England clawed their way back into the ODI series against Australia with a 93-run victory at Old Trafford

The Report by George Dobell at Old Trafford08-Sep-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:41

Taylor ton sets up England win

England clawed their way back into the ODI series against Australia with a 93-run victory at Old Trafford.A maiden international century from Man of the Match James Taylor provided the bedrock of England’s total of 300, before their spinners went to work on a dry surface, claiming 5 for 73 between them in 20 overs. Moeen Ali finished with career-best ODI figures while Adil Rashid has never bowled better in an England shirt.It was England’s first win in eight ODIs against Australia and only their second in 13. It means the sides go to Headingley with the series poised at 2-1 with two to play.There are, as ever, some caveats. It was an important toss that England won, with the pitch turning considerably by the end, while Australia were missing seven of the XI that played in the World Cup final a few months ago and are very much a team in transition. But, with a couple of obvious additions – David Warner and James Faulkner in particular – it may not be far from the side that represents them in the 2019 World Cup. Both these teams are in a redevelopment phase.Australia will also reflect that they had opportunities to bowl England out far more cheaply. Eoin Morgan was missed – a relatively simple stumping chance to Matthew Wade off the impressive debutant Ashton Agar – when he had 15 and Taylor would have been given out leg before off Glenn Maxwell for 41 had Australia utilised their DRS referral.It was, in some ways, a slightly old-fashioned performance from England. Taylor, demonstrating the leadership qualities that saw him promoted to the vice-captaincy for this game, faced 47 dot balls in his innings and only managed one boundary in his first 50 runs.But, while he never threatened to score at a run a ball and never threatened to be pretty, he manoeuvred the ball well, scampered 47 singles and, even when his colleagues failed and the innings faltered, kept his head and ensured his side posted a competitive total. It was, for its unruffled calm, its maturity and its judgement, almost Jonathan Trott-esque.James Taylor celebrates his maiden ODI hundred•Getty Images

And, if the total was a little less than seemed probable at one stage, it still required a record run chase. The highest successful chase in an ODI at Old Trafford is 285, but that was in a 55-over a side game. In a 50-over game, it is 242.Still, when England were 205 for 2 with 17 overs to go, it seemed a score of something approaching 350 was possible. But Australia’s new-look attack bowled with impressive control and maturity and England managed only 100 runs for the loss of six wickets in the final 18 overs of their innings. The ball became much more difficult to time as it aged.Perhaps for that reason, the most fluent batting in either innings came from the opening batsmen, Jason Roy and Aaron Finch. At one stage Roy, mixing touch and power in a manner that speaks volumes for his development as a batsman, took a jaded-looking Mitchell Starc for four boundaries in five balls.But batting at the other end appeared far less straightforward. Alex Hales, timing the ball sweetly enough but unable to pierce the field, managed 9 from 31 balls before clipping to midwicket and when Roy was lured down the pitch and drawn into a miscued drive, it seemed England’s momentum would falter.After a torrid start against the hostile Pat Cummins, Morgan helped Taylor add 119 in 18 overs and provide the platform for England’s total. While he looked uncomfortable against Cummins’ short ball – the bowler was clocked at almost 96 mph – he eventually found something approaching fluency.But after he fell, slogging the first ball of a new spell from Maxwell to mid-on, the anticipated acceleration never came. Stokes’ increasingly torturous innings was ended by a top-edged sweep to mid-on, Jonny Bairstow was run out by a brilliant direct hit from Smith, Moeen top-edged an attempted pull and Liam Plunkett was run out after over-committing while backing up to Taylor.While Taylor reached his century in the penultimate over of the innings – fittingly enough, brought up with a scrambled single – it was left to Chris Woakes’ late slogging to help England reach 300.Australia rarely threatened their target. While Finch, recalled after injury, looked in sublime form, Joe Burns horribly mistimed to mid-off and the spinners choked the innings into submission on a surface proving them with plenty of assistance. Smith was brilliantly caught by Steven Finn at midwicket – a full length diving effort – as he attempted to skip down the pitch and flick him through the leg side and Finch, frustrated by Rashid’s turn, control and variations, holed out to long-on.Maxwell flourished briefly but, after two successive reverse-sweeps for four, his attempt at a third resulted only in a top edge to the keeper and George Bailey’s uncomfortable innings ended when he slogged a full toss to deep midwicket.Victory was all but assured by the time Roy, at deep midwicket, appeared to have misjudged a tough chance but then dived backwards to cling on to an outstanding, one-handed, juggling catch.Maybe, in the long term, this is a performance that will confuse the England management. It remains hard to see a place for Taylor in the side once Joe Root returns and the continuing struggles of Stokes with the bat are a concern. But selectors would rather leave out good players than include inadequate ones and, after a couple of chastening defeats, this was a performance that not only kept the series alive, but will encourage a developing side that they are on the right track.

