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Set to play his first pink-ball match, in New South Wales’ Shield opener, Pat Cummins wants to focus on finding rhythm and learning how to swing the ball consistently

Sam Bruce25-Oct-2017Pink ball experience looms as a firm advantage for Australia in this summer’s Ashes series, but there’s one key member of Steven Smith’s bowling attack who is yet to hurl one down in anger. Pat Cummins, one of the vaunted pace trio alongside Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, will play his first day-night first-class match in Adelaide from Friday for New South Wales against South Australia.In a reminder of how carefully Cummins has been managed by Cricket Australia’s team performance wing over the past few seasons, he has still played a mere eight first-class games aside from his five Tests – four this year in India and Bangladesh – and the Adelaide Oval match will be only his second Shield appearance since the 2011 competition final.Smith will also line up alongside fellow Test stars David Warner and Starc, while wicketkeeper Peter Nevill will be looking to put his name forward for a Test recall. The match will be ideal preparation for the second Test with England in Adelaide in early December, the first ever Ashes Test to be played as a day-night fixture using the pink ball.”It’s my first ever game with a pink ball, so just probably finding a bit of rhythm,” Cummins said, when asked what he hoped to get out of the Blues’ Shield opener. “I’ve played a lot of white ball the last couple months and coming into red ball [or] pink ball, I feel like it takes me a spell or two to learn how to swing the ball consistently. So that’s what I’m probably looking forward to it is having a ball that moves around and yeah, from there, just try and build up really good rhythm and bowl lots of overs.”Asked if the pink ball was hard to control, Cummins said: “I’ve only had a couple of net sessions and no, not really. It’s swung around quite a bit, but pretty consistent swing. I’m just happy to have a ball in my hand that swings.”Looking ahead to the Ashes, Smith has said that Australia’s pioneering role with the pink ball would be an advantage over England, who played their first day-night Test earlier this year against West Indies in Birmingham. “I’ve played in two of them [day-night Tests] now and Shield games as well. It’s a fantastic concept and the crowd there is something different,” Smith said this week.”We’ve probably got a little more experience with the pink ball than the English do as well, so that’s a bit of a plus. And we’ve won our first two day-night Test matches so let’s hope we can make it a third. It obviously plays a little bit different to the red ball and you’ve got to have some tactics in place.”Getty Images

The pink ball will be another unknown for Cummins, who admitted on Wednesday that he was still learning about his own rhythm and how and when he could get to his very fastest – clocked at better than 150kph – ahead of a series in which Smith in particular will want to use Cummins as a shock weapon.”That’s 100% right, there was one day I just felt like I was running in faster and it was coming out really well and I thought that was as fast as I’d bowled in a long time,” Cummins responded when asked to recall one particular day when he was bowling with some heat. “And then that afternoon, the other boys reckon I was bowling a lot faster. It’s just one of those things, some days when you feel like you’re not bowling with too much effort that’s sometimes your fastest days. Sometime it just clicks.”You have a general idea and you try and run in fast in certain spells, on certain days…I hope the more I bowl and the older I get, hopefully I learn those nuances a bit more. But yeah certainly each tour I play, each series I play, I definitely feel like I’m starting to know myself a little bit better and am finding out or learning how little I did know about myself beforehand.”

Michael Clarke has praised his players for their sudden turnaround following the Ashes after their comprehensive win over England at the Gabba secured an unassailable 4-1 lead

