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Matt Henry is available for the second Test against England; Ish Sodhi and Jacob Duffy have been released from the squad

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-Feb-2023Kyle Jamieson is set to be out for at least “three to four months” after undergoing back surgery this week.Jamieson was originally on a comeback from a stress fracture of the back, sustained in England last June, and was primed for a return to action in New Zealand’s first Test against the same opponents in Mount Maunganui. However, a suspected recurrence of the injury ruled him out of the series, before subsequent MRI scans and consultations with a back surgeon confirmed the need for surgery.No specific timeline has been put on 27-year-old Jamieson’s recovery. Blackcaps head coach Gary Stead hoped the operation and necessary rehabilitation would serve him well in the long term.Related

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“It’s been a challenging and difficult time for Kyle and a big loss for us,” Stead said. “He’s been fantastic around all of our sides when he’s been part of them. We just wish him well and hope we’ll know more in three to four months of what that end prognosis looks for him as well.”A number of world-class players have had surgery in the back and it’s different periods of time they recover. We just want Kyle [to get] the best chance of recovery because we know what a star he’s been for us.”Surgery provides a quicker return to play and that’s the encouraging thing for him.”The loss of the tall and fast Jamieson, who has taken 72 wickets at 19.45 in his 16 Tests so far, was felt profoundly at Bay Oval, where New Zealand suffered their biggest runs loss to England in the first Test. England’s victory by 267 was completed on the morning of day four in the day-night opener, putting them 1-0 up in the two-match series. It was Tim Southee’s first defeat as captain.Southee, however, would be boosted by the return of Matt Henry, availability for the second Test in Wellington. Henry, the 31-year-old, would be rejoining the squad following the birth of his second child. With 55 dismissals at 41.09 in 18 caps, Henry would almost certainly come into the XI for the match, which begins on Friday at Basin Reserve. Jacob Duffy and Ish Sodhi have been released from the squad to play Plunket Shield cricket later this week.Without Jamieson or Henry, the Blackcaps went into the pink-ball Test with an inexperienced attack, featuring debutants Blair Tickner and Scott Kuggeleijn, and found themselves chasing the match from the start despite winning the toss.Though England only posted scores of 325 for 9 and 306, the manner of their scoring – at 5.57 and 5.06, respectively – allowed them to dictate the flow of the match. That in turn gave them two opportunities to bowl at New Zealand’s top order under lights, reducing them to 31 for 3 and 28 for 5 on nights one and three.Matt Henry is likely to slot into the playing XI for the second Test•Getty Images

Reeling England in is easier said than done. This was victory number ten out of 11 under the watch of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, carried out in a manner that underlined their ability to overawe their opponents by moving matches along at will. But Stead acknowledged that the focus ahead of the final match of the series was on using cues from the past weeks to somehow apply the brakes on their opponents.”I think there’s a couple of things that stood out to me during the Test. The way England are playing isn’t a surprise to us at all, but they are playing very, very well,” Stead said. “And I guess for us it’s finding ways we can counter that and I guess slow them down and the pace at which they’re playing the game.”Look, they play at a pace that allows them to take key moments of that last match, as well. When I look at the positives, we bowled them out [nine wickets fell] in 58 overs in the first innings, and we bowled them out in the second innings. It’s just how do you slow them down from the run rate they’re going at. They were 230 for 6 in that second innings, so if you take four wickets for the next 40 runs you’re batting for that period in the daylight as well and it could have been very different then as well. But they are the small margins that we work with.”As I said, we don’t try and get too high or too low around our wins or our losses, we just try and keep getting better and keep tuning up our performance.”

