All posts by h716a5.icu

West Brom welcome Reading to The Hawthorns this afternoon and will be hoping to take all three points to close the gap to second-placed Bournemouth.

Valerien Ismael’s men could be just three points behind the automatic promotion places if the Cherries lose today to Blackburn Rovers, so it is vital for Albion to go into this game all guns blazing. However, there could be a setback after Ismael revealed some concerning news in his press conference which will leave Baggies fans gutted.

The pandemic has been on the rise in the football leagues. Both Championship and Premier League clubs have been experiencing higher rates of infection in the last month, and now it seems that the West Brom camp has been hit too.

Ismael revealed the extent of the Baggies’ viral outbreak last night, telling the press: “We’ve got two positive cases and possibly a third one”, and adding that “two players will miss the game”.

The names of those who have contracted the virus have not been revealed, but we will surely see if any of the first team is affected when the line up is revealed this afternoon, and the West Brom manager will be hoping that it won’t unduly affect their chances of winning today.

This fresh blow to the squad will see the club needing to indulge in some damage control to ensure that the affected players haven’t infected others, causing a huge outbreak which couldn’t come at a more vulnerable time for the Baggies.

West Brom could be without eight players today, with a number of injuries also affecting the squad after Matt Phillips was written off for the upcoming clash at The Hawthorns, alongside Dara O’Shea, Ken Zohore and Kean Bryan, who remain sidelined without any certainty as to when they will return.

Ismael will already be working hard to keep his side in sight of a promotion place at the top of the Championship, but this latest setback with the viral outbreak could put a spanner in the works ahead of the January transfer window.

In other news: Ismael must secure this Premier League signing for Albion

South Africa will look to lift their batting and post big partnerships when they clash with India on a dry pitch in the third Test in Nagpur

