Saim Ayub ruled out of competitive cricket for 6 weeks after fracturing ankle: PCB
Pakistan’s opening batter Saim Ayub was ruled out of competitive cricket for up to six weeks after the youngster fractured his ankle, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed in a statement on Saturday. Ayub was ruled out of the Cape Town Test yesterday after twisting his right ankle while fielding at the deep third man in the seventh over of the opening day, the PCB said. In today’s statement, PCB said the youngster would be “out of competitive cricket for up to six weeks due to a right ankle fracture sustained”. “An MRI conducted [on] Friday afternoon confirmed the fracture, which has been immobilised in an Ankle Medical Moon Boot,” the statement said. The cricketing body added that Saim would not participate further in the Test. “He will remain with the team and travel back to Pakistan with the squad after the match concludes.” The injury to the 22-year-old rising batter, known for his aggressive and innovative batting in all formats of the game, is no good news for Pakistan with around one and a half months left in the ICC Champions Trophy being held in Pakistan.
Rickelton and Verreynne power South Africa to commanding lead in Cape Town
While Rickelton went on to score his maiden Test double century, Proteas keeper-batter Verreynne forged a ton to shoulder the hosts past the 600-run mark against Pakistan. South Africa strengthened their grip on the second Test against Pakistan, thanks to the host pacers delivering late blows to follow up on a dominant batting display on the second day. Having compiled 615 runs in their first innings, the Proteas managed to claim three wickets in the final session as Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada continued leading the charge of the pace attack. Resuming their innings at 316/4 on Saturday, South Africa continued their march to a big total as Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne build a commanding partnership. Rickelton reached his maiden Test double century, while Verreynne brought up his half-century as South Africa went into Lunch at 429-5.
Rahmat’s gritty hundred extends Afghanistan lead
Afghanistan dragged themselves to a position of advantage on an attritional third day, with Rahmat Shah’s gritty century, his third in Test cricket, headlining their much improved batting display from their first innings. On the second day where 13 wickets fell, Afghanistan conceded an 86-run first-innings lead to Zimbabwe and lost three wickets before wiping out even half the deficit. But on Saturday, Rahmat, with help from Shahidullah and debutant Ismat Aslam, stretched Afghanistan’s lead beyond 200 with three wickets still remaining, before rain forced early stumps. For Zimbabwe, Blessing Muzarabani added two wickets to his overnight tally of two, while Richard Ngarava struck twice, including the prized scalp of Rahmat, but they know with Ismat still at the crease along with Rashid Khan, who is capable of scoring some quick runs, they are going to be staring at a steep chase on a pitch where batting fourth is a daunting proposition. Afghanistan’s innings revolved around two partnerships. The first was a 67-run stand between Rahmat and Shahidullah that saw the visitors take a 50-run lead by the time it was broken.
Prince’s princes play princely innings to put SA on top
Four freshly familiar faces, among many others known and not, arrived at the front gate of a suburban home on a golden evening in Cape Town on Thursday. All were welcomed into the garden. Embraces were warm and plentiful. Newlands was not quite three kilometres away. One of the four faces belonged to Kyle Verreynne. The others were those of Tony de Zorzi, David Bedingham and Senuran Muthusamy. Makhaya Ntini was also there, as were Vernon Philander, Paul Adams and Shafiek Abrahams. And Ashwell Prince, South Africa’s batting coach. They were at the Prince family home to pay their respects and offer support at a memorial held in the terrible wake of the death of Melissa Prince, Ashwell’s wife, from cancer on Sunday. She was 40, and she leaves behind three young sons. The next day, Verreynne and Bedingham would play in the second Test against Pakistan. The importance of the match had been diminished by South Africa’s two-wicket win in Centurion on Sunday, which clinched a place in the WTC final at Lord’s in June, but it was a Test nonetheless.
Prasidh Krishna positive of India’s chances after stellar bowling effort on Day 2
The Indian pacer opened up on Pant’s swash-buckling knock, Bumrah’s fitness, and his confidence in India’s chances to turn it around in Sydney. Prasidh Krishna highlighted the team’s exceptional bowling performance that bundled out Australia for just 181 runs in the first innings. Contributing significantly to the effort, Prasidh claimed three crucial wickets and stepped up as a key figure in the attack, especially after pace spearhead and stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah was forced off the field due to injury concerns. “The team is really pumped up. You could see the way that we were going after, even when we were bowling, the way that we were moving between overs. I think we’re really confident about the plans that we have in mind and the skill set that we have. So, we are really here for a fight and we make sure we get it our way this game,” Prasidh said.
