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Kuhnemann took 4 for 67 but Tasmania will resume play on the final day at 41 chasing 429 for victory against South Australia

AAP08-Dec-2024Tasmania hit back with the ball thanks to Matt Kuhnemann’s four-wicket haul but still face a daunting fight for survival on the final day of their Sheffield Shield match against South Australia at Bellerive Oval.The Tigers went to stumps on day three at 41 for 1 chasing 429 for victory, with Jake Weatherald and Tim Ward at the crease. Tasmania lost Nivethan Radhakrishnan early in their run chase when the opener was bowled by Nathan McAndrew.The Tigers have a big mountain to climb to win, or even draw, the match. South Australia took control of the contest by posting 398 for 6 declared in their first innings and skittling Tasmania for 203, with McAndrew, Liam Scott and Henry Thornton each bagging three wickets.Things were looking even more dire for Tasmania as South Australia moved to 117 for 0 and 211 for 3 in their second innings.But the Tigers’ attack hit back hard, sparking a collapse of 6 for 22 before South Australia declared at 233 for 9.Conor McInerney (75 off 73 balls), Henry Hunt (31 off 57) and Jason Sangha (61 off 92) had set an excellent platform for South Australia before Tasmania clicked into gear.Kuhnemann, who has his eyes on a Test recall for the tour of Sri Lanka, was the chief destroyer with 4 for 67.Kuhnemann produced a spectacular one-handed catch off his own bowling to remove Hunt, and bowled Scott and Jake Fraser-McGurk as they attempted to heave him for six.Nathan McAndrew became his fourth scalp, with paceman Gabe Bell the only other multiple wicket-taker for the Tigers.

He is alleged to have attempted to convince players to fix in the 2020 Lanka Premier League

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Sep-2023Former Sri Lanka offspinner Sachithra Senanayake has been arrested by Sri Lanka Police on Wednesday, on charges related to match-fixing. According to the police’s media division, he is due to be produced in court in the next 24 hours.Senanayake, 38, is alleged to have attempted to convince players to fix in the 2020 Lanka Premier League. Although he was not himself a player in this tournament, and is understood to have been overseas at the time, Senanayake is alleged to have contacted more than one player taking part in the LPL. This information was then allegedly conveyed to the tournament’s anti-corruption officers.The arrest was made under the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports Act, which was introduced in 2019. Under this law, “any person who solicits, entices, persuades, or instructs any person… to influence the result, progress, conduct … of any sport, commits the offence of corruption in sports”. This is the first arrest made under this act.Last month, a court had also imposed a travel ban on Senanayake, after a probe was launched into the allegations.Senanayake had had something of a storied career before being pulled up on his action in 2014. He’d been a key part of Sri Lanka’s triumphant 2014 T20 World Cup campaign, and had also been bought for USD $625,000 by Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2013 IPL season.Although he made a return in 2014 with a remodeled bowling action, his career declined thereafter. He played the last of his 49 ODIs in December 2015, and the last of his 24 T20Is in 2016. He also played one Test in 2013, but didn’t take any wickets.

Some swing was available in Cuttack on the eve of the match, but Parnell expects conditions to be fairly tough for bowlers

Firdose Moonda11-Jun-20222:58

Do India need to make changes to their bowling attack?

Big picture

The series got off to a blockbuster start in Delhi with India posting their highest T20I score against South Africa, who completed their highest successful chase in response.Given that India are without even more players than they initially planned for after KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav were both ruled out on the eve of the first match, the result may not sting too much and there’s more than enough time to make up for it. India can’t ask for more from their batters, but they may want to consider how best to use Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik in the middle order and when to unleash their IPL bowling finds on a South African line-up that is quietly making a habit of winning from tough situations.Related

• Rassie van der Dussen: 'When Shreyas dropped me, I knew I had to make India pay'

• Dwaine Pretorius the batter as he gets going, one tick at a time

• Where Shreyas Iyer falls short

Dating back to last year’s T20 World Cup, South Africa have developed a knack of relying less on luck (or lack thereof) and trusting their ability at the death. Their experienced batters are coming into their own but there are still questions about the make-up of the team that they will want to answer. Their all-round options on this tour are both seam bowlers, which creates more room for specialist spinners. We can expect this combination to change as the series progresses but perhaps not until the direction the contest takes is clear.South Africa are 1-0 up but were pushed to their limits in the first match. How much further can they go? India will want to see.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
India LWWWW
South Africa WWWWWTemba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen inspect their bats at training•PTI

