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South Africa batsman Rilee Rossouw has ended his international career by signing a three-year deal to join English county Hampshire as a Kolpak player

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jan-20173:03

What is a Kolpak deal?

South Africa batsman Rilee Rossouw has ended his international career by signing a three-year deal to join English county Hampshire as a Kolpak player. Rossouw, 27, revealed his decision to leave South Africa on the same day that fast bowler Kyle Abbott also confirmed his decision to join Hampshire as a Kolpak player.South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo said he was “bitterly disappointed” in Rossouw. “We backed him when he made five noughts,” Domingo said. “If that had been a player of colour, everyone would have said transformation. I haven’t spoken to him since Australia but I am very disappointed.” Rossouw had made four ducks in his first six ODI innings.Following Rossouw’s decision, Cricket South Africa said it was in the process of terminating his contract and that he would not be considered “for any future national selection.””It is a disappointing day not just for South African cricket but also for international cricket as these players have given up their opportunity to be seen in action on the international circuit,” CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said. “From CSA’s perspective it is a loss as we invest immeasurable amounts which include premium time, finance, technical, high performance coaching followed by development tours and providing general player welfare over a long period of time.”By way of example, Rilee has spent a lengthy period on the injury list while we spared no expense in providing him with the best medical support.”Both Rilee and Kyle have been given opportunities over the past year to play at the highest level and were firmly in our plans for the future. We have encouraged Rilee and Kyle to reconsider their decisions but both have indicated that they wish to take up Kolpak contracts. Whilst this is a loss for South African cricket we can only wish them well with their overseas careers.

Rossouw’s statement

“Deciding to leave South Africa is something I have thought long and hard about and moving to England will give me and my family the long-term career security that I believe is important at this stage of my life,” Rossouw said in a statement. “I have loved representing the Proteas and will watch from afar with great affection every time they take the field from now on, but I am hugely dedicated to making Hampshire cricket successful on the field.
“I would like to express my thanks to Cricket South Africa for the opportunity to represent my country and also for the Knights for their continued support.
“The move to England and Hampshire Cricket is one that I can’t wait to get underway. I have come close to playing county cricket a couple of times in the past and it is a challenge most cricketers want to take on at some stage in their careers and I am delighted it is at a county with as strong pedigree as Hampshire.”

“We will continue to invest heavily in our local talent and provide opportunities for those individuals who wish to realise their dream of playing for their country; we will not contract players who do not commit to play for South Africa.”Domingo’s anger at Rossouw’s departure was particularly palpable as he revisited the change of events. “I haven’t heard from Rilee since we left Australia to be honest,” he said. “Some of us have tried to get hold of him, and this is the truth, we got an email from him off his iPhone telling us he’s signed Kolpak. He spelt my name wrong for starters. He wrote one L instead of two. That’s where we are. I am bitterly disappointed in him. That’s the bottom truth. He toured Australia as the back-up Test batsman. He was the next batsman in.”Rossouw played 36 ODIs and 15 T20Is for South Africa after making his international debut in August 2014. While he had never quite secured a long-term spot in South Africa’s squads, Rossouw was their highest run-scorer in their most recent limited-overs series: he played all five ODIs against Australia at home in October 2016 and scored 311 runs at an average of 78.He was part of the Test squad that won the series 2-1 in Australia in October and November 2016-17 but did not play a game. He was then left out of the ongoing home Test series against Sri Lanka because of a foot injury.

Darren Bravo’s unbeaten 46 helped West Indians reach 6 for 154 after Cricket Australia XI had reduced them to 5 for 83 on the first day of the tour game in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2015
ScorecardDarren Bravo helped stabilise the innings after early strife•Cricket Australia

