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The legspinner was a threat throughout the final of what will be a rematch for in the decider

Daniel Brettig06-Apr-2021Though rain curtailed his chances of delivering an outright victory, Mitchell Swepson showed why he looms as a major threat to New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield final with another outstanding exhibition of wrist spin bowling on the final day of the drawn match in Wollongong.A rematch between these two teams was confirmed when Western Australia were bowled out at the WACA having been set 480 by Tasmania. With the Covid-19 situation having now improved in Brisbane the five-day final appears set for Allan Border Field from April 15-19.Swepson finished with 4 for 59 to take his season tally to 29 wickets at 22.44 from just four Shield matches – either side of a neck injury – and again spun the ball expansively on a deteriorating surface to keep the Blues batsmen wary throughout a day that ended shortly after lunch due to persistent showers.Nathan Lyon was named Player of the Match for his workmanlike figures of 6 for 128 in the Bulls’ first innings of 433, but it was Swepson’s improvement across the course of the game to be the standout threat on the final day that would have excited the Australian selectors most of all.One early leg break that pitched around leg stump and then fizzed past the defensive bat of Jason Sangha underlined the difficulty of facing Swepson. Matt Gilkes was fortunate to survive a vehement lbw appeal when he padded up on the back foot to a delivery that spat out of the footmarks and appeared destined to hit the stumps in the same way Daniel Hughes had been bowled on the third evening.Sangha made it as far as 29 before he flicked Swepson from around the wicket into the lap of the short leg fielder Bryce Street, who somewhat fortuitously hung on. Gilkes went on to his second half century of the match, as part of a young NSW batting line-up that functioned rather better than the older top six that had been routed in their previous game against Tasmania, before edging Brendan Doggett behind in the last over before lunch.When play resumed, Swepson made short work of the debutant Lachlan Hearne, tempting the left-hander into a drive and then zipping a leg break back between bat and pad to rumble the stumps. At this point, the Blues led by only 84 runs with five wickets remaining and more than half the day’s allotted overs to be bowled.Wicketkeeper Baxter Holt eked out 18 deliveries without scoring as the lead advanced by another nine runs, before the rain that briefly interrupted the morning session returned more steadily to hasten the abandonment.

James Pattinson was also named, subject to being released from the Test squad, in the 13-man side to face New South Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2019Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson have been named in Victoria’s Sheffield Shield squad to face New South Wales at the MCG starting Friday after receiving medical clearance to return following a break to treat mental health and well-being issues.Both Pucovski and Maddinson had taken breaks from the game within a space of six days earlier this month, just after Glenn Maxwell opted out of the T20I series against Sri Lanka for the same reason. Maddinson and Maxwell returned to club cricket in Melbourne over the last weekend, with positive returns.Both Pucovski and Maddinson trained with the Victoria squad on Wednesday at the MCG while Maxwell did a running session. Cricket Victoria general manager Shaun Graf confirmed that both Pucovski and Maddinson had been cleared to play; however, Maxwell has not been cleared yet.”We are looking forward to having Nic and Will back playing for Victoria after receiving clearance from our medical staff,” Graf said. “We’ll continue to support all our players through their return to play.”Victoria team-mate and Australia’s T20I captain Aaron Finch has been in constant contact with Maxwell during his time out of the game including after his return to club cricket on the weekend.”He was OK. It probably took him a bit longer than he thought to get back into it,” Finch said.”I don’t want to speak on his behalf. But no doubt it’s going to be a gradual process to get back, and whether that’s next week, or next month or next year I think it’s something that with the amount of awareness around mental health and stuff like that these days I think that you have to be mindful of the player making the right decision in their best interest and not trying to rush them back for a particular game or set a defined date on it. I think it’s just a case-by-case scenario.”I know in Maxy’s case a lot of the time he passed it off as tiredness and [being] run down from the game. A lot of the time’s there’s more to it than that.”Fast bowler James Pattinson was also named in the 13-man squad, subject to being released from the Test squad, after missing the Gabba Test against Pakistan through suspension.Marcus Harris also returned for Victoria having missed their last Shield match because of Australia A duty.Victoria chairman of selectors Andrew Lynch was pleased to have a few big names back into the side as the defending Shield champions currently sit bottom of the table without a win in four games. “To bring Marcus Harris, Nic Maddinson, Will Pucovski and potentially James Pattinson back into the squad is really positive as we move into the final two Shield matches before the [BBL] break,” Lynch said. “We’re now looking to get some results on the board to put ourselves in a better position for the second half of the season.”Victoria left out recent debutant Jake Fraser-McGurk and Eamonn Vines. Fraser-McGurk, 17, remarkably will play for Victoria at the national Under-19s championships in Perth just a week after making half-centuries on both Sheffield Shield and List A debut.Victoria are also without acting head coach Lachie Stevens who is on paternity leave. Former Victoria and Australia batsman Brad Hodge has been called in as a short-term senior assistant coach for the game against New South Wales in Stevens’ absence.Squad: Peter Handscomb (capt), Andrew Fekete, Aaron Finch, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Jon Holland, Nic Maddinson, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Matthew Short, Peter Siddle, Will Sutherland, Chris Tremain

