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Kent make strides towards victory on third afternoon as Darren Stevens demonstrates timeless virtues

Richard Hobson at The Oval09-Jul-2019On the day the London reported that the ECB had accepted the name of Oval Invincibles for the Hundred side based at the ground next season, the county associated with the place through its cricketing history looked rather more vincible than they would have wished.Kent will enter the final day in the stronger position having established a lead of 98 on first innings and, after Surrey battled through the second session for the loss of only a single wicket, made sufficient inroads after tea to feel that a third win of the season is within their grasp. Just as long as the weather holds and their heads remain level.When bad light halted play with floodlights beaming for the third day in a row, Sam Curran and Rikki Clarke had at least averted the slender possibility of immediate defeat. Surrey will draw some hope from the fact that batting has rarely been simple, and if they can extend the lead to around 150, while taking time out of the game, they may be able to force mistakes. It would help if Gareth Batty recovers from illness to feature.Next summer, these counties will be together for the new concept. The name is said to have pleased both: Surrey have ground recognition, Kent a strong nod to the county motto of Invicta. This goes back to Norman times and means unconquered, although they seem to have remained so not by defeating William the Conqueror but thanks to a mutual agreement not to fight. Perhaps the Oval Pragmatists would be more appropriate.A cheeky soul might ask Darren Stevens what he remembers about motte and bailey castles. True, he was born in 1976 rather than 1066, but he looks a year or two older than 43 and the little hair now left is grey, and light grey at that. When Paul Downton, Kent’s director of cricket, announced the signing of Matt Milnes last September he talked of “building and developing a seam attack that grows to be the best in the country”. But that attack would not be the same without the man who is old enough to be the father of the rest.As in the first innings, the Kent bowlers kept Surrey under near-constant pressure. They maintained a challenging line to the succession of left-handers. Revealingly, the first four wickets all fell to catches by wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson, albeit that of Rory Burns to a gloved attempt to hook. Before that stroke, Surrey were 9 for 1 overall in what had effectively become a four-session game. At that point, Kent took back the initiative.Without being spectacular the hour or so before tea was especially engrossing. A blanket of thin cloud blocked the sky, but it felt warm and close, as though a raindrop might herald a storm just as a wicket might easily spark a collapse. Grant Stewart struck Dean Elgar on the forearm, from the other end Ollie Rayner turned the ball past the bat. Yet Elgar and Burns were batting actively, rotating strike and finding gaps.Elgar nudged and poked and guided, his runs ugly but valuable. Burns, meanwhile, had enjoyed success on the pull from the second ball of the innings when he swatted away Harry Podmore. And so his demise to Milnes came as all the more of a shock. Then, confirming how difficult it has been to begin an innings, Scott Borthwick followed immediately to give Milnes his 39th wicket of the season. His signing from Nottinghamshire has been well and truly vindicated, as they have noticed at Trent Bridge as well as Canterbury.From then on, it became the Stevens Show. Curran, whose instinct is to counterattack, survived appeals for catches behind in successive overs, the second with particular conviction. It barely mattered when Elgar’s stubborn effort ended leg-before on 65 and Jamie Smith quickly fell in similar fashion – not the first and not the last youngster to succumb playing around his front pad with Stevens wobbling the ball late.His figures currently read 4 for 46, and with a breezy 29 before lunch he could reflect on a day’s wage well earned. As it happened, Surrey would have been relatively happy to have claimed the remaining six Kent wickets for 84, keeping the deficit in double figures. The highlight was an athletic diving catch by Mark Stoneman at midwicket to remove Stevens and a high take at first slip by Clarke accounting for Stewart.Clarke had demonstrated remarkable reflexes for a man close to his 38th birthday, and with three wickets in the session he demonstrated what Stevens later confirmed, that youth does not hold a monopoly on quality cricket. Which is not to say that either man will necessarily be sprinting around the boundary for the Invincibles next year. They are too pragmatic for that.

