Sophia Dunkley helps seal last-over win after stuttering batting display by reigning champions

ECB Reporters Network20-Apr-2024

Tash Farrant fell short of a century but Stars still got over the line•Surrey CCC/Getty Images

Tash Farrant made a fairytale return to cricket as South East Stars beat reigning champions Southern Vipers by four wickets in a thriller on the opening day of the 2024 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Beckenham.England star Farrant, after missing almost two years of cricket with stress fractures of the back, struck a career-best 94, sharing a stand of 165 with skipper Bryony Smith – a record for any wicket for Stars – as the hosts got home with three balls to spare.Australian Charli Knott kept Vipers in it until the final over with a tidy spell of 2 for 35, but England batter Sophia Dunkley’s composed unbeaten 48 saw Stars home amid rising tension.Earlier, Freya Kemp, a day short of her 19th birthday made a maiden List A 50 with Georgia Elwiss 44 and Knott 41 propelling the visitors to a competitive total, Ryana MacDonald-Gay returning figures of 3 for 46.Ella McCaughan and Knott survived some early fishing outside off stump to post an 80-run opening stand after Vipers were put in. Knott impressively drove MacDonald-Gay for successive fours, one square of the wicket and another straight. However, Macdonald-Gay would have her revenge, thanks to a stunning catch by Phoebe Franklin, diving full length to grab a ball dropping over her shoulder.McCaughan soon followed, trapped lbw by Danielle Gregory, but it proved the high point for the Stars spinner, later banished from the attack for a second head-high full toss, the first despatched by Vipers’ skipper Georgia Adams for the day’s first six.Adams became the first of two lbw victims for slow left-armer Bethan Miles just as she looked set to dominate but the visitors were well placed at 190 for 3 with 13 overs remaining. Miles though struck again, ending Elwiss’ polished innings after which wickets fell at regular intervals, Dunkley picking up two with her legbreaks.That Vipers posted 273 was down to Kemp, mixing aggression with good running to reach 50 at better than a run a ball. Alice Monaghan also hoisted MacDonald-Gay for a huge six before falling to another wonderful catch from wicketkeeper Chloe Hill.Farrant was promoted to open with skipper Smith and gave the hosts early impetus with five boundaries in the powerplay. Smith then clicked through the gears, taking two fours in an over off Mary Taylor.Farrant won the race to 50 from 56 balls while Smith took 13 balls longer, before upping the pace, drilling Linsey Smith for two fours in an over to take Stars to 131 for 0 at the halfway mark.History was made when the stand reached 156, eclipsing the 154 posted by Dunkley and Alice-Davidson Richards against Western Storm at The Oval in 2021 before the fun ended when Linsey Smith struck Adams into the hands of Monaghan at cover.Knott quickly removed Paige Scholfield, but Farrant responded by lifting Freya Davies for a straight six as she moved into the 90s. But there would though be no maiden hundred as the excellent Knott struck again to pin the allrounder in front for 94 with 78 needed.As the tension mounted, Adam damaged her left hand failing to cling onto a caught-and-bowled chance offered by Alice Davidson-Richards, but the drop wasn’t costly as the England allrounder was castled by Linsey Smith for just 8.Franklin struck three fours in a rapid 19 before being run out with 14 needed from 15 but Stars got home with a scrambled leg bye in the last over.

“I’m not sure there was a single driven four off the seamers,” he says

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Feb-2024Afghanistan’s men are just trying to build a Test record, the ongoing match against Sri Lanka being their eighth game in the format. The team is trying to get as many opportunities to play as many Tests as possible. And as captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said before this Test, they are also trying to develop seam-bowling talent, so they can be successful in this format.They will perhaps be glad to know that an opposition centurion has given them and their attack a top rating. Dinesh Chandimal, who made 107 on Saturday as Sri Lanka established a 241-run lead, said Afghanistan’s bowlers – who have played fewer than five Tests collectively – bowled far better than their experience suggests.”You’ve got to give a lot of credit to the way the Afghanistan bowlers bowled,” he said. “They did well through the course of the innings. Even in my partnership with Angelo [Mathews, who made 141], there were times when I supported him, and times when he supported me when I found it difficult.Related

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“Even though a lot of their bowlers are inexperienced at the international level, they bowled very well. The seamers and the left-arm spinner especially were fantastic. From the morning yesterday until the close of play, their seamers maintained their energy and their body language. They did well to restrict us.”Part of Afghanistan’s strength was their discipline on an SSC track that did not offer much for the bowlers beyond the first session. They were especially intent that Sri Lanka’s batters did not get on the front foot, Chandimal said.”If you take my hundred or Angelo’s hundred, there really weren’t many balls where we could step forward and drive for four. I’m not sure there was a single driven four off the seamers. They bowled short to us, or bowled good lengths. Right through the day they had discipline.”Ahead of this match, Shahidi had said Afghanistan’s best route to becoming a more competitive Test nation had to do with their playing more Tests. With Afghanistan now seriously testing Sri Lanka – only 42 runs behind with nine second-innings wickets in hand – Chandimal agrees.”What their captain said is right. If they get more opportunities to play Tests, they are a much better team in the next four or five years. They are a challenge for us, and I wish them all the best for their future.”

