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Tourists in need of some Mitchell magic with last day in the balance

Valkerie Baynes13-Jun-2022England made the most of some self-destructive tendencies on New Zealand’s part to enter a tantalisingly poised final day at Trent Bridge with a chance of pressing for victory.Sparked by James Anderson’s 650th Test wicket to remove opener and stand-in captain Tom Latham cheaply, England had their visitors seven wickets down and 238 runs ahead at the close on day four of this second Test, needing some magic from first-innings leader Daryl Mitchell and with Kyle Jamieson still under an injury cloud.It was a familiar pairing who were tasked with extending New Zealand’s advantage as England made slow but ultimately steady inroads into their top order. In remarkable echoes of the first innings, Devon Conway and Will Young made starts – on this occasion both reaching fifty – before falling shortly afterwards to leave Mitchell and Tom Blundell united in a potentially match-shaping partnership for the third innings in a row, although it wasn’t to be.Conway and Young shared a century stand to overcome the early loss of Latham, who inexplicably shouldered arms to an Anderson delivery which clattered into the top of middle stump, the fifth ball of the innings. They led the recovery from 4 for 1 to 104 for 1 during a sedate middle session.But, no sooner had Conway raised his half-century with a reverse-swept four off Jack Leach than he was out. Leach, who had struggled to threaten as the duo started to pick him off, got the next ball – a wider one – to kick up just enough to find the top-edge as Conway swept and Jonny Bairstow swallowed the catch at deep square leg.Henry Nicholls survived an England review for caught behind after his attempted reverse-sweep missed the bat and, despite striking the front pad, was also missing leg stump. But he fell in the first over after tea cutting a short, wide delivery from Matthew Potts straight to Alex Lees at backward point.Related

• Jonny Bairstow on stunning England run-chase: 'It was do or die, so you've got to do'

• Fever-pitch cricket keeps contest bubbling in spite of placid deck

• Daryl Mitchell unfazed by dip in fortune after posting career-best 190

• Anderson, Broad, Southee, Boult: The last hurrah of seam-bowling's Fab Four

• Kyle Jamieson sent for back scan, ruled out of remainder of innings

New Zealand were now 115 for 3 and Mitchell arrived at the crease after an eventful match so far in which he scored a pivotal 190 in the first innings and put down two simple slips catches during England’s reply before holding a gem to remove Stuart Broad on the fourth morning.Mitchell was in the thick of the action once more as Young was run out after some apparent miscommunication between the two when Young nudged Stokes to the onside and set off for a run but paused to look at his partner amid calls of “waiting!” Ollie Pope had plenty of time to assess the situation as he fired the ball back to Stokes, who broke the stumps with a diving Young well short and gone for 56.Mitchell was struck a nasty blow to the right forearm on 21 and paused to have it strapped but it was Blundell who fell a short time later. Having just struck Broad through extra cover for four, he sent the next ball – another short one – to Stokes at backward square leg ending his latest union with Mitchell on 45, paltry by their lofty standards of late.Having already hit Broad for six over backward square, debutant Michael Bracewell then took back-to-back fours off Potts, lofted down the ground and pulled through midwicket. But when he tried it again he picked out Broad at mid-on and was gone after a neat cameo of 25 from just 17 balls.Mitchell was then culpable in Tim Southee’s run out for a duck after steering Broad through backward point and turning the wrong way as he came back for the second which meant that by the time he saw Zak Crawley firing the ball back in and sent Southee back it was too late.Earlier, Trent Boult’s five-wicket haul had preserved the visitors’ first-innings lead – albeit worth just 14 runs – in a stoic display in which he and Southee had to toil hard in the absence of fellow seamer Jamieson, who left the field late on the third day with sharp pain in his lower back. New Zealand team management confirmed on Monday evening that Jamieson would bat if required, while his bowling involvement would be confirmed once MRI scan results had been assessed, with a further update expected before play on the final morning.Joe Root and Ben Foakes picked up where they had left off on the third evening to help England close the gap, having resumed the day 80 runs in arrears. But the hosts lost their last five wickets for 66 runs in 14.2 overs as they were bowled out for 539 in reply to New Zealand’s 553.The hosts began briskly, Southee conceding back-to-back fours through the off-side to Foakes, who was 24 not out overnight, before Root’s brazen reverse scoop over the fence at third man, all in the first over of the day. After five overs, England had scored seven boundaries, including Foakes’ fifth of the morning to bring up his half-century with a punch through cover off Southee, who went for 33 runs in his first three overs.Shortly after that though, Southee held onto a leading edge stooping low to his left at cover to remove Root, who mistimed his drive at a Boult slower ball and fell for 176.Broad followed and then Foakes fell for 56, run out when Potts turned a Bracewell delivery beyond short leg and called him through for a single but hesitated a couple of steps down and sent him back…. too late as Latham threw the ball back to Bracewell, who removed the bails.Boult sealed his five-for bowling Potts with an excellent inswinging yorker that pegged back leg stump, finishing with 5-106 from 33.3 overs and Bracewell had his third when he had Anderson caught behind to end with 3 for 62 from 17.2 overs. Southee, meanwhile, ended up wicketless from his 32 overs.

