With Glamorgan still trailing by 42 runs, and five wickets down in their second innings, Notts will be confident of completing their fourth successive championship win of the season

ECB Reporters Network21-May-2017
ScorecardColin Ingram took the match into a final day•Getty Images

With Glamorgan still trailing by 42 runs, and five wickets down in their second innings, Notts will be confident of ending their resistance sometime on the final day, so completing their fourth successive championship win of the season.They were held up on the third day by Colin Ingram, who batted for 77.3 overs, showing the application and concentration that had been missing in Glamorgan’s first innings. He was supported by the middle order, notably Aneurin Donald and David Lloyd, and during his undefeated 72, Ingram has already faced 209 balls.After dismissing Glamorgan for 187 in 62.3 overs, Notts had no hesitation in enforcing the follow on, and Luke Fletcher responded with his first ball – the seventh of the innings- when he knocked back Nick Selman’s off stump as the opener shouldered arms.Despite a partnership of 51 for the second wicket between Jacques Rudolph and Will Bragg, both departed in successive overs as Glamorgan went to lunch 71 for 3. Bragg shuffled across his stumps and was out leg before to Harry Gurney for 30, before Rudolph, who faced 57 balls, hitting just the one four, nicked an outswinger from Brett Hutton to the stand in wicketkeeper Riki Wessels for 14.Ingram and Aneurin Donald, who are both attacking batsmen, then got their heads down to deny Notts’ bowlers any further success for the next 24.1 overs.Donald did strike Stuart Broad for six over long leg, but then undid all his good work by getting out to a reckless shot. Two balls before his dismissal, Donald attempted to slog sweep Samit Patel as the ball narrowly missed the off stump, but two balls later he attempted the same stroke and was bowled.The new ball became due with 16 overs remaining, but not before Ingram had reached a patient half century from 153 balls with seven fours. The South African left hander, who struck 29 sixes in the recent Royal London One Day competition, played every ball on its merit, and unlike his first innings dismissal, when he flashed at a ball outside the off stump and was caught at second slip, not once did he attempt to play at anything remotely wide of the stumps.David Lloyd then gave Ingram solid support for the next 42.2 overs, scoring 37 from 153 balls, and was at the crease for 2 hours and 40 minutes, before getting a ball from Fletcher that lifted from a length and carried to second slip. Much now depends on Ingram if Glamorgan are to deny Notts victory on the final day.

The ICC’s code of conduct has come under scathing criticism from former South Africa captain Graeme Smith after Kagiso Rabada’s swearing at Ben Stokes

Firdose Moonda at Lord's08-Jul-20171:07

Rabada aggression part of cricket – Bavuma

Kagiso Rabada, the South Africa fast bowler who will miss next week’s second Test at Trent Bridge, is said to be “heartbroken” to have let down his team, according to his team-mate Temba Bavuma, after he was served with an automatic suspension by the ICC for accumulating four demerit points.Rabada earned one demerit point for swearing at Ben Stokes after dismissing him for 56 in England’s first innings, on top of three he already had for a shove on Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella in an ODI in January.”KG is quite an emotional character,” said Bavuma. “The way he acted – he didn’t act like that on purpose. He was aware of the consequences. It was just in the heat of the moment. He is quite heartbroken as he feels he has let down the team.”On the thorny issue of sledging, Bavuma added: “It’s something I have had to endure from schoolboy cricket days. I see it as part and parcel of cricket.”There’s a fine balance that needs to be achieved. You don’t want it to be completely taken away but you still want the respect of the game to be there. A balance needs to be achieved.”The ICC’s code of conduct has come under scathing criticism from former South Africa captain Graeme Smith who disagreed strongly with the decision.Though Smith understood the sanction was based on collective, not isolated incidents, he did not think the expletive uttered by Rabada, which was picked up on the stump mic, should have been punished that harshly.”It’s ridiculous,” Smith told ESPNcricinfo. “No-one wrote about it, no-one spoke about it. It was only because it was on the stump mic that it’s become a thing.”The incident occurred on the opening day of the first Test at Lord’s when Rabada dismissed Stokes and told him to “f*** off”, something Smith thought was not serious enough to earn Rabada another demerit point.”It could have been handled better. I don’t think it was aimed at Ben Stokes. I just think it was out of frustration. If it wasn’t picked up by the stump mics he wouldn’t have been done,” Smith said on .”There is obviously a line that the ICC have drawn and we need to stay on the right side of it,” said England’s James Anderson.”When I watch games, I like having the stump mic there. It’s the players’ duty to be aware that is there and they turn it up quite loud sometimes.”