Peter English in Brisbane30-Jan-2011Michael Clarke has praised his players for their sudden turnaround following the Ashes after their comprehensive win over England at the Gabba secured an unassailable 4-1 lead. Instead of being overwhelmed by the scale of the Test losses, the limited-overs players have regrouped so quickly that the final two games will be dead rubbers.”After a pretty tough start to the summer, losing the Ashes, I think it shows a lot of courage for us to come back and play well throughout the series,” Clarke said. “I think it was a great performance from the whole group, everyone contributed.”Clarke’s 54, his highest score of the series, set up Australia’s 249, a total which seemed small until the attack knocked over the tourists’ main men by the 26th over. Clarke said the bowling of John Hastings (2 for 35) and Steven Smith (1 for 29) effectively shut down England’s chase.The pair was responsible for ruining England’s middle order when the visitors lost Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan and Ian Bell for eight runs and fell to 6 for 105. “John Hastings and Steve Smith probably won us the game with that partnership,” Clarke said. “They worked together, certain guys wanted to bowl to certain batters, so they communicated really well and did a great job.”Brett Lee was also impressive early, taking two wickets as England fell to 3 for 22. “Brett has been a wonderful bowler for a long time,” Clarke said. “His execution throughout this series has been spot-on, but I think he feels he can get better. He probably feels he’s bowling okay at the moment but has work to do before the World Cup – as we all do.”Australia are now in a relatively healthy position heading towards the tournament, which starts in three weeks. The only setback for them came with another hamstring injury to Shaun Marsh, who suffered badly with similar problems last summer.Clarke said the injury was minor, but Marsh is due to undergo a scan on Monday to determine whether the side requires a replacement for Wednesday’s sixth game in Sydney. Marsh is not in the World Cup squad but is the leading contender to replace Michael Hussey if he fails to recover from hamstring surgery.

Rob White’s brilliant knock helped Northamptonshire keep their Friends Provident t20 quarter-final hopes alive with a 11-run win over Lancashire

16-Jul-2010
Scorecard
Rob White’s brilliant knock helped Northamptonshire Steelbacks keep their Friends Provident t20 quarter-final hopes alive with a 11-run win over Lancashire Lightning at Wantage Road. White, who has struggled for runs this season, blasted 80 off 58 balls, his knock including seven fours and four sixes, as the Steelbacks reached 170 4 for off their 20 overs.Lancashire spinner Stephen Parry continued his impressive tournament by taking two for 29. Despite an explosive 41 off 22 balls from wicketkeeper Gareth Cross, Lancashire fell short of their target and deal a blow to their bid for a home tie in the last-eight.Lancashire won the toss and chose to bowl and they gave Northamptonshire an early scare when West Indies international Daren Powell almost ran out White from mid-on White and his opening partner Chaminda Vaas quickly combined in a stand of 77 before the Parry struck in the 12th over.Vass had progressed to 29 before he lifted the spinner to Steven Croft at long-on. White went on to reach his half-century from 46 balls before David Sales departed in the same fashion as Vaas, with Sajid Mahmood this time taking the catch at long-on off Parry.White then smashed three sixes in consecutive balls off Powell in the 16th over before he finally perished by scooping England Lions paceman Mahmood to Tom Smith at extra cover. Smith then bowled Alex Wakely, who made 20, before Zimbabwe international Elton Chigumbura and Steelbacks captain Andrew Hall, unbeaten on 16 and 11 respectively, guided the home side through the last two overs.Chasing 171, the Lightning got off to a poor start when Stephen Moore edged Jack Brooks to wicketkeeper David Murphy in the second over. His fellow opener Smith made 16 before he went cheaply by smashing David Willey to Sales at midwicket.Croft looked composed as he made 24 before he tickled the finest of edges to Murphy off the bowling of Chigumbura. Captain Mark Chilton went for 7 when he was trapped lbw by James Middlebrook before Wakely took one of the catches of the tournament when he snared Paul Horton with a flying one-hander at long-on in the same over.Vaas then claimed the wicket of Nathan McCullum, when the New Zealander launched him to Middlebrook at backward point, as the Lightning fell short despite Mahmood’s 27 off 10 balls.

After an astonishing run of victories in Dubai lifted them into this year’s ICC World Twenty20, a jubilant Afghanistan team has now set their sights on upsetting some of the leading cricket nations in the Caribbean

