Captain Dasun Shanaka not happy with his bowlers after Namibia’s match-turning late blitz with the bat

Alex Malcolm16-Oct-20222:48

Takeaways – Will Sri Lanka’s loss turn the Super 12 Group 2 into ‘group of death’?

This wasn’t how the script was meant to go. Through the first 15 overs of the opening match of the Men’s T20 World Cup, you could have mistaken Geelong for the port city of Galle, minus the warm weather, as the Asia Cup champions looked every bit the cut above Namibia they were supposed to be.Victoria has one of the biggest expatriate Sri Lankan communities in the world and thousands of them descended upon Kardinia Park to watch their side start their World Cup with a party at their home away from home.Related

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The Papare band was playing. The Sri Lankan flags were flying. Sri Lankan colours were everywhere and the roars were all for one team as Namibia limped to 93 for 6 in the 15th over. The pace of Dushmantha Chameera and Pramod Madushan was too hot to handle on a tricky drop-in surface for a Namibia top order not accustomed to such speeds, bounce, and seam movement, even if the surface was slower than expected.That was, until it wasn’t. The band kept playing, but Sri Lanka’s quicks stopped the chin music and Namibia stole the game from a near-impossible position to orchestrate one of the greatest upsets in T20 World Cup history.For their part, Namibia were flawless from that point on and richly deserved a historic win. Jan Frylinck and JJ Smit produced the ninth-highest seventh-wicket stand in T20I history, and the third-highest in tournament history, to set an above-par target of 164. Namibia then bowled and fielded like a world-class team to strangle Sri Lanka’s batters and bowl them out for 108.As poor as the batting display was, it was abundantly clear where the game had gone wrong. Namibia had spent 12 months planning for the extra bounce and pace in Australia, practicing on synthetic and concrete pitches. But even though the Geelong drop-in was much slower than they had expected, Sri Lanka’s quick men caused them all sorts of trouble with on-speed hard lengths in the first 15 overs. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton was the only Namibian top-order batter to strike a six in the first 15 overs, pulling Chameera over fine leg and cutting Chamika Karunaratne over point. But every other top-order player struggled.Sri Lankan fans were in the mood to party at the Men’s T20 World Cup curtain-raiser – but then Namibia turned the tables on their team•ICC/Getty ImagesThat was until the last five overs when the quicks abandoned their plans completely and started bowling fuller with a mix of slower balls only to see Frylinck and Smit destroy them. The pair plundered 68 from the last five overs. Sri Lanka had only once conceded more in the death overs (17-20) of a T20 World Cup match than the 57 given away today.Captain Dasun Shanaka was critical of his quicks in the aftermath.”I think they tried too much,” Shanaka said at the press conference. “I think if they stick to that hard length, wicket-to-wicket, like the Namibian bowlers did really, really well, it should have been different.”I think we gave a lot of bad balls to hit boundaries.”Perhaps Sri Lanka’s bowlers got sucked into bowling to the ground dimensions. Kardinia Park has short boundaries square and long boundaries straight, not dissimilar to Adelaide Oval, with some deep pockets at long-off and long-on, which sucked Sri Lanka’s bowlers into erring fuller, something Maheesh Theekshana noted in the aftermath.”I think we went with the dimensions of the ground but we didn’t hold up the our line and lengths in the last 10 overs,” Theekshana said. “We didn’t execute our plans well.”I think we went for the yorkers and we didn’t execute with low full tosses and half volleys. I think that’s where it went wrong.”Namibia’s bowlers didn’t make the same mistakes and Sri Lanka’s batters folded under the pressure of the chase. Shanaka did not let his batters off the hook.”We can’t lose three wickets in the powerplay,” Shanaka said. “It makes it very tough to chase down anything.”

“I think we went with the dimensions of the ground but we didn’t hold up the our line and lengths in the last 10 overs.”Maheesh Theekshana

Sri Lanka weren’t helped by the loss of Dilshan Madushanka for the tournament on match-eve. Binura Fernando has been called up as his replacement. Shanaka was asked about whether Lahiru Kumara could have played against Namibia to add some extra pace but he noted he did not want both Kumara and Chameera coming off long injury layoffs in the same game.It now leaves Sri Lanka vulnerable. Drop one more game to either Netherlands or UAE and they could be out of the tournament altogether. They could also go through as the second qualifier from Group A, which would put them on the same side of the draw as India and Pakistan in the Super 12s.But none of that was of any concern to Shanaka.”It’s the first game,” Shanaka said. “But the way we played is the worry.”The Papare band kept playing and the fans kept cheering throughout the doomed chase and their support will remain boisterous and unwavering, particularly in Victoria.But it was jarring to hear them fall silent for the first time as the 10th wicket fell and a small pocket of Namibia supporters drowned them out as reality sunk in.The Asia Cup champions and a fancied in-form dark horse for the World Cup had the script flipped on them by Namibia.