Chris Tremain starred with the ball as NSW took control of their clash with Queensland on day two, but a late charge into the Sheffield Shield final still appears unlikely.After rain washed out all but 12 overs on day one, veteran quick Tremain devastated the hosts who managed a paltry 144 at Allan Border Field in their first innings.Related

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NSW were 222 for 5 in reply at stumps. Jack Edwards and Ollie Davies were unbeaten at the crease, with the latter hitting his stride late in the day to give NSW a 78-run lead.Tremain set chaos in motion on the opening day to ensure Queensland would start at 14 for 2 on day two and he struck again early on Tuesday when Bryce Street picked out Jack Nisbet at midwicket.Paceman Xavier Bartlett produced the best batting performance of his career in the brightest spot of Queensland’s innings.His knock off 75 deliveries amounted to twice his previous first-class high-score of 32, and twice the score of the next-most prolific Queenslander, Max Bryant (33).But Bartlett too fell victim to a rampant Tremain, who had ripped through the tail and ended Queensland’s innings by enticing the quick into hitting to Dan Hughes at midwicket.Callum Vidler struck in his opening over of first-class cricket•Getty Images

In reply, Bartlett struck first ball to remove Blake Nikitaras but Sam Konstas stroked his way to a maiden first-class half-century before being trapped lbw by a turning Mitch Swepson delivery. Swepson then claimed Moises Henriques first ball although the NSW captain did not seem thrilled with the decision.Davies passed Konstas as NSW’s top-scorer by edging Bartlett past first slip for four and proceeding into the 60s as long shadows fell over the pitch.Earlier, debutant Callum Vidler, who was a star of Australia’s Under-19 World Cup, claimed a maiden first-class wicket in his opening over when Hughes clashed to slip. He later had Matthew Gilkes dismissed in similar fashion.NSW came into their final game of the regular season as a mathematical chance to make next week’s season final, provided they win and pick up bonus points along the way.Bowling Queensland out in 49 overs and charging to 222 for 5 has earned them 1.22 bonus points already. But Western Australia’s clash with Victoria is nevertheless threatening their chances of reaching the decider.That match needs to end in a draw for NSW to have any hope of making the final, but a result appears inevitable in Melbourne.

