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Quinton de Kock and Justin Ontong will appear in front of a disciplinary commissioner after an altercation between de Kock and bowler Alistair Gray during their first-class match last week.

Firdose Moonda15-Jan-2013Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s limited-overs wicketkeeper batsman, could miss some of the one-day series against New Zealand pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing.De Kock, 20, and Cobras captain Justin Ontong will appear in front of a disciplinary commissioner “as soon as possible” according to Cricket South Africa after an altercation between de Kock and Alistair Gray, when the Cobras were fielding during their first-class match last week.Allegedly, de Kock pushed Gray after the umpires, Brian Jerling and Shaun George, changed the ball because they believed “the conditions of the ball had been altered” by the Cobras after 20 overs in the Lions second innings. De Kock was batting at the time and in accordance with protocol was asked to choose a replacement ball.The Cobras were reportedly unhappy with his choice because he selected a ball which was much older than the original one. Words were exchanged, following which there was a slight scuffle. The Lions won the match by eight wickets and lie third in the table while the Cobras remain at the top, despite the defeat.De Kock will appear in front of the commissioner on charges over his role in pushing an opposition player, while Ontong will face charges of ball tampering which the Cobras have denied. The ball itself will be sent away for tests to determine whether it was damaged in any way.If found guilty, de Kock will be banned for two matches which could rule him out of the first two ODIs in the series which starts in Paarl on Saturday. The second fixture takes place in Kimberley on Tuesday with the last match to be played in Potchefstroom on January 25. Should de Kock be ruled out, AB de Villiers will have to don the wicketkeeping gloves despite his plea to rest his chronically bad back.

Andrew Strauss has called upon any player with information about corruption in English cricket to come forward and talk to the ECB

George Dobell16-Jan-2012Andrew Strauss has called upon any player with information about corruption in English cricket to come forward and talk to the ECB.Strauss, the England captain, urged players to “do what is right for cricket” and utilise the three-month amnesty recently imposed by the ECB after the conviction of the former Essex seam bowler Mervyn Westfield on corruption charges.Strauss warned against assuming the case was the only one of its kind after the the former Essex seam bowler Mervyn Westfield pleaded guilty to corruption charges.”It took me completely by surprise when the allegations first came out and I’ve certainly not witnessed anything in my time,” Strauss said. “But let’s not be arrogant and just assume it’s not there because clearly there has been an incident and if there has been one incident then there is a fair chance that there have been others.”Strauss was speaking ahead of the start of England’s Test series against Pakistan. Past series between these teams have been littered with controversy and players on both sides have been talking of moving on from previous animosity, with Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, appealing to England to forget the spot-fixing scandal of their last tour.”The ECB have provided an amnesty for players to come forward in the next three months and I’d urge them to do that if they do have any information. If it is there, we need to root it out. We need to get it dealt with and move on. If you want world cricket to be in good order then you have to make sure your own house is clean first.””I think there is a lot more awareness now on the back of what has happened in the last couple of years. But it’s something we have to always be vigilant about,” Strauss said. “Obviously we have heavy schedules internationally and domestically, and, with heavy schedules, there is always the opportunity for people to think that one game is less important than another and that therefore they might be able to benefit from it.”I’ve no idea if other players have information or not, but I urge them to come forward if they do. If there is a problem there we need to see the extent of the problem and take steps to clean it up. This is not the time to show loyalty to team-mates or friends or people you know. This is the time to do what is right for the game of cricket.Meanwhile Tony Palladino, the former team-mate who blew the whistle on Westfield, has also warned against assuming that the incident was a one-off. “You’d be a fool to think spot-betting wasn’t happening at Essex before, and at other counties,” Palladino told the “It must have been. They’ve chosen county cricket because it’s not as high profile as international cricket.”What worries me is there might be other cases that have been swept under the carpet. I’ve spoken to international players who’ve been approached several times in Asia. It’s rife out there.”The guys most at risk are in Merv’s situation: young, in the first team, but not earning much money. Merv could have gone on to play for England but he made a bad decision and for £6,000 he’s lost his career. It’s such a waste.”