In-form Paige Scholfield adds half-century in hosts’ 107-run win over table-toppers

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2023Alice Davidson-Richards celebrated her latest England call-up with a century as South-East Stars thrashed table toppers The Blaze by 107 runs at Beckenham to boost their prospects of a place in the end-of-season playoffs.The 29-year-old Kent batter, who will link up with England tomorrow in place of the ill Lauren Bell, struck 101 with a six and 11 fours in an innings of 128 balls.Davidson-Richards shared a stand of 119 for the fifth wicket with in-form Paige Scholfield as the hosts posted a daunting 278, Grace Ballinger returning 4 for 54 and Lucy Higham 2 for 32 for the visitors.Blaze, who dropped Davidson-Richards twice and Scholfield once in an uncharacteristically sloppy display in the field were no better bat in hand, Kirstie Gordon top scoring with 40 in an underwhelming reply of 171. Alexa Stonehouse’s opening spell of 1 for 4 put them on the back foot before Dani Gregory’s 3 for 32 cleaned up the tail.Ballinger ensured an explosive start to the encounter, trapping Jemima Spence lbw for a golden duck with her third delivery and when Kira Chathli inside edged one into her middle stump two balls later Stars were 1 for 2.Skipper Bryony Smith retaliated with a trio of boundaries off Cassidy McCarthy and Davidson-Richards caught the mood to cream one from Ballinger through the covers. Successive fours by Davidson-Richards off spinner Kirstie Gordon raised the 50 partnership in 42 balls, but Ballinger concluded her initial spell by removing Smith for 34.Davidson-Richards drilled the game’s first six over bowler Gordon’s head, before being given a life on 32, the spinner failing to hold on to a tough caught and bowled. She would make the most of the reprieve, her seventh four carrying her to 50 in 61 balls.Scholfield was also given an early reprieve, Ella Claridge shelling a routine catch at midwicket and the South African-born all-rounder’s response was to unfurl a series of cover drives as she sped to 50 from 55 balls.The pair raised the 100-stand and were sitting pretty at 180 for 4 at the second drinks interval. Scholfield departed soon afterwards and while Davidson-Richards reached her century, she was stumped almost immediately. However, a huge six from Stonehouse and a polished 33 from Bethan Miles meant stars had 278 to defend.Lizelle Lee soon showed her power, pulling one from Ryana Macdonald-Gay for six, but the bowler gained revenge when the former South African opener drilled a fuller ball straight to Scholfield at cover.Stonehouse was bowling superbly from the other end, yet ironically her worst ball got a wicket, Georgie Boyce tickling one down leg-side through to Chathli and when Macdonald-Gay flattened Teresa Graves’s off-stump with the first ball of the next over The Blaze were 41 for 3.As the clouds rolled in and the rate required rose, the expected onslaught from a team who’d won seven out of eight completed games never materialised. Miles, inspired by her batting cameo bowled Michaela Kirk for a painstaking seven and Munro was caught short in her bid to scamper back for two by Chloe Hill’s throw.Claridge chewed up 50 balls for 33 before falling lbw to Smith’s first delivery and only Gordon’s late resistance gave the score a more respectable look.

John Campbell, Brandon King, Shai Hope and Roston Chase offered resistance for West Indies, but they slipped from 153 for 3 to 205 all out

Sreshth ShahUpdated on 10-Dec-2025Stumps New Zealand’s patchwork fast-bowling attack delivered a strong show on the opening day of the second Test in Wellington, dismissing West Indies for 205 inside 75 overs at Basin Reserve. But the sight of Blair Tickner being stretchered off late in the afternoon with a suspected dislocated left shoulder took some sheen off their day of dominance.Tickner, playing his first Test in two years and leading the bowling with 4 for 32, was central to turning a bright West Indies start into yet another collapse, while Michael Rae, the 30-year-old debutant drafted into a severely depleted pace unit, complemented him with 3 for 67 in an energetic outing that gave New Zealand the bite they had lacked in the opening hour. That bite mattered because the first hour had belonged entirely to West Indies despite losing the toss, in a match where the hosts announced five changes and the visitors three.On a pitch far milder than the traditional green seamer, John Campbell and Brandon King put on 66 for the opening wicket. Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes, burdened with heavy workloads from the first Test after the injuries to Matt Henry and Nathan Smith in Christchurch, bowled honest but ineffective spells that allowed scoring opportunities.Campbell drove through the line, King played compactly, and West Indies looked assured.Michael Rae picked up three wickets in his first innings in Test cricket•Getty Images