Gary Kirsten will oversee the Cardiff-based men’s team while Matthew Mott will take charge of the women’s set-up

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2019The ECB has confirmed two more coaching appointments for The Hundred, with Gary Kirsten and Matthew Mott taking charge of the Cardiff-based men’s and women’s teams respectively.Kirsten, the former South Africa opener, coached India to World Cup victory in 2011 and then oversaw South Africa’s rise to the No. 1 Test ranking. He has had extensive experience in the world of franchise T20, working with Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL and Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash.”To be involved in English and Welsh cricket from a coaching perspective is something that I have never done,” Kirsten said. “It’s great to be given that opportunity and to come to Cardiff.”This is a new format that I am sure will grow and grow. The real win is that it will grab the attention of families and expose the game of cricket to as many environments and communities as possible.”Mott knows Cardiff well from his time in charge of Glamorgan between 2011 and 2013. He has previously coached in the Sheffield Shield, and took charge of the Australia women’s team in 2015, leading them to the title at last year’s T20 World Cup, and overseeing their successful recent defence of the Ashes in the UK.”Cardiff is a special place for me and my family and that was a big part in my decision to return,” Mott said.”I’ve got no doubt The Hundred will be a success for the women’s game. I’ve got a young son who is a Sydney Sixers fan and he doesn’t see gender – he just sees the team. The Hundred will provide that sort of platform in England and Wales and I can’t speak highly enough of what that can mean for the game.”

Middlesex fall to first defeat of the Blast season in de Villiers’ absence as Gloucestershire sneak home

ECB Reporters Network25-Jul-2019Cheltenham-born Miles Hammond delighted his home crowd with a brilliant array of shots as Gloucestershire inflicted a first defeat on Middlesex in this season’s Vitality Blast.In front of a sell-out 5,000 attendance at a steaming College Ground, the 23-year-old opener smashed 63, including nine fours and three sixes, to help see his side to a two-wicket win after the visitors had won the toss and elected to bat.Without AB de Villiers, who was nursing a hand injury, Middlesex could post only 148 for 9 on the fast-scoring College Ground, Stevie Eskinazi making 40 and John Simpson 42 not out. David Payne claimed 3 for 32, while Ryan Higgins and AJ Tye both returned 2 for 23.In reply, Gloucestershire slipped to 84 for 5, despite Hammond’s efforts, before Benny Howell (33) and Jack Taylor (24) made sure they reached 151 for 8 and won with four balls to spare.Middlesex began like a team who had won their first two group games, as Eskinazi hit three fours off the first four balls of the match, sent down by Payne, and Dawid Malan lofted Graeme van Buuren’s second ball from the other end over deep square for six.But left-arm spinner van Buuren stemmed the early momentum with his next delivery, which saw Malan caught and bowled off a skyer.Dan Lincoln came in at three in the absence of de Villiers for his Middlesex debut. The 24-year-old Surrey-born batsman and Eskinazi, who faced only 26 balls, took the score to 73 before the latter was brilliantly stumped by James Bracey off a Howell leg-side wide.Lincoln, a non-league goalkeeper who was only registered by Middlesex yesterday, made sure the momentum was maintained, hitting Higgins for a straight six, before being caught at deep midwicket off the following delivery for a promising 30.The same over saw Nick Gubbins taken at long-on for a single and at the halfway stage Middlesex were 81 for 4. The visitors were then squeezed by Howell, AJ Tye, Higgins and Tom Smith, losing George Scott cheaply as they added 26 in four overs.Toby Roland-Jones and Tom Helm perished to catches at extra cover off Payne, while Nathan Sowter also succumbed to an attempted big hit, and Mujeeb was bowled by Tye for a duck.Middlesex had lost their early momentum, with a straight six by Simpson off Howell in the 15th over a rare blow of defiance.Gloucestershire’s innings began as their opponents’ had done, Hammond hitting two fours and a six in the opening two overs.But the third saw Tom Helm strike a double blow, having dangerman Michael Klinger caught behind for ten and Ian Cockbain taken at point two balls later to leave the hosts 25 for 2.Hammond continued to attack with a series of sweetly-timed shots that help take the hosts to 59 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. Soon the local boy was raising his bat to acknowledge warm applause for a 26-ball fifty.Bracey and Higgins fell cheaply before Hammond’s superb knock was ended by a low catch from wicketkeeper Simpson off Roland-Jones. At 84 for 5, Gloucestershire had to regroup.Howell, dropped at short cover before he had scored, and Taylor added 45 priceless runs together. Both fell at the end, along with van Buuren, but had already ensured a hugely successful festival for Gloucestershire ended in style, as Smith hit the winning runs.

