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England batter sustained a left thigh muscle injury while playing for Surrey in the Vitality Blast

George Dobell10-Jul-2021Ollie Pope is an injury doubt for the first Test of the LV= Insurance series against India after sustaining a thigh muscle injury.Pope, the 23-year-old batter, sustained the injury while playing for Surrey against Kent in the Vitality Blast on July 2. A statement from the ECB said: “Pope has been ruled out until England’s LV= Insurance Test Series against India after suffering a left thigh muscle injury.”The ECB and Surrey fitness teams will work together to deliver Pope’s rehabilitation with a focus for him to be available to return for the first Test against India.”That first Test starts on August 4 in Nottingham.While Pope has not reached 35 in his 15 most recent Test innings, he was highly likely to retain his spot in England’s Test side as he is seen as perhaps the most talented young first-class batter in the English game.His injury could open the door for a return for Dawid Malan, who has continued to impress with his temperament as much as his form with the bat in his opportunities in England’s white-ball side. Dan Lawrence could also prove a beneficiary.Pope’s injury is also likely to minimise his involvement in The Hundred. Had he been fit, he was likely to have been available for Welsh Fire’s first three fixtures. The tournament has been best with withdrawals with a host of overseas players pulling out due to the congested international schedules and complications around travel in the time of Covid.

Allrounder says CPL 2020 will be his last season with the franchise

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Apr-2020A day after Chris Gayle lashed out at the Jamaica Tallawahs management, his West Indies team-mate Andre Russell has called the franchise the “weirdest” he has ever played for. On Tuesday, a day before he turned 32, Russell also announced that the 2020 CPL season would be his last one with the Tallawahs, who had signed him in 2018 after he returned from his anti-doping ban.ALSO READ: Gayle blames Sarwan for Tallawahs exitOn Monday, Gayle blamed Tallawahs’ chief executive officer Jeff Miller and assistant coach Ramnaresh Sarwan for influencing the owner Kris Persaud to release him for the 2020 season. In a statement on Wednesday, the franchise said Gayle’s release was “strictly a business and cricketing” decision taken collectively by the leadership group that did not include Sarwan.

Sarwan not behind Gayle ouster – Tallawahs

Jamaica Tallawahs have dismissed Chris Gayle’s claims that Ramnaresh Sarwan was behind his ouster from his home franchise ahead of CPL 2020. In an outburst, released in a personal video on YouTube on Monday, Gayle also blamed Tallawahs’ chief executive officer Jeff Miller and owner Krish Persaud for “playing a game” with him.
“The ownership and management of the Jamaica Tallawahs was disappointed to see the comments made by Mr Christopher Gayle about his departure from the Tallawahs, as we would much rather have had these discussions in private,” a statement from the Tallawahs franchise said.”Mr Gayle gave several reasons for the decision that was made not to retain him in the Tallawahs. However, the truth is that this decision was made collectively by the ownership and management team, which did not include Mr Ramnaresh Sarwan, and based purely on business and cricketing reasoning.”
The Tallwahs clarified that they had let go of Gayle to rebuild for the upcoming season, having finished last in 2019.
“The Tallawahs had a very disappointing season in CPL 2019, where the team finished last in the tournament. The ownership and management team has exercised its rights in the selection of players for CPL 2020 for the betterment of the team.The ownership and management of the Tallawahs will not be making any further comment on this matter as we are focusing on building the team for the future.”