Peter English listens as Warne talks about his game

Peter English16-Nov-2005

Warne: six deliveries, many variations © Getty Images

“I’ve been working on my flipper for a while,” Warne says. “Between ’98 and 2001 I had four injuries: two shoulder operations, one on my finger and one on my knee. So for three years I was never really comfortable with what I was doing and I was sort of just surviving. In the last couple of years I thought: `Right, I’ve got to get the flipper back.’ Every time I go to the nets I practise it. It’s a completely different feel now because of my finger, which is hooked and not straight. It’s also a different feel with the flipper. The [state of my] shoulder makes it a lot harder to bowl wrong ‘uns, but I’m pretty fit at the moment and my shoulder is pretty strong. Over the last 12 months to two years I’ve also tried to get [the flipper] back.”Warne trialled a handful of flippers and wrong ‘uns on day two at Brisbane, including a big-turning effort to Brian Lara, and while warming up on the third morning he landed each variation and decided the West Indies lower order would receive his full repertoire ahead of schedule. “It’s got to a stage of two good ones out of five and I wanted to make it three out of five before bowling in a match,” he says. “But I thought I’d see how I go [on day three] because I was feeling really good.” Both options were a success: Fidel Edwards was bowled by a googly and Jermaine Lawson was trapped by the flipper.Since Warne’s dates with the surgeon there have been complaints about his reliance on legspinners and topspinners, but he regularly dismissed the one-dimensional concerns and claimed wickets at an even more alarming rate. “A lot of people talk about variety and what is variety, but I can bowl nothing but a legbreak – not even a straight one or a slider – and still have variety,” he says. “I’m not being bigheaded about it but I can bowl five or six different legbreaks: in close to the stumps, out wide, in the middle, with a higher arm, a round arm, side spin, overspin – all for one delivery.”There are a lot of guys looking at the television saying that’s a legbreak all the time, but there are more things than just an actual legbreak. I suppose with a wrong ‘un, flipper, slider, topspinner, backspinner, leggie, you’ve just got different deliveries. Sometimes you can out-think yourself and bowl too much. One of the keys to my game is I’m pretty patient and consistent because I’ve never tried to do too much. I’ve always relied on my legbreak and set them up for a straight one or an overspinner that bounces and gets a nick. Now I just can’t get too excited and bowl them all the time, but I’ve never done that in my career. I have to continue practising so that when I want to bowl [the variations], when I want to set the batsman up with my plan, I can deliver them.”Warne says his wrong ‘un has always been on show against teams with a long list of left-handers, but remembering a dismissal with the googly is incredibly difficult compared to the highlight reels full of batsmen confused by the flipper or big-turning legbreak. “It’s not like I’ve just plucked out the wrong ‘un and decided to bowl it,” he says. “I’ve always bowled them to left-handers. I prefer bowling to left-handers in the second innings because they have to play every ball of your legbreak. They can’t pad up – well, they can, but the likelihood is they might get out lbw not playing a shot.”The first innings is a lot harder because there’s no turn and they work it a lot easier. At Brisbane and Hobart there’s generally a little bit of bounce with not much turn. With the bounce you generally get the nicks. Sydney and Adelaide are the big spinning decks where sometimes you can beat the bat all day and not get the rewards.”Since recovering from the finger surgery at the beginning of 2001 Warne has taken 268 wickets in 46 Tests, but the most striking features of the pre- and post-op statistics are that his strike-rate has dropped by more than 16 balls a wicket and his match haul has lifted from 4.36 in his first 84 Tests to 5.83 in the rest.”I get wickets quicker now than I’ve ever done because batsmen go after me,” he says. “They used to just sit on me, wear me down, and it was a lot harder to get wickets. I’m enjoying the attitude of the opposition, they want to come after me and hit me off my length. I can make serious inroads into their batting and my statistics back that up.”

Andrew Miller’s report card on England’s individual performances in the three-Test series

Andrew Miller14-Aug-2007After their near-miss in the first Test at Lord’s, England thought they had the measure of this series. It wasn’t to be, as their batsmen repeatedly failed to build on their starts and their young bowling attack lost momentum at Trent Bridge and The Oval. Cricinfo runs the rule over the 11 men who took the field

No-one else in the batting line-up could match Kevin Pietersen’s inner drive © Getty Images

Kevin Pietersen – 8
Pietersen regarded his century at Lord’s as the finest of his career and, while that statement caused surprise at the time, hindsight suggests he wasn’t entirely over-egging it. England’s near-miss in that match disguised the growing dominance of India’s swing attack, and not even Pietersen was able to master them in the decisive second Test at Nottingham. Once the conditions had eased, his final-day performance at The Oval ensured he took his rightful place at the top of England’s averages. No one else in the batting line-up can match his inner drive.Michael Vaughan – 7
Gains an extra mark for his gorgeous century at Trent Bridge – the innings of the summer by a distance, and Vaughan’s most aesthetically pleasing since his 2002-03 zenith. But in the final analysis that counts for little. His side lost their first home series since 2001, and Vaughan’s Midas touch has been tarnished a bit. Even so, the fact that he has emerged from the summer unscathed is a big enough bonus. This time last year, it was widely assumed he would never be seen in a Test match again.Ryan Sidebottom – 7
Effortlessly filled Matthew Hoggard’s long-term role as England’s shop-floor manager – providing accuracy, stamina and consistent movement through the air. He is a bowler transformed from the one-dimensional trundler he had been on debut six years earlier, and his ability to bend the ball sharply back into the right-hander’s pads kept his opponents guessing all summer long. Was phenomenally unlucky with dropped catches, however, and a side-strain at The Oval was not the send-off he deserved.James Anderson – 6
When he was good he was very, very good. When he was bad, he was … indifferent. Anderson produced a revelatory seven-wicket performance in the first Test at Lord’s. It was arguably his most exacting spell since the 2003 World Cup, and the purists purred at the accuracy of his line and the explosiveness of his movement off the pitch. But sustaining that fever pitch proved more troublesome, and all too often he found himself straining to force the pace, and sacrificing his rhythm as a result. Still, he finished strongly in the final innings at The Oval and, at the age of 25, he is the most youthful veteran in England’s new-look attack.Chris Tremlett – 6
Had a lot of ground to make up after a fizzer of a performance in Australia last winter but under the guidance of Shane Warne at Hampshire, Tremlett is a bowler reborn. A shortened run-up has extended his stamina, and commentators have waxed all series long about a flawless action that uses every inch of his massive 6′ 8″ frame. He extracted unnerving bounce from every surface he encountered. Steve Harmison has not been missed, and that is perhaps the most exciting aspect of all.

