Kusal Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva also move up after 97-run win in final ODI against Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2021Sri Lanka fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera has moved up by 27 places to get to a best-ever 33rd spot in the ODI bowlers’ rankings after his career-best 5 for 16 in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka. That capped a fine tour for Chameera, who topped the wicket-takers’ list with nine strikes at an average of 11.00, even though Sri Lanka went down 2-1.New Sri Lanka limited-overs captain Kusal Perera, who scored his sixth ODI century in the same match, advanced by 13 spots to 42nd in the batters’ list. That’s just one spot away from his career-best of 41, achieved in June 2016.Dhananjaya de Silva was another Sri Lankan to gain, after hitting 55 in the final ODI. He moved up by ten spots to 85th in the batters’ list. He gained two spots in the bowling table too, to No. 79, and seven spots to No. 24 among allrounders.It wasn’t a great day for Bangladesh, who finished on 189 after Sri Lanka had put up 286 for 6, but their half-centuries meant that Mosaddek Hossain and Mahmudullah moved up in the batters’ table. Hossain scored 51 in 72 balls from No. 5, and that took him 12 spots up to No. 113, while Mahmudullah’s 63-ball 53 from No. 6 lifted him two slots to 36th.Taskin Ahmed, who kept the Sri Lanka batters in check with returns of 4 for 46, progressed 12 places to No. 88 among bowlers.The 2-1 scoreline put Bangladesh on top of the World Cup Super League table, with 50 points from nine matches, while Sri Lanka have recorded only one win in six outings and are way down.

Yorkshire fall short by 20 runs despite having home side in trouble at 95 for 6

ECB Reporters' Network11-Jun-2021Brydon Carse inspired Durham to a 20-run victory over Yorkshire Vikings in their first game of the Vitality Blast campaign at Emirates Riverside.Carse took centre stage with the bat after it appeared the hosts had wasted an excellent platform. The 25-year-old scored his maiden T20 fifty to elevate Durham to a match-winning total of 181, despite career-best figures of 4 for 44 from Jordan Thompson.Jonny Bairstow threatened the home side, but Carse made the decisive impact to dismiss the England man for 67. A late surge from Harry Brook proved in vain as Durham held their composure to get off the mark in the competition at the first attempt.After losing the toss, Durham made a rapid start as Graham Clark dispatched David Willey for four-straight boundaries, including a massive six over square leg. The introduction of Lockie Ferguson brought about the breakthrough for the Vikings as the opener picked out Willey at mid-on for 34.The home side enjoyed a solid start after the Powerplay, reaching 54 for 2. However, Thompson ensured that Durham could not maintain the pace of their innings, deploying slower deliveries to remove Ben Raine and David Bedingham.Durham’s innings was in danger of petering out when Ferguson had skipper Cameron Bancroft caught behind for a scratchy 15. Impetus arrived in the form of Carse, who excelled with a variety of blistering strokes. He notched his maiden T20 fifty from 30 balls, striking Thompson over the rope, but the bowler had his revenge with his final delivery to claim his best figures in the format.The Vikings lost Adam Lyth in the second over of their reply, lifting his drive off Matty Potts into the grasp of Bancroft. Bairstow and Dawid Malan kept Yorkshire in line with the run rate during the Powerplay, but the latter departed two balls after restrictions were eased, losing his off stump to Liam Trevaskis.Tom Kohler-Cadmore threatened to spark the Yorkshire innings to life, smashing the ball onto the roof of the health club on the edge of the ground. His next attempt failed as Raine prised him out with his first delivery for 16. Bairstow remained composed, notching his first fifty of the campaign from 40 balls but Carse delivered for Durham to halt the Yorkshire momentum by taking his middle stump out of the ground.Brook offered brief hope for the visitors with a brisk 41, but his desperate late attempt to slog Potts resulted in being caught on the rope. Durham held their nerve at the death to close out their first win of the campaign.