Alan is joined by Miller and Vish to chat through the Multan Test and England’s series win in Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2022England claimed their first series win in Pakistan since 2000-01 as the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum era rolled on with victory in the Multan Test. On the pod, Alan Gardner was joined by Andrew Miller and Vithushan Ehantharajah to discuss umpiring controversy, Harry Brook’s tekkers and the Ben Stokes effect.

On the eve of a T20 World Cup, England allrounder knows it’s ok to put herself first

Valkerie Baynes10-Feb-2023Success looks a little bit different for Nat Sciver-Brunt these days.If she learned anything from taking time out of the game last year to care for her mental health and wellbeing, it was how to become – selfish is too strong – willing to put herself first.In fact, many lessons came from that time, including how to develop strategies to ensure she doesn’t reach “boiling point” again. But as she prepares to take England into a T20 World Cup campaign as Heather Knight’s deputy and her country’s most influential player of the previous, turbulent year, the consummate team-player knows she has to take care of herself.Sciver-Brunt enjoyed a successful return from her three-month absence to be England’s leading run-scorer on their combined ODI-T20I tour of West Indies and Player of the Series in the 50-over format. After a conversation with Knight following that tour, Sciver-Brunt decided she was ready to resume the vice-captaincy duties she had kept on hold initially when she made her playing comeback. After a half-century as England beat hosts South Africa in an official warm-up game ahead of the World Cup (she didn’t bat or bowl during a five-wicket win against New Zealand on Wednesday), all is going well so far.”Taking myself out, it’s not really a thing that I’ve had to do previously in my career,” Sciver-Brunt told ESPNcricinfo after the second warm-up game at Western Province Cricket Club in Cape Town. “I’d always try and give my everything to the team and for us to win, to the group, so actually taking the time to think am I going to be okay with it? Is it going to affect my performance, that was really what I wanted to try and figure out and I was happy that I was in a place where it wouldn’t.”I didn’t know how it was going to go. Before the tour I didn’t want my expectations to be that I want to make a score in every game or I want to take wickets. It was more about me feeling comfortable on the pitch and able to contribute in that way, not skill-wise or numbers or anything but yeah, was I able to be part of the group and enjoy myself. So success looked a bit different.”Success does look different now. Obviously you want to win and you want to perform for your team and everything like that but being okay for myself was more important.”Related

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Sciver-Brunt admits that the desire to always do her bit for the team had made stepping away for herself very difficult. But in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the bio-secure bubble touring that followed – an away Ashes campaign, an ODI World Cup (where she was key to England’s runner-up finish) and a home Commonwealth Games – she felt she had little choice but to stop. Speaking to the England Women’s team doctor, though, gave her reassurance.”It was a weird place,” she reflected. “I’d not really felt like that at all in my life before. Normally I don’t want to miss anything, I don’t want to let anyone down. I don’t want to not be there for everyone. And so realising that allowing myself to leave or take myself out of it was the hardest thing to get over because I’ve never really gotten to that point before or felt like that at all.”Once I did go home, it just felt like it was the right thing. I might have got home and thought, ‘I feel fine, I should go back,’ but taking myself out of it and getting home, then I knew that it was definitely the right thing to do. Allowing myself to take myself out, it was a weird thing because in our team that’s not really happened before and I don’t like to miss things. I want to do absolutely everything that we need to do in order to play, so my mentality is not usually, ‘this isn’t right, I need to step back.'”Someone else who knew things weren’t right was her wife and team-mate, Katherine Sciver-Brunt.”Because I’m such a sort of steady character, Katherine can tell when I’m not right as well,” Sciver-Brunt says. “So she sort of knew that I wasn’t okay. Having that person there who, almost she knows me better than I know myself, was good to have, someone there, like, batting for you, basically.”The couple recently switched to using their married name ‘Sciver-Brunt’•Getty ImagesThe couple recently switched to using their married name while playing and will wear shirts to reflect that for the first time while in South Africa.”Everyone already knows we’re married so it’s not like, ‘oh, hi, it’s obvious now’, but it’s something nice to represent us both on the pitch,” Sciver-Brunt says. “And yeah, having a bit of Brunt in my bowling is definitely a good thing!”Katherine, who turns 38 in July, was rested during India’s tour of England late last summer and she wasn’t part of the ODI squad in the Caribbean, but she returned for the T20I part of that tour and is now primed for what could well be her last World Cup.Katherine was part of the England side which won the T20 crown in 2009 and finished runners-up to Australia in 2012, while Sciver-Brunt has twice played in losing finals against Australia, in 2014 and 2018. Sciver-Brunt also scored a gallant 148 not out as England lost the ODI World Cup final to Australia last year. But one result sticking in England’s craw in the lead-up to this event is their washed-out semi-final at the last T20 World Cup in Australia, where India advanced as group winners instead and lost to the hosts in the decider.So when Sciver-Brunt says through clenched teeth and raised eyebrows, “I don’t want to be runner-up anymore” it doesn’t sound like a predictable, throw-away line uttered by an athlete on the eve of a tournament. It sounds and looks like a pledge. And again, when she says: “I’d like to be in the final.””Especially in T20, we always seem to sort of do well and then get to the end and something happens, rain, or we don’t play as we have been playing,” she says. “There’s a lot of us who have experienced those tournaments who are, ‘right, I just don’t want to it do anymore’. We must go for it!'”As a team, we are in a really good place and I think the way that we want to play, as long as we’re able to put that into practice on the pitch and do it against the best teams, I think we’re in a really good spot to make the knockout stages. We say in tournaments you don’t want to think too far ahead and try and keep the next game in your mind as much as possible so I guess that’s what we’ll do. I think I once the tournament starts, it’ll go so quickly that all you can focus on is the next match. But at the moment, I’d like to be in the final.”