Third Ashes double-hundred puts Smith into different league as England struggle to 23 for 1 in reply

The Report by Andrew Miller05-Sep-2019England 23 for 1 trail Australia 497 for 8 (Smith 211, Labuschagne 67) by 474 runs

For about two overs on the second day at Old Trafford, Steven Smith looked fallible as he resumed his comeback innings after yesterday’s preamble half-century. Stuart Broad found his edge with his first ball of the day, then induced that rarest of aberrations, a waft outside off from his second.Moments later, it appeared that Smith’s neurotic focus had found the root of his discomfort – a rogue van’s windscreen, visible through the slenderest of gaps in a gate behind the bowler’s arm, and winking at him with unfathomable persistence, much as the North Star might after one too many disco biscuits.But even after a towel had been lodged under the wipers to block out the glare, Smith was unable to settle immediately, and three balls into Jofra Archer’s first over of the day, he pumped a low full toss at a catchable height through the bowler’s outstretched fingers and away to the boundary for four. A final, flighty fence past leg stump followed. And there and then, England knew, deep in their souls, that their window of opportunity had clanged shut.Fidget, shuffle, nudge, smack. Rinse. Repeat. Back and across, coiled like a pinball launcher, way outside off if needs be, to clip a perfectly decent ball off the hip, or to pongo onto the front foot for another freakishly emphatic drive, bat pointing to the precise patch of grass that he had targeted, rubbing in his genius while simply completing the arc of his stroke.For the remainder of his 263-ball, 497-minute stay, Smith batted as if he had never been away – which, but for that delivery from Archer at Lord’s, he might indeed never have been. Once again, he encountered an opposition that ran out of plans and patience in equal measure, as he found sufficient support from, first, Tim Paine and then Mitchell Starc to leave England praying for more rain to assist the series-extending draw that is surely now the limit of their ambitions.By the time he eventually fell for 211, reverse-sweeping the part-time spin of Joe Root (having frogmarched England’s frontline bowlers to the brink of that inevitable declaration), Smith had racked up a nonsensical haul of 589 runs in four innings, at an average of 147.25 that would have been closer to 200 but for his brave but unwise decision to resume that Lord’s knock while displaying the early signs of concussion.Steve Smith celebrates his century•Getty Images

And by the close, the ease of Smith’s own progress had been put into stark perspective by the agonised extraction of England’s own erstwhile No.4, Joe Denly. Promoted to open due to Jason Roy’s clear unsuitability for the task, Denly endured for 23 balls and four sketchily gathered runs, before stabbing Pat Cummins into the midriff of Matthew Wade at short leg, who snaffled the rebound brilliantly in one hand, diving to his right.The difference between Australia’s focus and England’s was as visible in that final half-an-hour with the ball as it had been for so long with Smith’s bat. Starc, armed with the new ball after stewing on the sidelines for three Tests, looked as “cherry-ripe” as Archer in particular has looked fatigued in this contest, while his fellow quicks, Josh Hazlewood and Cummins, were no less eager to show what can yet be achieved on this surface.But it was the energy in the field was the most palpable difference. For if England could be excused for being blown off-track by the howling gales of the first truncated day, today’s (largely) blue skies robbed them of any mitigation. They needed to be at their best on a pivotal day of the series, but they were by and large as poor as they’ve been all summer.Smith’s first century of the day, his third of the series, was a formality – ushered through with a misfield at square leg, and celebrated with a pointed wave of the bat that doubled as a “hello, I’m back”. It was his fifth in his last eight innings against England, his 11th in Ashes cricket, and his 26th in 67 Tests all told. Comparisons with Don Bradman have long been sacrilege in Test cricket, but the relentless weight of these numbers are starting to scotch all complaints.There was, however, one moment that stood head and shoulders above all England’s other errors. Jack Leach has had a storied summer – that 92 as a nightwatchman at Lord’s, that most glorious of 1 not outs at Headingley last week. And with the ball, all things considered, he was probably second only to the toiling Broad as England’s most probing option of the day.But when, with Smith on 118 and showing another fleeting glimpse of mortality against his relative kryptonite of left-arm spin, Leach found the edge of his bat with a flighted, dipping, ripping delivery that sent every data analyst in the game into raptures, the moment was immediately lost as replays showed that he had overstepped by a good half an inch.A spinner’s no-ball is one of cricket’s unforgivable sins, and traumatically for Leach it was only his 13th out of more than 15,000 in his career. But what a delivery to serve one up on. Smith turned on his heel, marching back to resume his innings through a phalanx of crestfallen fielders, who were immediately torn a strip by a livid Joe Root, desperately trying to lift some flat-lining standards. But once again, that window of opportunity was already shut.The absence of Smith, after all, would have meant the presence of another not-Smith – but even the less impossible task of making dents in the rest of the batting order proved to be beyond England, at least at the first grasp. Earlier in the day, Matthew Wade had gifted his wicket with a foul slog to mid-on, where Root clung onto a swirling chance that left him white with relief, but when the under-pressure Tim Paine arrived to replace him, the equally under-pressure Roy dropped a shocker at second slip, the ball barely hitting the heel of his palm before plopping to the turf to leave Broad, the bowler, apoplectic.Paine is without a first-class century in 12 years, and is increasingly lacking in mandate as Australia captain now that Smith, for all his sins, is so clearly restored as the team’s front-man. His removal for 9 would have left him with a highest score of 34 in seven innings. But instead he found the resolve to grind through to a cathartic half-century, albeit that he required another let-off to get there, as Sam Curran – briefly on the field for Ben Stokes – dropped a low pull at mid-on on 49 as Archer bent his back in the best spell of his wicketless innings.Paine didn’t last much longer – he nicked a fine legcutter from Craig Overton’s first ball after tea to depart for 56 – but his presence had augmented Smith’s dominance of a stand of 145, and though Pat Cummins didn’t linger long, Starc’s eagerness to get involved in the series manifested itself in the ideal tailender’s innings.His 54 from 58 balls included seven fours and two sixes, but began as a keen supporting role, just 6 runs from 23 until Smith’s double-century gave him licence to unleash the long handle. Broad was hacked for four fours in a row to kickstart a helter-skelter finale that might have carried on to the close against a despondent attack, had Paine not waved them in with half-an-hour of the day to go.By then, of course, Smith was gone – an event so rare that it would have justified on of the Don’s bespoke “He’s Out!” billboards, had the Manchester Evening News deemed it worthy to publish a special edition. His nudge behind square off Broad pushed him ever further into into the elite of Ashes combatants, with only the Don himself (EIGHT!) and Wally Hammond (4) having recorded more double-hundreds in the game’s oldest rivalry.Either way, his series tally is 589 runs from four innings, one of which was effectively sawn off by concussion. And now, after this latest masterclass, the only dizziness on display is that being induced by the vertigo of his statistics, and the bewilderment of an England opposition that must now be believing that Headingley was a fever-dream after all.

The offspinner believes ‘the characteristics of an SCG pitch is part of our cricket history’

Andrew McGlashan16-Oct-20195:18

What’s the fuss about Drop-In pitches?

Nathan Lyon has implored the SCG not to turn to drop-in pitches following the latest clash between sporting codes which has seen New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania shifted away from the iconic ground.The game will now be played at Drummoyne Oval – with next week’s Marsh Cup match also moved to North Sydney Oval – after the decision was taken that the wicket block would be at risk from significant damage if it was used this week.The problem has been blamed on the Sydney Roosters’ training session in early October before the NRL Grand Final. It has resurfaced the debate about the usage of the ground with cricket under pressure from the winter sports.Next month’s T20I between Australia and Pakistan will now be the first cricket of the season at the ground followed by New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia in mid November.Lyon, who has played just three Sheffield Shield matches at the SCG through his career, hopes the ground does not go the way of the MCG, which has had problems with its pitches in recent years, and Adelaide by using drop-in surfaces.”I really hope it doesn’t go to drop-in. I really think the characteristics of an SCG pitch is part of our cricket history here,” Lyon said ahead of his first appearance of the season. “It’s called the Sydney Cricket Ground so I personally believe we should keep the wickets the same, I don’t really want drop-ins.”Though the latest problems have stemmed from rugby league, the SCG is home to the Sydney Swans Australia Rules Football team. Earlier this year their coach, John Longmire, said drop-in surfaces should be discussed.”With a wicket base on the ground, it’s something we’ve always been mindful of, obviously we’d support a drop in wicket if that was part of the discussion,” he said in April. “It’s certainly very important to discuss it, it’s a 12 months a year venue.””It gets highlighted now because there’s more traffic here, and every weekend there’s a game where that hasn’t been the case in the past. Ideally, the winter codes would appreciate having just the same turf all over the ground. We understand we’ve got compromises. They play a lot of cricket here.”In July, the SCG Trust – which runs the ground – formed a committee to consider drop-in pitches. Cricket NSW is strongly opposed to any move that way. “The move to a drop-in wicket with lifeless uniformity will create the risk of boring cricket,” their submission to the committee said.

Steven Smith, Pat Cummins, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc and Justin Langer on mental health

Daniel Brettig20-Nov-2019‘I’ve got to get away from cricket, or else it captures my whole life’Pat Cummins: I can only speak for myself but it’s hugely important for me. With cricket, being on tour, it isn’t just individual tours, it’s basically our life. We spend 10-11 months of the year on the road, so when I’m touring I’ve got to get away from cricket, or else it captures my whole life. When I can get little breaks I do, and those four weeks were great for me to step away from cricket, not really watch cricket, just live a normal life, have a normal routine, because I don’t think I could do it for 10-15 years just with 12 months of the year all focused on cricket. Other guys might be different, they may play a little bit more, a little bit less. But for me as important as being really focused at training and games is trying to switch off and change my focus to something else every now and then.The last 12 months JL’s been really good at trying to identify breaks where we can. I’ve heard him say a few times ‘I wish I could give you guys a longer break but we’ll have to delay that’. It’s a general conversation. For me the priority’s obviously international cricket and I want to maximise as much international cricket as I can. We try to look through the diary between JL, the support staff and myself and try and map out a plan. But the priority after the Ashes, the non-negotiable, was to have a few weeks off bowling and then the conversation’s around ‘okay, how does that look in terms of games I’m going to miss, how long can we extend that break, can we get it out to four weeks’, so it’s a general conversation between all of us.Steven Smith: I think that’s something that we’re getting a lot better at. Communication with the coach, relevant people that are involved who we can have those honest conversations with about how we’re tracking. It is a pretty hectic schedule nowadays. It’s bloody tough to sustain it for long periods of time, particularly I think for the fast bowlers. It’s extremely difficult what they put themselves through. It’s great that those conversations are happening and we’re trying to keep guys as mentally and physically fresh as they can be.Tim Paine chats with Justin Langer•Getty Images

‘The biggest improvement since I started is the amount of support’Smith We fill out daily how we’re feeling, how we slept … the sleep gets a big red every now and again. We fill out a wellness thing every day. The coach and psych and head of team performance look at our markers daily and it’s upon us to be honest in the way we go about that as well. They can see how we’re tracking and if there’s a change in behaviour, if you’re feeling ill or not sleeping well or feeling a bit off, they’re aware of it. That can sort of start a conversation. Why’s your sleep bad? What’s going on? Why are you feeling a bit off today? It’s good that they do that. It’s good for guys’ mental health and wellbeing.Cummins Lloydy [Australian team psychologist Michael Lloyd] has just about been full-time on tour for the last few years. Lloydy’s brilliant, I’ve known him since 17 or 18 years old and he’s always on tour, if he isn’t he might be away for a week or two, but there’s definitely times where I pick up the phone and speak to him about different things. We’ve got great staff, through the ACA, the player development officers around the states, everyone’s got good contacts with them.That’s probably the biggest improvement I’ve seen since I first started was the amount of support you have around. It’s still up to the player sometimes to pick up the phone and pick up that conversation, but we’re lucky how many resources we have and always trying to optimise that. We get asked about it a lot, how we want it to look like and how we can make improvements. I think if it’s three or four negative things, it goes [from the wellness app] to a group of people and that might have the physios, coaches, mental health, psychologists, and whatever it is, that normally instigates a conversation with the player.ALSO READ: ‘Shows incredible courage to talk about mental health’
‘The only opinions who matter are the ones close to me and the team’Mitchell Starc: I got off social media. Getting older and going through all that the last 12 to 18 months I have been mindful about being pretty level. In terms of opinions, the only ones who matter are the ones close to me and the team. Going in and out of the team early in my career and going through that as a young cricketer [helped me]. The game has changed since I started. Social media stuff comes into it. We have two broadcasters now so there are more demands on the players. Guys are reading and taking note of more opinions now as well. I can only speak for myself but that is what helped me most over the past 18 months was not caring what people think and not reading it and taking that away from my lifestyle and it’s been a lot clearer and a lot more positive.Pat Cummins claims another scalp•Getty Images

‘Having something else in my life it would have alleviated some of the pressure I put on myself’Tim Paine: It can be difficult [to have perspective] and I think it comes as well with experience. I think it’s something you do need to go through at times to come out of it with that knowledge and know-how. I look now at that period of time where I was out injured or I was really struggling now as a real positive in my life, not only in my career. I think it’s made me a much better person. I think obviously going back to when I was 16 or 17 I wish I knew what I knew now and I would have been a lot better at school, because I think having something else in my life it would have alleviated some of the pressure I put on myself to perform. It would have allowed me to go out and play a little bit more fearlessly which I would have loved to be able to do but I’ve never allowed myself to do because I’ve always had all my eggs in one basket. It was a difficult time, but in the end it’s turned out to be a real positive. Cummins: It was really difficult [battling injuries at a young age]. Probably looking back I now realise how much more difficult it was than when I was going through it for the first time – I was a little bit naive. The most obvious example was that every single summer of my life I’d played cricket and suddenly I was a professional cricketer but I was spending my summers not playing cricket, and I just wanted to do what I love doing. I try to keep realising that while I wasn’t playing, I was hanging out with my mates, I was going to the cricket ground and training, so there was a life as a cricketer I was still able to have and Cricket Australia were brilliant with New South Wales, the support staff especially who were my main contact in cricket. They were the ones who kept me motivated and instilled patience in me for those couple of years.‘Health is much more important than another game of cricket’Justin Langer: I’ve learned a lot over however long I’ve been coaching. I’m dealing with young men all the time, so hopefully I’ve got a pretty good feel for how guys are going. But it’s a complex issue – it’s like concussion. There’s a really clear protocol on concussion now and I’m really hopeful, in a really complex matter of mental health, that we can get to a point where there’s really clear protocols and there’s no stresses about it, there’s no indignity in saying ‘I’m not okay’.And then we work out how guys can return to play, whether it’s in the shorter term or in the longer term. I’m sure that’s what we’re all searching for, to make sure that we get that protocol right. I said it one of our players today, at the end of the day the health of our players and the wellbeing is much more important to me than another game of cricket. We saw it with Steve Smith – we would have loved Steve Smith to play the third Test of the Ashes, of course. But it was so clear that he wasn’t right, it was an easy decision. We lost a tough game but it was a no-brainer, and I hope we can get to that point with mental health as well.

South Africa haven’t picked up a single point yet, but the fast bowler feels the results will come if they focus on the processes

Firdose Moonda19-Dec-2019South Africa’s position at the bottom of the World Test Championship is a reality they don’t need to confront just yet, according to Kagiso Rabada. Instead, the fast bowler and his team-mates are focused on rebuilding as they prepare for a home series against England, where they are looking to break their run of five consecutive Test defeats and begin a new era.Speaking at the team’s training hub in Pretoria, Rabada indicated South Africa may not be as far behind the pace as they look. “The ICC Test Championship can put unnecessary pressure on us right now,” he said. “We shouldn’t really be looking at that. Yes, we don’t have any points and it does look quite bad. But if we can focus on what we want to do, that should look after itself.”We hadn’t been thinking about it, but when you mention it and you think about where we are on that table, it can get you into the mindset where you need to catch up on a lot of things. But at the moment we need to focus on the product and the byproduct will look after itself.”This insular kind of talk is commonplace among teams but essential for this South Africa side that is reeling from weeks of administrative chaos, which culminated in the overhaul of the coaching staff. Just seven days ago, the team did not know if they would have what was being termed a director. Now, they have several.Graeme Smith’s appointment as acting director of cricket brought with it Mark Boucher as head coach and Jacques Kallis as batting consultant. While Boucher and Kallis are household names in cricket circles, their playing days preceded Rabada’s, and the current camp is his first interaction with either of them. So far, so good.”It’s amazing to have someone like Jacques Kallis in. I’ve never worked with him. He’s a great of the game. So is Mark Boucher,” Rabada said. “To hear their knowledge, it doesn’t even have to be skill-based, but mentally how you want to approach certain situations. So it’s great to have them around because they almost speed up your learning process. Everything is well-drilled and well-oiled. There’s no hesitation. They have a plan, they’re really decisive on what needs to happen.”But at the same time it’s not very strict. There’s an expectation on every player to do the minimum of what is required, and the rest is up to you. As a player, you can liberate yourself.”Graeme Smith, Enoch Nkwe, Mark Boucher and Linda Zondi at the unveiling of South Africa’s new coaching structure•AFP

The excitement of new mentors is balanced with the familiarity of old hands such as Charl Langeveldt, the new bowling coach, who was last with the side under Russell Domingo, a tenure that ended in August 2017. Rabada has not had a specialist bowling coach since then (Ottis Gibson combined the role with his head-coach duties) and has enjoyed reconnecting.”It’s also great to have Charl Langeveldt back,” Rabada said. “I really enjoy working with him. He’s in the same light as Mark and Jacques. They know what they’re talking about. They played at this level for a very long time.”The presence of a trio of former international superstars could easily leave the former interim team director and now assistant coach Enoch Nkwe, who took the side to India, in the shadows. But Rabada hauled Nkwe into the light with high praise for how he has handled the transition from being the man in charge to being a supporting actor for players he has coached over many years.”Enoch is someone I’ve worked with since I was at age-group level, along with guys like Quinny [Quinton de Kock] and Temba [Bavuma]. The guys who’ve worked with him, they know his quality. He’s no doubt a valuable person to have in the change room,” Rabada said. “He would have had to make a decision about whether he was going to walk away or stay, and he stayed.”I’m really glad that he did because I’ve got a relationship with him and so do the other players. Especially the young players who are in the T20 format; guys like Rassie [van der Dussen] and Dwaine [Pretorius], they know him well and they know the value he can bring. I certainly know that, too. He’s made a decision to invest in the team and I’m really glad that he’s done so.”Now, the collection of expertise South Africa have assembled needs to pay dividends. South Africa have not had a Test win since January and their marquee players have made little impact on the global stage. De Kock is the only batsman to have scored more than 500 runs in 2019 and while Rabada lies 10th on the global Test wicket charts, he has had his leanest year since he became a regular in red-ball cricket. His 26 wickets – half of what he took in 2018 and 20 fewer than his first full calendar year of Test cricket in 2016 – have come at a bloated – by his standards – average of 28.19, and he has looked off his best. He was down on pace, accuracy and perhaps motivation, which has somewhat symbolised South Africa’s decline; he will want to stand for the opposite as it unfolds.”We’ve got a challenge now as we’re going through a transition phase, and we need to see if we can step up. We believe that we can,” Rabada said. “We spoke about where we want to go and where we’re at right now, and I think everyone is on the same page, which makes things a lot clearer. We are still trying to do define roles for each player to execute but it’s a process and at the moment it’s important for each player to buy into the mindset. Then, it’s up to each player to pull a rabbit out the hat.”

Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings among group bound for Mumbai, Jonny Bairstow to join James Anderson, Mark Wood in Potchefstroom

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2019A clutch of prospective England batsmen and spin bowlers will embark on a specialist training camp in Mumbai this week in an effort to hone their skills in unfamiliar conditions.On the day England fell to an innings defeat in New Zealand, the ECB announced that batsmen Will Jacks, James Bracey, Dan Lawrence, Keaton Jennings and Sam Hain would travel to India with spinners Dom Bess, Mason Crane and Amar Virdi for a three-week camp starting on Tuesday.Jacks, the 21-year-old Surrey batsman, produced a jaw-dropping 25-ball century during a pre-season T10 clash with Lancashire in Dubai in March and, on the other end of the spectrum, Jennings is hoping to resurrect his international career having played the last of his 17 Tests against West Indies in February.The batsmen will work with Surrey assistant head coach Vikram Solanki, while the spinners will train under the guidance of Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson and former Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath.The camp encompasses a series of so-called “Individualised Programmes” of training for players aimed at “delivering better prepared players” to England head coach Chris Silverwood, according to ECB Performance Director Mo Bobat.”The Individualised Programmes are a great opportunity for some of our best young cricketers to focus on specific areas of their game in unfamiliar and challenging conditions around the world,” Bobat said. “Some of the players involved are in England’s immediate plans, while others will be working on areas that will benefit the national team’s medium and long-term needs.”The ECB also confirmed that Jonny Bairstow would attend a training camp in South Africa from December 1-14, working with former England batsman Jonathan Trott in his bid to return to England’s Test squad. Bairstow, who averaged 23.77 during the Ashes, was dropped for the two-Test tour of New Zealand. He was briefly called back into the Test squad during the T20 series against New Zealand as cover for Joe Denly but returned home when Denly recovered from an ankle injury in time for the first Test at Mount Maunganui.Earlier this month, Ashley Giles, the managing director of England’s men’s cricket, revealed that James Anderson would take the next step in his return from injury at the camp in Potchefstroom. Anderson will be joined by fellow quicks Mark Wood, Olly Stone, Craig Overton and Ollie Robinson.Anderson and Wood have been undergoing intensive rehabilitation with ECB staff with a view to being available for selection for England’s tour of South Africa starting next month.Anderson has been sidelined since he broke down after bowling just four overs in the first Ashes Test in August with a recurrence of a calf injury he suffered while playing for Lancashire in early July. Wood was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a side strain during the World Cup final and he has since had surgery on his right knee. Stone, meanwhile, is recovering from a stress fracture to his back.

