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Michael Hussey believes Australia will have the advantage in the first Test against a South African side whose key men have not played a first-class match in ten months

Brydon Coverdale in Cape Town07-Nov-2011Michael Hussey believes Australia will have the advantage in the first Test against a South African side whose key men have not played a first-class match in ten months. Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Mark Boucher have all had no first-class action since the New Year’s Test against India, one of the longest lay-offs possible in the modern game.You wouldn’t eat a braaied boerwoers that was that underdone. The Australians will be skewering them this week to see if they’re ready. The World Cup was South Africa’s focus during February and March, and then followed the IPL, the Champions League Twenty20 and the limited-overs games against Australia, preventing their players from turning out for their first-class franchises.In the same period, Australia won a three-Test series in Sri Lanka, before some players went home to play in the Sheffield Shield. The Australians also spent the past week in Potchefstroom, where they faced South Africa A in a challenging three-day encounter. On the other hand, South Africa’s stars have had to settle for domestic one-day cricket in the lead-up to the Test, which begins in Cape Town on Wednesday.It is far from ideal preparation, something Australia know all too well after they failed to ready themselves for the Ashes last summer and were thumped by a well-oiled England. Hussey was careful to avoid calling the South Africans underdone, but he said the solid base of first-class cricket Australia’s player had enjoyed recently was an advantage.”Definitely getting some first-class cricket is beneficial coming into a Test series, no question about that,” Hussey said. “For me personally I would love to have some first-class games coming into a Test series, so we can definitely have that as an advantage. But they have been playing some provincial cricket, some of their guys have only been playing Twenty20 which makes it tougher.”I look at it two ways, freshness is important as well, you can come in flying from the start, but the hard thing about Test cricket is maintaining that pressure and intensity the whole time. The more Test cricket you have as a base, you can maintain that pressure and intensity for longer periods. I’m not anticipating them being underdone, they will come out firing and they will be playing pretty hard cricket. Us having played quite a bit of cricket, hopefully we can maintain our intensity.”One of the key targets of Australia’s intensity will be the South Africa vice-captain de Villiers, who broke his hand six weeks ago while training in the Champions League. de Villiers has been ruled fit for the first Test and was hoping for a solid hit-out in Sunday’s one-day game for the Titans, only to be given out obstructing the field when the umpire adjudged he had got in the way of a run-out attempt.He will need to do plenty of work in the nets over the next two days to ensure he is comfortable for a Test against the likes of Mitchell Johnson, who broke both Graeme Smith’s hands in separate incidents nearly three years ago. Hussey said Australia’s aggressive fast men would give de Villiers a searching test.”I think we’ll have very specific plans for all their batsmen but that’s what Test cricket is all about – trying to put doubt in the opposition’s minds,” Hussey said. “We’ll be trying to test all their batsmen and it’s nice to have the personnel to be able to do it, they’re all pretty aggressive bowlers, apart from Copes [Trent Copeland].”It will be a tough challenge for [de Villiers] as well. Is the hand okay to start with, and he hasn’t played a lot of cricket. It is very difficult to come back one from a break and two from injury and play well straight away. He is a class player though and I would expect him, if he plays, to get better and better as the series goes on the more cricket he gets under his belt. He is a very important player for their team.Getting better and better as the series goes on isn’t that easy in a two-Test series, adding to the questions over South Africa’s preparation. If they fail to shed their rust in Cape Town, they have only one more opportunity. Hussey might not call them underdone, but the skewer will tell the story.

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has said he is feeling “fantastic” after working on some technical and mental aspects of his game with coach Graham Ford during his time with the Natal Dolphins

