Auckland fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was rewarded for a bright start to the domestic season with a place in New Zealand’s 14-man squad for the ODI series against Australia next month

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2016Auckland fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has been named in New Zealand’s 14-man squad for the three ODIs in Australia next month, following his bright start to the domestic season. Legspinner Todd Astle has also found a place in the squad, displacing Ish Sodhi, who had played in the ODIs in India. Batsman Henry Nicholls makes his way back into the ODI fray as well.

New Zealand ODI squad

Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, BJ Watling
In: Todd Astle, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme,Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls
Out: Corey Anderson (unavailable), Doug Bracewell, Anton Devcich, Luke Ronchi, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor (unavailable)

Seam-bowling allrounder Colin de Grandhomme has entered the ODI squad following an impressive Test debut, taking the place of spinning allrounder Anton Devcich. Colin Munro been included in the squad after missing out in India through injury.Batsman Ross Taylor – who will have eye surgery on Wednesday – was unavailable for selection. Fast bowlers Adam Milne and Mitchell McClenaghan, and allrounders Corey Anderson and George Worker, are all out through injury as well. Wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi has been left out, with BJ Watling preferred.Ferguson, 25, has only played eight List A matches in his career, but has claimed 16 wickets at 28.12 in them. It is his recent first-class form that makes for encouraging reading: he has match figures of 5 for 101, 4 for 107 and 6 for 89 in his most recent Plunket Shield games. New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said Ferguson was effectively a like-for-like replacement for Milne.”Lockie has bowled with pace, and with Milne not available through a series of injuries, Lockie was the obvious guy to step up,” he said. “He bowls consistently in the 140kph range, and clicks over 150 every now and then. There is some real gas to Lockie Ferguson. There’s an element of surprise and no batsman likes bowlers who are up at that pace.”De Grandhomme’s inclusion is no surprise, as his aggressive style of play had long made him a limited-overs international candidate. His seven wickets and quick runs in the Christchurch Test may merely have sealed his place – especially with Anderson continuing to struggle with a back injury. De Grandhomme’s only ODI for New Zealand came in March 2012 against South Africa.Astle, meanwhile, had had a muted Christchurch Test on a seam-friendly pitch, but had built up some domestic first-class form with hauls of 5 for 36 and 3 for 20 in his two previous matches. Sodhi has also had a good start to his domestic season, but had effectively bowled himself out of the ODI team in India, where he had been expensive. Astle is uncapped in ODIs having played two Tests and two T20Is so far.”Todd offers us good all-round balance – with the runs he can score lower down the order – but he’s primarily been picked as a legspinner,” Larsen said. “It’s important to add that Ish has been a little a little inconsistent, and he’s returning to Northern Districts and is working very hard on his game. Ish does remain very clearly in our plans for the future.”Ronchi’s three single-figure scores in India had also seen him exit the squad, though his output has been modest for much longer. In 25 ODI innings since the start of last year’s World Cup, Ronchi has hit 254 runs at an average of 11.04.”Luke remains on our radar, but we felt we wanted to give BJ Watling further ODI experience – Luke knows he was a bit shy of runs across the last year or so,” Larsen said. “BJ is a little more classical in his batsmanship. There are a lot of explosive players in the team. If you think about Henry Nicholls and the way that he plays – we think those two complement the overall batting of the team.”The Chappell-Hadlee series begins on December 4 in Sydney, before the action moves to Canberra, then Melbourne.

India’s newly appointed limited-overs captain Virat Kohli has said having MS Dhoni in the team without the responsibility of leadership will be a “win-win situation” for India and himself