Darren Bravo’s unbeaten 46 helped West Indians reach 6 for 154 after Cricket Australia XI had reduced them to 5 for 83 on the first day of the tour game in Brisbane. Only 60 overs were possible, however, due to rain interruptions.West Indians opted to bat and their openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Rajendra Chandrika were cautious at the start, adding 32 by the 16th over. The good work was undone, however when both men fell within six overs to seamer James Bazley.Bravo and Marlon Samuels shared a 31-run partnership for the third wicket, but Samuels’ dismissal was followed by two more quick wickets. Jermaine Blackwood was caught off fast bowler Ryan Lees for 1 and Denesh Ramdin bagged a duck, courtesy medium-pacer Simon Milenko.Bravo kept steady at one end and inched his way to 46 off 135 deliveries with six fours and a six. He shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 32 with Jason Holder and then added an unbeaten 39 runs with Carlos Brathwaite – the highest stand of the innings so far.Apart from Milenko and Bazley, who took two wickets each, Lees and legspinner Cameron Boyce were also among the wickets.

Kenya continued their dominance in the T20 Quadrangular tournament, beating South Africa Emerging Players by five wickets on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2013
ScorecardKenya continued their dominance in the T20 Quadrangular tournament, beating South Africa Emerging Players by five wickets on Sunday. The win puts them at the top of the table with two wins in two games.Kenya, who won the toss, inserted South Africa Emerging Players and backed that decision by dismissing the openers quickly. A 56-run, third-wicket partnership between captain Jean Symes and Yaseen Vallie steadied the innings. Vallie added another 50 runs with David Wiese for the fourth wicket and once Vallie fell for 61, Wiese carried on, guiding the middle order to 174 for 6.Kenya’s top and middle order set up the chase. Opener Tanmay Mishra led the way with a 32-ball 45, before Morris Ouma, Collins Obuya and Rakep Patel struck useful 30s to guide Kenya to a close win, with two balls to spare.

The PCB has ‘welcomed’ the step taken by the BCCI to include a team from Pakistan in Champions League T20 this year

Umar Farooq12-May-2012The PCB has ‘welcomed’ the step taken by the BCCI to include a team from Pakistan in Champions League T20 this year. This could lead to the revival of cricketing ties between the two countries, Subhan Ahmed, the PCB’s chief operating officer said.”It is indeed good news for Pakistan, and we welcome India’s positive move,” Ahmed told ESPNcricinfo. “We have been discussing the matter, how to revive our cricketing ties with each other, for many months. This is the significant move in that direction.”For us it isn’t a surprising move, but a much awaited one, as we have been holding discussions over the last two months. They [the BCCI] want to take gradual steps, and once things go successfully in the Champions League we can definitely move forward with our junior and senior teams.”Ahmed’s reaction comes in the wake of the BCCI’s announcement on Saturday that it would inform the tournament’s governing council that it had no objection to the participation of a team from Pakistan.The PCB had been pushing for the inclusion of a side from Pakistan, the only major Test-playing nation to not have had teams in either the qualifiers or the main round of the CLT20 since its inception. Sialkot were invited to the inaugural edition of the tournament towards the end of 2008, but it was put off after the terror attacks in Mumbai in November that year.Those attacks strained political relations between India and Pakistan and, subsequently, the cricketing ties between the BCCI and the PCB. India and Pakistan have severed bilateral ties since, and Pakistan players – with the exception of Azhar Mahmood in the ongoing edition – have not been a part of the IPL.Ahmed said that both cricketing and diplomatic channels were used to ease the tension. “The government has always been very supportive and has been playing its role when it needed,” he said. “I think playing each other is always beneficial for both countries. We have laid out several proposals to revive the cricketing ties and the previous time we met, during the ICC’s [exectuive board] meeting, we had a productive meet up [on the side], where several possibilities were discussed.”The Sialkot Regional Cricket Association (SRCA) is also pleased that their team, which is the domestic Twenty20 champion, is likely to play in the cash-rich league. “We were looking for the opportunity, as we have a team that has the calibre to compete in the Champions League,” Zulfiqar Malik, SRCA President, told ESPNcricinfo. “It [ensuring participation] wasn’t working out, but now things appear to be coming together. I appreciate India’s move, which will ultimately help both countries to build a good relationship.”The Sialkot captain, Shoaib Malik, said this could be a chance for players from Pakistan to showcase their talent. “It is a relief to hear that finally we will get a chance to compete with the best teams in the Champions League,” Malik said. “The ice has finally been broken. It is a good opportunity for us to convince the Indian people about the great talent in Pakistan cricket.”

