Tag Futebol

An attempt will be made to persuade him to step down ahead of a board meeting on Wednesday

Firdose Moonda10-Feb-2020Chris Nenzani’s tenure as Cricket South Africa president could be nearing its end. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that an attempt will be made to persuade Nenzani to step down ahead of a board meeting in East London on Wednesday. This would present a more seamless way forward for CSA because, according to an insider, it could take between 45 to 60 days to vote a sitting president out.Jack Madiseng, the president of the Gauteng Cricket Board, who resigned from the CSA board in December, is understood to have lobbied enough support to succeed Nenzani.The process to vote a sitting president out of office requires support from two-thirds of the Members’ Council (the body made up of the 14 provincial presidents). That equates to 10 of the 14 presidents being in favour of the motion. Then, the CSA president has the opportunity to respond to the grievances leveled against him and if their explanation is accepted, they could continue in office. If not, they would be dismissed.Given the time such a procedure would take, and the fact that Nenzani’s term ends in September, a more immediate way for the presidency to change hands would be if he voluntarily walked away.A few months ago, such a thought would have been unlikely. Nenzani has one of the longest serving members in CSA. He has been in office since February 2013 – that’s two three-year terms and then he was able to amend the CSA constitution to secure a one-year extension as well. At the time, Nenzani claimed he was staying on to tide the board through an unsettling period, with major administrative changes in the works.”Since 2018, there has been a high turnover on the board; we failed at the World Cup and that has forced us to introduce a different structure for the team management and team coaching. We are appointing a key person, a Director of Cricket, and at the same time we have given a lot of responsibility to the management through the office of the CEO,” Nenzani said at CSA’s AGM last September. “These are not small changes, they require sensible leadership – which is not to say no one else can provide that – I’m part of a collective and that collective will provide that sensible leadership.”However, in the months that followed, CSA’s executive unraveled, four board members resigned, sponsors were lost and seven staff members including CEO Thabang Moroe were suspended. Key stakeholders, such as the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) called on the board, and specifically the president and vice-president, to be held accountable for the multiple crises affecting the organisation. Now, it appears the pressure has told and Nenzani is likely to take the fall. The position of vice-president Beresford Williams is unclear but the rest of the board are set to remain in their positions.

India declared late on day two, leaving Australia to negotiate a pitch that is beginning to show signs of wear

The Report by Sreshth Shah26-Dec-2018On a day when the bowlers found no real purchase – barring occasional uneven bounce – from the MCG surface, India continued their batting dominance, consolidating their overnight position before declaring just under half an hour from stumps.India rode on the back of a 170-run third-wicket stand between Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara – the overnight pair batted out the first session – before useful contributions from the middle order took them to 443 for 7. Their bowlers then tested Australia’s openers for the last six overs of the day.Australia collected five wickets on the day, and the manner of a couple of them may have caused furrowed brows among their batsmen. Balls that stayed low accounted for Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, and instances of such misbehaviour are only likely to grow more frequent as the Test match wears on.Nathan Lyon, so influential in Adelaide and Perth, struggled for a similar impact on a pitch with much less bounce for him to exploit. As on the first day, India’s batsmen comfortably negated the offspinner, using their feet to reach the pitch of the ball, and drove him through the covers or midwicket almost every time he went too full. A switch to round the wicket didn’t help Lyon either, and it took him nearly 40 overs to earn his first wicket of the game. By the time Lyon struck after tea, trapping Rahane lbw with a ball that kept low, India had already built handsomely on their first-day platform.Kohli and Pujara began the day crisply, flicking and nudging to the long square boundary for a collection of threes, before settling in to protect their wicket. They weathered Australia’s bowlers, adding 62 runs before lunch and ensuring India’s second straight wicketless session.4:00