Former England captain Andrew Strauss to spend more time with family while his wife Ruth undergoes treatment for cancer

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2018Andrew Strauss has stepped down as director of England cricket after three-and-a-half years in the role, in order to spend more time with his family while his wife Ruth undergoes treatment for cancer.Strauss, who handed over many of his day-to-day duties to Andy Flower during the 2018 home summer, will take on a more flexible role with the ECB, and will play a part in assisting Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, in recruiting a full-time successor ahead of England’s tour of the Caribbean in the New Year.It means, however, that he will not now be at the helm as England enter a defining year in 2019, when they host the World Cup for the first time in 20 years, then take on Australia in a home Ashes campaign.”After three-and-a-half incredible years with the ECB, I have taken the difficult decision to step down from my role as Director of England Cricket,” said Strauss.”Next year is potentially the most important the game has had in this country, with the World Cup on home soil and a home Ashes series, and we have an incredible opportunity to do something special. It is vital that the Director of Cricket can give consistent guidance and support to England Cricket through this period.”Strauss’s appointment in May 2015 came in the wake of England’s disastrous showing at that year’s World Cup, and he endured a gruelling first few weeks in the job, including terminating Peter Moores’ second spell as England coach, as well as drawing a line under any prospect of Kevin Pietersen earning an international recall.On his watch, England have taken significant strides towards becoming a genuine force in white-ball cricket – following his appointment of Trevor Bayliss as head coach in 2015, England reached the final of the World T20 the following year and go into next summer’s World Cup as favourites.The Test team’s fortunes have plateaued in the same period, although Strauss’s appointment of Ed Smith as the new national selector has seen the beginnings of a revival in the long-form game. This summer’s 4-1 series win over India atoned in part for a disappointing display during the Ashes, a tour that was at times overshadowed by the circus that surrounded the squad in the wake of Ben Stokes’ arrest in Bristol last September.Dawid Malan chats with England director of cricket Andrew Strauss•Getty Images