England’s managing director of cricket talks about his management philosophy, combating franchise cricket’s allure, and why Bazball has succeeded

Vithushan Ehantharajah05-May-2023By Rob Key’s own admission, he is not much of a planner. In a different era it would be jarring to hear from an ECB employee in possession of the keys to the men’s national set-up. Perhaps it is a refreshing sign of the times that it isn’t.”My missus sort of says to me, ‘Right, what are you doing in a couple of weeks, I want to have someone around,'” he says. “But I’m a bit like, ‘Just invite people around tomorrow. We’ll be fine.’ What’s the worst that can happen? I think I’ve done that with this job, really. ‘We’ll give it a go.'”Related

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Since assuming the role as managing director of England men’s cricket in April 2022, that attitude appears to be working. Capped 21 times for his country, a long-serving captain of Kent before moving into the commentary box, the 43-year-old has overseen an overhaul in the fortunes of the Test side, who have won 10 out 12 after just one in 17, and a T20 World Cup.Key admits this was a job he never considered and certainly did not covet. That he was approached when he was, during the Test series defeat to West Indies after a demoralising 4-0 loss in Australia, made it a more attractive proposition. “What’s the worst that could happen?” he repeats, this time on his thought process upon accepting the gig. “We’ll keep losing. But it will be one hell of a story. And I suppose that’s the extent of my planning going into this job.”He wasted no time sifting through the in-tray. Ben Stokes was made Test captain, Brendon McCullum red-ball coach, and Matthew Mott for the white ball teams. The appointment of Luke Wright as men’s national selector in November rounded off the list of vacancies to be filled.The start of his second year has been a lot more akin to an office job. “Now it’s different,” he says, as a weekly commuter to Lord’s. “You’re in the world of work. The other day was the first time I’ve ever booked a holiday in my life. Where I had to sort of ask for it. Like, can I go away for three days and play golf?”For a man who describes himself as “relatively childish”, with “an active mind where I can’t sit still and have to go off and just do stuff” administration might not be a natural fit. But he is aware his most important work to come will be in the boardrooms and corridors of power.Since he began, franchise cricket has expanded further, with the inaugural seasons of the SA20 and ILT20, along with Major League Cricket set to take place in July in the US, right in the middle of the English summer. In the last month, it emerged IPL franchises have already begun conversations on recruiting English talent year-round. Inevitably, the new world encroaches on the old.Key believes the answer to franchise cricket’s brain drain is building a lucrative competition at home•Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesKey has long maintained both can coexist. When English players turned down places on the white-ball tour of Bangladesh to play in the Pakistan Super League in March, Key was prominently involved in conversations with those individuals, who appreciated the flexibility and particularly the open dialogue.That, however, can only cover for so much. In turn, the ECB are in the process of revising their remuneration to players, particularly match fees, which are dwarfed by the contracts offered in franchise competitions. While central contracts are also being looked at, it is game-to-game pay that Key feels needs to be addressed first, especially given the demand on talent, as per the winter, when over 70 English cricketers were recruited overseas.”For example, you know, the match fees? They’re not enough money. You might get, I think it was £3500 for a T20I. In these leagues around the world, they get £25,000. So all of a sudden they’re playing ten games in that competition, not three like we did in South Africa when it was a 50-over bilateral series. You’re never going to compete financially with these competitions. So you’ve got to try and find a way to actually make sure that you do retain control of those players.”He sees a remedy at home in the Hundred. That is all the more complicated off the back of reported informal discussions to amend or even scrap it altogether, though the latter seems a long shot given broadcasters Sky and the BBC will dig their heels in. Essentially, Key believes mimicking the IPL is the best way for English cricket to retain control of its players.”It’s not simple, but I think that the way that we do that is basically by concentrating on our own game. So we can think, ‘Okay, we’ve got the American League, and you’ve got this, you’ve got the Pakistan Super League.’ Actually, don’t worry about that – the key is to make our own competition the best thing we can possibly make it; the most lucrative as well. So all of a sudden, if you’ve got a central contract, which is good value, as well as a good amount of money, plus you get another amount of money in our franchise competition – that’s the answer to it.”That’s how India do it. India are able to stop their players from going and playing all around the world because they have such a big competition in their own backyard with the IPL. I don’t think there’s any reason why we couldn’t do that. It’s not simple, but that’s what we’ve got to focus on.Jofra Archer has been on a customised programme to ease him back into the game and be fully fit by the Ashes after his injury layoff in 2021•BCCI”I read the other day about Saudi Arabia [reportedly launching a lucrative T20 league]. All of a sudden, the picture changes again, so you’re going to have to be pretty fluid. But like all of these things, you just have to look after your own backyard. And if you get that right, what a great time to be a cricketer.”Imagine it: you get to play in your country. Plus, you earn a huge amount of money from playing in it. Plus, you then have your four-day system and all of that going around – that’s where we’ve got to try and get to. Because if you look at it any other way, we’ll end up losing out. All these other countries that are looking at their own competitions, they’ll win.”Perhaps the best real-time example of trying to strike the right balance between player’s needs and desires dovetailing with franchise competitions and doing right by England is the situation with Jofra Archer. The 28-year-old quick has been on a tailored “roadmap” back to action after an 18-month layoff.It began in the SA20 with MI Cape Town, into ODIs in South Africa – taking 6 for 40 in the third ODI – before moving on to the tour of Bangladesh and into the IPL with Mumbai Indians. All looked to be going according to plan, only for Archer to suffer a minor setback after experiencing discomfort in the right elbow that had suffered a stress fracture in 2021. It was enough to require him to travel to Belgium two weeks ago for a minor surgical procedure.Archer has since returned to India, but the fear back home is that he will be unable to play a part in the Ashes later this summer, which was where his roadmap concluded. Given he is on a full central contract, the ECB could pull the cord and ask him to return to England at any point.That, Key says, is not going to happen. Both for the player and as a case study, it is a situation they have to nail. “We sort of judge on what’s the best thing we think applied in terms of getting their preparation right. But also what they want to do with their lives and the decisions that they’ve got. You’re talking at times about huge sums of money. And also the IPL, for example. That’s competitive cricket. It’s only good for players, in a way, and we have the control on when Jofra comes back to play.”So it’s not a case that he’s now over there and we have no say in it. We’re speaking with them all the time. Mumbai Indians are actually a brilliant franchise to work with as well. Because they turn around and say, ‘Well, you know, right, Jofra has got this issue at the moment, and we don’t think it’s going to be a long-term thing.’ Which we know [the elbow issue] is not going to be a long-term thing.”But we’re the ones that decide when he can play again. And he’s got a whole programme going into our Ashes summer as well. So even out there, he’ll be doing his work, be “getting his loads up”, as the medical people say now. I’m pretty happy with that. So we do have a bit of a compromise.England’s brains trust are go-getters: “Brendan, Stokes, and Jos and Motty – they’re not people that just tell you the trouble all the time”•Mike Egerton/PA Photos/Getty Images”I think the real thing that we’re trying to work out is, actually there’s always unintended consequences to everything we do. So if you stop people doing all of this stuff, well, what you’re doing is, you’re making it closer to the time when no one’s signed a contract. You know, you end up with freelance cricketers, even in the county [circuit], and you have no control over anyone, which is not a position you want to be in.”A willingness to approach these matters head-on is vital, not least because the can is running out of road to be kicked down. The need to future-proof the men’s sport in this country makes this a legacy-defining