Laxman: Pujara showed application and looked at ease

Kohli chose to curtail his game after a few outside edges scuttled past the slips. He had collected his 20th Test half-century in the day’s first over, but was troubled by Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins early on. It was an unusually defensive innings but it kept India in control and he walked off at lunch, a smile plastered on his face, having successfully completed the mission India had in mind for the opening session. At the other end, Pujara brought up his 17th Test century, and his second of this series, with a straight drive off Lyon a couple of overs before lunch.After lunch, Kohli was troubled by a sore back that forced the physio Patrick Farhart onto the field. Kohli appeared to be struggling, getting down on his knees between deliveries. In an eventful over from Starc soon after the physio’s appearance, Kohli pulled in front of square for three, then hit another pull for four. By the time the over had ended, however, Kohli had steered an upper-cut right into the hands of third man. It was relief for Australia, a sedate celebration after almost 70 overs of no joy.Pujara would have liked to build on his 17th Test hundred, but he received a delivery from Cummins that he could do little about. It snaked through low off the surface from just short of a good length, and slid under Pujara’s back-foot defence and took out off stump. Cummins didn’t celebrate too hard, perhaps aware that the uneven bounce could pose a danger to Australia’s batsmen too.Pujara’s dismissal brought Rohit Sharma, who had missed the second Test due to injury, into the middle. He took the back seat early on, as Ajinkya Rahane took control till tea. Rohit looked comfortable in the middle – at one point his control percentage was 96 – but nearly fell against the run of play when he top-edged a sweep off Lyon. Substitute Peter Siddle, however, dropped a simple chance at backward square leg, handing him a reprieve on 16.Following Rahane’s dismissal, Rohit went on to add 76 for the sixth wicket with the No. 7 Rishabh Pant, who also enjoyed a bit of good fortune, with Cummins dropping him at long-on off the luckless Lyon.With Australia’s lead bowlers struggling for incision on the largely docile surface, Mitchell Marsh bowled a long spell of stump-to-stump medium-pace in the afternoon, with Tim Paine standing up to the stumps. Marsh finished as Australia’s most economical bowler, conceding only 56 off his 21 overs.With the day coming to a close, Rohit finally began to hit out. He swatted a length ball to deep midwicket to bring up India’s 400, and celebrated his 10th Test fifty, his second in Australia, two overs later. Australia took the third new ball in the 166th over, with Starc and Hazlewood returning for another late spell, but the harder ball only made run-scoring easier for Rohit and Pant. Both creamed fours off one Starc over, before Pant fell for 39, miscuing a leg-side heave. Ravindra Jadeja was out the next over, and at 443 for 7 Kohli declared, having kept Australia on the field for nearly 170 overs.Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris were left to face six tricky overs before stumps. There were two inside-edges in Ishant Sharma’s first over, and from the other end Jasprit Bumrah rattled Harris’s helmet with a short ball. The openers managed to survive this period, adding eight runs by stumps.

Given he is also keeping wickets, it is possible Bancroft could be included in any one of three ways in the Australian side: as an opener, No. 6 batsman or gloveman

Daniel Brettig13-Nov-2017Getty Images

Cameron Bancroft built a near undeniable case for Ashes selection by adding another innings of real substance to his Sheffield Shield ledger against South Australia at the WACA Ground.Pushed as a candidate by his state coach Justin Langer, Bancroft batted throughout day one to finish on an unbeaten 161, aided by a freewheeling 95 from the Western Australia captain Mitchell Marsh.Given he is also keeping wickets, it is possible Bancroft could be included in any one of three ways in the Australian side: as an opener, No. 6 batsman or gloveman. Either way, he is fitting the definition of “banging the door down” the selectors have been looking for.There were less glad tidings for Shaun Marsh, Hilton Cartwright and the returning Marcus Stoinis. All made starts before being dismissed, Marsh dragging on, Cartwright bowled between bat and pad, and Stoinis caught behind.SA’s bowlers were largely unable to stem the scoring rate, though the wicketkeeper Alex Carey claimed a pair of catches and the recalled Kane Richardson was economical.

Whatever the last day has in store, Warwickshire will have to conclude that this has been a let-down of a season, irrespective of the trophy they brought home from Lord’s last weekend

Jon Culley22-Sep-2016
ScorecardTim Ambrose stretched Warwickshire’s lead before they were able to strike late•Getty Images