Allrounder sets sights on England call-up after 54-ball ton

ECB Reporters Network09-Jul-2021Emma Lamb became the first batter to score a century in the Charlotte Edwards T20 Cup as Thunder defeated Sunrisers by 71 runs to register their second win in the new competition.Timing the ball well and frequently striking it with considerable power, Lamb reached her hundred off 54 balls and finished unbeaten on 111 off 61 balls having hit 11 fours and three sixes. Her hundred is only the fourth to have been scored in senior domestic women’s cricket.”I’m so happy,” Lamb said. “I haven’t scored a century for Thunder in T20, so that’s good obviously, but also scoring it at Emirates Old Trafford is amazing.”I don’t think it could have gone much better for me this season. There’s been a lot of hard work but some of it is up in your head and I’ve enjoyed working with the new coaches we have this season, Stephen Parry and Craig White. I’ve always got a little thought of England in my mind and I do want to play for England one day. I’ll just have to do well and see what happens.”Unsurprisingly Lamb’s innings was at the heart of her side’s total of 186 for 1 in 20 overs and that proved to be far too many for Sunrisers, who finished 115 all out in exactly 20 overs.Lamb put on 69 for the first wicket with Georgie Boyce before her opening partner departed for 36, caught at mid-off by Cordelia Griffith when driving Gayatri Gole. But that reverse only brought Ellie Threlkeld to the wicket with whom Lamb shared an unbroken stand of 117, Threlkeld finishing unbeaten on 26.Related

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The same bowler also had two catches dropped, including one off Lamb, who was put down by Kate Coppack at deep square leg when she had made 90. Gole finished the innings with 1 for 37 but the most impressive visiting bowler was Grace Scrivens who conceded just 22 runs from her four overs.Replying to what may have seemed a daunting target, the Sunrisers batters came out determined to play their shots but lost Naomi Dattani in the second over, brilliantly caught by Laura Marshall at deep square leg off Kate Cross, the Thunder skipper.Another fine catch, this time by wicketkeeper Threlkeld standing up to Laura Jackson, saw the end of Scrivens for seven and wickets fell steadily thereafter. Griffith made 34 and Amara Carr 25 but at no stage did Sunrisers look like overhauling Thunder’s total.Fine run-outs by Sophia Turner and Laura Marshall removed Griffith and Lissy McLeod as the visitors declined to 103 for 6 after 16 overs but inevitably, perhaps, Lamb could not be kept out of the action and the Thunder allrounder took three wickets and two catches in the latter stages of the game.She was even on a hat-trick in her final over but had to settle for figures of 3 for 16. Overseas player Piepa Cleary also bowled well, taking 2 for 20 as Thunder strolled home.

Australian to play primarily as a batter, and is expected to be with the club for the full season

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Aug-2021Matthew Wade has signed an all-format deal with Worcestershire for the 2022 season, with the club saying that the Australian would be used primarily as a top-five batter.Wade, whose experience in the English county circuit so far has been limited to an appearance with Birmingham Bears in the T20 Blast, said in a club statement that he was excited at the opportunity to “experience the challenge of a full season” of county cricket. And from the point of view of the county, signing Wade should be seen as a “sign of our intent”, cricket steering group chairman Paul Pridgeon said.Related

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Wade, the 33-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, is currently in Bangladesh, leading Australia in a five-T20I series as they look to finetune their personnel ahead of the T20 World Cup later in the year. “I’m really looking forward to joining up with what’s an exciting group of players at Worcestershire for next season,” he said. “I have always wanted to experience the challenge of a full season of county cricket, and I jumped at the opportunity to join Worcestershire as soon as it came about.”New Road is one of the world’s most recognisable cricket grounds, and I loved playing there as part of the Ashes tour in 2019. I can’t wait to get going.”Tasmanian Wade has so far played 36 Tests (1613 runs and 85 dismissals) as well as 97 ODIs (1867 runs and 117 dismissals) and 43 T20Is (613 runs and 25 dismissals), and is vastly experienced, having turned out in 156 first-class matches, 180 List A games and 144 T20s since starting his professional career in 2007.”We have signed him as a batter. He is a real hard-nosed batter in red-ball cricket and a dangerous striker in white-ball cricket,” Pridgeon said. “We think he will add a lot to our group and will be particularly helpful for the young players.”He is a real winner, he knows how to win, and we feel that will rub off on some of the young lads and be good for their development. Matthew has also got a lot of captaincy experience, which will undoubtedly come in helpful to the likes of Joe Leach, Ben Cox and Jake Libby and people like that.”Calling it “an old-fashioned overseas signing”, to mean that Wade wouldn’t just be slotting in for a few games and, instead, stay for the whole six months, Pridgeon said, “We have been conscious that we needed something at the top of the order to spark us. He gives us a lot in all three competitions, and it is a sign of our intent to try and to continue to improve.”He can bat anywhere in the top five. I want to stress that he is here as a batsman and to help to develop the younger players. It is something we felt we needed. It is great to get it done and dusted so early for next season.”Under the current schedule, Australia are due to tour Sri Lanka in the middle of next year but Wade lost his Test place after the series against India earlier this year.

