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Dale Steyn is prepared to share the bowling plaudits around as South Africa aim for a clean sweep in the ODI series against New Zealand

Firdose Moonda01-Mar-2012There was a time in South African cricket where the bowling spotlight was occupied entirely by Dale Steyn. It probably started when New Zealand toured South Africa in the summer of 2007 and Steyn made his big splash, first by remodelling Craig Cumming’s face – thanks to a fractured cheekbone – and then by taking 20 wickets in two Tests.From that season, Steyn was among the most talked-about bowlers in world cricket. He went on to take 10-wicket hauls in Melbourne in 2008 and Nagpur in 2010, and engaged in an enthralling battle with Sachin Tendulkar at Newlands the next January. Morne Morkel contributed to some of the glory and the two formed what became known as the most-fearsome new-ball pair in the world but it was obvious Steyn was the ringmaster and Morkel his trusty aide.Now Steyn has to share the sunshine with a clutch of his countrymen. Vernon Philander is his latest opening partner and has already hogged headlines in the home series; Morkel is coming into his own; Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s reliability is being recognised; and Marchant de Lange is the man batsmen may be hiding their faces from. Steyn is still the No. 1 Test bowler but he is 16th in the ODI rankings, behind Tsotsobe and Morkel, and is happy to share the success with them.”If Morne is picking up five wickets and Lopsy is picking up wickets, I’m not going to moan,” Steyn said. “I’m happy. I know if I just keep doing this somewhere along the line I will get a performance that comes my way.”Steyn joined up with the squad for the ODI leg of the tour and has played the first two matches of the series. His return in both was identical – 1 for 37 – and he has looked every bit as dangerous as always, although he said he is still finding his rhythm. He called his first ball of the tour, a late away-swinger at top speed a “jetlag delivery” but said he has been putting in some of his most focused preparation as he continues to spearhead the attack.”AB wants to me to strike all the time and that’s what’s I am doing. I am trying,” Steyn said. “I haven’t found the edge. I’ve gone past the bat countless number of times in the last two games. I’ve gone back and watched my performances and said where can I make it better? But when you are getting 1 for 37 in a one-day game, there’s not much to complain about. That doesn’t happen often for strike bowlers, they should be going at six [runs per over], attacking more and so on but I am quite happy with what’s happening.”Steyn is known to take a bit of time to find his best form but the scheduling of international cricket has meant that he cannot play every match. He was rested for the last two of the five ODIs against Sri Lanka, once the series had been won, and the three T20Is against New Zealand.South Africa’s management seem to be planning it so he will peak in the Tests but Steyn said is being careful not to think that far ahead. “My mind is firmly on the last one-day game,” he said. “It’s fair to say that as South Africans, in the past we’ve been known to wrap up series and then take our foot off the pedal for the last two games and that’s speaking quite critically of our team. We want to win three-nil.”The series has already been sealed in South Africa’s favour so the dead rubber match could hardly be described as crucial but Steyn said it will play a vital part in the context of the tour as a whole. “We’re looking at the future and it comes down to crunch games. This could be the type of game that could be a crunch game for us. Rather than letting the momentum slip away into the Test series, we want to make a proper dent.”With New Zealand already disappointed, even demoralised, South Africa have already made significant inroads into their hosts’ mindsets. The rest of the work remains to be done on the pitch. New Zealand have begun preparing more seamer friendly wickets for their four-pronged pace attack and Steyn said if that trend continues, the South Africans will be equally well accommodated. “The way the wickets have played here so far, there’s been a bit of pace and bounce in them and if the Test wickets are the same we could cause quite a stir,” Steyn said, before concluding with a little cheek. “Like we’ve done so far.”Edited by Alan Gardner

ESPNcricinfo previews the World Cup game between Canada and Kenya

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit06-Mar-2011

Match Facts

March 7, Delhi

Start time 14:30 local time (09:00 GMT)
Ashish Bagai feels that Balaji Rao, the legspinner, will be crucial for Canada on the Kotla pitch•AFP