The fast bowler injured his ankle while playing for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy

Sidharth Monga in Delhi21-Jan-2020Ishant Sharma is a serious doubt for the Test series in New Zealand after MRI scans revealed a grade-three tear in his ankle, which he twisted during Delhi’s ongoing Ranji Trophy match on Monday. The local specialist has advised him six weeks’ rest and rehab, but the BCCI will wait to make its own independent assessment at the NCA in Bangalore before taking an official decision on his selection.Sharma came to Feroz Shah Kotla for a while but soon returned home. He has trouble even walking right now, and is likely to go to the NCA in a week’s time. India’s first Test in New Zealand begins on February 21, exactly a month away, while the practice game they play ahead of it starts on February 14.Sharma suffered the injury on Monday when he twisted the ankle while turning around for an lbw appeal against Vidarbha batsman Faiz Fazal. Delhi needed a burst from him to overturn the 16-run first-innings deficit, but, a bowler short, they conceded 330 runs and needed to bat the last day out to rescue one point.His Vidarbha opponent Umesh Yadav is now likely to be the third quick in the Tests in New Zealand with Navdeep Saini expected to be the back-up fast bowler should Sharma not recover in time.Four short of the incredible feat of 100 Tests – only one Indian fast bowler has managed that – Sharma has been enjoying a late revival over the last three years. He credits it to a recent change in his bowling by which he has been able to pitch the ball fuller without losing any pace. His team with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami has turned India into a feared bowling unit even in away conditions.”Having a bunch of fast bowlers like this, who can just bowl out any opposition anywhere, is a brilliant thing to have in Indian cricket,” their captain Virat Kohli recently said. “[It’s] something that we haven’t quite relied on in the past, but I think them taking the attention away from the spinners in India is a huge statement, so I think that’s what makes us feel that when we travel now, we have it in us to win a series, and not just one-odd Test match here and there. So I think it’s been hard work, persistence, learning the game, thinking about the game that’s got them to where they are and they deserve it fully.”

Moores was injured during training and will fly home to England to recover

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2020Worcestershire wicketkeeper Ben Cox has earned his first call-up to the England Lions and will join the squad in Australia to replace the injured Tom Moores for the rest of their 50-overs campaign.Nottinghamshire’s Moores was struck while batting in the nets on Sunday and, with the Lions’ four remaining matches being played in the space of eight days, the decision was taken for him to return to England to recover.The Lions will face a Cricket Australia XI in two more limited-overs matches on the Gold Coast, having won the first match of the series on Sunday. They then travel to Sydney to play two matches against a New South Wales XI.James Bracey was the Lions’ opening batsman and wicketkeeper as they won the first match, in which the Cricket Australia XI captain, Will Pucovski, was concussed in a fall while running a single.Cox is regarded as one of the neatest keepers on the county circuit and is capable of some big hitting, as shown when he sealed victory over Sussex in the 2018 Blast final with a six, capping a match-winning knock of 46 not out off 27 balls.He played eight Royal London Cup matches in 2019, scoring 238 runs at 34.00 with 12 dismissals. Cox had the most dismissals of anyone in the Vitality Blast last season with 11 from 14 games, scoring 203 runs at an average of 25.37.Ben Cox celebrates his maiden one-day hundred•Getty Images

England Test trio Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Dom Bess will leave England for Sydney with the rest of the Lions’ red-ball squad on Friday with hopes of securing spots on the senior side’s tour of Sri Lanka in March.The Lions play three four-day matches – one against a Cricket Australia XI in Hobart from February 15-18, followed by a day/night match against Australia A at the MCG and a fixture against a New South Wales XI in Wollongong.