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2010England batsman Kevin Pietersen has said he is feeling “fantastic” after working on some technical and mental aspects of his game with coach Graham Ford during his time with the Natal Dolphins.Before joining up with the England squad in Perth this weekend, Pietersen spent four weeks in South Africa attempting to regain his form, and while he managed to play just two first-class innings, scoring 36 and 0, he insisted the trip had been a positive and helpful experience.”I feel fantastic now. I’ve had a lovely little break from the international circuit which has been very, very refreshing,” Pietersen told . “I’m really, really excited about what could be one hell of an interesting and positive winter ahead.””I put myself under a lot of pressure by going to South Africa knowing that every practice session and every hit I had would make headlines in the cricketing world but that’s what I wanted to do because I know it’s going to benefit me in the long run. Fordy’s been somebody I’ve worked with throughout my life so it was amazing that I could go and spend two weeks with him and gather back that confidence and that free spirit.””He knows me as a person. I haven’t given a lot away about me as a person here, especially playing for England, but Fordy knows where I’m from, knows everything about me so he can talk to me in a very different way, more than anyone in this country probably apart from my brothers and my parents. He picked out one little thing that I haven’t been doing in the last six months, since the Caribbean in the World Twenty20 and we worked on that little thing in particular.Pietersen, who has not struck an international hundred since March 2009, hit out at the intense media attention given to his struggle for form ahead of England’s defence of the Ashes in Australia. He empathised with footballer Wayne Rooney, who has also been the focus of negative publicity recently.”I wasn’t fed up with the scrutiny, I found it funny,” he said. “The journalists get paid to make opinions and the punters have the right. But people don’t realise we know as sportsmen if we’re not playing well. We actually know as sportsmen if we are not playing well, if we are letting ourselves down or letting people down, so the more times that people hammer you about it, it doesn’t really help.”I look at the Rooney situation – he’s getting killed every single day and it will definitely not be helping the lad and he shouldn’t have to go to Dubai to get away from things. He should be supported. The man’s a genius, he will be a legend of the game and he should be supported rather than be hammered about stuff.”Pietersen also insisted he would not be drawn into a war of words with the Australian camp before what is sure to be a keenly-contested Ashes series. Australian captain Ricky Ponting recently suggested that Pietersen “is a big question mark for them [England] at the moment” and that opener Alastair Cook and middle-order batsman Paul Collingwood would be “nervous” after their own struggles for form during a successful English summer.”This is my fourth series against Australia,” said Pietersen. “Every single time I have played against Australia, for the months leading up to it a lot of things are said which have absolutely no bearing after the first ball is bowled. I am not prepared to get involved. I’m not prepared to add any fuel to any fire that they might have started. I just want to go out and play some really tough, hard cricket and challenge myself against the Australians in Australia.”

For the second straight day Mumbai were tormented by S Badrinath, whose magnificent double-century strengthened Tamil Nadu at the Bandra Kurla Complex

Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai09-Dec-2009
Scorecard
S Badrinath’s 250 pushed Tamil Nadu past 500•Sivaraman Kitta/K Sivaraman

S Badrinath tormented Mumbai for the second straight day, his magnificent double-century strengthening Tamil Nadu’s position at the Bandra Kurla Complex. With the pitch slowing down drastically, Badrinath and his overnight partner C Ganapathy took advantage with a 328-run stand that pushed the visitors past 500.Mumbai’s new-ball pair troubled the batsmen with their movement early on Tuesday and would have hoped for a repeat today. But Badrinath and Ganapathy brought to the crease the same solidity that helped them dominate yesterday, Ganapathy leading the charge while Badrinath played anchor.They were also helped by the low and slow track that gave the batsmen enough time to read the line and play comfortably. Yesterday Ganapathy was happy stealing runs at one end as the Mumbai bowlers tried to hunt down Badrinath. Ganapathy lacks his partner’s flourish but compensated by playing to the ball’s merit.He also showed admirable patience for a bowler-turned-allrounder, enough to exhaust the Mumbai attack. He reached his maiden century with a firm push off Abhishek Nayar to the midwicket boundary, a big moment for the 28-year-old: he went down on one knee and doffed his cap towards the dressing room where his team-mates cheered wildly. The century continues a fantastic season for Ganapathy, the leading Ranji allrounder with 320 runs and 16 wickets.As the day progressed it seemed the only way Mumbai could dislodge the pair was through a run-out. And that’s exactly what happened: a few overs after lunch Badrinath tapped to cover and rushed out for a single, Ganapathy hesitated, though, and his indecision cost him as Iqbal Abdulla came up with a direct hit.But Mumbai’s troubles were far from over as Badrinath’s appetite for runs was huge. For much of the first two sessions he had been content to rotate the strike. His first boundary arrived in the day’s 10th over with a beautifully timed square cut off Malvi. Nayar’s first delivery of the day, short and wide of off stump, was summarily dispatched past point.
Badrinath understood that the only way Tamil Nadu could continue to dominate the game was by extending their stay at the wicket. So he played for time. Between lunch and tea he scored just 37 runs, defending every bowler stoutly.Sadly there was an absence of a contest as the Mumbai bowlers failed to exert any control over their lengths. The only time the ball beat the batsman was when Dhawal Kulkarni got some seam movement early morning. Bowling in the channel Kulkarni, last year’s leading wicket-taker, had tempted Ganapathy to attempt a shot. He nearly succeeded the first time as the outside edge flew to the right of Wasim Jaffer at first slip. Kulkarni repeated the same ball, which missed Ganpathy’s outside edge by inches. But for the rest of the day the Mumbai bowlers just went through the motions. Even the spinners resorted to defensive lines once they realised they were not getting any turn or bounce.It was little surprise then that Badrinath helped himself to his fourth double century, and his first against Mumbai, rocking back to cut Nayar beautifully behind square. After Ganapathy’s exit, he marshalled the tail nicely to push the visitors past 500.But the job is only half done for Tamil Nadu and a challenge awaits their bowlers, who will have to stay patient to prise out wickets. WV Raman, Tamil Nadu’s coach, agreed. “Based on the how our batsmen applied themselves my bowlers would have a tough job,” he said.