Derbyshire were denied by rain after an unbeaten 90 from Wes Durston had carried them to the brink of victory over Essex in their County Championship match at Derby

13-May-2011
Scorecard
Derbyshire were denied by rain after an unbeaten 90 from Wes Durston had carried them to the brink of victory over Essex in their County Championship match at Derby. Durston and skipper Luke Sutton had revived the home side with a sixth-wicket stand of 83 in 17 overs after David Masters had reduced them to 26 for 3 chasing a target of 223.Derbyshire were 202 for 6, only 22 runs away from a second Championship win of the season with 10.5 overs left, when a downpour ended what had been an excellent contest shortly after 6pm.Essex had started the final day 173 ahead with four wickets remaining and their chances of building a substantial lead rested with James Foster. Nightwatchman Chris Wright stayed with him for nine overs while 18 runs were added before he flicked Azeem Rafiq into the hands of midwicket.The offspinner then got one to turn at Tim Phillips who edged a drive to slip four overs later and only nine more were added before Greg Smith had Masters caught behind for one. Foster lofted Rafiq over cover for four but became Smith’s fourth victim in the next over when he edged a drive trying to keep the strike.Derbyshire had a minimum of 74 overs to reach their target but they were soon in trouble as Masters blew away the top order. Chesney Hughes lost his off stump playing back to a ball he should have been forward to with only seven on the board and Masters struck twice in consecutive overs after lunch.Only three runs had been added when Australia Test batsman Usman Khawaja left a ball which clipped his off stump and five runs later, Wayne Madsen was lbw to one that nipped back. At 26 for 3, the momentum was with Essex but the rest of the bowling lacked penetration or control which allowed Durston and Dan Redfern to start rebuilding the innings.With Masters out of the attack after taking 3 for 14 in nine overs, the pair took the total to 79 before Redfern played Phillips into his thigh pad and was caught at short leg for 29. Smith made 18 off 15 balls before he chopped Wright into his stumps to shift the odds back towards the visitors but Durston and Sutton regained the initiative with some positive batting.Durston, who was almost caught at long on for 27, reached his half-century from 69 balls and, despite two breaks for rain, the sixth wicket pair put on 83 in 17 overs to take their side to within sight of victory. But the batsmen could see dark clouds closing in over the County Ground and
Sutton fell trying to clear the ropes when he hooked Wright into the hands of long leg.There was time for just one more ball before the storm broke and this time, the umpires had no choice but to bring down the curtain on a dramatic game that will be remembered for the sacking of head of cricket John Morris half way through.

No play was possible on the third day of Somerset’s County Championship match against Essex at Taunton

29-Apr-2010
Scorecard
The persistent rain won the day at Taunton•Getty Images

No play was possible on the third day of Somerset’s County Championship match against Essex at Taunton.Umpires Barry Dudleston and Jeff Evans abandoned play at 4.30pm with rain that had started at 9am still coming down. They had inspected at 2pm with the hope of a start, but the drizzle persisted and then became heavy again.