Rickelton’s 259, early strikes leave Pakistan with a mountain to climb
It was a day of domination for South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town on Day 2 after they amassed 615 with the bat before picking up three top-order Pakistan wickets to have the visitors reeling at 64 for 3 at Stumps. All the headlines would be about Ryan Rickelton who scored 259 – his maiden double ton – in his first ever game as an opener for South Africa. Kyle Verreynne also breached the three-figure mark while Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj played quickfire knocks of 62 and 40 to heap more misery on the tourists. Jansen was on 58 after Tea and crunched a boundary before departing against the run of play. Maharaj then took the onus of the innings and with nothing to lose, picked apart Salman Ali Agha in an 18-run over. The batter took the hosts past 600 with two boundaries. Maharaj fell to a half-hearted hook shot which he toe-ended to the ‘keeper before Mohammad Abbas picked up his 100th Test wicket as he castled debutant Kwena Maphaka’s stumps. This was followed by fiery opening spells from Kagiso Rabada and Jansen. The visitors got off to the worst possible start as skipper Shan Masood nicked one to David Bedingham at first slip.
Stars shine in Melbourne derby after Cartwright heroics
Hilton Cartwright stepped up with belligerent hitting in a tense final over after Ben Duckett and Marcus Stoinis had chased superbly on a tricky MCG surface as Stars claimed the bragging rights over Renegades in a gripping Melbourne derby. Chasing 169, Stars were in trouble at 41 for 3 before Duckett and Stoinis combined for an 83-run partnership. They appeared to be cruising needing 57 runs off 42 but lost Duckett and Stoinis quickly as Stars’ nerves set in. It came down to the final over with Stars needing ten runs and well positioned with Cartwright and Glenn Maxwell at the crease. But quick Tom Rogers executed two superb yorkers to start the over and suddenly Stars required eight off the final four balls. But Cartwright launched a massive six into the second tier over long on before swatting another boundary on the next delivery to ensure Stars kept their finals hopes alive with a second straight victory.
McDonald accuses India of ‘intimidating’ Sam Konstas
Australia coach Andrew McDonald has accused India of attempting to intimidate Sam Konstas with the way they celebrated the wicket of Usman Khawaja late on the opening day at the SCG. In a dramatic finish to play, Konstas got involved in a verbal exchange with Jasprit Bumrah over Khawaja’s attempts to ensure it was the final over, with the umpire stepping in. Two deliveries later, Khawaja nicked the last delivery of the day to slip with Bumrah turning and advancing towards Konstas with visible aggression. McDonald spoke with Konstas after the incident to make sure the 19-year-old had not been shaken by India’s reaction to him. “My conversation with him was around whether he’s okay. Clearly, the way India celebrated that was quite intimidating,” McDonald said. “It’s clearly within the laws of the game, the rules and regulations. There’s been no charges laid, but to have an opposition swarm the non-striker like that, we’ve got a duty of care to our player to make sure he’s okay and in a headspace to go out there and perform.”
Delhi Capitals reps in Sydney for tie-up talks with Cricket NSW
Delhi Capitals’ journey toward globalising their brand seems to be reaching deep down the southern hemisphere too. Having already acquired teams in the UAE, USA, South Africa, and England, the next destination for Delhi Capitals – one of the founding franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL) – appears to be Australia. Delhi Capitals will now have a presence on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as in both hemispheres. Cricbuzz can reveal that formal discussions with Cricket New South Wales (CNSW) authorities regarding a potential collaboration are expected to take place in the coming days, possibly as early as Sunday itself, on the sidelines of the ongoing India-Australia Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). A couple of GMR officials, part-owners of the Delhi Capitals franchise, are already in Sydney to lay the groundwork for the negotiations, which will be advanced by Kiran Kumar Grandhi, owner of the GMR Group. Grandhi is scheduled to arrive in Sydney on Sunday. On Saturday, the second day of the ongoing Test, GMR representatives were spotted at the SCG, and Grandhi is expected to visit the venue during the third day’s play.
Duckett sets up Stars’ derby win
Ben Duckett’s half-century set up Melbourne Stars’ tight win over Melbourne Renegades in the derby at the MCG on Saturday (January 4). Duckett stood tall when his team was reduced to 3/2 in the run chase and even though he couldn’t see his side home, Hilton Cartwright and Glenn Maxwell provided the finishing touches to give Stars their second win on the trot after they kickstarted their campaign with five straight losses. Renegades made a slow start with the bat after being sent in by Stars as Josh Brown hit one straight to mid off in the opening over to get caught. Jake Fraser-McGurk found it hard to get going and was at 6 off 11 at one point. Even though he finally broke the shackles with a six, the maverick opener was dismissed next ball. Tim Seifert was the next to depart as he attempted a reverse sweep against Usama Mir to lose his stumps as Renegades’ run rate was just about hovering over six at the halfway mark. Jacob Bethell, who received a reprieve very early in his innings, joined forces with Jonathan Wells to revive his side. The two were successful as they put on 71 for the fourth wicket. Momentum seemed to be with the batting team finally when they took 16 runs off the 15th over to set themselves up for a final flourish. Against the run of play though, Bethell got a top edge and Wells followed suit not long after. Those wickets helped Stars fight back and if not for Laurie Evans’ little cameo, Renegades might have struggled to breach 160.