Cricinfo staff14-Feb-2010After an astonishing run of victories in Dubai lifted them into this year’s ICC World Twenty20, a jubilant Afghanistan team has now set their sights on upsetting some of the leading cricket nations in the Caribbean.Just over a year ago they were facing lightweights like Fiji and Cayman Islands, but their rapid rise has pitchforked them into the same group as India and South Africa for the World Twenty20, their first top-flight tournament. “We will be working hard to upset one of the teams,” batting allrounder Karim Sadiq told .Sadiq expected a massive welcome from fans when the team reached home from Dubai, but said the focus will soon switch to preparing for the World Twenty20, beginning on April 30. “People in my country are very happy, and there will be big celebrations in Afghanistan when we return,” he said. “I think maybe three million people will come to the city to celebrate and dance.”He was brimming with confidence and unfazed at the prospect of facing some of the world’s quickest bowlers during the World Twenty20. “I will go to Afghanistan and practice on a 14-metre wicket against fast bowlers where the ball will be coming at 160-165 kmh,” he said. “Dale Steyn will be no problem. He bowls at 150 or 145 kmh – we have Hamid Hassan who bowls at 145 and Shapoor Zadran and we hit sixes in every over off them back in Afghanistan.”His team-mate Raees Ahmadzai, a legspinner, was also bullish and hopeful of standing up to the best players around. “Our players want to match players like Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” Ahmadzai said. “We want to see the grounds in the West Indies and show the world that we are not behind the other teams and show everybody that Afghanistan is one of the best cricket teams in the world.”It has been a dizzying rise for Afghanistan, who won ODI status ten months ago but narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Cup in 2011. In their strife-torn nation, the team’s rapid progress has already made them heroes and a source of hope.

Mahedi bagged 4 for 11 in the third T20I, as Bangladesh won their first T20I series against Sri Lanka

Mohammad Isam17-Jul-2025Bangladesh captain Litton Das had earmarked offspinner Mahedi Hasan for the third T20I at the R Premadasa Stadium when he first saw their tour schedule for Sri Lanka. Mahedi repaid the faith by picking up career-best figures of 4 for 11 in Bangladesh’s eight-wicket win, which also gave them their first series win – by 2-1 – against Sri Lanka.Two of Mahedi’s wickets came in the powerplay, taking his tally to 30 in that phase since January 2021, the most for any spinner on that list. Litton said that Mahedi’s skillset suited the pitch, where spinners have generally done well. Mahedi got into the act straightaway on Wednesday night, removing Kusal Perera in his first over before having Dinesh Chandimal mistime a slog in the fifth.”We felt that Mahedi’s skills would be a perfect fit for the Colombo wicket,” Litton said after Bangladesh’s victory. “It doesn’t mean he doesn’t bowl well on other wickets. I had planned it as soon as I saw the schedule that Mahedi will be my first name in the line-up at this venue. It also doesn’t mean that Mehidy [Hasan Miraz] is not a good bowler or batter. As a team leader, I will think deeply about the surface before choosing a team. A bowling-friendly surface will always make me pick Mahedi. If it is batting-friendly, Miraz will come back into the team.”Related

• Bangladesh take Sri Lanka momentum into contest against bogey team Pakistan

• Mahedi four-for, Tanzid fifty give Bangladesh first series win against Sri Lanka

The occasion was further special for Mahedi, as he was returning to the side after missing Bangladesh’s last five T20Is. He wasn’t picked in the first two matches of this series after he went for plenty of runs in three games against UAE and Pakistan in May. It may have been harsh for Mahedi, who was adjudged Player of the Series in the West Indies in December, having powered Bangladesh to a 3-0 series win.Litton said he never had a shortage of belief, which helped them clinch the series, making it only the second time Bangladesh won a T20I series after going down 1-0 in a three-match affair.”It is a proud moment for me as a captain. I am happy that the fans are also happy seeing us win a T20I series in Sri Lanka,” he said. “We always try to give our 100% in the middle. We train in the way that we can give 100% in the middle. I always had the belief. I never had a shortage of belief in my ten years at this level.”Litton further said that other than the batting collapses – 94 all out in the second T20I, 186 all out in the third ODI and 167 all out in the first ODI – Bangladesh had a decent tour of Sri Lanka. He felt that the batting unit must take more responsibility across formats.Litton Das scored 76 in the second T20I, while his 32 in the third helped Bangladesh out of an early setback•Associated Press

