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In a match that Sri Lanka A dominated West Indies A, legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay picked up 6 for 47 to set up a 138-run victory in Dambulla

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2016
ScorecardFile photo: Jeffrey Vandersay picked up his ninth five-for in 29 first-class matches•AFP

Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay took 6 for 47 in the final innings to lead Sri Lanka A to victory in Dambulla. West Indies A were set a target of 333 but with no one even managing a fifty, the hosts wrapped up a 138-run victory, and with it the series 2-1.The chase had begun positively with Kieran Powell, who had briefly flirted with a career in baseball, back at the top of the order and kicking things off with a 41-ball 44. West Indies A were 124 for 3 – chugging along at a run-rate just under four – when Vandersay blitzed through their middle order to bowl them out for 194. He took two wickets in the 48th over, including that of captain and top-scorer Shamarh Brooks for 46, handed the opposition five of their six single-digit scores and completed his ninth five-for in 29 first-class matches.While the bowling they faced was good, West Indies A would rue the fact that they collapsed from reasonably strong positions. In the first innings they had Shimron Hetmyer – 94 off 91 balls, with 17 fours – and Brooks – 54 off 100 balls – doing well before they lost eight wickets for 104 runs to concede a lead of 75. In the second innings, West Indies lost seven wickets for 70 runs to concede the match.Another measure of where West Indies A lost the match lay in the number of partnerships over 50. There were eight overall – and they contributed only two of them.Meanwhile, Sri Lanka A had begun the game with an agenda-setting 133-run stand between openers Kusal Perera (69) and Sandun Weerakkody (79) in the first innings. It was key to building a total of 318.Then fast bowler Kasun Madushanka and left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan took three wickets each and left-arm seamer Lahiru Gamage chipped in with two of his own to bowl West Indies A out for 243. All three were picked in Sri Lanka’s Test squad to play against Zimbabwe in Harare next Saturday.Sri Lanka A swelled a lead of 75 to match-and-series-winning proportions in their second innings with Weerakkody smacking 48 off 36 balls and Asela Gunaratne collecting 69 off 126 balls. Rahkeem Cornwall was the only opposition they faced, the offspinner picking up 4 for 87 from 26 overs to finish with 23 wickets from three matches.

Pakistan fast bowler will be available across formats from the end of May

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2025Hasan Ali, the Pakistan fast bowler, has agreed a return to Warwickshire to play all formats for the club in 2025. He is expected to be available from the start of the T20 Blast in May through to the end of September.Hasan, 30, has not played since suffering an elbow injury during his stint at Edgbaston last season, which ruled him out after taking 10 wickets in five Vitality Blast appearances. Surgery followed and he has been undergoing rehab overseen by both Warwickshire and Pakistan’s medical staff.”I said last year that Edgbaston felt like a second home to me…but it’s becoming more like a first home now,” he said. “I love playing for Warwickshire, playing for the Bears fans. And I hope they see by the way I play how much I want to win for this club.Related

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“Being awarded my White Bear Cap in 2023 was among the proudest moments in my career and I want to make lots more special memories with the Bears next season.”Last year was unlucky with the injury. I felt I was bowling well and taking plenty of wickets in the Blast. But I’m back bowling 100 percent in training and focused on joining up with Warwickshire next season.”Hasan has taken 27 wickets in nine County Championship appearances for Warwickshire across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, as well as 19 in the Blast.His availability was restricted last summer after a surprise late recall to Pakistan’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, but Warwickshire’s head coach, Mark Robinson, said they had been in contact with the PCB about securing the player, who is no longer centrally contracted, for an unbroken spell.Robinson said: “His call-up last May came out of the blue and took Hasan away from our County Championship start. We’ve had reassurances this year from the PCB that Hasan will be able to focus on the Bears which is great news.”Obviously the contract comes with the caveat that Hasan continues making good progress on his post-op rehab and arrives to us fully fit.”Hasan is a heart-on-the-sleeve performer who always gives his all to the cause. He’s a proven wicket-taker at the highest level and was flying with us last season before the injury. He brings a real energy to the place, the dressing room and on the pitch and inspires everyone around him with his enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to welcoming him back into the Bears fold.”