Two vital partnerships took the Knights to a four-wicket victory over the Dolphins in the first leg of the second MTN40 semi-final in Bloemfontein

Firdose Moonda28-Nov-2010
ScorecardRavi Bopara’s half-century was in vain as Dolphins lost to Knights by four wickets•Getty Images

Two vital partnerships took the Knights to a four-wicket victory over the Dolphins in the first leg of the second MTN40 semi-final in Bloemfontein. They successfully chased 227 in an intriguing low-scoring match on a deceivingly two-paced wicket.Dean Elgar and Reeza Hendricks steadied the Knights’ innings with a 109-run fourth-wicket stand in 117 balls after they had been reduced to 29 for 3. And in a tense finish with 54 needed in 5.3 overs, Obus Pienaar and Johan van der Wath finished off the job in 23 balls.The Dolphins had earlier got off to a snappy start after choosing to bat, with Imraan Khan and Ahmed Amla putting on 31. Khan skied a Ryan McLaren delivery to midwicket, giving the South Africa fringe bowler his first scalp. McLaren also removed Jon Kent four overs later, and the scoring rate cooled off a bit after the big hitter’s dismissal.Amla and Ravi Bopara then found some rhythm. Both played a range of wristy boundaries, but just when the combination had started to look dangerous, Amla lofted one to Obus Pienaar at long-on to depart for 35. Jandre Coetzee had snagged the big fish in his first over.He went on to bowl an economical spell, giving away 19 runs in his first four overs. Coetzee and Con de Lange managed to keep Bopara and Vaughn van Jaarsveld relatively quiet in the middle overs. After being frustrated by a lack of boundaries, the pair began to rotate the strike. Van Jaarsveld, however, grew restless and with no balance, played a nothing shot, a casual flick to Johan van der Wath at long leg.Bopara patiently soldiered on and reached his 28th limited-overs half century, off 60 balls with six boundaries. He had his anchor role cut short when Coetzee came back for a second spell. He offered Bopara a long hop down the leg side which should have been smacked over midwicket for six, but the batsman played too early, the ball came off the back of the bat and Morne van Wyk took the catch.David Miller and Daryn Smit’s seventh-wicket partnership added late impetus. They hit three sixes between them; Smit’s was a down-on-bended-knee improvisation over fine leg. They added 37 in five overs as the Dolphins ended on 226 for 7.The Dolphins had the Knights on the back foot early when the opening bowling pair of Kent and Kyle Abbott plucked three wickets in ten overs. van Wyk was dismissed off the first ball in bizarre fashion. He missed a Kent delivery, which went on to clip his off stump although the bail was not removed. Umpire Dennis Smith heard the noise and gave van Wyk out caught behind.Rilee Rossouw went in the next over, trapped lbw by Abbott, who had a superb five-over opening spell, also taking out Ryan Bailey. Abbott gave the batsmen no room and only conceded nine runs in that spell.The change bowlers didn’t have the same success though. Quinton Friend was expensive and Bopara had a chance put down. Elgar was on 17 and offered a simple catch to Glen Addicott on the deep cover boundary, who not only couldn’t dropped it, but also let the ball escape for four.The Dolphins were left to rue that mistake as Elgar and Hendricks quietly chipped away at the target. Hendricks finally went lbw to Friend for 64 and Elgar followed in the next over on 58, also leg before, to Imran Tahir.When McLaren too fell in the 35th over with 54 runs required, it looked as though the Dolphins had sealed the win, but Pienaar and van der Wath had other ideas. Their bludgeoning burst finished off the Dolphins, with van der Wath the chief aggressor. He bashed 29 off 14 balls to lead the Knights to victory with 10 balls to spare. The second leg of the tie takes place in Durban on Friday.

For a long time it appeared that the five overs Graeme Swann bowled in a one-day international against South Africa, at Bloemfontein, on the 1999-2000 tour might be the sum total of his England career