period for the ECB.Likewise for Key, though the nature of his role links him more to on-field matters. That is particularly evident by those on the street, who stop him now and again to wish him well.”Occasionally, someone will go, ‘Well done’ and ‘Thanks,'” he says. “But then you become aware that when we start losing, that’s not going to last. So you enjoy it for the moment. It is nice. Everyone thinks you start doing well and that’s it. Life isn’t like that, is it? Cricket will be the same.”Nothing cements a legacy more than an Ashes series. A little over a month away, England’s best opportunity to beat Australia for the first time since 2015 will fast-track those involved to high status, Key included.Of course, he has been pestered for tickets. “It’s driving me mad. But isn’t that great?” Typically, he is already bored of waiting for it to come around. Having played in four Ashes Tests himself in the 2002-03 series, he gets the rivalry. He has always had an admiration for Australian cricketers. Particularly Shane Warne.Key met Warne for the first time in 2000, during a County Championship match between Kent and Hampshire at Portsmouth. He pestered the legspinner about cricket, and their friendship and interests expanded over the years, particularly when they were colleagues in the commentary box.Warne died in March 2022, and a part of the sadness of his passing was that it was a shame he did not get to watch this current iteration of the England Test side. It is very much in the image of the “Tee off (not recklessly)” mantra.Key (right) sees a bit of his friend Shane Warne’s derring-do in England’s Bazball philosophy•PA Photos”You’d meet him for a game of golf and the first thing he’d do is ask you to play tomorrow,” remembers Key. “He’s always looking for ways to make the most out of every opportunity. He’s a guy that, because of who he was, lived a hundred lives in the one that he had, and that’s so infectious. And that’s what people want to follow.”People, they have probably got managers at work or something like that and all they do is talk about what you can’t do. That’s so uninspiring and that’s the thing you sort of learn. And that’s what Brendan has, and Stokes, and Jos [Buttler] and Motty – all these people they’re not people that just tell you the trouble all the time. That, to me, is what leadership is about.”That’s what I think Bazball is: it’s that ability to get people to maximise their potential. So it doesn’t matter about how you do, it’s just maximise everything you’ve got. And that’s what I think those guys do. They get the best out of people.”It should be stressed, Key’s use of the “b word” was unprompted. “We can’t get rid of it!” he protests when I ask if he would like to have the word bleeped out, given how much McCullum dislikes it. He reiterates the coach’s view that it is as much “Stokesball”. “He’s unlucky,” says Key of Stokes, “it doesn’t roll off the tongue as much as Bazball.”On Key’s own part in the Test resurgence, he is pretty phlegmatic. His horizons have been broadened, his exposure to corporate life has been insightful without being particularly groundbreaking. It is when he talks about the actual cricket under his tenure that you see a sparkle.A man who lists “cynical” as one of his personality traits bristles with enthusiasm looking at the manner in which the Test side have revitalised a fan base that was starting to disengage. All while bringing in new eyes with the style and calibre of their play.”I love the fact that what they did last year captured the imagination of the public. That’s what this game is about. It’s about entertaining. I spent a lot of my career thinking it was a job, and batted like I was an accountant. Whereas, most of the time people come to watch you. There might not have been that many people at Kent, but you exist to entertain people as much as you can. Without that, if no one watches it, the game dies.”You wonder from that reflection, particularly how he felt he lost sight of what cricket was supposed to be during his 17-year career, if this managing directorship is his own way of reconnecting a little deeper with the sport. At least for a little while.”You’re never going to do these jobs forever, are you? But it’s just something I’ll look back on and think, ‘Geez what an interesting time that was.’ My hunch is, it’s a role you do for a bit, then you move on and pass it on to a new voice, to someone else who can add, change things, or do whatever else is needed.”How would he feel if he left his post tomorrow?”It’d be all right, wouldn’t it?” he answers. “If you’d have asked me at the start, I’d have taken what we’ve done so far.”