Strauss had intended to remain on the tour throughout the series, but chose to fly home in the wake of England’s defeat in the second Test at Adelaide after hearing the news of his wife’s diagnosis.”Taking time out this summer to support my wife and kids, as Ruth goes through treatment for cancer, has given me the chance to fully consider what’s right for England and what’s needed at home,” he said. “The role in cricket requires total focus and commitment to deliver the best results, yet right now I need far more flexibility than could ever be possible in my position in order to support my family.”I will not be leaving the game completely – initially helping Tom to shape the role for my successor, then supporting a range of other ECB projects – but it’s important to see someone else in place for a crucial summer in 2019.Harrison responded to the decision on behalf of the ECB. “We’re very sad to see Andrew step down from the role and we all wish him and his family the very best,” he said. “He deserves huge respect for the way he has managed his role, fully supported Ruth and their boys and calmly considered this decision. And it’s hard to overestimate his contribution since joining us in May 2015.”He is an exceptional talent and it is easy to see how he has made a success of each step in his career – moving from dressing room, to captaincy, to commentary, to a key role in the governing body – and all the while being the most popular of colleagues.”Andrew has brought enormous credibility, measured thinking, strong leadership and exceptional insight and we have been extremely fortunate to have worked so closely with him for the last three and a half years. He has improved the ways we work and set the direction for the men’s Test, one-day and T20 teams.”

With two batsmen heading to hospital and a bowler hobbling off, the last thing Northants needed was to come face to face with Riki Wessels at his most destructive

ECB Reporters Network29-Aug-2017Riki Wessels celebrates his century•Getty Images

A scintillating century from Riki Wessels has put Nottinghamshire in total command at the halfway stage of their Specsavers County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Trent Bridge.Fading light forced the players from the field before tea, with 37 overs remaining in the day, with Notts on 317 for 8 in their second innings, an overall lead of 389.Wessels remains unbeaten on 107, having reached his hundred from 77 balls, with 14 fours and three sixes. The former Northants man raced from 50 to 100 in only 21 deliveries and has shared in an unbroken ninth wicket partnership of 90 with Jake Ball, whose contribution is 10.Rory Kleinveldt (3-81) and Richard Gleeson (3-107) have each taken three wickets to try and keep Northants in the contest but Wessels’ knock, the 22nd century of his career, finally appeared to knock the stuffing out of a side that were handicapped, for varying times, by the absence of three key players.Samit Patel made 64 from 59 balls, setting the platform for Wessels’ brutal assault.

Wessels ‘exceptional’ – Wakely

Alex Wakely (Northants captain):
“We’ve been thoroughly outplayed on both days. It was an exceptional innings today from Riki Wessels. That’s as good a knock, especially in the situation, that you are going to come across. At the moment his two innings have been the defining moments in the game.
“The injuries have not been great for us. Me and Adam Rossington have both had x-rays. Touchwood, mine’s OK, I did it catching Alex Hales in the slips on the first day but Rosso’s doesn’t look too promising.”
Riki Wessels (Notts):
“The 10,000 first class runs is a nice milestone to tick off and to get a hundred with it just adds to the occasion and it is something I am immensely proud of. Batting at six seems to suit my game. I can come in and take it to the bowlers and put them under pressure.
“It’s always nice to get runs against Northants. There were some brutal comments thrown around in 2010 when I left but those people are no longer there and now I’ve got plenty of friends in the current side – but it’s still pleasing to get runs against them.”

After 20 wickets fell for 373 runs on the opening day it took just 13 deliveries of the morning session before that tally was increased, with Jake Libby edging Azharullah to third slip.Steven Mullaney became the first of three Notts batsmen to lose their off-poles to Kleinveldt, with Patel and Alex Hales also joining the list.Patel batted with the utmost freedom, reaching his 50 from only 42 balls before playing loosely, around a full-pitched delivery. Hales also seemed in the mood, caressing five boundaries in his 22-ball 25 before also having his stumps re-arranged by the South African all-rounder.Indian Test star Cheteshwar Pujara batted doggedly for 162 minutes in making 34, before being pinned in his crease, to fall to Azharullah for the second day running.Northamptonshire’s hopes of strengthening their position – and rekindling their promotion hopes – were damaged by a succession of unfortunate injuries, with captain Alex Wakeley and wicketkeeper Adam Rossington having to leave the action and go to hospital for x-rays on hand injuries – David Murphy took the gloves and picked up a catch, despite being given a torrid time as some uneven bounce began to show.Their resources were stretched even further when Ben Sanderson hobbled off the field with hamstring trouble after bowling five deliveries in a comeback spell.
Gleeson picked up the wickets of Chris Read, Brett Hutton and Luke Wood in the mid-afternoon gloom but that only fired Wessels up to produce another blitz against his former county.He scored 158 against them at Trent Bridge in 2014, their last championship visit, and made 146 in their one-day meeting in Nottingham last year. This time he had the satisfaction of passing 10,000 career runs early on, before launching an all-out assault on the tiring attack.He celebrated his third championship hundred of the season by clubbing the next ball from Kleinveldt for his fourth maximum, seconds before the umpires intervened and called an early halt to proceedings.