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur24-Nov-2015Match factsNovember 25-29, 2015
Start time 0930 local (0400GMT)Big pictureAfter grey, blustery and mostly cricket-free Bangalore, the teams have moved to the geometric centre of India and the promise of a Test match free of interruptions under clear, cloudless skies. India ended day one of the second Test in a position of great cricketing and psychological strength, but there has been no action in the ten days since. Though the effects of India being 1-0 up cannot have dissipated entirely, there is a blank-slate feeling to the start of the third Test. Let the series begin, again.The portents suggest India are favourites to take an unassailable 2-0 lead. The pitch is dry, the afternoons will be hot, and there are definite signs that India will play three spinners. Most of South Africa’s batsmen are yet to find their feet on this tour. Worse still for the visitors, Dale Steyn, their one bowler capable of neutralising any sort of surface, is almost certain not to feature.South Africa, however, are the No. 1 Test side in the world for a reason. Their batting might not have clicked just yet, as a collective unit, but there is too much quality in their line-up for the situation to become irremediable. AB de Villiers is in the frightening position of being both in form and due for a big one. Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis cannot keep failing in tandem forever. All South Africa need is one big partnership, or two biggish ones, to post their first big total of the series.They can also take heart from their performance in Mohali. The match ended in three days, and India won by a sizeable margin, but South Africa still managed to bowl them out twice, for 201 and 200. If the Nagpur pitch turns out similar to the one in Mohali, it could narrow the quality gap between the spin attacks rather than exaggerating it. India know this phenomenon well. Over the last decade, some of their most significant away wins have come on green pitches that have allowed their seamers to compete on an even footing with pace attacks of greater all-round quality.India’s batsmen, moreover, have spent precious little time in the middle so far. Apart from M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja, none have yet faced 100 balls in the series. If there is any rustiness, South Africa will want to exploit it quickly, particularly if India play only five specialist batsmen.Form guide(last five completed games most recent first)
India DWWWL
South Africa DLDDW In the spotlightThe last time he batted at the VCA Stadium in a Test, Hashim Amla made an unbeaten 253 that set South Africa up for a famous innings win. Amla has struggled so far on this tour, but he has an exceptional record in India – 873 runs at 79.36, with four centuries – and proven ability against spin. A solid contribution from their captain could be just what South Africa needs to spark a revival.The same Test match witnessed the debut of Wriddhiman Saha, who was forced to play as a specialist batsman thanks to an injury crisis in the squad. Having served a long apprenticeship under MS Dhoni, Saha is now India’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper. Though he has contributed a few spunky knocks with the bat in his short career so far, India’s batting line-up still looks a little thin with Saha slotting in at No. 6. He has an excellent first-class record, with nine hundreds and an average of nearly 44, and the confidence of his captain. He needs to translate that into Test cricket to be able to play what is a pivotal role in making India’s five-bowler strategy work.Team newsIndia have a squad free of fitness worries, and the one selection call they are likely to have to make is the question of whether or not to play three spinners. With conditions not suited to his medium-pace, India will most likely leave out Stuart Binny, which opens up a slot either for the legspinner Amit Mishra or for an extra batsman in Rohit Sharma. If conditions seem particularly conducive to spin, India could even play both Mishra and Rohit, leaving out Binny and Varun Aaron.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Varun Aaron.JP Duminy’s offspin often does the job of supporting South Africa’s main spinner, but if the pitch shows signs of taking turn early, they might just include Simon Harmer or Dane Piedt to bowl alongside Imran Tahir. Dale Steyn’s continuing groin troubles have more or less ruled him out of contention, leaving Kagiso Rabada and Kyle Abbott as the leading candidates to partner Morne Morkel in the seam attack.South Africa (probable): 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Stiaan van Zyl, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Hashim Amla (capt), 5 AB de Villiers, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Dane Vilas (wk), 8 Simon Harmer/Dane Piedt, 9 Kagiso Rabada/Kyle Abbott, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir.Pitch and conditionsAsked about the Nagpur pitch on the eve of the Test, Hashim Amla said it looked like “a good cricket wicket, one that we kind of expect in the subcontinent”. Then he chuckled. Amar Karlekar, the curator, has himself said the pitch would start turning by tea on the first day. Lack of bounce was a concern during the last Test played at this ground, in 2012, but Karlekar is confident there will be no repeat of the bore draw witnessed on that occasion.Nagpur has enjoyed sunny weather and clear skies in the days leading up to the Test. Winter has not set in yet, but the mornings are likely to be cool, before temperatures rise to an afternoon high in the low 30s.Stats and triviaAjinkya Rahane has played only four Test innings in India so far. His scores in those four innings are 7, 1, 15 and 2.Imran Tahir is one wicket short of 50 in Test cricket.South Africa won at least one Test on four of their five previous tours to India.Quotes”I played only one Test match here, it went well for me. [I showed] lots of patience, something that at that point in time was probably out of my character. It was something that I discovered about myself. I hope the wicket doesn’t play like that in this game because it ended up being a very boring Test match.”
“When I took over the captaincy, one of the ideas was to give me a bit more time, especially when we fielded first, to bat at 4. But you never know. We’re a team in a little bit of transition, with a couple of new faces, so we’re still finding the perfect batting order. So yes, there’s no reason I couldn’t bat at 3 at some stage.”

Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie has dropped an exciting transfer claim about Newcastle United’s plans for the January window.

What’s the story?

Speaking live on Sky Sports’ Transfer Talk at 12.10pm, he said: “As I’ve been reporting for the last few days, Trippier, as the new owners would hope, is the first of maybe at least four or five new signings arriving this January.

“Newcastle are very interested in bringing Lucas Digne to the club, they need a new left-back. Digne is one of a few they are looking at, and there has been some initial discussions between both clubs.

“What makes this one a little interesting is that Everton are keen on Sean Longstaff, and it’s my understanding that an offer came in from Everton just after Christmas. Time will tell whether the two clubs could come to an agreement on some sort of swap deal plus cash.”

PIF making moves

Downie’s claim that Trippier is the first of a number of signings to potentially walk through the door at St James’ Park is sure to have the likes of Eddie Howe and the club’s fans very excited.

The Magpies are in a precarious predicament at the moment, firmly entrenched in a relegation battle and needing a truly miraculous escape to beat the drop from the Premier League.

But, rather than just giving up and even planning towards life in the Championship, the club’s new owners are going full steam ahead with trying to keep the Tyneside club afloat.

Trippier’s arrival is a statement of intent in itself given he was playing for a Champions League playing side like Atletico Madrid, and if any new additions are on a similar level of quality and experience, then Newcastle’s hopes of surviving will take an absolutely massive boost.