Preparation is being disrupted by the weather and there are concerns around Covid-19, but the focus is on the Gabba

Andrew McGlashan30-Nov-2021He’s never played a first-class match, let alone a Test, in Australia and the final week of preparation leading into the opening game of the Ashes in Brisbane looks set to be disrupted by the weather, but Jos Buttler is determined to go into the series unburdened by things he can’t control.Buttler is part of the second group of England players who have now joined the full squad following their quarantine after the T20 World Cup but on leaving their Gold Coast camp for Brisbane they encountered torrential rain which wiped out the opening day of their final warm-up match.With the forecast poor, there is a real chance England may not get any proper middle time in the days ahead. The first intrasquad match last week had just 29 overs on the first day. Australia are in the same position with their three-game likely to be canned – and have also had to deal with the off-field drama around Tim Paine’s resignation – although some of their players have been playing in the Sheffield Shield over the last two months.Related

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Buttler did not play England’s most recent Test, against India at The Oval, due to paternity leave but had been due to regain his place for the Old Trafford match that was called off due to Covid-19 concerns. Overall it was a disjointed home season with no great Test reward for Buttler, who missed the New Zealand series due to the IPL and then made 72 runs in five innings against India, but he is ready to embrace the challenge in Australia.”I feel like I have nothing to lose, to be honest,” he said. “It’s sort of been disjointed, that [year] just gone. Some good form and some bad form and in the year before as well. It’s the first time I’m experiencing an Ashes series [in Australia] so I’m fully determined to enjoy all the challenges that throws up. I’m excited to experience it, the good the bad, and I’m sure the highs and lows along the way.”As a player at the minute I’m trying to bring a fearless approach and to truly try and embrace the opportunity. I know when I get to somewhere near my best that’s going to be pretty good.”Jos Buttler had a lean home series against India•AFP/Getty Images

Buttler has reasonably extensive experience playing in Australia although it has all been in the white-ball formats. He averages 38.71 from 18 ODIs, has played five T20Is and has had Big Bash stints with Melbourne Renegades and most recently Sydney Thunder.”Familiarity with some conditions is something I can dip into and hopefully not be surprised by,” he said. “But I think the challenge always as a player is to adapt to any conditions that are in front of you and adapt quickly. The practice, when you can practice, is incredibly important for that and your first five, 10 balls are vital as a player to understanding the conditions and playing accordingly. But certainly I will try to dip into that experience and I’m in my early 30s now so played quite a bit of cricket and hopefully know what to expect.”As ever in the current world there could be further complications thrown the way of the series. It remains to be seen whether Covid-19 protocols will need to be tightened following the emergence of the Omicron variant – with cases detected in arriving passengers in New South Wales – and the impact any potential changes to international border restrictions could have on families.Buttler was among the players to raise concerns about families not being able to join the tour but he said it was too early to be worrying about a scenario where they were unable to fly out.”It’s a hypothetical situation at the minute. Until we get told that something’s changed there’s no decision to make and it just adds to the unknown. So it’s things I don’t really need to worry about at the moment. If something like that happens I have to get the information and we can work through it and see how that looks.”