Big Picture

Canada and Kenya usually don’t go in to a World Cup game expecting to win, and certainly aren’t expected to do so by others. Tomorrow’s encounter provides an exception. Despite having misfired in several areas in their previous three games, both sides know they are expected to win this time. Having given Pakistan a scare in Colombo, Canada would feel they are slightly ahead going in to this one, but their bowlers were helped by the cloud cover that hung over the Premadasa. Chances of getting that kind of assistance in Delhi are slim.There is not much that separates the sides. In fact, they have a lot in common. Both have conceded 300-plus totals, and while that may be in keeping with the trend this tournament, they haven’t managed to bat themselves past 150 in a single game. Kenya looked to be on their way to do that against Sri Lanka, but were blown away by Lasith Malinga’s yorkers.Kenya would like to think they have the better pedigree, but Canada have displayed more spirit and gumption so far. Jimmy Kamande, Kenya’s captain, has instead had to deny reports of a rift between the coach Eldine Baptiste and some players. He has admitted it is difficult to keep motivating a side that has consistently under-performed.Given how little there is to choose between the two, the odds are that there might not be a familiar batting collapse at the least.

Form guide

(Most recent completed games first)
Canada LLLLW
Kenya LLLWL

Pitch and conditions

If it’s the Kotla, turn and low bounce cannot be that far. The spinners will like the surface. Imran Tahir and Pieter Seelaar certainly did, when South Africa and Netherlands played here. The weather is expected to be moderately warm by Delhi’s hot standards.

Watch out for…

Collins Obuya laboured to a half-century against Sri Lanka. That was what his team needed after a couple of early wickets had fallen. He should find it easier against Canada. He has been Kenya’s most prolific batsman of late, and possesses a game that can be altered depending on the situation.Balaji Rao enjoyed his battle against Pakistan’s heavyweight middle order, and snapped up Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal. The legspinner was unafraid to flight the ball, and though he went for some runs, he tested a line-up that plays spin very well. Kenya don’t, and Balaji will be itching to have a go.

Team news

Ashish Bagai has said that Parth Desai, the 20-year old left-arm spinner, could play tomorrow. That means one of the seamers could sit out. John Davison, the veteran opener, could also be back after a niggle made him miss the Pakistan game.Canada: (probable) 1 John Davison, 2 Nitish Kumar/Ruvindu Gunasekera, 3 Ashish Bagai (wk/capt), 4 Zubin Surkari, 5 Rizwan Cheema, 6 Jimmy Hansra, 7 Tyson Gordon, 8 Khurram Chohan, 9 Harvir Baidwan, 10 Balaji Rao, 11 Parth Desai.Kenya have no major injury concerns, and Thomas Odoyo should come back after missing the match against Sri Lanka.Kenya: (probable) 1 Maurice Ouma (wk), 2 Seren Waters, 3 Collins Obuya, 4 Steve Tikolo, 5 David Obuya, 6 Tanmay Mishra/Rakep Patel, 7 Thomas Odoyo, 8 Jimmy Kamande (capt), 9 Nehemiah Odhiambo, 10 Shem Ngoche, 11 Elijah Otieno..

Stats and trivia

• The Canada squad has scored a total of 4359 ODI runs. Steve Tikolo alone has made 3399.
• The sides have played against each other in 12 ODIs, Kenya winning seven of them, including their two encounters at the 2003 and 2007 World Cups.

Quotes

“This is our best chance of a win in the World Cup. If we get our batting right we should be competitive.”
.”I guarantee you tomorrow we are going to express much more than we did in the past matches.”
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New South Wales’ bowlers delivered four wickets to maintain the upper hand after their batsmen posted a massive 9 for 550 declared

Cricinfo staff11-Mar-2010South Australia 4 for 168 (Harris 54) trail New South Wales 9 for 550 dec (Nevill 105, Khawaja 102, Smith 100, O’Keefe 91, Forrest 78, Cleary 4-82) by 382 runs

ScorecardDaniel Harris scored 54 in South Australia’s innings but they face an uphill task•Getty Images

New South Wales’ bowlers delivered four wickets to maintain the upper hand after their batsmen posted a massive 9 for 550 declared at the SCG. Daniel Harris started with 54 in the reply but South Australia were 4 for 104 before an unbeaten stand between Cameron Borgas (30) and Aaron O’Brien (36) took them to 168.Steven Smith completed an even century at the start of the day in an excellent warm-up for the Test tour of New Zealand. Smith brought up his fourth hundred with a pull for four but was caught behind trying to hit Peter George (3 for 132).The wicketkeeper Peter Nevill and Steve O’Keefe kept building in a stand of 132 that took the game further away from South Australia. Nevill’s maiden century ended on 105 when he gave Tim Ludeman his sixth catch of the innings.O’Keefe, who went on to collect 2 for 42, almost made it to three figures but fell to a leading edge on 91. The wicket was Mark Cleary’s fourth and forced the declaration.