Andrew McGlashan in Durban30-Dec-2009For a long time it appeared that the five overs Graeme Swann bowled in a one-day international against South Africa, at Bloemfontein, on the 1999-2000 tour might be the sum total of his England career. Another player picked too young, discarded back to county cricket and never picked again. But a second chance eventually came, firstly in ODIs in 2007 and then, finally, late last year in Test cricket. He hasn’t looked back.When he trapped Dale Steyn lbw to seal a crushing innings-and-98-run victory over South Africa, at Durban, it was his 54th wicket for the year, putting him second behind Australia’s Mitchell Johnson. That scalp also completed career-best match figures of 9 for 164 and sealed consecutive Man-of-the-Match awards.To think Swann was left out of England’s side at the start of the West Indies tour in February. He didn’t play in Jamaica and was again omitted for the abandoned Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Perhaps he’d impressed Andrew Strauss with his sandcastles in the underprepared outfield, because two days later at the ARG he was back in the fold, took 5 for 57, and hasn’t stopped taking wickets since.”Two man-of-the-match awards in two games, I’ll take that to finish off the year quite nicely,” he said. “Straussy left me out in Jamaica, so I thought ‘right, I’ve got to show him what a mistake he’s made here’.”It’s been magnificent for me. It started in the West Indies where, although we didn’t end up winning the series, personally for me it was a breakthrough series. Then there was the Ashes which is seven weeks that I’ll never forget. I’m certainly going to look back on 2009 with a fair bit of fondness.”Swann is one of the chirpiest cricketers around even after a tough day the field – which is why he is often wheeled out to discuss England’s less-flattering efforts – so it was no surprise that he wore a permanent smile as he sat beside Strauss. When Strauss was asked about Swann’s efforts this year he said it was difficult to discuss them with his team-mate sat beside him. Swann just put his hand on Strauss’s shoulder as if to say ‘it’s okay skip, I can take.'”He’s had a massive impact on our side in the last 12 months,” Strauss said. “He’s always been a very attacking spinner, never one that settles at going for two an over; he’s always given it a rip and bowled an attacking line. In Test cricket, with the extra pressure that batsmen are under, that can be invaluable. On the field, he’s been exceptional and he has off the field as well.”Graeme Swann collected career-best figures of 9 for 164 in the game and his second successive man-of-the-match award•PA Photos

Swann was just 21 when he was first thrown into international cricket by Duncan Fletcher and has long-since become the only member of the team still playing for England. Only two others from the XI – Vikram Solanki and Chris Read – still play first-class cricket and are unlikely to get another chance.”I don’t think he’s changed a huge amount in that time,” Strauss said. “That was very early in his career, and he was picked probably before he knew his game 100%. Now, he knows how to bowl people out and he’s a very clever spin bowler and his batting has been a massive plus for us as well.”As an opposition captain, there’s nothing worse than a guy who really has no fear of getting out and plays outrageous shots. It’s hard to stop that. He’s more mature, but he still hasn’t lost that sense of enthusiasm and fun which is important.”Swann’s form has been the key reason why England’s four-man attack policy has worked because he has been able to wheel away at one end, while also playing an attacking role. His latest success, which follows 5 for 110 in the first innings at Centurion, came on a day where Test cricket showed offspin is still very much alive.Over in Melbourne, a few hours before Swann finished off South Africa, Nathan Hauritz claimed his maiden first-class five-for as he took 5 for 101 to help Australia to victory against Pakistan. Despite the development of the doosra and carom-ball, Swann was confident the conventional style of his art still had a future.”Deep down, yes I did,” he said. “But I’m quite shy and retiring, never one to voice my opinions. The game goes in circles. In three or four years’ time, we’ll be completely out of vogue again so I’ll just enjoy the fairground ride while I can. It will come back round, sooner or later, that a brilliant mystery spinner will arrive and I’ll be defunct.”Swann doesn’t have to worry about becoming defunct any time soon. Shane Warne often says spinners only start coming into their prime at 30, and Swann is now that age, so there should be many years ahead. It was a long wait, but well worth it.

The duo added an unconquered 143 after joining forces at 70 for 2, and have left South Africa needing only 69 more on the fourth day

Andrew McGlashan13-Jun-20252:23

Day 3 review: Markram’s knock could be career-defining

South Africa can dare to dream. With Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma playing the most significant innings of their careers, the latter while carrying a hamstring injury, they closed within 69 runs of claiming the World Test Championship title, which would be the finest hour for a cricket nation steeped in history but short on silverware.The second-wicket pair combined to add 143 in 38 overs of wonderfully controlled batting, a partnership that will go down in South Africa folklore barring extraordinary events on the fourth morning, with Markram reaching his eighth Test century from 156 deliveries in the closing moments of the day. They repelled everything Australia threw at them on a pitch that, with the sun out for most of the day, was at its friendliest for batting in the Test. The way Australia’s last-wicket pair of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood had earlier been able to add 59 in 22 overs had foretold what was to come.Related

