Peter Handscomb, Chris Tremain and Peter Siddle have also been included in the 14-man squad to face India

Daniel Brettig22-Nov-2018Marcus Harris, the Victoria opening batsman, has been rewarded for consistency over several seasons by vaulting into Australia’s 14-man Test squad for the first two Tests against India, while Peter Handscomb has also been recalled after a winter’s technical work as part of a team seeking to overcome the absence of the banned Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.The inclusion of Harris comes after consecutive seasons in which he has tallied 1,514 runs at 42.05 and followed up with 437 at 87.40 in four Sheffield Shield rounds this season, including an unbeaten 250 against New South Wales. His selection sends a strong message about the sort of sustained performances the coach Justin Langer is seeking, while also opening up the question of Australia’s opening combination.

Australia squad

Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Chris Tremain, Peter Siddle, Peter Handscomb

Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja formed a successful union in the Tests against Pakistan in the UAE, before the latter fell prey to a knee injury he has only just recovered from in time for the final Sheffield Shield round. While praising Harris, Langer said he was still pondering how to array the batting order in Adelaide.”I really like the synergy of Finch and Khawaja in the UAE. Like a lot of opening partners a bit of an odd couple about them, and often really good partnerships are like that,” Langer said in Melbourne. “You think about [Chris] Rogers and [David] Warner, [Gordon] Greenidge and [Desmond] Haynes… they’re very different and I just like that synergy and a good relationship. Uzzy’s very chilled out, Finchy is a bit more combative, they have a nice feel about that partnership.”There’s a lot of talk about Finch can’t open in Australia and all that sort of stuff, I’m not sure about that. He’s opened all through [with the] white ball, did a really good job in the UAE, conditions might be a bit different, we’re not playing at the Gabba or the WACA either. That’s one of the things we’re mulling over at the moment, the perfect combination, we also respect that the Indians have got really good spin bowlers, we’ve got five left-handers in that seven at the moment potentially. All those things we’re going to play around with and make sure we get the best combination we can.”Despite his strong words about Finch at the top of the order, Langer insisted he would allow Victoria to make their own call about where he batted in the Shield match between Victoria and Queensland in Brisbane from Tuesday. This means Harris will likely be accompanied by his usual partner Travis Dean at the top, with Finch slotting in further down.”Marcus Harris has forced his way into the squad after an impressive start to the Sheffield Shield campaign for Victoria, and in recent times has performed in high-pressure matches, including Sheffield Shield finals,” the national selector Trevor Hohns said. “Not only has he made plenty of runs, he’s displayed the mental application we believe is required to compete at Test cricket.”When he made the move from Western Australia to Victoria, Harris was farewelled with some curious comments by the then Warriors coach Langer, who referred to him as “mediocre with flashes of brilliance”, while adding that “our system isn’t for everyone”. However he has always maintained that his relationship with Langer remained strong, and on the day of his call-up received a message from the coach with the cheekily affectionate words “welcome to the brotherhood you little bastard”.His call-up also leaves the left-hand opener Matt Renshaw on the sidelines once more, after he was left out of the Test team in the UAE. Marnus Labuschagne has also been dropped, but Travis Head retains his place. A late run by the Tasmanian Matthew Wade, now a specialist batsman alongside the Test captain and wicketkeeper Tim Paine, was not enough to win inclusion.”Marnus Labuschagne played the last two Tests and looked really good at times, and there was talk about his legspin bowling as well. They’re all unlucky, but you can only fit 14 into the squad,” Langer said. “But you’ve got to reward performance and they’d be the first to say… Matthew Renshaw I think has got huge potential, but he hasn’t got the runs on the board at the moment.”Marnus, the same, he’s come back and his numbers aren’t great for the first four Shield games, so he’ll be disappointed because no one works harder than he does. And Matthew Wade, we all know he’s a fantastic competitor, a really good competitor, doing well, but you can’t fit them all in.”Looking over the remainder of the batting order, Langer declared that Head would “100%” play in the middle order in Adelaide, and also defended the retention of Mitchell Marsh – a poor tour of the UAE was followed by strong Shield displays from him. “Mitch Marsh is an incredibly talented player, I don’t get some of the criticism of him and his brother,” Langer said. “Test cricket’s a very tough school, and I think sometimes people forget how tough Test cricket is.”Handscomb, who has worked extensively with the former Test opener Chris Rogers on his movement at the batting crease, is the extra batsman in the squad, nominally as cover for Khawaja, who will return from a knee injury in Queensland’s final Shield game before the Test. “We’ve been really impressed with the way Usman Khawaja has applied himself through his rehabilitation and he’s left no stone unturned in his bid to return in Adelaide,” Hohns said. “Barring any setbacks, all the signs are indicating he will be available for the first Test. We saw how well he performed against Pakistan in the UAE, and we hope he can recapture that form over the summer.”A vast collection of fast bowlers has been assembled, with Chris Tremain, uncapped at Test level, and Peter Siddle standing in reserve behind the frontline trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Hohns added that the 14-man squad will be cut to 12 names before each of the first two Tests with the next round of Sheffield Shield matches acting as a mini Test-trial for those aiming to further their case.”We will select a final team of 12 prior to each Test, and the two remaining squad members will be released to get important match time in the Sheffield Shield. We believe all players chosen deserve their selection in the squad, and we’re confident given the opportunity all will apply themselves well against India.””With another round of Sheffield Shield matches to play, players have the chance to strengthen their cases for selection before we finalise the 12 in the lead up to the first Test.”None of the frontline pace trio of Cummins, Hazlewood are Starc are expected to make the trip to Perth for their state New South Wales’ final Shield fixture before the Adelaide Test, with back-to-back matches against India expected to stretch their endurance. “There’s no concern for Mitch, Pat and Josh,” Langer said. “They’ll be ready to go.”

The pair put on their second double-century opening stand of the season, leaving the Blues just 157 runs behind in the first innings with 10 wickets in hand

The Report by Alex Malcolm08-Dec-2018The second double-century opening stand of the season from New South Wales pair Daniel Hughes and Nick Larkin dragged the Blues back into the game against South Australia at the SCG.Just three weeks after piling up a 251-run stand against Queensland in Canberra, the pair again made twin hundreds to leave the Blues just 157 runs behind in the first innings with 10 wickets in hand.Both men showed extreme patience. Larkin struck just four fours and two sixes in his third first-class century. Hughes absorbed 254 balls for his 105 not-out and only found the boundary seven times, in his fifth first-class century.The Redbacks cycled through seven bowlers without making the breakthrough.Earlier, Alex Carey made his second Sheffield Shield century. He finished 110 not-out as the Redbacks were bowled out for 380. Tom Cooper wasn’t able to make his third hundred of the Shield season falling for 89 early in the morning. He was caught brilliantly down the leg side by Peter Nevill from a regulation leg glance.Carey didn’t get much support from the Redbacks tail but they hung around long enough for him to reach his century with a powerful strike down the ground off Steve O’Keefe. Blues debutant Greg West finished with 3 for 88.

He also said India’s 250 for 9 is a good total on a pitch that was two-paced and was a lot more difficult to bat on that is apparent on tv

Sidharth Monga in Adelaide06-Dec-20182:15

Top-order should have batted better – Pujara

After playing “one of my top five innings” in Test cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara feels he has taken India to a decent total mainly because the pitch in Adelaide is difficult to bat on. It is one of those that doesn’t look difficult on television because there isn’t exaggerated movement, but it was two-paced, which made stroke-making difficult.”I would say it is a decent total because there is enough turn,” Pujara said of India’s 250 for 9. “Ashwin will also come into play. Sometimes when you are seeing it on TV, it doesn’t look like it is doing a lot but when I batted in the first and second sessions, I felt it wasn’t easy to bat on. I will share my experience of what line and length to bowl on this pitch with our fast bowlers.”It is the grass. The odd ball is skidding on, and the odd ball is holding a bit more from the grass. I would say it is kind of a two-paced pitch, not easy to bat on.”Having made 123 off 246 balls, Pujara said it took him two sessions to figure out what shots he can play on such a surface. That is perhaps why he would have liked a little more application from the other batsmen. “To be honest, we should have batted better but they also bowled well in the first two sessions and I knew that I had to stay patient and wait for the loose balls,” Pujara said. “They bowled in the right areas. I also felt that our top order should have batted better, but they will learn from the mistakes and put up a better show in the second innings.”The batsmen were there to show their gratitude, though. “It is one of my top innings in Test cricket, I could say top five,” Pujara said. “The way the team-mates appreciated it, they were saying it was one of the best.”Pujara had to struggle with a hamstring niggle as he accelerated with the tail for company, but it was a case of mind over matter in the end. “It was tough but I was set and I knew I could play my shots, especially when we lost the seventh wicket,” Pujara said. “Myself and Ash were having a good partnership but once we lost Ash, I thought I had to accelerate. I knew what shots I could play on that wicket because I had batted for two sessions, and I think it was tough it was considering the weather. It was quite hot, we are used to it in India but still…”The hamstring will be assessed overnight. “My leg got stuck into the pitch, and when I was trying to go for the second run, I had a little bit of a pull in my hamstring but I am going to consult the physio now,” Pujara said. “Hopefully it is not too bad.”He was run out off the last ball of the day and though it has been a problem in Pujara’s career, you can’t blame him this time. He had to take the risk in order to manipulate the strike, he had a dodgy hamstring, and he was also undone by a sensational piece of fielding from Pat Cummings. Still, if India’s bowlers and batsmen can follow Pujara’s lead on the coming days, he might have played one of the most significant knocks for India.

The board made the announcement on Tuesday with the man himself hoping to return to international cricket in March

Umar Farooq05-Feb-2019Sarfaraz Ahmed may have recently served out an ICC-imposed ban, but the PCB stated in emphatic terms that he will be captain when Pakistan play the World Cup in May 2019.The 31-year old was suspended for four matches over some of his on-field remarks against South Africa in January but the the PCB remained firmly on his side even as the episode unfolded. Its president Ehsan Mani even said, “Somewhere common sense was overruled by bureaucratic process.”Now, the board has made a fresh show of its support by naming him captain for the 2019 World Cup three months before the event.”Sarfaraz has been an integral part of the Pakistan’s World Cup preparations. He has proved to be a good strategist, leader and performer,” Mani said on Tuesday. “He led Pakistan to the Champions Trophy 2017 title as well as to top of the ICC T20I rankings.”Mani also confirmed that Sarfaraz’s position as captain will only be re-evaluated after the World Cup.”There were a lot of speculations around captaincy in media but I can confirm that he is our captain and he will remain for the upcoming series against Australia until World Cup,” Mani said. “I had no doubt about it but it’s unfortunate the uncertainty is making rounds over and over in media. We are not concerned at all about what is being discussed around.”So nobody should doubt him as captain. He is captain and will remain captain until next decision is taken. Yes, questions have been raised about the performances but in a bigger picture results have been good so far. I spoke to selectors, coaches, director operations and the entire board is behind him.”Mani, formerly the ICC chairman, recalled Sarfaraz’s captaincy during the Under-19 World Cup in 2006. “I first met Sarfaraz 13 years ago during ICC Under-19 World Cup in Colombo and his leadership quality was great,” Mani said. “Pakistan believed to have lost that game after scoring 109 against India but the way Sarfaraz led the side and got India out for 71 runs was outstanding. I couldn’t forgot that match and even wrote a letter to the then-chairman Shahryar Khan praising Sarfaraz’s leadership. There is no doubt at all in Sarafarz’s contribution to Pakistan. He has led at from Under-19 to Karachi, for PIA and then Pakistan.”Pakistan are scheduled to play 10 ODIs ahead of World Cup in May – five against Australia in UAE in March followed by five against England.Sarfaraz, who is currently preparing for the Pakistan Super League in February, said that Mani’s support has lifted his spirits. “I thank PCB for trusting me,” Sarfaraz said. “This support has always been there and I’m thankful for the reassurance. It is a big honour for me to lead Pakistan at World Cup and stand among those who did in past people like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq.””Pressure is always there during captaincy. But with the chairman and board’s support I feel motivated more than ever. I now would like to transfer the same to the team for the upcoming Australia series and World Cup.”

Madhya Pradesh wrapped up the chase in a single over – after they were gifted five wides

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2019Nine all out. And nine ducks. Mizoram had a day to forget in the Senior Women’s T20 league in India, but at least it was short. Only 14.5 overs of a possible 40 were needed to decide the result as Madhya Pradesh won the game with ease. In fact, more than half their target – much as the target itself – was gifted to them, in the form of five wides.Tarang Jha had a day to remember though. The new-ball bowler for Madhya Pradesh bowled 24 deliveries – 23 of them were dots – and picked up four wickets. On the back of her efforts, Mizoram were 2 for 5 in the fifth over. Apurwa Bhardwaj, batting at No. 5, made six runs off 25 deliveries, striking the only boundary of the innings. But then again, she was the bowler who gave away the five wides in the chase. In all, MP needed just six deliveries to wrap up the chase.Earlier this year, in a T20 international, China slumped to 14 all out against UAE, recording the lowest score in women’s T20Is.

Arthur has been a major proponent of changes in the fitness standards of international cricketers in Pakistan since his appointment in 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2019Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said suffering a clean sweep at home against Australia “hurts us incredibly”. Addressing a press conference after the team returned home from Dubai – having lost all five ODIs – Arthur pointed to the number of players Pakistan had decided to rest, but conceded the side’s fielding and fitness fell well below the standards required over the five games.”I think on this tour, our fitness standards and our fielding were not where they needed to be,” Arthur said. “That’s understandable when you see the likes of young Abid Ali, Hasnain, and guys like that hadn’t been in our setup before. Those that had been in our setup for a long period of time, who know what the standards are, are aware we will never ever compromise on fitness.”All our key players are fit enough going into the World Cup. It’s our strength players, those that sit just under our setup that is worrying. How we pull those guys up to the level required is going to rest on themselves and on the structure to give them that education to make sure when they step up into our side, they are ready to perform on the level we expect.”Pakistan’s ODI form has been a worry over the past 15 months, with the team having lost ODI series against New Zealand, South Africa and Australia in addition to a dismal Asia Cup outing in September 2018. Arthur, however, cautioned against panicking weeks out from the World Cup, pointing out Pakistan still had plenty of games to play before the tournament began.”This series was an opportunity to rest our key players ahead of what is a very demanding schedule leading up to the World Cup,” Arthur said. “We’ve got 11 fully fledged games of cricket from the beginning of May until our first World Cup game. That includes three games against counties, five ODIs against England and then two warm-up games for the World Cup.”So we viewed this tour of an opportunity to look at a final few places. Inzi and I had a look at the final places that we were looking to secure. We looked at the areas we wanted players. We wanted to give our next tear of players an opportunity to play at the highest level, to see what they can do. You’re only good as your bench strength, so for us, our bench strength is incredibly important.”Abid Ali scored 112 – his debut hundred – and Mohammad Rizwan made 104, but it wasn’t enough to chase down Australia’s total of 277•Getty Images

Arthur also pointed out that Pakistan could come away from the series with some positives, especially in the batting department. “Five hundreds across the series was the impressive thing. The fact that I think we’ve certainly found a batsman [Abid Ali], we’ve found a young quick bowler that’s going to serve Pakistan well for the years to come [Mohammad Hasnain] and probably sorted our fast bowling leading into the World Cup. From that point of view, we saw a lot of positive things. Quite a few negatives as well and those need to get sorted out and sorted out quickly.”Arthur was more reserved about what conclusions he had reached with respect to Pakistan’s World Cup squad, keeping his cards close to his chest, but did say he was on the same page with chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq.”We’ll meet this afternoon. We’ve got individual plans for every one of our players,” Arthur said. “Those individual plans will evolve into the England tour, especially for the guys that we want to take [to the World Cup]. Inzi, myself and selectors will sit down in the next couple of days and start our final work towards that World Cup squad. We’ll have fitness testing around April 14 and 15, and we’ll work back on individual planning again today.”He also had time to single out Mohammad Rizwan for praise. Until January, Rizwan had not played an international for Pakistan for over two years, firmly a back-up to the ever-present Sarfaraz Ahmed. Now, he has played 10 internationals for the country on the bounce, and was one of the standout batsmen on tour, scoring two hundreds and finishing as the second-highest scorer for Pakistan this series. But Arthur also made it clear Pakistan were in no way vacillating over the wicketkeeping position.”We know Saify [Sarfaraz] is our captain and our first choice wicketkeeper. And he’s going to lead us into the World Cup.”

Focus on missing England star overshadows another crushing win in the North Group

David Hopps23-Apr-2019Nottinghamshire confidently expect Alex Hales to join up as planned for England’s three-day training camp in Cardiff this weekend, despite being given an indefinite break from cricket for undisclosed personal reasons. That is the most optimistic outlook for a player who has lost his footing as he approaches the biggest hurdle of his professional life.Hales’ state of mind dominated the agenda even as Nottinghamshire racked up a thumping 118-run victory over Warwickshire in the Royal London Cup, a campaign in which he is now certain to play no part, as he concentrates instead on getting body and soul together before England embark upon a huge summer which includes a home World Cup and an Ashes series.Nottinghamshire’s view of Hales’ absence appears to be one of philosophical acceptance that everything must be done to get him in the right physical and mental shape for England’s World Cup campaign. He is viewed as England’s stand-by World Cup batsman, but a back spasm for Jason Roy at The Kia Oval on Tuesday has emphasised how he could be required to step into the playing XI at any moment.Hales, who is on a white-ball only contract with Notts, had initially seen the start of their 50-over campaign as a chance to impress on England that he was in mint form ahead of the biggest tournament of his career, but such ambitions have had to be shelved to address pressing personal issues.Only three weeks ago, at a Chance to Shine promotion in Loughborough, he had cut a figure of maturity as he concluded: “Luckily I get four games in for Notts. That will be a good chance to get some runs on the board and feel in good form. We are so lucky to have Peter Moores in charge. For me he is one of the best coaches in the world. To be around his knowledge and enthusiasm is ideal.”Such plans have gone badly awry: he has yet to strike a ball in anger. “Don’t copy Hales” sounds like a Trent Bridge guide for life.Gifted and destructive, and capable of walking into many one-day batting sides in the world, he can hardly afford another mis-step in his career after being banned earlier this year for six white-ball games, four of them suspended, and fined £17,500 by the ECB for his part in the brawl in Bristol that left Ben Stokes facing criminal charges.Notts are certainly managing well enough without him; what remains to be seen as England embark upon their summer is how well he will manage without Notts. They steamrollered Warwickshire at Edgbaston, a third consecutive win which takes them top of North Group.Ben Slater, admittedly unfortunate to be overshadowed by his more illustrious opening partner even in his absence, made 100 from 115 balls on a dry, slightly awkward, surface. It was his fifth century in List A cricket, the format in which he made most impression at his previous county, Derbyshire.Slater also slips under the radar when compared to Notts’ other recent batting signings. Joe Clarke again oozed class in making 39 in an opening stand of 81 in 11.3 overs. Ben Duckett, who malfunctioned on the pull, is more quirky. Both were victims of George Panayi, a strongly-built seamer and former Shrewsbury School captain, But Slater played securely on a pitch where many struggled until Jeetan Patel found substantial turn to strike his off stump.Patel, so often Warwickshire’s saviour, finished with five wickets, but from 207 for 7, a robust eighth-wicket stand of 50 in six overs between Luke Fletcher and James Pattinson swung the match Nottinghamshire’s way.At halfway, with 301 for 9 racked up, Warwickshire already felt out of the match. The loss of four wickets in the first 6.1 overs ensured more soul-searching for a county that lost its previous match, against Northants at Wantage Road, by 194 runs, their heaviest List A defeat. Paul Farbrace, Warwickshire’s new sport director, said he wanted to take himself out of his comfort zone when he relinquished a World Cup as England’s assistant coach, and he appears to have his work cut out.Once Ed Pollock had succumbed to off-spin – Matthew Carter, who opened the bowling for that purpose, had him lbw for nought to a straight ball – some pointedly on-the-mark new-ball bowling from Pattinson and Fletcher caused a speedy decline. Dom Sibley, Sam Hain and Tim Ambrose all fell to balls of insistent length, Fletcher causing Sibley to play on, Pattinson having Hain caught at the wicket before bringing one back to bowl Ambrose first ball.From 69 for 6, two young professionals responded with spirit, Liam Banks and Alex Thomson both making half-centuries at roughly a run a ball. But Fletcher had the last word, fittingly so, had the last word by trapping Patel lbw, a straightforward and resolute professional completing a fine match.