Back to school for Matt Prior after a series of slip-ups © Getty Images

Paul Collingwood – 6
Never stopped scrapping, unlike too many of his team-mates, but also never looked like being a dominant factor in the series. His two innings at Lord’s set an ominous precedent – Kumble nailed him third ball with the googly, RP Singh nailed him third ball with a bouncer – but he shrugged off both indignities and braced himself for survival. Played second fiddle to Vaughan at Trent Bridge and to Pietersen at The Oval but never threatened a Nagpur-style counterattack. With the ball in hand, however, he was a revelation, grabbing three Galacticos in four attempts – Tendulkar, Ganguly (twice) and Dravid – to treble his career tally and halve his career average.Monty Panesar – 5
It’s been an inexorable rise over the last 12 or so months, but Panesar’s progress received a timely reality check in this series. Indians certainly know how to deal with left-arm spin, especially on pitches that are designed for the pacemen. Monty had his moments – most notably the nailing of Tendulkar at Lord’s – but he spent more time than he’d imagined being pushed onto the defensive, an aspect of his game he hasn’t yet honed to perfection. What’s more, he served up more full-tosses in a single series than he’d bowled in his career to date. Quite possibly he was trying too hard.Andrew Strauss – 4
The stats suggest he was merely a notch below his best – an average of 35.16, a top score of 96. But Strauss’s struggles have been going on for months now. His last international century came against Pakistan at Headingley in August 2006, 12 months and 41 innings ago. He’s already been purged from the ODI and Twenty20 set-up, and his Test place has never looked more vulnerable. He knows it too. His two half-centuries were both painstaking affairs, and both ended with uncharacteristic rashness – a charge at Kumble at Lord’s, a slash at Zaheer at Trent Bridge. He was once so good at playing within his limitations, but this summer anxiety has ripped his gameplan to shreds.Alastair Cook – 4
It was all too easy while the West Indians were in town, and none have suffered more than Cook for the step-up in class. He hasn’t been embarrassed, but he’s had some technical shortcomings exposed – in particular his tendency to topple across to the off-side, which is in itself a reaction to the problems he encountered outside his off stump in the Ashes. Instead he’s been lbw four times, caught flicking to leg twice, and his uncertainties were highlighted in two unfulfilled performances at The Oval. But with six Test centuries before the age of 23, he has the time, talent and temperament to bounce back.Ian Bell – 4
A disappointment. The fragility of England’s post-Giles lower-order, coupled with his success at No. 6 (four hundreds and a 97 in his previous eight matches in that position) meant that Bell should have had a crucial role to play in this series. Instead, after getting caught in the middle of a dramatic collapse at Lord’s, he reverted to his familiar anonymity. He twice reached 60 at The Oval, but twice gave it away – a limp waft in the first innings, a daft sweep in the second. But the biggest disappointment was his second-ball duck in the second innings at Trent Bridge, at a time when Vaughan had given England a sniff of the ascendancy and someone – anyone – needed to follow it through.Matt Prior – 3.5
There’s no kind way of putting it, but Prior has had a shocker – a classic example of failing to put one’s money where one’s mouth is. His constant chirping got the goat of all of India’s batsmen, but in the aftermath of the jellybean fiasco, his antics came across as childish rather than tactical. All would have been forgiven had he responded with Test-class performances, but he made a rod for his own back by dropping Tendulkar and VVS Laxman on a flat track at The Oval, and then administered his own abuse with a torturous 15-ball duck. His series started promisingly with an important 42 at Lord’s, and ended with some a measure of redemption in his final-innings defiance. But that debut century must seem a lifetime ago.