But once New Zealand turned to Tickner and Rae – fresher workload-wise, and sharper in pace – the difference was visible. They operated either full or short but always at the stumps or the body, and the tone of the innings shifted dramatically.Tickner was the first to strike when he prised out King in the 17th over. King, playing the Test after Tagenarine Chanderpaul picked up a side strain on the eve of the Test, and opening for only the second time in his Test career, was pinned lbw when Tickner’s delivery from a short-ish length jagged in and hit him on the pad. One over later, Kavem Hodge was undone for a duck by a fuller ball from Tickner that tailed in late and struck him in front of middle and leg. The double-blow helped New Zealand quickly erase an indifferent start heading into the lunch break.Rae, who had leaked runs in his first spell in Test cricket, made an impact after lunch. Coming around the wicket, he angled a full ball across Campbell, who leaned into a drive with firm hands and edged to first slip, and at 93 for 3, West Indies’ position was slipping.Shai Hope and Roston Chase attempted to restore stability with a 60-run stand for the fourth wicket. Hope scored freely but never convincingly; Tickner and Rae repeatedly hurried him with the short ball, and he took two blows to the helmet with concussion checks following as the afternoon surface grew livelier. Hope reached 48, but Tickner finally cracked him with another rising delivery that he tried awkwardly to fend off, gloving a catch to Kane Williamson at third slip. That, Tickner’s third wicket, had seemed almost inevitable given the sustained discomfort he had caused the batters, and Chase followed soon after, cramped by a Tickner delivery that jagged in sharply to catch the inside-edge on to leg stump for 29.Justin Greaves, West Indies’ double-centurion in Christchurch, lasted 52 balls before Rae drew a faint outside edge with a tight off-stump line. Mitchell Hay completed the catch behind the stumps, leaving West Indies’ lower order exposed. Rae then trapped Kemar Roach lbw with a fuller delivery that kicked enough to beat the bat and straighten into middle stump, and at 184 for 7, the innings was in freefall.Blair Tickner had to be stretchered off after he hurt his shoulder•Getty Images

But New Zealand’s mood would sour dramatically in the next over. Tickner sprinted across from fine leg to stop a boundary-saving flick from Tevin Imlach and dived full-length near the rope. He landed awkwardly, stayed down, and the players signalled urgently as medical staff from both New Zealand and the venue rushed to him. After several minutes of treatment, he was stretchered off – sitting up, but in pain – to warm applause from the Basin Reserve crowd. He later left the ground in an ambulance, with early indications pointing to a suspected dislocated shoulder.Glenn Phillips, the most prolific wicket-taker in New Zealand’s XI with 31 strikes coming into the game, then removed the last recognised batter, bowling Imlach with a fuller ball that straightened just enough to beat the inside edge.Anderson Phillip was run out soon after attempting a risky single – first surviving a throw from Devon Conway but then succumbing when an alert Kristian Clarke broke the stumps on the rebound. Duffy ended West Indies’ innings by having Ojay Shields edge to third slip to end the innings at 205. West Indies lost their last seven wickets for just 52 runs.New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Conway batted nine overs before stumps, with West Indies’ seamers asking questions occasionally and inducing a couple of edges that didn’t carry to the slip cordon. The 24 runs they added before stumps gave New Zealand the firm upper hand, now behind by only 181 behind going into the second day where batting promises to be easier.

This Ranji season, Saurashtra have had three debutants in the four matches they have played so far

Rajan Raj10-Nov-2024Saurashtra have started the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season on a disappointing note. In four games so far, they have drawn and lost two each. Those results have put them seventh in their group, but their captain Jaydev Unadkat believes that his side is going “through a period of transition”. This season, Saurashtra have already had three debutants in the four matches they have played so far.”Efforts are being made to give opportunities to youngsters. As captain, I want this change to be smooth,” Unadkat told ESPNcricinfo. “We want young players to come forward, and we want them to be given maximum opportunities. I want young players to settle in our team during my captaincy.”Saurashtra’s debutants this season include pace bowlers Navneet Vora and Hiten Kanbi, and batter Parswaraj Rana. While Vora has three wickets in two games at an average of 41, Rana contributed only 21 runs across two innings against Tamil Nadu. Kanbi, though, had a promising debut against Jharkhand, as he picked up 5 for 70 in the first innings, before grabbing one more in the second.Related