PIF are making some big moves.

Meanwhile, Craig Hope has delivered a major Newcastle update…

Leeds United have been told that Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O’Brien “would jump” at the chance to move to Elland Road.

What’s the story?

Reports over the course of the summer transfer window suggested that the 23-year-old featured prominently on Marcelo Bielsa’s side’s shortlist, but a deal failed to materialise before the August deadline, with suggestions that the Whites’ final offer failed to meet Huddersfield’s demands.

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has now claimed that the Terriers star would still be interested in making the switch to Elland Road if Leeds came back in for him.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “He signed a new contract at Huddersfield but I’m sure if the opportunity came to go to Leeds, it would be something that he would jump at. Let’s see if Huddersfield are able to turn down any offers for the midfielder.”

Could finally replace Klich

With 158 games played for Leeds, “unsung hero” Mateusz Klich has been a valued servant for Leeds over the years, but at 31, he is one of the players who Bielsa might look to slowly ease out of the side in the near future.

Speaking in February 2020, Bielsa raved: “He cannot do better. Klich is a player with very, very much skills physically. A player who runs more, more intense movements and makes more movements at maximal speed. His values are now linked with how he prepares mentally. This is the fact that makes him run. More hungry he is, the more he runs.”

That same intensity and energy is exactly what O’Brien brings to the table, and he could ultimately replace Klich at Elland Road.

Former Huddersfield shot-stopper Matt Glennon has raved about the 23-year-old’s work rate, saying: “He closes down until the 95th, 96th minute, still running to the corners, stopping defenders, he’s got unlimited energy.

“Lewis O’Brien wants to put the hard yards in and wants to be at the very top of where he can get to. He’s one of those lads who works ridiculously hard which, for me, is your minimum in any league, but he’s got that quality, the drop of a shoulder, that strength to keep people off him, a low centre of gravity to glide past people, arm aloft when they try to knock him off the ball.”

Nearly a decade his junior and clearly a man held in high esteem, O’Brien could well be the man to usurp Klich in the midfield engine room for Leeds.

Meanwhile, Victor Orta could solve a big issue by signing this star…

Steve Rhodes claimed a “moral victory” for Worcestershire after rain thwarted their victory attempt on the final day of the Championship match against Gloucestershire

George Dobell at New Road01-Jun-2010
ScorecardSteve Rhodes claimed a “moral victory” for Worcestershire after rain thwarted their victory attempt on the final day of the Championship match against Gloucestershire.Worcestershire would have risen to second in the division two table had they been able to secure the win. But, with rain preventing any play until 3.45, the visitors were able to cling on for a draw. Perhaps, had Vikram Solanki clung on to a chance offered by Vikram Banerjee at fourth slip, Worcestershire might have been able to force victory.But, by then, Gloucestershire were already 85 runs ahead with just 18 overs remaining.It was wretched luck for Alan Richardson, however. The 35-year-old seamer, who bowled 28 accurate overs in the second innings, was easily the pick of the attack and richly deserved his third five-wicket haul of the campaign.A couple of Gloucestershire players were also grateful for the reprieve. Both James Franklin and Chris Taylor were dismissed by bizarrely inappropriate shots. Franklin obligingly pulled directly to the man positioned for the shot on the square-leg boundary, before Taylor undid much of the value of his resistance with a horrid heave across the line.Without Richard Jones, however, who was off the field with a hamstring strain, Richardson lacked support and Gloucestershire were able to cling on until the sides agreed to shake hands on the draw with 10 of the scheduled overs remaining. Jones will undergo a scan to ascertain the extent of his injury in the next 24 hours.”It’s very frustrating,” Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, said afterwards. “I felt we played all the cricket in the game but we can’t control the weather. That’s two games in a row we’ve had the best of draws. It’s a moral victory.”Rhodes expressed satisfaction at Worcestershire’s start to the season, however, taking particular pleasure in the performance of the club’s younger players.”We’re reasonably well placed,” he said. “We’ve only lost one [championship] game – which is better than anyone else in the division – and we’ve shown a bit of resilience. There are good signs for the future. Our two leading run scorers are aged 20 and 22 [Alexei Kervezee and Moeen Ali respectively] while until this game 23-year-old Richard Jones was our leading wicket taker. All three are very ambitious and, with hard work, can go a stage further.”I’ve always said I want us to be in a position to challenge for promotion in the last month of the season. That would be lovely. We’re a proud county and we want to be playing in the top division.”Gloucestershire were stung by the news that they had suffered a two-point deduction for their tardy over rate. Still, they are up to second in the table (equal on points with Sussex, who have a game in hand) and look likely to be involved in the promotion race.”We still felt we could win this morning,” their captain, Alex Gidman said afterwards. “But to come out of the game with a draw having not played our best cricket is a positive for us.”Gidman also insisted he was not concerned by his side’s poor form with the bat. Despite Gloucestershire averaging the lowest score per wicket of any side in the country and are the only team without a first-class century in the campaign.”I’m not really worried, no,” he said. “We’ve played on some tough wickets and, at the halfway stage of the season, we’re challenging for promotion. Statistics are fine, but it’s what works for the team that is important, and we’re right in the hunt.”Meanwhile Gloucestershire have added Ian Butler to their squad for the T20 Cup. The fast bowling allrounder, who recently impressed in New Zealand’s World T20 campaign, joins up with compatriots John Bracewell, Hamish Marshall and James Franklin in Bristol.

