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South Africa’s captain has admitted that the early exit from the World Cup will tarnish the legacy of some of the senior players in the squad

Osman Samiuddin at Lord's23-Jun-2019South Africa’s exit from the World Cup will go down as the lowest point in Faf du Plessis’ career as captain. South Africa have lost their fifth game out of seven at this World Cup, to Pakistan at Lord’s, leaving them above only Afghanistan – the only side they have beaten – in the points table.It is the first time they’ve failed to make it past the first round of a World Cup since the disastrous 2003 campaign, and even then they went into their final game knowing a win would see them through. In 2019, they will play their last two matches knowing they don’t matter. Embarrassing, a resigned-looking du Plessis said, after a 49-run loss to opponents who had come in with plenty of their own issues.”Yes, definitely [it is the lowest point]. I’m a very proud player and captain, and playing for South Africa means a lot for me, and the fact that the results we’re dishing out at the moment – you know, it’s really, really tough, and borderline… today, it’s a little bit embarrassing. We’re trying but it’s just not good enough. Obviously I’m human as well, so it will keep chipping at me.”It’s important that the coach, myself, the senior players, are the guys that needs to front up to this challenge. That’s when your players need you the most. So right now, I need to be there for the other players as well.”The patterns that have emerged over the course of this bedraggled campaign were maintained at Lord’s. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi began poorly and so the rest were catching up; the top order got starts but didn’t move on, and thereafter the batting felt thin; most notably, the fielding was again ragged, far, far short of the very highest standards South Africa have traditionally set.Du Plessis didn’t think Lord’s was the worst performance South Africa have put in, but by now, given the run of results that preceded it, felt it must rank among the most frustrating.Faf du Plessis looks up after edging one off Mohammad Amir to Sarfaraz Khan•Getty Images

“You know, I feel we keep making the same mistakes over and over again,” he said. “Probably started off with the bowling. Our bowling has been the one thing that’s been working this tournament, and today, a well-below-par performance, probably bar Immy [Imran Tahir], who was exceptional once again.”But the rest of the guys, probably, you know, five-out-of-ten performance with the ball, 30 runs too many [given away] and the same thing with the bat once again. We’re starting our innings losing wickets again and then we build something nicely, get a partnership going, and then wicket and then wicket.”This World Cup will mark the end of at least two South African careers – both Tahir and JP Duminy will go once the tournament is done. But talk about white-ball futures will now hound the likes of du Plessis himself, Hashim Amla, and Dale Steyn, whose return home with a shoulder injury was one of the early markers in how badly this tournament was going to go for South Africa.It will, du Plessis was open enough to admit, tarnish the legacy of some of the senior players in the squad.”Yeah, I’d be lying if I say no. I think, as I said, as a player, I’m very proud. But I’ve always said that my most enjoyment that I get from the game playing for South Africa is captaining the side. The fact that we are really underperforming, as I said, chips away at me, as well. It’s really important for me.”I love captaining this team, and the fact that we are playing way, way below our potential is not something that sits with me well. There’s too much pride for me, and that’s why – I mean, I’m trying as much as I can, but unfortunately not everything is in my hands. You know, if I could, I would get my wand out and get some runs on the table for our batters, but I can’t, unfortunately.”So it is a challenge, and my character is one that will try and fix as many problems as I can and try and control the areas that I can, but unfortunately, I can’t control everything.”