England Lions keeper-batter will replace Dan Lawrence in middle order at new club

Matt Roller28-Jul-2023Kent are “disappointed” that Jordan Cox, the wicketkeeper-batter who toured Pakistan with England’s T20I squad last year, has turned down the offer of a contract extension in order to join Essex.Cox informed the club on Monday of his desire to leave at the end of this season and has signed a three-year deal with Essex where he is seen as a long-term replacement for Dan Lawrence, who is leaving for Surrey.Cox went to school in Essex – at Felsted, 10 miles north of Chelmsford – where he worked closely with Jason Gallian. Gallian became chair of Essex’s cricket committee earlier this year and the pair have maintained a good relationship.Cox’s departure is a major blow for Kent, the county where he has played since the age of 10. He played a significant role in the club’s Blast win two years ago, scoring 58 not out in the final before setting up a remarkable relay catch during Somerset’s run chase with sensational athleticism on the boundary rope.Related

• 'All three formats would be awesome' – Jordan Cox in dreamland after maiden Test call-up

• Lawrence signs for Surrey after turning down Essex extension

• Air Jordan finds the hang-time as Cox serves up a night to remember

• Robinson agrees switch from Kent to Durham

• 'I thought I'd slipped under the radar – next thing I know I'm on a tour'

“We’re disappointed that Jordan has decided to move on from Kent next year,” Paul Downton, Kent’s director of cricket, said in a terse club statement. “He has made a name for himself as a Kent cricketer and has been extremely well supported by the club.”Downton, who is leaving his role at the end of the season, added: “That said, we would like to thank Jordan for his contributions to Kent Cricket and wish him well with his cricket in the future.”He is the second keeper-batter academy graduate to leave Kent in the last 12 months, after Ollie Robinson joined Durham at the end of last year. Robinson has thrived since moving north, scoring three Championship hundreds this season and finishing the Blast as Durham’s top run-scorer.There has been a logjam of wicketkeeper-batters at the county, with club captain Sam Billings generally taking the gloves when he has been available – though Cox had kept wicket in Kent’s last six Championship games with Billings taking a break from first-class cricket after a lean run of form.Billings tweeted on Friday night that he was “disappointed” to see Cox leave the club, but added: “As a club I don’t think we could have supported his journey any more & at times prioritised his development over others.He added: “Opportunities for young players now are endless. Good advice & support networks are paramount to navigate through a career especially in the early (most important) stages of development.”Essex have used three different wicketkeepers this year – Adam Rossington, Michael Pepper and Will Buttleman – but none has scored heavily in the Championship. Cox has not been given any guarantees around keeping wicket, but is likely to have opportunities with the gloves at some stage.Cox said it was “a real honour” to sign for Essex•Getty Images

Anthony McGrath, their head coach, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to secure the signing of Jordan, who is a young, hungry cricketer looking to impress in all formats.”He will add real depth and quality to our batting line-up, as well as strengthening our wicket-keeping ranks too, and we are all very much looking forward to working with him.”Cox said it was “a real honour” to sign for Essex, adding: “The team is full of talent, they are going places, and I can only see the group getting better over the coming seasons. I’m excited to join them and contribute to what I hope will be a successful future.”I’d like to thank everyone at Kent for everything they have done for me to get me where I am today. I’ll miss my team-mates, coaches and the staff at Kent but I feel that now is the time for me to move on.”The club will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will always look back on my time here fondly. I will continue to give my all for Kent during the rest of my time here.”