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jan-2017India’s newly appointed limited-overs captain Virat Kohli has said having MS Dhoni in the team without the responsibility of leadership will be a “win-win situation” for India and himself. In an interview with the BCCI website the day after he was named captain, Kohli also said he feels “confident” taking charge in the shorter formats given his understanding of them, and is “excited” to build a team for the 2019 World Cup.”It’s a win-win situation for the captain coming in to still have Dhoni for his advice, his inputs and his cricketing brain,” he said. “But what I’m most happy about is that he’ll be able to play free cricket and express himself as the aggressive MS Dhoni we knew when he first came into the team. As a player, responsibility can take that away from you. I think it’s time he enjoys his cricket because he has taken so much burden for the country.”Dhoni stepped down as India captain on Wednesday, after a nine-year stint in the role. Kohli had been his long-time vice-captain.Kohli said he and Dhoni shared a good relationship, and Dhoni had been grooming him for the role of captain. “I’ve learnt a lot from him in terms of leadership and conducting myself. When you think ‘Dhoni’, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘captain’. For me he’s always going to be my captain because I started my career under him. He will always be the guy who guided me, who gave me opportunities, who gave me ample time and space to grow as a cricketer, who saved me from getting dropped many a time.”There’s a lot of mutual respect between us because he understands that having been given the opportunity, I have actually worked hard on my game and improved the mental side of things. We share a great friendship and I couldn’t be luckier to have him around for his ideas.”It’s something I’ve been preparing for in my own head, and MS has been talking to me as well about strategies, how to approach situations, etc because he also understood how important it is to guide me.”Dhoni’s spot in the batting order has been a point of wider debate of late, with some suggesting it would be best for him at this later stage of his career to bat up the order and guide the innings instead of taking on the mental and physical demands of finishing games. Kohli, too, said he would like to have Dhoni batting up the order. “I would love to see him bat higher up than he has been for the last few years and totally enjoy his cricket. If MS Dhoni enjoys his cricket and plays the way he did in his initial years, then the team is in a very solid space.””I’ll be able to execute plans with more conviction starting off [as limited-overs captain], which wasn’t the case when I became Test captain”•ICC

Kohli said he thought he was better prepared for the limited-overs captaincy than he was when he took over in Tests in January 2015; then, Dhoni had retired from the longest format midway through India’s tour to Australia, captaining on Boxing Day but handing over to Kohli for the New Year’s Test. At that point, Kohli had played 32 Tests. Now, he has 176 ODIs and 45 T20Is behind him.”I feel confident taking it up because of the kind of cricket I’ve played in the shorter format and what I’ve learnt from playing in the different situations in that format. So I’ll be able to execute plans with more conviction starting off, which wasn’t the case when I became Test captain.”I was told a day before that MS is not going to play… and I’m going to captain the country; it was quite surprising for me because, in my head, I was still finding my feet in Test cricket.”Kohli said captaining India at the 2019 World Cup will be the “biggest achievement of my life”, but, even while preparing for that tournament, he would not want to lose sight of playing to win in every game. Winning, he said, would be the best preparation.”Just hearing about the World Cup gives me goosebumps. I think it’s a wonderful phase in Indian cricket where the youngsters have an opportunity to come in and seal their spots for that big occasion. The main goal is to identify players who can play in different positions and can work around the batsmen who’ve been featuring in the ODI set up for a long time, at the same time giving them ample time to prepare for those big events and not rush them into any kinds of plans that they can’t execute.”[But] there is a lot of time to go for it. Our basic goal is to win every game that we play – not taking this process for granted, saying it doesn’t matter if we win or lose games. I don’t think that will create confidence.”When you’re put under pressure, that situation is too overwhelming for a lot of people and you don’t know a way out. But if you’re encountering those situations and know how to win from different situations, it makes a mindset for big tournaments, for big games, for big oppositions and that’s what you start craving for. So I think it’s a gradual process where the main aim will be to win games and give guys the vision and mental strength, and the ability to counter situations and come back and win games.”Being in charge, Kohli said, has made him a better cricketer overall. “Responsibility has always been good for my game, in the sense that there’s no room for complacency. In the IPL, when I’m captain [of Royal Challengers Bangalore], it’s very easy for me throw my wicket away after 60-70, but the reason I push on is that I realise as captain I need to set an example, make that kind of effort before I can ask the same from others. That’s something I’ve always believed in.”It makes me a better player, it makes me a better person, it makes me understand the game more and it makes me much more focused on the game – understand the minute details that win or lose you the game. It works beautifully for me.”