Alastair Cook and Nick Browne put on 373 against Middlesex to claim a host of Essex batting records and leave the champions in disarray at Chelmsford

Paul Edwards at Chelmsford28-Jun-2017
ScorecardBatting in a style that often recalled the timekeeping of the Trumpton clock – steadily, sensibly, never too slowly – Essex’s batsmen ground Middlesex into the good earth of Chelmsford on the third day of this match. Undeterred by the rain-flecked air or a miserably chill evening, almost the antitheses of ideal conditions for first-class cricket, Alastair Cook and Nick Browne put on 373 runs for the first wicket, not just an Essex first-wicket record but also more than any other pair of batsmen had managed before in matches between these teams.Then as if to break the spirit of Dawid Malan’s cricketers, Varun Chopra, who was only batting in the second half of this match because Tom Westley has joined the Lions, thrashed a century off 74 balls. This mix of accumulation and assault left Essex with a first-innings lead of 296 runs and Ryan ten Doeschate’s declaration presented his seam bowlers with 13 overs against batsmen who had been mauled in the field for five hours.This was a test of mental strength as much as batting skill and it was to the immense credit of both Nick Gubbins and Nick Compton that they withstood the pace attack of Mohammed Amir and Jamie Porter without exposing their colleagues to examination under some of the least impressive lighting in the country.That said, if Middlesex’s cricketers undertake any more long journeys into night as painful as this one, the champions might consider selecting James Tyrone in their eleven. This was an evening on which Dawid Malan and his players had to take refuge in their status as professional sportsmen; they know very well that there will be times like this in their careers and that they must bear them with fortitude. What they did not expect was that the accessories to their misery would be a pink ball and floodlights.Not that this concerned Essex’s more raucous supporters, their partisan support undiminished by either the weather of the slightly staider tempo of this contest. The national press may have noted that Cook’s big hundred was good preparation for next week’s Lord’s Test against South Africa. Of more local concern was his determination to build on his overnight score of 64 not out and help Browne build the platform which licenced Chopra’s thrilling blitz.That initial aim was achieved beyond perhaps even the batsmen’s expectations. When Browne clipped Ryan Higgins through square leg for two, the first-wicket stand passed 316, Essex’s 23-year-old first-wicket record against any opponents, previously held by Graham Gooch and Paul Prichard. Yet it had already become a day when momentarily significant statistics became all but forgotten landmarks a few hours later. It was also an evening for the daddy-hundreds beloved of Graham Gooch and the daddy-records treasured by badgers everywhere.Cook’s approach to batting has long embraces such paternal priorities and his cricket revealed the bloodless passion for runs which has sustained so many England innings. Three times in the first seven overs of the morning he rocked back and cut balls to the boundary through gully. Cook eventually reached his century off 135 balls, having hit 17 fours, most of them struck into all the old familiar places with all the timeless Cookish graces, all afternoon through.Alastair Cook and Nick Browne set an Essex batting record•Getty Images

Middlesex, desperate to halt the steady flow of runs, were left to regret their dropping of Brown on 46, when Steven Finn, surely one of the game’s more unlikely slippers, put down an edge off Roland-Jones in the second over of the morning. When he had added 16 more to his score Browne also survived a confident appeal for a catch at the wicket off Ryan Higgins. The Middlesex slip cordon did a passable imitation of the Treorchy Male Voice choir but umpire David Millns was unmoved. Then again, maybe hypothermia had set in.Browne, whose last three centuries have now all passed 200, made the most of his reprieves. Having reached three figures off 240 balls just after tea he drove Roland-Jones down the ground and through both mid-off and midwicket in the same over, thus proving that half-volleys are just as succulent when bowled with new pink balls. He brought up his second hundred off 128 deliveries and by the end of his innings was almost scoring at will.Middlesex took their first wicket of the day at 6.55 when Cook’s push at a ball from Ollie Rayner only edged a catch to Eskinazi at slip and he departed for 193, two short of his best score for Essex. Any satisfaction felt by Rayner was probably slight and may have been extinguished entirely once the new batsman had taken a liking to his bowling. On half a dozen occasions, Chopra came down the wicket to the off-spinner, got inside the line and hoisted the off-spinner into the Tom Pearce stand or the Doug Insole pavilion. This was a magnificent assault upon seemingly dispirited opponents and many thought it preparatory to further successes for Amir and Jamie Porter. The wickets of Browne, caught at cover off Rayner for 221, and Dan Lawrence, bowled by Higgins for 2, were mere accessories to the forthcoming drama of Middlesex’s second innings. And the champions’ capacity to tough it out on the final day will be a telling test of their mettle.