As South Africa balance workload and World Cup planning, Ottneil Baartman’s spell in New Chandigarh stood out in a tour where bench strength has been thrust to the forefront

Firdose Moonda13-Dec-2025Discussing South Africa’s T20 World Cup bowling options in the time of Kagiso Rabada’s absence seems futile because much will depend on him and his availability. But it’s a conversation that must be had if only to prepare for a worst-case scenario. South Africa have been without Rabada for the entire India tour as he recovers from a rib injury but have coped better than expected. Marco Jansen has dazzled in both aggression and wicket-taking terms while Lungi Ngidi has led the T20I attack with skill, but these are players we would expect to see step up.What about the bench strength? Nandre Burger made a promising start to the ODI series before he hurt his hamstring, and now Ottneil Baartman has come in from the cold with a solid performance in the series-levelling second T20I in New Chandigarh. Baartman took 4 for 24 and served a reminder of what he can offer after last taking a four-for at the 2024 T20 World Cup against Netherlands.There, Baartman was South Africa’s new kid on the block, picked for the national side after leading the bowling charts for most of the SA20 before he was overtaken by his team-mate Jansen in the final, and with just one international to his name when the World Cup began. His control, ability to move the ball off the seam and to execute both a pinpoint yorker and a good bouncer made him a perfect pick for the drop-in pitch in Nassau County, where he had most of his success. But he was benched by the time South Africa got to the business end. Since then, his appearances have been limited both because of South Africa’s problem of plenty and a knee injury.Related

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Post the 2024 T20 World Cup, Baartman has only played in nine of South Africa’s 29 T20Is and has not had the opportunity to make much of a case for himself under Shukri Conrad. Until New Chandigarh.Picked in the XI to try and level the series against an India side that left South Africa in pieces after game one, Baartman was given the ball in the eighth over when significant damage had already been done. India were 65 for 3 chasing 214, but had Axar Patel and Tilak Verma at the crease, with Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma and Shivam Dube to come. It took Baartman three balls to make an impact. He delivered it full and angling away from the left-handed Axar, who tried to smash it over the covers but mishit to the fielder, Reeza Hendricks. While the dismissal will be remembered for Hendricks taking a good low catch, it was also Baartman’s line, length and seam movement that created the breakthrough.His first spell lasted just one over and he was then brought back for the 12th, with India 89 for 4 and barely hanging on. With a required run-rate of 13.88, Baartman conceded only five runs in his second over, varying his lengths from short to the yorker and maintaining a stump-to-stump line.Then, he was brought back for the death, which is the role he thrived in in his breakout SA20 and should have had a wicket with the second ball of his over. Jitesh tried to hit a 136kph length delivery over midwicket and was early through the stroke. The ball clipped the bail and caused it to spin but did not dislodge it. To make matters worse for Baartman, Jitesh hit the next ball for six.In the 19th over, with Jitesh dismissed, Baartman was at his best when he cleaned up the tail. He bowled Dube with a seam-up delivery that was over 140kph and skidded past him to send the stumps flying, had Arshdeep Singh caught off a short ball at backward point, and then had Varun Chakravarthy caught at long-on trying to go big. That over consisted of four runs and three wickets, and though South Africa had all but won the game before it, it ensured the result was emphatic. Baartman had demonstrated the full range of what he could do.Ottneil Baartman has played six ODIs and 15 T20Is so far•Getty ImagesBeing a man of few words, Baartman explained in a post-match TV interview that his role was informed by what had happened earlier on, when “the swing bowlers [Ngidi primarily, and Jansen and Lutho Sipamla to a lesser extent] did their thing and then we just tried to use the wobble and cross seam and went shorter rather than fuller.”Just under half of Baartman’s deliveries (11 out of 24) were back of a length or shorter and it was the decisions he made when choosing which ball to deliver. Whether it earns him a spot in the next match is yet to be seen as South Africa continue to rotate their squad in this series, as hinted at by captain Aiden Markram. “It’s never easy. As a player, you just want to get given three of four games to build some momentum but it’s also just about how busy our schedule is with the World Cup, SA20 and this series,” Markram said. “Hopefully by the time the SA20 is done, everyone has some good game time.”That’s instructional because it was also the SA20 that helped then-coach Rob Walter decide on his squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Though South Africa have more international fixtures this time around than last – they played no T20Is between December and May before the June tournament but will play eight across this series and the home matches against West Indies – the domestic franchise competition holds huge sway.No one will be more pleased to hear that than Baartman, who will play for Paarl Royals in season four after spending three summers with Sunrisers Eastern Cape. He has been among the top-ten wicket-takers in all three editions of the SA20 and another strong performance could see him play a second successive T20 World Cup.