Five-wicket win opens series at Western Province CC in Cape Town

ECB Reporters Network17-Jan-2025England Under-19 91 for 5 (Mayes 51) beat South Africa Under-19 87 (Minto 3-15) by five wicketsA dominant bowling performance from England Men U19s paved the way for a comfortable five-wicket win over South Africa Men U19s in the opening Youth ODI at Cape Town.New-ball duo Harry Moore and James Minto did the damage up top taking five wickets between them as the hosts were skittled for just 87.Opener Ben Mayes then broke the back of the chase with 51 from 48 balls while debutant captain Archie Vaughan added 26 as the Young Lions reach their target in 18.3 overs.Moore and Minto immediately got to work after the hosts opted to bat and subsided to 33 for six.The tone was set for an impressive Lions display in the field when Joe Moores held a sharp catch at backward point when Adnaan Lagadien arrowed a backfoot drive off Derbyshire right-armer Moore.Durham left-armer Minto had already had opener Shaylen Pillay caught by wicketkeeper Thomas Rew on his way to figures of innings-best three for 15.Spinners Taz Ali and Farhan Ali ensured the wickets continued to tumble before Worcestershire’s Jack Home – one of three debutants alongside Vaughan and Aaryan Sawant – ended the innings.Home first had Enathi Kitshini caught at backward point by Moores before pulling off a direct hit at the non-striker’s end to run out Nqobani Mokoena.Mayes and Vaughan then combined in a 64-run stand for the second wicket to ensure there were no jitters for the Young Lions. Mayes took the lead role, reaching his half-century from 45 balls, and despite some late wickets the tourists were always on course for a comfortable win.The Lions can secure the three-match Youth ODI series on Sunday when the second match is also played at Western Province CC in Cape Town.

Club legend to depart at end of County Championship campaign after seven years in role

