Author: Zoli Xhola

Dwaine Pretorius continued his outstanding Mzansi Super League (MSL) season with his fine all-round effort helping the Paarl Rocks climb to second on the table with a two-run win over rivals the Cape Town Blitz at Newlands on Sunday.

The Standard Bank Proteas all-rounder first blasted 29 off 16 balls to help the visitors post 163 for eight after they had lost the toss and were put into bat.

Pretorius, also the star of the last game, then claimed one for 22 in four overs and was supported brilliantly by Bjorn Fortuin (2/20) and Tabraiz Shamsi (2/26) as the hosts were restricted to 161 for nine.

It completed another important win for Faf du Plessis and his team – the four points propelling them to 15 points on the table, now two ahead of the Blitz, who have played a game more, and four behind the pace-setting Nelson Mandela Bay Giants.

The Rocks had won their last game on Friday when they beat the Jozi Stars in Paarl and they continued that good work in Cape Town to complete a perfect weekend.

It was a good game-all round for them, with Henry Davids (46 off 33 balls) and captain Du Plessis (21) giving them a good start with a 54-run stand following the early dismissal of Cameron Delport, out caught and bowled to Vernon Philander for eight.

After both set men fell in quick succession, England World Cup winner James Vince (23) and Pretorius carried their side forward with another strong partnership that lifted the total to 122 for three in the 14^th.

Sisanda Magala (2/35) and Wahab Riaz (1/24) managed to pull things back at the death as the target was restricted to 164.

In reply, the early doubles by Fortuin and Shamsi meant the match looked over as a contest as early as the 11^th over.

The pair took out Marques Ackerman (1), Janneman Malan (22), Liam Livingstone (8) and Asif Ali (13), while Quinton de Kock (23) fell to Hardus Viljoen (1/43) as the Blitz slipped to 69 for five.

A stand of 52 between Vernon Philander (33 off 25 balls) and top-scorer Mohammad Nawaz (41 off 23 balls) briefly raised the hopes of the home crowd.

In fact, the latter’s strong striking against Viljoen in the penultimate over when 14 runs came, left the equation at 12 off six balls.

But he fell from the first delivery of the last over bowled by Isuru Udana to all but end hopes, and even though Magala managed to bring things down further to four off one, Paarl held on to secure victory.

Brilliant late hitting by Marco Marais and Chris Morris provided a thrilling Mzansi Super League (MSL) finish as the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants came from behind to snatch a fine five-wicket win over the Cape Town Blitz in their top-of-the-table clash in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.

Chasing a hefty 187 for victory, the hosts slipped to three for two, before captain Jon-Jon Smuts gave them belief with his excellent 73 (51 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes), before Marais clobbered 40 off 20 balls and Morris swatted 19 off nine balls to complete the job with four deliveries to spare.

It meant the Giants leapfrogged the Blitz to the top of the competition standings with 15 points from four games, two more than their Cape rivals, who have played a game more.

The victory was made all the sweeter considering how the home side were chasing the game for most of it.

They lost the toss and were asked to bowl first, with the opposition top-order going crazy early on.

Quinton de Kock lambasted three sixes and four fours in his 39 off 18 balls, while fellow opener Janneman Malan struck 31 off 22 balls as the Blitz raced to 72 for none in the seventh.

The carnage continued through Marques Ackerman (26), Englishman Liam Livingstone (39) and Pakistan’s Asif Ali (22) – the visitors looking set for a 200-plus total at 149 for three in the 15^th.

But they were then hauled back in the final five overs as Onke Nyaku ended with two for 17.

There were also doubles for Imran Tahir (2/26), Chris Morris (2/33) and the expensive Junior Dala, who conceded a whopping 52 in his four overs but did manage two strikes.

The Giants failed to initially capitalise on that strong finish with the ball and found themselves in a huge hole inside the first nine balls as Matthew Breetzke (0) and England World Cup-winner Jason Roy (1) were sent packing by Anrich Nortje (1/41) and Dale Steyn (2/38) respectively.

But skipper Smuts and Australian Ben Dunk (28) managed to get the fire burning with a stand of 53 for the third wicket before another 44-run stand between the former and Heino Kuhn (15) followed.

However, when the latter fell in the 13^th over there were still more than 80 needed as the Blitz looked primed to close in.

Marais, though, had other ideas as he provided the support his captain needed to cut loose, before himself opening up after the dismissal of Smuts to carry the Giants over the line.

The final partnership between Marais and Morris yielding 37 in just 18 balls as a big hit by the Standard Bank Proteas all-rounder was not held on the fence by George Linde with the ball going for six and the win.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has suspended three senior members of management and launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the 2018 MSL commercial agreement between it and the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA).  SACA wishes to clarify the facts relating to the player commercial rights arrangements for the 2018 MSL and for the 2019 MSL and further to other matters relevant to CSA’s statements regarding protection of player interest.

In November 2018 SACA and CSA signed a commercial rights agreement relating to the granting of player commercial rights for use in the 2018 MSL.  This was signed by the chief executives of both organisations.  The agreement provided for full payment of amounts due to players for these rights by 24 December 2018.  Despite ten months of engagement with CSA the payment due to the players, and to be paid via the SACA Players Trust, remained outstanding.

“We are very surprised that Naasei Appiah, Corrie van Zyl and Clive Eksteen have been suspended in relation to allegations surrounding CSA’s non-compliance with the 2018 MSL commercial agreement,” said SACA’s chief executive, Tony Irish.  “SACA didn’t deal with Appiah on this issue and in its dealings with Van Zyl and Eksteen over many months they both expressed a strong desire to resolve the payment issue, but it eventually became clear that higher approval to do so was necessary,” said SACA chief executive, Tony Irish.  “We think it’s highly unlikely that CSA’s chief executive, Thabang Moroe, would not have been aware of this ongoing issue. He was undoubtedly aware of payment obligations as he had signed the agreement.”

On 14 October 2019 SACA referenced the breach of the 2018 MSL commercial agreement in correspondence sent, inter alia, to Moroe.  SACA received no response to this.

On 16 October 2019 SACA sent a mail to Eksteen, copied to Moroe, stating that if not urgently resolved SACA would have no alternative but to proceed with a formal notice of dispute relating to the 2018 MSL agreement and also recording that CSA had yet to sign a 2019 MSL commercial agreement to secure the use of player commercial rights for the 2019 MSL. 

On 17 October 2019 Eksteen indicated that CSA was now prepared to resolve the matter.  On the same day SACA sent the necessary settlement agreements to CSA with a deadline to sign by 21 October 2019.  This deadline was simply ignored and no response was received.

On 23 October 2019 SACA gave notice of a formal dispute relating to the 2018 MSL agreement and CSA’s failure to make agreed payments.

The matter was only eventually settled on 29 October 2019 and a 2019 MSL commercial agreement was eventually signed.  Players were due to do commercial activations to promote the 2019 MSL on 30 October 2019.

“SACA believes that the 2018 MSL dispute and the signature of the 2019 MSL commercial agreement were only resolved because of the impending player commercial activations scheduled to take place on 30 October 2019,” said Irish.  “In the absence of an agreement CSA would not have had the rights to use the players in the activations.”

“SACA also believes that CSA’s persistent refusal to comply with the 2018 MSL agreement for such a long period was simply part of a much wider, systematic attempt to marginalise SACA and the role that it plays in protecting the collective interests of the players.  SACA is a fully recognised players association representing every professional cricketer in South Africa and the Players Trust holds all of the players commercial rights.  It is not a ‘player intermediary’ as suggested by CSA.” 

In 2018 the MOU18 negotiations between SACA and CSA were significantly delayed, despite SACA’s persistent attempts to complete these on time.  This affected the contract security of players and the MOU was eventually only signed on 31 July 2018, some three months after the expiry of the previous MOU.

On 24 February 2019 and 27 March 2019 SACA wrote letters to CSA, inter alia, expressing concerns relating to CSA’s financial situation, its failure to provide financial information, despite having agreed to do so, and the need to properly engage SACA on any proposed domestic restructure. CSA failed to reply to either of these letters.

On 5 April 2019 CSA took a decision to restructure domestic cricket without responding to SACA’s concerns, without consultation with it and in clear breach of a recognition agreement signed by SACA and CSA which provided for a specific consultation process before any restructure could happen. CSA simply ignored SACA’s concerns expressed over this breach.

Since April 2019 SACA has been barred from attending CSA sub-committee meetings including its finance and commercial committee, its chief executives committee and its cricket committee.  CSA is in breach of its own terms of reference in relation to some of these sub-committees which provide for SACA’s attendance.

In 2016 CSA had conducted a comprehensive review of its domestic cricket structure, led externally by Ernst and Young.  In taking the decision to restructure domestic cricket some two years later CSA disregarded key outcomes and recommendations of this review.

As a last resort, SACA filed an application in the High Court on 29 May 2019 seeking to overturn CSA’s domestic restructure decision. CSA has consistently failed to comply with the time periods prescribed by the rules of court relating to the filing of documents in this application and it has yet to file any answering papers.  This has led to significant delays in the court proceedings and created uncertainty, and player anxiety, in relation to what will happen in domestic cricket next season.

On 24 August 2019 SACA and CSA met in an attempt to resolve the issues related to the domestic restructure and to discuss both the CSA/SACA relationship and SACA’s concerns relating to CSA’s financial situation.  At the meeting, it was agreed firstly that CSA would conduct an external review of its longer-term financial position and secondly that SACA and CSA would put in place a “roadmap” and facilitation process to attempt to resolve the relationship issue and the domestic restructure issue by the end of October 2019.  As was also agreed, and to ensure the process was committed to in writing, SACA sent a draft roadmap agreement to CSA on 26 August 2019.  Despite requests made by SACA to CSA for it to respond CSA failed to do so for seven weeks thus rendering the attempted roadmap and facilitation process unworkable and ineffectual.  CSA has also failed to act on the agreement to conduct an external review of its finances.

“We note CSA’s statement that it has taken decisive action to protect player interest and the game and that it is conducting an investigation into the matter relating to the non-payment of the 2018 MSL agreement,” said Irish.  “We also note the statement by CSA’s chief executive that CSA adheres to the highest ethical standards in all its dealings and that consistency and accountability remain uppermost in its processes and procedures.”

“SACA believes that the matters that are set out above are as important as the MSL commercial agreement issue, if not more so, in order to protect both player interests and the interests of the game.  We also note the statements of CSA’s head of communications, Thamie Mthembu, that CSA’s investigation would go deeper into uncovering how the MSL dispute came about.  SACA accordingly calls upon CSA not only to ensure that its investigation into this MSL issue is conducted by an independent person, or organisation, but also that an independent investigation is conducted into these related matters.  We believe that this will ensure that the principle of accountability, referred to by CSA’s chief executive, is in fact, applied equally, fairly and without fear or favour.”

The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) and the South African Professional Cricketers Trust (“the Players Trust”) today gave Cricket South Africa (CSA) formal notice of a dispute relating to breach of agreement in connection with the 2018 Mzansi Super League (MSL).  This dispute is in addition to the existing High Court application instituted by SACA against CSA in May 2019 which relates to the restructuring of domestic cricket.

Formal Dispute Relating to MSL 2018

In November 2018 SACA, the Players Trust and CSA signed a commercial agreement relating to MSL 2018 in terms of which the players, through the Players Trust, granted commercial rights for use by the league and the teams in the MSL and in return CSA was obliged to pay over amounts to the Players Trust so that the players could be paid for the use of their rights.

“Unfortunately CSA has persistently refused to pay an agreed amount relating to the use of the players’ commercial rights and consequently the players have yet to be paid for these,” said SACA Chief Executive, Tony Irish.  “This has occurred despite CSA having benefited from the use of the rights in last year’s MSL.”

“We have been trying to resolve this with CSA for many months but have now reached the point where formal steps have to be taken as players remain out of pocket.”

High Court Application Relating to Domestic Restructure

Despite delays, SACA’s court application relating to CSA’s decision to restructure domestic cricket continues in the South Gauteng High Court. 

“In normal circumstances, one would have expected the court application to be heard in or around October this year”, said Irish.  “However failures on the part of CSA to comply with the time periods provided for in the rules of court have led to unnecessary delays.  CSA also failed to respond for a long period to attempts to establish a process aimed at resolving the issues around the domestic restructure.  All of this has obviously been very frustrating for SACA and it creates uncertainty for the players.”

“SACA remains committed to the court application as this is necessary to deal with CSA’s decision to unilaterally impose a new domestic structure on the players without consultation and in clear breach of signed agreements between SACA and CSA.  This imposed structure, if allowed, would lead to a very significant number of provincial players losing their careers as professional cricketers and it would also give rise to the likelihood of substantial cuts in the earnings and benefits of franchises players.  In addition, we believe that it will weaken the standard of our top-flight domestic cricket across playing formats, at a time when we can ill afford to do this.”

SACA’s previously expressed concerns around CSA’s medium and long term financial situation also remain. 

“None of our concerns on this front have been dealt with,” said Irish.  “Instead we are now excluded from attending CSA’s finance and commercial committee meetings.”

“I wish to emphasise that despite all of this SACA remains willing to sit down with CSA in a genuine and good faith attempt to resolve these issues.  We wish to play a responsible role in dealing with the financial picture and we know that many of the issues require mutually agreed solutions.  This has to happen however in the context of good faith engagement between us, as the representative of the players, and CSA.”

 A career-best 87 off 53 balls by Wesley Marshall and strong display in the field paved the way for Easterns to win a thrilling CSA Provincial T20 final when they edged out KwaZulu-Natal Inland by five runs on Tuesday.

The opener clubbed two sixes and nine fours to propel the hosts to a strong 178 for six after they were asked to take first strike at Willowmoore Park.

The visitors made a good start to their response and looked on course for victory thanks to Grant Roelofsen’s own highest score of 79 off 58 balls (4 fours, 4 sixes), but strong bowling, led by Dyllan Matthews (1/23), and good fielding at the death, kept the away side to 173 for four.