There’s still two days to go for the action to kick off in Arizona but Australia’s version of the Superbowl was one mad evening

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan at the MCG01-Feb-2008
Twenty20 cricket, really? © Getty Images
There’s still two days to go for the action to kick off in Arizona but Australia’s version of the Superbowl was one mad evening. There was noise, fireworks, boos, cheers, flags, and Mexican waves in a gigantic arena where Andy G and Hank led a rout. Batsmen constantly hesitated with the quick single and fielders collided. No-one could hear much out there. The G went bananas; Oh G.There was a buzz around the ground from 4pm in the evening. England were playing Australia and the ground was filling up [the women were playing and the crowd were coming in for the men]. Simon Taufel’s might have never walked out to a Mexican wave before and Gilchrist, while batting, said, “If anyone is making their debut out here, it’s going to be quite a boring career ahead”.This was a mighty din. blared out their funky pop mixes in the half-time. There were rumours doing the rounds about the Indian team being welcomed with ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’ but the batting performance that followed suggested that a chartered flight was somewhere in sight. There’s no limit to the regions for scoring in Twenty20 but India’s three fours were all behind the wicket. Dinesh Karthik’s top-edged pull appeared like a lucky escape but when Rohit Sharma followed it was clear that this was a clear plan. Get them in edges.Michael ‘Pup’ Clarke got things going with a sensational direct hit before Brett Lee tore into the tension like some cricketing Chuck Yeager. So quick was the ball that crashed into Karthik’s stumps, it must have broken the sound barrier. So adrenalin-fuelled was the atmosphere that Nathan Bracken – nicknamed Andy G because of his resemblance to the Australian Idol television host – realised slower balls would work best. India’s batsmen were half-way through their shots before the ball came out.Adam Voges, Australia’s latest left-arm spinner, will remember this night. Not only did he pick up two wickets in as many balls but was probably the first bowler to have eight fielders around the batsman in a Twenty20. The chase was a formality, especially when Gilchrist walked out with the squash ball and Clarke with his bat. Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan couldn’t hear each other when Clarke skied one and the show was over with the light barely on.Harbhajan was trying his best to smile but it must hurt when you’re booed for every move. Gilchirst, for his part, was enjoying cult status. “Now I know what it feels to be Sachin Tendulkar in India.”Sreesanth started with an appeal but was soon looking over his head, when Clarke waited for a slower ball and howitzered it over long-off. By the end of the game he wasn’t surprised or elated. “Just speechless”. Australia unveiled yet another Hussey, though he wasn’t required to bat. He took a wicket and pouched a catch but the best news was he had an alternative nickname, Bomber. Little Mr Cricket appears more suited to a nursery rhyme.

Australia are due to tour Pakistan in March before a trip to the West Indies, but Brad Hogg needs more impact over the next four days to convince the selectors he is worth a ticket

Peter English at the Adelaide Oval24-Jan-2008

	Brad Hogg got Sourav Ganguly a fourth time, but the manner in which he was dismantled by Sachin Tendulkar was a worry © AFP

The expansion of the airline industry has grown alongside the number of Tests being played over the past decade. Planes descend over Adelaide Oval about every five overs, preparing to land on the other side of the city, and it is tempting to wonder the destination of Brad Hogg’s next major flight.Australia are due to tour Pakistan in March before a trip to the West Indies, but Hogg needs more impact over the next four days to convince the selectors he is worth a ticket with – or instead of – Stuart MacGill. While discount flights have opened travel to the masses, Test cricket remains an exclusive business and Hogg is battling to show his class as MacGill recovers from
wrist surgery.”I can’t do more than give 100% and try and put the ball where I want to put it,” he said. “I’ve been happy with the way I’ve bowled and I’m playing against the best players of spin in the world. I’m in a contest and I’m trying to hold my head high. I feel I’ve done alright.”Hogg is like the Jetstar and Tiger airways, wanting to prove his service record instantly in case things go bust. It doesn’t help that he has returned to the Test arena after the Qantas-style career of Shane Warne, who usually kept his crashes to off-field pursuits. People turn off no-frills
operators easily so Hogg has to continue convincing the selectors to keep faith in the cut-price option. His commitment and enthusiasm are unquestioned, but this month he has struggled with his key performance indicators.After going wicketless on the final day in Sydney, where he was out-bowled by the part-timers Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke, Hogg was dropped for his home Test in Perth. The short-term failure of Shaun Tait allowed him to skip back in for Adelaide, but the early signs were not strong and he finished with 1 for 78 in three spells.While first-day pitches are rarely conquered by slow bowlers, the ease at which the Indian batsmen worked him comfortably and forcefully was a worry and he gave up 4.33 runs an over. It is not an expensive rate in one-dayers, where Hogg is probably the best in the world, but in Tests it releases precious pressure and adds to the action in Adelaide’s old-fashioned
scoreboard.At the moment it doesn’t seem to matter whether Australia choose Tait or Hogg. They are both extras to the main work being completed by Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark. Lee and Johnson were particularly effective, picking up two wickets each, but things were not as tight when the spinners were used.After Hogg’s hex over Sourav Ganguly remained – the batsman fell for the fourth occasion in the series, this time to a contentious lbw while sweeping – he struggled for more victims no matter how much he pleaded with back-pedalling appeals. Sachin Tendulkar treats Hogg like a warm-up bowler, cautiously fine-tuning in the early stages before expanding his repertoire,
and VVS Laxman is also untroubled.A six was slog-swept over midwicket by Tendulkar, who later hit a straight six and a four through mid-off in a Hogg over that went for 18. “He hit my best ball for six,” Hogg said. He was taken out of the attack, and Laxman greeted him with consecutive boundaries when he returned.Clarke, who was used for five overs, was more expensive than Hogg while Symonds remained untried despite owning seven wickets for the series. Hogg kept bouncing in, ripping the ball as hard as he could and varying his pace from loopier wrong’uns to speedy flippers. Nothing could unseat the settled batsmen.Unfair expectations are placed on people who arrive when greatness has departed, but it is getting to the point where a long-term decision needs to be made. If MacGill recovers Australia will choose between a budget option and the higher quality of a more unpredictable legspinner. Hogg can make the call easier if he starts to penetrate on a pitch that should suit him as the
match goes on.