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2023Glen Chapple will end an unbroken 31-year association with Lancashire this week, when he steps down as the club’s head coach at the conclusion of their ongoing contest against Kent.Chapple, 49, has been in his current role for the past seven seasons, having previously worked as Ashley Giles’ first-team coach for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and as acting head coach in 2014 following the departure of Peter Moores to the England job.Prior to that, Chapple had served as a player-coach in the latter years of a record-breaking playing career, in which he claimed 1373 wickets in 664 appearances for Lancashire across all formats and captained the side to the County Championship title in 2011 for the first time in 77 years.After making his first-class debut in 1992 and his List A debut the following year, Chapple also became a key figure in the great Lancashire team that claimed nine one-day trophies between 1989 and 1999.His finest hour in that phase of his career came at Lord’s in 1996, in the final of the NatWest Trophy, when he returned figures of 6 for 18 to bowl Essex out for 57. But he was surprisingly overlooked by England in the prime of his career, and eventually played a solitary ODI against Ireland in 2006, at the age of 32.As Lancashire’s head coach, Chapple led the club to three second-place finishes in Division One of the County Championship and reached T20 Finals Day on three occasions too. However, last year’s thrilling one-run defeat to Hampshire was the closest they came to lifting the title. Carl Crowe and Graham Onions are among the internal candidates to succeed him in the role.Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s director of cricket performance, said: “Glen has been an incredible servant to Lancashire Cricket over the past 30 years – as a player, captain and most recently as head coach – and on behalf of the club, I’d like to thank him for everything he’s achieved.”He will go down as a legend of the club from what he achieved during his playing career and has overseen a sustained period of success over the last seven years as head coach.”Glen’s shown a relentless commitment and passion to the Red Rose during his time as head coach and we wish him every success in the next steps of his career.”Chapple added: “I am immensely proud of what we have achieved at Lancashire over the years and I would like to thank all the players, staff and members and supporters for the support I’ve received – both as a player and as a coach – during my career at Emirates Old Trafford.”I feel that now is the right time in my career to explore and pursue other coaching opportunities and I wish the club all the best for the future.”

Potts earns maiden ODI call-up, Rashid back after Hajj pilgrimage

Vithushan Ehantharajah15-Jul-2022Ben Stokes will not play in England’s T20I series against South Africa or the Hundred, the ECB have announced. The news came as part of the announcement of the limited-overs squads for the upcoming three ODIs and three T20Is against South Africa, which begin next week.Stokes missed the T20I series against India to rest after captaining England to four consecutive Test victories against New Zealand and India at the start of the summer. With three more against South Africa beginning in the middle of August, the decision has been taken to manage his workload, which also means missing the second edition of the Hundred for Northern Superchargers.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Stokes’ last short-form outing was for Superchargers on July 26, 2021, before he took a break from all cricket last summer. He opted out of the 2022 Indian Premier League and so will head into this winter’s T20 World Cup in Australia with minimal short-form prep. He is unlikely to play a full part in the seven T20Is in Pakistan that precede the tournament. Given the desire of white-ball coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler to establish the right balance of personnel ahead of time, it is a far from ideal situation, even if necessary to cope with a far from ideal schedule.Yorkshire spinner Adil Rashid returns to both squads after missing the series against India, having been permitted by the ECB to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. He replaces Matt Parkinson in both squads. Jonny Bairstow, who sat out the T20 series with India, is also back in the T20I squad.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There is also a new face in the ODI squad, with Matthew Potts earning his first call-up. The Durham seamer played in all four Tests earlier this summer, taking 18 wickets at 26.72, and impressing the management team, including Test coach Brendon McCullum, with his relentless approach with the ball.Potts, 23, has just 10 List A appearances to his name, with 16 dismissals at 23.37 and an economy rate of 5.84. His only appearance in the format in the last two years came in Durham’s Royal London Cup final against Glamorgan last season. He took 3 for 55 as his side were beaten by 58 runs.Harry Brook, the Yorkshire batter, has been left out of the ODI squad and will play in the County Championship for Yorkshire against Somerset instead. “I’m looking forward to playing that,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’ve played a red-ball game for ages now. They’re a very good side at home but hopefully we’ll go down there and win.”Tymal Mills, the Sussex left-arm seamer, has been left out of the T20I squad. He bowled three expensive overs in his only appearance of the series against India and has been struggling with a toe injury, but hopes to return for the start of the Hundred.The first match of the white-ball programme against South Africa is on Tuesday at Chester-le-Street, Durham, two days after the third and final ODI with India on Sunday at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester. That series is currently all square at one-all.