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Over the last five Ranji seasons dating back to 2018-19, Saurashtra have made the final three times. Unadkat was their captain on each occasion, having even led his side to the title twice – in 2019-20 and 2022-23. Saurashtra also made the quarter-final last year, but this season, they run the risk of getting eliminated in the group stages. But Unadkat understands that a change of guard is inevitable, as seniors like Sheldon Jackson (38), Cheteshwar Pujara (36) and Arpit Vasavada (36) are near the end of their careers. Even Dharmendrasinh Jadeja is 34 while Unadkat himself is 33 years old.”It is not that players keep coming and going,” he said. “We know that when a transition period comes for a team, the performance goes up and down; but this is a part of this game.”Despite that, as captain, Unadkat remains focused on how to guide his side to a win each time he takes the field.”If you ask me what is most important for me, then I would say that I keep thinking about ways of taking Saurashtra to victory. I think about my team. When I wake up in the morning, the first thought that comes to my mind is how our team will win, and how it will become better. This is the biggest motivation for me right now.”Jaydev Unadkat had played 11 games for SRH in IPL 2024•Associated Press

‘IPL auction nothing new for me’

Unadkat is one of 1574 players to enter the mega auction for IPL 2025, which will be held on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah. Last year, he played 11 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), which was the eighth different side he was representing since his debut in 2010. While Unadkat is hopeful to make it back to SRH for the 2025 tournament, he doesn’t mind getting a new team either.”I am definitely very excited about the auction. The auction is nothing new for me,” he said. “Mega auction is a big opportunity, but whatever the results of the auction, I am fully prepared to accept it… Hopefully, SRH will select me in their team again. But even if they don’t – or something else happens – I am ready for it.”I played for eight teams; now even if there is a ninth team – or I get a chance for any team – I don’t have any problem. If I get my bowling role and I get to play, I will be satisfied. Earlier, I was with Lucknow [Super Giants, in 2023]; before that, I was in Mumbai [Indians, in 2022]. I got [to play] very few matches there, but still I was very happy in that set-up.”

Question marks remain over Siraj’s availability for the decider after he picked up a hamstring niggle at the Wanderers

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2022Regular India Test captain Virat Kohli, who missed the second Johannesburg Test with back spasms, should be back for the decider in Cape Town with the series tied 1-1.”Virat is feeling better already, he’s been in the nets last couple of days and he’s been fielding and running around on the field,” stand-in captain KL Rahul said after India’s seven-wicket loss on the fourth day. “I think he should be fine.”Later, at the press conference, head coach Rahul Dravid spoke on similar lines. “From all accounts, he should be fine,” Dravid said. “He’s had the opportunity to run around a little bit, he’s had the opportunity to test it a little bit, I’ll be down only now at the moment in the nets with a few throwdowns and stuff, so hopefully with a few net sessions in Cape Town, he should be good to go.”I haven’t had a detailed discussion with the physio as yet, but from everything I’m hearing and from just having a chat with him, he’s really improving and should be good to go in four days’ time.”If Kohli comes back, it could mean that Hanuma Vihari, who impressed with an unbeaten 40 in India’s second innings, could return to the bench. With India continuing to back their senior batters, the likes of Vihari and Shreyas Iyer – who made a Test century on debut in November, but was out of contention with a stomach bug in Johannesburg – have had to bide their time for playing opportunities.Dravid was full of praise for Vihari – making mention even of his first-innings contribution when he made a solid start before getting caught at short leg off a steep lifter – but said young players have always had to wait their turn in international cricket.”Firstly I think Vihari played really well in this Test match, in both innings in fact,” Dravid said. “I think in the first innings he got a nasty one, unfortunately for him it popped up and the fielder got his fingertips to it and took a really good catch, and he batted beautifully in the second innings, so that gives us a lot of confidence.”Shreyas has also done that two or three Test matches ago, he’s got runs as well, and I think they’ve just got to take heart from the fact that whenever they’re getting the opportunities they are doing well, and hopefully their time will come. You look back on some of our guys who are now considered senior players, they also had to wait their time.”They also had to score a lot of runs, they’ve had, at the start of their careers, it’s probably been a bit stop-start as well. So it happens. It’s just the nature of the sport, it’s the nature of the game, and it will happen, so I think they can take heart [from their performances] and we can take a lot of confidence from the way Vihari batted in this game, he really played well, that should give him a lot of confidence, and it certainly gives us a lot of confidence.”Ahead of the third Test, there remains a question mark over pacer Mohammed Siraj, who went down in this Test with hamstring trouble and could bowl only 15.5 overs out of the 147.2 India sent down. “Siraj, we’ll have to monitor him over the next couple of days,” Rahul said. “He’s been feeling better with each day, he’s starting to get more and more confident with his bowling, especially with what happened on the field with his hamstring, it’s not easy to come back from that and go 100% straightaway.”If Siraj is not fit, India have back-up in the experienced Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav for the match, which starts on January 11.