James Hildreth and Lewis Gregory fired for Somerset before the rain set in with Sussex struggling

Valkerie Baynes at Hove24-Apr-2019Chris Jordan said before the start of the season he was keen to show what he could do with the bat and for a while it looked like he might get his chance – until the rain set in.With Sussex in dire trouble at 48 for 4 chasing 284 to beat Somerset at Hove, England World Cup hopeful Jordan was the next man due in. However, by the time the forecast showers arrived – right on schedule at 4pm – the hosts were 62 for 4 from 16.3 overs and, just as the covers were removed for the resumption after a delay of an hour and 45 minutes, the heaviest rain of the day made itself at home for the evening.Play was abandoned with Sussex well shy of the revised target of 131 and Somerset winning by 68 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method to make it three wins from as many matches.Jordan, who had gone wicketless in the first two Royal London Cup matches of the season and made 26 runs in his only batting appearance – against Surrey on Good Friday – made a welcome return to form with the ball against Somerset.It was perhaps a timely boost in his last match for Sussex before joining the England one-day squad for the upcoming matches against Ireland and Pakistan, where he has a chance to change the selectors’ minds after missing the preliminary World Cup squad.Jordan took 2 for 42 off eight overs to curb the damage caused by James Hildreth (81 off 92 balls) and Lewis Gregory (50 off 28). But it was in a losing cause after the Sussex top order capitulated in the face of two excellent catches from Craig Overton, who also dismissed danger man Phil Salt lbw.With the threat of rain looming, Sussex won the toss and sent Somerset in to bat, preferring to chase should DLS come into play later. Stiaan van Zyl entered the Sussex side as a replacement for Luke Wright, a late withdrawal because of a stomach bug, while George Bartlett came in for Dom Bess as Somerset opted for an extra batsman in the conditions.Despite a return to wintery temperatures after a short stretch of glorious spring weather, the match was well attended by an appreciative crowd, their cheerful enthusiasm belying closed body language as they huddled from the cold with arms and legs firmly crossed in unison.The Sussex bowlers kept the visitors reasonably well contained with a total below 250 looking likely, but some smart scoring by Hildreth, Tom Abell and particularly Gregory lifted the score to 283 for 8 when Bartlett was run out on the last ball of the innings after a cameo of 19 off nine balls.James Hildreth rocks back to cut•Getty Images

The Somerset total looked to be about on par, with Surrey having posted 274 for 9 on same pitch last week and Sussex successfully chasing down the target in the penultimate over to win by two wickets.But a woeful start to the Sussex pursuit turned things around very quickly.Salt, who scored a towering 137 not out off 106 balls against Kent on Easter Sunday, started ominously by pulling Josh Davey’s first ball to the boundary. But his stay was short-lived when the hulking Overton trapped him lbw for just 7 in the second over.Van Zyl received a second life when, on just 4, he was put down at slip off Overton’s bowling, but he too lasted only a short while longer after cracking Davey to midwicket where Overton took a brilliant catch diving to his left.When Harry Finch was bowled by Gregory, Laurie Evans was shaping up to steady the innings until he hit Tim Groenewald towards deep backward square leg and Overton pulled off his second impressive catch of the innings.Jordan was pleased to be among the wicket-takers, and was confident his team would move on quickly from the result, after opening the season with two wins.”Maybe all being even and there not being rain about, maybe it goes a little bit different but that’s life and we’ve got to take it on the chin,” Jordan said. “On a personal level, I’ve not been up to the standard I’d like to be and that’s just being brutally honest.”I had a decent game against Surrey with ball and bat without getting any wickets but then it didn’t quite come together against Kent but that can happen at times in cricket. It’s just nice to get a little bit of rhythm today and pick up a couple of wickets.”Azhar Ali knitted the Somerset innings together in the face of some sound bowling from the home side. He and Hildreth put on a century partnership which was broken when Danny Briggs tempted Azhar down the wicket and Sussex captain Ben Brown whipped off the bails for a stumping.Jordan returned to the attack in the 40th over and struck with the fifth delivery, removing Hildreth who attempted to drive at a short ball and skied a catch to Finch at extra cover.Abell was eventually caught at short third man by Will Beer off Mir Hamza for 44 and Hamza picked up his third wicket when he had Overton out lbw with a ball that kept low.Jordan was belted through the covers for four by Gregory, who brought up his half-century with two off the next ball, putting the bowler under pressure as he sought quick runs to finish Somerset’s innings. Jordan stood up to the challenge though, and, three balls later sent Gregory’s middle stump cartwheeling with a delivery that was full, straight and fast.When Bartlett was run out via a sharp throw from George Garton, there was a sense the match could be a close one if the weather held out. The rain – and Somerset – had different ideas.

India and Mumbai batter is in the middle of a slump after an unbelievable year in 2022

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-20233:10

What’s gone wrong for Suryakumar Yadav?

In 2022, Suryakumar Yadav was redefining the concept of risk in cricket. Playing behind the wicket as much as he did in front of it, taking balls from well outside off for boundaries to square leg and midwicket, he was expanding on what was possible on the field and he was able to do it for a fairly long time. In 12 months, and 31 T20Is, he amassed 1164 runs at an average of 46.56 and strike rate of 187.43. Very few in the modern era have been that successful while being that destructive.It prompted India to look at Suryakumar as a gamechanger in other formats as well. They gave him a Test debut against Australia in Nagpur on a spin-friendly pitch where it looked like, at least before the game, batting long didn’t really look likely. So they chose to keep Shubman Gill – a player equally gifted but more in the traditional mould – out of the side in favour of Suryakumar and his ability to play high-impact innings in a very short space of time.But things didn’t happen that way. Suryakumar fell into a slump, scoring 8 (Test), 0, 0, 0 (ODIs), 15 and now 1 (IPL) in the defeat against Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede stadium.Former Australia allrounder and vastly experienced T20 coach Tom Moody, on ESPNcricinfo Time:Out, found it hard to explain why a batter who not so long ago looked impossible to stop now looks like its impossible for him to score.”It’s very hard to dissect,” he said, “But I think what we’re learning is that he is human. For a period of time there, we were sort of not really coming to terms with what he’s actually doing to the game; he was nearly untouchable. But I think now we’re seeing the polar opposite. Sport does a vicious cycle of exposing the human element of our vulnerability. You can call it form or luck or whatever you like.Suryakumar Yadav has scores of 8 (Test), 0, 0, 0 (ODIs), 15 and now 1 (IPL)•Mumbai Indians

“He’s probably doing exactly the same thing as he’s done the last 12 months but he’s just not getting the rub of the green. The thing is that then can turn into a situation where he starts questioning his form, questioning whether he’s doing the right things, he might start to change his technique or batting stances or all sorts of things, the way he is preparing which is what he shouldn’t be doing. That’s why a lot of people say cricket, particularly batting, is 80% mental and 20% skill.”Moody’s partner on the show, the former Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait believed these highs and lows happen to batters who are unorthodox.”If you look at someone like Glenn Maxwell,” he said, “Through his career, he’s had that sort of times as well where he’s had unbelievable purple patches and maybe a slump. Obviously he’s going to be highly criticised. Because of the way he plays as well, Surya, he’s got all those shots, and you can say he’s sometimes reckless.”Obviously he’s an unbelievable player but you wouldn’t say he’s an organised player when he comes to the crease. Someone like a Virat Kohli, right, he’s an organised player. That’s his game. Surya can change things around innings to innings. But because he’s so flash and so great to watch and entertaining, maybe the recklessness can fall the other way.”The other thing that comes in as well, maybe the hype and the great run he’s had maybe he’s come down a couple of rungs. Hopefully he can get back up there. He’s like Maxwell. The way he thinks about the game is a little bit different and so the fall can be a little bit harder for those sort of players.”Despite his recent struggles, there are still people like three-time world champion Ricky Ponting who are backing Suryakumar to come good again.”Everyone around the world knows what Surya can do in white-ball cricket. They [India] should stick with him, I feel,” he told the ICC Review. “Because he is I think the kind of player that can win you a World Cup. He might be a little bit inconsistent but he’s the sort of guy who in big moments can win you something,”