Whatever the last day has in store, Warwickshire will have to conclude that this has been a let-down of a season, irrespective of the trophy they brought home from Lord’s last weekend. They began it as a popular choice among the pundits as the team most likely to derail Yorkshire’s bid for a hat-trick of titles, yet have finished it in a relegation scrap with Lancashire.What’s more, it is a youthful, inexperienced Lancashire, a side in its development stage, several years away from reaching maturity. Perhaps Warwickshire are a little too mature, lacking the mental vigour of youth, the appetite for success perhaps having lost a little of its edge. Seven of the side in action here are the wrong side of 30, with Keith Barker not far away.Barker’s contribution has been beyond reproach, comprising 608 runs and 60 wickets – his highest haul yet – and Jeetan Patel has underlined his status as the best spinner in the Championship, despite being pressed hard by Somerset’s Jack Leach. Beyond those two, however, there are not many contenders for player of the year.The new lease of life that Ian Bell perhaps hoped to have drawn from the captaincy has not happened and nor has the England recall of which he retained some hope. Jonathan Trott, about to bare his soul in his new autobiography, has recovered well from his troubled times but not even he could manage 1,000 Championship runs, a milestone well out of reach of everyone else. Sam Hain, the great hope of recent seasons, has taken his overdue chance in white-ball cricket well enough but in the red-ball game by the most generous assessment he has had a year standing still.If they do survive – and to do so they must win if Hampshire defeat Durham in Southampton – they will at least have avoided slipping into the backwater that will be home to all the other Midlands counties next season. You fear they might be battling against the current again next year, however, unless something happens to shake things up.Given their experience and the bonus of three wickets in the final hour of day three, you would expect them to get the job done. Their second innings matched the first in producing only one half-century but those who made a start without building on it substantially accumulated enough runs collectively to set Lancashire a real challenge, enabling Bell to set 347 to win in a day plus 18 overs.Trott, not at his most fluent but still able to produce some lovely drives, appeared to be the one who would come up with the key innings until he was bowled through the gate by offspinner Arron Lilley’s second ball, after which Bell was bowled off an inside edge attempting his familiar late cut. But Tim Ambrose stepped up with an unbeaten 59 that held things together. There was not as much turn in the pitch as was anticipated but although there were some batting misjudgments – Alex Mellor, Ian Westwood and Hain all fell offering no stroke – Lancashire kept up to their work willingly and Tom Bailey led the attack with discipline. Lilley finished with 3 for 56.Those evening inroads, though, have probably swung the balance. Haseeb Hameed survived, but the loss of Rob Jones, trapped in front by Barker, Luke Procter, another to be leg before without playing a shot, and Karl Brown, who feathered a catch to Ambrose off Chris Wright, leaves Lancashire already running out of reliable batsmen, although they will draw some comfort from knowing a draw would be enough for their survival.As Patel explained, it was enough to give Warwickshire “belief” that they can finish Lancashire off and leave their former coach, Ashley Giles, looking for assistance from Durham to keep a relegation off his CV.Win or not, Patel agreed that Warwickshire’s poor season in four-day cricket needs to be addressed.”To take those three wickets tonight was very important because it put more pressure on them and gave us a bit of belief,” he said. “It is all about tomorrow now , tomorrow is the biggest day of our season. We are in a position where we can win the game and if we can get ruthless and keep pushing and pushing we can knock them over.”But it is very disappointing to be fighting to avoid relegation because we started the season aiming to win all the competitions.”It is a tough division but I’m not going to lie – we are down at this end of the table not for that reason but because we just missed key moments.”I think regardless of the result it will be spoken about and hopefully guys are willing enough and man enough to take it on the chin and say how do I get better because next year will bring the same pressures. People will get better and we’ve got to get better with them.”

Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, has followed Alastair Cook in praising Peter Moores for laying the groundwork for the team’s recent success

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2015Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, has followed Alastair Cook in praising Peter Moores for laying the groundwork for the team’s recent success. Cook paid tribute to former head coach Moores after England’s innings victory at Trent Bridge saw them regain the Ashes and Farbrace echoed the sentiment, saying he would “defend him to the hilt”.Moores was sacked in May after the appointment of Andrew Strauss as England’s director of cricket. While England experienced a tumultuous year during Moores’ second spell as coach, he showed faith in a number of young players who have steadily helped improve the team’s fortunes.His final series in charge was a 1-1 draw in Tests against West Indies but the group stage exit at the World Cup cast an even longer shadow. Moores and Farbrace, who was brought in as assistant at the same time, had six months of 50-over preparation but saw the team fail even to reach the knockout stage after defeat to Bangladesh in Adelaide.England have made impressive strides in ODI cricket since then, while continuing the Test revival that Moores laid the foundations for after the 5-0 Ashes whitewash in 2013-14. Farbrace said Moores “gave absolutely everything to England” and backed him to do well with Nottinghamshire, where he has been working in a consultant capacity.”Following Mooresy down the tunnel at Adelaide was horrible. I did not enjoy seeing him take the stick that he did, and I will defend him to the hilt,” Farbrace said. “That bloke gave absolutely everything to England. I am so pleased that Cooky mentioned him because he did nothing but work hard for the team. He will still be in touch with the majority of the boys.”It is no surprise that he has come to Notts and in the time that he has been there he has improved them massively.”From my point of view, I hated the winter, I hate losing, but I have really, really enjoyed the last few months. But the team will go on long after I am finished with the England team, and be a very exciting team in the future.”England’s defeat to Bangladesh in Adelaide ended their World Cup at the group stage•Getty Images