Laurie Evans top-scored for Perth Scorchers, but his momentum was halted after a Harry Conway yorker landed a painful blow on his toe

Tristan Lavalette14-Jan-2022Adelaide Strikers started their playoff push without Rashid Khan in impressive fashion after brushing aside a short-handed Perth Scorchers by six wickets at the Adelaide Oval. Veteran legspinner Fawad Ahmed filled the sizeable hole with three wickets to help restrict Scorchers to a lowly 9 for 127 before Strikers knocked off the target with 18 balls to spare.Fifth-placed Strikers moved back inside the playoff frame with 20 points, while Scorchers – who have 38 points – missed out on a chance to lock up top spot.The home team claimed the Jason Gillespie Trophy to cap the BBL’s inaugural First Nations Round, which honoured and celebrated Indigenous culture.Quick Matthew Kelly and opener Cameron Bancroft were late withdrawals for Scorchers after they returned positive PCR results for Covid-19, joining star batter Colin Munro who had also tested positive earlier in the week, while allrounder Ashton Agar didn’t play due to a shoulder injury. As part of the BBL’s rejigged scheduling amid Covid-19 chaos engulfing the tournament, the match started at 10.10am local time in just the second morning match in BBL history.Rashid-less Strikers dominate with the ball
It always loomed as a tough ask for Strikers without their spin ace Rashid Khan, but they started life without him rather brightly. With the Afghanistan spinner headed home, Strikers fortunately had the experienced Fawad to rely on, and he delivered in spades. The 39-year-old claimed the early wicket of Kurtis Patterson before being put under pressure by Ashton Turner and Laurie Evans.Under siege, a rattled Fawad bowled too short but he enjoyed returning in the backend with Turner in the pavilion, thus giving Strikers a firm stranglehold in the 15th over with the wickets of Evans and Jason Behrendorff, who was deceived by a gem of a wrong ‘un.The ageless Peter Siddle, who has had a stellar BBL as stand-in skipper, also starred with the wicket of opener Nick Hobson off his first ball and the important strike of an in-form Aaron Hardie, as Strikers tore through Scorchers’ weakened middle-order. Siddle’s strong leadership has galvanised Strikers, who now have belief after their third win from four matches.Laurie Evans counterattacked along with his captain Ashton Turner•Getty Images

Weakened Scorchers rue sloppy batting
Given the early start time, the players could have been forgiven for going through the motions with Scorchers meandering to 1 for 19 in the four-over powerplay after being sent in.But Turner and Evans then provided a much-needed spark and impressively counterattacked to flip the momentum. Turner, the in-form Scorchers captain, mixed beautiful drives with inventive strokes, including an audacious scoop shot for six off seamer Henry Thornton. But his 15-ball 28 whirlwind ended on the last ball before the drinks break when he holed out in a rash stroke, thus triggering a middle-order collapse.The burden fell on Evans, whose momentum was halted after a Harry Conway yorker hit him in the toe in a painful blow. He departed in the next over as Scorchers fell apart in a disappointing batting display where they rued sluggish strokes, none more so than the momentum-shifting dismissal of Turner.Debutant Cockbain shows maturity
This could have been a potentially tricky chase for Strikers, who have generally struggled with their batting this season. But hard-hitting opener Matt Short once again showed his liking for the four-over powerplay with an assault on Behrendorff in a fearless start for Strikers. But as is his bane, Short was unable to convert an attractive start, falling for 34 off 28 balls. Opener Henry Hunt departed first ball after the drinks break, followed by veteran Jonathan Wells, to leave Strikers at 3 for 91.But debutant Ian Cockbain held firm with a mature knock of 35* from 24 balls in another tonic for Strikers, who claimed consecutive wins for the first time this season.Scorchers’ depth being tested
An ailed Evans could not take his place behind the stumps after injuring the big toe on his left foot. But despite being short-handed, Scorchers still fancied their chances given their prowess at defending low totals. But they never were in the hunt with Behrendorff unusually wayward, and they clearly missed Kelly’s full-length mastery and so too Agar’s miserly left-arm spin. Scorchers used legspinner Peter Hatzoglou early, who looked dangerous during his spell but couldn’t crash through Strikers’ top order.Hardie, who has been emerging nicely as an allrounder, claimed a trio of wickets at the backend but it wasn’t enough for an under-manned Scorchers, who will be sweating on the availability of key players as they attempt to secure pole position for the playoffs.