And that was enough to earn the home side victory in what was the inaugural edition of the competition.

Powered by Marshall and fellow opener Yaseen Vallie (47), Easterns raced out of the blocks to reach 118 for none in the 12th over before the first wicket finally fell.

The pair were also aided by some poor fielding by the men from Pietermaritzburg as they looked on course for 200, before KZN Inland finally managed to drag things back at the death.

Only Imraan Manack (15 not out) and Jurie Snyman (11) managed double figures after the opening duo with the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, Kerwin Mungroo (3/25), and Michael Booth (0/26) instrumental in keeping their side in with a chance.

For KZNI to have a chance, they needed their openers to fire and Roelofsen and Cody Chetty (48), the competitions top-two run-scorers, obliged via a 102-run first-wicket stand that also ran until the 12th over.

But Matthews then bowled some tight overs alongside Manack (1/32) to help their side stay just ahead of the game.

It eventually came down to 15 from the last over thanks to Robbie Frylinck’s 32, but both the verteran all-rounder and the top-scorer were dismissed in those six balls sent down by Matthew Arnold (1/40) as Easterns held on to complete a special Heritage Day for the hosts.

The final was the last chance for Mzansi Super League wildcard hopefuls to impress, with the six teams now set to name their final picks. The announcement of the lucky six players is set for Wednesday.

Proteas women leg-spinning all-rounder Sune Luus will continue to captain her country in the absence of regular skipper Dane van Niekerk for the Proteas’ tour to India which begins later this month.

The South Africa A team are set to play five one-day matches followed by two four-day games. Bavuma, who will captain the A-side in the one-day games, sees the A tour as an excellent opportunity to acclimatise to sub-continental conditions.

“It is always nice to test yourself in foreign conditions like in the sub-continent. Obviously, we want to to get more game-time in conditions we are not used to. It is important to make runs and pick up wickets in such conditions, which will be good for us,”

Bavuma, 29, who made his Test debut in 2014, has been a regular in the side in the last two years. He has represented South Africa in two one-day internationals and 36 Tests and has scored a little over 1800 international runs.

“As a batter, you are always greedy and would want more runs and centuries against your name. I am enjoying my journey as a Test cricketer and am always trying to improve,” he said.

With the retirement of Hashim Amla, he believes that it comes down to the youngsters and those like him to step up. “It is difficult for any team in the world to fill the void left behind by Amla’s retirement. It is up to guys like me who have been playing Test cricket regularly for the last two years to step in and try to make it count,” he said.

The middle-order batsman knows it will not be easy to face a tough side like India. “Obviously any team will want to play well in India, which has got a quality side,” said Bavuma.

“As batsmen, we like to challenge ourselves against bowlers like [Jasprit] Bumrah, [Ravindra] Jadeja and [Ravichandran] Ashwin. And it will also be a challenge to bowl to world-class batsmen like [Virat] Kohli, [Cheteshwar] Pujara and others in the sub-continental pitches. More than individual performances, we will have to play well as a team in the upcoming tour.”

South Africa will play India in three Twenty20 Internationals followed by three Tests from 15 September to 23 October.

New Zealand held their nerve to clinch a hard-fought and comprehensive victory against Sri Lanka in fading light in the second Test on Monday and level the two-match series 1-1.

The victory was achieved with an hour left on day five when Lasith Embuldeniya edged a short delivery from Trent Boult to Kane Williamson at gully.

Sri Lanka were bowled out for 122 runs after New Zealand declared their second innings on 431/6 with a first-innings lead of 185. The game went to the last hour of day five at Colombo’s P Sara Oval, and though 19.4 overs remained when tailender Embuldeniya was the last man dismissed, umpires could have called off play at any time with the lightfast deteriorating.

New Zealand’s bowlers were hurrying through their deliveries knowing that they were racing against time. The first four days’ play had been severely affected by rain, wet ground conditions and bad light, but surprisingly the final day stayed clear after a 30-minute delayed start.

Sri Lanka had given away the initiative to New Zealand after losing five wickets for 32 runs before lunch, but a terrific fightback by wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella kept alive their hopes of salvaging a draw.

Dickwella, who was unable to keep wicket after a cut on his left little finger, showed plenty of character during a 51-run knock that lasted for three-and-a-half hours. It was his 13th half-century in Test cricket.

There was little support from rest of Sri Lanka’s batsmen, with skipper Dimuth Karunaratne’s 21 the second-highest score.

Suranga Lakmal and Dickwella batted for over an hour, but the stand was broken when Lakmal gloved one to close-in fielder Tom Latham after tea. Sri Lanka were still counting on Dickwella when he fell for his famous sweep shot.

The 26-year-old relies heavily on the shot to score his runs, but on this occasion, he had stayed away from taking undue risks.

Ajaz Patel switched ends and came on from the Air Force Flats side, and as Dickwella shaped to play the sweep shot, Latham at short leg moved to his left and positioned himself in the perfect place to snap up the chance.

Dickwella could hardly believe his luck before walking off dejected. Latham’s close-in fielding was brilliant and so was his batting, particularly his battles with Sri Lankan spinners.

The opening batsman was named man of the match for his 154, a seven-hour vigil in which he faced 251 deliveries and was involved in two hundred-plus run stands.

Tim Southee, Boult, Patel and William Somerville claimed two wickets each and Colin de Grandhomme claimed the big wicket of Angelo Mathews.

Warriors duo of fast bowler Anrich Nortje and wicketkeeper/batsman Rudi Seconds, as well as Hollywoodbets Dolphins, spin bowling all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy have all been included in the Standard Bank Proteas Test squad which will play in the three-match series against India in October 2019.

There are also three newcomers in the squad for the three-match T20 International series in bizhub Highveld Lions duo of batsman Temba Bavuma and spin bowling all-rounder Bjorn Fortuin as well as Nortje.

Quinton de Kock will captain the T20 squad with Rassie van der Dussen as vice-captain while Temba Bavuma will be the vice-captain to Faf du Plessis in the Test match squad.

Aiden Markram, Theunis de Bruyn and Lungi Ngidi were not considered for T20 selection as they will be continuing their preparation for the Test series by playing in South Africa A’s four-day matches against India A.

“All three newcomers to the Test side have more than earned their spurs through impressive performances in last season’s Four-Day Franchise competition,” commented CSA Acting Director of Cricket, Corrie van Zyl.

“We feel we have covered all the options for the conditions we are likely to encounter on the sub-continent with Muthusamy and Dane Piedt, who was far and away the leading wicket-taker in our Four-Day competition, providing the back-up to Keshav Maharaj.

“Zubayr Hamza made an impressive start to his Test career against Pakistan last season when Faf du Plessis was ruled out and the retirement of Hashim Amla creates a further opportunity for him.

“The T20 Series gives us the last chance to have a look at our leadership and batting options as the next edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is now little more than a year away which is why we have gone with an inexperienced leadership group. This is our last chance to do this before we settle on an established squad.

“I would like to stress that Faf du Plessis remains an important part of our plans for white-ball cricket.

“As far as the T20 squad is concerned, Temba Bavuma and Bjorn Fortuin were two of the standout players in the CSA T20 Challenge last season while Nortje was outstanding in the Mzansi Super League until ruled out by injury.

“This is very much a form squad with players being rewarded for their consistent performances at franchise level. This applies equally to Junior Dala and Jon-Jon Smuts,” concluded Van Zyl.

The annual Cricket South Africa awards will take place in Pretoria on Saturday. Several accolades will be handed out, including the Test Cricketer of the Year.

The candidates are Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn.

‘De Kock topped the Proteas’ Test-runs chart with 526 runs at an average of 43.83. His season’s best of 129 came against Pakistan in the third test, when he rescued South Africa’s innings from 93-5, adding a crucial 102 runs with Hashim Amla. De Kock also scored four half-centuries. Behind the stumps, he took 32 catches and made one stumping.

‘The Proteas captain recovered from his pair in the first Test against Pakistan to score a fighting 103 in the first innings of the second Test to set up a series win, which was the seventh series win at home for the Proteas under Du Plessis’ leadership. He scored 411 runs at an average of 41.10, including one hundred and two fifties.

‘The Proteas spinner took 20 wickets in five tests, at an average of 28.75. In the first innings of the second Test, away against Sri Lanka, Maharaj took a career-best 9-29, and ended the Test with match figures of 12-283 from a marathon 81 overs.

‘The leader of the Proteas attack took 33 wickets at an average of 22.57, which took him to the top of the wickets table. Rabada’s best performance of the season was 4-38. He also took nine catches.

‘The Proteas speedster made a successful comeback from injury and overhauled Shaun Pollock’s record of 421 wickets to become South Africa’s all-time leading wicket-taker. Steyn took 20 wickets at an average of 36.15, with a best of 4-48, taking his current career tally to 439 wickets.’ 

Other nominees

• Africa T20 Cup Player of the Tournament: Nandre Burger, Delano Potgieter, Marcos Marais.

• Domestic Newcomer of the Season: David Bedingham, Janneman Malan, Sinethemba Qeshile, Lutho Sipamla.

• One-Day Cup Cricketer of the Season: Junior Dala, Aiden Markram, Kyle Verreynne.

• T20 Challenge Cricketer of the Season: Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Bjorn Fortuin, Rassie van der Dussen.

• Four-Day Franchise Series Cricketer of the Season: Pieter Malan, Edward Moore, Keegan Petersen, Dane Piedt, Nicky van den Bergh.

• T20 International Cricketer of the Year: Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Rassie van der Dussen.

• ODI Cricketer of the Year: Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen.

• Cricketer of the Year: Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Kagiso Rabada.

• Delivery of the Year: Keshav Maharaj, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada.

• Women’s T20 International Cricketer of the Year: Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Dane van Niekerk.

• Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year: Marizanne Kapp, Lizelle Lee, Dane van Niekerk, Laura Wolvaardt.

• Women’s Players’ Player of the Year: Marizanne Kapp, Lizelle Lee, Dane van Niekerk.

• Women’s Cricketer of the Year: Marizanne Kapp, Lizelle Lee, Dane van Niekerk.

Spearheaded by Faf du Plessis’ century and his 151-run partnership with Rassie van der Dussen, the Standard Bank Proteas finally produced a complete performance with bat, ball and in the field to beat Australia by 10 runs in their final match at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Saturday.

In what was the 100^th ODI between the two countries the two teams produced a suitably memorable match which leaves both teams having won 48 encounters with three matches ending in ties and one no result.

It was also the Proteas eighth victory over Australia in the last nine encounters between the two countries and only South Africa’s second victory over Australia at a World Cup, the other one having come in South Africa’s first-ever match at a World Cup at Sydney in 1992.

Du Plessis was named man of the match for his century (100 off 94 balls, 7 fours and 2 sixes) and for his overall leadership qualities although the award could equally have gone to David Warner for his century (122 off 117 balls, 15 fours and 2 sixes).

It was Du Plessis’ fifth century against Australia against whom he has an average well in excess of 50 and his 12^th overall. He also became the seventh Protea to complete 1 000 ODI runs against Australia.

There were good supporting acts for both sides by Van der Dussen who made a career-best 95 (97 balls, 4 fours and 4 sixes) and Alex Carey for Australia (85 off 69 balls, 11 fours and a six).

Kagiso Rabada finally came out on top of the South African bowling attack (3/56) which included two critical wickets in his last over when Australia were still threatening to make a successful chase.

Other key contributions to the South African victory were the opening stand between Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock which enabled the Proteas to post easily their best total in the opening power play of 73 runs – it was also the fourth highest of the tournament – and a big improvement in the quality of the fielding with De Kock and Markram again playing key roles as did Chris Morris.

The outcome of this match is that India top the final log and will play New Zealand in the one semi-final and Australia take on England in the other.

Aiden Markram has been named as captain of the four-day squad and Temba Bavuma as captain of the one-day squad for the South Africa A tour to India in August and September.

The tour consists of five one-day matches to be followed by two four-day matches against India A.

Newcomers at this level are the Warriors duo of opening batsmen, Eddie Moore and Matthew Breetzke, as well as the spin bowling all-rounder pair of George Linde of the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras and Bjorn Fortuin of the bizhub Highveld Lions.

In addition, World Sports Betting Cape Cobras opening batsman Janneman Malan, Warriors wicketkeeper-batsman Sinethemba Qeshile and Warriors fast bowler Lutho Sipamla have already represented the Standard Bank Proteas at T20 International level.

“This is one of the most important South Africa A tours we have planned for some time,” commented CSA National Selection Panel (NSP) convener Linda Zondi “as it will focus on several important strategic areas.

“One of these is to broaden our leadership group and we see both Aiden and Temba playing an important role in this regard. We will be looking at other candidates during the course of the new season.

“Another is the opportunity to give some of our senior batsmen the chance to climatize for the Proteas Test match tour to India in October, and a third is to give an opportunity to younger players who have earned their chance through outstanding performances at a domestic level,” concluded Mr Zondi.

SA A four-day squad: Aiden Markram (Multiply Titans, capt), Temba Bavuma (bizhub Highveld Lions), Theunis de Bruyn (Multiply Titans), Zubayr Hamza (World Sports Betting Cape Cobras), Beuran Hendricks (bizhub Highveld Lions), George Linde (World Sports Betting Cape Cobras), Pieter Malan (World Sports Betting Cape Cobras), Eddie Moore (Warriors), Wiaan Mulder (bizhub Highveld Lions), Senuran Muthusamy (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Dane Piedt (World Sports Betting Cape Cobras), Rudi Second (Warriors), Lutho Sipamla (Warriors), Khaya Zondo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins)

SA A one-day squad: Temba Bavuma (bizhub Highveld Lions, capt), Matthew Breetzke (Warriors), Gihahn Cloete (Warriors), Junior Dala (Multiply Titans), Theunis de Bruyn (Multiply Titans), Bjorn Fortuin (bizhub Highveld Lions), Beuran Hendricks (bizhub Highveld Lions), Reeza Hendricks (bizhub Highveld Lions), Heinrich Klaasen (Multiply Titans), George Linde (World Sports Betting Cape Cobras), Janneman Malan (World Sports Betting Cape Cobras), Wiaan Mulder (bizhub Highveld Lions), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Sinethemba Qeshile (Warriors), Lutho Sipamla (Warriors).