Plays of the day from the IPL fixture between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium

Kanishkaa Balachandran at the MA Chidambaram Stadium07-Apr-2010The non-specialist
It is rather baffling that Mumbai chose not to invest in a single high-profile specialist wicketkeeper. On that count, you have to feel for Mumbai’s ‘occasional wicketkeeper’ Ambati Rayudu. He had a forgettable time against Lasith Malinga, failing to collect a slower ball which beat the batsman. Two balls later, Malinga stepped on the gas to 143 kph, landed the ball mid-pitch and sent it sailing over M Vijay and a helpless Rayudu who conceded five byes. A regular keeper would have timed the jump better. His nightmare didn’t end there. Four overs later, he failed to get behind a wide delivery from Abu Nechim and parried that to the boundary as well.Harbhajan the gentleman
This was a far cry from the day he foul-mouthed Deccan’s T Suman and paid a hefty fine for it. The temperamental offspinner knows what it’s like to face a beamer, but when he bowled one today, his immediate reaction was soothing. When S Badrinath swatted a high full toss back to Harbhajan on the full, the bowler knew he had bowled an illegal delivery and immediately apologised to the batsman.The ups and downs of Thushara
Recalled for this match, Thilan Thushara thrilled and spilled. A wicket off his first ball was the best way to start the evening and he went one step further with a well-judged overhead catch at long-off to send back Dwayne Bravo. Perhaps mindful of Chennai’s catching blunders in this tournament, he fixed his gaze, cupped the ball, fell backwards and thanked the stars before his team-mates congregated around him. Another skier, towards long-on, just about eluded him but fortunately, he deflected a similar attempt to Vijay who was standing behind him. Vijay had no clue what was happening as he jerked his head back to elude the tumbling Thushara, and seemingly drifted into meditation, but the ball somehow landed in his outstretched palms. The evening didn’t end on the best note for Thushara who was taken off the attack after 2.3 overs for bowling two waist-high full tosses.CSK, anyone?
With Chennai posting only 165, and allowing the Mumbai openers breeze to 46 for no loss after six overs, it seemed like the home fans had thrown in the towel. The MC did his best to get the deflated fans to rally behind their team but the response was muted. A few overs later, with wickets tumbling and the match heading Chennai’s way, they didn’t need his timely nudges anymore. Volunteers from across the stadium broke the ice and the rest followed.Bathed in sweat, but not in glory
Chennai fans were clear about what they wanted – a Sachin-special despite a Mumbai defeat. Loud cheers greeted Tendulkar each time the ball travelled in his direction. Not surprising, given the number of his legendary knocks at this venue. But the locals didn’t exactly get what they wanted when he hobbled off on 38, due to dehydration. Nevertheless, they stood up and applauded. The cheers returned when he came back to bat in the 15th over to get his side out of jail. He couldn’t do a Houdini but the fans didn’t complain too much because the match was already in the bag, when he finally departed.