Hosts recover from 3 for 12 as Head and Cameron Green continue impressive series

Valkerie Baynes14-Jan-2022An accomplished century from Travis Head wrested back control for Australia on an entertaining first day of the fifth and final Ashes Test, which was ultimately curtailed by rain.It must have felt like three steps forward, 224 back for England as Australia slumped to 3 for 12 inside the first 10 overs then recovered to 6 for 236 by the time Cameron Green fell shortly before steady drizzle halted play in the third session of the day-night fixture in Hobart.After a particularly fruitless day for Mark Wood, he employed short-ball tactics to finally prise out a dangerous-looking Green and offer some hope for the tourists. Green had played an excellent innings, unfurling some breath-taking cover drives en route to his 74, but it was Head – with whom he shared a 121-stand for the fifth wicket – who stole the show.Related

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Returning to the side after his Covid-enforced absence in Sydney, Head scored his second century of the series – this one off just 112 balls – before falling to the very next delivery, chipping Chris Woakes to Ollie Robinson at mid-on to fall for 101.Head screamed “No!” as the ball looped up off the bat for a soft dismissal to give England a much-needed breakthrough shortly before the tea break and, had he managed to stick around, Australia’s claims to have won the day would have been reinforced. As it happened, the hosts finished the day in a far better position than had seemed likely in the first 90 minutes or so.With England having won the toss on a green pitch providing movement off the seam early, Robinson returned after missing the drawn fourth Test at the SCG and cashed in. He had David Warner out for a 22-ball duck with a delivery that was just back of a length and just outside off to find a decent edge, taken by Zak Crawley at second slip.He could have had Marnus Labuschagne out a short time later, but Crawley spilled the chance diving across Joe Root from second slip. But Robinson struck again to dismiss Steven Smith for a rare Ashes duck, taken this time by Crawley to bookend the dismissal of Usman Khawaja, caught in the slips by Root off Stuart Broad for 6.But then Head and Labuschagne restored order for Australia as Wood came on for a brief but expensive spell, conceding 11 runs off one of this three overs and 15 off another. Head was particularly aggressive, moving from 4 off five deliveries at the drinks break to 26 off 20. Labuschagne chimed in with a belligerent clip off Woakes over midwicket for a one-bounce four to move into the 40s.Stuart Broad bowled Marnus Labuschagne around his legs•Getty Images

The pair put on 71 runs together before Labuschagne fell in comical fashion, tangled up by a full, straight Broad delivery round his legs and toppling face-first to the ground as the ball clattered into his stumps to be out for 44. That made it 4 for 83 for Australia and provided endless amusing memes, even for the hosts, who also saw the funny side if the smiles and giggles from the dressing room was anything to go by.Labuschagne’s dismissal spurred Head to press on with their counterattack. He was already travelling at a good clip and brought up his fifty from 53 balls, punishing a Woakes short ball outside leg stump with a deft flick to the fine leg boundary. Two balls later, Head pummelled Woakes wide of mid-off for another four.With the Bellerive Oval pitch known to flatten out quite quickly, England’s bowlers were always going to have to nail their lines and lengths after a relatively brief period of assistance. Instead, they struggled.Wood and Woakes conceded 112 runs in 20 overs between them up to the tea break for just one wicket – that of Head, who had looked slightly nervous on 99 when he lofted the ball over a leaping Woakes’ outstretched hand to safe ground just in front of Robinson two balls before bringing up his century on the next ball, working into the off side for two.Compounding the tourists’ decision to rest swing-bowling maestro James Anderson, Root was forced to bowl 10 overs in the first two sessions on a green top when Robinson had to leave the field with stiffness in his lower back. Robinson bowled just one over in the middle session in which Australia scored 130 runs for the loss of one wicket from 28 overs and he remained out of the attack.Green was fantastic, making it back-to-back fifties after matching his score in the second innings in Sydney. But when he fell, it came down to Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc to dig in before what started as faint drizzle set in.