Mitchell Swepson and Marnus Labuschagne undid the Scorchers at the end of the group stage

Andrew McGlashan02-Feb-2021Colin Munro has said the Perth Scorchers will need to “take our egos out” of their batting when they come against Brisbane Heat in the BBL Challenger final on Thursday with the prize a place in the final against the Sydney Sixers.The two sides faced each other in their final regular-season match with the Heat coming out on top by six runs with Mitchell Swepson and Marnus Labuschagne, who have formed a dynamic legspin pairing at the tail-end of the tournament, having combined figures of 8-0-55-5.The Scorchers were well placed in their chase of 182 with an opening stand of 53 in six overs before Liam Livingstone charged and missed at a delivery from Swepson which skidded low. The top four all fell to the legspinners with Munro top-edging a slog sweep to deep point having made 7 off 14 balls.Related

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Labuschagne would then remove Josh Inglis and Ashton Turner in the same over to leave them 5 for 94, and despite a late charge by Mitchell Marsh the chase came up short.”[We need to] just try to take our egos out of it instead of trying to smash it for six every ball like we tried, just play smart cricket,” Munro told reporters in Canberra ahead the rematch. “The other day we tried to go outside of our comfort zone a little bit.””Marnus and Swepo they’ve added some different dynamics to their bowling group. We’ve just got make sure we play to our blueprint.”In the five matches Labuschagne and Swepson have played together, since returning to the BBL after the Test series against India, they have shared 18 wickets and been key to the run that has seen the Heat put together four wins on the bounce to keep their tournament alive with no second chances for a loss.”Looking back a couple of weeks ago it was a far cry to see us in this position,” Swepson said. “Really proud of the team that we’ve been able to get here from that position we have some nice momentum now.”It’s always nice when you come up against an opposition where you’ve had success, gives you a little bit of confidence, but we know their batting line there is firepower all over it. We can’t just rock up and expect to be able to do the exact same thing we did, they will come better prepared.”That was the first time this season that they were playing against both me and Marny so they’ll be better prepared. We’ll have to be prepared for that and make sure that we are on top of whatever they throw at us.”Labuschagne had one T20 wicket before this run in the BBL but has claimed two three-wicket hauls to give captain Chris Lynn a wealth of bowling options.”It’s been great to see Marny bowl and get some good overs,” Swepson said. “Think in the past he’s probably been a little frustrated that he hasn’t got that opportunity to bowl in this format and you are seeing what he can do.”

The hosts will not be able to overtake Pakistan to be the No. 1 T20I team even with a win in Perth, but the series is still on the line

The Preview by Daniel Brettig07-Nov-2019

Big Picture

Rain in Sydney not only robbed Australia of the chance to complete a T20 series victory over Pakistan in the space of two matches, it also meant that the hosts will not be able to overtake Babar Azam’s team as the world’s No. 1 ranked T20I team with a win in the final match in Perth – the tourists will cling on by a single point even in defeat.But there remains plenty to play for, not least the series itself, and also the continuing road towards a now imminent Test series between the two teams, beginning in Brisbane in a couple of weeks’ time. Pakistan still appear very much in acclimatising mode, having run into an Australian side committing serious mental and physical energy to T20 international matches for the first time since the 2016 global event – next year’s on home soil being the first of two in as many years.While Australia will have to rebalance their bowling attack somewhat, in the absence of Pat Cummins as he freshens up ahead of the Tests, there has been a strong sense of cohesion about the hosts’ approach, either attacking from the top through Aaron Finch and David Warner or letting Steven Smith direct traffic for the middle order in the event of an early wicket or two. With the ball and in the field, the Australians have not quite been as stingy as the Perth Scorchers at their best, but they are tracking that way both in terms of tight bowling combinations and predatory work to cut off runs and seek run-outs.Pakistan offered some signs of hope at Manuka Oval, not least the aggression of Iftikhar Ahmed as some long-awaited help for Babar, but also a little more cutting edge to their bowling line-up. The additional bounce on offer at Perth Stadium, where Australia’s ODI team was well beaten by South Africa at the start of last summer, has the potential to bring the visitors still further into the game, should they get their lengths right.

Form guide

Australia WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LLLLL

In the spotlight

Never conceding more than 27 runs in a spell while also scooping six wickets, Ashton Agar has been a considerable success story for Australia over this bracket of T20 matches. He has, with help from Adam Zampa, ensured that the hosts have a three-dimensional nature to their bowling attack that has not always been evident in the game’s shortest format. Pakistan, like the world’s other nations, will need to find a better way to combat his changes of pace and variations in spin before next year’s global event on similar surfaces.Babar Azam watches one race away•Getty Images

Scores of 59 not out and 50 have underlined the rare nature of Babar Azam’s talents, but in each case his innings have not amounted to all they might have been for a lack of adequate help. With Iftikhar having announced himself in Canberra, albeit on a less bouncy wicket that can be expected in Perth, there is reason for Babar to hope that others may soon come to the party.

Team news

The decision to rest Cummins for the final match of the series suggests a possible return to the side for Sean Abbott, though Billy Stanlake is also waiting in the wings.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Ben McDermott, 5 Ashton Turner, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Kane RichardsonA promotion may be possible for Iftikhar following his Canberra fireworks and the need for Babar to have more support towards the top of the order.Pakistan (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Haris Sohail, 4 Iftikhar Ahmed, 5 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 6 Asif Ali, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Wahab Riaz 9 Shadab Khan, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Mohammad Irfan/Mohammad Musa

Pitch and conditions

The Perth Stadium pitch can be expected to be fast and bouncy, with a hot day forecast for Perth – temperatures are expected to be around 33C about the time of the first ball at 4.30pm local time.

Stats and trivia

• David Warner needs 67 runs to become the leading all-time T20I scorer in matches between Australia and Pakistan, surpassing Umar Akmal (335 runs) and Kamran Akmal (366)
• Australia and Pakistan have never played a T20I against each other in Perth before

Quotes

“In the past we’ve used these opportunities to rest some of those guys but we need to get better at it. It’s something that’s a priority for Australian cricket so therefore you want to play your best players as often as you can. We’re really lucky, we’ve got great depth in the squad. We’ve got a ripping bunch of blokes in this squad and that’s really pleasing.”

The former India captain said no argument was going to satisfy him for Hanuma Vihari being preferred over Nair for The Oval Test

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2018Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar led the severe criticism of India’s decision to not play middle-order batsman Karun Nair in fifth Test against England at The Oval.Nair was part of the original 18-man squad, but India played allrounder Hardik Pandya in the first four Tests. When India dropped Pandya – the first time since his debut – for the Oval Test, they gave a debut to Hanuma Vihari, the Andhra batsman who averages 59 in first-class cricket and was brought in as Kuldeep Yadav’s replacement for the final two Tests.Gavaskar was furious with the selection, failing to see a reason for not playing a batsman whose last innings against England was a triple-century. The only reason Gavaskar could come up with was that Nair “has not been your favourite player”.”There is no argument that is going to ever satisfy me,” Gavaskar said on Sony Six moments after the toss. “What has Karun Nair done not to get in? I know he has not been your favourite player. You don’t want to pick him. He scores a triple hundred. You leave him out [for allrounder Jayant Yadav in Pune]. He fails in a couple of games [against Australia in the rest of the series]. You leave him out. You have brought him back in the team. It could be the selectors who have brought him back. The team management probably doesn’t want him. And that’s why they haven’t given him the opportunity to play in this game.”How many Indians have got triple hundreds? Virender Sehwag twice and Karun Nair once. You don’t give that man an opportunity. So what are you trying to tell him? ‘Look we don’t think you are a good player?'”All the best to Hanuma Vihari. I really wish him well. Karun Nair has every right to ask the team management what he has done wrong. He deserves an answer. ‘Why am I not picked?’ If you are going to pick an extra batsman, which they should have done from the first Test itself, and if you haven’t given him the opportunity, he deserves an answer.”Nair’s exclusion was reminiscent of Ajinkya Rahane, who spent a lot of time on the bench in Australia in 2011-12 but couldn’t find a place in a line-up that included Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. When Dravid and Laxman retired for the subsequent home season, Yuvraj Singh was picked for the England series. And when Yuvraj was dropped, Rahane would have hoped to play in the fourth Test in Nagpur, but India gave a debut to allrounder Ravindra Jadeja in that match.One of the arguments in Vihari’s favour has been that he can bowl offspin too – he was the third bowler used on the first morning of the Oval Test – but he has only 19 wickets from 63 first-class matches, which doesn’t suggest a Jadeja-like all-round ability.Gavaskar was not the only person in the Indian cricket community disappointed with the selection.