There were two main components to the charge, and the CDC was convinced on neither point

Vithushan Ehantharajah03-Apr-2023ECB chair Richard Thompson described it as “the most complex and thorough regulatory investigation and disciplinary process” English cricket has ever seen. As such, when it came to the most high-profile component of the Cricket Disciplinary Committee (CDC) hearings over racism at Yorkshire, the grey areas were simply too grey.The key difference between the case against Michael Vaughan by the ECB following Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of discriminatory language and those levelled at five other former Yorkshire players was on the scale of detail. It relied on proving a specific sentence was uttered by Vaughan at a specific time – prior to the start of a T20 match between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in June 2009 and post the team huddle. This was the only charge against Vaughan, as opposed to the others – and it failed to stick.The first reason for that was because full, exact phrase could not be ascertained. It was noted within the final report produced by the CDC panel -consisting of Tim O’Gorman as chair, Mark Milliken-Smith KC and Dr Seema Patel – that while the beginning of the alleged comment Vaughan made to Rafiq and three other Asian players (Adil Rashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan) had been consistent in Rafiq’s accounts leading up to the disciplinary hearing – “There’s too many of you lot” – the end varied from either “we need to have a word about that” or “we need to do something about it”.Related

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It was noted the final ECB charge went with “we need to have a word about that”, whereas a letter sent to Vaughan in February 2022 notifying him of the investigations went with “we need to do something about it”. During cross-examination, Rashid, a key witness, ended up using both versions which, in the eyes of the panel, made his testimony obsolete: “in respect of an allegation in which the words alleged are particular and important, this clearly has an adverse impact on the reliability and accuracy of the ADR’s evidence”.When questioned by Milliken-Smith, the ECB lawyer Jane Mulcahy KC acknowledged the “slightly messy” nature of the different versions but argued the subclauses did not change the meaning behind the sentence. The panel acknowledged as much, as well as that the incident occurred almost 14 years ago and so might not lend itself to clear recollection. This caveat they afforded to both sides.In their opinion, the consistency in the allegations and recollections of the first part of that sentence – “There’s too many of you lot” – constituted a ‘second limb’ to Vaughan’s charge. That moved the process along, allowing other evidence to the table, which, ultimately, brought down the ECB’s case against Vaughan.Shahzad, in a recorded interview with the ECB on 3 December 2021, was unequivocal that he “didn’t hear” the comment, at odds with Rafiq’s assertion it was “said loud enough for all of us Asian players and the other Yorkshire players to hear it”. Even though Shahzad was not present for cross-examination, weight was given to his testimony as one of the four allegedly targeted by the comment. That is in contrast to Naved-ul-Hasan, who declined the request of the ECB to engage with the process in January 2022, despite confirming to ESPNcricinfo that he would in November 2021.The key figure in Vaughan’s case was Jacques Rudolph, whose story in this incident has several layers. Rudolph was captain on the day, and as per the inconclusive Sky footage from the match, was stood between Vaughan and the four Asian players in the huddle. It is a position he was reasonably assumed to have remained in during a 19-second period when the broadcast cuts away from the huddle, in which time the comment was alleged to have been made.Vaughan and his Yorkshire team-mates lie in a huddle before their T20 fixture at Trent Bridge in 2009•Clive Mason/Getty Images Moreover, Rafiq’s witness statement in the case against Rich Pyrah mentioned that Rudolph was also referred to as “one of us” or “one of you lot” – an Asian player – because of his darker complexion compared to the white members of the squad. Thus, the panel reasoned, he would have been more sensitive to what was supposedly said. In an email to Brabners – Vaughan’s solicitors – in October 2021, Rudolph stated “categorically” that he “did not hear any comment made in that regard”.The words could not be proved. Historic tweets presented by the ECB – which Vaughan himself described as “offensive” and “completely unacceptable” – might have worked as supplementary evidence, particularly two from 2010, some 15 to 16 months after the incident. Further testimony from Shahzad – “I don’t remember him saying stuff like that…. He wasn’t that way inclined, you know, he definitely wasn’t” – along with the fact this was the only public accusation levied against Vaughan in what the panel called “a lengthy and high-profile playing career” were stronger assessments of his character. With little to ride alongside, the tweets were, ultimately, redundant.Evidently, offering himself up for cross-examination also worked in Vaughan’s favour. That is expressly clear in the summation of the cases against Pyrah, Andrew Gale, Tim Bresnan and John Blain. The panel drew “reasonable inference” that their failure to attend the disciplinary hearings was because they did not have “an answer to the ECB’s case which would sensibly stand up to cross-examination”. The same point was made about Matthew Hoggard, who admitted using terms like “Rafa the K*****”, P*** and “TBM” or “token black man”. Hoggard’s qualified admissions and that of Gary Ballance and Yorkshire were used as vital components against those four.In a statement, Vaughan criticised the “adversarial” nature of the CDC investigation. While there are legitimate questions to be asked about how all this has been conducted, especially how English cricket arrived at a point where this was rightly deemed a necessity, the process of squaring one man’s word against another, whether held in an Arbitration Centre or the high courts, is necessarily adversarial. Of course, the portrayal in parts of the media as all this being solely about Vaughan and Rafiq didn’t help. Though unavoidable, perhaps, given former England captain was the only one of the six charged to attend the hearings.In summing up Vaughan’s case, which occupies eight of the 82 pages of the CDC’s findings, the panel stated they did not conclude that anyone had lied or acted out of malice – which in itself feels like their way of dampening the “Vaughan vs Rafiq” framing of this whole affair. Their considerations centred squarely on whether the ECB’s case against Vaughan “was sufficiently accurate and reliable on the balance of probabilities, to rule out mistake.”Their conclusion: “It was not”.

After falling short of expectations several times before, he knows he needs to step up and take the opportunity with both hands

Firdose Moonda08-Mar-2023Eight years after he captained King Edwards VII, one of Johannesburg’s most prestigious schools, and seven years after he led South Africa’s Under-19 side at a World Cup they entered as defending champions and left in 11th place, Tony de Zorzi returned to the Wanderers and discovered mates he didn’t know he had.”There were a couple of my friends here – some people claimed to be my friends but I’ve never met them – and it’s always nice to have my mom watching,” de Zorzi said.Related