“We didn’t play bad cricket in all the formats. It looks different as we had some batting collapses,” he said. “All the batters fell for 30-35 runs in the second Test, which had a good batting track. Someone had to play a big knock. It was the same in the first ODI: we lost plenty of wickets in a collapse. We need to be more focused as a batting unit, and take responsibility with our choices of shots, [and] we will do better.”Litton himself showed a bit of form, with his 76 off 50 in Bangladesh’s 83-run win in the second T20I. It was a pivotal knock as Litton added half-century stands with Towhid Hridoy and Shamim Hossain in critical phases. It was also a break from his long white-ball slump. Litton also scored 32 in the third T20I, helping Bangladesh out of an early setback. He said he was getting hungry to score runs and looking for an opportunity.”I think hunger was a factor, I wasn’t scoring runs for a long time,” he said. “I was looking for an opportunity to grab. It was a plus point in the second T20I. I think winning changes the face of the team. We also won the second game by 83 runs, which is a huge achievement. The whole team had the confidence of winning if we played our best cricket.”All I can do is try hard. I don’t sit in the hotel room. I don’t miss training sessions. You have to keep trying as a player. You also need blessing from God. I think luck smiled at me in the second T20I. But I keep trying hard on and off the field. I worked on my own mostly. There are some people who helped me. It can be motivating too.”

Hardik Pandya’s men have pretty much everything going their way unlike Sunrisers

Himanshu Agrawal14-May-2023

Big picture: Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad at opposite ends

Monday evening in Ahmedabad could see one team make the playoffs in successive years since it started playing in the IPL, and the other fall short of it for the third time in a row. If Gujarat Titans win, they will be the first team this season to qualify for the playoffs – they will do so with a game in hand – while Sunrisers Hyderabad will be eliminated with two matches remaining.But even if Sunrisers happen to cause an upset, they will be barely alive, and dependent on other results for their own fortunes. Titans have been so good that two losses in their last four matches have also kept them at the top of the table. Sunrisers have had exactly the same run in as many previous games, but had been erratic enough before that to now find themselves ninth.The hosts have pretty much everything going their way: a solid opening pair, an in-form middle order, finishers on fire, and the highest wicket-taker of the season so far. Contrast that with Sunrisers’ sliding campaign, and you can make out the difference between the sides: only one of their batters averages over 30 after a minimum of eight innings, and only one bowler has at least ten wickets, compared to four from Titans.But Sunrisers know that a collective performance and a win against a settled side, whom they haven’t faced this season, will not only keep their faint hopes flickering, but might also potentially disturb the equation for other teams.

Form guide

Gujarat Titans LWWLW

Sunrisers Hyderabad LWLWL

Team news: Little still away

Titans’ left-arm quick Josh Little is still away on national duty, and is set to miss this match. Sunrisers should have all players available for selection.

The big question

Impact Player strategy

Titans swapped Mohit Sharma with Shubman Gill in their loss against Mumbai Indians, and are likely to continue with it depending on whether they bat or bowl first.GT probable XII: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Hardik Pandya (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Abhinav Manohar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Mohammed Shami, 12 Mohit SharmaSunrisers had brought on Vivrant Sharma for Anmolpreet Singh against Lucknow Super Giants, albeit the former didn’t get to bowl after coming in at the end of their innings. If Vivrant is left out against Titans – he is yet to bat in this tournament, and has bowled only two overs in two games – then they might swap Anmolpreet with T Natarajan or vice-versa.
SRH probable XII: 1 Anmolpreet Singh, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram (capt), 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Vivrant Sharma, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Marco Jansen, 11 Mayank Markande, 12 T NatarajanDavid Miller is yet to score a fifty this IPL•AFP/Getty Images

Stats that matter

• David Miller has now batted ten times this IPL, but is yet to hit a half-century. The last time he had batted for at least eight innings but did not get a fifty was in 2016.
• For a minimum of 1000 runs scored this season, Sunrisers’ Nos. 3-7 batters have the lowest strike rate (134.45), have hit the least number of fifties (three) and have struck the least sixes (49) among all sides this IPL.
• Only two batters have ever scored at most 80 runs in a T20 innings, and yet strike ten sixes. Rashid Khan did just that in a losing cause against Mumbai Indians. And while he is also the leading wicket-taker with 23 wickets so far, he remains the only one this season to have got both right- and left-hand batters at least 11 times each.

