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Nervy three-wicket win over Phoenix concludes fourth-placed campaign

ECB Media27-Aug-2025Trent Rockets concluded their campaign with a third successive win, Nat Sciver-Brunt’s third half-century of the competition setting up a nervy three-wicket victory over Birmingham Phoenix to nudge her team up to fourth in the table.Sciver-Brunt finished as the leading run-scorer in last summer’s women’s competition and the England skipper’s thrilling innings of 52 from 29 balls at Trent Bridge moved her up to second place in this season’s batting charts, behind Meg Lanning of Oval Invincibles.After the Rockets had been set 124 for victory, Em Arlott clean bowled the dangerous Bryony Smith for 10 with a superb slower yorker but Sciver-Brunt was quickly into her stride, sharing a second-wicket stand of 46 with Grace Scrivens (16) before Scrivens holed out to Arlott off the impressive Phoebe Brett.Ash Gardner struck two quick boundaries before falling to Megan Schutt via a stunning catch in the deep by Ailsa Lister and the Rockets threatened to implode when Sciver-Brunt chipped to extra cover off Hannah Baker immediately after bringing up her fifty and Brett dismissed Heather Graham and Ellie Threlkeld in the space of four deliveries, the young left-arm spinner finishing with figures of 3-19 as the hosts slipped to 109-6.Alana King made a crucial 9 to settle the nerves a little and when she edged behind off Schutt (2-24), courtesy of a superb catch from Amy Jones, it was left to Jodi Grewcock to hit the winning boundary with three balls to spare, securing a first home win of the season for the Rockets.Earlier, Emma Lamb’s second half-century of the competition had steered the Phoenix to 123-6, the England opener batting through the innings to finish unbeaten on 56 from 42.It was tough work at times for Lamb, who struck five boundaries, but she played judiciously as the Rockets’ high-class spin triumvirate of Kirstie Gordon (2-24), King (1-21) and Gardner (1-18) served up very few loose deliveries.Ellyse Perry (14), Marie Kelly (14) and Lister (12 off 6) played useful cameos to help push the visitors up to a competitive target but ultimately it wasn’t enough to prevent them slipping to a sixth defeat in eight.Sciver-Brunt, the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “I would have liked to be there at the end and made it a bit calmer for everybody but it wasn’t to be. In the three games I have made runs that’s not been the case, so that’s something to think about in future.”As a batting group, we’ve always said if we can get ahead of the game, try and stay ahead of the game. That was the tempo I wanted to go at. Getting out at that point, had we not been ahead of the game as we were, it probably would have been even more stressful.”It’s always nice to win at your home ground in front of your home fans and we haven’t been able to do that until today. The wicket is quite specific, it’s quite slow, and we probably didn’t adapt to that as quickly as we wanted to.”

The Pakistan coach doesn’t want the tournament to be shortened just so it can finish in June 2021