Australian allrounder returns for seventh season at Trent Bridge

Matt Roller15-Feb-2022Dan Christian will return to Nottinghamshire for a seventh season in 2022 after re-signing as the club’s T20 Blast captain.Christian, who will turn 39 before flying to the UK at the end of May, is among of the world’s most decorated T20 cricketers and a three-time Blast winner. He spent six consecutive seasons at Notts between 2015 and 2020, captaining them to the title in 2017 and 2020 to add to his triumph with Hampshire in 2010.He was due to play a seventh consecutive season for them in 2021 and played two second XI T20 games as a warm-up for the Blast after arriving in Nottingham, but a shock recall to Australia’s T20I set-up saw him miss the full season, instead playing on their tours against West Indies and Bangladesh.In Christian’s absence, Dane Paterson – only an occasional feature of the T20 side – was Notts’ only overseas player but they finished top of the North Group at a canter under Steven Mullaney’s captaincy. They looked set for Finals Day at 66 for 1 chasing 126 against Hampshire in the quarter-finals, but somehow collapsed to 123 all out.”It was great to see other players step up with bat and ball in Dan’s absence last season, and the team was really well led by Steven Mullaney,” Peter Moores, Notts’ head coach, said. “To now have the chance to re-add a player of Dan’s presence and quality to that group is exciting and, come the start of the Blast in late-May, we’ll be raring to go and confident of a successful campaign.”Dan’s ability, desire and passion have made him a key part of our club since his arrival in 2015, and we can’t wait to have him back with us. He’s a match-winner in his own right, and a terrific leader and example to everyone in our dressing room.”Christian said: “I’ve had great times in Nottingham over a number of years. We’ve seen some great improvements in individuals throughout that time, won a couple of comps, and Notts is a club that’s overall fantastic to be part of.”It’s really exciting to be returning to a place where I’ve made so many great memories on and off the field, and I’m looking forward to playing in front of packed houses at Trent Bridge again too. My philosophy will remain the same for 2022 – to back our ability and be positive. The ultimate aim is to get our hands back on that trophy in July.”Christian is Notts’ third overseas player registered for the 2022 season, along with Paterson and his compatriot James Pattinson. Teams are allowed to register three overseas players at any one time, with a maximum of two in their starting XI in any given competition.

“What we need to do is be in that collective in each game, be consistent”

Valkerie Baynes03-Mar-2022Stafanie Taylor has called on West Indies to adapt their style if they are to convert their big-tournament T20 record into 50-over World Cup success.West Indies lost to South Africa by 96 runs and six wickets after winning the Super Over in their tied second match of the ODI series immediately before travelling to New Zealand. They also suffered heavy defeats in both their warm-up matches, losing by 90 runs to Australia and 81 runs to India. On both occasions, West Indies never really threatened to pass the 200-mark with the bat and that was an area Taylor wanted her side to address in the lead-up to the opening match of the tournament against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui on Friday.”We had our meeting and we said that to be competitive we have to be scoring over two hundred runs,” Taylor said. “In the two games that we played we didn’t do so. So that’s something that we’ve had a look at and, moving forward, that’s something that we need to work at.”Related