Middlesex bowlers toil for little reward as Derbyshire batsmen shine

Jon Culley in Derby30-Jun-2019Middlesex’s decision to forego the toss and bowl might have looked the logical route to follow given the colour of the pitch here. Instead, it exposed their bowlers to a day of mostly unrewarding toil on a slow surface that offered them little apart from the slightly unreal experience of watching Billy Godleman, once a Middlesex player, compile a 115-ball hundred.By his own confession, Godleman’s default approach in red-ball cricket, for the most part, in a career that had him tipped to play at the highest level in his formative years at Lord’s, has been based on survival first.This is the Godleman who went back to Lord’s in only his second match as a Derbyshire player in 2013, opened the batting on day one against his former employers and took 244 balls to reach fifty, the slowest in the history of the County Championship, allowing himself the liberty of just one boundary. He is not quite so conservative these days, yet still hardly a dasher.So it must have been quite an eye-opener for the likes of Steven Finn and Dawid Malan as Godleman took it upon himself to throw caution to the wind and attack the new ball in a way that had seasoned followers of the Derbyshire captain scratching their heads to recall anything quite like it.Wielding the bat in a way that suggested he had woken convinced that the day would be his, even the fact that his first boundary almost took out his stumps off an inside edge and the second flew over the slips did not alter his mood. At one point, to general consternation, he went down the pitch to Toby Roland-Jones and belted the ball over long-off for six.This time he reached his half-century in 35 deliveries, which a check through his career record confirmed was unprecedented, as everyone watching suspected.He should have then been out almost immediately, dropped at backward point by Steve Eskinazi without adding to the 51 he had scored up to that moment. It was the leg-spinner Nathan Sowter’s first over and the chance could not have been more straightforward.Now Godleman became a little more watchful. His next 12 runs took him seven balls longer to acquire than his first 51. Luis Reece began to catch him up, reaching his own half-century from 92 deliveries. Curiously, given that he had batted with a much more conservative approach than his partner, he should have been out twice, dropped by Max Holden at midwicket without scoring off Roland-Jones and again at slip by Sam Robson on 33, in the unlucky Sowter’s second over.They reached lunch on 113 without loss. The Middlesex bowlers may have bemoaned their luck but they had also offered too many relatively easy run hits, either by bowling too short or too wide.Godleman pushed on again in the second session, completing what was also the fastest hundred of his first-class career when he cut Sowter to the third-man boundary for his 16th four, raising his arms above his head in celebration and shouting something as he looked towards the heavens. Again, he offered a chance immediately after passing the milestone. This time it was taken, at slip, as Sowter’s luck improved as he found some turn and bounce to find the edge.Reece, joined by the splendidly-named Fynn Hudson-Prentice, who will never be troubled to remember his Championship debut for Derbyshire, was by now scoring runs with increasing confidence and a hundred seemed to be his for the taking too. It was no wonder, then, that he threw his head back in disbelief as he was dismissed on 96, wondering what had possessed him to meet a seemingly innocuous ball from seamer George Scott straight to Roland-Jones at mid-on.Yet if Reece could consider himself unlucky, it was nothing compared with the agony that would befall Hudson-Prentice, whose maiden Championship innings for the county was just one run from turning into a dream start.A 23-year-old all-rounder who was released by Sussex, his home county, at the end of the 2016 season, Hudson-Prentice has been given the chance to resurrect his county career after spending last season and the start of this one on the MCC Young Cricketers’ programme at Lord’s, where his progress will have been noted by Steve Kirby, the former MCC head coach who is now Derbyshire’s assistant coach.He made a good enough impression there to earn some Second XI cricket with Derbyshire this early summer, two hundreds in May convincing the county to offer him a contract until the end of 2021.So far, it looks a good decision. Well organised at the crease, he took on a high-quality attack with confidence and no little skill, numbering some crisp drives among his 13 fours and lofting Sowter for a towering six. Middlesex took the new ball and Tom Helm had him edging to second slip only to be called for over-stepping. It seemed destined to be a perfect day.Yet, on 99 and facing the same bowler, an attempt to pull away a short ball went just wrong enough for the ball to travel upwards rather than flat. He looked on from the crease, willing Middlesex’s bad day in the field to continue, before dropping his head in stricken resignation as square-leg Finn clasped the ball safely to his chest. Helm struck again in the same over, dismissing Alex Hughes with the best delivery of the day to claw back something for Middlesex.

The New Zealand captain will continue to be contracted during her indefinite break under the board’s new Women’s Master Agreement

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2019New Zealand women’s captain Amy Satterthwaite will be taking an indefinite break from cricket as she prepares to have her first child with her wife and team-mate Lea Tahuhu. A New Zealand Cricket statement said Satterthwaite will return to the game “when the time is right”, but she will continue to be contracted under the newly introduced Women’s Master Agreement.”Lea and I are overjoyed to share the news that I’m expecting our first child early in the new year,” Satterthwaite was quoted as saying in the NZC statement. “It is a special time in our lives and we can’t wait for this new chapter.”I am very lucky to have great support from NZC with regard to taking a break from the game to have a family. I feel I still have a lot to give to the game and look forward to working my way back with an eye on the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup held in New Zealand.”The board’s CEO, David White, said, “As soon as the Women’s Master Agreement (already agreed in principle) is signed off and confirmed, Amy will be announced as one of our contracted White Ferns for the 2019-20 year. As such, she will be the first player to benefit from the new pregnancy leave provisions included in the new agreement.”This means she’ll be paid her full retainer throughout and, although possibly fulfilling some off-field contractual obligations, will not be required to train or play.”Satterthwaite said she would look to take up mentoring duties during her leave of absence, sharing her experiences as a senior player with the rest of the squad: “I look forward to being involved with the White Ferns squad where possible and offering support and knowledge in a mentoring capacity.”A wider pool of contracted players, extending to the domestic level for the first time, and a significant pay hike for centrally contracted New Zealand women players were among the key features of the Women’s Master Agreement that was announced earlier this month.Satterthwaite will also miss the upcoming Women’s Big Bash League in Australia, where she captains Melbourne Renegades. The Renegades confirmed that they will be looking for a replacement international player, while congratulating Satterthwaite and Tahuhu, who also plays for them.

South Africa batsman also believes they have got an opportunity to make a strong statement in the series against India and bounce back from the World Cup debacle

Liam Brickhill11-Sep-2019Rassie van der Dussen believes Quinton de Kock will “lead by example” in the upcoming three-match T20I series against India. With regular captain Faf du Plessis rested, de Kock has been given the chance to lead the T20I side, as South Africa trial leadership options ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.”Quinton is one of those guys who leads by example,” van der Dussen said. “He doesn’t always say a lot, but when he speaks he says really valuable things. You get some guys who talk a lot, and some guys who don’t. Quinny is one of those guys who prefers to lead from the front in terms of action. Everybody respects him for that.”De Kock, 26, is a regular starter for South Africa across formats and has lead the team twice before in ODIs in du Plessis’ absence during South Africa’s trip to Sri Lanka last year. He will be in charge of a fairly young side post a World Cup shake-up.”We obviously know what he is as a player and how many games he’s won for South Africa, and what he brings to the team in terms of cricketing capability. I think having the leadership band around his arm is just going to bring more out of him. He really wants to do well in India, always. We as a team really want to walk away with a series win. Everything we do is gearing up to that.”The South African squad has been put through their paces during the course of two “very tough” training sessions since their arrival in Dharamsala, where they will play the first of three T20Is on Sunday. Van der Dussen said the conditions there were “just a bit worse in terms of humidity and heat” compared to that of Durban’s.”The boys have really worked hard. But we’re playing against India, so we know we have to be at our best and put the hard yards in,” van der Dussen said. “A few years ago, the Proteas played here and we beat India by seven wickets, chasing down 200. So it’ll be a very good wicket to bat on. It will be challenging for the bowlers. The boundaries are about 65 metres all around, which is not very big. We know what India is going to throw at us, and we’re preparing accordingly.”Just two members of South Africa’s squad – David Miller and Kagiso Rabada – were part of the playing XI that beat India at this venue the last time South Africa visited, but de Kock also has extensive experience of Indian conditions from his several IPL stints.”Wherever you go, you’ve got to look at the conditions and the guys who know the conditions.”Guys like Quinton and David Miller have played a lot of cricket here, so all of us that are having our first experience in T20 cricket here will look to feed off them and talk to them, and ask a lot of questions about how the conditions will play, the different bowlers. We’ve got to use everything we can to our advantage against a very strong Indian side, so we’ll definitely look to do that.”The upcoming T20Is will mark South Africa’s first international engagement since the World Cup in England earlier this year. Van der Dussen said that the games will allow South Africa to bounce back from their disastrous run at the tournament and also begin their preparations for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.”We had a disappointing World Cup campaign, so now we’ve got the opportunity to make a really strong statement and bounce back from that,” he said. “There’s a T20 World Cup in just over a year. We’ve got 20 T20 games before that, so this will show us exactly where we are, playing against one of the strongest teams in the world. If we win, we know we’re on the right track. If we fall short in one or two of the games, we’ll know exactly what we need to work on.”India is one of the strongest teams in the world. They’re in their home conditions. For us, it’s going to be a massive challenge. They’ve been together and played some cricket recently against the West Indies. That will give us the advantage of seeing who is in their squad and what they’re likely to do.”