In the spotlight

While India’s bowlers were slayed to all parts of the Arun Jaitley stadium on Thursday night, Harshal Patel initially looked the most likely to wrest back some control. He bowled pinch-hitter Dwaine Pretorius with a pin-point slower-ball yorker in a powerplay over that cost only one run but then was only brought back after the halfway stage. David Miller picked him well and Rassie van der Dussen punished his third over for 22 runs but still praised Harshal’s slower ball, which he called “very tough” to hit. Even after van der Dussen’s blitz, Harshal still managed to beat him with an offcutter that dipped under the bat. Taking pace off may be the best way to challenge a line-up that enjoys the ball coming on to the bat and Harshal will have a big role to play as the series goes on.It’s difficult to be too critical of South Africa’s batting after the first match but the contributions of Temba Bavuma could soon come under scrutiny, especially with so many top-order options in the squad. Bavuma has only played 22 T20Is, 14 of them as captain, and his strike rate is the number worth looking at. Overall, it’s 123.13, the third lowest for any South African with more than 500 runs in the format. Since taking over the leadership, it has dipped to 114.91. Given that he usually has Quinton de Kock at the other end and can play a stabilising role, that may not be much of a concern but should South Africa need more explosive starts, it may become more of a talking point.

Team news

We may have to wait a little longer to see Umran Malik or Arshdeep Singh with India likely to go in with an unchanged XI.India: (possible) 1 Ishan Kishan, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalAiden Markram, who missed the first match after testing positive for Covid-19, has remained in Delhi and will need quarantine for seven days from June 8, which rules him out of at least the first three games. That didn’t affect South Africa too much and after their success in the first match, they may not want to tinker with their combination. If conditions favour seamers, they may consider benching Keshav Maharaj for one of Lungi Ngidi or Marco Jansen.South Africa: (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 David Miller, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Dwaine Pretorius, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Lungi Ngidi/Keshav Maharaj, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi1:11

Wayne Parnell – ‘Keeping the guys fresh mentally will be key for us’

Pitch and conditions

The Barabati Stadium has only hosted two T20Is before and in one of them, India were bowled out for their fourth-lowest T20I total – 92 – by South Africa. In the other, Sri Lanka were dismissed for their joint second-lowest total of 87. While both attacks may be eyeing something similar with significant swing through the air available on the eve of the match, Wayne Parnell said he expects it to be fairly tough for bowlers, despite the green-tinged surface. He also anticipates another “sweaty,” encounter. Temperatures will be cooler than in Delhi, with the mercury rising to 37 degrees Celsius, but the 64% humidity may mean it won’t feel too much different.

Stats and trivia

David Miller and Kagiso Rabada are the only two South African players from the XI that beat India by six wickets at this ground seven years ago. Axar Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the two Indian players from that match.Rabada is one wicket away from 50 T20I wickets. If he gets there in this series, he will be the second-fastest South African to the milestone, after Imran Tahir, who achieved it in 31 matches.

Quotes

There are two things that India does really well: one is cricket and the other one is hospitality. It’s been really awesome being here.”We discussed after the game what went wrong but it was just the first match of the series. Everyone is coming from the IPL and almost everyone who is in the team had a good IPL. So everyone knows what needs to be done in tomorrow’s match and things we can improve upon. So there wasn’t a big discussion because anyone can have an off day. As a bowling unit, we had an off day but that’s okay. We just want to come back [stronger] in the next match.”

The Indian XI at the Gabba will look very different from what they would have wanted for the series decider

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2021Somewhere amid their 36 all out at Adelaide Oval, the remarkable comeback at the MCG and the rearguard for the ages at the SCG, the story of India’s Test tour of Australia has been about the injuries.There was a short list even before India left for Australia, with the names of the Sharmas – Rohit and Ishant – in it, but since then, the number has increased alarmingly. So much so that the team for the series-deciding final Test at the Gabba will likely look very different from anyone’s idea of the best Indian Test XI.Virat Kohli was always going to leave after the first Test, and Rohit was going to be available for the third and fourth Tests – nothing has changed there. But elsewhere…Yes, that was the first of those. Pat Cummins making sure Mohammed Shami – the new-ball partner to Jasprit Bumrah – isn’t around to trouble them for the remainder of the series, adding injury – a fractured forearm – to insult as India completed their 36 all-out show.Mohammed Siraj replaced him for the second Test, but then it was Umesh Yadav’s turn to limp out. Not an impact injury, but a calf strain. And Yadav was back home not long after.Worried Indian faces all around as Umesh Yadav hobbles off the field•Getty Images