A rip-roaring day of fast bowling threw open a multitude of possibilities as the semi-final between Karnataka and Vidarbha opened with a 13-wicket day at Eden Gardens

The Report by Akshay Gopalakrishnan in Kolkata17-Dec-2017Abhimanyu Mithun’s five-wicket haul dismantled Vidarbha•PTI

A rip-roaring day of fast bowling threw open a multitude of possibilities as the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Karnataka and Vidarbha opened with a 13-wicket day at Eden Gardens. Abhimanyu Mithun scythed through Vidarbha with his third five-for of the season that sent them hurtling to 185 all out. But Vidarbha hit back with their new-ball pair of Rajneesh Gurbani and Umesh Yadav to snuff out three Karnataka batsmen in a highly shortened and engrossing final session.As has often been the case with him this season, Mithun grew increasingly menacing as the day wore on, and his numbers proved that. In three spells over the day, Mithun recorded 5-3-18-0, 7-3-15-2, and 4-0-12-3. Having clinically wiped out the opposition in two sessions, Karnataka looked set to establish early dominance. But in what has been a rare occurrence this season, their top order came in for a stern scrutiny.Though surviving Umesh’s early burst would have been on top of Karnataka’s priority – and he was kept quiet for the most part – it was the 24-year old Gurbani who shook them. Accurate lines and lengths, prodigious movement – in the air and off the deck – and skiddy pace characterised a delightful spell of fast bowling. Running in with the confidence earned through five-wicket hauls in successive matches, Gurbani made up for the lapses of Umesh, who bowled at serious pace but was rendered ineffective through leg-sidish lines and inconsistent lengths.A brute of an outswinger in Gurbani’s third over had R Samarth nicking off to the keeper. In the next over, Umesh had Mayank Agarwal, the season’s best batsman, beaten by pace with a straighter one that pinged his pad. One over later, Gurbani pegged back Dega Nischal’s middle stump and Karnataka were 21 for 3. Karun Nair and CM Gautam saw off the remaining overs amid dropping light. The day’s final drinks break, at 4.20pm, also brought out the light meters. Five minutes later, play ended with Karnataka trailing by 149 runs.Factoring into the success of the pacers was a pitch that had considerably quickened after the early-morning dew had dissipated. It allowed Mithun to be at his most dangerous in the post-lunch session. In his first over after the break, Mithun had Ganesh Satish thrusting forward and finding an inside edge that was snaffled brilliantly by a diving, one-handed CM Gautam behind the stumps. Apoorv Wankhade was bowled five balls later, and when Wasim Jaffer fished outside the off stump against S Aravind to be caught at second slip, Vidarbha had lost three wickets for 14 runs after lunch.The effectiveness of Karnataka’s medium-pacers did not necessitate their spinners to come in until the 50th over. As they did in the quarter-final against Kerala, Vidarbha’s lower order rallied, with Akshay Wakhare and Aditya Sarwate deftly knocking the ball around during a 41-run seventh-wicket stand.Against a much stronger Karnataka side, though, it required a more sustained period of resistance. But Mithun returned and struck thrice in the space of four balls. First, there was Wakhare who poked at one that cut away off the deck. Then, Gurbani was bowled off a legcutter that pitched on middle and took out off. Mithun came tantlisingly close to finding Umesh’s outside edge as he pushed expansively on the hat-trick delivery. But when he repeated the same stroke next ball, it resulted in a thick outside edge to first slip.At nine down, Karnataka’s pacers were close to accounting for all 10 wickets in an innings for the first time in three seasons. But a loopy legbreak from Shreyas Gopal closed out that possibility as Sarwate’s fighting 47 ended with an uppish drive straight into the hands of cover.The day’s first session was the most productive passage for batsmen. Despite the abundant sprinkling of grass, Vidarbha chose to bat instead of unleashing their pacers at the Karnataka top order. Sanjay Ramaswamy crunched a text-book drive through the covers for the morning’s first boundary, but soon both he and the ever-compact Faiz Fazal displayed uncharacteristic tendencies. Though usually circumspect to begin with, Fazal fished at deliveries outside off.With spongy bounce and the ball occasionally stopping on the batsmen, Vidarbha’s batsmen struggled for fluency. Looking tentative, Fazal did not come entirely forward to an inswinger from Vinay Kumar and was trapped lbw for the first breakthrough of the morning.Aravind, who replaced Mithun 11 overs into the day, found substantial seam movement and beat the batsmen’s edges. That turned out to be a frequent occurrence through the morning, Aravind at one point doing it thrice in a row. Stuart Binny then dismissed Ramaswamy, who, playing for the line, failed to see that the ball had cut back off the seam and beat his inside edge to hit his pad.Karnataka then briefly eased the pressure, partly due to bad luck and partly to their own undoing. Satish sent an outside edge to first slip that fell short of Nair and then managed an edged four between third slip and gully. A rare sequence of half-volleys and short balls thereafter gave Vidarbha some pressure-easing boundaries.Vinay, who had swung the ball throughout, was then denied a wicket twice. First, Aravind put down Satish at first slip on 14. Later, Jaffer was held brilliantly by third slip diving to his right but the batsman seemed confident that it hadn’t been a catch despite Karnataka’s early celebrations. With Agarwal, too, not confident, the on-field umpires let Jaffer bat on.