Aaron Finch, the Australia opener, will return to Surrey for the whole of the 2017 NatWest T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2016Aaron Finch, the Australia opener, will return to Surrey for the whole of the 2017 NatWest T20 Blast. He will also provide cover in the Championship when Kumar Sangakkara is away playing in the Caribbean Premier League.Finch featured as an overseas player for Surrey last season, scoring 259 runs at a strike rate of 144.69 in six Blast games, as well as averaging 48.66 in the Championship. At Guildford in July, he hit his first ball faced as a Surrey player for six. He has previously had two spells in county cricket at Yorkshire.Currently rated the No. 2 T20 batsman in the world according to the ICC rankings, Finch also holds the record for the highest T20 international score.”We are very pleased to welcome Finchy back to the Kia Oval after his positive impact on and off the field last season,” Surrey’s director of cricket, Alec Stewart, said. “He remains one of the most destructive batsman in world cricket and I’m sure our members and supporters will enjoy watching him again.”From the next season, the NatWest T20 Blast reverts to a single block in middle of the English summer, running through July and August – a move in part designed to try and make overseas players available for more of the competition.

The match in question was a Tier B clash between Panadura Sports Club and Kalutara Physical Culture, held last week

Andrew Fidel Fernando31-Jan-2017Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will launch an independent inquiry into a pivotal first-class match in which the pattern of scoring has aroused suspicions among other clubs in the league.The result of last week’s Tier B Premier League match between Panadura Sports Club and Kalutara Physical Culture Club had helped secure Panadura the Tier B title, but second-placed Sri Lanka Ports Authority has since voiced concerns about the game to SLC. The board’s cricket committee has consequently recommended an inquiry.”Yesterday the cricket committee met and they got the reports from the match referee and the umpires,” board vice-president K Mathivanan told ESPNcricinfo. “They will give their observations, and the Executive Committee will be appointing a three-member committee to inquire. Most probably by tomorrow the committee will be appointed.”It is the third (and final) day’s play that has drawn most concern. Having begun the day on 180 for 2 – still in their first-innings response to Kalutara’s 390 – Panadura added 223 runs in 22.3 overs at a run rate of 10.34.The remaining two innings of the match were also played at breakneck pace – Kalutara were bowled out for 197 in 22.5 overs in the second innings, before Panadura hit 167 for 7 in 13.4 to win the game. Around 15 overs had remained in the match for Panadura’s push for victory.Mathivanan said SLC will try and appoint people to the inquiry committee who are unaffiliated with an existing club. This ostensibly rules out most SLC officials, who are routinely involved in the running of domestic clubs.”We want the inquiry to be unbiased, so it has to be independent,” Mathivanan said. “The transparency will be there, and justice will be done.”There were no current international players involved in that match. After this penultimate-round victory, Panadura went on to also defeat Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club and top the table with 134.115 points. SLPA finished with 125.34 points.

Australia’s record low in T20Is hands New Zealand series

THE REPORT BY DANIEL BRETTIG22-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHolly Huddleston removed Elyse Villani for a duck•Getty Images

New Zealand routed Australia for their lowest Twenty20 score to complete a comeback series victory in the decisive match at Adelaide Oval.After being comfortably beaten in the opening match at the MCG, the visitors roared back in the second and third fixtures to complete a memorable boil-over against Australia, rounded off by the second biggest-ever margin of defeat for the three-time World champions in the shortest format.Chasing 114 to clinch the match and the series, the hosts tumbled to 66 all out in 16 overs, with only the vice-captain, Alex Blackwell, offering any sort of resistance with an unbeaten 34-ball 30. A pair of run-outs topped and tailed a disastrous innings, as Lea Tahuhu, Holly Huddleston, and Amelia Kerr shared six wickets between them.Huddleston picked up the critical wicket of captain Meg Lanning in the fourth over of the Australian pursuit, coaxing an edge behind that was well held by Rachel Priest. Australia caved in dramatically thereon – reeling at 5 for 9 in the fifth over – a hole from which there was to be no escaping.By contrast, New Zealand’s innings had been underpinned by firm starts from Priest, Amy Satterthwaite and captain Suzie Bates. The tourists lost much of their early momentum in the face of a fine spell of leg breaks from Amanda-Jade Wellington, who finished with figures of 4 for 16 from her four overs.Bates’ all-round performance earned her both the Player-of-the-Match and the Player-of-the-Series honours.Australia and New Zealand now move into 50-over mode for the Trans-Tasman Rose Bowl series. Ellyse Perry is expected to make her return in this series following a hamstring strain, ahead of the ODI World Cup in England later in the year.