Faf du Plessis claims he couldn’t have asked for any more from his South Africa side after they slipped to a narrow defeat against New Zealand.

South Africa went down by four wickets, with just three balls remaining, at Edgbaston to suffer a fourth defeat and significantly reduce their chances of reaching the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup semi-finals

Despite being extremely disappointed with the outcome of the match, Du Plessis recognised that his men did as much as they could against a team they haven’t beaten at a World Cup for 20 years.

“It’s tough. You can feel it in the dressing room – the guys are hurting,” said the skipper. “We left everything out there. That’s all I can ask for as a captain.

“We’ve just not been as good as the opposition we’ve played against.”

South Africa’s batsmen were not able to emulate Kane Williamson, whose unbeaten century anchored New Zealand’s successful chase of 242 and particularly impressed Du Plessis. 

“Kane played a great knock. It’s probably the difference between the two sides, just one guy taking it through,” he added.

“I thought it was a really good knock, showing how to put innings together on a pitch that you need to decide when to push and when to hold back, and he picked his battles.

“He targeted a few overs in the game, and the rest he just ticked it off. So really good from him.” 

Williamson did not win the match alone and had the support of Colin de Grandhomme who scored 60 off 47 balls and shared in a 91-run sixth-wicket stand.

South Africa’s highest partnership was 72 runs and none of their batsmen have scored a hundred at the tournament so far, something which du Plessis put down to the transition period the squad finds itself in. 

“If you compare our line-up, especially our batting line-up, to other line-ups around the world, purely on a numbers point of view, that doesn’t stack up with the rest of the world,” he said.

“We’re not as experienced perhaps as other teams when it comes to that. The reason why I say not as good as other teams is we’re just not producing scores or innings that can win you games.

“We’ve got some young players, so there’s a future there. I’ve really backed them this tournament and I think they’ve got a great future ahead of them.

“Rassie (van der Dussen) has shown that he’s the real deal. I think he’s got leadership capabilities as well. He’s standing up to be a strong man in a big tournament for us.

“Andile (Phehlukwayo) has done well as a young guy. Aiden (Markram), we know the kind of player he is. He showed signs here that he can do it.” 

South Africa will go into the remainder of the tournament with those positives.

They are scheduled to play against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia, and Du Plessis has promised to keep fighting, even if a semi-final spot eludes his team. 

He added: “If you put everything out there and the better teams beat you, then life will go on.

“Obviously, I’m extremely disappointed. Cricket means a lot to me, and the performance of this team means a lot to me but I certainly can’t, if results don’t go our way, start running in the other direction.

“That’s not my character. So I’ll keep pushing forward and facing north, and hopefully that will be good for the team, and it will be good for myself as well.” 

A collective bowling performance followed by opener Lizelle Lee‘s third fifty-plus score in four T20Is helped South Africa women clinch the five-match series 3-2 against Pakistan women in Benoni. After limiting Pakistan to 125 for 5, Lee and nineteen-year-old Nadine de Klerk put on an unbroken century stand for the second wicket to usher the hosts home.

After being inserted, Pakistan lost Umaima Sohail to Shabnim Ismail in the fourth over and meandered to 30 for 1 in the Powerplay. Javeria Khan (20), captain Bismah Maroof (23), Nida Dar (28) and Aliya Riaz (26) all moved into the twenties, but none could find a gear high enough to hurt South Africa. The hosts used six bowlers, with only Masabata Klaas going wicketless. She was also the only frontline bowler to concede over eight runs an over. Ismail was the most economical of the lot, ending with 1 for 16 in her four overs.

Although Pakistan hit 19 off their last two overs, they ended with only 125 for 5. The target appeared much slimmer when Lee got going with a brace of boundaries off Riaz in the second over of the chase. Two overs later, he opening partner Tazmin Brits was dismissed by Nida Dar, but Lee moved to a 40-ball fifty and cut loose soon after, hitting Riaz for three fours in a row in the 15th over. Then, with South Africa needing five off five overs, she smashed a six off Dar to secure victory. Lee was well supported by de Klerk who contributed 37 in an unbroken 100-run stand that came at a run-rate of nearly nine.

While Lee was named Player of the Match, Dar has adjudged the Player of the Series for backing up her 192 runs with five wickets. Lee rounded off the series as the top scorer, making one run more than Dar’s tally. Nobody took more wickets than Dar – Ismail and Moseline Daniels also claimed five wickets each.

A special all-round performance with bat and ball by Nida Dar proved key as Pakistan began the five-match Twenty20 Series against the Proteas Women with a comfortable, seven-wicket victory at Assupol Tuks Oval in Pretoria on Wednesday.

The all-rounder first claimed a key 2/30 to help the tourists restrict their hosts to 119/7, before she struck a career-best 53 off 37 balls (7 fours, 2 sixes) to comfortably launch her side to their target with a full two overs to spare.

There were also three wickets for Sana Mir after she delivered the best performance of the day with the ball by bagging a brilliant 3/14 in four overs, while Pakistan’s captain Bismah Maroof completed a polished showing by the Asians with 53 (48 balls, 4 fours) of her own.

The top score for the South Africans came from vice-captain Chloe Tryon, although her 43 off 31 balls lacked support – ultimately leading to a big defeat.

It ensured a solid start to the T20s for the tourists, who did the same in the shared One-Day International series, which they began with a resounding eight-wicket win and eventually ended 1-1 after South Africa hit back.

Pakistan were in control for most of the game too, and after winning the toss and bowling, Mir struck twice in the opening over.

The off-break bowler got both openers Lizelle Lee and Tazmin Brits for ducks leaving the score on 2/1, which became 12/3 when Dar got Marizanne Kapp for 10 in the fifth over.

Mignon du Preez (23) tried to rebuild but soon became Mir’s third victim, while more quick wickets meant the local girls fell into a deep hole by the end of the 14th over on 61/6.

Tryon and Shabnim Ismail (20 not out) then managed to raise their spirits as they posted what appeared to be a competitive 120.

Kapp (1/17) and Tumi Sekhukhune (1/18) gave the South Africans some hope when they claimed two early wickets that left the opposition on 29/2, but the third-wicket, Dar-Maroof partnership of 89 knocked the stuffing out of them and put the visitors 1-0 up in the series.

Proteas Women captain Sune Luus score of 80 and Masabata Klaas’ three wicket-haul were not enough as Pakistan managed to tie the decisive third ICC Women’s Championship One-Day International against the Proteas Women in Benoni on Sunday – meaning the series was drawn at Willowmoore Park.

The hosts managed to pile on a strong 265/6 after being put in to bat first, but the tourists responded with 265/9 thanks to a plucky career-best by Aliya Riaz.

It was a disappointing end to the series, although the point shared by each side did little to bolster their prospects on the IWC table, with the South Africans staying fourth on 16 points and the Pakistanis up to fifth with 15.

As for the game itself, it was a see-saw that looked to be headed the home sides’ way until Riaz’s effort had taken her side to 243/6.

A Klaas (3/55) double blow and Chloe Tryon run out looked to have swayed things back in favour of the hosts, but a six by Nashra Sandhu from the penultimate delivery proved decisive as the two sides played to their first ever tie against each other.

Early on in the day, the South Africans dominated proceedings thanks to half-centuries by openers Lizelle Lee (57 off 61 balls, 10 fours) and Laura Wolvaardt (56 off 84 balls, 5 fours). It was their 17th and 13th 50-plus scores respectively in the format.

Their opening stand yielded 75, before Luus (80 off 84 balls, 6 fours, 2 sixes) and Wolvaardt added 60 for the third wicket to keep the home side in the driving seat.

The skipper hung around until deep in the innings, with Tryon (28) providing quick runs to help her side set 266.

Pakistan were reduced to 37/3 early on as Shabnim Ismail (1/42), Marizanne Kapp (2/57) and Klaas struck – the latter, fresh from a hat-trick in the previous game, removing the dangerous opposition captain Bismah Maroof for three. But Javeria Khan (74 off 103 balls, 9 fours) and Nida Dar (27) dug in, followed by Riaz’s stellar 71 (82 balls, 6 fours, 3 sixes) that ultimately proved decisive.

Andrew Birch delivered one of the best spells of the season as the Warriors stole the second spot on the final CSA T20 Challenge table and with it a home semi-final after they ousted the VKB Knights by four wickets in East London on Sunday.

The medium-pacer grabbed four for 10 in four sensational overs, one of which was a maiden, that helped restrict the visitors to the lowest score of the season – a woeful 96 for seven at Buffalo Park.

Gihahn Cloete’s run-a-ball 40 then helped the home side chase down the target with 17 balls to spare, although there were several jitters along the way.

However, the Warriors’ superb bowling display was enough to help them overtake the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras on the table and with it earn a home-semi-final against the same opponents, losers to the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in round 10, on Wednesday.

The Knights came into the match with nothing more than pride to play four after failing to win any of their previous nine games – five of which were washed out.

But bar Ryan McLaren, they showed little fight after losing the toss and being put into bat first.

Birch was brilliant as he removed openers Shadley van Schalkwyk (4) and Patrick Kruger (11) in a stellar fourth over, before young Jade de Klerk (2/17), Sisanda Magala (1/20) and Jon-Jon Smuts (0/19) kept things extremely tight through the middle.

The Knights slumped to 38 for seven at one stage, before McLaren’s unbeaten 39, support by 21 from Tshepo Ntuli at least saved their side utter embarrassment – the pair putting on an unbroken 58 for the eighth wicket.

Cloete’s effort helped the Warriors quickly reach 45 for one in the seventh over, but Ntuli’s spirited two for 11 caused some nerves, alongside a few other tidy spells.

But the target was too low for any wobble to stop the Warriors as they moved on to secure a home semi-final.

Keshav Maharaj and Robbie Frylinck shared five wickets as the Hollywoodbets Dolphins brilliantly snuck into the CSA T20 Challenge semi-finals with a lop-sided five-wicket win over the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras in Durban on Sunday.

Needing to win their final round encounter at Kingsmead to have a chance of progressing, they did so in style with a bonus-point triumph over a visiting side that until Friday morning looked set to host one of the playoff games and possibly even the final.

But a second loss in three days for Ashwell Prince’s side, coupled by some other results, saw them slip down the table to end third, meaning an away last forth game at the Warriors on Wednesday.

For the Dolphins, they now have a chance of reaching a second successive final within the space of a month when they will meet the bizhub Highveld Lions in their semi.

They made it through after the Lions beat reigning champions the Multiply Titans in their round 10 clash at Centurion.

The Durbanites, though, were full value for their win over their Cape opponents after restricting them to just 121 for seven and then chasing down the score with five wickets to spare.

The hosts lost the toss and were asked to field first, but the decision proved to be a telling one as the Cobras battled to score freely. They limped to 53 for four in the first half of their innings as Maharaj continued to amaze with his miserly spin.

Prenelan Subrayen (0/17) strangled the batsmen from the other end, with Frylinck chipping away as the visitors could only manage to set 122.
That too came thanks to a late 29-run unbeaten stand between Vernon Philander (32) and Rory Kleinveldt (17). Kyle Verreynne managed 26.

Vaughn van Jaarsveld, fresh from a century a few nights earlier, then led the reply with a match-high 48 off 31 balls at the top of the order as the Dolphins reached 87 for one by the 10th over.

After he fell, Senuran Muthusamy (19 not out) completed the job – the home side winning with nearly five overs in the pocket.

A career-best franchise score by Ryan Rickelton helped the bizhub Highveld Lions secure top spot and dump defending champions the Multiply Titans out of the CSA T20 Challenge in the process thanks to a four-wicket win in their Jukskei derby clash in Centurion on Sunday.

The young wicket-keeper slammed 74 off 47 balls (6 fours, 3 sixes) as the visitors ensured they will host one of the two semi-finals on Wednesday and a potential final in Johannesburg should they get there next week.

And, with the Hollywoodbets Dolphins beating the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras at the same time in Durban, the result saw the hosts overhauled on the table – eventually ending fifth and out of the play-off places.

It was a disappointing end to a long campaign for Mark Boucher’s side, with the Lions now going on to meet the Dolphins in the last four.

They have been in excellent form in their last two regular season games, and after beating the Cobras on the road on Friday, they followed that up with another polished display at SuperSport Park where they chased down a 149-run victory target with six balls to spare.

Rickelton was the star with the bat, but before that, the Lions’ bowlers shone after they had won the toss and opted to field first.

The on-loan Lizaad Williams grabbed three for 32, while Migael Pretorius (2/23) and Wiaam Mulder (2/16) were exceptional. They reduced last year’s champions to 47 for four early on. Farhaan Behardien (48) and Grant Thomson (37) then produced a mild repair job with their 77-run fifth-wicket partnership.

But the Lions bowlers hit back late on to keep the target below 150.

Rickelton, whose previous best score in the competition was 69 against the Cobras earlier this season, then flew out of the blocks as the away side raced to 96 for one by the 12th over.

Tabraiz Shamsi (2/33), Junior Dala (2/22) and Matthew Arnold (2/42) threatened to turn the game late on, but Rassie van der Dussen’s unbeaten 30 carried the Lions to victory.

A 107-run opening stand between Gihahn Cloete and Matthew Breetzke paved the way for the Warriors to climb second on the CSA T20 Challenge table after a thumping nine-wicket bonus-point win over the bizhub Highveld Lions in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Both batsmen hit half-centuries with right-hander Breetzke top-scoring with an unbeaten career-best 72 off 45 balls (5 fours, 4 sixes), while the left-handed Cloete struck a fluid 54 off 33 balls (7 fours, 2 sixes) – the visitors winning with 33 balls to spare.