Imran Tahir raised Derbyshire’s hopes of back-to-back victories by taking five wickets on his debut as Durham collapsed on the second day of the Division Two match at Chesterfield

ECB Reporters Network04-Jul-2017
ScorecardImran Tahir claimed a five-wicket haul•Getty Images

Imran Tahir raised Derbyshire’s hopes of back-to-back victories by taking five wickets on his debut as Durham collapsed on the second day of the Division Two match at Chesterfield.The South African, who is playing for his sixth county, celebrated by sparking the decline that saw Durham lose 4 for 18 in 43 balls either side of tea before the visitors rallied to avoid the threat of following-on.Derbyshire controlled the game for much of the day with Billy Godleman falling two shot of a century as he and Gurjit Sandhu took their 10th wicket stand to 102 before the home side were bowled out for 368.Durham were going well at 119 for 1 but after Jack Burnham played on to Tahir and 16-year-old off-spinner Hamadullah Qadri bowled Michael Richardson for 64, the visitors crumbled before Paul Coughlin with an unbeaten 62 and Barry McCarthy guided them to 274 for 8, 94 behind.Derbyshire’s first objective at the start of the day was to get to a fourth batting point which was achieved after a 35-minute rain break with Godleman and Sandhu frustrating the bowlers for another 15 overs before Godleman was caught behind hooking at Coughlin.Sandhu followed his unbeaten career-best 48 by taking the new ball but Richardson and Cameron Steel added 52 before a mix-up saw Steel run out for 21 in Tahir’s first over.The legspinner’s second over gave no indication of what was to come as Richardson dispatched him for two fours before Burnham drove him over extra cover for six.But when Burnham tried to whip a ball from off stump and chopped on, Durham’s hopes of a decent reply faded as Qadri followed his record-breaking five-wicket haul at Cardiff last week by beating Richardson in the flight.Paul Collingwood was bowled pushing forward at Tahir in the first over after tea, Ryan Pringle was lbw playing back to one that sung in from Sandhu and Graham Clark was the sixth to go with Durham still 205 behind.The threat of the follow-on loomed when Stuart Poynter sliced a drive to point and Tahir bowled Matthew Potts with the next ball but Coughlin and McCarthy denied Tahir to keep Durham in the contest.