Indian captain MS Dhoni has expressed confidence that his team will be fresh and ready to compete in the ICC World Twenty20 despite the tournament starting just days after the conclusion of the IPL

Cricinfo staff27-Apr-2010Indian captain MS Dhoni has expressed confidence that his team will be fresh and ready to compete in the ICC World Twenty20 despite the tournament starting just days after the conclusion of the IPL. The close proximity of the two major Twenty20 tournaments followed a similar pattern last year, when the then defending champions India failed to qualify for the semi-finals, but Dhoni said his players were experienced enough to manage the traveling and workload.”It’s not that we have not played games. Sometimes you have to just take the schedule, there’s no point complaining about it,” Dhoni said in Mumbai before the team’s departure for the West Indies.”The IPL was supposed to finish on the 25th. We had one and a half days’ rest after that, then one whole day of flying and after reaching we have 2-3 days which is more than enough. We play throughout the year. We are together for almost 250 to 300 days so I don’t think that should be a concern at all.”The coach Gary Kirsten backed Dhoni’s comments and said he was confident his team could go all the way. “We have got the schedule and can’t do anything about it now,” Kirsten said. “The Indian players may feel the heat of it more because all of them played in the IPL but our responsibility is to go out there and ensure that we are well prepared. We will do what we can in these circumstances.”It wasn’t the best of IPLs for Yuvraj Singh, who managed 255 runs in 14 games for Kings XI Punjab at 21.25. Yuvraj had just returned from injury and didn’t have enough time to work his way back to form once the tournament started, but his performance didn’t worry Dhoni, who backed him to bounce back in the West Indies.”Yuvraj is a great player, one of the best in T20 format, one of the biggest hitters of the ball and he can contribute with the ball at the same time,” Dhoni said. “He has not scored too many runs in the IPL but at the same time it’s not a big worrying factor.”In the T20 format you need just 5 to 10 deliveries to strike form. He is still hitting the ball well. So we aren’t too worried about it.”The only injury blow for India is opener Virender Sehwag, who was ruled out towards the end of the IPL due to a shoulder injury. M Vijay, the Tamil Nadu batsman who had a rewarding IPL, was named his replacement.Looking ahead to the tournament, Dhoni said the wickets would be on the slower side and he expected his spinners, including allrounders like Yusuf Pathan and Suresh Raina, to play a big role.”Both Yusuf and Harbhajan Singh did very well for their teams opening the bowling in the IPL. We also have very good part-timers in the team. Yusuf, Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan have done well in all formats of the game over the years to be called as specialist spinners,” Dhoni said. “I don’t think bowling should be a problem.”India’s problem of facing short deliveries – which was exposed last year in England – was also addressed but Kirsten said the players were prepared to face any challenge.”Every player is aware of what he plans to do and how he wants to set up his game plan. I’m sure the players themselves would know the bowlers they will be facing and would try to exploit the potential weaknesses of those individuals.”We will do as much work as we can in the limited time available to make sure we are as well prepared.”

For close to 35 overs, India Red held the momentum with a score of 300-plus on the cards

