-over spell, meaning they resumed the final day on 47 for 2. They set out with a flurry before being reduced to 149 for 5 at lunch.Rob Jones dealt in boundaries, striking a four from the first delivery of the day, as he and Keaton Jennings doubled their side’s score within the first hour. Jones brought up his half-century from 70 deliveries, with nine fours. But they fell in successive Matt Taylor overs, as Jones was caught behind, before Jennings was caught at slip for 52, having just reached his half-century from 141 balls.Dane Vilas gave Gareth Roderick a second catch and Taylor a third wicket, as the visitors went from 105 for 2 to 126 for 5 in just six overs.After losing Liam Livingston five balls into the afternoon, Steven Croft and Tom Bailey led the visitors’ recovery as they gained a first batting point before bringing up their fifty partnership.Taylor claimed his fifth wicket when he had Mahmood caught behind. Croft then drove at David Payne at mid-off from Ryan Higgins, who almost picked up a second wicket in two balls when a Jimmy Anderson edge fell just short of the slip cordon. Anderson survived a similar delivery in the following over before sending Taylor over the Chapel End boundary for the first and only maximum of the match.Payne rounded off the Lancashire innings, when he had Richard Gleeson caught at slip, with an early tea taken.Gloucestershire began their second innings 39 runs adrift, and lost Hammond in the tenth over when he was caught at slip off Bailey. James Bracey, glancing down the legside, was caught behind off Richard Gleeson in the 18th over, by which time the home side were marginally ahead.

Calling the ball-tampering incident a “sad moment”, the South Africa batsman suggested it could push the global game to take another look at the way individuals and teams act

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg28-Mar-2018Few will be surprised that it has been left to Hashim Amla to bring some perspective to a series that is now dominated by a ball-tampering saga, which has had grave consequences on the careers of three Australian cricketers. The schadenfreude running through the South African fan base is at an all-time high, more-so because of some of the other side-shows which have included Darren Lehmann calling sections of the crowd “a disgrace”, but Amla has provided a measured reminder that the battle is not a battle.”It’s not war. It’s ridiculous to think that playing cricket is like war because, if you know the realities of war, you can’t equate the two,” Amla said. “Yes it’s a tough battle of skill, but you’ve got to have respect for each other.”While players on both sides have been involved in verbal stoushes, and Australia have made no bones about their intention to use some of South Africa’s mistakes to sledge them on the field – Vernon Philander’s “hacked” Twitter account came up as an example – Amla is talking the silent approach.”I don’t say much. I try to afford as much respect as possible. I don’t try and demean anybody,” Amla said. “For me it is a skills-based sport and I try and support my team-mates as much as possible. What’s happening in their camp, I don’t want to comment too much. They have their issues to deal with.”Chief among those issues are the integrity questions surrounding the Australian side, especially on social media, with its dressing-room culture being put under the spotlight by former players. South Africa are too close to the situation to comment, but Faf du Plessis would not be drawn into whether his team felt cheated in the immediate aftermath of the Newlands Test.Similarly, Amla only went as far as to calling the incident a “sad moment” for the game. “We were surprised. That was it. There was so much that happened afterwards, but at that particular moment, we were like, okay… We know there are a lot of cameras around. For that to happen, it’s a sad moment for international cricket.”He also suggested the fall-out could cause global cricket in its entirety to relook at itself and the way individuals and teams adhere to the code of conduct. “It probably gives every team in the world a reality check: ‘What kind of cricket do you want to play?’ It’s probably given the ICC a lot more headaches, and the opportunity now is for the governing bodies to show us, ‘Hey, where is this line? We don’t know what’s going on,” Amla said. “I’ve always believed we have played our cricket as best we can with a few errors here and there, but that’s the stuff that you learn from and move on.”South Africa’s own errors may be part of the reason they are hesitant to condemn Cameron Bancroft’s actions. In the last five years, South Africa have been found guilty of ball tampering three times, with Faf du Plessis the offender on two of those occasions.Amla was the player who chose to front up to the media in Melbourne 16 months ago, when visuals of du Plessis emerged, shining the ball with a mint in his mouth. With the whole South African team behind him, Amla insisted “Faf has done absolutely nothing wrong”, and went on to explain how players often took to the field with something in their mouths. He also called the claims against du Plessis “sour sweets for people in their heads that we’ve played really good cricket and the timing of it is that it’s a bit weird too”.South Africa were 2-0 up at that stage in the series and four days later, du Plessis was found guilty of ball-tampering and fined 100% of his match fee. Du Plessis faced no further sanction from Cricket South Africa, and was in fact backed by then CEO Haroon Lorgat, who called on the ICC to clarify what constituted a “foreign substance” in terms of the code of conduct. Du Plessis appealed the verdict and failed.Amla was also the captain when Vernon Philander was caught on television cameras in Sri Lanka scratching the ball with his finger and thumb and fined 75% of his match. He was not part of the XI in Dubai, when du Plessis was caught rubbing the ball on his zipper in 2013 because Amla had returned home on paternity leave.With that track record, South Africa can sympathise with the position Smith, David Warner and Bancroft find themselves in.”We know how hard cricket is, so when things like this go on we do feel sympathetic to a person who has made a mistake and paid a price for it,” Amla said. “There’s no holier-than-thou attitude that anybody comes with because we know that everybody makes mistakes in their lives. You hope you learn from the mistakes and move on. We have sympathy for the guys who are under the pump now.”