Pitch and conditions

Ahmedabad has had scores of 175 and above while batting first in five out of six matches so far. And Titans’ two defeats at home have both pretty much been jailbreaks by the opposition: the first one fashioned by Rinku Singh, and the other by Ishant Sharma. As for the weather, it is expected to be hot and humid.

Legspinner says his love for the BBL remains strong in light of “the whole David Warner story”

Matt Roller06-Aug-2022Adam Zampa has refused to entertain the possibility of playing in the new franchise T20 leagues in the UAE and South Africa and insisted that he is focused on representing Australia for as long as possible.Several Australian players, most notably David Warner, have been actively courted by new teams in the International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE, which clashes with the second half of the Big Bash League (BBL). But Zampa ruled out the possibility that he would consider playing another league during the Australian season, as long as he is playing international cricket.”It’s great that there’s so many competitions but that’s probably a long-term thing for me, to be honest,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I’m 30 years old and while you’re contracted with Australia, I think – well, I know that guys won’t get NOCs [No-Objection Certificates] to play those competitions.”Playing cricket for Australia is my priority and then obviously BBL is a bonus over the summer. As long as I’m doing that, those other competitions aren’t really in my calculations. I think the players have been pretty open about their feedback towards the BBL – I definitely have.”I still love the BBL. It’s been a huge part of my career and the [overseas player] draft brings something new to it. Obviously there’s the whole David Warner story that’s going on in the background but if we can somehow get the best players playing in it, it’s obviously best for the competition.”Related

• Warner signing only one part of a much bigger challenge for BBL

• Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo join UAE's ILT20

• Boult's choice a landmark moment in cricket's fast-evolving landscape

• Cricket Australia could block Lynn's ILT20 deal as BBL overseas challenge highlighted

• Russell, Moeen, Hasaranga among big-ticket sign-ons for UAE's ILT20

Over 150 overseas players have been nominated for this month’s player draft but a number of them will only be available for the first seven or eight games of the season before leaving for the UAE or South Africa. But leading Australian players are due to be available for a greater proportion of the tournament than usual this year, while several Test players – including Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Steven Smith – are in talks about the possibility of signing deals.Zampa himself, meanwhile, has a year left on his Melbourne Stars contract and is in talks about an extension. “There’s a little opportunity for those guys to play BBL this year,” he said. “If we can somehow get the best players playing as many games as possible, you’ll get kids interested and you’ll get people watching it on TV, which is the reason we’re doing it.”It’s just the way of the world now with franchise cricket. If we can get some of the best players in the world coming in even for half of it, you’re going to get people watching it. In an ideal world, you’d have certain players available for the whole competition but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.”[Administratiors] have played their cards with the length of it. We played 14 games over the space of seven or eight weeks: I don’t mind the 14 games part of it but sometimes two months can kind of drag out. When you’re trying to get the best players in the world to come over and play a whole competition, it’s probably a little bit too much to ask. I don’t have an issue with the number of games but if they can condense it down into a five or six-week period where you’ll get the best overseas players coming for the whole time, I think that would make a lot of sense.”Adam Zampa is playing for Welsh Fire in the Hundred•CSM

Zampa, speaking at KP Snacks’ summer cricket roadshow at St. David’s Shopping Centre in Cardiff, is in the UK for the first five games of the Hundred, before leaving for Australia’s ODI series against Zimbabwe. He took 0 for 20 in 15 balls in the season opener on Wednesday night as Welsh Fire were hammered by Southern Brave, his first appearance in nearly four months after missing the tour to Sri Lanka on paternity leave.”It’s a good opportunity for me to play in a new competition,” he said. “We missed last year due to our series against Bangladesh and it’s a good chance for me just to play some cricket because I’ve been away from work for a while now.”The standard of the competition is good. There’s great depth and you have these guys who are coming out of county cricket and are really fearless in the way they play. I haven’t played for a little while so it’s nice to be back and I’m loving being part of this competition and the innovation of it.”Next year, we don’t really have any clashes with the Hundred and it would be nice. It’s really hard playing franchise cricket, getting relationships quickly and then having to leave. Obviously international cricket is first and foremost but hopefully next year it lines up and we can play all of the Hundred.”Fire play their first home game of the 2022 season against Southern Brave in Cardiff on Sunday afternoon “We had a packed house the other night at Southampton and it just felt good to be among that atmosphere,” Zampa said. “I’m excited to play a home game: obviously it was a really tough start the other night for us, so it would be great to turn that around in front of the Welsh fans.”KP Snacks, Official Team Partner of the Hundred, are touring the country this summer to offer more opportunities for people to play cricket as part of their ‘Everyone In’ campaign. Visit everyonein.co.uk/about.