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Still, Australia felt favourites when they set about defending 282. Despite the early loss of Ryan Rickelton, edging a very full delivery from Starc which was confirmed by the third umpire, there was a notable urgency to South Africa’s batting. In the first innings, it took until the 20th over to reach 30 (three wickets were gone by then), whereas this time they were 47 for 1 after ten.Starc struck again to have Wiaan Mulder caught low at cover, but then came a vital moment when Bavuma, on 2, edged to Steven Smith at first slip. Smith was stood so close – he was wearing a helmet as the carry off the surface continued to die – and the chance burst through his hands, leaving him with a compound dislocation of his right little finger. The agony was clear on his face as he immediately left the field. By the end of the day, it was likely shared by his team-mates.Shortly before tea, Bavuma joined the injury list when he picked up a hamstring injury but he defied the pain, mixing hobbling between the wickets with some crisp strokeplay. It was going to take much more than a tweaked muscle to stop Bavuma. There was, however, a question to be asked as to whether Australia could have squeezed an injured batter hard in the field. The closest Bavuma came to a mistake was when he top-edged Nathan Lyon towards deep square-leg on 43 but Sam Konstas, on as a substitute, couldn’t quite make enough ground with a full-length dive that left him with a mouthful of grass.Aiden Markram brought up his eighth Test century•ICC/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Markram was all but faultless. He kept the scoreboard ticking – Australia sent down just three maidens in 56 overs – alongside a selection of handsome boundaries, none better than the back-cut off Starc which bisected deep third and deep point with precision and left the bowler waving his arms in frustration. He would then move to 97 with the sweetest of straight drives against Hazlewood. As the close neared, and it appeared he may have to wait for the morning, his crowning moment arrived with a whip through the leg side.Pat Cummins went through all the options at his disposal, but nothing could conjure the moment to create an opening. Lyon caused some problems out of the rough and came very close on a few occasions while Travis Head’s first delivery ragged sharply at Markram. They will need a miracle on Saturday.It was South Africa’s surge with the ball on the second day that had kept them in the game after conceding a lead of 74, but Alex Carey had pushed the advantage over 200. When Lyon was lbw to Kagiso Rabada in the third over of the day – his ninth wicket of the match – it appeared Australia’s innings would end swiftly, but the last-wicket pair had other ideas.3:26

Hayden: Starc showed courage with the bat

It was not the first time Starc and Hazlewood had combined in such a fashion, surviving 18 overs together against India in Perth last year, while Hazlewood has also previously shown his stickability when helping Cameron Green add 116 against New Zealand in Wellington earlier in 2024.There was rarely anything expansive about the partnership but for large stages the duo were untroubled which was a hint at the changing batting conditions. Starc shielded Hazlewood on occasions, particularly against Rabada and Marco Jansen, but Hazlewood produced one of shots of partnership when he ramped Jansen over the slips.Starc has always had batting pedigree and at times has underdelivered for his talent in Test cricket. This half-century, coming off 131 balls, was his first since Old Trafford in 2019 and it ended as the second-most deliveries he had faced behind the career-best 99 (a Test high score he shares with wife Alyssa Healy).At times South Africa seemed strangely flat but so, too, did the pitch for the first time in the game. In the end it was the sixth bowler used in the session, Markram, who ended the resistance when Hazlewood drove off the back foot to cover. And so the final question was posed: was 282 chaseable? The answer, historically so for South Africa, would appear to be in the affirmative.

The allrounder takes over on a permanent basis from Travis Head

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2023Matthew Short, last season’s player of the tournament in the BBL, has been named Adelaide Strikers’ new captain.Short takes over permanently from Travis Head having stood in for him last season. He scored 458 runs and claimed 11 wickets in the 2022-23 edition of the tournament and has since made his T20I and ODIs debut for Australia.He will be in the running for a spot in next year’s T20 World Cup squad although there is a squeeze for top-order batting slots along with Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith.At the end of the recent T20I series in India Short was given a run lower down the order to see him in a finishing role”Matt was a standout choice to take on the captaincy at the Adelaide Strikers and we are thrilled to announce him as our sixth captain,” Strikers head coach Jason Gillespie said. “When he stepped up last year we were very impressed with his leadership and we are looking forward to seeing him grow further into the role.”Short added: “I really enjoyed the little taste of captaincy I got last season and I’m excited to put my full attention to it in BBL13.”Strikers are unlikely to see much of Head or Alex Carey for this season’s tournament given the Test schedule although there is a chance they could make an appearance between the Pakistan and West Indies series in mid-January.Strikers finished seventh last season with just five wins from 14 matches. They will open this campaign against Brisbane Heat in Adelaide on Saturday.