Danyal Rasool01-Apr-2020Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has called for a “fair and equal” resolution to the World Test Championship when cricket finally resumes even if it means extending the tournament, warning that a shortened competition would fail to give a “true picture” of the standings.With cricket, like nearly all major sports and activities, forced to a grinding halt because of the coronavirus pandemic, one of the key questions is how to bring the inaugural World Test Championship, which is scheduled to run until June 2021, to an agreeable conclusion.Several series that are part of the Championship have been postponed over the past few weeks, with the scheduling and limited time-frame meaning it is virtually impossible to fulfil all the fixtures before the end date.”When we finally start moving back to normal life and cricket can resume, every side should get equal opportunities and the tournament shouldn’t be shortened,” Misbah said in a video press conference.”No matches should be struck off, even if that means prolonging the Championship. Every side should get the chance to play all the games they had scheduled in this cycle.Otherwise, you won’t get the true picture of what the rankings should have actually been and only some teams play all their games. That will disrupt the balance of the tournament. To me, it doesn’t matter if this goes beyond 2021 if that’s what it will take for everyone to get equal opportunities. That’s not a problem.”England’s three-match Test series in Sri Lanka and the second Test of Bangladesh’s series in Pakistan are among the most notable World Test Championship fixtures to be postponed, but it remains exceedingly likely most, if not all, cricket over the next few months won’t go ahead.That means England’s three-match Test series against West Indies and Pakistan are also in jeopardy, as is West Indies’ two-Test series against South Africa.The seasonal demands of Test cricket mean rescheduling these games before June 2021 is improbable, and if all games in the Championship are to be honoured, extending the tournament would appear to be the only solution. That would mean delaying the start of the second World Test Championship competition, due to start immediately after.Misbah also spoke about the challenges players faced trying to keep themselves fit while ensuring they stayed home, revealing the coaching staff were monitoring their progress through fitness watches.”All of our centrally contracted players and those in our wider pool are in complete contact with the coaching staff and the fitness trainer. We send them the training plans that we want them to follow and to keep ourselves in shape to the best of our abilities. We want to ensure when cricket resumes, the physical conditions of our players should be the same as it was before and meets the demands of international cricket.”We have groups online where we check in with players on how they think they’re doing. We share plans with them on the exercise regimen to follow even if they don’t have access to gym facilities.”Because we can’t practice on the ground, what we can do is make sure we do our homework properly. That goes both for me and the players. We look at the last couple of series we played there and how England played in the last season at home. We analyse what we can do better so as soon we get the opportunity, we hit the ground running.He did have a few choice words for Sharjeel Khan, acknowledging he had the ability to be an explosive asset in T20 cricket, but expressed disappointment with his fitness levels.”He has the strike rate you’ll need at the top of the order at the World T20, especially against pace bowling on Australian pitches. But I think Sharjeel needs to work harder. He’s emerged back onto the scene after such a long time, so the one thing he could have ensured was his fitness, the one thing he could control, was up to the mark.”If you’re serious about making a comeback, the you should have been in perfect physical shape. If he thinks he can come into the side without having made any changes, then selecting him would be an injustice to the other players. I wasn’t satisfied to see that at all. Now that there’s no cricket, he should be thinking day and night he needs to become super fit.”

From a base of old-school virtues, KL Rahul has unleashed the white-ball monster in him over the last two years

Deivarayan Muthu in Hyderabad07-Dec-2019″” (See ball, hit ball)Speaking to for the BCCI website, this was how KL Rahul summed up his approach and mindset after getting to a start in India’s pursuit of 208 against West Indies in the T20I series opener in Hyderabad. In stark contrast to his captain Virat Kohli’s early struggles at the other end, Rahul seamlessly built on his start and converted it into a 40-ball 62. It was Rahul’s innings that set the scene for the angry Kohli masterclass in the latter half of the chase.When Rahul had broken into first-class cricket in 2010, he was a proper top-order batsman whose game was founded on the old-school virtues: leaving anything that’s wide of off stump and playing the balls that threaten the stumps with a dead-straight bat.Rahul, however, unlocked the white-ball monster in him during IPL 2018, when he racked up 659 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 158.41. He followed it up with 593 runs in 14 matches in 2019, having expanded his range with a variety of sweeps, scoops and big hits. Some of that funkiness has perhaps seeped into his red-ball game and as a result he has been jettisoned from the Test squad.His white-ball form, though, is reaching a stage where it might be just too hard to ignore. Rahul might not have even started the series had Shikhar Dhawan been fit. This, despite being at the forefront of Karnataka’s 20-overs Syed Mushtaq Ali title defence. Rahul had tallied 313 runs in eight innings at an average of 52.16 and strike rate of 155.72, including some tough runs on spin-friendly tracks in Surat.On the eve of the T20I series against West Indies, Kohli was even asked if the management might consider bumping Rishabh Pant to the top, but the India captain shot that thought down quickly and indicated that Rahul will slot in alongside Rohit Sharma.1:45