Former West Indies captain Viv Richards has blamed the ‘arrogance of administrators’ involved in West Indies cricket for the failure to ensure the best players in the region remain available for international duty

Gaurav Kalra05-Apr-20175:47

‘Arrogant administration’ causing problems – Viv Richards

Former West Indies captain Viv Richards has blamed the “arrogance of administrators” involved in West Indies cricket for the failure to ensure the best players in the region remain available for international duty. Several big ticket players including Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons, Carlos Brathwaite, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy and Darren Bravo are currently in India to participate in the IPL even as a three-match ODI series against Pakistan gets underway on Friday in Guyana.In the last few years a number of high profile Caribbean players declined central contracts from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), leaving them under no compulsion to appear for national duty. One of the diktats of the WICB that has irked the players is being asked to play the Regional Super50 in order to qualify for selection for ODI squad. Considering the aforesaid players all feature in domestic T20 leagues like the Big Bash, which clash with the Super50, they have refused to sign the binding WICB contract.Richards insisted that the situation has come to pass only because members of the WICB have done a “lousy job” in creating an environment where players feel treasured by the national set-up. “When you have an arrogant administrative unit, guys are going to pick and choose,” Richards told ESPNcricinfo in Mumbai on Wednesday. “We must remember that many of the players come from humble backgrounds. I have no qualms in saying this, some of these administrators think they are as important as the players on the field. They are not. It is all about the attraction of the environment that the players on the field would have created for them to be in an administrative position.”I think it is a bigger issue than about the guys playing in our domestic competition. Most of the guys played there when they first started out, that’s what they wanted to do. But when you get an administration who thinks that they are the most important entity where West Indies cricket is concerned, they better wake up. The players have done their bit in terms of their representation. We lost a series in the UAE recently [in 2016 against Pakistan], now we have lost the T20 series in West Indies to Pakistan. All this after winning the last World T20. That sends a message in my opinion that all is not well with all the players who are representing West Indies at this stage.”Having failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy in June, West Indies are currently lying ninth in the ODI rankings and face the prospect of missing out on direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup. The cut-off date for the World Cup, which will be held in England, is September 30 this year. Other than the hosts England, the top seven in the ODI rankings will get a direct berth in the World Cup. West Indies, Pakistan and Bangladesh are vying to take the seventh position to avoid being forced to play the qualifiers.In Test cricket too, West Indies continue to founder and are in eighth spot in the rankings, only above Bangladesh who are in fact snapping at their heels, and Zimbabwe. Attendances continue to be poor back home but Richards remains hopeful of a turnaround, urging the administrators to pay heed to counsel from former greats.”I am one of those individuals that never says never,” Richards said. “I believe if we start having a little bit more respect for the individuals who would have helped the administrators into that administrative position. You have a Michael Holding, who refuses to be part of cricket in the region because of the behaviour of members at the administrative level. It hurts because we are the ones that are the trailblazers, not the ones who have come on the scene at present wanting to be administrators. We are the ones who made it attractive enough for them to administer and they have done a lousy job.”Besides keeping a close eye on West Indies cricket, Richards has stayed involved with the game in a mentorship capacity for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash and most recently with the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League for the last two years. One of the most destructive players of all time, Richards keeps his advice simple to eager young batsmen who have sought him out during these stints.”Some of these individuals in the coaching department are trying to enhance their product in terms of what they believe coaching is all about,” he laughed. “If you look at the instinctive nature of players in T20 and the things that they do try, it is tough to coach that. So it is all about getting the guys to be mentally prepared and in a frame of mind that they understand what their duty is. This is such a great format for you to have a swing of the bat. I would have loved that more than anything else.”Our job is to give them the confidence if necessary. It is to be brave. You will have your bad days, but in the end it is about believing in the product that you have. As they say, he who dares, wins. That sort of mentality, you can take that in, you will have success.”