Inoka Ranaweera starred with 2 for 17, before Pakistan needed three off the last ball, which Nida Dar couldn’t put away

Mohammad Isam13-Oct-2022Achini Kulasuriya bowled a stunning final over to help Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the second semi-final and march into the final of the Asia Cup. Kulasuriya bowled full and straight throughout the over and left Pakistan needing three off the last ball. But Nida Dar could not clear cover, where Kavisha Dilhari dropped the catch running backwards but recovered well to return a throw to the wicketkeeper, who ran Dar out to squeeze out a one-run victory.It is Sri Lanka’s first T20 Asia Cup final, having made it to the title clash three times when the tournament was an ODI affair. Pakistan would feel hard done by, as they were cruising till captain Bismah Maroof was at the crease.Kulasuriya does the magic
When Maroof got out in the 18th over, Pakistan were in the driver’s seat, needing a run-a-ball 16. But Inoka Ranaweera bowled a superb penultimate over – giving away just four and prising out big-hitting Ayesha Naseem cheaply – to leave eight for Kulasuriya to defend. Kulasuriya bowled full mostly and did not allow Aliya Riaz and Dar to free their arms. Eventually, it was down to three needed of the last ball but Dar couldn’t take Pakistan home, leaving Sri Lanka screaming in delight in front of the sparse crowd in Sylhet.Kulasuriya did not let the over-rate punishment, due to which they were allowed a fielder less outside the inner ring in the final over, hamper them. Sri Lanka would also be thankful to their batters for their fine effort earlier, particularly at the start when they got a few boundaries to get things going.Sanjeewani gives Sri Lanka quick start
Sri Lanka raced to 39 in the powerplay, thanks mainly to wicketkeeper-batter Anushka Sanjeewani’s 26 off 21 balls. After being promoted to open, she struck a four and a big six over square leg but fell in the last over of the fielding restriction. Chamari Athapaththu also hit a six but was the first batter to get out when she tried to slog Dar over long-on and was bowled.Nashra Sandhu’s classic left-armer’s delivery – pitching in line and turning away past the outside edge – then deceived Sanjeewani, bringing an end to Sri Lanka’s powerplay exploits.Bismah Maroof made 42 off 41 balls to set up the chase•Asian Cricket Council

Sandhu revives Pakistan after big stand
Harshitha Samarawickrama, however, ensured Sri Lanka didn’t let their good start go waste, adding 50 for the third wicket with Nilakshi de Silva. But the pair managed just one boundary between them, which Samarawickrama got during her 35 off 41 balls, before Sandhu removed her in the 18th over. Sandhu also had de Silva caught-and-bowled in her previous over, and finished with 3 for 17 from four overs.Sadia Iqbal and Aiman Anwer too bowled excellently in the last few overs, both picking up a wicket each as Sri Lanka made only 35 runs in the last five overs. They slipped from 102 for 3 with 14 balls remaining, only to be restricted to 122 for 6 after 20 overs.Muneeba fires up Pakistan
Pakistan responded to Sri Lanka’s fast start with one of their own. Sugandika Kumari was hit for back-to-back fours by Muneeba Ali before Sidra Ameen hit one in the third over of the chase. Muneeba struck the ball sweetly through point first, before executing the sweep to perfection on the next.But Muneeba fell in the next over when she was run out trying to get a quick single. She twisted her ankle in the process, but her presence for a few more overs might have helped Pakistan carry on further after a bright start.Bismah gets Pakistan to the brink
Sri Lanka stayed in the game with the wickets of Ameen and Omaima Sohail by the 11th over, but Maroof kept things tight at her end. She played the ball around for plenty of singles, apart from four boundaries. She struck two through fine leg, one past short third and the fourth over long-on.Maroof added 42 for the fourth wicket with Dar but fell while trying to work the ball to the on side against Kumari. Little did she know her side would end up losing the game despite setting up the chase.