Stand-in skipper’s late flurry seals run chase and ends Lancashire’s unbeaten start

ECB Reporters Network10-Jun-2022Liam Trevaskis produced late heroics to guide Durham to a final-over victory over Lancashire Lightning in their Vitality Blast clash at Seat Unique Riverside.The home side appeared to be on the verge of their fourth straight defeat in their chase of 131 amid outstanding bowling from Richard Gleeson, despite knocks of 46 from Ned Eckersley and 36 from Michael Jones. However, with the pressure on Trevaskis, the skipper blasted 16 runs from seven balls to steer his side over line with vital late boundaries with three balls to spare.Lancashire had produced an under-par effort with the bat, mustering only 130 from their 20 overs, with the main contribution coming from Steven Croft’s innings of 55. Durham debutant Nathan Sowter and Andrew Tye claimed three wickets apiece to limit the visitors, which proved to be crucial later in the day in delivering the win for the hosts and Lancashire’s first loss in the tournament this season.Lancashire opted to bat on a used wicket and Phil Salt looked to use the powerplay to his advantage. The opener scored quick-fire boundaries, including three in a row against Trevaskis, to get the visitors off to a bright start.However, the Durham skipper had his revenge from the fourth ball of his opening over as Salt fell for 23. In a sign of things to come, Keaton Jennings endured a difficult seven balls at the crease, scoring only three runs before he was bowled by Tye.Related

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Sowter then put the clamps on the visitors after only completing a loan move from Middlesex hours before the contest. He prised out Dane Vilas lbw for 12 before taking the key wicket of Tim David bowling the powerful right-hander for only six.Further wickets from Tye and Raine allowed Durham to keep the pressure on the Lightning, while Sowter returned for his final over to remove Tom Hartley, ending the innings with impressive figures of 3 for 22.Croft was the only Lancashire batter to offer resistance with a determined half-century from 49 balls, but he fell going for a big strike to Raine in the final over before Matt Parkinson was run out from last ball of the innings, leaving the visitors with work to do to defend their total.Durham lost Graham Clark to the first ball of their reply as Liam Hurt produced a brilliant delivery first up to bowl the opener. Gleeson then came to the fore cleaning up David Bedingham and Ollie Robinson for single-digit scores to bring the Lightning back into the game. Jones steadied the Durham innings by picking his moments to find the fence and seeing off the initial threat of Gleeson.The opener made 36 before he had a rush of blood to the head and attempted a risky sweep against Hartley and was pinned lbw. Hartley drew another false stroke to notch his second wicket as Raine was caught miscuing his slog-sweep to Croft at deep backward square leg. The wickets gave the Lightning a glimmer of hope as the required rate climbed above seven for the first time.Eckersley appeared to have Durham in position to whittle off the remaining 21 runs from the final three overs, but Gleeson’s return to the attack turned the tide as he bowled him for 46 and Brydon Carse for 2.Durham needed heroics from their captain in the middle, and Trevaskis delivered by striking Hurt for a four and six in back-to-back deliveries in the penultimate over before seeing his team over the line to secure their third win of the campaign.