• West Indies hit back after Markram, de Zorzi fifties

Raised by Natasha, a single parent, de Zorzi has always wanted to be the best he could be for his mother. These days, she doesn’t watch him play much because he has taken the scenic route to international cricket, from the alma mater of Neil Mckenzie and Graeme Smith, through Pretoria and eventually to Cape Town, 1400 kilometres away from where he grew up. In a way, it’s been cathartic for de Zorzi to make his Test debut on the Highveld, and to score his first Test half-century with Natasha watching on.”She usually sits in the same place, so I knew where she was,” he said. “I’m in Cape Town, so she hasn’t been able to watch a lot of the games. Hopefully, next time she comes, I can get three figures.”De Zorzi has set himself high standards. In the last two years, only one of his team-mates has scored a century at home and only two others (Sarel Erwee and Kyle Verreynne – neither of whom are playing in this series) have brought up three figures. But after falling short of expectations several times before, he knows this is his chance to step up.”From playing for SA under-19, a lot has changed in my life,” de Zorzi said. “Although I was captain, I wasn’t the star boy out of that side.”That’s because Wiaan Mulder was. De Zorzi returned from the age-group World Cup and had to go back to playing club cricket and “start again.” He played for the University of Pretoria’s team, where current fielding coach Kruger van Wyk was in charge. Then he was contracted by Northerns, where he made steady progress and averaged nearly 80 for the second-tier provincial side in the 2016-17 summer. He moved to Western Province in the summer of 2020, where Ashwell Prince was the head coach, and has since been elevated to captain.

“It’s been a long process, and I’m happy that it has eventually led to this. It’s also a reminder of where I come from and not to get ahead of myself because I’ve had to do a lot of dirty work to get there.”Tony de Zorzi

This summer, he averages over 100, thanks largely to his unbeaten 304 against the Knights, with an attack that included Gerald Coetzee (though admittedly not many other big names).”It’s been a long process, and I’m happy that it has eventually led to this,” de Zorzi said. “It’s also a reminder of where I come from and not to get ahead of myself because I’ve had to do a lot of dirty work to get there. For some guys, it happens a bit earlier. Mine’s starting to happen now.”After averaging above 48 in three of the last four seasons, de Zorzi was impossible to ignore in this Test squad but it took a changing of the guard for that to happen. He was picked by new red-ball coach Shukri Conrad, who also acts as a selector in the absence of a panel, to get his chance. “With the changes in coaching, we knew it would be a fresh start,” de Zorzi said. “If everyone gave themselves an opportunity and did well, you knew it would be a fresh set of eyes and maybe, more opportunities. That was exciting. There was always a message from senior guys – Dean (Elgar) said it while he was captain, that the weight of runs would get you in the side. Guys knew that if they wanted to make the step up they had to have a good season. There was no other way.”De Zorzi is particularly adept at the cut shot and scored almost a third of his runs with that stroke in this innings•Gallo ImagesBut now that that has happened, players like de Zorzi need to own their space. In the first Test, he showed West Indies’ attack what he was made of, and Kyle Mayers saw it. “This guy looks very organised,” he said. “He is strong, square of the wicket.”De Zorzi is particularly adept at the cut shot and scored almost a third of his runs with that stroke in this innings but knew West Indies worked him out from the first Test. They tried to offer him less width at the SuperSport Park. “They stick to the basics a little bit longer,” de Zorzi said. “You might get a few less bad balls but international cricketers that are going to do their homework. I could see from the way they bowled to me today compared to at SuperSport Park, they had different plans and they can limit your scoring options. And obviously, the intensity is a little bit higher, like I was really tired once I was out. It’s challenging.”But so was de Zorzi. He played with authority during South Africa’s free-flowing afternoon session. All the while, Natasha sat in the Memorial Stand, unmoved. De Zorzi gestured to her first when he drove off Alzarri Joseph through gully off the 82nd ball he faced. Undoubtedly, she would have been unbelievably proud. De Zorzi went on to face 73 more balls, and score 35 more runs, as the pitch quickened up and West Indies staged a comeback.They took five for 64 after tea and now see the game as being in the balance. Restrict South Africa to under 350, and West Indies are in with a chance of fighting back. Concede over that, on a pitch that is already showing signs of turn, and it may be that the game is gone. Either way, it’s set up to attract friends cricket didn’t know it had, especially in a mid-week Test match where the crowd only fills a fraction of the stadium. But it matters. And no one knows that more than de Zorzi.