Trying to make best use of chance at the top of the order – KL Rahul

Rohit picked out deep midwicket for 8 off 10 balls in India’s steep chase in Hyderabad and Kohli just couldn’t find his bearings early on at the other end. West Indies’ bowlers, particularly Sheldon Cottrell, varied their pace and lengths smartly to make life more difficult for India.After Cottrell had softened Rohit with a length ball that burst off the track and pinged his right glove, left-arm fingerspinner Khary Pierre made the incision for West Indies. However, Rahul continued to pick off runs in risk-free fashion.Having all the shots is one thing and knowing when to use them is another. When Cottrell or Holder found some extra bounce and aimed for the fourth stump, Rahul simply rode it and tapped it behind point, down towards third man.Only when the ball was well short and wide of off did Rahul unleash the full-blooded cut. Hayden Walsh Jr. was the best fielder of CPL 2019, his athletic interventions at backward point turned games as much as his wristspin did for eventual champions Barbados Tridents. Just ask West Indies and Trinbago Knight Riders captain Kieron Pollard. It was a moment of brilliance in the field from Walsh Jr. that ran out Pollard in the second qualifier and KO’d Knight Riders.On Friday night, Rahul cracked a brace of square-cuts, beating a sprawling Walsh Jr. – both to his left and right for fours. Then, after bedding in, in the last over of the Powerplay, Rahul brought out his attacking enterprise. He backed away to left-arm fingerspinner Pierre and slog-swept him over square leg for six. See ball, hit ball.In the next over, Rahul used the extra pace of Walsh Jr. to his advantage and dabbed him fine of short third man for four. He also rotated the strike without much fuss and raised his fifty off 37 balls. During the process, Rahul passed 1000 T20I runs in his 29th innings.Just when Rahul was about to hit full tilt, having sent Kesrick Williams and Pierre for sixes over midwicket, he holed out to long-off while attempting a third six. By then, Kohli had found his touch and India eventually sailed to victory.”[It’s] important to lay a solid foundation as an opener because there are power hitters in the back end,” Rahul told after the match. “Playing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy helped a lot. Doesn’t matter how many hours you spend in the nets. Winning games gives me the most confidence. Did that with Karnataka, happy to do it with India. Good that I can carry my confidence across tournaments.”Rahul has two more T20Is in this series to extend his rich white-ball form and give the Indian management another happy headache in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup in Australia – the scene of his Test debut – next year.”It’s a long way [away], honestly,” Rahul said of the T20 World Cup, at the post-match press conference. “I’ve got the opportunity to bat at the top of the order again after a couple of series. So [I’m] looking forward to just making the best use of it. Today was a good outing, a good hit in the middle, and hopefully I just continue the same thing and not worry about October next year, there are a lot of games before that.”

BCB doctor on finger injury: “We will review the injury after one week, and then determine what to do next”

Mohammad Isam22-Jun-2021Mushfiqur Rahim has picked up a hairline fracture on his left index finger, which he sustained during Abahani Limited’s Dhaka Premier League T20 match against Gazi Group Cricketers on Monday. The scan took place on Tuesday morning, confirming the extent of the injury, which might hurt the Bangladesh national team too, as they get ready for a tour of Zimbabwe.”We did a CT scan on Mushfiq’s hand, which has come up with a hairline fracture on his left index finger,” Dr Debashish Chowdhury, BCB’s chief physician, said. “We have asked him to take a break of one week, but we are hopeful that the recovery won’t take too long. Since it is a hairline fracture. We will review the injury after one week, and then we can determine what to do next.”Related

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Bangladesh are scheduled to leave for Zimbabwe on June 29 to play a one-off Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. There is, however, some uncertainty around the tour after authorities in Zimbabwe stopped sporting activities in the country last week because of the Covid-19 pandemic.The Bangladesh authorities have expressed confidence, though, that the tour would go ahead on schedule, with BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury saying that the board has received positive feedback from Zimbabwe Cricket.Rahim has led Abahani Limited to to the Super League phase of the Dhaka Premier League – they are currently equal on top of the points table on 20 points with Prime Bank Cricket Club. He has been in decent batting form too, having scored 267 runs in 12 innings, with an average of 38.14 and a strike rate of 130.24. They have three more matches to play, so Rahim’s absence could affect their chances.Rahim had earlier informed the BCB that he would be unavailable for the T20I leg of the tour of Zimbabwe, as Bangladesh start a long build-up for the T20 World Cup in October. He has been involved in all formats for Bangladesh since October last year when the BCB held two white-ball tournaments to kick off cricket after the pandemic.