He endured a disappointing 2022 season after the franchise spent INR 14 crore to retain him

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Nov-2022Sunrisers Hyderabad have released Kane Williamson, their captain and most expensive player during the 2022 IPL campaign. The New Zealand captain spent eight years at the franchise, scoring 2101 runs at an average of 36.22 and a strike rate of 126.03. He played 76 matches for Sunrisers and captained them 46 times.Letting go of Williamson will free up a significant chunk of Sunrisers’ purse ahead of the 2023 auction as they look to rebuild after a disappointing 2022 campaign where they finished eighth on the points table on the 10-team table with only six wins in 14 games. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Sunrirsers will keep their options open about buying back Williamson at the auction.Related

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Williamson was one of three players retained by the franchise ahead of the 2022 auction: Sunrisers spent INR 14 crore – the highest price paid to retain an overseas player in the IPL – to keep hold of him, and INR 4 crore each to retain Abdul Samad and Umran Malik.Sunrisers’ move to make Williamson their first retained player was a contentious one. It meant the franchise let go of the Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan, who it is learned wanted to be the first retention pick having been a serial match-winner for them.But Sunrisers prized Williamson’s skills as top-order anchor and captain. In the absence of David Warner – who was serving a one-year ban imposed by Cricket Australia for his role in the Newlands ball-tampering episode – Williamson had led Sunrisers to the IPL final in 2018, a season when he finished as the IPL’s most prolific batter with 735 runs at an average of 52.50 and a strike rate of 142.44. When Sunrisers’ long relationship with Warner soured midway through the 2021 season, they made Williamson their full-time captain.As things turned out, the 2022 season was a struggle for Williamson with the bat. Nursing a troublesome elbow condition, he scored 216 runs in 13 innings at an average of 19.63 and a strike rate of 93.50. Of all batters who faced at least 100 balls in the tournament, his strike rate was the worst. His performance had a bearing on Sunrisers’ overall season as well.

Dean Elgar will lead the side in his absence, while Zubayr Hamza has been added to the squad

Firdose Moonda28-Dec-2023Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the New Year’s Test against India, after suffering a hamstring strain that kept him out of most of the Boxing Day match. Dean Elgar, fresh off a match-winning 185 in Centurion, will lead South Africa in what will be his final Test. Meanwhile, Zubayr Hamza has been added to the squad.Bavuma hurt himself on the first morning of the match, in the 20th over, when he chased a ball towards long-off and got to it as it stopped before the boundary. He left the field immediately and was sent for a scan, which revealed a strain, but not a tear, and Cricket South Africa said he would be monitored daily to determine his further participation in the match.He was seen briefly at the morning warm-ups, but not at all after that and over the next two days, there was no communication from team management, particularly on whether Bavuma would bat. Since it was an internal injury, he could bat only after he had served the time he was off for, or after the fall of the fifth wicket, whichever was earlier. But repeated questions to the changeroom went unanswered and speculation over the severity of his injury grew.Related