Leon Johnson will lead the WICB President’s XI against the touring Indians in a two-day practice match at Warner Park in St. Kitts on July 9 and 10

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2016Leon Johnson will lead the WICB President’s XI against the touring Indians in a two-day practice match at Warner Park in St. Kitts on July 9 and 10. Johnson, who has scored 275 runs in four Tests at an average of 39.28, is one of six Test players in the 12-player President’s XI squad, the others being Jermaine Blackwood, Rajendra Chandrika, Shane Dowrich, Shai Hope and Jomel Warrican.Rayon Griffith has been named manager-coach of the team, and Henderson Springer the coach.India will play two warm-up games against the President’s XI before their four-Test series against West Indies. The selectors have not yet named the President’s XI squad for the second warm-up game, a three-day match that will also be played at Warner Park from July 14 to 16.The first Test starts on July 21 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.WICB President’s XI squad: Leon Johnson (capt), Jermaine Blackwood, Rajendra Chandrika, Roston Chase, Jason Dawes, Shane Dowrich, Shai Hope, Damion Jacobs, Keon Joseph, Marquino Mindley, Vishaul Singh, Jomel Warrican

Ryan Harris rates Australia’s pace battery well ahead of the equivalent set of fast men who came to England in 2013. The fact he may well be missing from the XI for the first Test in Cardiff is a fair indicator of why

Daniel Brettig in Canterbury27-Jun-20152:21

Harris finds his rhythm in Canterbury

Ryan Harris rates Australia’s pace battery well ahead of the equivalent set of fast men who came to England in 2013. The fact he may well be missing from the XI for the first Test in Cardiff is a fair indicator of why.Over the past five years Harris has been near enough to an automatic inclusion for Australia’s Test side provided he is fit, yet this time he may find himself held back for later in the series should the selectors Darren Lehmann and Rod Marsh deem it better to stick with the trio – Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – who laid waste to West Indies.It was for reasons of home and hearth rather than fitness which had Harris missing from the Caribbean, and while the birth of his first son Carter was an understandable delight, he admitted it had compelled him to give away the advantage of incumbency. Long hours in the gym and in the nets at the National Cricket Centre have Harris back close to his best, but he is no guarantee of taking the new ball for the first Investec Test due to the uniformly strong performances of his peers which he believes is advanced from two years ago.”I think we’re probably ahead,” Harris said. “Mitchell Starc is bowling quicker. He was on that tour and played a couple of games, I think he’s bowling a lot better than what he was then. He’s bowling quicker and more accurately. Mitch wasn’t there, we’ve got him. We’re probably better placed I reckon, having Mitch back in. We’re definitely a better unit.”Where we are at the moment is what should happen in the Australian team. Everyone should be fighting for those spots. I haven’t thought too much about it, I’m here to play five Tests, I want to play as much as I can, but the disadvantage of that is I missed a tour.”It’s about immediate performance. You never have credits, that’s the way I look at it anyway. I wish you did, but you don’t. Missing a tour, which was my doing, you give someone else an opportunity. I’m here to play five Tests, but all I want to try and do is show that I’m bowling well. If I’m not in that first Test side, it means someone else is bowling better and hopefully we’re winning Test matches.”Two years ago, Harris was working his way back from injury, and the then brand new coach Lehmann deemed him to be unready for immediate Test match exposure. Another week of training in Nottingham proved fruitful, and from the first morning at Lord’s Harris showed himself to be the most accomplished bowler on either side. This time around Lehmann has again spoken of Harris as “short of a gallop” and needing more to do.”I think I’m pretty good, he’s probably correct in saying that because I haven’t played too many games,” Harris said. “As much as I bowled in Brisbane on centre wickets, it’s very hard to simulate match intensity. I feel like I’m going well, my knee’s going to get sore here and there, that will always be the case, but my body itself feels really good. I don’t feel like I’ve bowled many overs at all, which I haven’t felt in a really long time.”Usually after 15-odd overs or whatever I bowl I’m really sore, so it’s just showing me how the work that I did over the last four months is really helping me, and the thing now is to keep my knee up and going. I’m confident I can do that, I’ve done enough of it now I know what to do.Ryan Harris opened his wicket tally for the Ashes tour and was pleased with how he bowled on the third day against Kent•Getty Images