Captain’s 76 not enough as Gloucestershire defend 251 at York

ECB Reporters Network02-Aug-2024Ollie Price’s watchful 98 off 118 balls plus a feverish bowling display led by three-wicket quick Matt Taylor led Gloucestershire to an entertaining win over Yorkshire at York as they successfully defended a 252-target to triumph by 36 runs.Price had underpinned Gloucestershire’s 251 for 9, while opener Miles Hammond leant support with 54. But the visitors added only 85 runs in a damaging final 15 overs which saw seven wickets fall.The Vikings responded on a challenging batting pitch, with new-ball seamer Ben Coad (2 for 27 from 10 overs) particularly impressive as one of four bowlers who struck twice.Shan Masood and James Wharton hit 76 and 56 respectively to leave Yorkshire well placed, but they slumped from 137 for 2 to 215 all out inside 48 overs. Left-armer Taylor finished with 3 for 35 off 10. Both counties have now won two, lost two in Group B.Gloucestershire elected to bat on the same hybrid pitch used for Yorkshire’s Wednesday win over Sussex, and they showed early caution against accurate bowling. After Cameron Bancroft’s early departure, caught behind off Coad, Hammond and Price advanced impressively as extra bounce was evident without extra pace.They rotated strike amidst an 88-run partnership, and a feature of Price’s innings was his sweeping and reverse-sweeping against spin. But the reverse against Dan Moriarty’s left-arm spin was Hammond’s undoing, bowled shortly after reaching his 84-ball fifty. By then, Price had also reached 50 off 65.Price beautifully drove two boundaries almost arrow straight off Ben Cliff’s seam in the 34th over before, at the start of his next, James Bracey hoisted the same bowler over long-on for one of only two sixes in the entire innings. However, Gloucestershire’s acceleration was shackled, as four wickets fell for 19 from 172 for 2 in 36th over to 191 for 6 in the 41st.Cliff struck twice in an action-packed 36th as Bracey played on and Ben Charlesworth was caught behind. Coad then forced Jack Taylor to play on, as did Moriarty to Graeme van Buuren. Tom Smith added a useful 27, but Price was yorked by George Hill as the visitors only just crept over 250.Wickets continued to fall as Yorkshire replied. Fin Bean was bowled off the inside-edge as he left Matt Taylor alone before Ajeet Singh Dale bowled Will Luxton shortly afterwards, the Vikings 24 for 2 in the seventh over.Masood and Wharton set about a no-frills recovery, sharing a third-wicket 113. Masood hit 63 in Wednesday’s Sussex win, and by the time his latest half-century arrived off 52 balls, Yorkshire were on a healthy 94 for 2 in the 21st.Acceleration came when they hit three leg-side sixes off the spin of Price and van Buuren, taking the score to 117 for 2 in the 23rd. It was now Yorkshire’s game to lose. But that’s exactly what happened.Matt Taylor had Masood caught behind and bowled Hill in successive overs before Harry Duke pulled Dom Goodman’s seam to midwicket – 147 for 5 in the 33rd.Wharton reached his fifty off 78 balls, but him crawling through the 40s heightened home nerves. It was, therefore, no great surprise when he miscued Smith’s left-arm spin to backward point, leaving the Vikings six down at 163.That became 176 for 7 in the 39th when Singh Dale trapped Dom Bess lbw. Now it was Gloucestershire’s game, and they didn’t let things slip.Coad was run out before Matthew Revis, for 41, and Moriarty were caught in the deep off Goodman and van Buuren.

India coach says the importance of World Test Championship points has led to an increase in result-oriented pitches

Karthik Krishnaswamy07-Mar-20234:50

Dravid: Wickets all over the world have got more challenging for batters

On November 29, 2021, New Zealand’s last-wicket pair of Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel hung on for 8.4 overs in fading light to deny India a Test win in Kanpur. That one wicket India failed to take cost them eight World Test Championship points.Had India taken that one wicket – and all other global Test results remained what they were – they would now have 131 WTC points rather than 123. Ahead of the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test match, which begins in Ahmedabad on Thursday, they would only have needed a draw to seal a spot in June’s WTC final at The Oval, rather than a win as they currently do.That Kanpur Test was Rahul Dravid’s first as India head coach. Two days before the Ahmedabad Test, Dravid referenced that Kanpur result while suggesting that the pressure to win World Test Championship points may have contributed to a glut of result-oriented, bowler-friendly pitches not just in India but all over the world.Related