The pace attack would ideally have had Bumrah, Shami and Ishant, with Yadav the spare. Bumrah had a group of rookies to do the job with him after that and, it appears, he might himself miss the final Test now because of what might be an abdominal injury.Poor KL Rahul, he wasn’t even out in the middle, just a back-up, when his tour was cut short by a training injury. And it appears that Mayank Agarwal is injured too, while R Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari, who were so heroic on the final day at the SCG, are not fit enough to play the final Test. Wait and watch on those for now…It’s the hamstring for Vihari… and the back for Ashwin.Vihari couldn’t run because of a hamstring injury… Ashwin couldn’t sit down because of a tweak in his back•Getty Images

But before Ashwin and Vihari did what they did, there were Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja.Pant copped a blow to his elbow while batting in the first innings in Sydney, didn’t keep in the Australia second innings, and then came out to play a remarkable knock on the final day. He should make the XI for Gabba.But Jadeja won’t. That was a first-innings injury too. He didn’t bowl in the Australia second innings. Was possibly not in a condition to bat on the final day. And has since had surgery to fix a dislocated thumb.That’s the story so far… one Test to go, but more than winning the match, and the series, getting a fit XI on the field might be India’s bigger worry.

“I wish to retire from T20Is to focus my energies on readying myself for the 2021 one-day World Cup”

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2019Mithali Raj has retired from T20I cricket in a bid to be at her best at the 2021 ODI World Cup, saying while announcing her decision on Tuesday that she wanted to focus on fulfilling her “dream” of winning the 50-over title.”After representing India in T20 internationals since 2006, I wish to retire from T20Is to focus my energies on readying myself for the 2021 one-day World Cup,” she said in a BCCI press statement. “It remains my dream to win a World Cup for my country and I want to give it my best.”I thank the BCCI for their continuous support and wish the Indian T20 team good luck as they prepare for the home series against South Africa Women.”ALSO READ: ‘Series win in Australia was a turning point in the journey of Indian women’s cricket’ – Mithali RajRaj had captained India in 32 T20Is, including those at the World Cups in 2012, 2014 and 2016. The 36-year-old batsman ended her career as India’s top-scorer in the format with 2364 runs at an average of 37.5 and a highest score of 97 not out.Last week she told that she “was definitely available” to play the upcoming T20Is against South Africa, but there were question marks over whether India still needed her.ALSO READ: Mithali Raj, the sleepy girl who woke up a generation, by Shashank KishoreRaj was at the centre of a great deal of controversy at the last T20I World Cup, where she claimed she was unfairly excluded from the XI for the semi-final, which India lost. The head coach at the time, Ramesh Powar, had said that she had gone as far as to threaten retirement if she wasn’t allowed to open the innings.Things, however, did calm down with time and Raj was picked for each of India’s last two T20I series, against New Zealand and England. But there was increased focus on her role with the team looking to groom players for the next World Cup in February 2020.

The 36-year-old, who went on to play in T20 tournaments across the globe after retiring from international cricket in 2015, indicated he would continue his association with the game by taking up coaching roles in the future