“Very similar to 2013 actually. I had that Australia A tour, I played the Worcester game. Darren thought the same thing, he thought I was short of a gallop and he was right. I trained a bit more at Notts, something clicked there and I bowled really well at Lord’s. Hopefully that doesn’t happen this time, hopefully I’m playing the first Test.”I worked really hard over those four months in Brisbane to get on this tour but also to get myself where I wanted to be and I’m seeing the rewards of that. It’s just a matter now of putting the ball in the right spot enough times and to come out this morning and do what I did, I was really happy with that.”In Canterbury, Harris’ first ball on the second day was a peach that singed the off bail of Joe Denly. However, he pressed a little too hard for effect after that, and went back to the team hotel feeling dissatisfied. After a quiet word with the assistant coach Craig McDermott, he found far better rhythm on the third day, as Sam Billings and Adam Ball found out to their discomfort.”I wasn’t very happy with my rhythm yesterday, had a chat to Craig McDermott last night about a few things, and came out this morning and felt really, really good. I probably just tried a little bit too hard yesterday, probably adrenaline from my first game for a while and searching for some wickets which I don’t usually do, to come out this morning and grab a couple of wickets but more importantly find some rhythm was better.”All Harris can do now is bowl and bowl some more. Most important is his ability to cope with the pain of dealing with his problematic right knee. Even after extensive clean-out surgery in 2014 it is still a source of discomfort and the occasional instance of locking up, testing Harris’ reserves of pain tolerance and earning him the admiration of many for pushing through those barriers.”There’s a bit of strapping on it,” he said. “It still clicks and gets sore in spots but I know how to deal with that now. The thing is now I haven’t been in a position playing a game where it gets sore. I have to build up that pain barrier again and get used to it. Last night it was quite sore and I came out this morning and bowled. So I’m doing that well and it’s just a matter of getting used to that again. It’s only going to get better.”

Bangladesh batsman Shahriar Nafees has said he is keen to make the most of the Tests against the West Indies; his team hasn’t played a Test this year