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“It could be one of the reasons, because yes, there is a huge premium on results,” Dravid said on Tuesday. “You draw a game like Kanpur against New Zealand, where you take nine wickets in the second innings, you draw that game and that sets you back, in a home game.”Every team is getting results at home or are putting in really good performances at home, so there is a premium on results. You get four points for a draw and you get 12 for a win, so there is a premium on that, there’s no question about it.”India began the four-Test series against Australia needing three wins to confirm a place in the WTC final. They won the first two Tests and lost the third, and all three were low-scoring matches played on pitches where the ball turned sharply from day one. There have only been three 200-plus totals in 11 innings, and only four batters – two from each side – have averages north of 30.Under such circumstances, Dravid felt it was important for teams to have realistic expectations from their batters and set benchmarks accordingly.”It’s really about being realistic about what is a good performance on some of the challenging wickets we are playing on, not only here,” he said. “If you look at the last three-four years, all over the world I think wickets have got a lot more challenging, not only here. So you have to be realistic about what the benchmarks are now, what the standards are.”Just understanding that in these kinds of games, just one good performance can change the game. We saw that with Rohit [Sharma]’s performance [his century in the first Test in Nagpur], we’ve seen that many times over here. It’s just being realistic in our assessment of our batsmen, their averages and their numbers, and don’t really look so much into it.”Just backing our batsmen to understand that these are challenging conditions and they’re the same for both sides. And for them to be able to use it as a challenge and an opportunity to do something special. It might not necessarily be about scoring big double-hundreds, but you know there might be scores of 50-60 or scores of 60-70 somewhere might be really, really good scores in some conditions.”Sometimes, even a score of 17 can count as a positive effort. KS Bharat made that score in India’s first-innings total of 109 in Indore, and it came in a debut series of low scores for the wicketkeeper-batter. Dravid said India had no concerns over Bharat’s batting, and had words of praise for his keeping.Rahul Dravid is happy with the quality of KS Bharat’s wicketkeeping•Getty Images

“I think he [Bharat] has kept beautifully for us,” Dravid said. “Even though it’s not a big contribution he got 17 in the first innings [in Indore], got a nice contribution in the last Test match in Delhi, he played nicely and positively.”So yeah, you need a little bit of luck sometimes in these situations, and he’s probably not had that, but no, I think he’s shaping up really well, he’s been playing really well. He’s keeping really nicely for us which is really important as well. I think you’ve just got to put, sometimes, the batting performances in perspective a little bit, and be a little bit understanding of it.”Given how little work the fast bowlers have got through in the series so far – Mohammed Siraj has bowled just 24 overs across three Tests – there could be a case for India to play an extra batter instead of a second fast bowler. While he didn’t rule out this option, Dravid said the fast bowlers have made an impact even without bowling all that much, citing as examples the wicket of Usman Khawaja that Siraj took with his first ball of the series, and Umesh Yadav’s three-wicket burst on the second morning in Indore. He also felt the batting ability of the three spinners gave India enough depth without needing the extra specialist batter.”We just have to meet every condition separately,” Dravid said. “These conditions might be very different to Indore last week, so I think everything’s on the table. We try and put together what we think is our best side and gives us the best chance to get 20 wickets and the most balanced side.”We’ve seen also at times that [the fast bowlers] haven’t bowled a lot, but the kind of impact even a Siraj can have, picking up that early wicket in Nagpur, Umesh’s spell the other day to pick up three wickets. So even though sometimes you may feel the bowlers are not bowling a lot, just having that balance and that ability at times to go back to a more balanced attack is really important.”The fact that when we are able to play three spinners we bat all the way up to 9, with Axar [Patel] or [R] Ashwin batting at 9 for us depending on left-right, it’s a pretty good depth we’ve got on the batting side of things. We have to weigh everything, weigh all the options and then decide.”

Ramiz Raja says the move is aimed at improving results overseas, and helping prep for the T20 World Cup in the short term

Umar Farooq16-Dec-2021Pakistan are set to have a ready-made Australian pitch installed at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, and the one at the National Stadium in Karachi next year. The PCB has ordered the two drop-in pitches in a bid to simulate Australian pitches and better prepare their players for overseas tours.Pakistan have never won a Test series in Australia, and haven’t had a great record in the country in other formats either. They’ve lost all three completed T20Is against Australia, and though they’ve done better in ODIs, the last time they won an ODI series in Australia was back in 2002, with an overall win-loss record of 17-37.Related