Cricinfo staff08-Oct-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outAshok Dinda proved to be the hero for India Blue, and not just with the ball•ESPNcricinfo LtdSuresh Kumar’s 87 proved decisive, as India Blue held on for a thrilling one-wicket win against India Red at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. Suresh was the lynchpin even as wickets kept falling around him, playing a big hand in ensuring victory. Ashok Dinda, though, had the final word. Having picked three wickets earlier, he hit the boundary which sealed the match in Blues’ favour after they needed seven off the last over with just the one wicket in hand.The chase was well-planned, as Suresh played the anchor’s role to perfection, even as Ishant Sharma struck at either ends of the innings. Harbhajan Singh, promoted to No.3 after a good day with the ball, lent good support with a run-a-ball 36. When captain MS Dhoni departed for 37 with the score 161 for 5, the match was tantalisingly poised.Suresh continued to graft away and soon brought up his fifty in style, clubbing Sudeep Tyagi over long-on for a six. With Jalaj Saxena and Yusuf Pathan departing soon, he was running fast out of partners, though the equation was firmly in Blues’ favour. Two fours in Ishant’s ninth over had them in sight of the finish line, yet a final sting in the tale remained. Looking for a quick finish, Suresh mishit a slower one from Ishant and Ravindra Jadeja made no mistake running in from mid-on. That was the end of the 47th over.The task could not have looked more imposing, with 12 required off 18 and Dinda and Siddharth Trivedi to come. Munaf Patel, who otherwise had a day to forget, struck in his penultimate over, rearranging Sreesanth’s stumps with the second ball. Ishant followed the act, giving away four in the 49th over.The Red captain S Badrinath was a nervous man, as Munaf ran in for his final over. A full delivery first up was hit in the air over cover by Dinda, and the batsmen sneaked a couple. A short ball followed, which was pulled along the ground through midwicket for another two. Another terrible delivery from Munaf wa unpardonable, and Dinda pulled it in the air behind square leg to the fence to seal the win.For close to 35 overs, Red held the reins and looked good to reach 300-plus. However, the Blue bowlers pulled things back to bowl them out for a sub-par 248 inside 45 overs on a good batting track. Harshad Khadiwale and Ishank Jaggi made brisk half-centuries but the lower order failed to build on that platform.Red were powered by a solid start from their openers M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan. Vijay scored at over a run a ball but fell when giving Harbhajan the charge, Naman Ojha snapping up the inside edge. Dhawan’s dismissal was very similar, and it was a smart move by Ojha to stand up for the seamer Trivedi, who cut back on his pace to keep the batsmen in check. Red stumbled further when Badrinath was run out after a terrible mix-up and some repair work was needed. Khadiwale and Jaggi stepped up with a stand of 49 for the fourth wicket. Khadiwale fell shortly after getting to his fifty, tamely mistiming a pull off Dinda.Jaggi, the right-hander from Jharkhand, maintained the momentum with a brisk innings that included five fours and a six. However, he failed to push on after reaching his fifty, edging Yusuf Pathan to Ojha while attempting a cut. Blue continued to chip away at the wickets – even Dhoni rolled his arm over and picked up a wicket – and Red looked in danger of not lasting their full quota of overs. By the time they took the batting Powerplay in the 45th over, they had already lost nine wickets. Harbhajan was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 40. But the real drama would pan out in the next 50 overs.

These are the six performances that have made the ESPNcricinfo awards shortlist for the Twenty20 batting and bowling performances of 2009

Cricinfo staff19-Feb-2010The year 2009 featured the ICC World Twenty20 in England, and with teams fielding their best available sides it is no surprise that five of the six nominations for best batting and bowling in the format for the year are performances from that tournament. Unlike cricket’s two other international variations, Twenty20 offers a greater potential for surprise; Australia have not been the best contenders in the shortest format, and three out of the six nominations have them at the receiving end. Pakistan, after distinguishing themselves in Twenty20 cricket by winning the global tournament, have three nominations.Australia were knocked out early in the World Twenty20, and Chris Gayle, who is among the three shortlisted for batting performances, shared a bulk of the responsibility, smashing a blistering 88 including two monstrous sixes off Brett Lee at The Oval to inflict a dispiriting defeat. But West Indies were unable to overcome Tillakaratne Dilshan in the semi-final, as he smote an unbeaten 96, the highest score in the competition, to post what proved an adequate 158. His trademark ramp shot was yet another example of the innovations wrought by Twenty20 cricket. In the other semi-final, against South Africa, Shahid Afridi chipped in with a match-winning display, scoring a 34-ball 51 to help Pakistan recover to a competitive total after a shaky start, and bagged two wickets to seal their place in the final which they went on to win.Umar Gul leads the bowling nominations with two entries, one from the World Twenty20. He finished with an extraordinary 5 for 6 against New Zealand at The Oval, leaving the batsmen clueless with his swing and accuracy to shut them out for 99. Daniel Vettori said he had “never seen someone reverse the ball after 12 overs”. Australia failed to measure up to Gul, as he grabbed 4 for 8 in Dubai to dismiss the opposition for 108 after they had started on a promising note. And finally, Ajantha Mendis, who, like he had done against India in a Test series, cut through Australia’s line-up, which was facing him for the first time. He picked up 3 for 20 to restrict them to 159, which Sri Lanka overhauled.The top three in each category were drawn on basis of votes from a 14-member jury that includes some of the leading cricket experts in the world and Cricinfo’s senior editors.A departure from the usual year-end awards looking at overall performances, ESPNCricinfo’s honours are in two categories: a jury-based award looking at the year’s best batting and bowling performances and a stats-based award using numbers from Cricinfo’s extensive database. The winners for all the awards will be announced on February 19.