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West Indies won the T20 World Cup in 2016 but have only once featured in a 50-over World Cup final, losing to Australia in 2013. Taylor said that while some players found T20 cricket more enjoyable, it was crucial for the West Indies line-up to alter the tempo and dig in during the longer format.”When it comes down to the longer format, we just need to spend more time out there in the middle,” Taylor added. “That’s an area that we’ve been falling down a lot in, rotating the strike and try to build more partnerships. We haven’t been building a lot of partnerships so hence the reason why we keep falling down in that department.”Among the positives for West Indies’ preparations, Shemaine Campbell and Hayley Matthews played measured innings for 63 and 44 respectively against India, while Taylor posted a similarly considered half-century against Australia. During the series in South Africa, West Indies had a number of contributors with the bat, including Kycia Knight, Deandra Dottin, Matthews, Chedean Nation and Chinelle Henry. Prior to that, they swept Pakistan 3-0 in Karachi.”The other batters are starting to contribute,” Taylor said. “What we need to do is be in that collective in each game, be consistent. That’s something that I’ve talked about a lot, being consistent, not just one or two batters always performing and probably looking at how teams are playing, a lot more fifties, batters stepping up and taking that responsibility. As batters we have to do that more consistently.”New Zealand, meanwhile, are hitting peak form at the right time, following their 4-1 ODI series victory over India with a nine-wicket win against favourites Australia in a warm-up earlier this week. They were beaten by Pakistan in their other warm-up fixture. New Zealand’s top three of Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr are in excellent touch, with Kerr scoring 353 runs at an average of 117.66 in the series against India.But Taylor said that whether the White Ferns would carry any added pressure into their match as tournament hosts was irrelevant.”We don’t talk about if they’re under pressure,” she said. “I think that’s for them. We try to zone in on us and what we need to do to perform well.”

The two spinners have opened the bowling for the second time in the ongoing series, and been among the wickets too

Firdose Moonda10-Apr-2022With the new ball “ragging”, as Sarel Erwee put it, Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer can continue to stake a claim for playing together as a spin duo in the future. The two opened the bowling in the second innings of the Gqeberha Test against Bangladesh, as they had in the first Test, and have already dismissed the top three and could be eyeing a repeat of their performance in Durban, where they took all ten second-innings wickets to bowl South Africa to victory.Theirs is an unusual combination – Kingsmead was the first time since 1970 that South Africa had played two spinners in a home Test – but given their skills, could be something that South Africa make use of more often, as they move away from their heavy reliance on pace. On slower, late-summer pitches, South Africa have altered their strategy completely, to the point where they planned the declaration around how best to use the spinners.Related

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After deciding to set Bangladesh a minimum target of 400, Dean Elgar declared with half-an-hour left to play in the day, knowing that in fading light with the ball turning, things would not be easy for Bangladesh. “As an opener, It makes your heart flutter a little bit [to see spinners with the new-ball],” Erwee said. “It’s not a nice period, that twilight period. And we’ve got two world-class spinners, so it makes it even worse to go and face them.”Maharaj took the first wicket with a ball that turned away from Mahmudul Hasan Joy and took the edge, and then got Najmul Hossain Shanto with one that didn’t turn as much. After that, Harmer got one to spin and take Tamim Iqbal’s edge. The indecision they created in the Bangladesh batters’ minds underscored their vast experience and ability to build and maintain pressure, which appears to be rubbing off on each other.”They’ve played a lot of cricket for a lot of years so they know their craft through and through,” Erwee said. “They’ve got different variations, they bowl at different speeds and they’ve bowled in different conditions around the world.”South Africa’s next Test assignment is in England, where Harmer has enjoyed many seasons of county success and Maharaj has also had goot times. It would seem a no-brainer not only to include them both in the touring party but to even play them in the XI, and their performance in Gqeberha may well be on the selectors’ minds.At the other end of the South African scorecard, in the batting department, another kind of solid partnership is taking shape, with Erwee and Elgar putting up impressive early numbers. In eight innings together, the pair has posted two century and two fifty-plus stands and average 49.62, a vast improvement on the 31.48 that Elgar and Aiden Markram shared. Erwee put their success down to their friendship off the field and their familiarity with each other’s games.”We share a good relationship off the field so you get to know each other and what makes each other tick,” Erwee said. “Taking that off field relationship onto the field makes you understand your partner a little bit better.”But does he think, with one hundred and two scores in the 40s, he has done enough to lay claim to the spot in the medium term? “I’ve got to put up some bigger scores on the board to help myself,” Erwee said.Erwee won’t have any more domestic cricket to do that this season, but he has probably done enough to merit being included in the squad this winter and continue to challenge Markram for the long-term role.