It was a result that vaulted the Eastern Cape franchise above their hosts and to within two points of the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras, who beat the Multiply Titans in the other big game of the evening.

And the Warriors fully deserved their move after earlier turning in an efficient all-round bowling display that had limited the hosts to 144 for six.

The Warriors won the toss and opted to bowl first, a decision that proved spot on as they kept the Lions batsmen on their toes throughout.

Star pair Ryan Rickelton (1) and Rassie van der Dussen (2) fell inside the opening three overs, leaving the home side on eight for two, Lutho Sipamla and Andrew Birch (both 1/29) the men to strike.

Reeza Hendricks (29) and Temba Bavuma (24) stabilised things momentarily by recovering their side to 55 for two. But three quick strikes left the Lions in a huge hole on 61 for five – Jon-Jon Smuts (1/22), Sisanda Magala (1/25) and Sithembile Langa (1/19) all striking.

Dwaine Pretorius managed to rescue his team with an unbeaten 48 off 27 balls, with support offered by Nono Pongolo (33) as they managed to scratch up a competitive total.

But Cloete and Breetkze flew out of the blocks with their century opening stand, before Smuts (11 not out) helped carry his side over the line.

A thrilling 30-ball 55 by Aviwe Mgijima helped the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras consolidate their position at the top of the CSA T20 Challenge table with a narrow three-wicket win over the Multiply Titans at Eurolux Boland Park in Paarl on Wednesday.

The right-hander struck three sixes and three fours for his best career score in a high-scoring affair that saw the 182 for three set by the defending champions chased down with seven balls to spare.

The home side had briefly lost top position earlier in the evening when the Warriors thumped the bizhub Highveld Lions but regained their spot with a composed victory that put them two points clear with two round-robin games remaining.

They had won the toss and put the Titans into bat but Mark Boucher’s side responded by amassing a healthy total.

This was thanks in the main to Tony de Zorzi’s 70 off 47 balls (4 fours, 3 sixes) as well as a half-century from Theunis de Bruyn (50 off 37 balls, 4 fours, 1 six).

Farhaan Behardien also provided some fireworks at the end with an unbeaten 39 off 18 balls, which included three fours and two sixes.

After the early loss of Hashim Amla (3), Janneman Malan and David Bedingham struck 37 apiece in a 63-run second-wicket stand that helped the Cobras motor along to 83 for one in the ninth over.

Disaster then struck when Shaun von Berg (1/22) hit back to break the stand before Junior Dala (3/32) nabbed two wickets in four balls to alter the course of the game.

It was suddenly 86 for four, but Mgijima and Jason Smith (28 off 18 balls) rebuilt with a stand worth 59 for the fifth wicket.

And by the time the partnership ended, just under 40 were needed from the last five overs, with Mgjima ticking along quickly to carry his side over the line.

Outstanding bowling by Prenelan Subrayen and Daryn Dupavillon helped the Hollywoodbets Dolphins make a positive start to the CSA T20 Challenge campaign with a comfortable four-wicket victory over the VKB Knights in Durban on Saturday night.

The pair shared five wickets between them and conceded only 30 runs in eight overs as the hosts restricted the visitors to 133 for eight at Kingsmead.

Marques Ackerman then batted with a level head on his way to 44 not out from 36 balls to help his side reach their target with nine deliveries to spare.

It completed a comfortable win for the KwaZulu-Natal side and helped them bounce back well following their Momentum One-Day Cup final disappointment last weekend – they were crushed by the Multiply Titans in that match.

In their 20-over season opener, the Dolphins won the toss and opted to bowl first with Aubrey Swanepoel (31) and Patrick Kruger (13) giving them plenty to think about during an opening stand of 46 in 4.4 overs, including one that went for 25 by Lwandiswa Zuma (1/35).

But from there, it went south on the east coast for the Knights as Subrayen and Dupavillon demolished them.

The former ran through the middle order on his way to three for 15 in four overs, before the latter strangled the lower order with his one for 15 in the same ration of overs.

The Central plummeted from 46 for none to 81 for six and needed a 45-run seventh-wicket partnership between Grant Mokoena (25) and Shadley van Schalkwyk (21) to get them to a decent total.

They then needed early wickets to have any chance, but that failed to happen as Sarel Erwee (28) and Morne van Wyk (17) gave the Dolphins a solid enough start of 39 for the first wicket.

Even though Van Schalkwyk (2/23) did his best to try and jolt their progress – they fell to 68 for four at one point – Ackerman and Sibonelo Makhanya (17) settled nerves with a partnership of 43 that was enough to get them close.

Eathan Bosch (12 off three balls) then finished the job as the home side started their campaign on the right foot.

Dane Paterson  bowled one of the great death overs of his career to earn the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras a thrilling five-run victory over the bizhub Highveld Lions to complete an outstanding opening weekend of the CSA T20 Challenge at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.

The Lions entered the final over, needing just 8 runs for victory with five wickets in hand although neither of their batsmen at the crease, Wiaan Mulder and Dwaine Pretorius, had faced a ball at that stage.

Paterson conceded only two runs off his final six balls and took three wickets, one of them as the result of a direct hit run out to remove Mulder. If one also takes in account the fact that he hit the final ball of the Cobras innings for a six, then his contribution was immense.

Other key contributions for the Cobras came from the partnership of 58 of just 34 balls between Vernon Philander and Aviwe Mgjima.

Remarkably both sides had 104 runs on the board with six overs left in their innings and in the end, this partnership plus Paterson’s final ball six proved just sufficient.

The Lions reply was set up by an entertaining innings of 69 off 43 balls with three fours and four sixes by Ryan Rickelton who confirmed the favourable impression he made in the Mzansi Super League earlier in the season.

It also served to highlight one of the important by-products of this competition to provide opportunities for fringe franchise players. The 22-year-old Rickelton was one such example as was the 23-year-old Marques Ackerman in the Hollywoodbets Dolphins victory over the VKB Knights on Saturday evening.

Paterson was named bowler of the match and the batting award went to Philander.

The competition continues on Tuesday when the Knights take on the Warriors at Kimberley’s Diamond Oval.

Multiply Titans batsman Aiden Markram’s blistering 127 off just 88 balls proved to be the gamechanger as the Multiply Titans defeated HollywoodBets Dolphins by 135 runs to clinch the Momentum One-day Cup final.

The star-studded Titans were put in to bat and got a good start with a 51-run opening stand, and a 56-run stand for the second wicket. Theunis de Bruyn set the innings up with a steady 72 before he departed in the 29th over. With the Titans looking for a strong finish, skipper Dean Elgar joined Markram and played a good supporting role to Markram’s blitz.

Markram, who already had scores of 169, 139 and 85 in the tournament, proceeded to launch a stunning assault that saw him hit eight sixes and five fours. At the other end, Elgar kept the scoring busy with a 42-ball 58 and helped stitch together a stand worth 142. Farhaan Behardien, who followed, kept the momentum up with a quick cameo as the Titans racked up a massive 356.

In the chase, the Dolphins were pegged back by two strikes from Dale Steyn within the first ten overs. They slipped further in the 14th over as Tabraiz Shamsi struck twice to put the Dolphins under pressure.

Dane Vilas (59) and Andile Phehlukwayo (43) offered some resistance before Steyn came back to pick the latter and effectively end the chase. Dolphins, who were the joint-winners in the previous season, were rolled out for just 221 as they handed the title over to the Titans.

The Multiply Titans put on a clinical performance at Supersport Park to book their place in the Momentum One-Day Cup final. Titans first delivered with the ball, bowling the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras out for 187 before surviving a scare to chase it down with almost 11 overs to spare.

Dale Steyn was the one who caused damage very early in the innings when he removed Janneman Malan and Zubayr Hamza off successive deliveries in the opening over. Skipper JP Duminy then arrested the slide with a vital 40-run stand before Titans struck twice again in succession. This time, it was Junior Dala who got into the wickets column getting rid of both Duminy and opener Pieter Malan.

With Tabraiz Shamsi also castling Aviwe Mgijima for a duck, Cobras were stuttering at 52/5 by the end of the 18th over. Kyle Verreynne and Vernon Philander then rescued the side with a crucial 75-run stand to ensure Cobras’ innings was back on track. Verreynne went onto score a half-century but with wickets falling regularly at the other end, Titans continued to have a firm grip on the contest. Dala was the wrecker-in-chief running through the lower order to finish with an incredible six-wicket haul, conceding only 19 runs.

Cobras didn’t back down without a fight in the chase despite putting only 187 on the board. Philander and Rory Kleinveldt kept striking in tandem with the new ball to reduce Titans to 65/5. With 123 more runs needed for the win, it appeared as if Titans were just one wicket away from losing the contest. Instead, Behardien joined forces with Corbin Bosch to ensure his side didn’t collapse.

With the rest of the bowlers not threatening as much as Philander and Kleinveldt did, Behardien and Bosch batted with caution to bail their side out of trouble. Eventually, the duo was involved in a century stand and carried the team over the finish line. While Bosch remained unbeaten on 45, Behardien finished not out on 75.

Dwaine Pretorius made a maiden half-century and was involved in two important partnerships with Reeza Hendricks and JP Duminy to put the Standard Bank Proteas on their way to victory by 45 runs on the DLS method and a series clean sweep in the final KFC T20 International match at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.

Pretorius, who had not batted in any of his three previous T20 International matches, grabbed his chance when he finally got the opportunity in the pivotal No. 3 position. He shared all-important partnerships of 90 for the second wicket with Hendricks (a career-best 66 off 52 balls, 8 fours and 2 sixes) and then an unbroken 71 for the third wicket with Duminy (34 not out off 14 balls, 2 fours and 3 sixes) in just five overs.

Pretorius finished unbeaten on 77 (42 balls, 4 fours and 3 sixes) and for good measure took a wicket with his first ball when he came on to bowl.

The Sri Lankan reply got off to a decent start this time largely thanks to NIroshan Dikwella (38 off 22 balls, 7 fours) but then fell into their bad habits of old as they lost six wickets for 54 runs. They were nevertheless ahead on the comparative run rate as they had been throughout their innings although the number of wickets lost meant they were behind on the DLS method when rain interrupted play after 11.1 overs of their reply.

It left them with a revised target of 183 in 17 overs which effectively meant they had to score 72 off the remaining 35 balls.

However, they did have a trump card up their sleeves in the big-hitting Isuru Udana who had already scored 25 runs off just 12 balls, including three huge sixes, before the weather interruption. However, it meant he would have to do it all himself with only tail-enders left to bat around him.

They managed only 7 off the remaining 5 balls of Tabraiz Shamsi’s 12th over, reducing the target to 65 off 30 balls.

A couple of tight overs followed from Chris Morris and Shamsi, pushing the required rate up to 18 runs per over for the last three.

Andile Phehlukwayo started the next over with a no-ball and a wide, then conceded a six before making the vital strike by having Udana caught on the boundary (36 off 23 balls, 4 sixes).

It left Sri Lanka needing 46 off 15 balls with no power hitters left at their disposal.

Phehlukwayo dismissed Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga in the same over to give him career-best figures of 4/24 as the Proteas closed in for the kill.

The end was in sight as Lutho Sipamla cleaned up the tail with a double strike

A third career century by Sarel Erwee helped the Hollywoodbets Dolphins take a giant step towards the Momentum One-Day Cup playoffs after they secured a thumping nine-wicket bonus-point win over the Warriors in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.

The opener ended unbeaten on 105 off 103 balls (12 four, 3 sixes) as the visitors chased down a modest 224-victory target with nearly 15 overs to spare.

There were also several vital performances with the ball for the KwaZulu-Natal side – led by Okuhle Cele’s career-best three for 52 in 10 overs at St George’s Park.

It was just one of many good away showings after the home side had won the toss and opted to bat first.

Keshav Maharaj was miserly after finishing with one for 28 in his full quota of overs, with fellow spinners Prenelan Subrayen and Senuran Muthusamy collecting two for 44 (nine overs) and one for 46 (10 overs) respectively.

Eathan Bosch was also tidy with none for 42 as the Warriors lost regular wickets all the way through. There were no half-century partnerships for them, with Jon-Jon Smuts finishing as the top scorer with 76 (99 balls, 6 fours). Onke Nyaku got to 34 and Gihahn Cloete added 27, the Eastern Cape franchise limping to 223 for nine.

Erwee and Vaughn van Jaarsveld, who made 83 off 77 balls, (11 fours) got their side off to a flier as they put on 147 for the first wicket in just 23.5 overs.

Marques Ackerman (34 not out) then stepped in to help Erwee complete the job via an 82-run second-wicket stand as the Dolphins won with 85 balls to spare.

They are now up to second on the log ahead of the Warriors and are strongly placed with just one round to play.

An excellent final two overs by Malusi Siboto and Wiaan Mulder helped the bizhub Highveld Lions stay in the Momentum One-Day Cup semi-final hunt thanks to a tense seven-run win over the Multiply Titans in their Jukskei derby clash in Benoni on Thursday.

Chasing 305 for victory, the hosts were cruising along at 288 for six heading into the final 12 deliveries, but Siboto (1/50) conceded just four in the penultimate over in which he also took a wicket, before Mulder (2/46) went for five in over number 50 when he too struck.

It meant the home side could only muster 297 for eight in reply, handing the visitors a massive lifeline heading to the last round of regular season action on Saturday.

They now moved level on 14 points with the VKB Knights, with the pair trailing the Warriors by four points – leaving a three-way tussle for one spot in the top four.

The match was more than just the final two overs, though, with impressive performances from players on both sides right the way through.