Farbrace described England’s World Cup as a “disaster” but said it had helped provide the motivation to improve. Farbrace led the team in a thrilling 3-2 ODI victory over New Zealand, before the arrival of Trevor Bayliss as coach, and the feelgood factor established during that series fed into England’s dramatic Ashes surge.”We were all low. I said at the time in Sydney, it wasn’t Peter Moores’ fault we failed in the World Cup. He did nothing but work his socks off for England cricket. He is an excellent coach and bloke and was a very popular member of our group.”The decision was taken to change the coach after that World Cup. It was a disaster, there is no getting away from it. We didn’t play well. We got blown away in the first game and I don’t think we ever recovered. We were all hurting. Your pride takes a hell of a hit. You bump into people on the street and they say ‘Oh, you work with the England team, you are rubbish’. It hurts, it really does hurt.”The last week in Australia was a horrible week for all of us. Players get stung by that criticism. But we came back and the lads just felt it was time to change the way we were playing and our approach to certain things and they have carried that out. And we have seen the improvement.”England’s attacking approach, which saw them win the third and fourth Tests against Australia inside three days, was formed in part during the visit of New Zealand, with Farbrace filling an interim role in charge of the side. He pinpointed a counterattacking stand between Joe Root and Ben Stokes on the first day of the first Test of the summer – a game England ended up winning by 124 runs – as the catalyst for what followed.”Against New Zealand I don’t think we set out to be an ultra-attacking team,” he said. “It just happened by chance, at 30 for 4 on that first day at Lord’s, that Root plays one way, get his singles and scores boundaries, and Stokes came in and whacked it. And all of a sudden the headlines were ‘this new England way of playing’. But I think we stumbled across it as opposed to set out to play in that way.”I think it suits us. You look at the way the middle order play and they are all quite attacking batsmen. Trev keeps telling them to have a positive mindset, because then you are in the best position to play whatever ball is delivered to you – in the best position to leave, defend or hit it.”England’s sense of team unity played a big part in their Ashes victory•PA Photos

Farbrace also praised the ethic that has been instilled within the side, of enjoying success as a group. He offered Jason Roy – who continued to attack while opening in the ODIs against New Zealand despite the lack of a significant score – and Moeen Ali adapting to bat at No. 8 in the Test side as examples of the team’s needs taking priority, before highlighting Stokes’ pivotal display with the ball at Trent Bridge, where his second-innings 6 for 36 sealed the victory that returned the Ashes.”An interesting relationship has developed between Cooky and Ben Stokes,” he said. “Over the last 18 months or so, Stokes has wanted to bowl more and maybe Cooky hasn’t always trusted him to bowl so he has had short spells. Stokes knows he has short spells so he has been trying to impress with inswingers, bouncers, yorkers, whatever.”What we are now seeing, is that Stokes has had a couple of good spells and has been thrown the ball a bit more. So he is getting confidence from Cooky, Cooky is getting confidence in Stokesy, and now he is bowling spells like he did on Friday – a long spell which was needed for the team.”So the next time we are in that situation, Cooky will have no qualms about chucking Ben the ball knowing that he can do it, and Ben won’t feel like he has to prove himself every time he bowls. When players are not trying to prove something to the captain or coaches and just playing the way the team needs them to play, that is a great place for a team to be.”

Former Zimbabwe spinner Paul Strang will step down as the coach of New Zealand domestic side Auckland at the end of the season, ending a four-year tenure

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2013Former Zimbabwe spinner Paul Strang will step down as the coach of New Zealand domestic side Auckland at the end of the season, ending a four-year tenure.Strang, who had been contemplating his future as a coach from the start of the ongoing season, cited the need for a new approach for the team as a reason for his decision.”The team has moved forward quite a bit in four years and now is really a good opportunity to get a new voice and new way of doing things,” he told .After working as the coach of Auckland A, Strang was appointed the coach of Auckland in February 2009. He has led his team to two domestic Twenty20 titles, and one one-day title.Strang will be Auckland’s assistant coach for the upcoming Ford Trophy, the domestic 50-overs competition, for which former New Zealand opener Matt Horne will take over as the coach.