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2018Australia left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. The 36-year-old, who went on to play in T20 tournaments across the globe after quitting international cricket in November 2015, last played in this year’s IPL for the Kolkata Knight Riders.”It’s over. I’ve bowled my final ball. Taken my final wicket. Today I announce my retirement from all forms of cricket,” Johnson said in a column on . “I had hoped to continue playing in various Twenty20 competitions around the world until perhaps the middle of next year. But the fact is my body is starting to shut down.”Johnson revealed he had been suffering from back problems during the IPL and added that it was an indication for him to call time. Snapped up by the Knight Riders for INR 2 crores (USD 286,000 approx) this year, Johnson did not have a memorable season as he gave away 216 runs in six games and picked only two wickets.”If I can’t play at 100 per cent then I can’t give my best to the team. And for me it’s always been about the team,” he said. “I’m ready to break clear of playing cricket and move on to the next period of my life. He has recently been through retiring himself and I think he understood that when you’re done, you’re done.”Johnson had called time on his Big Bash League career with Perth Scorchers last month and had pulled out of his commitments with Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League earlier this year. Since his international retirement, he has picked 31 wickets in 33 games at an economy of 7.28 in T20s.Contrasting to his IPL performance, Johnson was in good form this BBL season, taking 20 wickets in 19 games at an average of 22.75 and economy rate of 6.14. He had also led Scorchers to the title in the 2016-17 season, finishing with figures of 1 for 13 in the final against the Sydney Sixers. He had finished that season as their highest wicket-taker with 13 wickets from nine matches and an economy rate of 5.91.”When I sat down with new Perth Scorchers coach Adam Voges recently to discuss my future, he was interested in me playing on again this summer. I did believe I could still be helpful around the playing group with my experience. But I think mentally I’m done as well. I’d like to thank the Scorchers for the last two fantastic summers and the WACA for everything my adopted cricket home has done for me over the past decade.He indicated he would continue his association with the game by taking up coaching roles in the future. “My competitive urge hasn’t left me and hopefully that’s something I can use to channel into a coaching or mentoring role in the future. I’m a believer in sticking to your strengths and cricket is my strength.”I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it. I’ve got a lot of experience in cricket and no experience in coaching officially, though I did help out at Wanneroo last summer and I’ve always enjoyed working with young players.”

Neil Wagner kept bashing the ball into the middle of the wicket and kept getting wickets? What’s not to like?

David Hopps at Taunton15-Apr-2017
Scorecard”I don’t like things messy,” said the girl in the refreshments outlet as she wiped down the surfaces with uncommon zeal. It is fortunate she did not have a view of the cricket. “Messy” barely begins to sum up a second day at Taunton in which 18 wickets fell and a succession of batsmen were in suicidal mood.The upshot is that Essex, 10 for 0 at the close, need another 245 with all their second-wickets intact. It is by no means impossible, because this pitch is far better than the scores suggest, although an Essex victory would require no more of the batting tomfoolery that saw those 18 wickets tumble for 253 runs.Neil Wagner, New Zealand’s adopted South African, was the chief beneficiary of a haphazard day in which his persistent use of the short ball reaped more dividends than he could fairly expect even on a wicket which the batsmen had concluded was two-paced and did not trust as a result. But hell, if it keeps working, keep doing it. As he so often has for New Zealand.Wagner has found little swing in Taunton with his new-ball spells, when he pitches the ball up, but his old-ball tactic of bashing the ball into the middle of the pitch has brought untold joy. His burst of 5 for 17 in 34 balls saw Somerset decline to 124 for 9 before a last-wicket stand of 50 between Craig Overton and Jack Leach restored at least a semblance of responsibility. Wagner returned to end that, drawing Overton into an uppercut to third man, and finished with 6 for 48.Somerset’s batting coach Chris Rogers said; “I think a lot of the batsman will feel they have left a lot of runs out there. However, I do think this wicket is playing tricks. It is two-paced and it has become a bit of a lottery. But still, we could have tried to have seen Wagner off and we will need to address. The last pair valued their wicket and that will be a big lesson for the other guys.”A more pressing question is why Somerset dealt with it in such a ham-fisted fashion. Wagner, as a skiddy left-armer, is difficult to leave when he hammers the ball into a somewhat unreliable surface because of the angle he bowls and the height – or lack of it – he generates, but that barely begins to build a defence.Such tactics – as Wagner himself signalled afterwards – are exhausting and cannot be pursued with success before long. Five overs, 30 balls, 15 balls each, to see him off. Against an Essex side only fielding two frontline pace bowlers. Finally, it seems, the Internet age where nobody can concentrate for longer than two minutes has reached Taunton.Wagner’s assault began with Steve Davies, whose square drive off the back foot flew at catchable height to point. Peter Trego was strangled down the leg-side and, further down the scorecard, the shots got worse. Roelof van der Merwe attempted a one-legged whip and was caught at midwicket and Lewis Gregory top-edged a pull to long leg.That left Jamie Overton. Before lunch, Overton had bounced out Wagner: fast bowler bouncing fast bowler to warn him that fire could be fought with fire. Wagner therefore stepped up his short-ball assault and removed Alastair Cook from slip to strengthen the leg-side with the same intent. Blow me, if Overton did not top-edge a hare-brained pull straight up in the air. Perhaps an early contender for the daftest shot of the season. Utterly self-indulgent. There again, these days there is a lot of it about.Essex had not been much better. Resuming on their overnight total of 60 for 2, they lost eight wickets in barely doubling their score with only Cook providing any real resistance. Even Cook lacked his frolicsome approach of the first evening before he played on, 13 added in an hour to his overnight 39, pushing limply at Gregory.Left-arm spin will play a major part in Somerset’s attempt to win the game on the third day. Leach’s solidity will persuade Somerset that his simplified action – following the ECB analysis that deemed his action as illegal – will gradually pose the same threat that was such a central part of their Championship challenge last season. He took two wickets in Essex’s first innings, bowling Ravi Bopara behind his legs on the sweep in a solid introduction to the season. A simplified action looks as if little go wrong, but what he needs are the bowling figures to follow.Van der Merwe, his fellow slow left-armer, bowled the best deliveries of all, none better than the delivery which turned to strike Adam Wheater’s off stump. Perhaps he could have been further forward, but on a day of such batting inadequacies it would be harsh to complain too much.