There was a seventh century in a losing cause from Jonathan Vandiar (111 off 124 balls, 14 fours), whose side have already assured a spot at the top of the table, while man-of-the-match Dominic Hendricks struck an equally key 93 (110 balls, 9 fours).

There was good support for the latter by Kagiso Rapulana (60 off 72 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) in an opening role as the pair put on 135 for the first wicket after the Lions won the toss and batted first at Willowmoore Park.

Wihan Lubbe followed them with a quick-fire 51 off 42 balls (7 fours, 1 six), with Wiaan Mulder plundering 36 off 29 to give the visitors a strong total.

Junior Dala continued his good recent form with the ball by grabbing four for 54.

Bjorn Fortuin (2/59) and Nandre Burger (2/53) pegged the Titans back to 32 for two early on, before a big stand of 126 for the third wicket between Vandiar and captain Dean Elgar (62 off 67 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) put the home team on track for victory.

Even after the stand-in skipper departed, Grant Thomson (31) added 62 for the third wicket with the centurion to take the score to 220 for three in the 38th over.
But the chase lost momentum from there as the Lions held their nerve at the death to complete the derby double and stay alive in the competition with one round to play.

A maiden career five-wicket haul by veteran Rory Kleinveldt laid the platform for the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras to secure their place in the Momentum One-Day Cup semi-finals thanks to a comfortable seven-wicket win over the VKB Knights in Cape Town on Thursday.

The 36-year-old seamer claimed an impressive five for 22 to help shoot out the visitors for 186 at PPC Newlands, before Zubayr Hamza’s unbeaten 65 (84 balls, 6 fours) guided the hosts to their target with 35 balls remaining.

The victory guaranteed the Cobras a place in next week’s playoffs after they moved to 20 points on the table, with the Knights (14 points) now having to beat the already qualified Multiply Titans on Saturday and hope other final round results go their way to have a chance of progressing.

The Cape side did what they needed to do though, on Human Rights Day.

In a good showing in front of their home fans, Ashwell Prince’s side were made to field first after losing the toss, but their opponents failed to make the most of their decision at the toss.

They lost three wickets before even getting to 10 as Kleinveldt accounted for Patrick Kruger for a duck as well as Keegan Petersen for two, before Vernon Philander, who was also hugely impressive with one for 30 in 10 overs, dismissed Andries Gous (7).

All this inside the opening 4.5 overs as the Knights were in a deep hole from the off.

Captain Pite van Biljon managed just 14, before he too fell, with Rudi Second (49) and Grant Mokoena (44) then doing their best to try and stabilise the batting to momentarily give the Knights hope after they progressed to 118 for four – the pair adding 73 for the fifth wicket.

Rookie Tsepo Ndwandwa (1/35) eventually broke the stand and from there it was the Kleinveldt show as he blew away the tail to end with lifetime best figures, the fifth of which took him to 200 List A wickets.

The Cobras had little trouble chasing down the target, bar a point where they lost Pieter Malan (17) and Janneman Malan (25) relatively close to each other. That left them at 56 for two, and after 27 by Aviwe Mgijima, Hamza and Kyle Verreynne (44 not out off 55 balls, 4 fours) shared in an unbroken 87-run stand that led their side to an important win.

The Standard Bank Proteas maintained their white-ball dominance over Sri Lanka but it took a super over to get them there in the first of three KFC T20 International matches at PPC Newlands on Tuesday evening.

The Proteas had looked to be coasting to victory in the match proper when they needed 18 runs for victory in the final four overs with seven wickets in hand, David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen having just shared a 50 partnership off 33 balls. This included Miller’s career-best 41 (23 balls, 5 fours and a six), beating his previous best of 40 against these opponents.

But they managed to lose 5 wickets for 17 runs to finish the match all square with Lasith Malinga taking a superb 2/11 in his four overs.

He did not enjoy the same success in the super over when Miller scored 13 of the 14 runs that he and Van der Dussen put together off the six balls.

It left Sri Lanka needing 15 to win – a tie would have given victory to the Proteas on the superior number of boundaries hit in the match proper – but Imran Tahir proved more than equal to the occasion, conceding only 5 runs from his 8 balls (he sent down two wides).

In the end, the Proteas were left to rue their not having played very smart cricket in the closing stages of their innings in chasing down a modest target.

Sri Lanka could also reflect on the fact Niroshan Dickwella missed the easiest of run outs off the final ball of the match proper that would have given them a one-run victory.

It was also remarkable that Isuru Udana, after his effective hitting in the ODI Series, only came into bat at No. 8 and was largely responsible for the unbroken partnership of 21 he and Akila Dananjaya had off the last 10 balls of their innings.

Possibly the most significant thing about the match proper was that Miller kept wicket for the Proteas for all 20 overs and took his maiden catch in this position and made his first stumping without conceding a bye. His all-round contribution with the bat and in the field saw him named KFC Man of the Match.

Quinton de Kock completed five successive ODI half-centuries to equal the South African record he already jointly holds with Jonty Rhodes to set the Standard Bank Proteas on their way to a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka with more than 17 overs to spare in the fourth Momentum One-Day International at St. George’s Park on Wednesday.

They now lead the series 4-0 and have the opportunity to complete a clean sweep in the final match at PPC Newlands on Saturday (13h00).

Sri Lanka put up one of their weakest performances of their entire tour as they were shot out for 189 in 39.2 overs and it would have been a lot worse but for a cavalier innings by Momentum Man of the Match Isuru Udana who came to the crease at a disastrous 97/7 at the end of the 25th over and scored 78 (57 balls, 7 fours and 4 sixes) out of the remaining 92 runs in the innings. This included making 55 out of the 10th wicket partnership of 58 with Kasun Rajitha – the other three were made up of wides) – that constituted a Sri Lankan record for the final wicket.

Anrich Nortje returned career-best figure in 8 overs, having had figures of 3/19 after his first 6 overs and then bearing the brunt of the Udana onslaught in his later spell.

De Kock (51 off 57 balls, 6 fours) soon put the result beyond doubt after sharing a second wicket stand of 56 with the recalled Aiden Markram and a further stand of 43 for the third with Faf du Plessis. When De Kock was dismissed the target was down to 80 runs with 29 overs still available and, although Du Plessis also departed, the finishing touches were comfortably supplied by David Miller and JP Duminy.

The latter, making his comeback from injury, was in sparkling form, scoring an unbeaten 31 off 21 balls (4 fours and a six) and, although there was little for him to do when he came to the crease, his innings was probably one of the biggest plusses on the evening for the Proteas.

The Proteas once again underlined the depth of their bowling resources with both Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir being rested, giving Dale Steyn his first outing of the series and allowing a further opportunity for Tabraiz Shamsi who bowled as well as anybody for his return of 1/34 from a full complement of 10 overs.

Four wickets apiece four Junior Dala and Chris Morris followed by a blistering Diego Rosier half-century helped the Multiply Titans consolidate their position at the top of the Momentum One-Day Cup standings by demolishing the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras by 10 wickets in Centurion on Wednesday.

The 50-over per side contest at SuperSport Park lasted all but 59.3 overs as the visitors were first shot out for 151 before the hosts raced to their target with 167 balls to spare – securing a bonus point in the process.

Standard Bank Proteas pair Dala and Morris were instrumental with the ball after bagging four for 29 and four for 23 respectively to leave the Cobras all out in 37.2 overs.

Mark Boucher’s side won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision that was fully vindicated by their performance in the field.

The Cape side did make a good start, nonetheless, reaching 73 for one thanks to 30s by Pieter Malan and Zubayr Hamza.

However, Dala then destroyed the top-order, and after another 30 from Aviwe Mgijima, Morris mopped up the tail as Ashwell Prince’s side lost their last nine wickets for just 78 runs.

In reply, Johnathan Vandiar struck 31 off 28, before retiring hurt on 50, but there was no stopping Rosier. The right-hander smashed 12 fours and two sixes on his way to an unbeaten 92 off only 62 balls to lead his side to a fourth straight victory.

Heino Kuhn ended on 25 not out with the Titans racing to the target in 22.1 overs.

They now lead the competition standings by five points as the playoffs loom.

Quinton de Kock continued his blazing run of sparkling form with his 14th career century to lay the foundation for a solid batting performance by the Standard Bank Proteas top and middle order in the third Momentum One-Day International at Kingsmead on Sunday.

The Proteas won in the end by 72 runs to clinch the series 3-0 with two matches still to be played but Sri Lanka were caught on the wrong end of a DLS re-calculation that was hardly fair.

In a match that was badly disrupted by rain, the De Kock-inspired Proteas set a target of 332 to which Sri Lanka replied with 75/2 after 16 overs before play was disrupted.

When play finally resumed Sri Lanka were set a near impossible revised DLS target of 193 in 24 overs, requiring them to score 118 off the remaining 48 balls. What made matters even worse was that they had lost Kusal Perera with a hamstring injury while fielding.

Tabraiz Shamsi got rid of Oshada Fernando in the first over after the resumption and although Kusal Mendis hit two sixes in Shamsi’s next over he then fell to Imran Tahir. The Proteas final power play also started at this stage so they could crucially have an extra fielder on the boundary.

It reached a stage when they required an impossible 75 off the last 12 balls, even if every ball was hit for six.

In the Proteas innings after the early departure of his opening partner, Reeza Hendricks, De Kock was involved in stands of 97 with Faf du Plessis, and 66 with Rassie van der Dussen before being the third man out for 121 (108 balls, 16 fours and 2 sixes).

David Miller then continued the good work in partnerships of 44 with Van der Dussen, 53 with Dwaine Pretorius and finally an unbroken 47 off 20 balls with Andile Phehlukwayo of which the latter contributed 38 off 17 balls with five fours and a six.

In spite of De Kock’s fine innings – his third century against Sri Lanka and his second at Kingsmead – the Proteas looked as though they might finish shy of 300 but Phehlukwayo and Miller changed all that with their late onslaught that took the Proteas to a very competitive total of 331/5 with 99 of those runs coming in the final power play for the loss of just one wicket.

The other main contributor to the Proteas total was Van der Dussen who made exactly 50 (67 balls, 3 fours) but the most significant factor was that six of the seven batsmen made 30 or more.

De Kock completed 1 000 ODI runs against Sri Lanka as did Du Plessis. The only other two Proteas batsmen to go past this mark are Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla.

The recalled Isuru Udana was the pick of the Sri Lankan seamers both in terms of strike and economy rates, taking 2/50 in 8 overs while the debutant spinner, Kamindu Mendis took 1/45 in 10 well-controlled overs.

The fourth match takes place at St. George’s Park on Wednesday (13h00 start).

On a day of astonishing batting collapses on which the Standard Bank Proteas lost 9/120 and Sri Lanka then did even worse, losing 9/109, the home side triumphed by a very comfortable 113 runs in the second Momentum One-Day International at SuperSport Park on Wednesday to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.

Quinton de Kock’s 94 off 70 balls (17 fours and a six) and to a lesser extent Faf du Plessis’ 57 off 66 balls (7 fours) after the visitors had won the toss and opted to bowl first stood out like beacons of batting brilliance with the only other batsman to go past 30 being Sri Lanka’s Oshada Fernando (31 off 45 balls, 3 fours).

In total, the match only lasted 77.3 overs out of the permissible 100.

In the circumstances, De Kock, who stood out for his class, mastery and timing that made the game look ridiculously simple, was an obvious choice as Momentum Man of the Match. Du Plessis was unlucky to be bowled by a ball that kept low and gave him no chance with the pair having made far more runs than anybody else in the series to date.

The Sri Lanka bowling effort was typical of the entire tour to date with a terrier never-say-die attitude that kept them hanging in even at a stage when the Proteas reached 130 with only one man out in the 20th over. At that stage, a total well in excess of 300 seemed little more than a formality.

But Sri Lanka had other ideas led by veteran Thisara Perera with the last six wickets, starting with Du Plessis’ dismissal falling for only 31 runs and the Proteas falling five overs short of batting out their overs.

With a modest total of 251 to defend the Proteas pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje produced a display of high intensity and with a little help from Imran Tahir as well had the visitors back in the pavilion in 32.2 overs.

Kagiso Rabada, who topped the speed gun going comfortably past the 150km/h mark, also topped the bowling charts (3/43) while there were two wickets each for the other three frontline bowlers. The three speedsters between them took 7/82 in 21.2 overs of lightning destruction.

It was a memorable night for Rabada who took his 100th ODI wicket in only his 64th match, drawing level with Allan Donald in third place on the SA all-time fastest list behind Imran Tahir and Morne Morkel.

There was also a milestone for Du Plessis who scored his 5 000th ODI run and became the 10th fastest batsman of all time in terms of innings played to reach this mark. He is also the third fastest South African to reach this mark behind Hashim Amla, who is the world leader and AB de Villiers.

Faf du Plessis hit his 11th century and Imran Tahir returned to his very best form in the format as the Standard Bank Proteas coasted to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka with 11 overs to spare in the opening Momentum One-Day International at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday.

In terms of ICC World Cup preparation, the Proteas ticked one very important box and that was their achievement in taking six wickets for 154 runs in the middle power play. This was after they had taken 2/59 in the opening power play and made certain that Sri Lanka would not be able to launch any kind of assault in the final one.

Imran (3/26) made the key contribution, taking all his wickets in the middle power play. He struck early with his fourth delivery to end an important third wicket stand of 76 between Kusal Perera and Oshada Fernando and then did the same in his second spell when he got rid of two batsmen well set in Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva to put an end to the other significant stand of 94 for the fifth wicket.

At one stage it looked as though Sri Lanka would go on to somewhere near the 300-run mark which is the benchmark for any side in this format but instead they were dismissed for a well below par total of 231 and failed to bat out their 50 overs.

Lungi Ngidi, making a successful return from injury, also took 3 wickets (3/60) while there was a debut wicket for Anrich Nortje and a 99th wicket in this format for Kagiso Rabada.

Sri Lanka did themselves no favour with their running between the wickets which accounted for the other two dismissals.