‘Unprofessionalism in this team is all about communication’
If Gayle’s ire was targeted at Miller and Sarwan primarily, Russell took a deeper view, saying the franchise suffered from “unprofessionalism”, lacking transparent communication.In CPL 2018, Russell returned to captain the Tallawahs, a development he said was “very, very good for his image”. However, he found the management’s ways of doing things odd. Before the 2018 players’ draft, Russell shared a list of names – Caribbean and overseas – he would want in the squad.”I’m a guy that play to win,” Russell said on his Instagram on Tuesday. “And I’ve won 13 championships [T20 titles]. So, I don’t play to lose. If I’m picking a friend I believe in that friend. But the way Tallawahs went about things, that first, they went in in the draft, on the day of the draft, I was trying to reach out to these people. No reply.”Russell said his intention was to “clear the air”. “During the draft still tried to reach out to these guys. No reply. After the draft they messaged me and asked me if I was happy with the team picked. I took a while to reply because I was disappointed.”Russell said the Tallawahs “did pick a good team” which lost to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the Eliminator. However, Russell claimed things were no better in 2019 season. “This year was different. This is the weirdest franchise that I have ever played in. And when I mean weird, people that [are] supposed to reach out to you as an individual, and I am not just a normal player in the Jamaica Tallawahs team – I was once a leader. I realise how they look at things and how they do things.”In the five matches that Russell featured in the 2019 season, his returns were underwhelming: 99 runs with six wickets. Injury then sidelined him from the rest of the CPL,where the Tallawahs finished bottom in the six-team league.Russell also said he was hurt at being “treated” as a debutant and he was “not involved in anything whatsoever” with regards to the franchise’s plans. “I felt like a first-class player that just made his debut one game ago. Your opinion is not valuable. That’s how I was treated.”Even this year, Miller had only contacted Russell to check whether he was going to sign the contract in order for the franchise to retain him. Russell said he continued to be “kept in the dark” when he asked questions. “Even when I ask questions: who you guys planning on retaining? Who you guys planning on buying? I don’t get no answer on that. So, I just leave it.”Russell said he was happy to take a “pay cut” to stay with the Tallawahs only to play in front of his “home crowd, my family and friends.” He said several other franchises in CPL were ready to pay him more than what the Tallawahs were paying him. But for Russell, “loyalty” was important.According to Russell, the Tallwahs as a franchise has to address “unprofessionalism” in the ways the management has gone about doing things. “Addressing unprofessionalism in this team is all about communication.”To illustrate his point Russell provided two examples. The first was when Floyd Reifer, who was the interim head coach of West Indies at the 2019 World Cup, messaged Russell to inform he was potentially going to take over a similar role at the Tallawahs, replacing the incumbent Donovan Miller. According to Russell, Reifer also spoke to him about his front-foot position, while bowling, which was landing in an “awkward” fashion and putting pressure on his knee ligaments. However, soon after, Russell claimed Reifer “suddenly stopped communicating”.Russell tried asking Miller, but he did not say anything. Around this time, Russell heard rumours about Gayle moving to St Lucia Zouks. By then, he had signed the contract to stay with the Tallawahs. At the same point, Russell said Gayle messaged him a picture of a newspaper article, asking Russell if he had any information on his release. Russell said he had no clue. He called Gayle “instantly” and told him Reifer was “potentially” going to be the coach. “Communication was the problem, right throughout. No one say anything to Chris. No one say anything to me.”Russell felt Reifer did not want him to be captain of the side. “All of these things happened because of Floyd Reifer gonna be the coach. He don’t want to have me as the captain because he wants to have someone he can actually talk to. Rovman Powell and Floyd Reifer have a good relationship and I respect that.”Andre Russell captained Jamaica Tallawahs in 2018•Getty Images

‘Don’t come and offer me captaincy again’
Russell said he would continue to perform for the team regardless. “I’m a free spirit player. If I’m not the captain I’m fine, I’m happy,” he said. “The communication was the biggest problem when it comes to all of this. Up till now, I don’t know nothing that is going on. I don’t know nothing that was happening in the Jamaica Tallawahs team. And now it looks like me, Rovman, Floyd Reifer plan up, and I get rid of Chris. Why would I get rid of Chris? Chris have a three-year contract with Tallawahs. You’re not supposed to breach a contract. As a franchise you can get in trouble with that.”Russell said that although he would continue to support Powell, he would not take over the leadership role in case the franchise approached him now. “All these guys have my number, no-one messages me. I’m not here to fight and say that I want to be the captain because at the end of the day, if I wasn’t Tallawahs’ first choice to be the captain, don’t come and offer me the captaincy again. I’m not going to accept it.”Russell said he felt “weird” clearing his throat on his social media account, but was left with no choice; otherwise he felt like he had been pushed “under the bus” and his head would be crushed if it moved backward or forward. But Russell was firm about not staying back at the Tallawahs once his contract expires in 2020.”I think this might be my last season for Jamaica Tallawahs. I’m just clearing the air,” he said. “I’ve another year’s contract [left] with the Tallawahs [2020 season]. I’m going to play and try and win because that’s all I play for, but this will be my last, because I’ve been getting mixed up with all this shit that is happening, and I can’t be playing cricket and I’m not comfortable. I think another franchise that has been coming last and fifth and fourth will appreciate me more [which] I am not getting it here. Honestly, I feel messed up about the whole situation.”