South Africa and West Indies head into a five-match ODI series at Centurion tomorrow, and the hosts’ recent record at home surely makes them favourites

Cricinfo staff19-Jan-2008West Indies started off promisingly in South Africa, winning the first Twenty20 international and Test in December, but have faltered since then, losing the Test series and the second Twenty20 international in Johannesburg on Friday. The two teams now head into a five-match ODI series, and South Africa’s recent record at home surely makes them favourites.Since the disappointment in the World Cup in 2003, South Africa have not lost an ODI tournament at home. West Indies have failed to put up a challenge against them, with the previous two bilateral series in South Africa resulting in 6-1 and 3-1 losses.

South Africa and West Indies head-to-head

Record South Africa West Indies No result

Overall 27 12 1 In South Africa 11 4 1South Africa have won six of their last seven matches against West Indies, the only blip being the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006.Jacques Kallis leads the batting charts for his team against West Indies: he’s the only batsman to aggregate over 1000 runs against them, with Herschelle Gibbs closing in on the mark.

South Africa’s current batsmen against the West Indies

Players Matches Runs Average Strike-rate

Jacques Kallis 29 1210 50.41 74.18 Herschelle Gibbs 25 913 43.47 79.59 Graeme Smith 12 411 34.25 76.67 Mark Boucher 30 355 22.18 91.73 AB de Villiers 4 239 59.75 99.17Shaun Pollock capped off his Twenty20 international career in style on Friday, and will be eyeing the 13 wickets he needs to reach the 400 mark in ODIs. He’s the team’s leading wicket-taker against West Indies, but Kallis and Ntini have done their share of damage as well.

South Africa’s leading bowlers against the West Indies

Players Matches Wickets Average Strike-rate Economy-rate

Shaun Pollock 30 38 24.57 39.7 3.70 Jacques Kallis 29 37 21.48 29.5 4.35 Makhaya Ntini 17 26 23.50 32.0 4.39 Andre Nel 13 15 34.73 43.2 4.81 Charl Langeveldt 6 11 22.45 26.45.09An inexperienced West Indian batting line-up will be looking up to Shivnarine Chanderpaul to lead the way. Chris Gayle’s fitness will also be crucial for the visitors, as they are already without Ramnaresh Sarwan, who possesses a good record against the South Africans.

West Indies’ current line-up against South Africa

Players Matches Runs Average Strike-rate

Shivnarine Chanderpaul 31 1221 45.22 70.98 Chris Gayle 21 745 39.21 82.41 Marlon Samuels 8 194 32.33 73.20 Dwayne Bravo 8 143 28.60 85.62West Indies’ fast-bowling trio of Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell bowled their team to victory in the first Test in Port Elizabeth, but cumulatively they have played only six ODIs against South Africa. Carl Hooper is the leading wicket-taker for West Indies against South Africa, while among the current squad it’s the non-specialist bowlers Gayle and Samuels who have bagged a few wickets.South Africa have generally been dominant at home, and the balance tilts in their favour when they win the toss. South Africa have won 64 ODIs at home after winning the toss, and lost only 17. Two of the matches in this series are day-night affairs, and South Africa’s record after calling it right is even better in those, with 36 wins and seven losses in 46 day-night matches.