Akram irked by conduct of an unidentified individual in the Qalandars’ hospitality box, leading to an off-field spat

Umar Farooq in Dubai25-Feb-2019Lahore Qalandars have lodged an official complaint against Karachi Kings president Wasim Akram and their players Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim after an off-field spat following the PSL game between the two sides on February 16.The PCB is yet to arbitrate on the issue, but Lahore insist that the incident was a “clear violation of code of conduct”.Akram was seen having a heated argument with the family members of Fawad Rana, the owner of the Lahore franchise, after Karachi’s loss by 22 runs. Imad, the captain, and fast bowler Amir were also part of the argument, which allegedly included inappropriate gestures.Moments later, Akram stormed off and made his way to the post-match presentation while Imad and Amir were dragged into the dressing room by the Karachi manager. Usman Wahla, a PCB official, is also believed to have been involved in the incident. Two dignitaries from Lahore’s hospitality box were briefly taken into custody too, but were released shortly after.ESPNcricinfo understands that an unidentified fan in Lahore’s hospitality box had seemingly angered Akram, which resulted in an argument. Lahore then sent a written complaint to Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, the next day, but he distanced himself from the issue. The PCB and the PSL’s technical committee are now looking into it.Lahore want the PCB to retrieve CCTV footage and take action before they face Karachi again on February 28. Karachi, meanwhile, haven’t offered an explanation yet, with a spokesman confirming that the PCB hasn’t engaged with them on the matter as of Tuesday evening.

The pacer picked up 5 for 43 to bowl Tasmania out for 151 after Jack Edwards’ 68 helped the Blues to 239

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2018Getty Images

Sean Abbott’s second consecutive five-wicket haul helped New South Wales register their first win of the season, by 88 runs over Tasmania, in their JLT One-Day Cup clash at the North Sydney Oval.The Blues rode on Jack Edwards’ quickfire 68 off 50 balls, before Gurinder Sandhu hit back for Tasmania. The pacer picked up 4 for 42 to help bowl the opposition out for 239. Abbott, though, dented Tasmania’s chase by removing their top three batsmen within the first nine overs. Daniel Sams also picked up two wickets, as Tasmania found themselves struggling at 7 for 98. A 53-run eighth-wicket stand between Clive Rose and Jackson Bird only helped save some face, as they were bowled out for 151 in 31.3 overs.Earlier, after being sent in to bat, the Blues lost Daniel Hughes in the fourth over of the match, but Edwards and captain Kurtis Patterson took the side past 100. Edwards did most of the scoring during their 86-run association, hitting 11 fours and two sixes. Sandhu dismissed Jay Lenton and Sams in successive overs to reduce the Blues to 6 for 158 in the 30th over.Chris Green and Nick Larkin took the side to 200 with a 42-run stand for the seventh wicket, before Sandhu struck twice in two overs once again to end the innings in 47.3 overs.In response, Tasmania lost Matthew Wade in the first ball of the chase, when he fell lbw to Abbott. Abbott proceeded to wreck the top order, while Sams made life hard for the middle-order batsmen, with the wickets of Jordan Silk and George Bailey, both caught by wicketkeeper Lenton.Almost every Tasmania batsman got a start – eight of them reached double figures – but they needed some to carry on. Only Clive Rose crossed 30, before he was dismissed by Abbott for 35. Aaron Summers was bowled next ball, giving Abbott his best figures in List A cricket. Riley Meredith avoided the hat-trick, but Ben Dwarshuis had Bird caught by Lenton, for his fifth catch of the innings, in the next over to wrap up the game.