Having survived a spitting cobra in Nagpur, New Zealand will be asked to do more thinking and acting on their feet when they meet “big brothers” Australia in Dharamsala

Sidharth Monga in Dharamsala17-Mar-2016Rhythm, momentum and form are words usually thrown around at world events, but try telling New Zealand that. As it is, momentum counts for little in Twenty20 tournaments, but New Zealand are just going from one set of extreme conditions to another. They have survived a spitting cobra in Nagpur, but they will be asked to do more thinking and acting on their feet when they meet “big brothers” Australia in Dharamsala.New Zealand have traveled 1524 km north, and 1.16 km in altitude. Everything in Nagpur felt like it had come out of a drought; here they could not even train because of the incessant rain. In the first week of the tournament, only two out of six matches were not shortened by rain. While New Zealand showed great reading of conditions that did not answer to the conventional definition of a good T20 pitch, they will have to do more of that in Dharamsala.To begin with, they will have their first look of the pitch only when they arrive for the game on Friday afternoon, because it rained all day on Thursday and the whole ground was covered. Australia captain Steven Smith reckoned New Zealand would go in with three spinners again once they have a look because it is quite dry and it played slow in the qualifiers too. It’s not going to be as straightforward, though. Given the weather, it is unlikely we will get a full game, which combined with a possible wet ball might make it difficult to use that much of spin.Ross Taylor said spin was likely to play a part based on what he gleaned from the earlier matches here, but there were other factors to be kept in mind. “We have to wait and see what the conditions are like,” Taylor said. “The boundaries are a lot smaller here. In Nagpur the boundaries were so big that you weren’t able to attack the spinners as much as you would have liked because if you didn’t hit the ball 100% you were going to get out caught at the boundary. Rotating the strike played a big part there but here mishits can still go for six even if it does turn. We just have to wait and see.”Given the slow nature of the pitches, though, New Zealand are likely to continue with their plan of hitting out while the ball is new. They did the same in Nagpur with Martin Guptill and Colin Munro looking for the big hits pretty early on although it might not have come off entirely there. It might also mean Taylor bats lower than Munro and Corey Anderson.”It is definitely easy to score upfront,” Taylor said. “But you still have to play fearless and aggressive cricket but smart cricket as well. Guptill and Munro’s job is to get us off to a flying start. Some days it will come off and some days it won’t. But this team bats right down to eight or nine, we still have the confidence to go out there and play shots. As I said, if we can assess the conditions batting first, it becomes easier while chasing as well, we understand how hard to go.”One of the trickier aspects of playing T20 cricket is to adjust on pitches that are not flat, to look at a 140 pitch for what it is and not underachieve while still going for 180. For instance, New Zealand knew as early as the seventh over in Nagpur that they were going to be in the game if they got to 130 or so.”I think communication becomes a big part of it,” Taylor said. “Guys running out drinks and players who have gone out there having a bit of an idea and passing information back. That becomes key whether you’re batting or bowling. Try and sum up the wicket and adapt as soon as possible.”Every game is totally different and we need to assess the conditions here and obviously with rain around it could be a shortened game and we might need to change the balance. May be we will not go in with three spinners when the weather is like that and different power options as well.”This is a short tournament with a lot of travel. New Zealand do not have the advantage of playing in the last match of their group should it come down to net run rate. Therefore the start that they had against India – not just a win but a massive win – was just what they needed, but they can not get carried away. Any chance of that happening would have been taken away by the position they are in: going into a big second match with hardly any training at the venue, only televised matches from last week to go by when it comes to the pitch, and an opposition that will be keen to remind them of the World Cup final defeat last year.