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“Pitches are one of the more significant aspects in developing a cricketer,” PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja told ESPNcricinfo. “This wasn’t given enough importance in the past, but for me as a cricketer and now a PCB chairman, its painful to see that it wasn’t given its due. Neither was it devised properly. It’s really an important element, and when I say I want to reset the GPS of Pakistan cricket it’s basically fixing the core of our cricket. And until pitches are not fixed, we aren’t going anywhere as it’s the heartbeat of cricket.”Historically, Pakistan’s batters have struggled on bouncy tracks, and victories overseas have been sparse, particularly in Australia and in South Africa. Pakistan have won just four Tests out of 37 played in Australia, while losing 26. In South Africa, they have won two out of 15 Tests, with 12 losses.Since the turn of the century, neither Pakistan’s batters nor their bowlers have shone in Australia. While the batters average 30.28 – well short of the likes of India, South Africa and England, the bowlers have had it even worse. Pakistan’s bowling average in Australia since the turn of the century is 54.42 – only Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have done worse.Pakistan batting in Australia since 2000•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Part of the reason for the investment is Raja’s belief that the presence of high-profile coaches and a great backroom staff does not guarantee success. Between Mickey Arthur and Misbah ul Haq’s tenures as head coaches, the PCB is believed to have spent PKR 60 crore per year on support staff with the national setup, but the team only won in West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe, and lost its series’ in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.”We lost 14 straight Test matches in Australia, we haven’t won a single Test series there, we get thrashed, and never really offer enough fight,” Raja said. “So with these pitches at two centres, we at least start preparing right and being competitive. We need to think out of the box and aspire to produce 180 degree players. Now, the T20 World Cup is in Australia, and to replicate the conditions we need to inject the drop-in pitches. This is an investment on generations.”In hockey we are left behind just because we never adapted in time from grass to astro. The transition had to be on time but until we realised we weren’t able to catch up and now we are nowhere near the best teams in the world. But in cricket, I want our cricketers to be challenged at the age-group (level) and prepare for any conditions. The team becomes great only by winning overseas, and that is the purpose and exercise. This (drop-in pitches) might not be a 100 percent solution but we are trying to prepare and be competitive in Australian conditions. We just saw Australia coming all the way in the Middle East, adapting well, and winning the T20 World Cup in conditions where we were supposed to make a difference.”Pakistan bowling in Australia since 2000•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

To import the drop-in pitches, PCB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with investment company Arif Habib Group, who will be bearing the expense of PKR 37 crore in the procurement. The drop-in pitches were originally made for venues in Australia and New Zealand where the stadiums are multi-sport ones. A portable turf was installed for cricket. However, in Pakistan, the PCB owns its cricket stadiums either through a lease, or as the direct owner. Cricket is the only sport played at those venues, and all stadiums are maintained by the PCB.Raja admitted that the drop-in pitches were a “quick, short-term solution” ahead of the T20 World Cup, as preparing pitches to mimic those found in foreign conditions is a longer-term and more complex job. “But we have a plan to expand it further by having soil and 30 hybrid pitches at club level,” Raja said.

Domestic cricket restarted five months after it was suspended due to Covid-19

Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Aug-2020Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket season resumed on Monday with runs from Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews, almost five months after it was suspended due to Covid-19.Mendis hit 132 not out for Colombo Cricket Club and Mathews made 80 not out for Colts Cricket Club, in separate ‘Super Eights’ matches. All up, six first-class matches were played. That many of these featured current Sri Lanka cricketers is a rare occurrence, as top players are often busy with international commitments during the domestic season, which ordinarily runs from November to April.ALSO READ: South Africa’s tours of West Indies and Sri Lanka postponed indefinitelyThe resumption of domestic games, however, comes in the absence of international cricket, which SLC had hoped would take place in July and August. India’s limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka was postponed indefinitely, while the Bangladesh Test tour of Sri Lanka has been pencilled in – but not confirmed – for October. Instead of these tours, SLC now hopes to play the Lankan Premier League (LPL) T20 franchise tournament.Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket was slated to begin at the end of July after the government had lifted curfews and supposedly brought the spread of Covid-19 under strong control, but an outbreak of the virus last month forced the resumption date to be pushed back. According to government figures, Sri Lanka has been largely successful in containing the virus, with fewer than 300 Covid-19 patients in medical care at present.