Chris Morris has showcased his credentials as South Africa’s No. 7, but will face a new challenge in restricting batsmen on New Zealand’s grounds

Firdose Moonda15-Feb-2017South Africa allrounder Chris Morris has never played in New Zealand before but one of the first things he saw there made his eyes light up.”I have never seen a boundary that small and that straight before,” Morris said at Eden Park, where the boundary is 55 metres away at its furthest.While not quite in the David Miller mould of targeting the trees, Morris enjoys a bit of big-hitting himself but is perhaps a little more concerned about not being on the receiving end of many, especially as South Africa intensify their search for a new-ball partner for Kagiso Rabada. Morris has already put himself forward as one of the prime candidates after a successful series against Sri Lanka in which he was the third highest wicket-taker, but more importantly had the lowest economy rate.Morris only cost his team 3.73 runs an over, impressive considering bowling coach Charl Langeveldt was particularly harsh on the bowlers being too expensive in the first ten overs. Morris has spent a lot of time on tightening his lines and he is pleased to see it paying off. “It’s been a lot of hard work and I have done a lot of work on my action and consistency. I know it’s been an issue for me in the past so I strive to get consistency and eliminate those boundary balls,” Morris said. “There’s been a lot of work in the nets, looking at my action, how to clean up my action, bowling straight lines and try to change my thinking about how I am going to bowl.”The changes came after Morris spent almost three months sidelined with a knee injury in the early part of the season. He only played one four-day game at franchise level before finding himself back in the international fold. “The biggest thing for me was to see how my body went. I hadn’t played a lot of cricket coming into that Sri Lanka series so I was a little bit nervous but seeing I could get through my ten overs without any niggles quite comfortably was good,” he said. “I tried to keep my pace back in the beginning and not bowl too fast but for me it was very good to get through those games and for my confidence it did a lot, especially in that last game.”Morris took eight wickets, including 4 for 31, in the series against Sri Lanka, but does not expect things to happen quite so easily against New Zealand. “There are some serious players coming from New Zealand. They are a very aggressive, attacking team. They do the basics well and they are quite good at home,” he said.South Africa know that only too well. The last time they were in New Zealand was for the 2015 World Cup semi-final when Eden Park witnessed one of the most nail-biting ODIs in history. AB de Villiers said the team have come with “unfinished business” to complete but not specifically Morris. He is not among the nine members of the touring party who have first-hand memories of that day to banish and he is quite happy to simply enjoy his first experience in a new place.”Fortunately I was not part of those memories. I watched it in South Africa and I was very emotionally attached to it. It was a very emotional day for our fans in South Africa and I am sure there will be a bit of emotion involved for the guys that were here during the World Cup but it adds to the fire of the game. It’s going to be exciting.”