The chairman of the four-member, Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators believes Indian cricket needs a fresh approach

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2017The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators is “optimistic” that it would wrap its job of helping the BCCI and state associations implement the Lodha Committee recommendations by October. Vinod Rai, chairman of the four-member panel, reiterated he does not see a long-term place for the CoA in the BCCI, stressing the committee’s motive is to institute systems within the Indian board that can replace its current personality-oriented structure.”It is still a long haul, but that ends in October,” Rai told ESPNcricinfo, after the committee completed 100 days in the job. “I am very realistic, because I don’t see a place for the CoA in the BCCI in the long term. We want to provide a structure to the BCCI. It does not have one right now. It is run by individual styles. It is personality-oriented. We will put a structure in place and ensure that there are systems that will make this structure work.”Rai, the former Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, was appointed to the panel, along with historian Ramachandra Guha, former India women’s captain Diana Edulji, and managing director and CEO of IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation) Vikram Limaye. The committee was appointed on January 30 and began functioning on February 1.The need for the committee came about after the Supreme Court removed Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke from the posts of BCCI president and secretary respectively, for not implementing the majority of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations despite the court’s order of July 2016. The court’s decision also affected the eligibility of office-bearers in the BCCI’s state units. The CoA was given a mandate to oversee the running of the BCCI until fresh elections could be held for the office-bearers’ posts, in line with the Lodha reforms.Rai said the CoA had spent the first couple of months engaged in issues like defining the exact powers of the committee, organisation of the IPL and the ICC’s Board meetings, and had only recently met state associations to address their concerns about the Lodha Committee recommendations. Rai said that the state units still had reservations on recommendations like the one-state-one-vote policy and the 70-year age-cap for administrators.”Each one of them has a viewpoint and all of them have filed cases against the recommendations,” he said. “I told them one fine day the court might wake up and throw every objection out and just say, ‘You don’t want to convene the AGM? Okay, [new] constitution is adopted. Full stop.’ Then they are stuck.”I told them when they still had the time why don’t they think and then the COA will tell the court that out of the say 20 recommendations, 18 are adopted. The court might just accede or may not, but at least you will give the court the impression that by and large you have accepted the recommendations.”More recently, the CoA had to step in to resolve the uncertainty around India’s participation in the Champions Trophy, after the board missed the April 25 deadline to submit its squad. While the BCCI stressed that the delay was due to operational issues, the delay was also linked to its unhappiness with the ICC meetings in April, where the BCCI was outvoted as a new constitution, governance structure and financial model were approved. The financial model, which significantly cuts into the BCCI’s share of ICC revenues, and the governance structure were major points of contention, with India’s participation in the Champions Trophy likely being used as a bargaining chip.Before the special general meeting last week, where the board unanimously decided on the participation of the team, the CoA warned the BCCI that it would not hesitate to intervene if decisions at the SGM hurt the interests of Indian cricket or threatened ongoing negotiations with the ICC over a revised share of revenue.”It [May 6] was the first time I was meeting the state associations. So that was my opening gambit, to say to them, ‘Look, we need to be in conversation with each other.’ They are all positively oriented, thinking people. The only thing is their thinking and their perspective was exceedingly narrow,” Rai said. “They just did not know that there was an ICC governance model and a finance model. And the finance model, as far as we are concerned, is crumbs.”I told them if the BCCI members had decided to withdraw from the ICC on the basis of the differences on the governance model, the CoA will back them. But not on the finance model. You cannot put Indian cricket at risk.”

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier League matches held on April 17, 2017

Mohammad Isam17-Apr-2017Mushfiqur Rahim picked up his second successive Player-of-the-Match award after his eighth List-A hundred set up Legends of Rupganj‘s 68-run win over Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at the BKSP-4 ground in Savar.Mushfiqur struck 14 fours and a six during his run-a-ball 134, and in the process he added 225 runs for the third wicket with Naeem Islam who also struck a century. He made 103 off 118 balls, hitting seven fours and a six. Mashrafe Mortaza, Jalaj Saxena and Mohammad Sharif then combined to get Rupganj over the 300-run mark.Despite losing Imrul Kayes in the second over, Dhanmondi remained on track with Mahbubul Karim and Fazle Mahmud adding 54 for the second wicket. But while five out of their top eight batsmen went past 20 runs, the highest scorer was Ziaur Rahman with 42. They folded for 237 in the 47th over.For Rupganj, Mohammad Sharif, Naeem, Mosharraf Hossain and Asif Hasan took two wickets each.File photo – Nazmul Hossain Shanto struck a match-winning century for Abahani as they beat Partex•ICC