Players from Dambulla and Kandy dominate the 2023 honour roll

Madushka Balasuriya21-Aug-20231. Babar Azam (Colombo Strikers)
Even before the LPL auction, Babar’s services had been locked up as Colombo Strikers’ Icon overseas signing. It would prove to be an astute move as the Pakistan skipper racked up 261 runs in 8 innings, including the only hundred of the season. Sadly for Colombo, his output waned as the tournament wore on, but such was his early form he still ended as the second-highest run scorer.2. Avishka Fernando (Dambulla Aura)
Runs 244, Average 27.11, Strike rate 125.12After three successful seasons with Jaffna, Avishka took his talents to Dambulla this season as their pre-auction Platinum signing. While he only ended fourth in the run charts, he was a large part of Dambulla’s run to the finals, with his aggressive approach at the top proving particularly valuable on the frequently two-paced tracks. He also showcased more intent this year, highlighted by his 14 sixes – a figure only matched by Wanindu Hasaranga.3. Dinesh Chandimal (B-Love Kandy)
It’s been quite some time since Chandimal was given any serious consideration as an effective limited-overs option, but this year he showed that an old dog can indeed learn new tricks – or in this case, relearn long forgotten old ones. Chandimal’s strike rate of 125.12 was far and away above his career T20I strike rate of 103.60. What’s more? He was delivering them on a consistent basis – across 10 innings he failed to cross 20 just three times.4. Sadeera Samarawickrama (Dambulla Aura)
Sadeera was Player of the Series in last year’s LPL, so it was pleasing to see him follow that up with another stellar tournament – this time for Dambulla. Once again he has been the picture of consistency, only failing to reach double digits once in 10 outings. Of those, his 30-ball 36 in the final, despite coming in a losing cause, might have been arguably the best of the lot, counterpunching in the powerplay against Kandy’s spinners on a tricky surface.Both Noor Ahmad and Dhananjaya de Silva make the TOTM•SLC5. Lasith Croospulle (Galle Titans)
While the rest of the names on this list are more of the household variety, Croospulle’s isn’t quite there yet. In Galle side littered with powerhitters, it was the 24-year-old from Negombo that most caught the eye with his measured and confident stroke play at the top of the order. While not renowned for his big hitting, he made up for it with clever placement and eager running, meaning that his strike rate was consistently amongst the highest in the tournament.6. Dhananjaya de Silva (Dambulla Aura)
Rarely did Dhananjaya set this LPL alight, but hardly ever did he fail. His only scores of note – 43, 61 and 40 – came in losing causes, but were crucial in helping his side remain competitive, while he was twice there to calmly see home a successful chase. With the ball, only thrice did he fail to pick up a wicket, but only once did he pick up more than a solitary scalp – on that occasion he put up career-best figures of 4 for 6 in two overs; he might have had more, but as stand-in skipper he felt there were better bowling options to call on and didn’t bowl out.7. Wanindu Hasaranga (B-Love Kandy)
Wickets 19, Economy rate 5.51, Runs 279, Strike rate 189.79After their first three games, Kandy had won one, lost two, and Hasaranga had a grand total of 18 runs and one wicket. But then, they changed things up. From a lower-order batter, the captain was floated up the line-up as an experiment in the fourth game, and the move proved a masterstroke. With Hasaranga’s devastating ball-striking used as needed, either in the powerplay or against spin in the middle overs, opposition plans were thrown in the mud. Then with the ball, the gradually more sluggish surfaces afforded Hasaranga the type of assistance he thrives on.8. Noor Ahmad (Dambulla Aura)
With 12 wickets in eight innings, Noor’s bowling impact was only behind that of Hasaranga’s. Frequently asked to bowl in the middle overs, his skiddy wristspin proved a strong weapon for Dambulla in building pressure. Only once in his eight matches did he go wicketless, while his three wickets in the final nearly turned a straightforward chase in his side’s favour.Not a season to remember for Colombo, but Pathirana was red hot•SLC9. Matheesha Pathirana (Colombo Strikers)
The rawness is still apparent for all to see, with stray deliveries either side of the wicket a frequent occurrence with the young slinger. But when he gets it on target Pathirana is an absolute handful, troubling batters with his express pace and awkward bounce. Still only 20, once he masters his control, Sri Lanka will have a real star on their hands.10. Lahiru Kumara (Galle Titans)
Kumara only played the last five games, but such was his impact you wonder what he could do if he were able to remain fit consistently. His fierce new ball spells, where he frequently found a hard length at pace, proved extremely difficult to get away. His death bowling has also come on leaps, making a him a viable option at both ends of the innings.11. Nuwan Pradeep (B-Love Kandy)
All the talk pre-tournament was on Dushmantha Chameera’s express pace, but Pradeep showed that at 36 years of age he’s still got plenty left in the tank. Regularly hitting speeds in the mid-to-high 130s, Pradeep’s control and ability to vary his length and pace adeptly played a key role in Kandy’s title win. He picked up three three-fors in seven games.

Valkerie Baynes and Firdose Moonda catch up with the England teenager just over a year after she burst on to the international scene

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2023In the latest edition of Ladies who Switch, Valkerie Baynes and Firdose Moonda are joined by England’s teenage allrounder Alice Capsey to discuss the development of her game after an eventful first year on the international scene. They also tackle Sri Lanka’s historic success in England, South Africa’s tour of Pakistan, Hayley Matthews’ heroics for West Indies in Australia, and the return of Meg Lanning at domestic level.