Rather than talking up the batting effort, Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, credited his bowlers with fashioning the comprehensive victory at Newlands

Firdose Moonda at Newlands 06-Jan-2012The deciding Test match between South Africa and Sri Lanka swung the way of the hosts as early as the first morning. South Africa were put in to bat and reached lunch on 135 for 2. Before tea on the second day that had become 580 for 4 and the hosts had effectively batted the visitors out of the contest.Rather than talking up the batting effort, Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, credited his bowlers with fashioning the comprehensive victory. “This was our best bowling performance of the summer,” Smith said. “We bowled well as a unit. Yesterday, each guy bowled really well in their spells and we were able to create pressure. It wasn’t just one guy bowling outstandingly and picking up seven or eight wickets. All three seamers and Imran [Tahir] worked together in partnerships.”South Africa bowled Sri Lanka out for 239 in their first innings, taking the last eight wickets for 90 runs. After enforcing the follow-on, they managed to nip out four wickets by stumps on the third day and completed the win just after tea on the fourth, sealing their first series win at home since they beat Bangladesh in 2008. They have since drawn home series against England, India and Australia but Smith said they had lacked the ability to close out series.”We haven’t lost too many [series] but we haven’t had the killer punch. Durban [where South Africa have lost their last four Tests] was a disappointing moment for us again this summer. It was a big wake-up call for the guys in terms of the standards that we need to produce as a team. But otherwise, the rest has been positive. This win in particular gives us a lot to build on for the year to come.”South Africa embark on a trio of away tours in 2012: they play in New Zealand in February, England in July and Australia in November. Smith said they will draw inspiration from the way they ended the home summer when on the road. “The way we won here was important. We had good partnerships with the bat and the ball, and everything we’ve been talking about came out strongly.”Although South Africa finished with authority, there are still some unanswered questions about the make-up of their Test squad, particularly with regards to the batting line-up. “At the moment, everyone is finding questions somewhere in a Test match,” Smith said. “We just need to build our strength as a team and each guy needs to get strong in his role. There are a few things that need to be cemented.”The same areas that were under scrutiny at the beginning of the series are at the end: the opening berth and the No. 6 slot. South Africa made a change to both for the third Test, dropping Ashwell Prince and moving Jacques Rudolph down the order while replacing him with Alviro Petersen at the top.Both Petersen and Rudolph had success in their new roles, the former scoring a century and the latter an unbeaten 51. While Petersen fit in seamlessly, Rudolph still has some critics to convince, but Smith said he was pleased with the progress Rudolph made. “I’m sure he was very nervous even though we were in a strong position; you’ve got to come in and play a certain way. With the changes and everything he must have been nervous and it was great to see him play that way.”The other question mark is the place of Mark Boucher, who did not get an opportunity with the bat at Newlands and dropped a catch in Sri Lanka’s second innings. Smith stressed that Boucher is in no danger of being dropped from the team anytime soon, especially not before the tour of England in six months.”I think that’s the first catch I’ve seen him drop from 10 to 15 metres back. I think he is secure. As a gloveman he has been excellent for us. Overall, in the time that I’ve played with him, his consistency in taking chances has been excellent. He is ultra-reliable so when he does put down a chance a big thing gets made of it. Going to England, having a really good keeper is going to be the key factor there.”

South African left-arm seamer Lonwabo Tsotosbe is many things. To some, he was a surprising pick for the national team who has finally lived up to his promise, to others he is a surprising wicket-taker who often snags the biggest of names by sheer persist