Fans asking him to hit sixes still spurs him on, says the West Indies opening batsman

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2019Chris Gayle believes opponents are still scared of him, but the 39-year-old West Indian opening batsman admits that it’s no longer as easy playing against youngsters as it used to be.Gayle, who is set to play his fifth – and last – World Cup, has been a part of the tournament each time it has been held since his ODI debut in September 1999.”Youngsters coming at my head – it’s not as easy as it was like one time before,” Gayle told on the eve of West Indies’ unofficial warm-up match against Australia. “I was quicker then. But they’ll be wary. They know what the Universe Boss is capable of. I’m sure they will have it in the back of their mind, ‘Hey, this is the most dangerous batsman they’ve ever seen in cricket’.”Go ask them on camera. They’re going to say, no, they’re not scared. But you ask them off the camera, they going to say, ‘Yeah, he’s the man. He’s the man’. They’re going to say, ‘he’s the man’.”But I’m enjoying it. I’m always enjoying the battle against fast bowlers, it’s good. Sometimes those things actually give you extra drive as a batter. When you have a battle, I like those challenges.”Gayle hinted at ‘unretirement’ just ten days after he had announced his retirement following his strong form in the home series against England earlier this year. He had blasted 424 runs at an average of 106, including 39 sixes, in four matches and also brought up his second-highest ODI score, on the way to leading West Indies to their highest total in the format.Prior to that, he had not played an ODI for 30 months after West Indies’ quarter-final exit from the 2015 World Cup, and while it seemed like his ODI career was heading towards an end, he returned to the West Indies squad in September 2017 ahead of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. With qualification sealed, he featured regularly in the format and has been in great form since then, making 930 runs in 19 innings. He is also by far the most experienced player in West Indies’ World Cup squad, and has 10,151 runs from 289 ODIs.He believes that it’s his passion and that of his fans that has been driving him to deliver.”It’s the love for the game,” he said at a press interaction. “But sometimes sportsmen don’t know when to walk away. You might think you’re still at your peak but eventually, you have to leave the game at some point. But enjoying is important. I’m enjoying it and having fun. Especially with a great group of guys.”All this is going to play a key part for me as an individual. These guys spur you on and the fans are always asking you for sixes and those sort of things give you the extra drive. There’s nothing to go and prove.”Coming off a decent form in the IPL, where he made 490 runs in 13 matches for Kings XI Punjab, Gayle stressed on the importance of game-time and a positive mindset ahead of the big tournament.”I am still in good nick,” he said. “I had a not-so-bad IPL, coming after the home series against England. The good thing about it is I’ve been playing cricket. It’s important for me to keep playing and get some games under my belt and come here to the UK and start with a few warm-up games to see where you are at.”It’s a long tournament. For me, personally, I just have to monitor it as much as possible and just get the mindset right.”

A second shoulder injury has not responded to treatment and has ruled him out of bowling for the foreseeable future

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Southampton04-Jun-2019South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the World Cup with a shoulder injury, less than 24 hours before the team’s clash against India on Wednesday. Left-arm quick Beuran Hendricks has been approved as his replacement by the ICC’s Event Technical Committee of the World Cup.Steyn had missed South Africa’s first two games, against England and Bangladesh, after suffering a second shoulder injury which “has not responded to treatment and has ruled him out of bowling for the foreseeable future,” according to a CSA release. The injury had also cut short his IPL campaign with Royal Challengers Bangalore.Although South Africa were hopeful Steyn could be fit for Wednesday’s game against India – even having him bowl briefly at training on Monday – a decision was made on Tuesday that his recovery was not going quickly enough. Steyn had warmed up and played football with the squad on Tuesday, but did not bowl at training.”Dale has tried really hard – really hard – to try and get back into the team,” South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said of Steyn’s long streak of injuries. “It’s been a tough two years, and we’ve got to be strong for him. He’s going to need a bit of love. He tried unbelievably hard to get fit for this campaign, which would have been his last World Cup. We’ve got to be there for him now.”Unfortunately, it happened there in the IPL in those two games that he played there. If he didn’t get picked up to go to the IPL, who knows where Dale would have been right now.”Steyn had played two games in the IPL in April and bowled eight overs in all before he was ruled out of the T20 league with a right shoulder injury that has troubled him for long now.The news is a serious blow to South Africa, whose campaign has also been hit by injuries to two other fast bowlers. Anrich Nortje, who had originally been part of the World Cup squad, was ruled out of the tournament with a fractured thumb in the week before South Africa departed to the UK. Lungi Ngidi has also since picked up a hamstring strain, which is likely to keep him out of the next few South Africa matches. Vernon Philander is unavailable due to injury as well.The injury to Steyn has left the squad with only four functioning fast bowlers for the India match: Kagiso Rabada, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius and Chris Morris. Batsman Hashim Amla had also missed the previous game after being struck in the helmet in the tournament opener, but is now cleared to play on Wednesday.The ICC generally does not allow teams to replace players who came into the tournament with injuries, as Steyn had. However, South Africa’s doctor Mohammed Moosajee explained that the injury that has now ruled Steyn out is different from the shoulder injury he had had when he arrived in England.Steyn will now return to South Africa and work with a rehab team before any decision is made on the future of his career. He had said in February that he had no plans to retire from Test cricket, despite the injuries to his right shoulder – in addition to other serious ailments – having frustrated Steyn’s career all the way back since 2015. He had first broken his shoulder at home, ahead of a New Year Test in Cape Town, before suffering a much more serious break in the same shoulder towards the end of 2016. A serious heel injury followed, before hamstring strains ailed him as well.Hendricks has played only two ODIs, the most recent of which came in January. He has only taken one wicket across those two games, but has had more success in 10 T20 internationals, in which he has claimed 18 wickets.