The election commissioner announced that Mithun got 154 votes, beating Salim Shahed

Mohammad Isam04-Sep-2025Mohammad Mithun has become the new president of Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) after winning the players body’s election, held in Dhaka on Thursday. Election commissioner Iftekhar Rahman announced that Mithun got 154 votes, beating Salim Shahed who was the interim CWAB convenor since May this year. Shahed got 34 votes.”We will try to solve everything through negotiation,” Mithun said shortly after the election results were announced. “If that’s not possible, as I have come here to protect the rights of the cricketers, I have to speak for them. The BCB is our guardian. We can go to our guardian with whatever demands that we have. I hope the BCB sees those demands positively.”CWAB was established in 2004 but it hasn’t had any elections in the 21 years of existence. Naimur Rahman, the former Bangladesh captain and Awami League MP, was the CWAB president for 11 years, alongside general secretary Debabrata Paul. The pair quit their posts earlier this year, before Shahed was made the interim head of an ad-hoc committee.After many years, CWAB saw involvement from the country’s top cricketers. Before Thursday’s elections, the other positions in the executive body were filled uncontested.Former batter Shahriar Hossain is the senior vice-president while Nurul Hasan is the vice president. Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shamsur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rumana Ahmed, Khaled Mashud Pilot, Imrul Kayes, Irfan Sukkur, and Akbar Ali are new executive committee members.CWAB is an affiliate of the World Cricketers’ Association (formerly known as FICA). It came under the spotlight when Bangladesh’s top cricketers went on an indefinite strike in 2019, and one of their demands was CWAB’s overhaul at the time. CWAB bosses Naimur and Paul promised elections, but it was never held in the following five years.

Shoaib Bashir is England’s best bowler on the day, which ends with India comfortably ahead by 255 runs with two first-innings wickets in hand

Alan Gardner08-Mar-20241:35

Manjrekar: Rohit had an answer to all of Stokes’ plans

Stumps India took the scenic route to a match-dominating position in the Dharamsala Test, batting throughout the second day to amass a lead of 255 over England with two wickets still standing. There were hundreds for Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, fifties for Sarfaraz Khan and the debutant Devdutt Padikkal, as the India top order all contributed to post an imposing total in the shadow of the Dhauladhars.Even some Ben Stokes magic with the ball could not turn the tide of England’s fortunes. Stokes claimed the wicket of Rohit with his first delivery of the series, having not bowled competitively since the second Test of last year’s Ashes. A sharply seaming ball that hit Rohit’s off stump as he resumed his innings after the lunch break not only ended a 171-run stand for the second wicket, but added to the list of what-might-have-beens for England on this tour.With Stokes back to fulfill his allrounder status after a gap of 251 days, England’s attack plugged away manfully in placid conditions. But they were let down by a few scruffy moments in the field, which included Stokes dropping Sarfaraz in his follow through from a delivery that was subsequently called a no-ball.Shoaib Bashir impressed once again, providing both durability and cutting edge despite still suffering the after-effects of a stomach bug that limited his involvement in the build-up. His 44-over stint matched the first innings in Ranchi for his longest in first-class cricket, and had Zak Crawley not missed a sharp chance at leg slip when Rohit was on 68, Bashir might have been able celebrate a second five-for in only his third Test. Then, in Bashir’s final over of the day, Stokes put down Kuldeep Yadav in the slips as India’s ninth-wicket pair successfully navigated a way to the close.2:52

Would England have benefited with Stokes bowling through the series?

After a serene morning session for India in which they had added 129 without loss, Rohit’s dismissal was followed by Gill having his off stump flattened, James Anderson bagging wicket No. 699 in Tests and giving England something to rally around. The lead at that stage was 61, but any sense of an opportunity for England was scotched by another bright partnership between two batters for the future.Padikkal, at No. 4, initially found the boundary with regularity while Sarfaraz bedded in. Having moved watchfully to 9 off 30 balls, Sarfaraz kicked up through the gears with a flurry of attacking shots to raises his third Test half-century. Mark Wood was dispatched into the crowd before Sarfaraz took on Tom Hartley with the second new ball as India extended their lead beyond 150 at tea.England again struck straight after the interval, Bashir having Sarfaraz caught at slip attempting to cut the first ball back. Padikkal nonchalantly lofted the England offspinner for six over long-on to bring up his maiden fifty but he, too, could not go on as Bashir caught him on the crease with one that turned to hit the top of off stump. Dhruv Jurel holed out to give Bashir his fourth and Hartley then struck twice in the following over, Ravindra Jadeja pinned lbw before R Ashwin played around one that went on with the arm.By that stage, the outline of the day was as clear as the hills in the background, India having cruised into the ascendency without breaking much of a sweat. The overnight pair both went on to record their second hundreds of the series – Rohit’s 12th overall, Gill with his fourth in Tests – as the home side tightened their grip on the match.1:10