Bangladesh made hard work of a chase of 135 – they needed every last ball of their 20 overs – but Nigar Sultana (46) and Fahima Khatun (26*) got the job done

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2018Jahanara Alam is overjoyed after taking a wicket•ACC

History was made in Dublin as Jahanara Alam became the first Bangladeshi woman to claim a five-wicket haul in international cricket. She finished with 5 for 28 from four overs, a performance that restricted the hosts to 135 for 6 in the first of three T20Is on this tour. Bangladesh had to get the runs the hard way – they needed every last ball of their 20 overs – but Nigar Sultana (46) and Fahima Khatun (26*) got the job done.Ireland women have been at the receiving end of a fair few record-breaking performances this month. There was New Zealand scoring 490 – the largest total ever made in ODI cricket. Then the teenager Amelia Kerr walloped them for 232 runs, which is now the highest individual score in women’s ODIs. On Thursday, it was the turn of a 25-year old medium pacer from Khulna.Jahanara started her day taking a wicket off the third ball she bowled: opener Clare Shillington lbw swinging across the line. The same tactic worked for Cecelia Joyce as well and Ireland were 15 for 2 in the third over. With the early damage done, Bangladesh went to their spinners to keep things in check during the middle overs, but Jahanara returned in the death to create more chaos. She had Kim Garth caught behind, Eimear Richardson taken at mid-off and wrecked Isobel Joyce’s stumps with a yorker to complete her five-wicket haul.Soon after that high, however, Bangladesh were given a quick scare as Richardson (2-20) struck in the first over of the chase. The 31-year old offspinner dismissed opener Shamima Sultana and received ample help from 17-year old legspinner Gaby Lewis (2-20) as Ireland kept all but one of the opposition’s top five to scores of 25 or less. But the one who managed to push on – Sultana – provided the most meaningful contribution of the innings and took Bangladesh home.

While West Indies will look to build on their 47-run victory against Sri Lanka, Pakistan will be keen on ending their 12-match winless streak in the World Cup

The preview by Annesha Ghosh10-Jul-2017With the league stage of the World Cup entering its penultimate phase, two of the three teams that are out of contention for the semi-finals will fight for pride in Leicester. While West Indies will look to build on their 47-run victory against Sri Lanka, Pakistan will be keen on ending their 12-match winless streak in the World Cup. Their last victory in a World Cup fixture came in the 2009 edition – against the same opponents.West Indies, however, may read little into that loss, considering it’s one of their only five defeats to Pakistan out of 21 ODIs. Besides, that their captain Stafanie Taylor boasts an average of 64 in 13 ODI innings versus Pakistan – the best by any player with eight innings or more against them – can only help them better the 229 they scored against Sri Lanka on Sunday, their highest in this campaign.Taylor emphasized that even though her team is no longer in the running for a top-four finish, the significance of a victory cannot be undervalued, especially considering Pakistan would be eager to get their first win in the tournament. “We know how important these games are. We definitely want to win and go home on a high,” Taylor said.”Pakistan has always been a fighting team against anyone, but I think everyone thinks West Indies is a team they want to beat. They all come out hard against us.”Taylor’s counterpart Sana Mir, who became the first woman from her country to reach the 100-ODIs landmark on Saturday, fought a lone battle with the bat as her side went down to New Zealand by eight wickets.The fifth straight loss further exposed Pakistan’s woes in the batting department, a fact established by Mir, a bowling allrounder, being the highest run-getter for Pakistan in this tournament so far. Having top scored in the last three games, with 29 against India, 45 against Australia and 50 against New Zealand, Mir hopes the youngsters who “showed promise in the previous tournaments” are able to able to apply themselves better in the remaining matches.”It’s not acceptable at international level that you’re four down for 30 runs in three-four games”, she said.Sana Mir is Pakistan’s leading run-getter in the tournament so far•International Cricket Council

Barring the first match, where Pakistan posted 206 against South Africa before falling to a three-wicket defeat, the batsmen haven’t been able to post more than 150 in the World Cup.The loss of Bismah Maroof – Pakistan’s leading run-getter in ODIs – to injury robbed their line-up of the security she provides in the top order, and this was echoed by Mir.”We have to be patient with the team. Not having Bismah Maroof around makes things tougher as a batter. There have been a couple of times where we’ve lost early wickets, where she would have come in and given us a platform to put a good total on the board.”It’s extremely important for us to finish this tournament on a strong note,” Mir said. “We started off with a strong game, then things started slipping, so it’s extremely important to finish well.”In the most-recent contest at Grace Road, South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk had run through the Indian line-up with her legbreaks, on a pitch that slowed down further in the second innings. West Indies, who were at the receiving end of a similar salvo from Niekerk in their last outing at the ground, would be mindful of their ten-wicket loss to South Africa.For Pakistan, though, familiarity with the venue may lend a psychological advantage, given they are the only side in this tournament to have played three games at Grace Road, having restricted defending champions Australia to 18 for 2 in the Powerplay in their last match.With the Pakistan spin attack having accounted for 18 of the 29 wickets taken by the bowlers so far, Taylor said West Indies need to “counteract” early in the game.”We know Pakistan’s usual team. They are going to come with their spinners because that’s what they mostly do to all the teams.”

Kings collapse after breezy Sharjeel knock to finish with below par total

Danyal Rasool27-Jan-2022There was split opinion on whether the opening ceremony of this year’s Pakistan Super League fell flat, but there was universal congruity that the opening match certainly did. A drab, one-sided contest saw Mohammad Rizwan’s Multan Sultans, who won the toss and, as expected, opted to field first crush home favourites Karachi Kings by seven wickets.The Kings got off to a solid start but stuttered once a swashbuckling 31-ball 43 from Sharjeel Khan ended, and set the defending champions 125 for victory. Sultans were never in a rush to finish the game off, but the outcome was never in doubt, and by the 19th over, made official what everyone had known for a while – the Sultans had been much too good for the Kings.Imran Tahir was the Sultans superstar, derailing a Kings innings that perhaps never quite took off as it was meant to. Babar Azam’s role as T20 opener was much scrutinised in the wake of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup semifinal loss to Australia, and he didn’t do his reputation any favours with a scratchy 29-ball 23 for his side, allowing the Sultans to gain the early momentum.It was only thanks to Sharjeel, and some generous, gentle full tosses from Tim David that helped the Kings push their scoring rate up, and by the end of the 9th over, they had a solid platform, the scoreline reading 64 for none.The evergreen Tahir, though, would change all that when a googly drew Sharjeel Khan into miscuing one to point, and Khushdil Shah snared an off-colour Babar the following over. Joe Clarke and Mohammad Nabi struggled for timing badly as the Sultans applied the squeeze, and as the need for runs grew desperate, Tahir returned to gobble up a couple more wickets and send the Kings sliding further, his figures reading 4-0-16-3.The low target, combined with the expectation of heavy dew, meant Sultans strode out under little pressure, and batted like a side that knew it. Rizwan scored just one of his first 7, allowing Shan Masood to take the lead in the Powerplay. A few elegant shots from the left-hander, none more so than a classy drive back over Mohammad Imran’s head for six, set the tone early, and when Masood sent one straight to extra cover’s throat, he had perhaps already done his job with an 18-ball 26.Multan might look at this game and think this game needed to be killed off more ruthlessly. Sohaib Maqsood and Rizwan trundled along at around a run-a-ball, unencumbered by scoreboard pressure, but in the 15th over, with the Sultans at 101 for one and the game seemingly wrapped up, Nabi struck twice in an over, getting rid of Maqsood and Rossouw. Some nerves kept in as the gap between runs required and balls remaining shrunk, but they were more jitters than panic.Rizwan drove one beautifully over mid-off to bring up his half-century, and Tim David smashed another a few balls later over square leg for six to finish the Kings off. The stutter was over, and the defending champions are up and running.

“I want to be unbeaten in all five Tests in this year,” says West Indies head coach after beating Bangladesh in Antigua

Mohammad Isam20-Jun-2022While Bangladesh are down on confidence, West Indies are bursting with it and coach Phil Simmons now wants his team to continue this progress for the rest of the World Test Championship cycle.The captain Kraigg Brathwaite has been a significant factor in West Indies’ rise in the last 18 months. He made the highest score (94) across all four innings in the Antigua Test against Bangladesh and, according to his coach, is constantly getting better as both a player and a leader.”Everyone has seen [Brathwaite’s] determination,” Simmons said. “His unique style. He doesn’t have a problem doing his job for five days. It is unique because a lot of batsmen nowadays like to play shots and be done with it.”From his point of view, he wants to be there for the team. That rolls into the captaincy. He is not loud but the players know what he wants. He makes them understand in his unique way. He seems to be growing in the role.”With their victory on Sunday, West Indies have now won three of their eight WTC matches and are unbeaten in their last four Tests.”We started 2021 in the same way,” Simmons said. “We won two in Bangladesh, and drew two against Sri Lanka. It is about how we go forward from here. I want to be unbeaten in all five Tests in this year. That would be good for me. Guys are getting confident in what they are doing. It makes your job and role easier the more confidence you have. It has happened especially after winning the series against England not too long ago. The confidence showed.”Kemar Roach too contributed heavily in the Antigua win, after nearly missing the game. The 33-year old fast bowler had to clear a last-minute fitness test to make himself available for selection, and once he did, he terrorised the Bangladesh batting line-up, finishing with match figures of 7 for 74 and equalling Michael Holding’s tally of 249 Test wickets.”[Roach] has taken things to the next level,” Simmons said. “He has been excellent. He is now tied with Mikey [Holding], but in the dressing room he is always leading the youngsters. He has played 70 Tests, so he educates them. It is great to have him in the dressing room.”There were other boxes ticked off as well. John Campbell made his first Test fifty in 15 innings, an innings which helped them recover from 9 for 3 and see off a chase of 84. “I think it was really important,” Simmons said. “He has had good starts in most of the games but failed to get past that 30-40 mark. The unbeaten fifty must give him some kind of confidence to get that big score, hopefully in the next Test match.”West Indies’ slip catching too was impressive in this Test match. They took 13 catches behind the wicket, dropping just the one. Six of those 13 catches were taken at slip, while wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva gobbled up the other seven. Simmons was asked to explain this and he said, “it is a matter of practice. I think the guys are enjoying the fact that the balls are coming to them. It is after a long time I am seeing the ball going to first slip in the Caribbean. It is nice to see.”There’s also the fact that Jason Holder might come back into the team later in the year so nobody wants to be put out of there. They know that he will walk right back into the slips. That could be a motivation too.”

Alviro Petersen, the former South Africa opener, has been banned for two years by CSA after admitting to 13 breaches of the anti-corruption code in relation to the 2015-16 domestic T20 match-fixing scandal

Firdose Moonda21-Dec-2016Alviro Petersen, the former South Africa opener, has been banned for two years by CSA after admitting to 13 breaches of the anti-corruption code in relation to the 2015-16 domestic T20 match-fixing scandal.

‘Unusual and pressured circumstances’ – Petersen

Alviro Petersen said on Thursday that the events which gave rise to the charges to which he pleaded guilty took place under “pressured and unusual circumstances”.
In a statement through his lawyer Robin Twaddle, Petersen said that he had “reported his knowledge of the corruption before the events that led to the charges against him took place and that he assisted the anti-corruption officer during the investigation, to the point that he gave him information and details of a possible fix that was going to happen hours before a game”.
He also said that he had approached a player who had received money from the fixers to try and convince him to report his involvement, under instructions from the CSA’s anti-corruption officer.
The statement said that, “Whilst he took part in discussions that were initiated by Gulam Bodi and certain fixers, these discussions took place at a time when Alviro knew that the fixing scandal was under investigation and he (Alviro) was convinced that the fixing operation would be shut down imminently. Knowing that match fixing is controlled by criminal gangs, Alviro feared for his and his family’s safety at the time, to the point where he engaged a bodyguard while playing for the Lions last season.”

Among Petersen’s transgressions are four counts of failing to disclose details of an approach to engage in corrupt conduct; four of failing to disclose evidence of another participant breaching the code; four of failing to cooperate with the investigators by not providing accurate and complete information; and one of concealing and destroying information relevant to the investigation. CSA has withdrawn charges relating to fixing or contriving to fix any matches and accepting or offering any bribes.Petersen apologised for his actions and vowed he had no intention of fixing matches. “I would like to apologise to my family, friends, the public who are fans of the game of cricket, my team mates, Gauteng cricket, Lions cricket and especially to Cricket South Africa for my actions. At the time that the meetings with Bodi and the fixers happened, I never had any intention of fixing matches or taking money,” he said.”I now deeply regret having participated in these meetings and not to have immediately reported them to the authorities as I am obliged to do. I understand that I need to take personal responsibility for my actions and I accept the punishment that CSA has imposed on me. I hope that other players will learn from my experience and be better prepared if they find themselves in the situation that I was in, and that my punishment will serve as a deterrent. I also want to thank my family, friends and my legal team for their unwavering support and guidance during the last few months.”Petersen is the sixth player and third international to be sanctioned after Gulam Bodi, Thami Tsolekile, Ethy Mbhalati, Pumi Matshikwe and Jean Symes were banned for between seven and 20 years for their roles in the saga. The investigation remains ongoing.Petersen’s ban prevents him from being involved in any capacity for any international or domestic match, or having any other kind of function in cricket organised by CSA, the ICC or any other national federation. Most recently, Petersen has played for South African franchise Lions, for Lancashire in county cricket, was employed as a commentator for the public broadcaster, SABC, and ran a charitable foundation. He will be unable to do any of the first three of those until November 12, 2018, two years from the date he was charged.Petersen was formally charged after rejecting a plea bargain from CSA and gearing up to play for Lions in the domestic T20. He issued a statement through his lawyer, Robin Twaddle, in which he admitted to “playing along” with those involved in the scandal but denied any wrongdoing. Petersen claimed the ACSU was aware of his discussions and meeting with the players.Although Petersen’s exact involvement has not been disclosed, CSA indicated his most serious breach was not reporting approaches in full.”He is obliged under the code to have disclosed various approaches that were made to him to engage in corrupt activities,” Haroon Lorgat, CSA CEO, said in a statement. “While having provided certain information to the investigators he had also withheld and concealed certain material information, such as the meetings with Bodi and certain fixers.”CSA has confirmed that Bodi acted as the intermediary for international betting syndicates and approached certain players “with a view engaging in fixing activities”, according to the statement. CSA has maintained no actual fixing was carried out in the 2015-16 Ram Slam.However, it has not been able to declare its inquiry complete. Petersen, in his statement after the charges were made public, said he knew of at least one other player who had not been charged. The independent chairperson of CSA’s ACU, Bernard Ngoepe, a former judge, said the body will continue working to conclude the matter. “We are still finalising certain aspects of the investigation and we will not stop until we are fully satisfied that we have exhausted every lead and scrutinised every aspect relating to this matter. As we have stated previously, any form of corruption in the game will be dealt with severely. We will leave no stone unturned in this investigation.”