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South Africa’s Test coach Shukri Conrad confirmed Bavuma was “not in a great physical state” but that the situation was “fluid” and the team did not want to make any public comments before they knew if Bavuma would be needed to bat. Ultimately, Conrad decided not to risk Bavuma because he deemed South Africa’s lead comfortable enough, at 163.”Temba is not in a great physical state,” Conrad said afterwards. “He was ready to bat at every turn, and we kept monitoring it. When we reached where we reached, not because we felt that was enough, we felt that if we sent him out then there was a potential risk that he could aggravate the risk even further. We were constantly giving ourselves maximum time so we could give out the right information. If we lost wickets early, he would have walked on. With 150 runs ahead, I felt it wasn’t necessary to risk Temba.”Bavuma will be assessed to determine his availability for his next assignment, with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape at the SA20. He will not play in South Africa’s two-Test series against New Zealand early next year because of his SA20 commitments.This was Bavuma’s first outing since South Africa’s semi-final at the ODI World Cup against Australia on November 16, where he was carrying a right hamstring strain. Bavuma picked up that injury while fielding in their final group match against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad on November 10 but did not leave the field at any stage and batted for 49 minutes as South Africa successfully chased down 245. He did not have a scan in India but progressed with a rehabilitation program at training and was cleared to play the semi-final, even though he conceded that he was not 100% fit. South Africa lost that match by three wickets.Bavuma was rested from South Africa’s next assignment of three T20Is and three ODIs against India, which started on December 10, and was due to play a four-day first-class match between December 14 and 17 to prepare for the Test series. He missed the practice game because of a family bereavement. On the eve of the Test, Bavuma declared himself “mentally as fresh as ever” and he was a strong presence in the field for the first 90 minutes of play.In his absence, Elgar took over the leadership duties and will do so again next week when he signs off from South African cricket. Conrad put to bed conversations that his relationship with Elgar had turned sour after Elgar was removed as captain when Conrad took over and has since decided to retire. “If there was this frosty relationship, then he wouldn’t have captained [now],” Conrad said.

18-year-old Kwena Maphaka is the only uncapped player in the squad that will play Pakistan in three ODIs

Firdose Moonda12-Dec-2024South Africa have selected their strongest available squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Pakistan in order to make full use of their last opportunity to play together ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy.Though South Africa will play a tri-series in Pakistan, which also includes New Zealand, in February next year, those matches will take place too close to the conclusion of the SA20 on February 8 for a first-choice squad to be available.There are nine additions to the squad that last played the format, against Ireland in the UAE, including the return of Kagiso Rabada, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, who last played an ODI almost a year ago.

South Africa vs Pakistan ODI series

Dec 17 – 1st ODI, Paarl
Dec 19 – 2nd ODI, Cape Town
Dec 22 – 3rd ODI, Johannesburg

Eighteen-year-old quick Kwena Maphaka is the only uncapped player in the squad, Maphaka was the leading wicket-take at this year’s Under-19 World Cup, which is played in the 50-over format, and has impressed with speeds of up to 152kph in the T20I series against Pakistan. He also gets an opportunity thanks to the absence of several injured quicks. None of Anrich Nortje (broken toe), Lungi Ngidi (hip injury), Gerald Coetzee (groin injury), Wiaan Mulder (broken finger) and Nandre Burger (lower back stress fracture) could be considered for selection.The squad will be led by regular captain Temba Bavuma, who was injured when playing an ODI against Ireland in October but has since returned to form in the Test arena. It is likely he will be partnered by Ryan Rickelton at the top of the order with Reeza Hendricks, who did not cross 20 in his last five ODIS, dropped. Tony de Zorzi is another top-order option. Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Klaasen and Miller all give South Africa an experienced and strong batting line-up.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Two seam-bowling allrounders in Andile Phehlukwayo and Marco Jansen have been selected, while one other specialist seamer, Ottneil Baartman, and two frontline spinners – Maharaj and Shamsi – have come in at the expense of Bjorn Fortuin and Nqaba Peter. Shamsi’s return is significant because he opted out of a national contract in October in order to have flexibility for league performances and was not included in the T20I series to play India last month. He has since been recalled for the Pakistan matches.”The bowling line-up features one of the fastest in the game in KG, and this series offers another great opportunity for a young talent like Kwena to come in and learn first-hand from the best,” Rob Walter, South Africa’s white-ball coach, said. “In the batting department, we are thrilled to welcome back David and Heinrich, two of the most destructive players in the game. Overall, we are very pleased with this squad.”Bavuma, de Zorzi, Jansen, Maharaj, Markram, Rabada, Stubbs and Rickelton will have a four-day turnaround between the end of the ODI series and the start of the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan. South Africa need one more Test win to guarantee themselves a place at next year’s World Test Championship final.

South Africa squad for ODI series against Pakistan

Temba Bavuma (capt), Ottneil Baartman, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen