Tag: South Africa

England v South Africa – T20I Series Preview

With England and South Africa both smarting from exiting the fifty-over ICC Champions Trophy prematurely earlier this month, they will be glad of the chance to move on to a new format and to put their disappointments behind them.

The sides play four Test matches later in the summer, but before that comes a full three-game T20 International series, with games scheduled to be played at The Rose Bowl, Southampton (Weds 21st June); Somerset’s County Ground in Taunton (Fri 23rd June); and Sophia Gardens in Cardiff (Sunday 25th June)

Neither side have played a T20 international since February, and both are resting several key men from their squads for these encounters. England are without first-choice players Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Jake Ball, while South Africa are resting a similar number of top players in their usual T20 captain Faf du Plessis as well as Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy and Kagiso Rabada.

There are potential international debuts (in any format) for no less than five players in England’s squad – batsmen Liam Livingstone (Lancashire) and Dawis Malan (Middlesex), spinner Mason Crane (Hampshire) and quick bowlers Tom Curran (Surrey) and Craig Overton (Somerset). For their part, South Africa could hand T20I caps to spinner Tabraiz Shamsi and quick bowler Dwaine Pretorius.

With so much change from their usual squads, it is probably somewhat irrelevant that England are currently ranked second in the world in the shortest format as compared to the Proteas sixth place, and the fact that England won the ODI series 2-1 in May will count for little either. But both teams will be looking to get back to winning ways.

Individually, the players to watch out for as they approach personal milestones are as follows:

Eoin Morgan

England’s white-ball skipper currently has 1,568 T20 International runs to his credit, which is enough to see him in 11th place in the world for runs scored in the format. Such is the tight nature of the race ahead of him that 123 runs in the series could see Morgan rocket up the ladder to sixth place in the world, passing Pakistanis Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaid Mailk (1620 and 1626 in 10th and 9th respectively); the Proteas’s rested JP Duminy in 8th on 1684; Aussie David Warner in 7th on 1687; and another Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal in 6th on 1691.

Jos Buttler

England’s wicketkeeper has 943 T20I runs, so another 57 will see him pass the 1000 milestone

Alex Hales

Opening batsman Hales is the only England player yet to score a t20I century – one more will see him join New Zealander Brendon McCullum and Universe Boss Chris Gayle as the only players in the world with two hundreds in the 20-over game.

Imran Tahir

The South Africa spinner is currently the world’s highest ranked T20I bowler. He has 54 T20 International wickets in his ledger already, putting him in joint 11th place in the world alongside Sohail Tanvir and Dwayne Bravo. Another 5 wickets will see him move into joint tenth place alongside compatriot Dale Steyn and Blackcap Nathan McCullum, while six will see him into joint ninth place with Afghanistani all-rounder Mohammad Nabi.

Imran is one of six bowlers to have taken three four-wicket hauls in T20s – another such performance would move him joint first in the world with Pakistanis Unmar Gul and Saeed Ajmal, who both have four four-fors.

ICC Champions Trophy – Who will qualify for the semi-finals?

Isn’t cricket wonderful? With all teams now having played two games each, and with one round of games in the group stage to go, all eight can still qualify for the semi-finals of cricket’s second-most prestigious one day international tournament!

Here are the qualification scenarios ahead of the final group games

Group A

The Group A table is currently looking like this:

Team Played Wins Points Net Run Rate
England 2 2 4 1.069
Australia 2 0 2 0.0
Bangladesh 2 0 1 -0.407
New Zealand 2 0 1 -1.74

England have an unassailable lead at the top of the table, regardless of their result against Australia at Edgbaston on Saturday.

The tie-breaker rules take into account number of wins first, and then Net Run Rate (NRR), and with England sitting on two wins and the only team that can catch them on points, Australia, having no wins, England cannot be overhauled. They will therefore play the runners up from Group B in the first semi-final at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on 14th June.

So all that remains in Group A is to decide which of the other three teams will qualify to join the hosts in the semis. Here’s how it might play out:

If England beat Australia (or there is a no-result in this game due to rain) AND there is a result in the other game between New Zealand and Bangladesh, then the winner of that other game will finish second and will go through to face the winners of Group B at Edgbaston on the 15th June.

(Note: if there is no result between England and Australia, the winner of NZ/Bangladesh and the Australians would both have 3 points, but Australia would have no wins, and would therefore be relegated to third on the tie-breaker)

If England beat Australia, but the NZ/Bangladesh game is a wash-out, all 3 of Australia, Bangladesh and New Zealand would have 2 points. The BlackCaps will finish bottom of the group, as their NRR is the lowest of the three, and it won’t change so they can’t overtake Bangladesh. It will then come down to NRR between Australia and Bangladesh as to who finishes second. If England beat Australia by a greater margin than they beat Bangladesh, then Bangladesh go through. If they win by a lesser margin than against the Tigers, then the Aussies will scrape through.

If Australia beat England, then Australia will qualify second on 4 points, and both NZ and Bangladesh will be eliminated regardless of the result in their game.

If both games are abandoned as no-results, then again Australia will qualify second, and the Tigers and Blackcaps will have to pack their bags.

Group B

The Group B table currently looks like this:

Team Played Wins Points Net Run Rate
India 2 1 2 1.272
South Africa 2 1 2 1.000
Sri Lanka 2 1 2 -0.879
Pakistan 2 1 2 -1.544

 

Conventional wisdom was that this group would be a walk in the park for two of the pre-tournament favourites, India and South Africa. Someone forgot to tell Sri Lanka and Pakistan that though, and after two stunning upset results in the last two days (here) and (here) the group is very much wide open.

Cats are very much amongst the pigeons at this stage, and one of the group’s “big two” is very likely going home early.

With India playing South Africa next, and Pakistan up against Sri Lanka, those two games effectively become quasi-quarterfinals, with the winners progressing to the semi-finals and the losers heading to Heathrow airport.

Of course, results on the field have only been one part of the story of this tournament, with the weather being the winner in two games so far. So what happens if either or both remaining Group B games also get abandoned as no-results? Let’s look at each scenario:

India v South Africa game has a result, but Sri Lanka v Pakistan is washed out

The winner of India v South Africa will go through as group winners on 4 points and face the Group A runner-up at Edgbaston on the 15th of June. The loser is eliminated.

Sri Lanka will have 3 points but qualify as runners-up due to their superior Net-Run-Rate over Pakistan, and will face Group A winner England in the semi-final at Cardiff on the 14th June. Pakistan will be eliminated.

India v South Africa is a no-result, but there is a winner between Sri Lanka and Pakistan

The winner of Sri Lanka v Pakistan will go through as group winners on 4 points and face the runner up of Group A at Edgbaston on the 15th June. Loser is eliminated.

India will qualify as runners-up on 3 points due to their superior Net-Run-Rate over South Africa, and will face Group A winner England in the semi-final at Cardiff on the 14th June. South Africa will be eliminated.

Both games are washed out as no-results

All four teams will end up on 3 points, with one win apiece, and the group positions will therefore be decided on Net-Run-Rate alone.

As per the table above, India will win the group and play the Group B runners up, and South Africa will finish second and face England in Cardiff for a place in the final.

This is the only scenario whereby both India and South Africa can qualify.

ICC Champions Trophy – Review of first round of matches.

The first round of matches in the Champions Trophy over in England are now in the record books, with each of the eight participating teams having played one game each.

The perfect time to have our first look back and see which players have notched up a personal milestone in the tournament so far.

Joe Root (England)

The England Test captain’s 133 not out in the comfortable Group A win against Bangladesh on Thursday was his highest score in 50-over internationals. This was Root’s tenth ODI century, moving him up to joint second place in England’s all time one-day century makers list, alongside current white-ball captain Eoin Morgan. Both are closing in on Marcus Trescothick’s England record of 12.

Ross Taylor (New Zealand)

When Ross took the field in Friday’s rain-ruined Group A match against Trans-Tasman rivals Australia, it was his 188th appearance for the Blackcaps in ODIs, enough to give him a share of eighth place in NZ’s all time appearance list with Scott Styris. He’ll likely claim that spot outright on Tuesday against England.

Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

The Blackcaps’ skipper scored a nice round 100 in the aborted game against Australia, his ninth ODI century, and moved his career total on to 4461 runs – bumping Chris Zinzan Harris out of New Zealand’s all-time top ten list in the process. He now sits just 22 behind Styris in ninth spot.

Josh Hazlewood (Australia)

Hazlewood’s mightily impressive 6 for 52 against New Zealand was his third five-wicket haul in ODIs, becoming only the seventh Australian to bag that many “Michelles”.

Hashim Amla (South Africa)

Hashim Amla’s 103 in his side’s 96-run Group B win against Sri Lanka on Saturday was his 25th ODI tonne for the Proteas, in just his 151st innings.

This century moved him alongside Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakarra in joint fifth place in the world.

2017 ICC Champions Trophy – Group B

In this second post previewing the upcoming International Cricket Council Champions Trophy taking place in England and Wales, we look at the teams in Group B – India, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Read our preview of Group A here: 2017 ICC Champions Trophy – Group A

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India

The ICC Champions Trophy holders, having won the last staging of this tournament in a reduced 20-overs a side final against England at Edgbaston in 2013, enter this year’s version as one of the favourites – and if they come through, they will be the second side to successfully defend their Champions Trophy title after Australia did so in 2009. No pressure.

These are the players to keep an eye on for India:

Virat Kohli

If India’s talismanic captain can rack up 245 runs over the next two weeks, he will move to 8,000 career ODI runs.

Virat also currently sits on 27 centuries in the ODI format, good enough for fourth place in the world. One more century in the tournament and he will draw level with Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya in third place.