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur11-Nov-2012Bangladesh’s last Test, played almost a year ago, was a memorable one for batsman Shahriar Nafees. Though Pakistan defeated them, he scored 97 in the first innings. The long break from Test cricket will end when they take on West Indies on Tuesday, but Nafees, 26, doesn’t want to say much about the skewed FTP. Tackling the West Indies bowling attack, which offers enough variety to keep the free-stroking Bangladesh batsmen on their toes, is more important to him.”I don’t want to bring up the FTP and use it as an excuse,” Nafees said on Sunday. “If I don’t do well, nobody will remember what I did or didn’t do in the last year. If I do well, people will say that I have made a successful comeback.”We played well against West Indies last year and did well individually against Pakistan. So if a player can continue playing cricket that would only be a good thing. The players don’t have control over the FTP, so we have to make the best use of opportunities.”After that Mirpur Test against Pakistan, Nafees was left out of the centrally contracted players’ list. He, then ran into trouble in a tournament in Bangalore playing for Bangladesh A, when he showed dissent at an umpiring decision and was sent home. He was handed a suspended ban by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, but was later picked for the A side in SeptemberHe hasn’t been scoring prolifically in domestic cricket and hasn’t performed exceptionally for the A team. In 23 matches in first-class, one-dayers and Twenty20s, he has scored only 528 runs. But Nafees has 2011 in his mind, a year in which he struck five fifties, which included that knock of 97 against Pakistan.”I am happy, I played well in ODIs last year and got runs in Test cricket. I played regularly in 2011 so I was pretty happy. But I haven’t played after a gap, so I have to do well,” he said.But to do well, Nafees will have to come out on top against a strong bowling attack. Sunil Narine is the most talked-about bowler in the West Indies attack but the pace attack will be a challenge to face as well. “They are in good form. Ravi Rampaul, Fidel Edwards and Tino Best are their strike bowlers and they also have some good spinners. We can’t just work on one bowler because they are on a high note. We have to take everyone seriously,” he said.Nafees was hit on the face by Edwards in the first Test against West Indies last year (and was struck on his eye by Shahadat Hossain two months ago). Rampaul said short-of-length deliveries will be used depending on the batsmen’s weaknesses.”It’s too early to say how the wicket will play, we have some good quick fast bowlers who bowl at 90 miles an hour, and if we put the ball in the right areas we will do well. As a bowling unit we tend to look at the batsmen and at their weakness, if the short ball is one of their weaknesses then we will exploit it,” Rampaul said.Rampaul has toured Bangladesh a couple of times in the past, including in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup, so he should adapt quickly to conditions, which he knows will assist the slow bowlers.”From past experience, I can say that the wicket in Bangladesh is slow and it helps the spinners. It’s basically a wicket where you’ll have to use your variation. We have played in all parts of the world. We will just try to stick to the basics and bowl well,” he said.

N Srinivasan, the new president of the BCCI, has said the board does not intend to take any special measures to address India’s poor performance on the recent tour of England

Tariq Engineer19-Sep-2011Despite India not winning a single international match on their tour of England, N Srinivasan, the new BCCI president, has said the board is not planning a special inquiry into the team’s poor performance. India were beaten 0-4 in the Test series, 0-3 in the five-match ODI series and lost the solitary Twenty20 as well in England. The board and players faced criticism for poor preparation, poor form, questionable selection and a spate of injuries that could be put down to poor management and bad luck.”I don’t like to lose,” Srinivasan said after the board’s annual general meeting in Mumbai. “And the BCCI can’t wait to get back to the top spot. But we have not formed any committee to look into it [the tour of England].”The India players have had a hectic schedule in 2011. Following the end of the tour of South Africa in January, they played the World Cup, the IPL and the tour of West Indies before travelling to England without a significant rest in between any assignment. Players such as Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir carried injuries through the IPL, while Zaheer Khan turned up in England looking unfit.Injuries meant the balance of India’s side was severely affected in all formats of the game. They failed to score more than 300 in eight Test innings and their bowling attack struggled to contain England’s batsmen in all formats.Srinivasan, however, disagreed with the argument that India played too much cricket, saying the BCCI had compared the number of days other countries play to that of India, and found not much of a difference. “It must be mentioned that, except for a few players, most don’t play all three formats of the game,” Srinivasan said. “And the players who do play all three formats were not the ones who got injured [in England].”We have an excellent facility at the National Cricket Academy (NCA),” Srinivasan said, when asked about injury management. “As good as any in the world. Players can go there and get themselves rehabilitated.” According to him, no player was selected for the national side without being cleared by the NCA first.When asked about how the BCCI plans to manage player injuries during the IPL, Srinivasan said that Sundar Raman, the league’s chief executive officer, had been instructed to ensure the franchises report injuries to the NCA.Srinivasan said the team had performed worse than expected, but pointed out that two months ago the team had won the World Cup. “We did not have our best team together from the beginning [in England].”