Angelo Mathews was omitted while Nuwan Pradeep earned a recall to bolster the seam attack

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Jun-2021Left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama, and allrounders Dhananjaya Lakshan, Charith Asalanka, and Ishan Jayaratne are the surprise entrants to Sri Lanka men’s 24-member squad for the limited-overs tour of England. Although Sri Lanka have again insisted on picking young players, omitting Angelo Mathews, they have recalled Nuwan Pradeep to beef up the seam-bowling stocks. Batter Avishka Fernando, who missed the last two tours due to substandard fitness, made it into this squad, having passed his tests. Batter Ashen Bandara, however, was not in the squad.Jayaratne, 31, is perhaps the most unheralded name in the squad. He made it on the back of an excellent List A domestic tournament, in which he claimed 18 wickets at 20.61, with an economy rate of 5.44. He has been handy, rather than consistent, with the bat, averaging 20.57 in List A cricket, with a high score of 105 not out.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Lakshan, 22, had been one of the breakout players of the Lanka Premier League last year. Asalanka, 23, is a former Sri Lanka under-19 captain, and has been on the radar of the senior team for years. Left-arm spinner Jayawickrama, meanwhile, had impressed on Test debut against Bangladesh earlier this year, earning the Player-of-the Match award for his 11 wickets.Avishka Fernando’s return will create competition at the top of the order. Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis had formed the top three in the recent ODIs in Bangladesh. But if Avishka makes it into the XI, it is likely that either Kusal Mendis or Perera may move down the order.Related

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With Pradeep back, Sri Lanka have no fewer than six specialist seam-bowling options on this tour, with Dushmantha Chameera, Isuru Udana, Asitha Fernando, Binura Fernando, and Shiran Fernando all picked. Allrounders Dasun Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne also bowl seam, in addition to Jayaratne and Lakshan.There were four frontline spinners in the group – Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakana, Akila Dananjaya and Jayawickrama.Sri Lanka leave for England on Tuesday. Following quarantine, they are expected to play two tour matches, before the internationals start with the first of three T20Is on June 23. Three ODIs will follow.

Batsman hopes injury will prove a ‘good thing’ in the long run and hopes to be fit for County Championship opener

George Dobell27-Feb-2020Rory Burns believes the injury that curtailed his winter with the Test team may prove “a good thing” for English cricket in the long term.Burns sustained serious ligament damage when playing football in warm-up the day before the second Test against South Africa. He subsequently underwent surgery and was ruled out of the remaining three Tests in that series and the two upcoming Tests in Sri Lanka. Having just established himself in the team – he had made two Test centuries since August and at least one half-century in four of his previous five Tests – it was a cruel blow both for Burns and for England.ALSO READ: Burns sidelined for four months after ankle surgeryBut the injury had further repercussions. As the latest in a saga of football-related injuries – Jonny Bairstow and Joe Denly were among the other members of the England squad to have sustained injuries in a similar manner – it led to the England management banning football in warm-ups. Several of the first-class counties are understood to have taken similar decisions ahead of the 2020 season.Now, as Burns contemplates his comeback, he admits he will not be playing football again. And he reflects that Ashley Giles, a long-term critic of the idea of playing football as a warm-up activity, was probably right all along. Giles is the director of England’s men’s teams.”Have I ruined it [playing football] for everyone?” Burns says with a smile. “I think I have ruined it for the county circuit. The majority of it, anyway, and certainly the England boys. But I don’t think there’s too many arguments from too many places.”While I am still a professional cricketer I probably won’t play football again. It’s taken four months out of a career and the stage I had got myself to where I was playing quite nicely.”It was an avoidable setback and when you get something that’s avoidable like that you probably re-evaluate whether you want to waste your time doing four months in a gym rehabbing or being on a plane to Sri Lanka.”Was Giles right all along? Potentially. It’s probably taken something like this to re-evaluate it; something like this to put it into perspective. It shows what the downsides of football are, I suppose. There are obviously a lot of plus points to football but I don’t think I will be playing it any time again soon.”It was a bit freakish. Most people roll their ankle on the outside; I did going over to the inside. I think my studs got caught in the floor. But if that’s the catalyst to put things right and maybe say you don’t need it and keep the boys on the park it’s probably a good thing in a weird way.”If none of those guys get injured moving forward because football has been moved out of it then I think that’s a positive thing for English cricket.”Rory Burns speaks at the PCA’s rookie camp•Barrington Coombs/Getty Images for PCA