The series against England in the UAE is shaping as the last for Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq

Umar Farooq01-Oct-2015The series against England in the UAE is shaping as the last for Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq. Although he had initially hoped to continue until next year’s tour of England, the forthcoming contest is looking increasingly likely to be the final chapter of an international career which began in 2001.”I have come to a certain stage of my career where I have started considering [retirement],” Misbah, 41, told ESPNcricinfo. “I was thinking that the upcoming India series would be the point when I will decide what to do. But since I don’t see the India series happening so the next one-and-half months will be important. I am giving second thoughts whether I can extend my career until the 2016 England series.”The series against India, scheduled to take place in the UAE at the end of the year, now appears unlikely to happen due to the tense political landscape which would mean an eight-month gap before the series against England next July. Since Misbah has already retired from ODI and T20 cricket he will have little chance for competitive cricket after the Pakistan domestic season concludes in February.”I have been considering so many factors as it’s a very hard decision, in fact one of the toughest ones to take,” Misbah said. “So in the next one-and-half months I will be analysing myself as to how far I can go. I will see how much I can contribute in for the team, I will see if my passion remains the same or I start losing interest in the game. Sometimes it’s not about fitness, it’s about how much interest you have in the game and I don’t want to be a liability. So whatever the decision you will know soon.”For the upcoming series, starting with the first Test in Abu Dhabi on October 13, Misbah said he will be guarding against the team being over confident after they whitewashed England in 2012. Misbah, along with Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq, will form the same middle order which featured in that series. He, along with several other Test players, are currently having a conditioning camp at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, while the one-day side is in Zimbabwe, before leaving for the UAE on October 4.”Within our mind we are confident,” Misbah said. “But at the same time creating a perception about our past victory against them by 3-0 doesn’t make any difference. This is fresh series. England are a much-improved side and are coming after playing their best cricket back home. They are a far better side in terms of playing spin and this is the reason I stand guarded against us being over confident.Misbah-ul-Haq is well aware of the different class of spinner England are bring on this tour compared to 2012•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

“Having won 3-0 previously doesn’t mean that they are still a soft target and we can wrap them up easily. No, it’s not that simple. We have to understand that setting the expectation level based on the previous series isn’t a fair call. We simply have to work very hard and play at our full potential to win. I don’t think that previous series victory is going to help us and we don’t need to put undue pressure on us with it. It’s not that we can’t win, but I just want to insist that you can’t ride on the past to make your future.”In 2012, England arrived in the UAE following a lengthy lay-off from Test cricket having not played a match in five months after beating India, at The Oval, in August 2011 to go to No. 1 in the world. But this time they have flown in having won the Ashes less than two months ago, although they only have two two-day warm-up matches before the first Test which Alastair Cook has admitted is not much preparation.While Misbah reiterated his belief that England now play spin better than when they previously faced Pakistan, it did not escape him that their spin bowling resources are significantly ‘weaker’ than in 2012 having lost both Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar.”They are in good form, so are we, but we have to play good cricket,” Misbah said. “There is a difference in their squad as many of their players have started to play the spin very well. They have changed their game, as we have seen they are using their feet and sweeping all over so we have to be on our toes to get their wickets.”Their fast bowling is the same but their spinners are weaker this time in the absence of Swann and Panesar. We have answers to their experienced fast bowlers, we understand we have to work hard to negotiate the new ball and later the reverse swing. Their bowling never gave us the chance to score big runs in 2012, but we have plans this time and in the UAE it’s all about scoring big runs.”In the UAE conditions runs on the board are very important and then the spinners play the vital role. When Australia came we had answers so is it’s the same this time. Australia had Nathan Lyon, England have Moeen but what is important is who is going to bat well in these conditions.”England played their cricket very aggressively against Australia, with none of the five Ashes Test going into the fifth day, but Misbah suggested it will very different in this series.”You can’t just go all out aggressively like the cricket England have been playing back home. It’s different in the UAE. You can’t just be defensive either, though. As I said, you need to have big runs on board and that requires patience as pitches here change their behaviour on a daily basis especially on the fourth and fifth day. So there are a lot of factors that mean you need to have a balanced approach. And that is the key.”