Rumesh Ratnayake’s appointment does not have any immediate impact on Chaminda Vaas, who is the fast-bowling coach presenting working with the national team

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Aug-2017Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed former quick Rumesh Ratnayake to the top fast-bowling coaching job in the country. As SLC’s head of fast bowling, Ratnayake will work closely with Sri Lanka’s high-performance centre, and will oversee the work of the board’s other fast-bowling coaches, including whoever is posted with the national team. He may not himself work and tour with the Sri Lanka side, however.”Ratnayake will head the national fast-bowling programme, spearheading its talent identification, skills development and training processes in cohesion with the national high-performance plan,” an SLC release said.Ratnayake’s appointment does not have any immediate impact on Chaminda Vaas, who is the fast-bowling coach presently working with the national team. SLC cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha did state, however, that the fast-bowling coach embedded with the Sri Lanka side may change from tour to tour.”All the fast-bowling coaches will work under Rumesh,” Gurusinha told ESPNcricinfo. “We will then work with the high-performance centre to get the specialist coaches in whenever the national team needs. We will take specialists to different tours. If the head coach says, ‘I want so-and-so’, we will put a request to high performance and get that coach.”Ratnayake’s most recent high-profile coaching position with Sri Lanka was during the 2015 World Cup, where he worked as a supplementary fast-bowling coach with the national team, also alongside Vaas. He had also been interim head coach during Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka in 2011.One of the fastest Sri Lanka bowlers in the 1980s, Ratnayake had taken 73 Test wickets at an average of 35.10 during his playing career.

Pakistan’s new captain in all formats wants his team to “remember the good things” his predecessors did, and apply them to his “very young side”

Osman Samiuddin27-Sep-2017Sarfraz Ahmed will become the 32nd player to captain a Pakistan Test side on Thursday. Few would have been as destined for the captaincy and fewer still would have faced the size of the task he does, in following the winningest Test captain in Pakistan’s history, Misbah-ul-Haq.Sarfraz has liked to point out that he has captained his way through his career, from club sides to age-level to domestic sides to a gradual assumption of the leadership across formats for Pakistan. He is used to this kind of responsibility, with differing levels of scrutiny. But it will not lessen the momentousness of the occasion personally.”Look, obviously its a proud moment,” he said. “I mean to play for your country is big enough, but to then captain in formats and then all three, and be the Test captain, that is a huge honour for me. I am very excited and I’ll try the way I’ve worked with the ODI and T20 team, I can do the same with the Test side. The guys are excited too.”Though it would be easy to be awed by his predecessor’s record, maybe even distracted by all the talk of him not being there, Sarfraz has been around the Misbah side long enough to have a grasp of how it operated.”[The talk has] not been a distraction, but there is one thing to not have your main players who have been playing consistently and for long. We have to move ahead and for us, we have to remember the good things they did, their disciplines, the way they prepared. The things they taught us, we have tried to maintain. I spoke to Misbah recently, had a good meeting with him. I’ve spoken to Younis regularly so whatever we’ve learnt from them, we’ll try to produce here.”Perhaps because it has been some time since they last played a Test, or because of the enduring post-triumph glow of the Champions Trophy, or just because their opponents seem to be in more of a bad place, it is easy to forget that Pakistan slipped as a Test side towards the end of Misbah’s tenure.Pakistan have lost seven of their last nine Tests and coupled with the exits, Pakistan’s relatively calm mood doesn’t match the depth of the task in front of them. And for all the noise about Sri Lanka’s fall, they sit only one place and three points behind Pakistan in the Test rankings.Still, the widespread view is that Pakistan start favourites, with a decent bowling attack and a still settled core. Sarfraz was either playing down expectations, or recognising Pakistan’s form when he said that the greater challenge would be for his side.”For us it’s even more challenging because we’re a very young side,” he said. “After very long we have such a young team playing. I’m hoping we do well and for myself as a captain, it will be very important – the first Test is always important.”