The latest snippets from the county circuit, including a record-breaking Blast season and the next Banton in the queue

David Hopps and Matt Roller27-Aug-2019The loudest roar in Nottinghamshire’s game at Trent Bridge on Sunday came as Joe Clarke knocked two off Jordan Thompson – there was nothing remarkable in the shot, but 70 miles up the M1, Ben Stokes was completing an outrageous heist at Headingley.While reports of Stokes’ antics causing Sunday’s Blast games to stop are largely exaggerated, the stands emptied at the Ageas Bowl and Edgbaston as fans crowed around the big screens in the concourse, and in the Kia Super League game at Guildford, a cheer went up between balls, and Sarah Taylor and Nat Sciver punched the air to celebrate England’s success.It is remarkable that if Stokes had managed to hit Trent Boult’s last-ball full toss in the World Cup final for two rather than one, a number of county cricketers would have missed both of the dramatic moments of the summer.In addition to the Blast games yesterday, there was a full round of Championship matches starting on the same day as the World Cup final, and play was still going on as Stokes tied the game. There were exuberant scenes in dressing rooms across the country following the Super Over victory, but in an alternative timeline, the next best hundred or so players in England would have missed England’s moment of triumph.***As the ECB gathers evidence on the hybrid pitches being tried out in the Blast this season, the most disturbing findings will be coming from Chester-le-Street where Durham have used the same pitch three times and suffered a couple of embarrassing collapses.On both occasions, their openers D’Arcy Short and Scott Steel gave them a vigorous start against the new ball only for their innings to grind to a halt as the innings wore on.Against Worcestershire, Durham were 79 for 1 off 11.4 overs, but failed to chase down Worcestershire’s 117 for 7 by three runs. Little more than a week later, their target against Yorkshire was 147 and again the openers excelled, this time with 70 off 7, only for Durham’s last seven wickets to fall for 16 in five overs against the unlikely Yorkshire spin duo of Jack Shutt and Adam Lyth.All of which is a reminder that a five percent plastic weave in a surface might help hold it together for an extra match or so, but it is not about to work miracles. Hybrid pitches can’t be blamed for bad shots or a lack of tactical acumen. And if the square is slow and low to start with then slow and low is doubtlessly what you’ll get.County traditionalists would be better hoping that conclusions about hybrid pitches are favourable. If not, it won’t be too long before a marketing bod with an unhealthy regard for artificial pitches proposes that it is time for the ultimate solution.***Ollie Robinson celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Sussex retain strong hopes of a home quarter-final in the Blast even if their bowling attack is under a little strain with Tymal Mills out for the season and Jofra Archer only playing two matches thus far as his England career takes over.One player Sussex will hope will makes an impact in their remaining games is Ollie Robinson who made good use of the random round of Championship matches in mid-August by taking 14 wickets against Middlesex – the best Sussex match aggregate for 55 years.Jason Gillespie, Sussex’s coach, says he cannot speak too highly of Robinson. “I think being away with the England Lions has made him realise that he’s a little bit closer to international recognition than he thought he was – and seeing how that professional environment works helps,” he said.”He’s as competitive a cricketer as I’ve seen. He researches the opposition. He spends hours poring over the footage, looking for ways to impact. He has also improved his general professionalism, the work-rate, in the gym, the recovery protocols. He’s stepped up and now he’s getting the rewards.”I see a big tall bloke of 6′ 5″ who runs in and hits the ball hard, nibbles it both ways, can swing it both ways at a brisk pace. His height is a real weapon. He wouldn’t be out of place at the next level.”***Colin Ackermann appeals for a leg-before shout•Getty Images