South Africa’s bowlers were largely to blame for the loss in the first ODI, but AB de Villiers was particularly enamoured of the prospect of fielding two frontline spinners

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo22-Jul-2013South Africa sunk to their second-heaviest defeat ever, in terms of runs, on Saturday, but AB de Villiers said he would seek to employ a similar strategy against Sri Lanka in the second ODI. South Africa’s bowlers were largely to blame for the loss, conceding 320 for 5, and 137 in the last 12 overs, but de Villiers was particularly enamoured of the prospect of fielding two frontline spinners.Robin Peterson and Aaron Phangiso bowled only 14 overs collectively in the first match, taking 1 for 80 between them, but had done enough to persuade de Villiers they were both worth sticking with. Both frontline spinners are left-armers and Sri Lanka are likely to field five left-hand batsmen in the top eight. The part-time offspin of JP Duminy is also available to South Africa, though he did travel for 51 in his seven overs in the first match.With the R Premadasa pitch expected to play slower on Tuesday, having already sustained 82 overs of wear in the first match, de Villiers felt all his slow bowlers were capable of making an impact.”I’d like to have both of the spinners in there,” de Villiers said. “I enjoyed the fact that we played a lot of frontline spinners, even though they didn’t take a lot of wickets. It’s a nice style of attack for us. There are a few right-handers as well in the team. I think they both bowl well to left-handers. Aaron especially showed that against Kumar Sangakkara right at the death. Under a lot of pressure he bowled a really good over. I truly believe they have the experience and the skill – Robin, Aaron and JP, to adapt to certain batters whether they are right or left-handers, and I’ll try to bowl them at the right times.”JP is just a part-time bowler still, but he is handy, especially to left-handers. He’ll pretty much bowl in every game and he’s definitely part of our plans. We wouldn’t like to experiment too much with our side. I believe the best XI played two days ago. We’d like to stay as close as possible to that XI with the odd change here and there.”De Villiers also called for improvement from his side in the field, after a shabby showing in the first game. South Africa have built a reputation for being one of the best fielding sides in the world, but allowed the heat and humidity to affect their performance, de Villiers said, though the only dropped catch came as early as the first over.”We’re not the best fielding team in the world yet. We’ve got the potential, so it’s a bit frustrating to see us field like that. I think the boys have learnt from their mistakes. It was a long 50 overs in the field and the afternoon was quite hot, which is not an excuse, but something new to the guys, something they couldn’t adapt to. In this game they’ll hopefully know what to expect and take a few matchwinning catches and a couple of run-outs. The bowlers certainly need them.”Hashim Amla has not been declared fit after suffering from muscle spasms in his neck last Friday, but de Villiers said he had recovered smoothly since then, and hoped Amla would bring some much-needed experience into the top order. South Africa are missing their most seasoned batsmen in Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, who have not come on tour.”Hash is still not 100% and we’ll have to reassess that at training, when he’ll have a light net and then final reassessments tonight and tomorrow morning. It’s important to start well, but also to stabilise the innings if we don’t start well, which we also didn’t do in that match. We got it wrong in both departments. I’d like to focus on the basics tomorrow and get that in place, even if we have a bad start.”

Damien Wright, the New Zealand bowling coach, will step down from the role at the end of the upcoming World Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2012Damien Wright, the New Zealand bowling coach, will step down from the role at the end of the upcoming World Twenty20. Wright, in a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) release, said his decision to quit the job was influenced by his desire to spend more time with his family.”I have really enjoyed working with the New Zealand team and it was a tough decision to leave the position. The decision is related to time away from my family and a need to be based closer to home,” Wright said. “It has been a privilege to work with current crop of bowlers and I’m proud of the progression they have made over the past year.”Wright was appointed New Zealand bowling coach in mid-2011, after retiring from Australian first-class cricket. He played for Tasmania and then Victoria, and also doubled up as the Bushrangers’ bowling coach in his final season with them.NZC director of cricket John Buchanan said Wright had played a significant role in his short time with New Zealand. “Damien has done a brilliant job since he came on board and will be hard to replace. He brings a huge amount of passion and energy to the team. We have been particularly impressed with the growth and development of the young fast bowlers during his time in the role.”