The Pakistan captain tweeted a picture of himself shaking hands with the South Africa allrounder before the third ODI in Centurion

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2019Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, has apologised again, this time personally to Andile Phehlukwayo – the player his racially-charged taunt in Durban had seemingly been directed at.On Friday, Sarfraz tweeted a picture of himself shaking hands with Phehlukwayo, with this caption: “This morning I apologised to Andile Phehlukwayo and he was gracious enough to accept my apology and I hope the people of South Africa also accept my apology.”
Sarfraz’s taunt came during the second ODI in Durban on Tuesday. He issued a general apology via Twitter the day after the incident, saying his comments were “not directed towards anyone in particular”.South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said in response that his team had forgiven Sarfraz. “We forgive him because he said sorry,” du Plessis said after South Africa’s training session on Thursday. “He has apologised and taken responsibility for it. It is out of our hands and ICC will have to deal with it now.”Sarfraz was caught on the broadcast stump mics making what seemed to be a racist comment towards Phehlukwayo during the course of South Africa’s chase at Kingsmead.Sarfraz was caught saying, in Urdu: Translated literally that is: “Hey black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What [prayer] have you got her to say for you today?”The ICC has received a report from match referee Ranjan Madugalle and is currently considering the matter. Because of the nature of the incident, legal officials have been involved and very little has emerged about what, if any, action will be taken.

Craig Overton has described a ban handed to him for using abusive language in 2015 as “the turning point” of his career

George Dobell in Perth03-Nov-2017Craig Overton has described a ban handed to him for using abusive language as “the turning point” of his career.Overton has emerged as a genuine contender for a place in England’s team for the first Ashes Test at Brisbane in three-weeks’ time. But he admits the wake-up call of the ban – the result of an incident in a game in September 2015 – forced him to reflect on his behaviour and led to his maturing both on and off the pitch.Overton was accused by one of the umpires, Alex Wharf, of having told the Sussex batsman Ashar Zaidi to “go back to your own f***ing country”. While Zaidi, Pakistan-born but a British citizen, did not hear the comments and Overton denied any memory of having made them, he did admit his behaviour had become unnecessarily cantankerous. He was subsequently banned for two games for using abusive rather than racist language and later admitted the verdict was “fair enough, really”.As a result of the incident, Somerset arranged for Overton to see a psychotherapist. And, as a result of those sessions with Abbie Kench, Overton has emerged as a far more mature cricketer who, aged 23, has developed into Somerset’s attack leader. Only two England-qualified bowlers (Jamie Porter and Ben Coad) claimed more Division One wickets in 2017 – he took 46 at a cost of 22.39 apiece – and where once a promising spell might be spoiled by a frustrated barrage of short-balls and abuse, he now has the discipline to retain his control and his composure.”That’s not how you behave on a cricket field,” Overton admitted, reflecting on the Zaidi incident. “You can’t act like that. It was not just that incident. The whole summer there were a few instances.”I’ve calmed down the last couple of years and I think what happened has made me realise you can’t go on acting like that. I don’t want to lose the edge. It’s just finding the right balance and not going too far. That incident matured me a little bit which I’m really happy with and I’ve moved on from that. It was massively a turning point.”Craig Overton waits to bowl in the nets•Getty Images