A round-up of the fourth round of games in South Africa’s domestic SuperSport Series, with wins for the Titans and the Lions, and a washed-out draw in East London

Firdose Moonda25-Oct-2010Many will argue with this, but Johannesburg can be one of the most picturesque cities in the world. It was around 3pm on Sunday afternoon that the match between the Lions and the Dolphins at the Wanderers was interrupted for the umpteenth time, but this delay was a little different. Rain turned into hail, hammering the Bullring’s outfield and behind the players change-rooms golden sunshine teased the wet weather. Everything about the city was captured in that collision of the elements: thunderous, dangerous, booming, stormy, but ultimately beautiful.Against that backdrop, it was only fitting that the Lions won their first SuperSport Series match of the season, beating the Dolphins by four wickets. The Lions would have wanted to bat only once after they amassed 462 in their first innings. Vaughn van Jaarsveld (126), who had been threatening to score a century from the first match, finally did. He shared in a 217-run fourth wicket stand with Neil McKenzie (164). The pair have now jumped to third and sixth respectively on the overall batting standings.Imran Tahir (5 for 131) removed McKenzie and then tore into the tail. He took four wickets for 25 runs on the second morning, to turn his expensive figures into respectable ones. But no sooner had that restored some pride for the Dolphins, did their batting basically undo it all. They were bowled out for 201, with only Devon Conway (47) making it past 40. The Lions bowlers, who still lack a genuine, wicket-taking seamer, did an unexpectedly sterling job. There were three wickets apiece for Pumi Matshikwe (3 for 52), Zander de Bruyn (3 for 43) and debutant Dale Deeb (3 for 23).Alviro Petersen enforced the follow-on, with the Dolphins trailing by 261 runs. Divan van Wyk (77) and Imraan Khan (82) put on 163 for the opening partnership, as the Dolphins made clear their intent not to slump to an innings defeat. England’s Ravi Bopara contributed just 33 to the second innings effort but Conway (86) helped his side build a lead. De Bruyn (4 for 68) and Deeb (4 for 89) were among the wickets again as the Dolphins were bowled out for 406, setting the Lions a target of 146.Despite rain interruptions and two wickets apiece for Tahir (2 for 59), who opened the bowling, Kyle Abbott (2 for 42) and Quinton Friend (2 for 44), the Lions got there. De Bruyn (12*) and Jonathan Vandiar (5*) were at the crease at the end. The win moves the Lions to second on the table, 11.62 points behind the Titans.The Titans stormed to the top of the table after beating the Knights by 21 runs in Kimberley. The visitors chose to bat first on what is traditionally a flat track but things didn’t go well for them at first. Three early wickets saw them reeling on 79 for 3 in the 25th over. Farhaan Behardien (142) and Henry Davids (81) formed a rearguard and helped the line-up survive a Ryan McLaren (4 for 72) onslaught and the Titans were bowled out for 337.They carried that fight into the field, Mario Olivier (2 for 51) removing both openers with the score on just 11. Ethy Mbhalati (5 for 35) did the bulk of the damage to the Knights thereafter and only Morne van Wyk’s unbeaten 44 helped save face. They were bowled out for an embarrassing 113, a deficit of 224 runs.The Titans second innings was also dotted with wickets. The opening pair of Pieter Malan (7) and Jacques Rudolph (28) failed for the second time in the match. Behardien (57) and Blake Snijman (53) were the mainstays in helping them build the lead. Another player on the fringes of the South African side in the Knights XI, Dillon du Preez, was the highest second innings wicket-taker, grabbing 4 for 32. The Titans declared on 187 for 7, setting the Knights a massive 412 to win.The Free Staters were more fluent with the bat the second time around, with all of their batsman bar No. 11 reaching double figures. Van Wyk’s 67, Rilee Roussouw’s 65 and Boeta Dippenaar’s 53 were the three half-centuries in the chase. Mbhalati claimed his second five-for of the match (5 for 125), including the last wicket of Victor Mpitsang (0) as the Titans won the thrilling encounter by 21 runs.In East London, the weather ultimately ruined proceedings in the match between the Warriors and the Cobras. There were only five completed sessions of play in the match, with the last two days washed out completely. The Cobras were opted to bat and were on an imposing 400 for 3 when no more play was possible.Andrew Puttick scored an impressive 193 in almost nine hours at the crease. Alistair Gray kept him company for most of the match, scoring scored 126. Stiaan van Zyl chipped in with 73,and the match was drawn.
Batsman of the week: For his marathon stay at the crease, his second hundred in the competition and surging to the top of the batting rankings with 440 runs at an average of 62.85, Andrew Puttick gets this week’s award.Bowler of the week: It’s a shared one this week. Ethy Mbhalati bowled the Titans to victory with ten wickets in their match against the Knights. It was also the veteran bowlers third and fourth five-wicket haul in the competition so far. He is second on the bowling charts, with 25 scalps. Mbhalati shares the award with Dale Deeb. The 20-year old Lions’ bowler had an impressive debut, claiming seven wickets.