All three will be available for the T20Is; Dwaine Pretorius returns after recovering from Covid-19

Firdose Moonda12-Aug-2021Quinton de Kock, David Miller and Lungi Ngidi will miss South Africa’s ODI series in Sri Lanka next month, but are expected to return for the T20Is that follow. Dwaine Pretorius returns to both squads after missing South Africa’s winter tours as he recovered from Covid-19.de Kock has been rested from the 50-over matches, Miller is nursing a hamstring injury, and Ngidi, who also recently withdrew from the Hundred, has been given time off for personal reasons. That means Temba Bavuma leads a slightly weakened ODI side as South Africa seek to make up for dropping points in Ireland in July. They shared the series 1-1 after a washout and a first-ever defeat against the opponents, and lie tenth on the World Cup Super League table with 24 points from six matches. The only new addition to the squad from the Ireland series is seamer Junior Dala, who last played an ODI for South in Sri Lanka, in August 2018.Related

• 'I trust our team's strength' – Dasun Shanaka backs Sri Lanka's spinners to come good against South Africa

• Enoch Nkwe resigns as South Africa's assistant coach

• SA bowling coach Charl Langeveldt and seamer Junior Dala to miss SL tour

• Kusal Perera tests positive for Covid-19, to isolate for at least ten days

• SA to tour SL for ODIs and T20Is in September

While Dala is not part of the T20I group, de Kock, Miller and Ngidi are set to return for those matches, which will be South Africa’s last in the format before the T20 World Cup. Despite beating West Indies 3-2 and Ireland 3-0 in recent matches, South Africa remain unsure about their best XI, with questions over the length of the batting line-up, whether to include a seam- or spin-bowling allrounder, or both, and who to task with their death bowling.The series may be an opportunity for Sisanda Magala, who left South Africa’s trip to the Caribbean and Ireland early with an ankle injury but has a reputation for being effective at the end of innings, to stake a claim for the T20 World Cup. Left-armer Beuran Hendricks, who replaced Magala in the white-ball squad for the Ireland matches, has kept his place in both squads, but Andile Phehlukwayo has dropped out of the T20I squad, suggesting his chances of playing in the T20 World Cup are slim. Instead, Pretorius and Wiaan Mulder will compete for the seam-bowling allrounder’s spot while the squad includes four spinners: Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde and Tabraiz Shamsi.South Africa have also stuck with their handful of opening batters across both white-ball formats. Bavuma, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks are all in the T20I squad, while Malan drops out for the T20Is and de Kock returns, giving them plenty of options at the top of the order.South Africa play three ODIs and three T20Is in Colombo between September 2 and 14.ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (capt), Junior Dala, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Janneman Malan, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad WilliamsT20I squad: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams

Most of the Indian cricketers are expected to join their IPL teams after the second Test in a bubble-to-bubble transfer

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2022The second India vs Sri Lanka Test, a day-nighter in Bengaluru, will have crowd attendance at 50% capacity, but the first Test, in Mohali, which is also likely to be Virat Kohli’s 100th, will have to be played behind closed doors from March 4 to 8 because of Covid-19 restrictions.A Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) office bearer confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that spectators would, indeed, be allowed for the five days of the Bengaluru Test, from March 12 to 16. As for Mohali, a PTI report said that BCCI “won’t be allowing any spectators”. ESPNcricinfo understands that KSCA has begun the sale of tickets for the Bengaluru Test.The explanation for the decision to disallow spectators from attending the Mohali Test is twofold, according to the PTI report: firstly, the high Covid-19 cases in and around Mohali, and secondly, because most of the Indian players are scheduled to link up with their respective IPL squads just after the end of the second Test, in a bubble-to bubble transfer.”Yes, apart from the people, who are on duty for the Test match, we are not allowing any general spectators as per the directive of BCCI,” Punjab Cricket Association treasurer RP Singla was quoted as saying by PTI. “Still there are fresh Covid cases emerging in and around Mohali, so it’s better we take all safety protocols.”Obviously, the fans miss out because an international match at Mohali is happening after almost three years.”The two teams are currently engaged in a T20I tussle, which India are leading 1-0 after winning the first game, on Thursday in Lucknow, by a 62-run margin. The second match will be played later today in Dharamsala, and the third will also be played at the same venue tomorrow.