So much of a turning point, that Overton has a good chance of forcing his way into the Test team over the next few days. While he isn’t the quickest – his natural pace would probably be in the mid to low 80s mph – he has a good range of skills, gains sharp bounce from his height and has the ability to deliver a sharper spell when required. Crucially, despite failing to make a half-century in the 2017 season, he also offers more with the bat than Jake Ball – his rival for the fourth seamer’s spot – and he has developed into a decent slip catcher off the spin bowlers at Somerset. With Ben Stokes absent, that remains another hole for England to fill.”I try and work on my slip catching as much as possible,” Overton said. “Someone has got to field there. I’ll put my hand up if I have to.”My batting is one thing that maybe I see where I have an edge over the others. Growing up, I always wanted to be an allrounder. I’ve still got that skill with the bat so I’ll make sure I use the coaches here to get the most out of my batting and score a few runs if I play.”But for injury to his twin, Jamie, it is entirely possible both brothers could have made the tour. Jamie is, by some distance, the quicker of the two and, in the brief moments he was fully fit during the 2017 season, looked as good a prospect as any fast bowler in England. As it is, though, his role on this tour could well be limited to that of net bowler.”Jamie is here for Christmas,” Overton said. “He says he might bowl at us a little bit. He’s getting back to full fitness now which is really nice.”We were very competitive growing up. But I think that’s very normal for twin brothers. They want to get the best out of each other. He’s happy for me. We work pretty well together. He’s been through a pretty tough few years and he’s really happy with the way I’ve gone. Hopefully he’ll be following in my footsteps.”

Faf du Plessis has encouraged fans to “relax” when considering South Africa’s transformation policy, now that the team has showed they can win with it in place

Firdose Moonda13-Oct-2016Faf du Plessis has encouraged fans to “relax” when considering South Africa’s transformation policy, now that the team has showed they can win with it in place. Since the targets – which require the national team to field a minimum of six players of colour on an average, including two black Africans over the course of a season – were announced in early September , South Africa have played six ODIs and won all of them, while also nearly meeting their transformation requirements.Across the ODIs – one against Ireland and five against Australia – South Africa’s average was just under their target of six players of colour, and they fielded at least two black Africans in every game. Their XI included seven players of colour against Ireland, with four black Africans, five players of colour in three of the five ODIs against Australia, and six in the other two. They will have the opportunity to make up for the shortfall in later matches this season.”People will relax now and see that it’s not that bad. People were expecting big changes and big defeats, but now, people can relax and see there is enough talent, no matter what colour you are,” du Plessis said. “Our cricket is in a healthy state. People can be confident that even with those targets, we are a force to be reckoned with.”One of the concerns with implementing the targets was that it would affect the balance of the team, but JP Duminy’s return to form, and the unearthing of Andile Phehlukwayo and Tabraiz Shamsi have meant that South Africa had all bases covered in the series. Perhaps, reassuringly, while the players of colour proved themselves in this series, there was also enough room for white players, too, to show their worth. Phehlukwayo, in his first international series, was the leading wicket-taker, Duminy returned to form with two important half-centuries, and Shamsi is putting his hand up as a successor to Imran Tahir. Rilee Rossouw, previously on the fringes of the side, and David Miller, who had been dropped, also had stand-out showings in a series in which South Africa’s inclusivity did not go unnoticed.Du Plessis confirmed the team has “embraced” the transformation targets, especially now that the specifics are in the public domain. “We try and embrace it. The positive is that it is open and there is a honest policy out there. Everyone knows what it’s all about and everyone can buy into it. As long as you are open and honest, you can move forward,” he said.Prior to September, South Africa insisted there were no targets at the national level, although they unofficially aimed to include four players of colour in an XI. That was evident at the 2015 World Cup when Vernon Philander was brought into the team in place of Kyle Abbott despite missing large swathes of the tournament due to injury. This happened after the coach and captain met with the CEO, who reminded them to pick the best team with transformation guidelines in mind. The fall-out from that incident hung over South African cricket for many months, during which performances slipped.Last summer, South Africa tumbled from No.1 to No.6 in the Test rankings, were booted out of the World T20 in the first round, and appeared a spent force. Pressure grew on coach Russell Domingo, whose contract is in place until April next year, and it was expected he would be replaced. However, a team culture camp before this series rejuvenated the players and coaches, and du Plessis credited Domingo for his resilience at a tough time.”As a squad, we made a huge transition when we went away and had a hard look at ourselves, and the coaches were part of it. They were really eager to try and improve themselves, and since that day, they have been brilliant. Russell has stepped his game up, he is challenging people and players now, and the coaching staff are demanding more from players,” du Plessis said. “It’s important we don’t take that for granted because we have an extremely tough Test tour of Australia coming up. I accept that we won’t win every series, but it’s important for us to know what we need to do to be at our best. Russell has been really good. There was a lot of pressure on them after the West Indies tri-series and that’s normal. You get that when a team doesn’t perform, but full credit must go to him for how he has stepped up.”South Africa will shift from limited-overs to Tests and will play six in succession – three in Australia and three at home against Sri Lanka – in a bid to climb up the rankings again. The first Test in Australia starts on November 3 in Perth.