Marnus Labuschagne made a century following the suspension of play on the first day due to the pitch

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2021The pitch behaved itself on the second day at Karen Rolton Oval, although was far from easy, and Marnus Labuschagne made his second hundred of the season, but the contest for the No. 5 spot in the Ashes side fell flat with failures for both Usman Khawaja and Travis Head.After play was suspended 50 overs into the opening due to concerns over damp patches on a length the game resumed on time. Although Queensland fell away from 1 for 179 they were in control at stumps having reduced the home side to 8 for 93 on a surface that remained challenging.Head was caught at leg slip off the left-arm spin of Matt Kuhnemann to continue a relatively lean run of scores since the opening weeks of the season.Earlier, Khawaja, who is competing with Head for a return to the Test side, was caught behind off an inside edge against Dan Worrall. Both batters will hope to make a mark in the second innings of this contest before the Australia-Australia A fixture at the start of December, although speaking when the squad was announced national selector George Bailey said the selectors had their preferred candidate.It was the blows Labuschagne took on the opening day that prompted the suspension of play but there were no such alarms as he moved towards three figures.He and Bryce Street, who is part of the Australia A squad, added 124 for the second wicket but from there South Australia fought back. At one stage Queensland lost four wickets for five runs which included Labuschagne dragging on a sweep against Head’s part-time offspin. It took Kuhnemann at No. 11 to lift them over 300.The early stages of South Australia’s reply were promising but once Henry Hunt fell to James Bazley they went into a nosedive. After Head’s departure their situation was compounded when Alex Carey slog-swept to deep square leg before Jake Weatherald was bounced out by Mark Stekette.Kuhnemann, who has been excellent this season filling in for Mitchell Swepson, had time to claim two more wickets before the close to leave South Australia starring at a follow-on.

He won’t be available for most of the Asia Cup, but will join the team for the World Cup in October-November

Umar Farooq21-Apr-2023Pakistan’s new team director Mickey Arthur will only be available to the team in a limited capacity over the next ten months but he will be involved in designing and overseeing strategies remotely while he also fulfils his responsibilities as head coach of Derbyshire. His appointment was formally announced by the PCB in Rawalpindi on Thursday.Arthur is only one year into his four-year contract with Derbyshire and his reluctance to leave that role meant that it took months for him and the PCB to arrive at an arrangement to work part-time with the Pakistan team. Arthur will be available to Pakistan for only one game in this year’s Asia Cup – against India – and will miss the tour to Sri Lanka and the series against Afghanistan in UAE. He will be available for the ODI World Cup in October-November, the away tour to Australia and home series against West Indies.The PCB had also hired former South African internationals Morne Morkel and Andrew Puttick as bowling and batting coach, while Pakistan’s former fielding coach Grant Bradburn is now the head coach. Assistant coach Abdul Rehman is the only Pakistani in the coaching group, which has been designed to facilitate Arthur working remotely as team director.Related