The South African national team has a target to be 50% transformed, although neither the definition of the word nor a deadline has been clarified by Cricket South Africa

Firdose Moonda19-May-2015The South African national team has a target to be 50% transformed, although neither the definition of the word nor a deadline has been clarified by Cricket South Africa, who presented a report before the country’s parliamentary portfolio committee on Tuesday.The policy of transformation, broadly understood to be the process of correcting the imbalances of South Africa’s racially segregated past by providing opportunities to previously disadvantaged people, was the major subject of discussion, as CSA outlined its commitment to change, which made up a significant part of the board’s 37-page report.In it, CSA stated that “transformation remains paramount in the general business of cricket and we acknowledge the progress still required to improve representivity (sic) especially at national level.” They noted a “specific focus on increasing black African players” whose progression has stagnated since South Africa’s readmission.While CSA cited high unemployment, poverty, low levels of facilities at rural schools and the high cost of maintaining those facilities as impediments to transformation, president Chris Nenzani admitted transformation also took a back seat as administrators stopped looking for promising players after they found their first flagbearer, Makhaya Ntini.”Over the past 20 or so years, we relaxed and that is why we had only Makhaya Ntini making a strong claim for the national team,” Nenzani said.To address that imbalance, CSA will introduce new quotas in the 2015-16 season. National representative schools teams* will be required to have eight black African players in a squad of 15, while national representative university teams three black African players in the playing XI. Both provincial and franchise teams must have at least six players of colour in the teams from next summer, of which at least two must be black African.Nenzani maintained that there was no quota for the national side. “We don’t set targets, we give guidelines. A player gets into the national team not because he is black. He needs to be a good player first.”The “guidelines” over national team selection were recently in the spotlight in the aftermath of the World Cup 2015 semi-final, when it emerged that CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat had been consulted on the team make-up and reminded the selectors of the transformation targets of four players of colour in the team. The controversy erupted after Vernon Philander, who had played much of the tournament with a hamstring injury, was picked ahead of the in-form Kyle Abbott.Despite CSA’s admission that Lorgat “impressed on the convener and coach the need to properly consider the best XI bearing in mind the transformation guidelines”, theboard insisted there had been no interference from outside sources and called the media coverage of the incident “mischievous.”One member of the parliamentary committee, Samuel Mmusi, said, “If that interference was made in the name of transformation we would support it.” Another, Mncedisi Filtane, questioned why Aaron Phangiso, the only black African member of South Africa’s World Cup squad did not play a single game: “Phangiso did not even play a single game but there is no outcry about that. We can’t just say ‘no quotas’ when they are in our policy regulations.”Nenzani defended Phangiso’s omission when he said, “The only game we are playing is cricket. The only level of target we have not specified is at national level.” The committee also demanded more detailed plans from CSA about its transformation goals.”This is a high-level presentation but where are the programs? You have deliberately withheld them. Why are you withholding this information? What game are you playing with us? Where is the meat?” Filtane asked. He also questioned whether CSA would enter into “sponsorship agreements that include transformation and if not, why not?” and how the board is explaining transformation to white players.”How do you handle the resistance of white players when it comes to transformation? It’s bread for some and less bread for others? You have not committed to any dates,” Filtane said.Lorgat explained that CSA has to “be careful” with “conditional sponsorships” while the delegation confirmed that all players have embraced the need to transform. CSA will meet to discuss a memorandum of understanding with South Africa’s sports minister Fikile Mbalula “soon” with all indications that it will decide on a timeline to meet its transformation targets.The other aspects of CSA’s discussion included an overview of their financials in which they revealed a profit of R199,410 million (US$16,716 million) for the 2013-14 season, down R332, 685 million (US$27,050 million) from the season before. However, CSA had initially projected a loss for the season, following the curtailed India tour, and declared the results “excellent.”CSA is optimistic about remaining in the black in future and provided parliament with the ICC’s proposed distribution for 2015-2023 as proof. The model shows CSA as the fifth highest earner behind India, England, Australia and Pakistan. CSA is forecast to earn US$93 million from the ICC in that time. By contrast, the BCCI is expected to benefit to the tune of US$568 million.*1340 GMT, Wednesday, May 20, 2015. The article has been amended to reflect that the quotas for schools and university teams are applicable for national representative teams