Paul Grayson has been confirmed as Essex coach until the end of the season after the club’s general committee overwhelmingly resisted a recommendation from new cricket chairman chairman Ronnie Irani to remove him

David Hopps18-Aug-2015Paul Grayson, Essex’s beleaguered coach, has been confirmed in the role until the end of the season as the club’s general committee has overwhelmingly resisted a recommendation from the new cricket chairman Ronnie Irani to remove him immediately from the post.The debate about Grayson’s future could hardly have been more disruptively timed, coming only a few days before Essex’s NatWest quarter-final against Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston which was duly lost in one of their most disappointing displays of the season.The committee, clearly wary of a repeat, voted in Chelmsford on Monday to delay their decision on Grayson’s future, even as Essex travelled to their final Royal London Cup group match against Sussex at Hove, another season-defining match in which victory would ensure them of a home quarter-final.Grayson has supervised consistently excellent displays in limited-overs cricket since taking charge in 2008 with Essex second only to Hampshire in the number of victories in one-day cricket in that time. But while Hampshire have gone on to win trophies, Essex have repeatedly faltered in the final stages, encouraging Irani to press for change soon after being elected to the role last month.It is the timing of the recommendation that has brought most unease, although in some ways that was unavoidable. Grayson was anxious to determine his future before the end of the season after the decision of the former cricket committee chairman, Graham Saville, to step down after 27 years in the role naturally introduced a period of reassessment within the county.Grayson, it is interesting to note, is one year into an official three-year plan in which it was made clear that the priority was to secure a one-day trophy and reshape a young Championship side based on home grown players. That commitment has been followed to the letter with a whole host of debutants given an opportunity to prove their worth for a county that lacks the pace bowling depth to sustain a serious challenge.Irani sounded more ambitious, stating upon taking office: ” We need to try to get into division one of the County Championship. We’ve fallen short of that for quite a few years now. We have to change and we have to improve massively.”We have an immensely talented group of individuals and it is fair to say that at this moment in time we have underachieved in the last seven or eight years.”We are still talented and it is great to see young players coming through like Nick Browne, Tom Westley and Jamie Porter. We have to make sure we keep doing that, while getting Essex back to the level that we were in years gone by, knocking on doors and trying to win trophies.”At this moment in time Paul is the head coach and we have to respect that position until the cricket committee decide on anything different.”Quite how much Grayson can be blamed for a prolonged failure to reach Division One of the Championship is a question worth asking. As a coach, as opposed to a director of cricket, his powers have remained limited, much against the trend in the county game and Essex’s budget is considerably lower.Essex still have one of the most traditional structures in county cricket with the outgong cricket chairman Saville, a former England U19 coach, and captain, James Foster, having had most influence on the big cricketing decisions. That way of doing things is unlikely to change.

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.