He returned to the BBL with a stunning century at the SCG having lost his Australia T20I spot last year

AAP12-Jan-20250:46

Smith: Missing the 10k-run mark ‘hurt a little bit’

Steven Smith has set his sights on the 2028 Olympics, declaring he wants to prolong his short-form career and return to Australia’s T20 team for the Los Angeles Games.Smith produced one of the finest T20 innings of his career on Saturday, smashing an unbeaten 121 from 64 balls for Sydney Sixers against Perth Scorchers to set up a BBL victory.Australia’s former T20 captain hit seven sixes in his knock, manipulating Scorchers’ bowling and getting inventive in his efforts to target the short boundary.Related

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Smith has become something of a forgotten force in T20 cricket in recent years, and even missed selection in Australia’s squad for last year’s T20 World Cup. He has also been overlooked in the past four IPL auctions, the only franchise cricket he played last year being for Washington in the USA’s Major League Cricket.But Smith’s BBL form has regularly shown he is among the best T20 openers in the country, hitting three centuries in his last seven matches in the competition. The trio of tons brought him level with Ben McDermott for the most in tournament history, with Smith having played just 32 games to McDermott’s 100.His average of 45.88 is the highest of any local, while he holds the sixth best strike-rate of any player with 146.3.But Smith says he does not want to be a domestic-player only in the shortest format, eying off a return to Australian colours.”I’d like to play the Olympics, I reckon that would be cool,” Smith said. “We’ll see how far I go in terms of long-form cricket. But I am going to play short-form cricket for a while I think when I do finish. You never know. There are a lot of good young kids who are smacking the ball out of the park.”Steven Smith was spectacular at the SCG•Getty Images

Smith will be 39 by the time cricket returns to the Olympics in 2028, with the sport featuring for the first time since 1900 when only Great Britain and France featured.He has not yet outlined his retirement plans for red-ball cricket, but has made no secret of his desire to play T20s longer into the future.Smith entered Saturday’s game with virtually no T20 preparation, with a 15-minute net before the BBL game his only hit against the white ball following the India Test series.He has played solely as an opener in T20, with his record generally improving the longer a tournament goes on. And with the likely chance to focus solely on the 20-over format in years to come, Smith believes his game could improve further.”I find the more I play back-to-back games you get in sync with the game,” Smith said. “Even [Saturday] I don’t think I played my first 10 balls really well. I was probably going a bit too hard for how the wicket was playing.”But if I am playing T20s regularly, I probably come out with a slightly different mindset at the start, give myself a bit more time. It’s just the gears and going up and down in the gears throughout the innings [that change for T20s]. And just playing the percentages.”