South Africa’s returning captain lauded his team’s character after they responded to the heavy defeat at Lord’s with a crushing victory

Firdose Moonda at Trent Bridge17-Jul-2017A week is a long time in politics, they say. It’s both much shorter and much longer in sport.For supporters, in a week an entire squad should be changed, a coach replaced and a mindset shifted. After South Africa’s defeat at Lord’s, half the batting line-up were under scrutiny, there was increased interest in Russell Domingo’s position especially with his reapplication still under consideration and concerns that the disappointments of a long and largely unsuccessful trip to the UK were haunting even the mostly successful Test outfit.For the squad concerned, that week was about long day after long day of trying to fix what went wrong without overhauling the system. Practically they cannot pick as many new players as public opinion demands, neither can they change the management and while they can reframe their approach a little, they can’t actually alter what is often spoken about as a “brand” of play in such a short space of time. They know that they will have to take a similar group of players and the same support staff and aim for a different result. So how exactly did South Africa achieve that?A lot can be put down to the basics, both in selection and team performance. South Africa dropped their worst performing batsman from Lord’s, JP Duminy, swapped out another batsman, Theunis de Bruyn, for an allrounder, Chris Morris and had their captain Faf du Plessis back. The changes gave them more stability in the line-up and more options in the attack. They also did not bowl a single no-ball at Trent Bridge after overstepping 10 times at Lord’s and took all their catches in Nottingham after putting down four in London.Those things were not done by the flicking of a switch or the taking of a scolding but by focusing on two key things. “One was character. The style of play we normally have is one with a lot of character and intensity and good body language,” du Plessis explained.South Africa pride themselves on their ability to bounce back, which has its own problems because it means they have to be behind first, but it has allowed them to develop thick, resilient skins. They were reminded of that after their drubbing at Lord’s.The second thing was how they respond to pressure. “In the first Test, we played some good cricket but at times that went missing a bit,” du Plessis said. “It’s important how long and how well we can do that because it puts pressure on the opposition and then also, when you are under pressure, to make sure how you respond to those moments to get the pressure back on the opposition.”South Africa’s battling effort in the first session of the match set the tone•Getty Images

South Africa’s batsmen built steadier partnerships than England by playing the patience game and their bowlers broke through England’s attacking approach. As a unit, South Africa could dictate terms throughout the match. “Pretty much from the toss to the last ball that we bowled, we were in control of this Test match,” du Plessis said.Even when du Plessis chose to bat first in conditions most other captains, including the home one, would have bowled in he was confident his men had it covered. “We knew it would be tough but and we are used to making those brave decisions,” he said. “Back in South Africa we prepare green wickets and we’re not scared of batting first. For England to only get one wicket and us to get 56 runs in that session set the tone.”Then they promoted their best batsmen to No.4 and it paid off handsomely. Quinton de Kock’s sprightly 68 gave the first innings life. Though he failed in the second innings, South Africa are set to stick with him higher up and allowing him the freedom to continue playing a naturally aggressive game.”It wasn’t a case of making a decision that’s just a once off, I’m a big believer, in giving guys a fair opportunity,” du Plessis said. “We all know that the way he plays is the way he plays, so we are not going to ask him to change that. He’s going to put pressure on the opposition and he’s a good enough cricketer to understand when to adapt his game to play certain situations, so he’ll learn a lot from this.”The batsmen and the conditions gave the bowlers enough to work with but even after removing England for 205 in the first innings, du Plessis was preparing to play a long game in search of a series-levelling victory. “A lot of people might have thought we had enough runs long before we did, but for me it was crucial we got 450-plus to make sure it looked like a really big total because the pitch was still good,” he said. “We weren’t expecting it to be easy. We were mentally preparing to take it to lunch or even tea tomorrow.”That the win came mid-way through the day was a welcome bonus for a South African side that wanted to be challenged. They spent a week preparing for a fight, because both they knew that any small slip up in the second match would turn the entire tour on its head. The Test series would be un-winnable; the trip irredeemable. Now they have more than a week before they go again. It’s a long time in sport, both long enough for England to forget and long enough for South Africa to remember.