Nazmul Hossain Shanto’s unbeaten century helped Abahani Limited brush aside Partex Sporting Club by seven wickets at the BKSP-3 ground in Savar. He hit five fours and four sixes during his 109-ball effort, taking the defending champions to their 235-run target with 11.3 overs to spare.Abahani had lost two early wickets in the chase but Shanto and Mahmudullah added 150 runs for the third wicket to bring them close to the target. Mahmudullah made 77 off 52 balls with five fours and as many sixes. Shanto and Mosaddek Hossain sealed the win with an unbroken stand of 44 for the fourth wicket.Partex had earlier posted 234 for 7 in 50 overs, with Jubair Ahmed top-scoring with an unbeaten 50 off 69 balls at No.6. For Abahani, Mohammad Saifuddin and Shuvagata Hom had taken two wickets each.File photo – Arafat Sunny took a four-wicket haul as Brothers Union were restricted to 246•AFP

Imtiaz Hossain fell one short of a century, but his knock helped Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club (DPSC) complete a four-wicket win over Brothers Union at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium. Imtiaz, who plays for Sylhet in the National Cricket League, struck nine fours and two sixes during his 143-ball innings.Imtiaz added 86 for the first wicket with Abdul Mazid who chipped in with 45. DPSC lost wickets at regular intervals but kept up with the scoring rate, until Farhad Reza and Sharifullah got them home with nine balls to spare. Mohammad Saddam took three wickets while Nihaduzzaman picked up two wickets.Earlier, Brothers Union too had got off to a great start with their Rajshahi opening pair of Mizanur Rahman and Junaid Siddique putting up 113 up front. Mizanur made 57, while Junaid top scored with 87. However, Brothers Union couldn’t capitalize on the good start, and were ultimately restricted to 246 for 9 in 50 overs.Arafat Sunny took four wickets, following up his five-for against Partex Sporting Club in their previous encounter. Offspinners Sharifullah and Enamul Haque also took two wickets each.

Both India and South Africa may wont to chase to avoid the critical decision making of what score is safe to defend, in the virtual quarter-final on Sunday

The Preview by Sidharth Monga10-Jun-2017

Match facts

June 11, 2017
Start time 1030 local (0930 GMT)3:30

Agarkar: Ashwin’s ability was never in question

Big picture

Put in by Sri Lanka, after 30 overs in their respective matches: South Africa 163 for 1, India 169 for 2. Never mind the end result, but the approach of the two sides in the next 10 overs told us a lot about how they play their 50-over cricket. South Africa’s next five overs: 8, 8, 4, 7, 8. India’s next five: 1, 4, 4, 1, 9. Trying to push 350, South Africa lost too many wickets and ended up with just 299. India, knowing they don’t do too well when defending under 300, first ensured 300 and took the bonus 21 runs with wickets in hand in the end.Both sides win a lot of matches with their respective approaches, and lose a few too. South Africa got away with this one against Sri Lanka; India lost despite scoring 321. At the start of 2016, India lost successive matches in Australia despite scoring 309, 308 and 295. A year earlier, in similar conditions, against different opponents in a bigger tournament, they had won matches with 300, 307 and 302. Having lost to Sri Lanka now – they have never won an ICC tournament in which they lose a match to Sri Lanka – will India give up their trusted way of playing ODIs and actively aim for 340 should they find themselves at 160 for 1 or 2 after 30 overs? Or will they bank on the mistakes the pressure of a knockout game induces and be happy with a safe 300-plus target?South Africa, AB de Villiers especially, have been losing their way when looking to impose themselves. It left them in a crisis against Pakistan, and vulnerable against Sri Lanka. They can draw heart from the fact that their bowlers bailed them out against Sri Lanka, and even Pakistan’s chase of 220 didn’t look quite straightforward when rain brought a premature end to the match. Still, should they find themselves batting first again, and should they get off to a good start, will they have the heart to risk a sub-300 total against the chasing might of India in an attempt to go for their preferred 350?Truth be told, both sides might want to chase and not grapple with this critical decision making in the first half of this quarter-final scenario that no one expected. This is all thanks to Pakistan and Sri Lanka who have brought the tournament alive by beating South Africa and India, respectively, in a group that everyone thought was only meant to decide who out of India and South Africa will play the second-placed team from the other group in the semi-final. Now, only one of them will go through, especially with weather that looks fine now. Slightly late, but the Champions Trophy has finally had its share of good fortune.