Mendis (60 off 73 balls, 5 fours and a six) was the only visiting batsman to go past the half-century mark although several others threatened to do so.

Whatever chance Sri Lanka had of staying in the contest effectively disappeared when Du Plessis was dropped on 32. He had hit his three previous deliveries from Thusara Perera for boundaries and the psychological impact for that lost opportunity must have been severe.

It opened the way for Du Plessis (112 not out off 114 balls, 15 fours and a six) and Quinton de Kock (81 off 72 balls, 11 fours) to overcome the potential threat posed by the Sri Lankan mystery spinners and lay the foundation for victory. Their partnership was worth 136 in 22 overs before Du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen finished off the job.

The latter continues to go from strength to strength and has now made 273 in 6 matches and has only been dismissed twice.

Du Plessis was named Momentum Man of the Match. This was his third century against Sri Lanka and his second at the Wanderers. It was also his career best at this venue.

Aiden Markram continued to give the Standard Bank Proteas selectors plenty to think about after his scintillating century helped the Multiply Titans oust the top-of-the-table Warriors by 55 runs in their latest Momentum One-Day Cup outing in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.

The right-hander, who smashed 169 off 129 on Friday night, followed that up with 139 off 127 balls (13 fours, 2 sixes) as the visitors clocked up a St George’s Park List A record score of 369 for five.

Tony de Zorzi was also instrumental after contributing 99 off 103 balls (11 fours, 1 six) to help their side smash the previous 50-over record on the ground of 322 for six made by the Warriors against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in 2014/15.

The hosts tried their bests to chased down the score but lost too many wickets and were eventually dismissed for 314 in 47.1 overs.
One of South Africa’s brightest young batting talents Sinethemba Qeshile, fresh from his maiden cross-format ton in the previous game, top-scored with 88 off 62 balls (6 fours, 5 sixes).

There was also a consolation half-century from captain Jon-Jon Smuts (77 off 73 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) – the Eastern Cape franchise falling to a first defeat of the season.

The Titans, though, will be delighted with their second consecutive away win and one that saw them close to within four points of their log-leading hosts.

It was all set up by a superb 234-run opening stand by Markram and De Zorzi as the former reminded the national selectors just what a special talent he is.

After his magical innings batting at five against the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras, he moved to the top of the order this time and responded beautifully with a sixth List A century.

Following his departure, Dean Elgar (31), Heinrich Klaasen (24), Farhaan Behardien (24) and Heino Kuhn (20) all scored rapidly to help set 370.

Another of the country’s brightest prospects Lutho Sipamla was the best of the bowlers with three for 40.

For the home side to win, they needed someone to go big and early too. However, that did not happen as Gihahn Cloete (22) and Matthew Breetzke (23) fell inside the opening 11 overs. Smuts tried his best to keep his side in the game, but fell with 180 still needed.

Qeshile and Marco Marais (35) added a century stand for the sixth wicket to maintain the pace as the Warriors got to 295 for five at one point.

Both fell within five runs, however, as the tail faded away and handed the Titans a good win.

Chris Morris was the pick of the bowlers with three for 44.

Proteas women sealed their series against Sri Lanka with a 30-run win in the second game in Potchefstroom. Captain Chamari Atapattu powered Sri Lanka’s chase with a boundary-laden 94, but no other Sri Lanka batsman reached fifty and the visitors were bowled out for 231 in pursuit of a revised target of 262 in 47 overs. The visitors lost eight wickets for 63 runs, after a 110-run second-wicket stand.

The hosts were without their captain, Dane van Niekerk, who was ruled out for three months due to a stress fracture, but in her absence, fifties for Laura Wolvaardt, Lara Goodall and Marizanne Kapp – who slammed four sixes in her 34-ball 69 – set up an imposing total of 268 for 7.

Wolvaardt had been out for a golden duck in the first match, but this time around she struck seven boundaries inside the Powerplay and raised a 49-ball fifty in the 15th over. She added 71 with Andrie Steyn, who was a little more circumspect in compiling her 24. After Wolvaardt fell to an edge through to wicketkeeper Prasadani Weerakkody, Lara Goodall kept the scoreboard ticking despite Sri Lanka’s repeated strikes to dent the middle order.

Goodall reached 52 – her maiden ODI fifty – before she became Kavisha Dilhari’s second victim with the score at 183 for 6 in the 42nd over. Her dismissal brought Kapp and Faye Tunnicliffe together, and they added a rapid 85 for the seventh wicket that put South Africa well on top.

While Tunnicliffe focused on turning the strike over, Kapp’s first six brought up South Africa’s 200 in the 46th over. In the last five overs of the innings, the hosts added a whopping 69 runs, with Kapp and Tunnicliffe combining to take 20 off a single over from Inoka Ranaweera.

Sri Lanka needed a strong start to keep their chase on track, and although Atapattu was immediately into her groove, Weerakkody fell almost immediately, slicing a catch to Mignon du Preez at backward point off Kapp in the fourth over. Rain washed over the ground soon after, forcing an adjustment to Sri Lanka’s target and the overs they would have to reach it.

Atapattu’s response was to go on the offensive, and two fours and a six in Masabata Klaas’ first over took her racing into the 40s. Another boundary off Tumi Sekhukhune took her to a 53-ball fifty in the 16th over, the Sri Lankan captain smashing 18 runs off the medium pacer’s next over to raise her team’s 100.
Atapattu took her stand with Anushka Sanjeewani beyond 100 with her third six, off Nadine de Klerk, and was in sight of what would have been her fifth ODI hundred when she fell against the run of play, edging a swipe at stand-in captain Sune Luus’ legspin.

Her dismissal knocked some of the fight out of Sri Lanka, and when Sanjeewani and Shashikala Siriwardene fell in successive deliveries soon afterwards, the visitors really lost their way. A required rate that had been kept in check soon ballooned to more than a run a ball, and Sri Lanka were left needing 69 from the last ten overs of their innings with five wickets still standing.

Wolvaardt followed her innings with the bat up with an excellent performance in the field, effecting two run-outs to tighten South Africa’s grip and also holding a catch at deep midwicket to get rid of Nilakshi de Silva. With the run rate rapidly inflating, two further run-outs deepened Sri Lanka’s woes, and Shabnim Ismail removed a Dilscooping Dilhari in the final over of the innings to bring the match to an end, and seal the series win.

Proteas women cruised to a 3-0 sweep in their T20I series against Sri Lanka with a 39-run win in the third match at SuperSport Park in Centurion. The hosts put in a complete performance with both bat and ball, running to 163 for 5 – the highest total of the series – after being put in to bat by Sri Lanka, and then sharing the wickets around with Sune Luus’ all-round efforts winning her back-to-back Player-of-the-Match awards.

Consistency in batting was a primary goal for South Africa coming into this series, and the several changes that have rung through their top order resulted in the kind of performance coach Hilton Moreeng has been looking for. Four of the top five passed 20, and all kept their strike rates well above 100 as the runs flowed.

Tazmin Brits and captain Dane van Niekerk kicked things off with a rapid 58-run opening stand, Brits peppering the cover boundary in a 29-ball 36 before she was caught off Inoka Ranaweera’s left-arm spin at the end of the eighth over. Van Niekerk swiped three fours and one majestic inside-out six over extra-cover before she had to leave the field with a stomach ailment halfway through the innings.

Lara Goodall and Marizanne Kapp kept up the run rate in her absence, raising the hundred in the 13th over. Kapp fell in the pursuit of quick runs, but Luus entered the fray with two slog-swept sixes as South Africa raced past 150. Luus and van Niekerk – back in the middle having recovered from her symptoms – fell off consecutive deliveries in the final over but Faye Tunnicliffe swiped a boundary from the penultimate delivery to boost the score beyond 160.
Set a daunting target, Sri Lanka’s chase got off to a disastrous start when Kapp bowled Prasadani Weerakkody with the second ball of the chase. Sri Lanka did not reach the boundary until Chamari Atapattu slashed a top-edge over the slips off Shabnim Ismail at the end of the fourth over. In a brief flurry, Atapattu and Hasini Perera picked up four boundaries in six balls thereafter, but the introduction of Luus’ leg spin slowed things down again, while Nadine de Klerk struck in her very first over to bowl Perera for 13.

Atapattu took a brace of boundaries off de Klerk and Luus, but the required rate was rising all the time and when Ismail returned to clean-bowl Atapattu with the first ball of her third over, Sri Lanka had lost their captain and almost any hope of winning the game.

De Klerk was on a hat-trick when she removed Imalka Mendis and Nilakshi de Silva with successive deliveries in the 17th over, by which time the required rate had rocketed to almost 20. Kavisha Dilhari survived the hat-trick ball, and Shashikala Siriwardene once again exhibited some fierce strokeplay – including a remarkable checked drive, inside-out over cover – but South Africa’s total was never in any real danger.

Proteas women’s all-rounder Suné Luus showed good character when she set up her side’s two-wicket win with a second career five-wicket haul in their second women’s T20 international fixture against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers on Sunday.

The 23-year-old leg spinner took 5/14 in her first match following being recalled to replace an injured Chloe Tryon after she was initially rested from the side for Sri Lanka tour.

Luus admits to being nervous ahead of the match but knew she had to make the opportunity count and show the selectors that she was still a viable option for the national team. She credits captain, Dané van Niekerk and assistant coach, Salieg Nackerdien for helping her stay calm.

On Van Niekerk’s influence, she said: “She just came out and said; ‘listen, you’re gonna bowl now, just bowl like we know you can and just enjoy it.’

“I think for me, it was about getting confidence in the middle and with every ball (she bowled) that grew, so I was happy with that,” Luus reflected.

“I’d had a chat with one of the coaches, Salieg (Nackerdien) beforehand and I asked him ‘how do I go about today? Because I know there’s a lot of pressure and you feel like everyone’s eyes are on you’ and I didn’t want to add pressure to myself. He was just like; ‘well, you’ve been dropped already so you can’t go any worse. You just go out there and you just enjoy it and play the way Suné plays.’ And for me with my bowling, that was Suné and I think you can expect more of that from a bowling point of view. It wasn’t my day with the bat, but hopefully, I get a second opportunity in the third T20 just to bring those two performances together.”

Luus believes that the series victory with a match to spare will do wonders for the team’s confidence going into the last match at SuperSport Park on Wednesday.

She was pleased to see Nadine de Klerk’s determination at the crease during South Africa’s 106-run chase and was even more impressed with how she kept a cool head when the pressure was at its highest.

South Africa’s batters slipped from 57/4 to 97/8 and snuck a win with just one ball left in the match.

“Coming off maybe not a great year, everyone was pretty hungry for this series win,” she explained.

“I think in the past, we wouldn’t have gone over the line (in that match situation), this is one of those wins that we’re gonna keep close to our hearts. It bodes well for the last match, the confidence from the way we managed to get that win is something that will drive us to finish the series well.

“We speak a lot about our brand of cricket and how we want to play and with these fresh youngsters, we can play fresh cricket and play according to that,” she went on.

“Although we had a collapse in the middle, I think that the bravery that they showed is a part of that brand. Nadine played fearlessly at the end and that’s something that we’ve been working towards and it’s a process for us, but I think we’re on the right track.”

The Highveld Lions are the 2018/19 4-Day Domestic Series champions after Nandre Burger and Malusi Siboto shared seven wickets to help them claim a dramatic 84-run win over the Warriors deep on the last day of their season finale in Potchefstroom on Thursday.

With the log-leading Cape Cobras having concluded their round 10 fixture earlier in the day – a drawn match with the Dolphins in Pietermaritzburg – victory was the only option for Enoch Nkwe’s side.

And they defied the odds to do exactly that and overhaul the Cape Town side, who had led the standings for almost the entire season.

They did it against one of the most impressive teams too in the Warriors, a team also in contention for the title until inclement weather dropped them out of the race in round nine.

The Eastern Cape franchise began day four at Senwes Park with the Lions declaring overnight on 292 for nine, meaning they had a target of 330 to get on what was effectively a full day of cricket in the North West, although the rain intervene briefly.

The visitors suffered a double blow early on after Siboto (3/40) dismissed openers Eddie Moore (3) and Matthew Breetzke (9) with only 18 on the board.

He then got Lesiba Ngoepe (14) to leave the away side on 61 for three, and they managed to avoid any further loss until lunch thanks to an 81-run fourth-wicket stand between Sinethemba Qeshile (39) and Yaseen Vallie either side of the break.

Burger (4/72) then began his work by removing both set men, the latter for an innings top-score of 74 (125 balls, 7 fours) that left the Warriors on 155 for five.

Rain intervened at that point meaning that five overs were lost, but upon the resumption, Nono Pongolo (2/36) got Sisanda Magala (13) and Glenton Stuurman (4) either side of Burger dismissing Marco Marais (22) and then Basheer Walters (22).

Thomas Kaber did his best to save the game with an unbeaten 23 off 96 balls, but when Wihan Lubbe bowled cleaned up Sithembile Langa for eight with his third delivery, the Lions were champion

Usman Shinwari  produced a devastating spell of reverse swing bowling to blow away the Standard Bank Proteas middle and lower order and put Pakistan on their way to a series-levelling eight-wicket win in the fourth Momentum ODI at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.

The seventh edition of the PinkDay ODI was the first one in which the Proteas had finished up on the losing side and they produced a performance that was well below par for this iconic occasion.

Shinwari took three wickets in four balls and overall four wickets in six balls spread over two overs that was key to a collapse that saw the Proteas lose eight wickets for 45 runs in 15 overs and were bowled out after only one over of the final power play.

The collapse was started by two unsung heroes in the two Pakistan spinners, Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan, who between them got rid of Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis who shared a third wicket partnership of 101.

In truth, it was a complete all-round performance by all five Pakistan bowlers, expertly directed by the experienced Shoaib Malik, Pakistan’s stand-in captain for the suspended Sarfraz Ahmed.