The good news for Burns is that he looks on course to be fit for the start of the county season. While he hasn’t picked up a bat as yet, he will go on Surrey’s pre-season tour to the UAE from March 17 and is expected to return to their team for their opening Championship fixture against Somerset at The Oval starting on April 19. Barring a significant dip in form, it would be a surprise if he did not return to the Test team when England host West Indies from the start of June.As a player who has had his fair share of ups and downs in the game, Burns was a natural choice to address the 50 or so young players attending the PCA’s rookie camp earlier this week. Among other things, he spoke of the need for persistence – it took him five successive seasons of scoring 1,000 first-class runs to convince the selectors to pick him – and the dangers of social media.ALSO READ: Never a better time to be a professional cricket, but rookies learn perils are huge tooIn particular, he looks back to the aftermath of the Ireland Test – when he scored 6 in each innings – and the savaging he took from some sections of the media. Mark Waugh memorably said Burns “looked like a nightwatchman” and suggested: “don’t think he’ll be playing the Ashes.” Burns responded with a maiden Test century in the first Ashes Test a few days later.”The thing that annoyed me about the Ireland game was that people judge you very quickly – be it fans or whatever – on a snapshot of your career,” he says. “I’d had seven years of batting in first-class cricket that was overwritten in seven Tests.”In the County Championship you don’t get that level of speculation. I don’t avoid social media, but you have to taper it to the voices you want to listen to. I still had it open when I started my Test career and I didn’t read all of it but you can’t help it when it’s at the top of your mentions… Tom Noddy down the road has given his twopence.”The key is: you’re never as good as you think you are when you’re doing well, and you’re never as bad as you think you are when you’re not. You’re always somewhere in the middle and you just bounce along. It’s remembering that. Sticking to the fundamentals of what works for you.”

England’s limited-overs captain and the explosive South Africa batsman are among five additions to the auction list

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2018Eoin Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, has been added to the player list for Tuesday’s IPL auction, alongside four other late inclusions: South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen, uncapped Australian Riley Meredith, and Indians Mayank Dagar and Pranav Gupta.

Zaheer Khan links up with Mumbai Indians

Former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan has been named Mumbai Indians’ mentor. Zaheer, who retired from international cricket in 2015, had played for and captained Delhi Daredevils in the IPL till 2017.
Mahela Jayawardene and Shane Bond will stay on at Mumbai Indians as head coach and bowling coach respectively this season.

Morgan will be entered at the highest base price of INR 2 crore (USD 280,000), putting him in the same bracket as IPL veterans such as Brendon McCullum, Lasith Malinga and Shaun Marsh. Van der Dussen is priced at INR 50 lakh (USD 70,000), Meredith INR 40 lakh (USD 55,600), with Dagar and Gupta listed at the lowest reserve price of INR 20 lakhs (USD 27,800).The late additions, bringing the overall number of players involved in the auction to 351, came after franchises expressed an interest in their involvement to the BCCI.ALSO READ: All you need to know abou the IPL auctionVan der Dussen, who was on the original long list, put his name back into the auction pool after making his third consecutive Mzansi Super League fifty on Sunday, a knock that sealed the inaugural title for his team, Jozi Stars. He was the highest run-getter in the tournament.He won the inaugural Global T20 Canada with Vancouver Knights, whose head coach Donovan Miller then called him up for his CPL team St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. Van der Dussen is highly rated for his batting in the middle overs, particularly for his ability to hit big at the end, skills that he honed through crossfit and kickboxing, among other things. His rising fame in the format and recent form could well make him the subject of a bidding war.Of the two Indian players to enter the fray, batsman Gupta is one of six Jammu & Kashmir players in the pool, while allrounder Dagar is a former India Under-19 player and Virender Sehwag’s nephew. He was picked up by Kings XI Punjab last year.Meredith, a rookie seamer, has only played in two T20 games, both for Hobart Hurricanes in February this year.Morgan went unsold in the auction for the 2018 IPL but has previously played for four franchises, most recently in 2017 with Kings XI Punjab. He takes the number of England players interested in the proceedings in Jaipur to 19.Several, including Jonny Bairstow, Alex Hales and Sam Curran, will hope to attract bids, although the question of limited availability could deter franchises. Centrally contracted England players such as Morgan and Bairstow will be expected to return on April 25, ahead of preparations for the World Cup – meaning they would miss the last three weeks of the IPL.