Having put himself in the history books by becoming the first bowler in world cricket to take seven wickets in a T20 innings with his astonishing 7 for 18 against Birmingham Bears on August 7, Leicestershire’s Colin Ackermann might have anticipated he’d be basking in the glory of it for some time. He had, after all, claimed a best-figures-in-an-innings record that had stood for eight years.Imagine how he must have felt, then, last Friday night, when news came through that the India A offspinner Krishnappa Gowtham, who for the last two seasons has been part of the Rajasthan Royals team in the IPL, had taken an unbelievable 8 for 15.South African offspinner Ackermann had, in his own words, “struggled to get my head round” being a being a world-record holder and now it seemed he wasn’t one even before it had properly sunk in.But if the Foxes captain was feeling a little bit miffed at being knocked off his perch after just 16 days, it turned out he need not have.Gowtham’s eight-for, playing for Bellary Tuskers against Shivamogga Lions, came in the Karnataka Premier League, which has eight franchises and big-money sponsorship deals and creates a substantial income stream for the Karnataka Cricket Association – yet is classed as a state competition.Only national tournaments and international cricket count towards the official records, even though Karnataka, a region in the south-west of India, has a population of 61 million – more than Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka combined.So Ackermann can continue to bask and Gowtham must content himself with a tournament record only.Amazingly, it was not the only tournament record Gowtham set in that one match, having earlier smashed the fastest KPL hundred (39 balls), achieved the highest individual score (134 not out) and blasted the most sixes in a single innings (13). A decent night at the office.***Plenty of counties are sick of the sight of Tom Banton after seeing him pile on the runs against them this year, but it might just be that the worst is yet to come.While domestic players will soon be spared playing against Banton as his inevitable rise to international honours continues, Tom’s younger brother Jacques might well be on his own route to stardom by then: after piling on the runs for Worcestershire’s academy sides this summer, he has broken into the second team, and hit 107 off 99 balls for Barnt Green in the Birmingham Premier League on Saturday, all at the ripe old age of 18.It was a good day for Tom all things considered – his own club side, Taunton St Andrews, got a win, and his cameo against Glamorgan took Somerset to a much-needed victory.***Adam Zampa’s last-ball run-out of Sam Northeast in Essex’s game against Hampshire confirmed that this season’s Blast will be a record-breaking one.The competition has had more ties than your local Marks and Spencer’s, currently sharing the honours with the 2011 FLt20 as the season with the most such results (4).Those results, along with a vast number of no-results and abandonments, have combined to make both groups very bunched: going into the final week of games, Gloucestershire were second in the South Group having won five games, while Surrey were down in eighth with only one victory fewer.

‘You come directly under a head coach as it’s his domain and you work according to his mindset. We will try to help Misbah as much as possible and move forward,’ Waqar says

Umar Farooq in Lahore20-Sep-2019When Waqar Younis twice served as the Pakistan head coach in the past – 2010 to 2011 and 2014 to 2016 – Misbah-ul-Haq was the Test captain on both occasions. Three-and-a-half years since his last stint with the team, Waqar has returned to the support staff set-up as the bowling coach and Misbah is now the head coach.Waqar will, as a result, work under Misbah after the PCB overhauled the support staff that was led by Mickey Arthur until the World Cup. Waqar and Misbah have shared a cordial relationship and the former fast bowler brings with him loads of coaching experience. This will be his fifth term in the Pakistan support staff, having served twice as the head coach, as the bowling coach in 2006-07, and the bowling and fielding coach briefly in 2009-10.His two stints as head coach had not ended on a good note earlier as he resigned both times before the end of his tenure. In 2011 he stepped down amid differences with then limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi and in 2016 he quit after a dispute with the PCB’s management following that year’s T20 World Cup.Will working under Misbah be a “demotion” of sorts for Waqar? He doesn’t think so.”As far as thinking like it’s a demotion, it’s only a myth that you go up or down,” Waqar said. “Our goal is how to make Pakistan a better team. For me the exciting thing is to try and help some of the promising youngsters who are in the pipeline, and some more who will come in the near future too.”You come directly under a head coach as it’s his domain and you work according to his mindset. The others are helping hands like the fielding coach and bowling coach. We will try to help Misbah as much as possible and move forward.”In three years lots of things have changed,” Waqar said when asked what made him come back. “The format has changed in domestic cricket, new people have come, there are new coaches, new thinking has come. I am not here to make controversies, I will try to make the Pakistan bowling attack a good one.”Waqar clarified that he wasn’t “mentally ready” to apply for the post of head coach again and he knew that Misbah was the main contender for the job. Waqar applied for the bowling coach position and he was the main candidate after another shortlisted applicant, Mohammad Akram, withdrew at the last minute.”I decided that I wasn’t mentally ready to get back into the set-up [as head coach] so I applied for bowling coach,” Waqar said. “I think I have a very good chemistry with Misbah, I’ve got a very good understanding with him and it will help in the future. The PCB has given Misbah an opportunity and it’s our responsibility to support and back him because he’s a very honest man and passionate about the game.”My role is very simple and well-defined. I had done both the roles as a head coach and a bowling coach so I have an idea. The best thing is that I know about Misbah’s mindset because whatever coaching I had done was with Misbah as the captain.”Their first assignment together will be two limited-overs series against Sri Lanka starting September 27 in Karachi with three ODIs followed by as many T20Is in Lahore next month. Currently, Waqar and Misbah are holding a training camp at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore where Waqar is working with young fast bowlers.”The emphasis of the camp is on training and fitness, we are always focusing on fitness with our bowlers,” Waqar said. “We have bowlers in the pipeline like Mohammad Hasnain and Nasim Shah and in the next few months they will come on the scene.”The best thing is Sri Lanka is coming, it’s a plus for Pakistan, and other teams should also come. Our short-term goal is that we should win matches early on and build the confidence.”