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“I am pleased that Mickey has formally re-joined the Pakistan men’s cricket team with an enhanced role in which he will be responsible for formulating and implementing strategies for the upcoming assignments across all formats,” the PCB’s head Najam Sethi said. “Furthermore, he will also be responsible for strengthening the national team culture and identifying and grooming future stars, so that we can strengthen our bench strength and strategically secure our future.”Having lived and worked in Pakistan during his previous tenure, Mickey knows the current players, the structure, and the system at the back of his hand. I am sure he will incorporate learnings from the previous tenure so that he can have an even more successful second term.”Arthur’s re-hiring wasn’t straightforward. He wanted to stay on with Derbyshire while the board wanted him full time, and discussions stalled twice before both parties reached a consensus. At one stage, the PCB said it had moved on from Arthur, but negotiations were ongoing.Arthur was Pakistan’s head coach from 2016 to 2019, a tenure that included a Champions Trophy title in 2017 and during which Pakistan became the top ranked T20I team. They were not as successful in Test cricket under Arthur, and a league-stage exit from the 2019 World Cup led to him being replaced as head coach by former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq.Arthur’s reappointment was criticised by Misbah, who called it a “slap on Pakistan cricket.”

Since the conclusion of The Oval Test, the Australian rumour mill has been abuzz with theories as to the motives behind Nathan Hauritz’s omission

Alex Brown29-Nov-2009Since the conclusion of The Oval Test in August, the Australian rumour mill has been abuzz with theories as to the motives behind Nathan Hauritz’s omission from the starting XI. The move to play an all-pace attack on a parched pitch that turned early and substantially played a sizable role in Australia’s eventual 197-run defeat, and prompted on-duty selector Jamie Cox to offer a rare on behalf of the panel after the match.But murmurings around the Australian camp suggest there is more to the overlooking of Hauritz than meets the eye. Several team sources have told Cricinfo that Australia’s selectors intended to play their specialist spinner in the series decider but, hit with a crisis of confidence before one of the most important Ashes Tests in modern history, Hauritz either withdrew his candidacy or was deemed too great a risk.Whether true or not – and Hauritz insists upon the latter – the issue of the spinner’s confidence has been a discussion point within Australian cricket for some time. Greg Matthews, one of his spin-bowling mentors, once described him as “heavily scarred” following his arrival in New South Wales from Queensland, and Hauritz himself has been candid in discussing his need to be more assertive as a bowler.In the immediate aftermath of The Oval defeat, the aforementioned sources expressed concern over the working relationship between Hauritz and Ricky Ponting looking ahead. Their worries appear unfounded. Ponting showed no hesitation in tossing the ball Hauritz’s way throughout subsequent limited-overs campaigns in South Africa and India, and was effusive when discussing the spinner’s five-wicket contribution to Australia’s thumping Test win over West Indies at the Gabba.”As far as I’ve been concerned for the last eight or ten months he hasn’t let anybody down,” Ponting said. “The more exposure he’s getting to better players and different conditions to bowl in he’s learning a lot about the art and craft of offspin bowling in Test cricket these days. It’s not an easy skill anymore. Batsmen are playing differently and always trying to stay a step