Michael Rippon bagged a three-for and put on 129 runs for the fifth wicket with the Netherlands captain, guiding the side to a six-wicket victory after restricting Kenya to 226 for 7

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2017Michael Rippon coupled his three-for with an unbeaten half-century•Peter Della Penna

An unbroken fifth-wicket century stand, set up by fifties from Peter Borren and Michael Rippon, helped Netherlands cruise to a six-wicket victory at Buffalo Park, with seven balls remaining, after Kenya were restricted to 226 for 7 in their 50 overs.While Borren, the Netherlands captain, had gone wicketless in the two economical overs he sent down, his returns with the bat were more impressive as he notched up his 12th List A half-century, clobbering eight fours en route to his 98-ball 86. Batting at No. 4, he took charge of the chase after the top three batsmen fell for scores in the twenties, with only 85 runs on the board. He put on 129 runs with Rippon, who added a 74-ball 56 not out to his bowling figures of 3 for 30.Kenya’s troubles with the bat started early as they lost both their openers within seven overs of their innings for only 18 runs. Batting at No. 3, 22-year old Dhiren Gondaria, who amassed 53 off 60 balls, subsequently led a part of restoration work through an 81-run stand with captain Rakep Patel (29) at a steady rate of 5.40. The latter’s dismissal in the 22nd over, however, led to Kenya losing 3 for 18 in nearly nine overs, all three wickets falling to Rippon. Collins Obuya and Nelson Odhiambo arrested the slump, adding 95 runs for the sixth wicket. Nelson’s 39 abetted Obuya’s 77-ball 72 – peppered with two fours and four sixes – and shepherded Kenya past 200. Kenya were also buoyed by a late surge that saw them amass 51 runs in the last four overs.Rippon’s left arm wristspin was ably complemented by medium-pacer Timm van der Gugten, whose two timely wickets – opener Alex Obanda and Nelson – further dented Kenya’s chances of posting a score in excess of 250.

A weekly round-up of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge in which Titans leapt to top of the table and Lungi Ngidi impressed with his 4 for 14 against Warriors

Firdose Moonda20-Nov-2017Results Summary Titans leapt to top of the table and remain the only unbeaten side with four wins from four matches in a busy Ram Slam week. Titans’ victories last week included a 38-run triumph over Knights, a 61-run win over Warriors, a seven-wicket mauling of Cape Cobras and the successful return of Dale Steyn to competitive cricket.Steyn’s comeback came in defence of 199 against Knights on Wednesday, where he bowled three overs. The first went for 17 runs but the next two for only eight along with the scalp of Theunis de Bruyn. Though Steyn was the second-most expensive Titans bowler on the night, more economical performances from Albie Morkel, Lungi Ngidi and Tabraiz Shamsi ensured Knights were always behind the required run rate, but they did manage to deny Titans a bonus point.Ngidi stole the show again on Friday in East London where his career-best T20 figures of 4 for 14 shot out Warriors for 111 in 14.2 overs. Titans again put up a decent score – 172 for 4 – without AB de Villiers, who was rested to allow Dean Elgar a game, but their bowling did the rest. Aiden Markram shared the new ball with Steyn and took 3 for 21 before Ngidi ran through an abject Warriors line-up. Only three batsmen made more than 20.But Steyn came into his own on Sunday when he helped Titans restrict Cobras to 119 for 9, with a four-over spell that cost only 16 runs and yielded the wickets of Wayne Parnell and Qaasim Adams. JP Duminy top-scored with 40 but Temba Bavuma was the only other Cobras’ batsman to make a score over 15. Despite ducks from openers Quinton de Kock and Henry Davids, who both fell to Vernon Philander, 51 off 36 balls from Markram led Titans’ chase and they won the match inside 14 overs.Cobras did not have a good weekend on the Highveld and also lost to Lions, who were the only other team to put points on the board last week. Lions got their first win on Friday at the Wanderers, where they chased down 170 against an attack that included Philander, Parnell and Dane Paterson but a fielding side who put down several chances for the second game in a row. Cobras could consider their total a little short despite a 36 from 28 balls from Hashim Amla, 33 from 26 by Parnell, an 18-ball 28 from Bavuma and 55 off 31 balls by captain Duminy. Lions opener Reeza Hendricks started the chase strongly with a 32-ball 42 but it was Mangaliso Mosehle’s brisk half-century that won them the game. Philander’s four overs cost only 26 but none of the other Cobras bowlers went for under eight an over.It was much closer for Lions on Sunday in Potchefstroom, where they restricted Dolphins to 168 for 6, after having them 85 for 5 in the 12th over and 116 for 6 in the 17th, but took it to the last ball to chase the total. Lions started well with a half-century from Rassie van der Dussen, sharing a 158-run opening stand with Hendricks who became the competition’s second centurion with a 72-ball 102. The pair was cruising at 158 for 0 in the 19th over but Andile Phehlulwayo took two wickets in two balls and Dolphins got another two wickets off consecutive deliveries in the final over. Wiaan Mulder hit four off the last ball to secure the win.The other fixture scheduled for this week was between Dolphins and Knights on Friday night in Durban, but the game was washed out.Wayne Parnell delivers the ball•AFP

International Incidents Steyn’s comeback was the talk of the week as he steadily built up from two matches with three overs each to bowling his full quota of four overs in the third match against Cobras. His figures of 4-0-16-2 was the best of his week.There was also promising form from some of the other bowlers on the national repair list. Philander, who was expensive in the first match, put in a much tighter performance against Lions and Titans and started to show signs of being back to his best.However, it was Ngidi who would have made South Africa head coach Ottis Gibson sit up and take note. After going wicketless against Knights on Wednesday, Ngidi took 4 for 14 against Warriors on a traditionally slow, low East London pitch. He also returned 2 for 32 at home against Cobras.In one of the most intriguing battles of the week, de Villiers took 17 runs off Wayne Parnell’s opening over, which went for 19 in total in the Titans match against Cobras.Imran Tahir made a return for Dolphins, who chose to field two spinners in their match against Lions, but between Tahir and Keshav Maharaj, they cost Dolphins 43 runs in four overs. Domestic Dreamers Lions’ batsmen had the most important impact among domestic players. Reeza Hendricks, who has played nine T20Is, the last against England in Cardiff, was not considered for the Bangladesh series but showed that he could still come into contention. He followed up an unbeaten 67 in the opening match with his first T20 century and thrilled with a range of drives that would not have gone amiss on a golf course. Hendricks was particularly harsh against Maharaj, whose only over went for 15.Mosehle has played seven T20Is this year as a stand-in for de Kock and appears to have been identified as a potential reserve wicketkeeper. His batting ability, however, has not shown itself on the highest stage. His half-century against Cobras provided a glimpse. Mosehle’s aggression off the back foot – which included a hook and a hammer over extra cover, both for six – off Philander was particularly impressive as was the way he guided an imperfect Lions’ effort home.Beyond the Boundary Warriors will need to use this competition to say farewell to their coach Malibongwe Maketa, who will leave them at the end of the tournament to take up the job of Gibson’s assistant in the national side. This is the format where they have done Maketa the proudest, reaching the final last summer despite having fewer internationals than anyone else. This season will be trickier for them, because of the presence of all South Africa players in other squads, and they have not started well with two losses from the first two games. However, they will hope things get better before Maketa leaves.

James Anderson will step up to act as Joe Root’s deputy in Australia for as long as Ben Stokes remains unavailable

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2017James Anderson has been named as England’s Test vice-captain. He will act as Joe Root’s deputy in Australia for as long as Ben Stokes remains unavailable.Anderson, 35, is the leader of the bowling attack and, although he does not have much experience of captaincy, one of the squad’s most senior players. With Stokes currently out of contention while police continue to investigate his part in a fight outside a Bristol nightclub, Anderson has been preferred as vice-captain to other candidates such as Alastair Cook, Root’s predecessor in charge of the Test side, and Stuart Broad.”It’s a really nice thing that Joe has asked me to do,” Anderson said. “I don’t think it changes my role in the team. As a senior player I’ve always felt that I’ve a responsibility to help out other guys. Myself, Stuart and Alastair who have been here before – and had success here before – have an important role on this trip. So I don’t see that role changing my role much.”England suffered the latest injury setback of their tour on Thursday, when Jake Ball sprained his ankle while bowling against a Cricket Australia XI. Ball was sent for a scan on Friday and could be a doubt for the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane, starting on November 23.The mood in the England camp was hardly improved by a second-innings batting collapse, but England’s remaining seamers rallied in Ball’s absence, reducing the CA XI to 25 for 7 before an unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 45 carried the match into its final day.”It was outstanding, I thought,” Anderson said. “The three seamers bowled really well. We knew we had an important job to do, especially being a bowler down with Jake Ball injured.”Having seen the movement the Australians got earlier in the day, we were encouraged by that. We knew we could challenge them, and that’s what we did.”England’s success under the Adelaide floodlights augurs well for their prospects in the second Test which gets underway at the same venue in three week’s time.”We’ve seen the batsmen struggle a little bit round the twilight period,” Anderson said. “There’s not much more swing, potentially it seams a little bit more as the dew comes down. [But] there’s not a lot of difference … it’s just getting used to that light and the pink ball.”We just tried to stay patient … and we created pressure from both ends very well, and deserved those seven wickets.”It’s a first-class game, so we want to win it – you create a winning environment, [and] that’s important going into a huge series like the
Ashes.”With the current contest more or less over, England have one more four-day game at Townsville next week ahead of the first Test. Stuart Broad is expected to play in that game having sat this one out, with Anderson hinting that he is likely to make way for his new-ball partner.”Some batsmen have got some really good time out in the middle; there are some guys who haven’t,” he said. “The bowlers seem to be getting better every spell they bowl.”The batsmen’s form isn’t too much of an issue now, as long as they are scoring runs in that first Test at the Gabba. Personally, I feel like I’ve got enough bowling in my legs, and the ball is coming out well.

The batsman had come into the quarter-final with an average of 18 this season. His team was five down, with a lead of only 45. He struck a half-century that changed the game

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2017
ScorecardCM Gautam celebrates his fifty•PTI

Karnataka recorded their largest first-innings lead over Mumbai – 222 runs – as four of their batsmen made robust half-centuries on the second day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Nagpur. Resuming on 115 for 1, Karnataka went to stumps on 395 for 6, with Shreyas Gopal’s unbeaten 80 adding to the good work done by CM Gautam (79), Mayank Agarwal (78) and Kaunain Abbas (50)Things had looked reasonably good for Mumbai in the morning when they got an early breakthrough. Seamer Shivam Malhotra had Agarwal caught behind in the ninth over of the day, denying him a sixth hundred of the season. Fellow debutant Shivam Dubey then dismissed Karun Nair cheaply by trapping him lbw and finished the day with a five-wicket haul.Karnataka were only 45 runs ahead by the time they lost half their side but Gautam and Gopal put together a vital 103-run partnership to pull away from Mumbai. Gautam came into the quarter-final on the back of a dismal run of form. He averaged a mere 18 after seven innings this season but ensured he came good when his team needed it the most. He was trapped lbw by Dubey after spending 111 balls at the crease, hitting 12 fours and a six. Another big partnership followed for Karnataka as captain Vinay Kumar put on an unbeaten 74 runs with Gopal, who ended the day 20 short of his fourth first-class hundred.

India have never lost a Test in Johannesburg, and they have never been whitewashed in South Africa. Both those records are under threat as the hosts push for 3-0 with a green pitch and overcast conditions to aid them

The Preview by Sidharth Monga in Johannesburg23-Jan-20185:36

Cullinan: South Africa will win 3-0

Big Picture

“A lot of big names have played for 20 years, they have come here many times, and they have never done it. But this team has done that. This team is used to doing things that a lot of other teams haven’t done, and that too overseas.”This is a slightly abridged version of a quote from India coach Ravi Shastri in Sri Lanka last year. He was talking about India winning the three-Test series 3-0.There is a real threat that it could be adapted for use in the current climate. Many weak Indian teams have come to South Africa since the first tour in 1992-93, and none has been whitewashed. This “strong” team, with so many options that the team management has admitted to the inevitability of highly debatable, even controversial, selections, now needs something special to avoid a whitewash. If there is any consolation, they are making this attempt at a venue that should inspire them: the Wanderers is where they won a World T20 final and also brought up their first Test win in this country. India have played four Tests at this venue, and have never lost.The series is gone, but neither side is seeing this as a dead rubber. Not only is it a matter of pride for India to avoid a whitewash, it is also about bragging rights in a world where it is the mark of a good side to lose less poorly away from home. South Africa, still smarting from the ambush in India in 2015-16, which ended their nine-year run of never losing a series away from home, are in no danger of treating this as a dead rubber either.The hosts not only want to avenge their defeat in India with an identical scoreline, but also want to close in on the No. 1 ranking, which will be only a few decimal points away from them should they win on the green Wanderers pitch. The weather has been overcast in the lead-up to the Test, and there has been more than a bit of rain forecast, so this should be a difficult Test for batting, in conditions where both sides could choose to go without a spinner.India see the green pitch as an opportunity. It brings their seam bowlers into the game, and if their batsman can do something special – which they have been waiting for since the start of the series – they feel they can come close to winning a Test.

Form guide

South Africa WWWWW (last five completed games most recent first)
India LLDWDAFP

In the spotlight

One way to look at this series is to say the batting of AB de Villiers has been the difference between the two sides. He has dragged South Africa out of crisis on two occasions, and has contributed 35 and 20 on the other two. He has also been superb in the slips and wherever he has been posted in the outfield. India will be tempted to imagine what it feels like to get him out of the way, but to do that in reality they will need to work harder.The only man certain to play for India, and hence in the spotlight, is Virat Kohli. He scored a superlative 153 in the last Test, but that wasn’t enough to prevent his first series loss as captain. Between the Tests, questions have been raised about his leadership. Kohli needs to replicate some of that batting form, and also to select properly and motivate his side out of this mire. The test of his captaincy is only just beginning.

Team news

There has been talk that South Africa might go without a spinner – as they have done in their two previous Tests at the Wanderers – and beef up their batting, but the injury to Temba Bavuma might have changed the equation a little bit. If Keshav Maharaj is indeed left out, it could open the door for batsman Theunis de Bruyn or allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo. Chris Morris is away on paternity leave. Aiden Markram, who was off the field for parts of the Centurion Test with a left quad strain, is fit and will open.South Africa (probable): 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Faf du Plessis (capt), 6 Quinton de Kock (wk), 7 Theunis de Bruyn/Andile Phehlukwayo/Keshav Maharaj, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lungi NgidiIndications are that Ajinkya Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar seem set to make their way back into the side, but at whose expense? The men under threat are Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin (because of the pitch) and one out of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. Don’t count against an all-seam attack. Parthiv Patel, ordinary with the big gloves in Centurion, could lose out to Dinesh Karthik, who doesn’t have too much long-format match practice behind him: he only played four first-class matches in the 2017-18 domestic season, and only kept wicket in two of them .India (probable): 1 and 2 Two out of M Vijay, 2 Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 3, 5 and 6 three out of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, 7 Parthiv Patel/Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 to 11 four out of R Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at Wanderers is unmistakably green. The head groudsman Bethuel Buthulezi might be tempted to not shave any of the 6mm grass because there is rain expected on every day of the Test. The sun has beaten down in the lead-up to the Test to create some cracks, but it has also helped the groundstaff roll the pitch nice and hard. Faf du Plessis said his side didn’t ask for anything over the top but a track with pace and bounce. Kohli expected the pitch to do more than the one at Newlands for the first Test. There are some cracks on offer, but it is possible overhead conditions will play an equally important role in this Test.

Stats and Trivia

• Hashim Amla is one catch short of becoming the fourth South African to 100 catches as a fielder, joining Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers. Amla will be the slowest to the mark.
• Contrary to reputation, the Wanderers has historically not been a graveyard for spinners. Among venues that have hosted at least 20 Tests, spinners have worse averages in 15 grounds than their 35.76 at the Wanderers. Those 15 grounds include Lahore, Port of Spain and Adelaide.
• Apart from Virat Kohli’s 153 in the first innings in Centurion, India’s specialist batsmen haven’t scored a single fifty in this series. The top six batsmen have averaged 20.45 – their third-worst in any series of two or more Tests. If Kohli’s 153 is discounted, the average of the 23 innings played by the top six drops to 14.08.
• Rohit Sharma’s difference of 60.09 between home and away averages is the worst for India batsmen who have scored a minimum of 500 runs each home and away

Quotes

“They’ve played some good cricket here. The last Test match we played against India here was a fantastic Test match. Their bowing is good. They’ve come this time around with a very good seam attack and if you have that you will be able to compete. We have got a fantastic seam attack as well so it will be the battle between those two. The pressure is in making sure we keep their batsmen under pressure. It’s been a pretty quiet series for most of them and if we can keep doing that, we will change that stat.”
“As a team we are looking to correct all the mistakes that have happened, Wanderers has been a special venue for us, hopefully we can play the same kind of cricket.”