Crowd trouble forced two interruptions in play during the second T20I in Cuttack as India slid towards defeat against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-20151:19

‘Not nice for cricket’ – Du Plessis

Crowd trouble forced two interruptions in play during the second T20I at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack as India slid to a six-wicket defeat against South Africa. Play was held up for more than 50 minutes during South Africa’s chase after spectators, largely from one section of the stadium, began throwing plastic bottles onto the field.The first bottle-throwing incident came in the break between innings – India were bowled out for 92, their lowest T20I total at home – and did not interrupt play. The second came after 11 overs of South Africa’s chase and stopped play for 27 minutes. The players remained in the middle through the delay and play resumed at 10pm, with security personnel lining the boundaries. However, a third wave of bottle-throwing two overs later forced them off. Play resumed after a 24-minute hold-up once the police had cleared the section of the crowd causing the disruption.South Africa required another 4.1 overs, which passed without further incident, to complete the chase and seal the series 2-0.The incident is the first case for the BCCI’s new president, Shashank Manohar, to handle and there would be several points of concern for the board in how the situation was dealt with on the spot in Cuttack.The matter did not come up at the post-match presentation ceremony, though both captains were interviewed by the broadcasters and could have been asked for their thoughts on it.The issue was raised at the subsequent press conference, however, and prompted this response from India’s captain MS Dhoni: “Frankly, from a safety point of view, I don’t think there was a very serious threat. A few of the powerful people from the crowd were good enough to throw the bottles inside the rope. So the umpires thought it was better that players go off the field for a while. The reaction of the crowd, you know, we didn’t play well, so at times you get reactions like this. It’s only the first bottle. After that they start throwing for fun. We shouldn’t read too much into it. I still remember we played in Vishakhapatnam once, we won the game very easily, and that time also a lot of bottles were thrown. It starts with the first bottle, and after that, you know, it is more fun for the spectators if they start doing it and following it.”The incident also raises questions about safety precautions at grounds in India, especially for high-profile matches like today’s. The standard procedure is for spectators who buy drinks at the ground to be given their liquid refreshments – whether water or soft drinks – in plastic cups, which cannot be used as missiles. How the spectators could carry bottles to their seats on Monday will be a matter for investigation.Also apparent was the lax security; when the match resumed after the break most of the policemen on the boundary could be seen watching the match rather than facing the crowd, as is standard procedure.

England’s coach Trevor Bayliss has said there should be no reason why Adil Rashid’s Test appearances are restricted solely to Asia

Andrew McGlashan18-Oct-2015Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, believes Adil Rashid can play a role in all conditions – not just Asia – after the legspinner produced an immense show of resolve in Abu Dhabi with a five-wicket haul to almost conjure a stunning victory.Bayliss said Rashid had remained “pretty philosophical” after his record-breaking none for 163 in the first innings. But even if he had not responded in such dramatic fashion it is very unlikely England would have lost faith so quickly. They see Rashid as a long-term investment, an attacking spin bowler who can add a vital component to a developing side.If he continues the form he showed late in the first Test – coming into his own against a nervous batting line-up with only survival to play for on a pitch that had, at last, developed some wear and tear – there is a chance England will try to fit him into their line-ups in conditions where they may previously have not considered two spinners.After the UAE tour they head to South Africa for a four-Test series followed by a home summer against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. A 2016-17 season in Asia then beckons with series against India and Bangladesh where Rashid should expect to be a key figure if his development continues.”He’s definitely not a selection for just here,” Bayliss said. “It will come down to whether he is bowling well enough to stay in the team and it’s a lot easier to keep him in the team if you’ve got Moeen Ali batting in the top six or seven and Ben Stokes in there as well. The possibilities of combinations we are able to play with those guys in the team are there.”Bayliss, who played against Shane Warne during his Sheffield Shield career and then coached Stuart MacGill at New South Wales, has brought an Australian understanding of legspin to the England coaching role. However, he said the desire to find a place for Rashid also stemmed from Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, during early discussions the pair had when he was appointed in May.Rashid is just England’s fourth legspinner since 1971 following Ian Salisbury, Chris Schofield and Scott Borthwick who have a combined total of 18 caps between them. Salisbury, who curiously also took five wickets on his debut against Pakistan at Lord’s in 1992, although spread across two innings, played 15 times over eight years. Schofield, picked in haste as a 21-year-old in 2000, was discarded after a two-Test series against Zimbabwe where he bowled in just one innings (although did make a brief, unexpected return in the T20 side in 2007) while Borthwick, so far, only has his appearance from Sydney when England were in disarray at the end of the 2013-14 Ashes.While not able to offer a definitive view on why English cricket has had such a difficult relationship with legspin, Bayliss suggested that too much emphasis on economy rates, and holding the game, had made them wary of a style of bowling that needs courage of conviction and often a few deep breaths. Along with England’s new approach to one-day cricket and their increasing expressiveness in Test matches – when conditions allow – Rashid is a part of New England.”Usually legspinners are a little more expensive and maybe not quite as accurate,” Bayliss said. “Maybe English cricket over the last few years has had a bit too much of an emphasis on not going for runs. My belief is that the best way to stop the runs is by taking wickets.”I think a legspinner brings a little bit of unpredictability. They spin it both ways so the batter has got to make a decision on what way it’s spinning as well as line and length. They get more work on the ball so that it can drop and a leg-spinner just seems to take wickets from nowhere. Come the fifth day that’s what you want to see from your leg-spinner. You want him to use the conditions and, especially, clean up the tail.”The other element to Rashid’s debut was the captaincy of Alastair Cook. Although Cook was skipper when Borthwick played in Sydney, he and the team were in such a bedraggled state that little worthwhile could be learned. In Abu Dhabi it was the start of a fresh contest and the building of a Test-match relationship between Cook and Rashid that will hopefully have some longevity.Bayliss praised the advisory role played by Mahela Jayawardene – who has now completed his stint with England in the UAE, although Bayliss said he would be very keen to have him back in the future – while adding that Cook will be better for the experience of the first Test.”Mahela was fantastic. Like anything for the first time, there are small tweaks with field placements we can look at – it needs the bowler bowling well – and don’t forget these Pakistan players are very good players of spin which makes it more difficult. We have recognised a few things from this Test that will hopefully be a bit different for the next that will give us a bit more of an advantage.”

A round-up of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge matches played on November 13, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2015A four-wicket haul from David Wiese defied a fighting half-century from Reeza Hendricks, as Titans edged past Knights by one run in Bloemfontein. Set a meager 129 for victory, Knights began poorly, losing wickets at regular intervals, but Hendricks, who slammed an unbeaten 98 against Cobras, kept his team on course by stroking a 52-ball 63 with six fours and a six. Hendricks, however, received little by way of support from his team-mates; only two other batsmen managed double-digit scores as Wiese dented the Knights’ chase with four wickets in successive overs.Hendricks’ knock meant Knights needed nine runs off the final over. With four runs required off the last two balls, a couple of metres proved the difference, as Hendricks’ pull off Wiese landed in the hands of Lungi Ngidi at square leg. Malusi Siboto, the No.9 batsman, could only manage two off the final delivery, as Titans hung on to go second in the table.Earlier, Titans were restricted 128 for 5 after being inserted. The team was struggling at 48 for 4 before the captain Albie Morkel (46) and Farhaan Behardien revived the innings with a 54-run stand. Siboto and Shadley van Schalkwyk picked up two wickets apiece.Seamer Sisanda Magala’s five-wicket burst helped Warriors seal a 25-run win over Lions after opener Colin Ackermann’s unbeaten 59-ball 79 had taken Warriors to 155.Lions were off to a quick start in their chase, with openers Rassie van der Dussen and Devon Conway putting on 49 runs in 5.3 overs. But, Magala struck twice in the sixth over to remove Conway and Hardus Viljoen, and he followed it up with Andre Malan’s wicket in his next over. In the meantime, JT Smuts had bowled Alviro Peterson for duck.From 60 for 4, Lions recovered through a 51-run stand between van der Dussen and captain Thami Tsolekile, but Magala and Smuts shot down any prospects of a Lions victory with quick wickets in the end.After being asked to bat, Warriors had begun poorly, losing opener Smuts to Bjorn Fortuin off the first ball of the match, but Ackermann and
Colin Ingram, who smashed 52 off 36 balls, put on 96 runs for the second wicket in 68 balls. Despite Warriors losing quick wickets, Ackermann steered them to what eventually turned out to be a match-winning total.

A round-up of all the Group A matches of the 2015-16 Vijay Hazare Trophy on December 14, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2015M Mohammed, the medium pacer, took 5 for 50, his best List A figures, as Tamil Nadu brushed past Services by seven wickets to register their third win in four matches. After being restricted to 192 for 8, Services were kept at bay by Abhinav Mukund, who top scored with 85, to set the foundation for TN. The match was polished off by B Aparajith, who remained unbeaten on 66, as TN won with more than 10 overs to spare. Diwesh Pathania’s three-wicket haul came as some consolation for Services, who also have two wins in three matches in the competition.Swarupam Purkayastha’s maiden List A century was in vain as Assam lost their Group A match to Punjab by a mere one run, while chasing 328.Sent in as an opener, Purkayastha was the common factor in two century stands that revived Assam’s chase after they lost early wickets. He first added 124 runs for the third wicket with Amit Verma (71 off 67 balls) and then paired with captain Gokul Sharma (60 off 55 balls) for a 107-run, fourth-wicket partnership. He struck 18 fours and a six in his 112-ball 125 before falling in the 39th over with Assam 82 runs short.Assam brought the equation down to seven off the last over, bowled by Brainder Sran, and then needed three off the last ball. However, Amit Sinha’s run-out while trying to complete a second run denied Assam a tie, and extended their streak of defeats in the tournament to four.Earlier, Mandeep Singh’s unbeaten 117 and fifties from opener Pargat Singh (69) and Gurkeerat Singh propelled Punjab to a total of 327 for 4 after they had been put in to bat. A rapid 128-run partnership between Mandeep and Gurkeerat for the fourth wicket, which came off only 11.5 overs, provided a strong finish to Punjab’s innings. While Mandeep’s 117 came off 97 deliveries, Gurkeerat struck seven fours and three sixes in his 36-ball 62.Fifties by Ashok Menaria and Manender Singh, followed by left-arm pacer Tanveer-Ul-Haq’s 4 for 44 set up Rajasthan‘s 102-run win over Hyderabad in Hyderabad. Opting to bat, Rajasthan were guided to 250 for 8 by Menaria(55) and Manender’s(51) efforts and Puneet Yadav’s 47. Ravi Kiran restricted Rajasthan’s middle-order in the death by picking two wickets each in overs 47 and 49, ending with returns of 4 for 57.Hyderabad slumped to 148 in their chase of 251 as Tanveer-Ul-Haq dismissed opener Danny Dereck Prince in the eleventh over and came back to clean up the tail later in the innings. As many as six Hyderabad batsmen failed to convert their starts, as the highest score was Hanuma Vihari’s 39.

Usman Khawaja, who returns to the Australia ODI squad after three years, is hopeful of becoming an all-format player and not just a Test specialist

Brydon Coverdale13-Jan-20161:23

‘Matador Cup form worked in my favour’ – Khawaja

At a time when Australia’s ODI fast-bowling depth is being tested, they seem to have no shortage of quality batsmen to call on. Centuries to George Bailey and Steven Smith won Australia the first ODI against India in Perth on Tuesday, and for the second game they will likely bring in a bloke with a List A batting average of 72.86 in the past three years. And one of the most in-form batsmen in the country probably still won’t get a game.The former is Shaun Marsh, the back-up batsman in the squad and the likely beneficiary of David Warner’s absence for paternity leave over the next two games. The latter is Usman Khawaja, who is joining the squad for the Brisbane and Melbourne ODIs, and is enjoying a remarkable run of form whatever the colour of the ball: not since October has Khawaja been dismissed below 50 in any format.Yet it is hard to argue with the probable batting line-up Australia will use in Brisbane, where Marsh is expected to open with Aaron Finch. After all, Marsh was second only to Smith on the Matador Cup run tally in October, with 390 at 65.00, and the last time he played for Australia he plundered 182 in the Hobart Test against West Indies. Khawaja’s return from injury bumped Marsh from the Test side; now Marsh looks set to keep Khawaja out of the ODIs.It is nearly three years since Khawaja last played ODI cricket for Australia, and even then he played only three games without reaching double figures. However, since his most recent ODI appearance Khawaja has thrived in one-day cricket, averaging 56.88 in List A matches, although he played only three Matador Cup games this summer due to a hamstring injury. Khawaja hopes his selection is the first step towards becoming an ODI regular.”The hunger is to play as many forms of the game as possible,” he said on Wednesday. “I’ve made it clear that I’ve always wanted to play one-dayers. But sometimes it’s about timing. If I’m going to get my opportunity, I don’t know, but when I do get it hopefully I can take it and be more than just a Test cricketer. At this moment I’m really happy with how I’m hitting the white ball.”Already 2015-16 has been a breakout summer for Khawaja in the Test team – he scored centuries in all three Tests in which he batted, in Brisbane, Perth, and Melbourne. His last two BBL innings, an unbeaten 109 before Christmas and 62 on Monday, suggest his white-ball form is indeed strong.”I’m really happy with how the Test stuff went,” Khawaja said. “There’s a lot of one-day cricket coming up in the next year. I’d love to be a part of it. Hopefully I can contribute moving forward.”However, Khawaja knows he will likely be warming the bench for the second ODI in Brisbane on Friday. “I haven’t been told anything,” he said. “I’m just using common sense – SOS [Marsh] is already there so I’d assume he’d slot into Davey’s spot and I’ll be the spare batsman. That’s what I’m expecting.”Australia will be aiming to secure a 2-0 lead in the five-match series in Brisbane, after their win in the high-scoring opener in Perth on Tuesday. India managed 3 for 309 against a new-look Australia attack featuring debutant fast bowlers Scott Boland and Joel Paris, whose combined figures read 0 for 127 from 18 overs, but Australia’s batsmen chased down the target with four balls to spare.

South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has been ruled out of the third Test against England, which starts today in Johannesburg, after suffering an injury to his right knee on Wednesday evening

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-2016South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has been ruled out of the third Test against England in Johannesburg after suffering an injury to his right knee on the eve of the match.Dane Vilas, who was set to play a Sunfoil Series match in Port Elizabeth, was called up as an immediate replacement and reached The Wanderers midway through the first session.Scans showed only a mild sprain. De Kock will continue to receive treatment over the next few days in the hope that he might be considered for the final Test.Dr Mohammed Moosajee, the South Africa team manager, said that de Kock sprained his knee at home on the eve of the Test – a mishap that was later discovered to have occured when he was walking his dogs.”Quinton slipped and sprained his right knee at home late yesterday afternoon,” Moosajee said. “Initially he didn’t think it was too serious but woke up after midnight in pain and with a swollen knee. He will have investigations done later today to ascertain the extent of the injury.”De Kock, who was recalled earlier this month to the Test squad after nearly six months, scored 5 and took three catches in the New Year’s Test against England in Cape Town.This is the second time in just over a year that de Kock has suffered a freak injury. In December 2014, he rolled his ankle during warm-ups on the third morning of the Centurion Test against West Indies. Then, AB de Villiers took the gloves.This time, South Africa could not turn to de Villiers, who has just been named Test captain. Instead, they had to get Vilas on the 8:40am flight out of Port Elizabeth to play his first Test at home. Vilas has played five Tests since debuting in Bangladesh in July 2015 and was dropped after the India tour, in which he, like all South Africa’s batsmen, failed to score significant runs.Vilas has enjoyed a return to form since his snub, however. He score a career-best 216 not out for the Cobras against the Lions in a first-class match last week. In the same match, JP Duminy, who was dropped from the Test XI after the Boxing Day match, also notched up his career-best.Duminy’s unbeaten 260 almost earned him his place back in the team, but de Kock’s injury denied him and saved Stiaan van Zyl, who might otherwise have made way to allow de Kock to open the batting alongside Dean Elgar. The last-minute injury meant those plans could not materialise, and South Africa had to stick to their usual line-up.