South Africa’s record at home

Record Matches won Lost Tie No result

Overall 112 39 3 6 Won toss 64 17 2 2 Day-night matches 60 20 2 6 Won toss in day-night games 36 7 1 2

Still only 26, Clarke has left Surrey, taken up Derbyshire’s captaincy, and wants to earn another chance with England

Andrew McGlashan17-Apr-2008

	Rikki Clarke’s England returns have been poor and he wants the chance to put that right © Getty Images

Here’s a good quiz question. Name the two England bowlers to take wickets with their first ball in one-day internationals. The unlikely duo is Geoff Arnold and Rikki Clarke. Arnold enjoyed a fairly fulfilling international career (115 wickets from 34 Tests, plus 14 ODIs when they were in their infancy), the same can’t yet be said of Clarke.The wicket that put Clarke in the small club was Imran Nazir’s, caught by Vikram Solanki, at Old Trafford in 2003. Clarke has only played 19 further ODIs, adding ten more wickets, while making a meagre 144 runs at an average of 11. His Test career has been even more limited: two matches against Bangladesh in Dhaka and Chittagong as cover for Andrew Flintoff. When Clarke made his Test debut, he played alongside the likes of Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe. That was start of a special period for England, but Clarke stalled and soon went into a steady decline.One of Duncan Fletcher’s dreams was to have two powerful allrounders, especially in limited-overs cricket. There were early glimpses in both forms of the game from Clarke; 55 in his second Test to rescue England from a rocky 134 for 4, the ability to pick up useful wickets with lively medium-pace bowling, and a certain improvement he brought to England’s fielding. But it soon became apparent that he’d been brought in far too raw. There was naïvete to his strokeplay and an inconsistency that came from not having honed his game. It’s something he is happy to admit now, but that hasn’t always been the case.”Early on I had a lot of success as a 19-20-year-old. I’d played a handful of first-class games and done well and suddenly I was going to Sri Lanka for the Champions Trophy [the winter before his debut],” Clarke said. “I’d barely played ten games. It all happened a bit too soon, everyone knows that. It was one of those things where you have to take it on the chin. One thing I’d say I didn’t react well to was being dropped. I didn’t feel I did a lot wrong, but the way I went about it was wrong. That was my immaturity.”The good thing, though, about making mistakes when you are young is that there is time to put them right. Clarke is still only 26 and has made the winter move north and down a division from Surrey to Derbyshire where he will captain a young team. It is a vastly different position than the one he found himself in at The Oval, where he was one of a host of international names in the dressing room.Towards the end of his time with Surrey, Clarke cut a disconsolate figure. He played only ten Championship games in 2007 for the poor return of 301 runs and 15 wickets. A run of injury and illness didn’t help, but it was the low point of a decline where the motivation had disappeared and a career was being wasted.”I knew I was going to leave Surrey in the middle of last season,” he said. “It was one of those things where I felt maybe I’d got into the comfort zone a little. A fresh start and new challenge was what I needed. It’s always difficult, I was at Surrey from the Under-9 level and it’s always hard to leave somewhere you’ve been at so long, but not once have I sat down and thought I’ve made the wrong decision.”You have to look at it as though you are going to work and ask yourself, ‘Are you enjoying it?’ I got to the stage where I wasn’t enjoying going to The Oval any more, wasn’t enjoying the hour-and-a-half car journey or the prices of houses in London. They’re the little things that all come together, which meant I wasn’t enjoying my cricket. You have to be comfortable with your surroundings to enjoy your cricket.”

	You have to look at it as though you are going to work and ask yourself, ‘Are you enjoying it’? I got to the stage where I wasn’t enjoying going to The Oval anymore

But even though Clarke’s form dipped dramatically last year, there were “bigger” clubs than Derbyshire trying to secure his services. Although he has moved up the career ladder with the captaincy, and all the responsibility that entails, he will now be performing in the second division of both the Championship and Pro40. Clarke, however, believes that won’t make any difference if he shines in the middle.”It’s the one thing I looked at. If you look at how many players are, or have been, with England from the second division, there have been a lot. It basically means it comes down to how you perform. I left Surrey to progress my England career. I didn’t feel I’d be able to play for England again if I stayed.”I’m confident that with the move my cricket will go upwards, and obviously, being captain I can be a leader as well. If I do things well and do it right, the players will follow and I’ll put myself in the shop window to play for England. If the rest of the squad are following me then Derbyshire are doing well.”It’s difficult to say which of Clarke’s ambitions – county or country – is the more challenging, but both he and Derbyshire have hit the bottom and are starting the climb back up.