ahead of the bowlers and a lot of the wickets we play on these days around the world aren’t that conducive to it. I think he’s done a great job.”As for Hauritz, evidence of his evolving confidence was on display at the Gabba – both on the field and in the press conference room. He appeared in no way intimidated returning to the venue that almost broke him as a first-class cricketer, bowling with a tantalising loop that was all but absent in his latter years with Queensland. It was at the Gabba that Hauritz was jeered – first as an underperforming Queenslander, then as a New South Wales “defector” – and he admitted to a sense of self-satisfaction when, after dismissing Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach with successive deliveries on Saturday, the once antagonistic crowd erupted into chants of “Haury”.As striking as Hauritz’s self-assured deeds on the pitch were his comments off it. No longer was he dealing in one-game-at-a-times. Hauritz expects to be on the plane to Adelaide on Tuesday, and Perth thereafter. “I don’t know if I’ll ever feel like I belong in the side,” he said with trademark self-deprecation. “I don’t know if that feeling exists within such a competitive culture. But I know I’m very happy with where my game’s at, at the moment.”It’s going to be a different situation going to Adelaide. Adelaide is a lot slower wicket but it is renowned for turn. It’s going to be different. That’s one of the first Gabba wickets I’ve played on – and I don’t know if my bowling’s different now – that I got the ball to turn a little bit. I don’t know if I’ve changed a bit as a bowler or the wicket’s changed, but I enjoyed bowling out there and I’m looking forward.”Such is Hauritz’s confidence in his own game at present, he is toying with the idea of revealing his experimental doosra against West Indies in Perth. Though much has been written about his “other one”, Hauritz has thus far been unwilling to bowl it outside the nets. The third Test at the WACA, he hinted, might prove a suitable occasion for the unveiling.”For me, I need to be able to consistently land it in the nets before I bring it out because I sort of feel short-leg would die if I don’t get it right,” he quipped. “Punter’s always trying to get me to bowl it in a game. Whether it’s this series I don’t know, but definitely on a wicket like Perth, where the bounce is so fast and it does spin, it might come out there. I’m looking forward to playing the next two games because there’s two totally different wickets.”This week Hauritz will return to the venue that staged his sudden and unexpected comeback to the Test arena last year. A training mishap involving the then Test incumbent Jason Krejza prompted Andrew Hilditch to order Hauritz, an occasional member of the New South Wales side at the time, onto the next Adelaide-bound flight. His efforts in that match and the remainder of the summer earned him a ticket to the Ashes and a chance to reignite a Test career many, himself included, feared had stalled at the Wankhede Stadium four years prior.”The [feeling] in Adelaide was one of great relief playing that second Test,” he said of last year’s recall. “I never thought that would ever come along. There might not be any difference in the areas I land the ball – there might be a little bit more spin, I don’t know – but definitely the mental strength and the confidence with what I’m doing makes me a lot different bowler to then.”Mo Matthews is always keen [for me to] embrace it all. I’m generally a pretty reserved person. I’m pretty happy to stay to myself and just bowl and play cricket. Definitely one part of my game that can improve is my aura on the field. That might change after 30 or 40 Tests, I don’t know. But I’m just happy to be playing each Test on its merits at the moment.”