A century of the highest class from Quinton de Kock helped South Africa complete the highest successful run-chase in an ODI at Centurion and keep the series against England alive

The Report by George Dobell09-Feb-2016 South Africa 319 for 3 (de Kock 135, Amla 127) beat England 318 for 8 (Root 125, Hales 65, Stokes 53) by seven wickets

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:05

‘Showed a lot of hunger on the field’ – De Villiers

A century of the highest class from Quinton de Kock helped South Africa complete the highest successful run chase in an ODI at Centurion and keep the series against England alive.With England having won the first two games in the five-match series, South Africa required a win to sustain their hopes of avoiding their first double defeat – in the Test and ODI sections of a tour – at home for 14 years.But when they conceded 318 it left them requiring a record run chase at this ground on a pitch that had appeared cracked and two-paced during the England innings.Yet they made light of their target, with an opening stand of 239 in 36.5 overs between de Kock and Hashim Amla racing them to victory with seven wickets and 22 deliveries remaining. They made it appear easy.It is a pretty special batting performance that eclipses a century from Amla, but so sweetly did de Kock time the ball, so wide was his range of stroke, so little margin for error did he allow the bowlers that a pitch on which few England batsmen looked comfortable was made to appear something approaching a batting paradise.The statistics of his de Kock’s career are worth dwelling upon for a moment. Despite only celebrating his 23rd birthday in December, this was his 10th ODI century in his 55th match. To put that in perspective, nobody has reached the milestone at a younger age (Virat Kohli was the previous holder of that record) and it is as many ODIs centuries as Graeme Smith managed in his entire 196-match ODI career.England will be relieved South Africa did not select de Kock earlier in the Test series. He has now scored three centuries against them (one in the Centurion Test and two in this ODI series) in his last four international games.Such is his ability, he forces bowlers to alter their natural length and then punishes the resultant full or short deliveries. Twice in the first over, he eased David Willey through the covers for four. Minutes later he was treating Reece Topley the same way and following it with a perfectly timed drive straight back past the bowler.Moeen Ali’s first delivery was delightfully late cut for four before he was slog-swept for six and when the seamers dropped short in search of a solution, they were pulled with dismissive power. One pick-up pull for six off a Chris Jordan delivery that was only fractionally short was probably the stroke of the day.With both sides set to name their World T20 squads on Wednesday, there was food for thought here for England. Despite all the progress they have made, with their batting in particular, their bowling attack remains both green and a little lacking in pace. In conditions where there is little swing available, they lack the weapons to dislodge well-set batsmen. Steven Finn might have made a difference, but there may also be a temptation to recall Stuart Broad, an unused member of this ODI squad.Amla was only marginally less impressive than de Kock. Using his crease to upset the line of the England bowlers, he stroked some balls off his off stump through midwicket and others through extra-cover. When the bowlers reacted by bowling wider of off stump, he unveiled that familiar, flowing drive that has featured in each of his 22 ODI centuries. Only AB de Villiers, with 23, has scored more for South Africa.Earlier the biggest of Joe Root’s seven ODI centuries took England to an apparently challenging total. By the time South Africa struck for the fourth time, they could have been quietly satisfied with their work. Jos Buttler, again promoted to No. 4 to build upon the strong start from England’s top order, had fallen first ball clipping to an intriguingly placed leg gully, while Eoin Morgan had laboured for 24 deliveries over his eight runs.But then Ben Stokes joined Root in a fifth-wicket stand of 82 in eight overs that took England’s total from the average to the strong. While Root was not entirely fluent in the early stages of innings, so wide is his range of stroke and so impressive his fitness levels that even when he was struggling to find the boundary, he was accumulating steadily. His 125 was the highest ODI score made by an England batsman against South Africa.Recognising that, once the shine had left the ball, the pitch became somewhat sluggish, Root started to skip down the pitch to hit the seamers off their length and over mid-on. With the bowlers struggling to hit upon a length that contained him, he punished the resulting short balls with one uppercut for six off Morne Morkel the stroke of the innings. Twice he thrashed full-tosses from Imran Tahir for six over mid-wicket.He gave one chance, on 44, when de Kock was unable to lay a hand on a tough chance offered off the bowling of David Wiese – a dab to third man that went a little finer than Root intended – but that moment apart, it was another masterful innings by Root.While de Kock went on to redeem himself, perhaps a key passage of play occurred far earlier. With seven overs and a delivery remaining of their innings, England had six wickets in hand, two batsmen well set and a target in excess of 330 in their sights.But then Root was run-out following a mix-up with Stokes – Root’s drive crashed into the stumps at the non-striker’s end and, in the confusion, the pair were caught mid-pitch – and Kyle Abbott, in particular, bowled with control and skill to stall the charge. He dismissed Stokes and Jordan with successive deliveries and, in five overs up to the end of the 48th over, England added just 24 runs.Such is the depth of England’s batting, that even their No.9 and No.10 – two men with 12 first-class centuries between them – are capable of attacking and Adil Rashid and Willey struck a six apiece in plundering 25 from the final two overs. But perhaps that lost momentum in the final seven overs cost them dear.Maybe Eoin Morgan will also reflect on his decision to bat first. de Villiers made no secret of his desire to bowl first, had he won the toss, and it did appear that conditions eased for batsmen as the lights came into play and the light dew allowed the ball to come on to the bat a little more readily.Or it may just be that, as with the best innings, the quality of the batting made it seem that way. The sense remains that, whatever England did with the ball and whenever they bowled, on this form de Kock was too good for them.