Manjrekar on Padikkal’s knock: ‘Great start to his career’

Rohit twice lofted Bashir back over his head in the third over of the morning, before Gill charged Anderson to hit him disdainfully for six, as they added 50 to the score within the first ten overs of play. Gill’s fifty came up from 64 balls as he closed the gap on his captain, who batted on unruffled after seeing an inside edge off Bashir evade Crawley. India’s second consecutive hundred partnership was raised when Rohit flat-batted Wood through extra cover and they moved past England’s total of 218 shortly thereafter, Gill swinging Bashir down the ground for another of his five sixes.Rohit was the first to reach his century, flicking Hartley through the leg side with lunch approaching. Two balls later, Gill slog-swept Bashir for four to bring up three figures, too. Stokes had shot down talk in the build-up about whether he might help balance the attack in more seam-friendly conditions but he immediately produced a “who writes your scripts?” moment after bringing himself on in tandem with Anderson at the start of the afternoon session.Anderson had his revenge on Gill with one that came back through the gate and Padikkal twice edged wide of the slips as England briefly rallied. The false shots were replaced by growing sense of authority, however, as a 97-run stand between Padikkal and Sarfaraz once again shut the door on Stokes and Co. Both batters must have contemplated the opportunity for a first Test hundred, only for Bashir to inspire another belated fightback. But England, having tumbled down a ravine with the bat, were already left facing a mountain to climb.

The hosts have won each of their last 13 home ODIs, and each of their last five meetings with India

Himanshu Agrawal26-Nov-20223:08

Jaffer: India might be tempted to go with Kuldeep in place of Chahal

Big picture

With 16 matches, New Zealand have played the second-fewest ODIs of any team in the ongoing World Cup Super League. But just one more win, and they can topple India from the top of the table. Given that they’ve won each of their last 13 ODIs at home, the odds would favour them to do just that.Having seemingly moved on from Trent Boult and Martin Guptill, the hosts seem to have built a solid foundation as they build towards the 2023 World Cup. Michael Bracewell isn’t a guaranteed starter despite his stellar recent form, and even injury to James Neesham couldn’t prevent them from beating India comfortably in the series-opener in Auckland.Their quartet of fast bowlers offer both pace and movement, while Neesham, Bracewell and Mitchell Santner complete a trio of allrounders. Batting depth might be New Zealand’s one major concern, given that they can’t accommodate all their allrounders, and that Tim Southee’s returns with the bat have faded of late.India, meanwhile, are still in search of a sixth bowling option. None of the top six batters who played in Auckland bowl, and with no Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel in their squad for this series, they also have a lack of experience in the lower middle order.They could look to address the sixth-bowler issue by bringing Deepak Hooda into their line-up, but that would leave them with the dilemma of who to leave out. They have the luxury of experimenting, however, since they have automatically qualified as hosts of next year’s World Cup. But they still have a series to win, which would need them, first and foremost, to win on Sunday and end a five-match losing streak against New Zealand.

Form guide

New Zealand: WLLLW
India: LWWLW

In the spotlight

Kane Williamson has played just seven ODIs since the 2019 World Cup, with five of them coming this year. A troublesome elbow and the Covid-19 pandemic combined to limit his participation in the format, and his seven innings in this time have brought only one 50-plus score. That came at Eden Park on Friday, when he selflessly kept giving the dangerous Tom Latham the strike, and eventually ended up six short of a century. With less than a year left for the World Cup, New Zealand will not only hope their captain puts his fitness worries behind him and features more regularly in ODIs, but also that he makes big scores as often as he used to.Yuzvendra Chahal has been the third-highest wicket-taker among spinners from Full-Member teams in ODIs this year, with 21 wickets at an average of 27.09. But he’s not had a great time of it in recent weeks. Having spent the entire T20 World Cup on the bench, Chahal returned to action on this tour of New Zealand, where he has taken a bit of stick: he went for 35 in three overs in the tied third T20I, and began this ODI series with a wicketless 10 overs that went for 66 runs. With intense competition in the spin department ahead of the 2023 World Cup, Chahal will need a swift return to his best to remain among India’s first-choice options.India’s top order can look forward to good batting conditions judging by the trend of high-scoring games at Seddon Park•Getty Images

Team news

New Zealand were forced to leave Neesham out in Auckland due to a niggle. If he returns, they might have a difficult choice to make. While they will welcome the extra batting depth he offers if he replaces one of the four specialist quicks, they might need him to bowl his full ten-over quota, with Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips having been used very sparingly of late.New Zealand (probable): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Tom Latham (wk), 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 James Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Lockie FergusonThere is a chance India might bring in Hooda as a sixth bowling option, but this could force them to leave out Suryakumar Yadav, who hasn’t yet replicated his T20I success in ODIs. He was the only member of India’s top seven to be dismissed for a single-digit score in Auckland, and his last seven ODI innings have brought him a highest score of just 27. India’s three fast bowlers were all expensive in Auckland, so there is a chance that Deepak Chahar could replace one of them.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Suryakumar Yadav/Deepak Hooda, 6 Sanju Samson, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shardul Thakur/Deepak Chahar, 9 Umran Malik, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Pitch and conditions

Seddon Park in Hamilton has hosted only three ODIs since 2020, with two of them producing first-innings scores in excess of 330. India scored 347 in one of them, only for New Zealand to hunt it down comfortably thanks to a Ross Taylor century. Expect another high-scoring game come Sunday. There remains a good chance of rain interrupting play, however, with showers forecast throughout the afternoon and evening.

Stats and trivia

• India posted contrasting totals of 92 in 2019 and 347 in 2020 while batting first in their last two ODIs at Seddon Park, and lost both matches.
• Tim Southee got to 200 ODI wickets while taking 3 for 73 in the first ODI, and two more wickets will take him past Chris Harris and into third place among New Zealand’s highest ODI wicket-takers.
• Since Dhawan’s ODI debut, only three batters have scored at least 6000 runs at a 90-plus strike rate. Dhawan’s strike rate is second on that list, sandwiched between those of his team-mates Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Quotes

“You can catch up, and give yourself more time. It’s 50 overs… you’ve got that time up your sleeve to get the innings going and play your innings.”
New Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi on how Tom Latham and co pulled off a chase of 307 in Auckland despite a sedate start.

Umpires halted play after 4.5 overs of chase with home side ahead on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern

ESPNcricinfo staff and ECB Reporters' Network27-Jun-2021The Sussex Sharks and Surrey were just one ball away from completing a Vitality Blast match at Hove when umpires Tim Robinson and Paul Baldwin led the players from the field. They did not return, so each team took one point from a no-result.Surrey had scored a challenging 175 for 7 at the 1st Central County Ground and with rain in the air, the Sharks openers Luke Wright and Phil Salt began their innings at a hectic tempo in order to get ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern rate. They took 36 runs off the first three overs and at 43 for 1 off 4.5 overs, they were well ahead on the DLS.But with the fourth ball of a Kyle Jamieson over, the New Zealand bowler struck Sussex skipper Wright on the helmet. One ball later, with light rain falling and the light deteriorating, the umpires conferred and then left the field with the players as a number of the controlled maximum crowd of 2500 vented their frustration. To make a match a minimum of five overs had to be bowled, and while Sussex were ahead of what a revised five-over target would have been – meaning they would have won if the umpires had decided the rain cleared sufficiently for the final ball to be bowled, without taking the field – they had to settle for a point.”It’s not how you want to finish a game of cricket,” Sussex coach James Kirtley said. “The lads are very gutted but they’ve shown incredible character in what might have been a provocative situation. As a coach I’m there to keep calm and keep the team calm. We would obviously have liked to see it managed differently. But the decision was made and sadly we were a ball away from securing two points.”The umpires said conditions had got worse. And it was their judgement that that was the time to call it. It’s frustrating. It’s hard from the sidelines. But we’ve got to remain calm. The lads have shown real maturity because it could be blue touch paper time, things like this. Because we play at the height of our emotions. They’ve handled themselves incredibly well.”