After the eminently predictable England whitewash, even the optimists among us expected a miracle turnaround against South Africa. But that Kraigg Brathwaite’s no-hopers contrived to lose the Second Test in Guyana in just nine sessions is hard to take. It is a failure of leadership and raises serious questions about …
Read More »Best: Inside protean heads; how lack of flexibility cost South Africa a T20 World Cup
June 29, the T20 World Cup final. David Miller, the finisher who came in at #6, has just given his hand away. Unnecessarily. Kagiso Rabada can win the coveted trophy for South Africa. True, he’s batting at #10. But cometh the hour, cometh the batsman. Even a #10 can get …
Read More »T20WC24: Kohli, Suryakumar, Proteas give inspired India 2nd T20 title
They choked! Again! At the last hurdle, just the wrong time! At just the right time, struggling star batsman Virat Kohli found his form to help 2007 Champions India sneak past South Africa by seven runs at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday. The former skipper’s carefully constructed 76 (59 …
Read More »T20WC24: Shamsi, Jansen demolish Afghanistan; South Africa coast into first final
Riding high after qualifying for their first ever World Cup semi-final, Afghanistan were yesterday brought very low—56 all out—by South Africa. At the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba, Aiden Markram’s men reached their target for the loss of just one wicket to book a place in a World Cup final …
Read More »Sparkling Nandu century takes WIU19 into Plate semis; England trounce South Africa
A rapid, Man-of-the-Match century by stand-in West Indies U19 captain Matthew Nandu was enough to leave a hapless Papua New Guinea floundering in the plate quarterfinals of the ICC U19 World Cup in Diego Martin today. And not content to have taken the opposition bowlers for 128 off only 134 …
Read More »T2021 W/C: WI in trouble after 8-wkt loss to S/Africa despite de Kock pull-out after refusing ‘the knee’
South Africa star Quinton de Kock’s refusal to take the knee today in a now commonplace gesture against racism, even at the expense of his place in the squad, is likely to have a long-term effect on his team’s chances at the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. Today, though, the …
Read More »Best: Pollard’s West Indies fall short; changes coming for Australia next week?
Twice between overs 15 and 20 in this deciding T20I at the Grenada National Stadium on Saturday, different South African bowlers had a chance to take three wickets in three balls. Neither did. But thwarting the hat-trick could not prevent Kieron Pollard’s eighth-placed World T20 Champions West Indies from going …
Read More »Pollard powers West Indies to 2-all against South Africa, with Bravo moment at the death
With three overs left in the innings and the South Africa batsmen needing 42 runs for a series-sealing win, Kieron Pollard summoned Dwayne Bravo to bowl the last of his four overs. It took only one ball for him to decide the outcome of Thursday’s Game Four at the Grenada …
Read More »Are Pollard’s WI biding their time or do they simply not have the goods to beat Bavuma’s Proteas?
The time to be in front, every sportsman knows, is at the end. But that knowledge is unlikely to unduly trouble South Africa’s white ball cricket captain, Temba Bavuma. At the end of Tuesday’s third T20I between his troops and Kieron Pollard’s West Indies, the Proteas had their noses in …
Read More »West Indies flatter when they bowl but Proteas flatten them with the ball
Kieron Pollard’s West Indies came roaring back to restrict South Africa to 167 for 6 in Sunday’s second T20I at the Grenada National Stadium. It was a few runs more than the target to which they cruised for the loss of only two wickets and with five overs to spare …
Read More »Best: Brathwaite’s West Indies lose it; whom the gods wish to destroy?
Just after 11.30 am with lunch approaching, Kyle Mayers, on 34, tried to club Kagiso Rabada over midwicket. A problem? Well, the ball was just short of a good length and, more importantly, well outside off-stump. It was not the first time; in the second innings of the First Test, …
Read More »Vice-captain Blackwood follows Virat Kohli’s lead and gets his numbers up
Do the math. Kraigg Brathwaite’s West Indies were only half as good as Dean Elgar’s South Africa in the first innings of the Second Test match in St Lucia. Facing a 149-run deficit, WI will have to bowl out of their skins to avoid having a mountain to climb on …
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