The Namibia juggernaut notched their fourth straight win, while Singapore fell to their fourth straight loss to crash out

The Report By Peter Della Penna in Dubai27-Oct-2019Gerhard Erasmus struck four sixes off a 29-run over in the 13th to highlight a dominant night for the tournament’s hottest team as the Namibia juggernaut notched their fourth straight win, beating Singapore by 87 runs on Saturday night at Dubai International Stadium. Namibia captain Erasmus notched his second straight fifty to clinch a spot in the playoffs of the T20 World Cup Qualifier while Singapore fell to their fourth straight loss to bow out of the tournament, having struggled since the mid-tournament bowling ban placed on offspinner Selladore Vijayakumar.Singapore captain Amjad Mahboob won the toss and chose to bowl in the hopes of restricting Namibia to a total that would need to be chased down in roughly 13 overs, depending on Namibia’s exact score, in order to pass them on the net run rate tiebreaker with an equal six points in the event of a win. They had a reasonable shot of doing so at the seven-over mark after Singapore struck thrice in three overs to make it 55 for 3.Stephen Baard skied a flick off Sidhant Singh with the medium pacer calling off the infield to take a return catch at short cover in the fifth. Niko Davin fell into a trap hooking Janak Prakash to Singapore’s best fielder, Tim David, at deep backward square in the sixth. Craig Williams then became Sidhant’s second wicket slicing to backward point in the seventh to round out the sequence with another bow and arrow celebration.But Sidhant had nothing left in his quiver to deal with Erasmus. Taking on the captain in his final over, Sidhant repeatedly opted for length deliveries and Erasmus capitalized on the true bounce of the pitch by tonking him over square leg and midwicket on four consecutive occasions for six. Sidhant went around the wicket for the fifth ball and though he denied Erasmus the chance to emulate Garry Sobers and Yuvraj Singh, the Namibia captain still managed to slice a wide yorker over third man for four. A skier off the last ball was put down by David at midwicket with Erasmus on 39 and he continued to punish Singapore for the next six overs before finally perishing to a flat slog to deep midwicket off Mahboob in the final over.By that stage though, Erasmus had completed two devastating stands: 70 runs for the fourth wicket with JP Kotze and another 53 in five overs with JJ Smit for the fifth. Erasmus was one of three wickets in four balls to end the innings for Singapore captain Mahboob, but there were only faint smiles in the Singapore family box above the team dugouts.Needing to chase the target of 192 in 12.3 overs in order to pass Namibia on net run rate, Singapore tried their best to imitate Netherlands against Ireland at Sylhet in 2014, swinging hard from the first over. But instead of 24 runs off Andy McBrine, they lost two wickets in the first six balls to Jan Frylinck. Surendran Chandramohan was bowled off his pads with an inswinger for a golden duck before Aryaman Sunil skied a slog over point. Aritra Dutta fell skying Christi Viljoen to mid-on making it three wickets in the first ten balls.The big scalp of David was dropped twice in two balls in the third over but he only managed to last until the eighth over before charging left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz, waving through a skiddy arm ball to be stumped for 19. At 49 for 5, the match was effectively done before the halfway point of the chase. Singapore lasted until the 18th over before Viljoen and Frylinck finished off the tail.Namibia can finish no lower than third place in the group regardless of Sunday’s results on the last day of group play, guaranteeing them at least two chances to clinch a spot in the T20 World Cup for the first time.