While South Africa’s squad dispersed hours after completing their innings victory at Newlands, New Zealand are not taking any breaks before for the second Test

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town05-Jan-2013While South Africa’s squad dispersed hours after completing their innings victory at Newlands and will enjoy three days off, New Zealand are not taking any breaks before for the second Test. They have practices planned for both days of the weekend which would have spent playing Test cricket had the match not ended before tea on Friday.”It’s important to feel the pulse of the group and find out what’s required in terms of training because quite a mental toll gets taken on you when you play a Test match,” Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand captain, said after defeat. “There are times when you need to get straight back on the horse and other times when you need to have a little bit of reflection.”Team management decided to put the emotion aside and concentrate on the former, despite a feeling of embarrassment and shock still running deep in their squad. McCullum used the word “hurt,” at least four times when discussing how his players felt. That is unsurprising given that they lost the match in an hour and 40 minutes on the first morning when they were bowled out for 45.New Zealand had seven sessions after that to digest what they had done and claw back respect. They managed to do a bit of both. McCullum is adamant that they cannot forget about being dismissed in less than 20 overs in a Test because the memory of that will help them avoid repeating it. But he also recognises that the team has to move on quickly because another challenge awaits.For them to do that, they have focus on how they improved as the match went on and how they can continue to perform at the level they did on days two and three. “The way we responded with the ball on the second day and then to get to 169 for 4 was a remarkable improvement from the previous day,” McCullum said. “We’ve seen some ways where we can be successful against South Africa if we do those hard yards upfront.”It helped that New Zealand’s bowlers were able to exploit the movement on offer on the second morning. They also adjusted their lengths accordingly after they were guilty of inconsistency as they chased the game on the first afternoon. McCullum hinted that there will be some changes to the attack.Chris Martin’s three-wicket return may not justify replacing him but the suggestion is that Neil Wagner, another left-arm quick, will play in Port Elizabeth. Only if New Zealand are feeling particularly brave will they gamble on the rookie left-armer, Mitchell McClenaghan. Their spinner is also a cause for concern. Jeetan Patel was ineffective with the ball and comically bad with the bat. Bruce Martin, a left-arm spinner, has been taking wickets domestically and could come into contention for that spot.One thing McCullum confirmed is that the batting, albeit the main problem, will not be tinkered with. That is partly because New Zealand do not have too many options. Colin Munro is the only reserve batsman on tour so the same top six will front up in the second Test. “They deserve an opportunity again especially since we can see some improvements,” McCullum said.In the second innings, New Zealand’s line-up, bar Martin Guptill, moved their feet better, chose their shots more selectively and showed better temperament which included more patience and less hot-headed, ill-thought out aggression. By doing that, they bored South Africa’s bowlers somewhat.The evening session on day two saw the South Africa quicks drift. They expected New Zealand to struggle against the short ball but they didn’t get the length exactly right and when they tried to go fuller and induce an edge, they gave away runs. According to McCullum that was how New Zealand transferred some of the pressure back to South Africa.”We were able to implement a better defensive strategy against them which helped us absorb the pressure a little better. Once we were able to do that, we were also able to put some pressure back on to them. There are some encouraging signs,” he said. “Those are some areas where we can walk away saying that if we continue to nail them that will give us a far better performance but we have to do that across the entire game rather than only the second innings.”New Zealand’s focus over the next two days will be on how to improve their consistency and play more like they did in the second innings more often. That may take longer than two days to perfect, but they have to start somewhere.Monday will be reserved for playing in a Jacques Kallis charity golf tournament, where the proceeds will go to his scholarship foundation. However, do not be surprised if New Zealand sneak in a net session too. They will travel to Port Elizabeth on Tuesday, as will the South African squad, who will meet up a day earlier than scheduled.