Play 01:14 Butcher: Still question marks over England top five If there was ever any chance that England might produce a complacent performance in Centurion, AB de Villiers surely banished it with his comments in the pre-match media conferences. Much of what de Villiers said about England is undeniable. There are cracks in the England battling line-up and their two senior bowlers are probably unable to sustain the pace they…
By Steven Jones The wonderful series win away from home over the number one team in the world has already been secured – outstanding performances from Stuart Broad and Joe Root obliterated South Africa in three days at the Wanderers – but England go again at Centurion tomorrow. A measure of just how good Broad and Root were in Johannesburg is that their respective contributions of 6-17 and 110 are…
The ICC gave the Masters Champions League the go-ahead on the understanding that only retired players would take part in it © MCL At least three Full Member boards have written to the ICC expressing concern over their current players asking for no objection certificates to participate in the Masters Champions League (MCL), which was approved as a Twenty20 event meant strictly for retired players. The ICC has warned that…
AB de Villiers has indicated he wants to remain South Africa’s Test captain – at least in the short term © Getty Images AB de Villiers‘ captaincy aspirations remain alive although he is unsure how long he wants to spend in the leadership role. De Villiers will be in charge of South Africa for the Centurion Test and the ODIs that follow and has indicated he would consider the Test…
Warwickshire have appointed Ian Bell as their new skipper after Varun Chopra stepped down from the role in order to concentrate on his batting. Chopra deputised as skipper for the injured Jim Troughton in 2014 and led Birmingham Bears to NatWest T20 Blast glory on home soil at Edgbaston and the Royal London One-Day Cup final. Having been appointed on a permanent basis following the retirement of Troughton, Chopra guided…
Saimoni Tuitoga – “We are very excited to be in this big event. Back at home, everyone knows that we are going to take part in the biggest event of the U-19 level” © AFP Fiji Under-19 captain Saimoni Tuitoga has spoken of his excitement in taking part in what he believes is “a big opportunity” for the team. Fiji are competing in the Under-19 World Cup for the very…
Match facts January 22-26, 2015Start time 10.30am local (0830 GMT) Play 04:23 Can de Villiers back up England criticism? Big Picture England are not used to having nothing at stake on their tours of South Africa. Only once before on their four previous visits since readmission have they arrived at the final Test of the series with the contest already done and dusted. Even then – at Centurion in 1999-2000…
Nasir Hossain had been excluded from Bangladesh’s squad for the ongoing series against Zimbabwe © AFP Nasir Hossain remains in contention for a spot in Bangladesh’s playing XI after being named in the team’s 25-member preliminary squad for the Asia Cup T20 and World T20. Nasir is among seven players in the list who are not part of the squad for the ongoing four-match T20 series against Zimbabwe. Nasir was…
AB de Villiers suggested England were “not unbeatable” © Getty Images Even though England have already won the series against South Africa, AB de Villiers has declared them “not unbeatable” in a feisty press conference ahead of the final Test. “There’s no hiding from the fact that they seem to know what they are doing. But there’s also no doubt that there are weaknesses there, and we’ve exposed some of…
New Zealand Under-19 captain Josh Finnie has said his team will try to emulate the senior team’s style of play © ICC New Zealand’s Under-19s will look to emulate the adventurous style of the country’s senior team, their captain Josh Finnie has said. “We are trying to base our strategy at the way they go about it,” Finnie said. “The [2015] World Cup brought a pretty good feel to playing…