MS Dhoni

The man Virat replaced as captain, MS Dhoni, is currently India’s fifth highest run scorer in One Day Internationals with 9275 runs. 104 more runs will see him overtake Mohammad Azharuddin’s 9378 and move up to fourth place.

Perhaps more excitingly for wicketkeeper fans, Dhoni has effected 94 stumpings in his One Day International (ODI) career, and needs an unlikely but not impossible six more to become the first ever keeper to reach a century of stumpings, and in doing so would surpass Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara’s current world record of 99.

Yuvraj Singh

If India reach the semi-finals, and Yuvi plays in every game along the way, he will move from his current 296 ODI appearances to the milestone of 300 games for his country, the fifth Indian after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly to reach those dizzying heights. That’s some very grand company.

Ravindra Jadeja

One of India’s two potentially game-changing spin-bowling all-rounders fittingly has his eye on both a batting milestone and a bowling one.

Wielding the blade, Ravindra requires 112 runs to move to 2000 ODI runs.

With the ball in hand, he needs six wickets on top of his current tally of 151 to move onto 157, enough to give him a share of tenth place in India’s all-time ODI wicket takers’ list with both Manoj Prabhakar and Ashish Nehra, passing Sachin Tendulkar’s 154 along the way.

Rohit Sharma

The holder of the world record for highest ever individual ODI score, Rohit currently has 5131 ODI runs in his career. A further 108 runs in this tournament will see him overtake Gautam Gambhir in eleventh spot in India’s all time list, while 229 will see him dislodge Ajay Jadeja from the top ten.

Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami

Finally, two of India’s quick bowlers, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami currently have 88 and 87 ODI wickets to their names respectively – needing 12 and 13 to move to the mark of a century of wickets each. Can either of them make it?

 

Pakistan

Although Pakistan have both a World T20 International (T20I) and a ODI World Cup title to their name, they have yet to make the final of a Champions Trophy, and only narrowly managed to qualify for this version, squeezing out the West Indies to claim the eighth and final qualifying spot. Hopes are not high for their chances this time around, but a few of their players will be seeking personal milestones at least:

Shoaib Malik

The all-rounder needs three more appearances to notch up 250 for his country, enough to move him into joint sixth place with Ijaz Ahmed in Pakistan’s all time ODI appearance list.

Mohammad Hafeez

Pakistan’s opening batsman needs 114 runs to move on to 5842 in his career, and to knock Rameez Raja out of Pakistan’s top ten runs scorers in the format.

Haris Sohail

Called in as a late replacement to Pakistan’s 15 man squad for the tournament, if Sohail can make 226 runs in the next two weeks, he will move to 1000 in the format for his country.

Junaid Khan

Pakistan’s quick bowler currently has 86 ODI wickets, so 14 more will take him to a nice round 100.

 

South Africa

Sssh, don’t mention the “C” word. South Africa will once again be looking to rid themselves of their storied curse in major ICC tournaments, although they can lay claim to winning the first ever staging of what became the Champions Trophy when they won the inaugural ICC Knockout Trophy in Bangladesh in 1998.

Expectations are high this time around, with the Proteas ranked number one in the world in ODI’s and heavily tipped to make the final. Keep a watchful brief on the following players as they work their way through the tournament:

Morne Morkel

If the big quick can break into the side, he needs 12 more wickets to move to 193, and into fifth place all time for the Proteas, leapfrogging Lance Klusener in the process.

Wayne Parnell

The all-rounder will be looking for six wickets to bring up his 100 in the format, currently having taken 94.

David Miller

With 96 appearances to his name, South Africa’s big-hitting middle order batsman will be hoping his side makes at least the semi-finals with him in the team, as he needs four more appearances to bring up 100.

AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla

Two of the undoubted stars of the modern game, Hashim Amla and AbdV both have 24 One day International centuries to their name, sharing sixth place in the world’s all time list of century-makers. They’ll both be looking to hit one more to reach 25 and move level in fifth place with Kumar Sangakarra , or just maybe bag two to move ahead of the master Sri Lankan.

 

Sri Lanka

The islanders have a World Cup title to their name in both ODI and T20I formats, and can also boast a joint Champions Trophy success when they shared the trophy with India in 2002 following a washed out final on their home turf of Colombo.

Although always dangerous in tournaments, they are not expected to do too well this time around with a side very much in transition, but pay attention to the performances of a few of their players as they approach the following milestones:

Lasith Malinga

Malinga the Slinger currently has 291 ODI wickets in the bag, needing nine more to reach a fabulous 300. Should he reach the target, he will become just the 13th player in the history of the game to do so, and the third Sri Lankan after Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya.

Nuwan Kulasekera

Malinga’s fellow quick is much closer to his personal milestone, needing just one more wicket to reach 200.

Upul Tharanga

Tharanga needs 71 more runs to reach 6000 ODI runs for Sri Lanka.

Chamara Kapugedera

If Chamara appears in all three of Sri Lanka’s group games, he will move from 97 to 100 ODI appearances in the blue and yellow uniform.