Firdose Moonda in Chennai11-Feb-2011South African left-arm seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe is many things. To some, he was a surprising pick for the national team who has finally lived up to his promise, to others he is a surprising wicket-taker who often snags the biggest of names by sheer persistence and accuracy, to his team-mates he is the self-proclaimed fashion king of the squad with the best dress sense. One thing he is not, is Makhaya Ntini.”I am not trying to get people saying that I am,” Tsotsobe said in Chennai, where the South African team are preparing for the World Cup. In front of a crowd of, mostly foreign journalists, it was a statement that was met with stifled giggles. You can’t really blame them, because of the face of it, Tsotsobe is a direct replacement for Ntini for two obvious reasons – he is the only black African in the side and he is a bowler.Behind the face, Tsotsobe explains why he is not like Ntini. “I am a totally different bowler to Makhaya,” he said. Exactly right, especially since Tsotsobe himself regards his slower ball, that delivery that Ntini could never quite master, as his biggest asset. Personality wise, they are two different characters with Tsotsobe a soft spoken, gentle man compared with Ntini’s larger-than-life personality.Tsotsobe can’t change the fact that, like Ntini, he is the face of black, African cricket in the team and he recognises that Ntini “did a lot for cricket in the Eastern Cape and the black community,” but now he is ready to build his own legacy. Starting at this World Cup.Tsotsobe went from being a bowler no-one expected to move the world, to being the one that rocks South Africa’s world now. He has been a surprisingly consistent wicket-taker, despite not getting above 135 kilometres per hour too often. “I can’t hide away from critics,” Tsotsobe said. “All I can do is turn what they say into something positive and use it to push myself harder.”After ending the series against Pakistan as the second highest wicket-taker and highest wicket-taker in the series against India, Tsotsobe’s pushing has been working, although he says he has not made too many adjustments to the way he usually does things. “I haven’t changed anything too much, just been working hard.”The most important element he brings to the South African attack is variation. “He shapes the ball away,” Morne Morkel said of his fellow paceman. “It means we know have another different style of seamer, since I get bounce and Dale gets swing.”The trio will form a powerful three-pronged attack for South Africa, and Morkel believes they can have an impact, despite subcontinental conditions favouring the spinners. “Even though the spinners can play a striking role here, it’s still important for us to keep up the pressure upfront and hopefully the ball will do the talking.”Tsotsobe echoed Morkel’s words, that even though spinners are likely to benefit most from the tracks in India, the quicks will still have an important role to play. For Tsotsobe, part of that role may be showing how unlike Ntini he is, so the comparisons can fade over the course of the next few weeks.

Cricinfo’s preview of the second Twenty20 between Australia and West Indies in Sydney

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale22-Feb-2010

Match Facts

Shaun Tait is “very, very quick”, Chris Gayle says•Getty Images

Tuesday, February 23, SCG

Start time 1835 (0735 GMT)

The Big Picture

It’s three months since West Indies played their first match of this tour and they are about to embark on their last chance to beat Australia. A 2-0 Test loss was followed by a 4-0 one-day defeat and a disappointing effort in the first Twenty20. The shortest format might be their best chance to beat Australia but in truth, there has been precious little in their performances over the past couple of weeks to suggest that they will succeed. The story of the top order has been no Gayle, no hope, and their captain’s wild swing to be bowled by Shaun Tait in Hobart continued his lean run in the past month.For Australia, the lure of an unbeaten season is tantalisingly close. The only matches they have failed to win were the Adelaide Test draw with West Indies and the Sydney one-day wash-out, also against Gayle’s men. The Twenty20 outfit looked sharp on Sunday, especially the attack as Tait and Dirk Nannes sped through West Indies’ batting line-up. The openers David Warner and Shane Watson also fired but finding a cohesive and in-form middle order could be the challenge between now and the ICC World Twenty20.

Form guide (most recent first)

Australia WWNLL

West Indies LWLWL

Watch out for…

Of all Australia’s Twenty20 specialists, David Warner is the ultimate short format man. He has still played only four first-class games but in Twenty20 he is an international veteran and his clever strokeplay gave Australia the early advantage in Hobart. He initially drove several balls over extra cover with clean, classy strokes before launching into some midwicket slogs. He’s also playing at his home ground.There are far bigger stars in the West Indies outfit than Nikita Miller but his performance on Sunday showed how important he can be. Gayle used his spinner to open the bowling and Miller kept things tight with wile and skill and finished with 2 for 20 from four overs. Taking the pace off the ball can be useful against Australia’s top order and at the SCG Miller could play a key role.