It had looked from the start as if it was not quite going to be the Proteas day after Quinton de Kock, playing his 100th ODI, was dismissed without scoring and then Reeza Hendricks was unlucky to be caught down the leg side behind the wicket. Both these wickets fell to Shaheen Afridi who had done a similar job to the Proteas top order in the Kingsmead match.

Amla (59 off 75 balls, 7 fours that included his 1 000th run against Pakistan in the ODI format) and Du Plessis (57 off 76 balls, 5 fours and a six) resisted for a while but that was as good as it got for the Proteas.

Pakistan put the possibility of a Proteas fightback to bed with an opening stand of 70 between Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman with the former consolidating his position as the leading runs scorer in the series before being dismissed with the scores level (71 off 91 balls, 6 fours and a six).

Shinwari was named Momentum Man of the Match.

World Sports Betting Cape Cobras all-rounder Rory Kleinveldt officially retired from first-class cricket at the conclusion of the Cobras’ Four-Day Domestic series match against the Warriors at PPC Newlands on Thursday.

Kleinveldt Tweet soon after the match, “Finally lost the love for the toil!!!! Been a great ride and made some unbelievable memories. Love to all my teammates, coaches, family and friends for the support over the 17 years.”

Kleinveldt captured 454 wickets in 148 first-class matches for Western Province, the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras and Northampton.

His 9-65, a career-best, came for Northampton, in the 2017-2018 season in which he nipped out 50 first-class batsmen.

Kleinveldt also represented the Standard Bank Proteas in four Test matches, ten One-Day Internationals and six T20 Internationals.

A burly bowling all-rounder, Kleinveldt won the first match of the Four-day Domestic Series against the VKB Knights with a four and a towering six when the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras started shakily.

As a youngster, he was a member of South Africa’s U19 team which made the final of the 2002 Junior Cricket World Cup.

He was fast-tracked into first-class cricket by Western Province in the 2002/2003 season.

Kleinveldt made his debut for South Africa in the Test arena against Australia in the 2012/2013 season and captured 3-65 at Adelaide versus the Baggy Greens.

A hard-hitting lower order batsman and a bowler who seams the ball both ways, Kleinveldt will remain part of the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras’ white-ball campaigns.

Duanne Olivier struck twice in his second over of the morning with successive deliveries to put the Standard Bank Proteas well on their way to a 107-run victory and a 3-0 series clean sweep in the final Castle Lager Test match that finished at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium today.

Pakistan needed at least one of their remaining three specialist batsmen to score a century to have any chance of pulling off an upset victory but Olivier virtually eliminated that possibility by first dismissing Pakistan’s best batsman, Babar Azam, and then followed with the dismissal of captain Sarfraz Ahmed next ball.

When Vernon Philander dismissed the remaining major batsman, Shafaq Azad (65 off 71 balls, 11 fours), the writing was on the wall and, although there was spirited resistance from Shadab Khan (47 not out, 66 balls, 7 fours), the Proteas wrapped up the innings in the morning session, requiring just one extra over when they claimed the additional half-hour to finish the contest.

The seven remaining wickets fell for the cost of 120 runs.

Quinton de Kock finished with seven dismissals in the match to go along with his second innings century to be named Castle Lager Man of the Match. He also finished the leading runs scorer in the series and the only one to score more than 250 runs.

Olivier won a one-horse race to be named Castle Lager Man of the Series. His 24 wickets were only one shy of the South African record for a three-match series and came at a cost of only 14.62 runs per wicket. He took 11 wickets in the first Test, 5 in the second and 8 in the third. He had one six-wicket haul, two five-wicket hauls and one four-wicket haul.

The Sunfoil Education Trust (SET) benefited to the tune of R684 500 from the number of fours and sixes hit and wickets taken by the two sides in the series with the final tally for the third match being 262 000. The players on both sides score income for the fund by hitting boundaries (R1 000) and sixes (R2 000) and taking wickets (R2 500).

The focus now switches to the five-match Momentum ODI Series starting at St. George’s Park on Saturday.

A second successive century by Reeza Hendricks followed by a clinical bowling display from the Jozi Stars’ bowlers fired them to a record 81-run win over the high-flying Nelson Mandela Bay Giants in their Mzansi Super League encounter in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.

The opener, who struck 104 not out on Friday, went four runs better with a career-best unbeaten 108 off 62 balls (10 fours, 5 sixes) out of a total of 173 for three for the visitors at St George’s Park.

Dwaine Pretorius then led the way with a brilliant three for 17, with Kagiso Rabada quick and tight in his two for eight as the hosts were shot out for 92 in 16.4 overs – the lowest score in the competition thus far and losing by the biggest margin in terms of runs.

It sealed an impressive result for the Johannesburg side, who subsequently picked up a bonus point for their efforts and returned to third place on the log standings, now just four points behind the Giants with a game in hand.

The result was set up by the outstanding Hendricks, who recorded his third Twenty20 century in the process.

He led the way for his side and had little cameos from the other end supporting him after the Stars won the toss and opted to bat first against a home side that had lost just once previously. Ryan Rickelton (21) helped put on 61 for the first wicket, before Rassie van der Dussen (19) added 54 alongside Hendricks for the second wicket.

Dane Vilas (10) supported the centurion until 149, with the strong finish propelling the target to 174.

Aaron Phangiso was the pick of the bowlers with one for 22, with the bowler also topping a woeful batting chart for his side with 17.

The hosts were poor with the bat as Rabada dominated with the ball early. After Beuran Hendricks (2/18) took out Marco Marais (2), the Standard Bank Proteas fast bowler cleaned up Jon-Jon Smuts (10) – the Giants limping to the lowest powerplay score of the competition at 19 for two.

Things only worsened from there as Heino Kuhn (12) and Christiaan Jonker (0) were dismissed from successive balls by Pretorius.

Eddie Leie (2/22) then left the home side in further strife as they fell to 72 for nine, with Phangiso’s late hitting preventing an even bigger loss.

Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi set the tone up front as the Standard Bank Proteas crushed Australia by six wickets in the opening ODI on their tour ‘down under’ at Perth on Sunday.

The Proteas won the toss on a typically lively pitch and went in with their full front-line pace attack. There was no recovery for Australia after Man of the Match Steyn and Ngidi reduced them to 8/3 inside 6 overs. They later slumped to 66/6 in 21 overs as Andile Phehlukwayo (3/33 in 6 overs) also played an important role.

The fielding was also out of the top draw with Quinton de Kock at his best behind the stumps, Faf du Plessis taking a stinger in the slips and David Miller producing a direct hit run out with only one stump to aim at.

It ended up as one of the shorter ODIs between the two countries with the game being finished in less than 70 overs as the Proteas chased down their target of 153 runs inside the 30^th over.

It was also the Proteas sixth win in a row in bilateral series against Australia, following their 5-0 white ball whitewash in South Africa in 2016.

What will have been particularly pleasing for the Proteas was the manner in which they chased down the target with the two rookies, Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram, both making important contributions in support of De Kock against Australia’s full-strength pace attack. Both De Kock and Markram had strike rates in excess of 100 and for a long time ,the Proteas were on target for victory by either eight or nine wickets. By the time the second wicket fell the match was virtually over as a contest with only 31 runs needed and 28 overs still available to be bowled.

De Kock made 47 (40 balls, 7 fours), Hendricks 44 (74 balls, 4 fours) and Markram 36 (32 balls, 6 fours).

Chris Morris makes his return from injury for the Standard Bank Proteas for the three-match ODI Series and the one-off T20 International to be played against Australia ‘down under’ at the end of this month.

Morris was sidelined by injury for the most recent series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe but had been a regular selection for the Proteas in white-ball cricket previously, having played in 14 ODIs in 2017 and all five against India at the start of this year.

There are also recalls to the Proteas squad for batting all-rounders, Farhaan Behardien and Dwaine Pretorius.

“Chris confirmed his fitness with his excellent form for the Multiply Titans in the first two rounds of the 4-Day Domestic Series,” commented Cricket South Africa (CSA) National Selection Panel (NSP) convener Linda Zondi. “He is the leading wicket-taker in this competition to date and also adds value as a batting option in the lower-order.

“With Wiaan Mulder ruled out at the moment through injury we need to look at our resources as far as batting all-rounder options are concerned and Dwaine, in particular, fits into this category.

“We have also lost a lot of experience in our specialist batting order through the injuries to Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, and Farhaan gives us another experienced option in the top order.

“We feel that we got quite a lot out of the Zimbabwe series, notably the form of Imran Tahir and the return of Dale Steyn to his very best. Heinrich Klaasen took his chances well both with bat and behind the stumps and the same applies to a lesser extent to Reeza Hendricks in a series in which batting was not easy.

“We are confident that our Vision 2019 strategy for the ICC World Cup is progressing along the right lines,” concluded Mr. Zondi.

Standard Bank Proteas ODI squad: Faf du Plessis (Multiply Titans, capt), Farhaan Behardien (Multiply Titans), Quinton de Kock (Multiply Titans), Reeza Hendricks (bizhub Highveld Lions), Imran Tahir (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Heinrich Klaasen (Multiply Titans), Aiden Markram (Multiply Titans), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Chris Morris (Multiply Titans), Lungisani Ngidi (Multiply Titans), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (bizhub Highveld Lions), Kagiso Rabada (bizhub Highveld Lions), Tabraiz Shamsi (Multiply Titans), Dale Steyn (Multiply Titans).

Rassie van der Dussen emulated the performances of Graeme Smith and Rilee Rossouw in making a half-century on debut and then Imran Tahir took one of the fastest five-wicket hauls ever to set the Standard Bank Proteas up for a 34-run win over Zimbabwe with 14 balls left unbowled in the opening KFC T20 International match at Buffalo Park on Tuesday evening.

In the end the winning margin looked comfortable enough but it was very nearly a lot closer after Peter Moor hit four successive sixes off the last four balls of Tabraiz Shamsi’s final over and, with the aid of the promising Brandon Mavuta, took 43 runs off 10 balls in the 15th and 16th overs as the bowlers struggled with the dew factor.

Lungi Ngidi, who took a remarkable 1/7 in 3 overs, and Andile Phehlukwayo then closed the game down as Zimbabwe were left wondering what might have been.

As had been the case in the second Momentum ODI at the Mangaung Oval they put themselves in with a good chance when they again restricted the Proteas to a modest total, this time 160 on the back of Van der Dussen’s 56 off 44 balls (5 fours and a six). The debutant was involved in the only two notable partnerships of the innings of 41 for the third wicket with Faf du Plessis and 87 for the fourth with David Miller.

But once again none of Zimbabwe’s top five batsmen were able to bat through to the business end of the innings and it was left to Moor to attempt the near impossible with his innings of 44 (21 balls, 1 four and 5 sixes).

The match had looked over as a contest when Imran took five of the first six wickets to fall as Zimbabwe collapsed to 65/6. He completed his second five-wicket haul in the space of just 17 deliveries and twice took two wickets off successive balls to be on potential hat tricks. His tally also took him past Dale Steyn as South Africa’s leading wicket taker in this format and the first to reach 60 dismissals.

His final figures of 5/23 were South Africa’s joint second best alongside David Wiese with only Ryan McLaren (5/19) having done better.

Quinton de Kock also contributed significantly to the Proteas victory with two acrobatic catches behind the stumps.

Imran was named KFC Man of the Match.

The SACA MVP is back and 2017/18 SACA’s Most Valuable Player (SACA MVP) winner Jon Jon Smuts will be looking to defend his title as in Domestic Franchise Cricket.

The Warriors captain racked up 479.388 points to end last season 66.974 points ahead of Hollywood bets Player of the Year winner, and SACA MVP runner-up, Senuran Muthusamy.

The SACA MVP uses an internationally recognised rankings system used by several players associations around the world.  It is designed to measure who the key influencers are competing week in week out in CSA’s domestic competitions.

Players earn points for batting, bowling, fielding and for contribution to matches won by their team.  Points are weighted across the different formats to ensure that performances in each match, earn players the appropriate number of points.

The SACA MVP is updated on the SACA website after each round of matches and can be easily followed by players.  SACA pays incentive bonuses from the PPP for:

• Top 30 players in the SACA MVP
• Top 10 players in the 4Day Competition
• Top 10 players in the Momentum One-Day Cup
• Top 10 players in the CSA T20 Challenge

“The SACA MVP is entering its eighth season after being introduced in 2010. Bonuses will be paid to players who feature highly in the SACA MVP and we hope all players will be following their progress in the rankings from the start of the season” Tony Irish, SACA chief executive.

Previous years SACA MVP winners:

Reeza Hendricks grabbed the opportunity to score a century on his ODI debut to set up the Standard Bank Proteas 78-runs victory over Sri Lanka in the third contest of the five-match series at Pallekele on Sunday.

Hendricks was given the No. 3 slot in place of Aiden Markram in the only change to the Proteas starting line-up and became the third South African to score a century on debut in this format after Colin Ingram (against Zimbabwe) and Temba Bavuma (against Ireland) and the first to do so away from home.

His innings of 102 (89 balls, 8 fours and a six) was the 14th instance of a debut century in ODI cricket and the fastest with his strike rate of 114 improving on the previous best of 108 by the great West Indian, Desmond Haynes.

Hendricks was also named Man of the Match for his role in setting up South Africa’s highest ODI total in Sri Lanka of 363/7 and was also the highest total ever made at this venue.

Although Hendricks deservedly got the main plaudits there was also a key role from Hashim Amla who produced his best form of the tour in making a run-a-ball 59 (9 fours and a six) before the late innings plunder from JP Duminy (92 off 70 balls, 8 fours and a six) and David Miller (51 off 47 balls, 5 fours and a six).

Duminy has had a wonderful tour to date, bringing dynamic intent to the middle-order, both in terms of runs scored and the rate at which he has made them, and he also contributed four typically tidy overs of off-spin.