Time to move past “all this crap that’s been happening behind the scenes” says captain

Firdose Moonda08-Dec-2019Faf du Plessis, South Africa’s captain, has called on South Africa’s administrators to shift their focus away from the current crises and onto the national team as they prepare for a home series against England.Speaking after his team, Paarl Rocks, secured a home final at the Mzansi Super League (MSL), two days after CSA CEO Thabang Moroe was suspended and less than 24 hours after it was all but confirmed that former captain Graeme Smith will take over as director of cricket, du Plessis asked for plans to be put in place speedily to ensure the team is ready for their next on-field challenge.ALSO READ: Crisis in South African cricket – full coverage“Obviously a lot has happened but now it’s a new start,” du Plessis said. “There’s not much time before the English series so now it’s about putting our focus back on to the team, making sure that the Test team gets all the things that are required for us to be successful.”It’s been a little bit on pause the last two or three weeks which is already too late, so we need to make sure in the next week things will start unfolding to make sure the Test team gets the most attention. The last two weeks there hasn’t been much attention on that so that is what we will try and drive over the next week.”The most immediate concerns are appointment of a selection panel to pick the squad that will face England, who named their touring party on Saturday, and the naming of support staff to assist interim team director Enoch Nkwe, who looks set to stay in his role. South Africa will also name two invitation teams to play against England in warm-up games, which may inform their final selection, as well as keep an eye on a round of first-class matches that begins on December 19 and assess injuries. Opening batsmen Aiden Markram, who broke his wrist in India, is the biggest doubt but has begun training with the Rocks in a bid to be ready for the Boxing Day Test.Very little attention has been paid to his, or anyone else’s readiness, as CSA attempted to put out fires on multiple fronts over the last two weeks, ranging from disputes with the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), the suspension of seven members of staff, the resignations of three independent board members and the loss of a major sponsor. After a special meeting of the board on Saturday, CSA resolved to repair its relationship with SACA and hold independent disciplinary proceedings for those staff who have been sanctioned.However, CSA did not disband the board or remove president Chris Nenzani, something which remains a concern for several stakeholders including SACA, whose outgoing CEO Tony Irish was “appalled” at developments. Irish tweeted that the board and president had taken “no responsibility for cricket’s biggest crisis” and are “now clinging to power”.Rather than get drawn into the matter, du Plessis said he just wants to see cricket take centre stage again. “Now it’s about moving forward. I am a firm believer that it’s time for us to look ahead from all this crap that’s been happening behind the scenes. It’s about making sure that the players are focused on the cricket side of things,” he said.Du Plessis also offered to be a buffer between the players and administrators as long as it allowed plans for England to proceed swiftly. “The players have got absolutely nothing to do with what’s happening behind the scenes. It’s important to separate that from a player point of view and if it needs me to be dealing with some of these things, then that’s OK. It’s about getting focus on what’s really important now which is a Test series against England. As I said before, it’s already a little bit 99 [last-minute] and things haven’t happened as they should have but now we can start getting things on the right track.”As part of that effort, CSA also announced Dr Jacques Faul as interim CEO on Saturday. Du Plessis, who has worked under Faul during his first stint as acting CEO in 2012 and at the Titans franchise, believes he is the right man for the job. “Jacques is obviously a very experienced CEO, a doctor, so I am sure he is pretty clever,” du Plessis said. “It’s about experience; getting people in that can take this great game of ours on the right track again.”And so, despite the many issues South African cricket faces, du Plessis is hopeful South African cricket can get back on track. “There’s too much negative stuff that’s happened over the last four or five weeks and our cricket is too strong to have so many issues all the time. We are too proud a cricketing nation to be talking about this stuff all the time. The attention needs to be on the cricket and making sure we will build ourselves as a team and ourselves as an organisation to be great again.”

He warned that the Ranji Trophy would remain an ‘orphan and poor cousin’ of the IPL if wages don’t rise

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2020Sunil Gavaskar has called for a “substantial” hike in the wages paid to India’s domestic cricketers, and asked BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to look into bridging the pay gap between the Ranji Trophy and the IPL.At present, domestic cricketers earn a match fee of INR 35,000 per match day, and share among themselves 10.40% of the BCCI’s annual media rights income. Their revenue pales in comparison to the amounts that players can earn from the IPL auction, with a minimum base price of INR 20 lakhs.”IPL dominates Ranji Trophy,” quoted Gavaskar as saying, while delivering the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lecture in Delhi. “Unless their match fees are increased substantially, it will be considered an orphan and poor cousin of Indian cricket.”Gavaskar placed the earnings of domestic and IPL cricketers in relation to their respective workloads.”I am hoping new president Sourav Ganguly will look into this,” he said. “The disparity that you see between IPL players, who don’t always play first-class cricket, and those who play all the domestic games, about 80 days, and somebody who plays 14 days of IPL.”There is big disparity. I am talking about the uncapped players. Hopefully that will be narrowed down as much as possible.”

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Valkerie Baynes26-Dec-2019