Team news

Australia must weigh up their reluctance to change a winning team with their desire to test out new players with three matches remaining before the World Twenty20. The allrounder Daniel Christian and the fast man Ryan Harris are the two players in the squad yet to make their Twenty20 debuts and it would make sense to give them a chance. Mitchell Johnson is a known quantity and could rest ahead of the New Zealand series, while Travis Birt’s hold on the No. 6 position looks a little shaky after two matches.Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 David Hussey, 5 Cameron White, 6 Brad Haddin (wk), 7 Daniel Christian, 8 Steven Smith, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Dirk Nannes, 11 Shaun Tait.Gavin Tonge and Brendan Nash have been travelling with the squad throughout the limited-overs portion of the tour without being handed an opportunity. Given the team’s dismal results there seems no reason not to try them out but adding Tonge might upset the batting balance, while Nash is hardly a slogger and has only ever played one Twenty20 for Jamaica. It could mean an unchanged side.West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Narsingh Deonarine, 4 Kieron Pollard, 5 Wavell Hinds, 6 Dwayne Smith, 7 Runako Morton, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Darren Sammy, 10 Nikita Miller, 11 Kemar Roach.

Pitch and conditions

Expect another good batting surface in Sydney, where the forecast for Tuesday is for 29C but the chance of an evening shower.

Stats and trivia

• There’s a distinct pattern to West Indies’ recent Twenty20 results: beginning with their Oval victory over Australia their record reads win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. They must be due for a win
• In Hobart, Narsingh Deonarine became the 16th man to be dismissed for a golden duck on his Twenty20 international debut
• Michael Clarke has a strong record as Australia’s Twenty20 captain – in five games he has led them to four victories and the other match was washed out
  

  Quotes

  “It’s been a good summer for Australian cricket and hopefully we can give the Windies another belting.”
  Shaun Tait is in no mood to be charitable”You have to make the necessary adjustments but at the same time he is very, very quick.”
  
  Chris Gayle says it isn’t easy facing Tait

The No. 3 is now the batter under scrutiny heading into the World Test Championship final and tour of West Indies

AAP10-Feb-2025Selectors will wait to make a call on Marnus Labuschagne’s Test future as Australia brace for a batting squeeze in the World Test Championship final and beyond.It comes as in-form Steven Smith urged selectors to keep the faith in Labuschagne, saying it was not long ago he was in a similar predicament to the faltering No. 3.Related

• Green hopeful of Shield return and county cricket ahead of WTC final

• How Australia played like the home side in Asia masterclass

• Australia emerge from Test season with flying colours and new options

Labuschagne’s lukewarm form continued in Australia’s 2-0 series defeat of Sri Lanka with scores of 20 and 4 in his first two knocks. He looked to be finding his feet as he made an unbeaten 26 in a 37-run stand with Usman Khawaja that sealed victory in the second Test in Galle on Sunday.But despite that effort and handy half-centuries in Melbourne during the recent India series, Labuschagne has only made one century in his past 51 Test innings. Since the beginning of 2023, Labuschagne has averaged 31.54, well down on the 62.29 he managed across the four calendar years before then.The timing looks unfortunate with a glut of batting options available for the WTC Final against South Africa at Lord’s in June.Cameron Green is set to return to the selection frame as a middle-order option following back surgery, while Josh Inglis impressed with a century on debut in Sri Lanka.Sam Konstas is pushing for a recall after being ousted from the top to facilitate Travis Head’s shift from No.5 and Nathan McSweeney is vying for a first Test in his preferred middle-order spot.”It’s clear that we’ve got some players that have put their hand up, so there is a squeeze,” said coach Andrew McDonald. “Whoever misses out will be very unlucky.”Australia could change their XI around between the WTC Final and the three-match West Indies series that begins later in June. McDonald said it was “highly likely” the squads would be different for the two, but Australia will defer selection calls, including on Labuschagne, until closer to June.”England creates a different challenge and then off to West Indies, which can spin, it can also swing and seam,” McDonald said. “The beauty of it is we’ve got some time before we have to make some decisions.”It’s great to have options. Will they all be fit at that time? Who fits what conditions and when? I think that’s going to be the art of what transpires across the journey.”Smith remains confident Labuschagne is approaching a big score, sceptical about claims his close mate is even out of form. The stand-in captain went as far as to say he had recently been in a similar situation to Labuschagne, feeling at his best despite scores of 0, 17 and 2 to begin the home summer.Smith has since scored centuries in four of five Test matches since those lean figures against India and was player of the series against Sri Lanka.”Marn’s similar to me, in a way,” Smith said. “I’ve said this a lot of times about myself, there’s a difference between being out of form and out of runs. I don’t think he’s out of form, personally. I’ve watched him train, I’ve watched him play and a lot of the things that he’s done so well are there.”He knows he’d love to score more runs, we’d love him to score more runs, but in my opinion, it’s just around the corner.”