A career-best performance from Alex Hughes turned almost-certain defeat into possible victory as Derbyshire staged a remarkable recovery in the Division Two match against Gloucestershire at Derby

ECB Reporters Network02-Sep-2016
ScorecardDerbyshire allrounder Alex Hughes recorded his highest first-class score (file photo)•Getty Images

A career-best performance from Alex Hughes turned almost-certain defeat into possible victory as Derbyshire staged a remarkable recovery in the Division Two match against Gloucestershire at Derby. The 24-year-old all-rounder scored 140 from 209 balls in only his third first-class game of the season to raise Derbyshire’s hopes of a first Championship win of the summer.Neil Broom shared a century stand with Hughes and although Craig Miles took 4 for 82, Gloucestershire became increasingly ragged as Tom Milnes smashed a career-best 56 from 53 balls and Harvey Hosein an unbeaten 52 before the home side were dismissed for 360. That left Gloucestershire with a victory target of 272 which they reduced by 10 in five overs before the close.The chance of Derbyshire taking the game much beyond lunch had looked slim when Miles struck twice in his opening over of the day with the home side still 38 runs behind. Callum Parkinson had batted through the first 80 minutes of the morning to frustrate the bowlers, taking a blow on the helmet from David Payne in the process, and it took a good ball from Miles to find his outside edge in the 17th over of the morning.Miles produced an even better delivery that lifted nastily at Wayne Madsen who could only fend the ball to gully to bag a pair for only the second time in his career and at that stage, Gloucestershire would have been looking to be on the road by mid-afternoon.Instead expectation slowly turned to desperation as Hughes and Broom began a fightback that asked questions the bowlers could not answer. By the time Broom chopped Miles into his stumps 20 overs after lunch, Derbyshire were well in credit and the lead continued to grow as Hughes drove Josh Shaw through the covers for his 15th four to reach his second first-class hundred.Matt Critchley played some expansive strokes to add 58 for the sixth wicket until he tried a ramp shot at Jack Taylor shortly before tea but the game ran away from Gloucestershire in the final session. Hughes lifted Taylor over long-on for six and had turned a deficit of 73 into a lead of 172 when he was lbw reverse-sweeping Chris Dent.Gloucestershire took the second new ball immediately but Harvey Hosein and Milnes plundered some poor bowling in the late afternoon sunshine with both players passing 50 before Miles took the last wicket. But the momentum was now with Derbyshire who will fancy their chances of winning a Championship game at home for the first time in two years if the rain stays away.

The batsman said Sydney Thunder had dominated all through at the Gabba, so he hoped that ‘at the end of it all we’ll get full points out of the game’

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2019Sydney Thunder’s Callum Ferguson is hopeful his side gets full points out of the no-result in Brisbane on Thursday. The game was called off with Brisbane Heat in trouble at 2 for 10 in three overs, chasing 187, after two of the Gabba’s floodlights failed due to a power outage.Points were split, one apiece, between the sides, meaning the Thunder were denied what seemed like a prime opportunity to go second on the points table. Ferguson told Fox Sports after that game that he hoped the team would be awarded two points in hindsight, given their dominant position in the game.”It’s enormously disappointing, we’ve felt like we’ve dominated the fixture for 23 overs and then the lights go out,” Ferguson said. “It’s a pretty frustrating situation, we’re hopeful that at the end of it all we’ll hopefully get the full points out of the game, but it’s hard to know at this stage.”Obviously they’ll be a lot of water to go under the bridge in the next few days.”Both Ferguson and the Thunder’s coach Shane Bond said they felt the light available to them from the light towers which were still working was enough to keep playing in – bowling only spin – but the umpires disagreed. As per the laws, if the Thunder bowled two more overs, getting to the five-over mark, it would have constituted a completed game. Then, the result would have been determined via the Duckworth-Lewis method, making the Thunder favourites after the Heat’s poor start.”We felt like the light was good enough for us as fielders to be able to keep playing,” Ferguson said. “Obviously it’s a bit darker than normal so we did suggest we could just bowl spin, we were happy to concede that.”I’m not sure with what happened from the discussions there, I wasn’t involved in them but from our side of the fence we were keen to get something happening.”While waiting to see if the lights came back on, Bond had reportedly said similar things: “We think it’s safe enough to play. We said we’d bowl our spinners because we want a game of cricket – obviously we’re in a stronger position. The umpires have said… we think it’s unsafe.”The Cricket Australia website quoted a CA spokesperson on the incident, saying: “This is being looked into as a priority. Further updates will be provided in due course.”The power outage was not confined to only the Gabba, but affected a significant part of Brisbane.

Fit-again allrounder sets sights on the Ashes but his immediate focus is the ODI series in India

Andrew McGlashan16-Mar-2023Mitchell Marsh did not realise how much he was being hampered by his ankle injury until he made the decision to have surgery and is now feeling rejuvenated as he sets out with twin ambitions for the months ahead.Most immediately is the ODI series against India, a stepping stone to the World Cup later this year, but before that he hopes to find a place in Australia’s Test squad for the Ashes.Marsh underwent surgery after the T20 World Cup and ODI series against England during which he had carried the ankle problem that he initially picked up against Zimbabwe. He was out of action for three months, missing the entire BBL, but made an immediate impact on his return for Western Australia with a Sheffield Shield century and a fifty in the Marsh Cup final.He still won’t be available to bowl in the three matches against India, instead eyeing a return with the ball during the IPL with Delhi Capitals.Marsh has not played Test cricket since a one-off return against England at The Oval in 2019 where he claimed his first five-wicket haul. He was then ruled out of contention for the next series, back home against Pakistan, after he broke his hand punching a dressing room wall at the WACA during a Sheffield Shield match.Related

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The following season Cameron Green emerged into the Test side and has cemented the allrounder role at No. 6, although in recent months there could have been an opening for Marsh if he hadn’t been sidelined. It’s unlikely that he and Green will play in the same side, but he wants to be in position to take an opportunity if it arises.”I feel I’ve really developed as a person and feel like every single year I’ve got better as a cricketer,” he told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the opening ODI in Mumbai. “I’m full of confidence at the moment that my best can match it with anyone. I’m hopeful to get another opportunity in red-ball cricket but if it doesn’t happen I’ll keep plugging away and be happy to represent Australia in whatever team I can.”At 31 years of the age, we’ve seen a lot of guys who have hit their peak around that age. Hopefully that’s the case for me.”Mitchell Marsh made an unbeaten 108 for WA in the Sheffield Shield earlier this month•Getty Images

He admitted to a hint of ‘what if’ when Green was absent for three Tests against South Africa and India with a broken finger but knew he’d had no choice but to get his ankle fixed.”It’s natural to feel that way at times, but in the same sentence if I’d kept going with my ankle I probably wouldn’t have got through and it would have been more detrimental to the team,” he said. “I never want to put my own personal goals ahead of anything that comes with team.”I’ve said that getting in the Ashes squad is a real goal of mine. I’m hopeful that’s the case, but I also understand that might not be. It was certainly part of the reason I got the surgery done.”Marsh, who played a key role in Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup victory after his promotion to No. 3, made the best of his enforced break and when he was able to train again worked extensively on his batting with coaches Scott Meuleman and Beau Casson.”You never really know when you come back how it will pan out but was pretty confident in myself,” he said. “Generally speaking through my career I’ve been best when fresh. Getting a chance to have a break from the rollercoaster ride that international cricket is, I used the time as wisely as I possibly could.”Ultimately, however, an opportunity to add to his 32 Test caps could well be out of his hands as Green continues to make huge strides in Test cricket. Having claimed a maiden five-wicket at the MCG in the game he suffered the broken finger he scored a maiden Test century in Ahmedabad last week.”The trajectory of his career is only going up,” Marsh said. “He’s got a level head on him, he loves learning. He’s got all the attributes to be a great cricketer and he’s sort of got through that period now of all the hype around him.”Now we are starting to see him just perform. He’s gaining a lot of respect around world cricket, not just as a young player but as an established international cricketer. Now he has that belief in himself he will be able to keep pushing the boundaries. And they are big boundaries for him so anything is possible.”

All the matches will be played in East London before the teams go to the World Cup, starting eight days after the tri-series final

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2022South Africa will host India and West Indies in East London for a triangular T20I series in January-February next year in the build-up to the women’s T20 World Cup 2023, which will be held in South Africa soon after, in February.

Schedule

Jan 19: South Africa vs India
Jan 21: South Africa vs West Indies
Jan 23: India vs West Indies
Jan 25: South Africa vs West Indies
Jan 28: South Africa vs India
Jan 30: India vs West Indies
Feb 2: Final

The three teams will play each other twice in the round-robin stage, before the top two teams play the final on February 2, after which there will be a short gap before the World Cup kicks off on February 10. The World Cup will run till February 26, with the matches played in Cape Town, Gqeberha and Paarl.”These two sides [India and West Indies] are up there with the most talented and entertaining nations in women’s T20 cricket, having featured in two of the last four finals, with the West Indies lifting the trophy in 2016,” Enoch Nkwe, CSA’s director of cricket, said in a statement. “This will give the Momentum Proteas a highly competitive build-up to the ultimate prize of the T20 World Cup.”At the World Cup, South Africa have been placed in Group A alongside favourites Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. India and West Indies are in Group B with England, Ireland and Pakistan.Australia have won five of the seven editions of the World Cup so far, with England and West Indies winning once each. South Africa have never reached the title round, while India got to the final for the first time in the previous edition, in 2020 in Australia, where Australia beat them by 85 runs at the MCG.

England’s bowlers fought back to secure a 15-run win in the first T20 with South Africa, after Sarah Taylor’s blistering, unbeaten 74 had masked a top-order failure with the bat

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2016
ScorecardSarah Taylor made an unbeaten 74 to set up victory (file photo)•Stephen Pond/Getty Images

England’s bowlers fought back to secure a 15-run win in the first T20 with South Africa, after Sarah Taylor’s blistering, unbeaten 74 had masked a top-order failure with the bat.Chasing 148 to win, South Africa openers Dane van Niekerk and Trisha Chetty put on a 96-run stand but Anya Shrubsole claimed three wickets to put the brakes on and put England 1-0 up in the three-match series.Van Niekerk struck a half-century, to go with 2 for 26 with the ball, but she fell to the returning Shrubsole and South Africa were left needing 51 from the last five overs. Jenny Gunn had Chetty lbw in the next over and South Africa’s middle order could not achieve the required acceleration.Marizanne Kapp was next to go, a wicket for Danielle Hazell, and Shrubsole then effectively sealed the win in the penultimate over, removing the dangerous Lizelle Lee – via a brilliant Amy Jones catch at deep midwicket – and captain Mignon du Preez. Gunn bowled the final over, with 24 required, and conceded just eight while having Chloe Tryon stumped.South Africa had initially been on top with the ball as well, reducing England to 41 for 3 and 81 for 5. Taylor, coming in at No. 3, initially found an ally in Heather Knight to put on 38 in three-and-a-half overs, and then Georgia Elwiss, playing her first T20 international innings, who also made 18.Taylor, the No. 3-ranked T20 batsman in the world, struck 11 boundaries and showed her confidence with a couple of trademark scoops. Shrubsole also played a part with the bat, as she and Taylor took 18 off Shabnim Ismail’s final over to push England out of sight.The second and third matches in the series will be played as double-headers with the men’s T20s in Cape Town, on Friday, and Johannesburg, on Sunday.