Australia will consider bringing Aaron Finch back into the side to face Bangladesh despite Usman Khawaja’s solid opening innings in the loss to New Zealand in Dharamsala

Melinda Farrell20-Mar-2016Australia will consider bringing Aaron Finch back into the side to face Bangladesh despite Usman Khawaja’s solid opening innings in the loss to New Zealand in Dharamsala.Khawaja made a free-flowing 38 off 27 balls before being run out pushing for a second with David Warner, but coach Darren Lehman is sticking to the policy of flexible selection, which could see several changes made to the Australian XI in Bangalore for Monday’s game.”[Khawaja] played beautifully, he played beautifully,” Lehmann said. “It’s not unfortunate [he was run out], he can say no. He’s just got to get better at running between the wickets, all the little things we didn’t do well enough.”He played beautifully, but it depends. We’ve got Bangladesh in Bangalore, so work out what the best option is for that game and play it from there.”Lehmann spoke glowingly of Finch, lauding the “brilliant” manner in which he handled the news of his omission for Australia’s opening match.”He has been fantastic,” Lehmann said. “He has been unbelievable. We only made the final decision when we arrived. One final look at the conditions, the wicket and the weather and that’s what we decided but he’s been brilliant. Can’t speak highly enough of him.”Lehmann echoed the sentiments of captain Steven Smith after New Zealand’s eight-run victory, blaming Australia’s batting through the middle overs for the loss but struggled to put his finger on the reason behind their poor shot selection.”Smith, Warner, Maxwell, Marsh, the whole lot of them – they need to be smarter,” he said. “They know that. They don’t mean to play the shots they play. At the end of the day we’ve just got to be better. We had a really good start. We should close that game out. Not comfortably, but we should close it out from 1 for 50.”I don’t know [why they didn’t play smarter], you’d have to ask them. They’re out there batting. Also understand it’s a pressurised game. It’s easy for us sitting back watching in the media box or as a coach, so it’s pressurised out there and the wicket was slow and spun and that’s what we’re going to get.”But we’ve got to be better at finishing those sort of scenarios. As long as they learn and understand the pressures of World Cup cricket and now knock-out cricket. Basically you lose, you’re out for us. Can’t explain why we played how we played after six overs but as long as they get better at it.”Australia’s preparations for their vital match against Bangladesh – although they consider every game to be do-or-die from here on – weren’t helped by the dreadful weather in Dharamsala on Saturday. Massive hailstorms and treacherous icy roads prevented the team leaving their high-altitude hotel as scheduled, with roads blocked and their morning chartered flight unable to land at Dharamsala airport.While they were eventually able to reschedule travel arrangements and arrived in Bangalore in the evening, it was hardly helpful with such a tight turnaround and Australia can ill-afford any further slips in this tournament.”Every game is a must-win when it is such a short tournament and you have to win three out of four,” Lehmann said. “You want to win the first game and get the tournament off on the right note. But at the end of the day we have still got to beat Bangladesh, we have still got to beat Pakistan we’ve still got to beat India, so you’ve got to win enough games and if you do that you qualify.”That is the great nature of the tournament. It is so quick you haven’t got too much time to think about it.”