Form guide

India LWLWW (completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa LWWLL
Will South Africa change their bowling combination?•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Since his comeback, Yuvraj Singh has had innings of 15, 150, 45, 53 and 7. He has brought India that explosiveness they badly needed in the middle. His was the innings that turned what looked like a competitive total into a match-winning one against Pakistan. While all the focus is on how India’s top three approach the innings, South Africa will want to get him as early as possible. India have lost their second wicket in the 37th and 26th overs in the first two matches; Yuvraj will be key should they do so earlier now.Despite an ordinary IPL and despite an unremarkable ODI series against England, AB de Villiers has looked anxious to impose himself. Or is it perhaps those modest returns? Whatever be the case, it would appear that de Villiers has got out cheaply twice in a row, looking to force the issue without getting himself in. The first time, against Sri Lanka, was what the team interest demanded: South Africa were 189 for 2 when he walked in. Against Pakistan, it seemed more personal that he went against a left-arm spinner first ball, after having struggled against left-arm spin in the IPL. In a knockout match, can he now afford himself some time to feel good again and then look to dominate?

Team news

There will be a big temptation to finally play R Ashwin: South Africa have three left-hand batsmen in the top six. Having said that, three left-hand batsmen plus Thisara Perera didn’t get Ashwin a game against Sri Lanka. Having failed to defend 321, though, India might be forced to think differently. If they do, it becomes interesting again if they do it at the expense of Ravindra Jadeja, who went for 52 in eight overs at the same venue. They lose out on a gun fielder should they do that, but Jadeja is now without a three-wicket haul for 23 ODI innings. They might think of two spinners too because India’s quicks generally haven’t done well against South Africa. Umesh Yadav had a poor day against Sri Lanka, and he might be the one to miss out.India (possible) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Umesh Yadav/R Ashwin, 11 Jasprit BumrahSouth Africa might not hit the panic button when it comes to selection even though JP Duminy has scored only four fifties and averages only 30 since the 2015 World Cup. Farhaan Behardien hasn’t lit up the stage either. There are options, though, for Wayne Parnell, who doesn’t have a great record against India: economy rate of 7.4 and average of 81.4. If they get more adventurous, South Africa could think of the left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj.South Africa (possible): 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Wayne Parnell/Andile Phehlukwayo 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir

Pitch and conditions

The Oval has been the truest surface. In three completed matches there, the record for the highest successful Champions Trophy chase has been broken twice in the last 10 days. Don’t bet against a third one, especially with clear weather. The pitch from the India-Sri Lanka game will be used again.

Stats and trivia

• In all ICC tournaments, including the World T20s, India have beaten South Africa eight times out of 12, including in each of their last four meetings.
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav don’t have a good record against South Africa: economy rates of 7.17 and 6.81 with averages over 50. While Jasprit Bumrah has never played against South Africa, Mohammed Shami has more than held his own: economy rate of just under six and an average of just under 20.
• After a stellar start to his career – 17 wickets at 14.64 and economy of 3.63 in his first eight matches, Bumrah has gone for 6.88 an over for five wickets at 60.6 in his last five ODIs. His average is 20 and economy rate 4.55 when India bowl first; in defences he has gone at 5.93 an over and has taken a wicket every 57.33 runs.
• Morne Morkel has got Shikhar Dhawan four times in 77 balls for 44 runs, Virat Kohli three times in 104 balls for 68 runs and MS Dhoni three times in 77 balls for 47 runs.
• R Ashwin has dismissed Quinton de Kock twice in 86 balls for 70 runs.

Quotes

“The team that can have the most composure, I would say, to sum it up, will have a better chance of winning of the game tomorrow.”

“I’m really enjoying the captaincy. I think I make some good calls. But yeah, pencil’s in your hand, and I unfortunately can’t control what you’re going to write but in my mind I’m a good captain. So that’s unfortunately going to come down to the result again tomorrow. Hopefully a good one.”

Ross Whiteley stole the show with six sixes in an over after David Willey’s thunderous hundred had taken Yorkshire to their second record Blast score in the week

ECB Reporters Network23-Jul-2017
Ross Whiteley struck six sixes in an over•Getty Images

Worcestershire’s Ross Whiteley hit six sixes in an over after David Willey had blasted a stunning career best 118 as Yorkshire won a high-scoring NatWest T20 Blast clash at Headingley.Willey sent records tumbling with a 55-ball assault as the Vikings, invited to bat, posted a county-best 233 for 6 from their 20 overs. Fellow left-hander Whiteley then hit novice left-arm spinner Karl Carver over the ropes six times in the 16th over, which included a wide.That took the score to 173 for 4, but he fell for 65 off 26 balls as the Rapids finished on 196 for 7, a 37-run defeat.Sheffield-born Whiteley becomes the sixth man to hit achieve the feat in world cricket, including Lancashire’s Jordan Clark, who did it in a second-team game against Yorkshire in 2013.Whiteley said: “It was the right time in the game for me to go for it. It was all or nothing. Unfortunately for the bowler it was a short boundary on the leg-side.”I had the mentality that I was going to go for it before I got in. I hit the first out of the screws and needed to keep going for the team, not for that achievement. It’s something I never really thought I’d do in professional cricket.”Personal milestone are great, but it’s hard to get away from the defeat. It’s pretty tough to take. We’ve lost four out of five and are right down at the bottom. Obviously we have to bounce back. There’s no reason why we can’t.”Yorkshire’s coach Andrew Gale had only sympathy for Carver, even criticising his captain – and brother-in-law – Tim Bresnan for bringing him on to bowl.”I blame poor captaincy for that,” he said. “He shouldn’t have bowled him at that part of the game. I felt for Karl, he’s got a good record in T20 cricket and he’ll bounce back. Ross nearly did it a few years back against us. It was good striking.”England limited-overs all-rounder Willey hit nine fours and eight sixes, helping to take 34 off John Hastings in the 17th over as he reached his second ton off 49 balls.It was Yorkshire’s record individual score and the highest in the Blast this season. It was also the highest by any team this season and their record score, beating 227 for 5 against Notts earlier this month.Yorkshire flew out of the blocks and rarely broke stride in an innings which was only briefly interrupted by rain.Alex Lees, in for ineligible former Worcester man Tom Kohler-Cadmore, hit an early straight six off Hastings onto the Football Stand roof before being bowled two balls later.Willey and Adam Lyth, whose 31 off 23 balls was Yorkshire’s next best score, then shared 81 in 6.2 overs for the second wicket before Willey and Jack Leaning later added 67 for the fifth wicket in 4.4 to advance from 148 for 4.Willey, fresh off 70 in Friday’s win over Birmingham here, fell in the 19th over when he was bowled trying to paddle Ed Barnard to third-man.The Rapids kept pace with Yorkshire in a rain-affected chase and were even ahead of Duckworth Lewis Stern for much of the Powerplay as Australian all-rounder John Hastings was promoted to open, but they lost Ben Cox to Azeem Rafiq with the last ball of the sixth over to put them behind again at 60 for 2 and eventually slipped to their fourth defeat in five North Group matches.Hastings hit Yorkshire captain Bresnan for two sixes and a four in the first over before falling in the third, caught at deep mid-wicket for 24.Clarke continued the blitz but lost Ben Cox caught at cover off an Azeem Rafiq full toss shortly before a half-hour rain break.They reached 102 for 2 after 10 overs before excellent Adil Rashid struck twice, including Clarke. Then came Whiteley, too late to affect the result, but entering the records in style all the same.