Andile Phehlukwayo also contributed an unbeaten 24 off 11 balls (3 fours and a six) as the Proteas smashed 114 runs in the last 10 overs.

Where the Proteas have shown major improvement has been in losing only 18 wickets in the three matches compared to the 28 lost by Sri Lanka. And this has happened when they have lost all three tosses.

The Proteas bowlers then maintained the stranglehold they have held over the Sri Lanka top order throughout the series, taking wickets at regular intervals and preventing the home side from compiling the big partnerships they needed to chase down the total.

Sri Lanka did keep pace with the run rate for the first 40 overs but by then they had lost 7 wickets which ruled out any possibility of their upping the ante in the final 10 overs in spite of their best partnership of 95 for the seventh wicket between Dhananjaya de Silva who made a career best 84 (66 balls, 8 fours and 3 sixes) and Akila Dananjaya and, when Phehlukwayo dismissed both of them, the game was up.

Phehlukwayo finished with 3 wickets while Lungi Ngidi claimed his second four-wicket haul (4/57 in 8.2 overs) in only his seventh ODI.

The Proteas play the fourth ODI at the same venue on Wednesday (day/night fixture) and captain Faf du Plessis indicated that opportunities would be provided for other members of the squad in the remainder of the series.

Du Plessis left the field after injuring his shoulder in attempting a difficult catch which gave Quinton de Kock his first experience of the on-field leadership.

The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) today signed off MOU18, the agreement which covers benefits and conditions of employment for all professional cricketers in South Africa over the next four-year period.

“From our side I would like to emphasize that we remain committed to a revenue share model,” commented CSA Chief Executive Thabang Moroe. “I am also delighted that we have extended the agreement to cover all professional players in South Africa, including senior provincial players and all our women professionals. There are now 317 players covered by this agreement.”

“This document includes for the first time a recognition agreement between ourselves and CSA and also serves the commercial rights necessary for CSA’s commercial partners,” commented SACA Chief Executive Tony Irish. “The agreement is particularly important in the context of where the game is going at international level. We have put the mechanisms and arrangements in place to retain our best players for the Proteas over the next four years.” 

The MOU involves three separate comprehensive agreements being a Main Agreement, regulating player contract and related issues, a Commercial Rights Agreement, regulating the use of player commercial rights, and a Recognition Agreement, regulating the ongoing relationship between CSA and SACA.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the schedule for the 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 to be held in the West Indies from November 9 to 24.

The 10-team tournament, featuring three-time champions Australia, reigning ICC Women’s World Cup winners England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and defending champions the Windies, plus two qualifiers, will be played across three venues in the Caribbean.

The finalists of the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier in the Netherlands from July 7 to 14 will complete the line-up of the November tournament, which is the first stand-alone ICC Women’s World Twenty20 event.

The teams participating in the Qualifying event are Bangladesh, Ireland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.

All 23 matches of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 will have the Decision Review System (DRS) used for the first time in any ICC World Twenty20 event, ensuring consistency in the use of technology in top world-level events.

The Proteas are in Group A along with defending champions the Windies, England, Sri Lanka and Qualifier 1 from the Netherlands event, while Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Qualifier 2 will be in Group B.

The event kicks off at the Guyana National Stadium, starting with India and New Zealand, while the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua will host both semi-finals on November 22 and the final on November 24.

“We love playing in the West Indies. It’s quite special, you don’t see places like that. I’m really excited because we enjoy playing Twenty20 cricket,” Proteas skipper Dane Van Niekerk told the ICC’s website.

“I think we have a very dynamic side. We have hitters, we have runners, we have variation in the bowling attack as well. We are a free-spirited team and we enjoy it because we can express ourselves.”

Group A:

West Indies

South Africa

England

Sri Lanka

Qualifier 1

Group B:

Australia

India

New Zealand

Pakistan

Qualifier 2

Proteas women WT20 schedule:

Monday, November 12 – SA v Sri Lanka

Wednesday, November 14 – SA v West Indies

Friday, November 16 – SA v England

Sunday, November 18 – SA v Qualifier 1

The International Cricket Council (ICC), on behalf of its Members, today released the men’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) from 2018-2023. The FTP, which is available here, provides clarity and certainty around all bilateral international fixtures and incorporates all three formats of the game.

The result of a significant collective effort from the Members, with the support of the ICC, the FTP focuses on bringing more context to bilateral cricket. A World Test Championship has been created along with a 13-team men’s ODI league that will act as a qualification pathway for the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Nine top-ranked sides will participate in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship, which will run from 15 July 2019 to 30 April 2021. The sides will play six series in the two-year cycle on a home and away basis against opponents they have mutually selected. The two top-ranked sides will then progress to the June 2021 final to decide the World Test champions.

In addition, the 12 Test playing nations and the Netherlands, will participate in the 13-team ODI League, which will run from 1 May 2020 to 31 March 2022 and all the sides will play eight series over a two-year cycle on a home and away basis against mutually agreed opponents.

South Africa’s opening series in the World Test Championship is against India in India in October 2019, while their first ODI series in the league is against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in June 2020.

This league will serve as a qualification pathway for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. India (as host) plus the seven highest-ranked sides in the ODI league as on 31 March 2022 will qualify directly for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, while the bottom five sides will get a second chance to qualify through the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

The principles followed by Members in the creation of this men’s FTP are as follows:

• Scheduling the appropriate amount of cricket in each format (home and away) for each Member;

• With matches scheduled at the preferred time of year in each territory;

• Inclusion of existing series that have already been committed to commercial partners (mainly in 2019-20);

• Providing optimum preparation for ICC Events by playing the same format immediately before the tournament;

• Sufficient time for Members to schedule their preferred bilateral content outside of World Test Championship and ODI league;

• Periods when individual Boards want to allow their national team players to be available to compete in domestic T20 leagues.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson congratulated the Members for their efforts in the preparation of the men’s Future Tours Programme:

“The agreement of this FTP means we have clarity, certainty and most importantly context around bilateral cricket over the next five years. The World Test Championship will get underway next year with the ODI league kicking off in 2020 as part of the qualification towards the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

“Bringing context to bilateral cricket is not a new challenge, but with the release of this FTP, our Members have found a genuine solution that gives fans around the world the chance to engage regularly with international cricket that has meaning and the possibility of a global title at the end.”

Cricket South Africa Acting Chief Executive Thabang Moroe said: “The introduction of the World Test Championship and an ODI league will give these formats the much needed context to ensure their long-term viability along with the popular T20 format.

“The Championship and the league have been designed in a manner that is easy for all stakeholders, especially the fans, to follow as it leads up to a World Test Championship final and qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup which makes all International matches important.

“We look forward to following the progress of our Proteas in both these competitions and to the enhanced products that we will be able to offer to our fans, our commercial partners and our players during our various bilateral tours. It is truly a win-win situation for all.”

As part of the agreed international cricket structure, the ICC Board has already approved an additional ICC World T20 in place of the ICC Champions Trophy as well as giving Twenty20 International Status to all 104 Members.

The structure of the men’s FTP (2018-23) includes:

• ICC Cricket World Cup – 2019 and 2023
• ICC World T20 – 2020 and 2021
• World Test Championship
o Cycle 1 – 2019-2021 (final 2021)
o Cycle 2 – 2021-2023 (final 2023)
• All bilateral Tests, ODIs and T20Is outside of the above competitions

England will play for the first time at home since their Women’s World Cup victory last year when they take on South Africa in the Women’s Championship series starting on Saturday.

The nine-run win over India at Lord’s on July 23 went down as a watershed moment for the women’s game.

With two memorable matches between England and South Africa also part of that tournament, the upcoming series is bound to continue to evoke interest in women’s cricket through the ICC Women’s Championship, established to give more regular competitive opportunities to the eight sides.

Just as the previous cycle of the eight-team tournament helped determine the direct qualifiers for the World Cup in England and Wales, the second edition of the ICC Women’s Championship is the pathway to qualification for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2021 in New Zealand.

Hosts New Zealand and the three other top sides from this tournament will qualify for the World Cup while the remaining four sides will get another chance through the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier.

England captain Heather Knight is enthusiastic about their second series of the championship, which they start with two points from three matches on the points table following a series against Australia, the same as South Africa.

England also host New Zealand next month for their third series of the championship, getting a chance to strike rhythm in home games.

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England captain Heather Knight said: “It’s always good to play at home. Our opening game against South Africa will be the first time we’ve played at home since the day we lifted the ICC Women’s World Cup trophy, so that will be exciting.

“We’ll relish our own conditions but both South Africa and New Zealand are really good sides and we will have to be at our best to beat them.

“Our preparations have been good and the mood is really high. We can’t wait to get going again. It’s a massive year with the ICC Women’s World T20 taking place in November (in the West Indies) and we need to build momentum towards that. We have a good pool of players now and the competition for places has been helping us all improve.”

England defeated South Africa twice in Bristol during last year’s World Cup – by 68 runs in a high-scoring league match and by two wickets with only two balls remaining in the semi-final, and that is something South Africa want to rectify.

Tammy Beaumont and Sarah Taylor, who notched up big centuries in that World Cup league match, are both part of the England squad while South Africa are looking to fast bowlers Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka to make the most of the English conditions.

South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk said: “We’re quite excited. We know it’s going to be a big challenge. They are the World Cup winners and we know what they can bring in. They are fierce competitors so we are quite excited to see how we are going to match up against them.

“The World Cup was a great experience for us. We know the conditions really well. We will see what they give us. Last time was a bitter pill to swallow so it will be good to rectify what went wrong.

“As a captain, I will always back my team and I will say we have a very good chance against them. We have several world-class players in our side as do they. I think it is going to be a great match up and a very good series to be part of. 

“I have always loved our bowling, backed our bowling. I’m expected to see what our bowlers can do in these conditions. We have spoken a lot about our plans, in depth planning. If the batters start firing, we are as dangerous as any other batting unit in the world.”

In their respective first series, England lost 1-2 to Australia in an away tour while South Africa lost by the same margin to India at home.   

Kagiso Rabada say he is honoured to have received so many awards at the annual Cricket South Africa (CSA) awards function in Sandton on Saturday, but insists that all his Standard Bank Proteas teammates contributed towards his success.

In what proved to be a magical evening for the 23-year-old, he won no fewer than six awards. These included the South African Cricketer of the Year, SA Players’ Player of the Year, Standard Bank Test Cricketer of the Year, Standard Bank ODI Cricketer of the Year and SA Fans Player of the Year. He also won the award for the RAM Delivery of the Year when he dismissed David Warner in the third Sunfoil Test match against Australia at PPC Newlands in March this year.

His six-star performance means he now done it both in 2016 and 2018. No other cricketer has ever won more than five awards.

“I am grateful and honoured to have received these awards,” the young star said. “It means I’m doing something right. I’m glad to have done it for the team and for the country.”

It has been a remarkable year for Rabada who rose to the No. 1 bowling ranking in the world in Test match cricket, cracking the 900-point barrier and is currently the leading wicket-taker in the 2018 calendar year with 38 dismissals at an average of 19.65. He is also ranked No. 7 in ODI cricket and was named in the ICC Test XI for the 2017 calendar year.

“It felt good to do what I did, but at the same time, I really do think that the whole team contributed,” Rabada explained. “If you look at the Test matches we played, whenever we were in trouble, there was always someone different who bailed us out.

“There were guys like Aiden (Markram) and AB (de Villiers) and Dean (Elgar), who were consistent, but if you look at the roles that other guys played like a Keshav (Maharaj), like a Temba (Bavuma), like a Quinny (Quinton de Kock) at Newlands.

“Those guys are not getting too much recognition, but when you are in the changing room you see it all. I just feel like everyone contributed.”

Rabada’s on-field behaviour was a big talking point this past season after several run-ins with opposing batsmen. But he says he has learnt from what happened.

He continued: “There’s certain things that happened to me, some good and some bad, which I have taken note off and made a conscious effort to improve on them, whether it be on the cricket field or just in my life.

“That’s where I am at the moment, just trying to build on from last season and trying to be ruthless by bringing this on in the new season.”

The fast bowler is currently sidelined with a lower back stress reaction. He was ruled out for three months in early April, but says his rehabilitation is going well.

South Africa’s next assignment is a tour to Sri Lanka next month.
“I’ve been taking it one week at a time,” Rabada adds. “When I got injured there was a plan for three months that I should be ready for Sri Lanka, so let’s see if the plan is going to go accordingly.

“At the moment it’s all good. So, we’re waiting until July.”

The Momentum Proteas are set for the start of their five-match, One-Day International (ODI) series against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom on Friday. It is the first time in two months that the national team will play together and they are looking forward to facing the volatile visitors on their home turf.

Captain, Dané van Niekerk is anticipating ample improvement from her charges after their 2-1 home series defeat to India in February. Members of the team have had a lot of game time in the last eight weeks as they represented their provinces in Cricket South Africa’s various Women’s Provincial tournaments.

“It’s always nice to get together. It’s our second family, we speak about it all the time,” she commented. “It’s always nice to see the ladies and to see how everybody worked at home and where everyone’s at. I’m quite excited to see what they do (in this series).”

The skipper believes that the unchanged squad from the previous series against India bodes well for the direction her side is taking. She also reckons that this series will be a good step forward in preparation for their tour to England next month.

“We have pretty much the same team so it shows that the selectors have faith in the 14 players selected,” Van Niekerk continued. “The big thing for me is to win because that creates momentum for this series and it also gives us good momentum going into the series against England.”

On the advantage of playing against Bangladesh often, she said:

“We do know them very well. We know that they are fierce competitors, it’s always nice playing against them. We know that they throw a lot of spin (bowling) and that’s great for us because we’ve never been the best players of spin and the only way you learn is if you face it more often. If we can become fearless against spin (bowling) this series, we can get that monkey off our back. We’re quite excited, we’ve got the plan for their players, we know what they’re gonna bring. It’s going to be a really good series.”