Wed, Mar 8, '23
Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi fell short of their hundreds as West Indies roared back into the game through Gudakesh Motie, Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers after tea on an atypically dry Wanderers pitch. Motie, the left-arm fingerspinner, dismissed both the set batters to weaken the strong foundation they had laid earlier in the day. From 248 for 2, South Africa suddenly slid to 311 for 7 at stumps.
When Markram was in supreme control, South Africa were rattling along at over four runs an over. Motie, who was working his way back from a lower-back injury, shook off the rust in the last session and combined well with Holder to apply the brakes on South Africa. Roston Chase, the other spinner, also found grip, turn, and bounce, which could pique the interest of South Africa's own spinners.
The hosts had also picked two specialist spinners - Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer - in a rare instance. It was so rare that the last time South Africa played two spinners in Johannesburg was way back in 1965.
For Markram, it was business as usual, after South Africa had opted to take first strike. He unfurled a variety of picture-perfect drives, both off the front foot and back, in the front of square. When West Indies shortened their length, Markram was also quickly in position to pull them away. When he was on the verge of his hundred, though, he tried to manufacture a sweep behind the wicket and ended up lobbing it to slip off the toe end. It snapped a breezy 116-run second-wicket partnership with de Zorzi.
Wed, Mar 8, '23
Gujarat Giants have issued a statement saying they were not able to obtain medical clearance in time for their allrounder Deandra Dottin, because of which they had to replace her with Australia allrounder Kim Garth for the ongoing Women's Premier League.
The franchise had earlier said that Dottin was "recovering from a medical situation". In response to that, Dottin tweeted: "I really appreciate all the messages but truth be told I'm recovering from nothing but the Holy Ghost anointing thank you #GodIsGood #GodIsInControl."
On Sunday, Giants issued a clarification saying: "Deandra is a world-class player and a wonderful signing for the franchise. Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain a medical clearance before the defined deadline for this season, such clearances are a requirement of all players participating in the WPL.
Wed, Mar 8, '23
With the second and final Test between the West indies and South Africa scheduled to start on Wednesday in Johannesburg, West Indies Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite is urging his team to build on positives he saw in the first Test last week.
The tourists lost the first Test by 87 runs but had some bright spots, including bowling out the hists in both innings.
“I think it was very good for us as a bowling group to get 20 wickets. That was very important. I think it shows we are not far off,” Brathwaite told reporters in a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
Read more at SportsMax
Tue, Mar 7, '23
Samuel Badree has been named as an Assistant Coach of the West Indies senior Men’s team for the upcoming six-match white ball series against South Africa. Cricket West Indies (CWI) today announced that the former West Indies leg-spinner will join the squad for the three One-Day Internationals (ODI) and three T20 Internationals (T20I) from 16 to 28 March.
Badree said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be asked by CWI to join the team and work with this great group of players in South Africa for the white ball leg of the tour.” Badree, who has previously assisted CWI as a spin bowling consultant and worked in the IPL, believes this opportunity to be “a continuation and an extension of that”.
He added: “I look forward to catching up with the players, some who I played with and most I already know, as we seek to acquit ourselves well on what is expected to be a challenging tour of South Africa. I also look forward to sharing my knowledge and experiences with the players as we look to bring some positive results to our loyal fans.”
Tue, Mar 7, '23
Chairman of the Senior National Selection Panel, Ramanaresh Sarwan, has indicated that Shimron Hetmyer’s selection to the Guyana Harpy Eagles would hinge on him playing Inter-County cricket.
According to Sarwan, he has spoken to Hetmyer on numerous occasions and would trust that a “mature” Hetmyer would make the necessary choices.
“I have spoken to ‘Hetty’ numerous times before and I think ‘Hetty’ is mature enough and old enough to make the right decisions and he has to know what he wants,” Sarwan stated on Saturday when questioned on Hetmyer’s availability for selection.
Sarwan announced the Guyana Harpy Eagles squad for the third round of the West Indies Four-Day Championship, and Hetmyer, who opted out of playing for county team Berbice for reportedly family commitments, was not included in the squad.
Read more at Newsroom