New Zealand should get into the final four even with a loss to England, but that would make them the only team without a win against the other semi-finalists

Sambit Bal at Chester-le-Street02-Jul-2019Only one team win the match tomorrow, and that’s not New Zealand. But losing to England would mean that the World Cup’s perennial bridesmaids go to the semi-finals – and they will, barring a freakish turn of results – as the only team without a win against any of their co-passengers. The draw and the weather – rain washed out their match against India – ensured a smoother early ride for them but, having nearly booked their final-four berth, they have hit the kind of bumps which can be, even at the best of times, confidence jarring.The phrase ‘being in charge of your own fate’ has been used often in the back end of this tournament, which opened with one unanticipated result. And New Zealand can, by beating England, finish in the top three and take fate out of the equation. In their minds, then, they need this win as much as England do.Momentum – it’s a word Ross Taylor used several times on the eve of the match – is what New Zealand need to regain ahead of the semi-final, having lost a fair bit of it the last two weeks through back-to-back losses against Pakistan and Australia. Both losses exposed frailties that had been apparent though the early weeks but were papered over by their big strengths: the bowling, and Kane Williamson. And Taylor, to an extent.Only Williamson features among the top ten run-scorers in the tournament, but even he has slipped down the order with two successive failures. And Taylor, who started promisingly, now stands at No. 24. No New Zealand batsman apart from Williamson has scored a hundred, and Williamson and Taylor have been involved in a rescue act almost every time, with the openers having gone in the first ten overs.Martin Guptill, expected at least to be the third best batsman in the team, has scored fewer runs in the whole tournament than he scored in one innings in the last World Cup, and half of those runs came in one match; and the gamble on Colin Munro didn’t ever take off, requiring them to bring in Henry Nicholls. Consequently, the combined batting average of their openers is better than only Afghanistan and, at 24.25, a fair distance from the leading teams, Australia (68), India (67.76) and England (51.80).Taylor acknowledged Guptill’s challenge. “He was the leading run-scorer in the last World Cup and he had gone into that last World Cup not scoring any runs. His confidence is down. Sometimes you need a bit of luck and he certainly needs that. It is a very important position at the top of the order and getting Guppy firing is a key part to our team… if he can do that tomorrow, it certainly sets the tone for our batting unit and our power down the order with (Jimmy) Neesham and (Colin) de Grandhomme and, hopefully, not having them to do as much work as they have probably had to do in that last couple of matches.”Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor congratulate each other as they both notch up fifties•Getty Images

With four starts and only two half-centuries, Taylor himself knows that he needs a bit of luck too. “I have felt good throughout the whole tournament,” he said, “A couple of strangles down the leg-side and a couple of good balls, that is the nature of the beast.”But he would have happy memories of his last encounter with England, when he helped New Zealand to 339 with 181 off 147 balls, an innings made even more extraordinary for the fact that half of it was played on one leg after he injured himself diving to make a second run. “That was a long time ago,” Taylor said when reminded of that innings.Questions were also asked about New Zealand’s brand of cricket and Williamson’s captaincy. Brendon McCullum, who led New Zealand’s last World Cup campaign with the spirit of a matador, has himself raised those questions in his current role as a television pundit.”Obviously, Brendon was the extreme, and Kane has his own unique style as well,” Taylor said. “At the end of the day, you have to be true to yourself and be authentic and, more often than not, you get the right result.”I think Kane is a fantastic world-class batsman and a world-class captain. You don’t have to look far, till the last of couple of games there were some pundits out there saying he was a great captain. We lose a couple of games and he is a bad captain. He is still a great captain, leads from the front and the team respects him and I love playing under him. I’d love as a team to take a little bit of pressure off him and score some runs and not let him do everything.”This isn’t a virtual quarter-final for New Zealand as it is for England. But there is a lot more at stake than might appear. This is their final opportunity to find their ‘A’ game in a tournament that has brought them more wins than any other team bar Australia and India, but not the ones that really count. And, once through, they will match Australia with eight semi-final appearances.To go beyond that – and they know this – they will have to play better than they have done so far.”Hopefully we are not too far away to playing the brand of cricket we know we can play,” Taylor said, “because we definitely haven’t played to our potential so far and hopefully that is not too far away.”He meant tomorrow.