A severely rain-affected game fizzled out to a draw with only one of the four possible innings coming to completion – and that too because New Zealand A had declared

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2018
A severely rain-affected game fizzled out to a draw in Hamilton with only one of the four possible innings coming to completion – and that too because New Zealand A had declared.After the second day was washed out and only 17 overs were possible on the third, the weather seemed a little more forthcoming as India A’s openers Mayank Agarwal and Abhimanyu Easwaran put on 71 for the first wicket. And in quick time too. Only 18.4 overs had been bowled.New Zealand A’s bowlers received some respite as another spell of rain lashed the ground and play could only resume after lunch. Blair Tickner, the 25-year old seamer, broke the partnership soon after the break, which brought R Samarth to the crease and he became the game’s third man to score fifty-plus after Will Young’s 123 and Theo van Woerkom’s 54 at No. 8 for the hosts.In all, India A could bat for only 46 overs before the game came to its most likely conclusion. Both teams now head to Whangarei which will host the third unofficial Test on November 30.

“I’m happy, I’m excited and having fun playing cricket again, which was the most important thing for me”

Shashank Kishore05-Sep-20224:13

Kohli on answering his critics: I’ve never paid attention to these things

Virat Kohli is “excited” and “having fun” playing cricket, he said, but not long ago, he wasn’t getting any joy from the game. As he said recently, he was “faking his intensity a bit” and the fatigue and everything else added up and took a toll on him mentally. After top-scoring for India in the defeat to Pakistan on Sunday night at the Asia Cup, he also said that MS Dhoni aside, no one actually made the effort to reach out to him when he was going through a low phase.That phase came on the back of a somewhat tumultuous period in his career. He had given up the IPL and T20I captaincy, and lost his ODI captaincy – something he hadn’t expected – hours before a selection meeting. Then came his shock announcement of quitting Test captaincy earlier this year. All along, the runs weren’t coming quite as smoothly as he was used to.How did he deal with it? In Dubai, Kohli tried to provide answers, and stressed that he was in a good place.”Let me tell you one thing: when I left Test captaincy, I got a message from only one person, with whom I had played previously; that was MS Dhoni,” Kohli said. “Many people have my number. On TV, people give lots of suggestions, people have a lot to say. But none of the people who had my number sent me a message.”That respect [with Dhoni], that connection you have with someone, when it is genuine, it shows like this, because there is no insecurity with either of us. Neither does he [Dhoni] need anything from me, nor do I need anything from him. Neither of us suffers from insecurity. I can only say: if I want to say something to someone, I reach out to that person individually if I want to help.”I mean, if you give the suggestions in front of the world, it has no value for me. If it is for my improvement, you can talk with me one-on-one, (tell me) that I genuinely want you to do well. I live life with a lot of honesty, so I can see through such things. I am not saying that it doesn’t matter to me, but you see the real thing. I can only say that. When you play for such a long time, when you play with honesty, the only one who looks out for you is the almighty. Until I play, until I am worthy of playing, I will play this way.”Prior to the Asia Cup, in an interview with Star Sports, Kohli elaborated about his struggles. He touched upon how an obsession over his professional identity had led to him losing perspective as a human being. He subsequently took time off, during which he switched off completely from the game, not even doing something as spontaneous as lifting a cricket bat.2:56

Uthappa: Kohli looked ominous from the first boundary he hit

At the Asia Cup, Kohli has found a semblance of form, scoring 35, 59* and 60 at an overall strike rate of 126.22. But, more importantly, there has been an air of calm around him, both at training and at the games. He said that came from the realisation that taking a break wasn’t a bad thing sometimes.”I didn’t think I’d go a month without touching my bat, but the situation became such that I had to take a break,” he said. “More mentally than physically. Then you realise when you bat again after a month why you started playing the game. That [realisation] is lost at times, the way people look at you, cheer for you when you’re at the ground, at such times you can lose that realisation.”That drive and purity for the game, that joy dissipates. It was important to rediscover that again for me. When I’m happy in my space, then I know what I can do for the team. Me being in a bad space is neither good for the team nor for me. I think no one should run away from this, if someone is feeling negative or low, taking a break isn’t a bad thing.”And I hope people will derive strength from that and address whatever they are feeling. We’re all human, everyone can feel this way. But to recognise that and care about it is important. If you ignore it, you will get more frustrated. This is something I realised and I got a lot of help. I’m happy, I’m excited and having fun playing cricket again, which was the most important thing for me.”

Du Preez returns to set up while Brits and Tucker miss out on the trip to Birmingham

Firdose Moonda15-Jul-2022Dane van Niekerk, South Africa’s regular captain, will miss a second major tournament after failing to recover from an ankle injury in time for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Sune Luus will continue to captain in van Niekerk’s absence with experienced campaigner Mignon du Preez returning after being left out of the group that played against Ireland.Van Niekerk broke her ankle after slipping and falling at her new home in Gqeberha in January, which ruled her out of the ODI World Cup. She returned to training in May but has not regained full fitness yet. She last played competitive cricket at the WBBL in November 2021.Marizanne Kapp, Sinalo Jafta and Masabata Klaas, who were also not part of the T20Is against Ireland, return to the squad for Commonwealth Games, with Tazmin Brits, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Andrie Steyn missing out. Wicketkeeper-batter Delmi Tucker, who has been called up for the last two ODIs against England, has also been left out.SA squad for CWG 2022•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Klaas, who has linked up with the squad in England after an injury, will complete a full-strength pace attack, which also has Kapp, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune and Nadine de Klerk.South Africa have one frontline spinner in their squad – left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, who will be supported by Luus and Chloe Tryon, and two wicketkeeping options in Trisha Chetty and Sinalo Jafta. Lizelle Lee’s surprise retirement earlier this month has created an opportunity for Anneke Bosch to cement a role in the top order.Women’s cricket will make its debut at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham later this month. South Africa are grouped with New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka. Two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals.