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Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma and Arshdeep Singh combined to do the job for Punjab

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2021Punjab’s top order chased down their target of 88 with ease after their pace attack of Sandeep Sharma, Arshdeep Singh and Siddarth Kaul took seven wickets between them to rout defending champions Karnataka in the first Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy quarter-final, at the newly-inaugurated Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. Medium-pacer Ramandeep Singh also chipped in with two middle-order wickets, and Karnataka never recovered after slipping from 24 for 0 to 26 for 4.After openers Devdutt Padikkal (11) and Karun Nair (12) handed catches to mid-off within the space of four deliveries, Kaul dismissed Pavan Deshpande for a duck in a double-wicket maiden, Mayank Markande taking a stunning diving catch at midwicket. BR Sharath then edged Arshdeep and Karnataka were four down inside the powerplay. Aniruddha Joshi (27 off 34) and Shreyas Gopal (13 off 11) revived the innings briefly before Ramandeep had Gopal and J Suchith caught behind. Markande bowled Joshi with a googly at the other end, as the last five partnerships managed 15 runs in total, Kaul and Sandeep ending the innings with return catches of Abhimanyu Mithun and Prasidh Krishna. Currently joint-second on the wicket-takers’ list this season with a tally of 13, Kaul finished with stunning figures of 4-1-15-3.Punjab also lost an early wicket, that of Abhishek Sharma who slashed Mithun straight to point for 4 in the first over, before Prabhsimran Singh and captain Mandeep Singh stitched together an unbeaten stand of 85 off 70 balls. Prabhsimran drove and pulled the fast bowlers with disdain for two fours and three sixes, while Mandeep exhibited some elegant cover drives for his four fours and a six. Prabhsimran ended the game with a pull for six off Gopal in the 13th over.

“If you’re bowling first, it looks like an advantage is there for bowlers,” agrees Goswami

Firdose Moonda09-Mar-20211:44

Sune Luus: Hope India’s return to Tests helps push the ICC to revive women’s Tests

There is some advantage to bowling first in Lucknow but not so much to justify first-innings scores of under 200, according to South Africa Women captain Sune Luus and India’s premier pace bowler Jhulan Goswami.India and South Africa were bowled out cheaply in the two matches that have been played so far – for 177 and 157 respectively – and were untroubled in their chases. South Africa won the first match by eight wickets, India were victorious in the second by nine.Goswami said the troubles upfront were because of the early starts and fresh conditions, which have eased up as the day has progressed. “We are playing a 9 o’clock match and when you are playing in a place like Lucknow, in the morning there is a little bit of moisture in the wicket. If you get the ball in the right area, it’s not easy to play shots,” she said after her match-winning four-for. “It’s much easier in the second innings. The wicket is very flat and you just need to play through the line. If you’re bowling first, it looks like an advantage is there for bowlers.”Luus noted that there also seemed to be more movement on Tuesday as compared to Sunday, but laid the blame for the low total with South Africa’s line-up, rather than India’s bowlers. “It’s a good batting wicket throughout. For pace bowlers, there’s always something in it for the first 10 or 15 overs when you bowl first. And it was a fresh wicket today. There was quite a lot of movement. Their two opening bowlers – Goswami and Mansi Joshi – bowled extremely well with the new ball. But we didn’t execute our shots. I don’t think they bowled well enough to bowl us out with great deliveries, although they still bowled well. We gave our wickets away at the wrong times.”Related

• Jhulan Goswami: 'Very excited' at opportunity to play Test cricket again

South Africa lost six wickets for 44 runs to collapse from 113 for 4 in the 30th over to 157 all out after 41 overs, a total Luus deemed below-par. She identified anything over 200 as acceptable on this pitch, even batting first, not least against the game’s leading ODI wicket-taker. Goswami took the only two South African wickets to fall in the first match and four out of ten in the second game.”She’s a lot taller than most women that we would have played against so you have to play her the way you play the length of a man. Where she bowls the ball from is very high so she automatically gets more bounce. It kind of sneaks up on you,” Luus explained. “But today, it was soft dismissals from her bowling. She bowled extremely well in the first 10 overs, nipping it around and asking questions. We need to see through the first ten overs where she is at her most dangerous and try and capitalise when she comes back. It comes down to better positions and better plans.”South Africa’s task at hand is to work out how to improve performances from their middle order ahead of the next match, whether or not they bat first. However, with all five matches in this series due to be played at the same venue, and start at the same time, there may be a danger of proceedings playing out predictably, except if India, as Goswami warned, continue to get better after a rusty start.”In the first match we were playing after a long time and it took time to settle our nerves. We were bowling both sides of the wicket and there and there but today was much more disciplined,” Goswami said. “When you are coming back after a long layoff you need to settle down.”

They will have a short turnaround after their New Zealand series

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2021The Bangladesh team will get a short turnaround from their New Zealand tour after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said that they are likely to travel to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series any time between April 12 and 15. Bangladesh play their last match in New Zealand on April 1, after which those who will play the Tests would have to hop into another bio-secure bubble within two weeks.”We have contacted the Sri Lanka board,” BCB’s chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. “We have confirmed two Tests in the World Test Championships, both of which will be played in the same venue. We are hopeful that Bangladesh will tour Sri Lanka any time between April 12 and 15.” The two boards seem to have agreed to reduce one Test from the original three-match Test series, that was postponed twice last year.Chowdhury said that the Bangladesh team will follow England’s quarantine protocols when they toured Sri Lanka earlier this year. “As far as we know, Sri Lanka’s Covid situation has improved. England also toured Sri Lanka recently. We have been told that we will follow the same protocols as England did,” he said.Meanwhile, on Friday, BCB’s cricket operations chairman Akram Khan said that Mustafizur Rahman, who was acquired by Rajasthan Royals for the 2021 IPL, will also be allowed time off from the Sri Lanka Test series next month.”If he applies for the NOC, the BCB will give it to him, just like we gave it to Shakib. There’s no need to deny it to anyone who is not interested to play in Tests,” said Akram.

Teenage son shows familiar mettle in 270-run stand for second wicket at Headingley

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2021Josh de Caires, the son of former England captain Michael Atherton, scored an unbeaten hundred for Leeds/Bradford MCC Universities against Yorkshire on the third and final day of their pre-season warm-up at Headingley.De Caires, 18, signed a three-year deal with Middlesex in August, having come through the club’s academy, and made his second XI bow for the county aged 15. However, he is yet to make his first-class debut, with university fixtures no longer accorded that status.De Caires, who takes his mother’s maiden name, had been unbeaten on 94 at the close of the second day, after withstanding a bowling attack led by the England left-arm swing bowler, David Willey, and also featuring Ben Coad, Steven Patterson and Matt Fisher.He duly brought up three figures early on the third morning, and after being caught off a no-ball for 103, he eventually retired for 118 from 292 balls, as the students recovered from the loss of an early wicket on the second day to declare on 382 for 9 – having at one stage been 302 for 2 – in reply to Yorkshire’s 485 for 5 declared.Opener Taylor Cornall, 22, top-scored for Leeds/Bradford with 142 from 297 balls, and added 270 for the second wicket with de Caires – a stand that spanned 91 overs, to leave Yorkshire’s coach, Andrew Gale, to reflect on some hard toil for his bowlers.”When they were 1 for 1, I thought, ‘Hmmm, maybe we’ll bowl them out cheaply. But you have to give credit to the students,” Gale told the club website.”Josh de Caires is someone who I’ve worked with in the England Under-19s set-up. I know he’s a good player. The other lad, Cornall, also batted nicely.”They respected every ball, played within themselves and left really well.”It’s a good reminder to us that when the sun’s out and the pitch is flat, how are we going to take 20 wickets? That’s the question I will be asking the lads.”De Caires’ father, Atherton, played 115 Tests for England between 1989 and 2001, making 7,728 runs with 16 centuries, and 54 all told in first-class cricket.However, Atherton rarely had much success at Headingley. He made a solitary hundred at the venue against Yorkshire, 129 for Lancashire in their 1995 Roses match, while his highest Test score on the ground was 99 against South Africa in 1994.

Big hundred puts Derbyshire on the back foot in week before Test selection

Alan Gardner14-May-2021 Derbyshire 35 for 3 (Harmer 2-12) trail Essex 412 for 3 dec (Lawrence 152*, Westley 106, Browne 59, Cook 58) by 377 runsA day of sepulchral gloom in Chelmsford, pierced throughout by the ECG floodlights, was lit up by a blazing innings from Dan Lawrence, as Essex attempted to make up for lost time in their match against Derbyshire … and pretty much succeeded. Lawrence’s unbeaten 152 from 133 balls was the batting equivalent of a souped-up Vauxhall Nova revving its way up the main drag, and leaving tyre-marks over a series of beleaguered Derbyshire bowlers.It was bad light that came to the rescue for the visitors, at the end of an over from legspinner Matt Critchley in which Lawrence slammed the first three balls for six and ended up lying on his front after an unsuccessful attempt to club a fourth down the ground. The ball still went for four and Lawrence acknowledged the applause from his team-mates for reaching 150 from his position in the dirt, even if six sixes was now out of the question. “I thought it was on,” Lawrence said with a grin afterwards.Derbyshire’s respite was brief, however, as an Essex declaration followed by an improvement in the light allowed the home side to press their advantage – even while restricted to bowling spin from both ends. Simon Harmer removed Luis Reece lbw, not offering a shot, in his fourth over and Lawrence then bagged himself a wicket, too, as Billy Godleman turned the ball to short leg. Derbyshire’s captain briefly stood his ground, which was about as much resistance as his team put up all day.Essex claimed a third before the close, Harmer having Leus de Plooy taken by Lawrence at gully, as the defending champions began to circle their prey. The threat of more bad weather, following a first-day washout, may still encourage Derbyshire hopes of an escape; those of a more darkly comic persuasion warned that it could all be done and dusted on Saturday.That Essex were in such a commanding position come the close was largely down to a freewheeling third-wicket partnership of 221 in 36.4 overs between Lawrence and his captain, Tom Westley. Essex have not hit their straps yet in this campaign, as Westley acknowledged, but they have given themselves a chance of dodging the elements to record what would be only a second win in six games.”It was disappointing not being able to get out there yesterday in a bit of a must-win game for us,” Lawrence said. “So it was very good from our openers to put me and Tommy in a situation to go and express ourselves. We knew we had to get ahead of the game as quickly as possible.”Having scored three fifties in the opening five rounds of the Championship, with a high score of 90 on a deathly flat surface at Worcester, Lawrence had hinted at good form without making the sort of imposing scores that would guarantee his involvement in the upcoming Test series against New Zealand (selection is due to be announced next week). This was a bristling reminder of his kaleidoscopic talents – albeit against a Derbyshire attack featuring three players making their first appearances of the season – as Lawrence raced to his fastest first-class hundred before coming off in sight of a career best.”It was quite a big thing for me to get to that landmark, because I’ve scored a few runs already without getting hundreds,” he said. “I’ve scored a few fifties – so it was nice to get there and then just play with some freedom. Every batter would know it’s the best feeling in the world batting after a hundred so it was brilliant to have licence.”The first of Lawrence’s 16 fours was driven with a high front elbow through mid-off and he was soon signalling his intent to crack on, windmilling a cut against Fynn Hudson-Prentice over cover point and then taking the same bowler for three boundaries in five balls a few overs later. His half-century came from 66 balls, and he immediately went up a gear, nonchalantly mowing Dustin Melton over midwicket for his first six.Billy Stanlake, who made an eventful Derbyshire debut, was casually flipped into the seats in front of the makeshift press box at deep backward square leg to take Lawrence into the 90s, and he brought up three figures for the first time this summer via a nudge off Critchley, the landmark acknowledged with a curled fist pump before turning to take the applause from his team-mates. Critchley was dealt with more severely as Essex rattled on towards five batting points, one slog-sweep over midwicket reminiscent of Lawrence’s hold-the-pose six on Test debut in Galle earlier this year.Westley also scored a bristling hundred, his third of the season – in reaching three figures from 109 balls, he did so three deliveries quicker than Lawrence – as the pair built on a century opening stand during the morning session. Derbyshire hit back after lunch through Stanlake, playing his first first-class match since the 2019-20 Sheffield Shield season, but were largely left to wonder at the wisdom of their decision to bowl first, taken 24 hours earlier.Lawrence and Tom Westley both made hundreds in a run-laden day•Getty Images

Essex had reached 132 for 0 at lunch, going at more than four runs an over despite a green tinge to the surface and a damp air to proceedings after persistent rain ruined any chance of play on Thursday. The scoring rate was aided by Stanlake’s trouble with front-foot no-balls during his opening spell, as Alastair Cook and Nick Browne took advantage of some insipid bowling to set a belligerent tempo in Essex’s attempts to overcome not only an opponent low on confidence but a poor forecast for the weekend.The sight of Stanlake taking the new ball promised intrigue. The 6ft 7in Australian, capped in both limited-overs formats, had only played eight first-class fixtures across five years but came to Derbyshire professing an eagerness to work on his red-ball game. An initial four overs brought six no-balls and almost as many aborted attempts at running in, prompting the fear that Stanlake’s enthusiasm might be short-lived.However, he discovered a much better rhythm from the River End when returning shortly before lunch, beating Cook with successive deliveries – one of which was too hot for Harvey Hosein to hold on to behind the stumps. He was rewarded for his perseverance after the interval, when Browne drove footlessly to be caught at slip (thus reducing his first-class average against Derbyshire to a mere 213.25). Cook then spooned a drive into the covers: Big Billy had landed Essex’s big fish, but there was the small matter of Lawrence and Westley to come.

Yorkshire given scare in defence of massive 240 in aggregate record for Blast

ECB Reporters' Network15-Jun-2021Jonny Bairstow smashed 82 off 45 balls as Yorkshire added to Leicestershire’s miserable start to this season’s Vitality Blast with a thrilling 18-run victory in an Emerald Headingley run-fest.The Vikings amassed 240 for 4 before the Foxes gave them an almighty scare as Leeds-born Australian Josh Inglis matched Bairstow’s score off only 37 balls.This was Yorkshire’s third highest total in Blast history and included Adam Lyth’s 51, 44 for David Willey and 48 not out for Harry Brook.Leicestershire, 146 for 3 in the 13th over with opener Inglis unbeaten, later slipped to a fourth straight North Group defeat. But Inglis ensured they fought to the death at 222 for 8.This was Yorkshire’s second win in three North Group games, and 462 runs combined equals the Blast record.The triumph was built on a 113 opening partnership in 10.1 overs between Bairstow and Lyth, with further half-century stands for the third and fifth wickets.On a glorious Leeds evening, there were 29 sixes hit.Each of the Foxes six-man attack was taken to task after home captain Willey had won his side’s 10th toss in 11 in all cricket in 2021.Afghanistan seamer Naveen-ul-Haq claimed two wickets, getting Willey and Bairstow caught in the deep in the 17th over. That left Yorkshire at 189 for four.Fellow quick Gavin Griffiths had a night to forget, conceding 60 in three overs, as Bairstow set the tone, giving the Foxes fielders little chance with his power.Related

• Yorkshire young guns mesh with returning stars to give hope of T20 Blast-off

• Alex Hales 96* sets up Nottinghamshire for narrow win over Durham

• Tom Abell 68 from 33 helps see off Kent as Somerset claim first win

• Jake Lintott takes four as Birmingham romp to crushing win over Northants

Leicestershire’s chase was always going to be a mountainous task. But that suited the dashing style of 26-year-old opener Inglis, who emigrated to Perth just before turning 15.Having lost Scott Steel to Willey in the first over, Inglis and Arron Lilley took their side to 50 for 1 after only 3.4 overs to threaten a miracle.New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson had Lilley playing on with his first ball – 55 for 2 in the fifth over.Inglis and captain Colin Ackermann (32) then shared 86 inside seven overs for the third wicket, but Jordan Thompson’s hand in their departures just about ended the game.Thompson had Ackermann caught in the deep and then brilliantly caught former under 11s team-mate Inglis one-handed at deep cover off Matthew Fisher.That left 95 needed off 7.3 overs with six wickets left.Ben Mike’s 31 helped the target to 31 off two overs and 23 off the last – with three wickets in hand. But Willey comfortably defended that and finished with 3 for 44….

Liton Das top-scored with 95, Mahmudullah unbeaten on 54 as Bangladesh reach 294 for 8 at stumps

Mohammad Isam07-Jul-2021StumpsBangladesh recovered from two difficult situations to finish the first day of the one-off Test on 294 for 8 in Harare. Zimbabwe, who dominated the first two sessions by reducing the visitors to 132 for 6, conceded the early advantage by thrusting a slow period upon them in the post-tea session. They took two late wickets, notably removing Liton Das on 95, but couldn’t quite put the finishing touches as the day’s play was called off after 83 overs amid fading light.After Blessing Muzarabani and Victor Nyauchi put them in trouble, the visitors were brought back to life with a 138-run seventh wicket partnership between Das and Mahmudullah. Against Zimbabwe, it was Bangladesh’s first century stand – and the highest by any pair at the Harare Sports Club – for the seventh wicket.Related

• Sean Williams, Craig Ervine in self-isolation

Das would rue playing one too many pull shots against Donald Tiripano shortly before the second new ball was available. He was caught at the fine-leg boundary after crossing his previous Test best score of 94. Tiripano trapped Mehidy Hasan Miraz lbw off the next ball.
Zimbabwe gave away much of their momentum in a period they used part-timers Milton Shumba and Roy Kaia for 24 overs. They deployed the duo with a view to giving their four-pronged pace attack a break, as well as recovering their poor over rate. In the first four hours, they had bowled only 49 overs.Das feasted on the tired attack, but some of his shots stood out. Among his 13 fours were two beautiful cover drives, three drives through midwicket and an upper cut through a vacant third-man. A slog sweep off Shumba took him to his half-century and Bangladesh to 200, before another easy glance off Kaia brought up the century stand between them.Mahmudullah, in his first Test after 18 months, played the quintessential second fiddle. Undeterred by his No. 8 batting position, he took stock of Bangladesh’s situation at 132 for 6 and initiated a rebuild with Das. Mahmudullah was mostly conservative, hitting five fours, two of which exquisitely pierced the covers. He also flicked one through midwicket and plundered the fine-leg region at will. He was unbeaten on 54 off 141 balls at stumps.A more energetic Zimbabwe dominated the first two sessions of the opening day, making Bangladesh struggle to justify their decision to bat first after winning the toss. Within the first 30 minutes, the visitors were reduced to 8 for 2. Muzarabani removed both Saif Hassan and Najmul Hossain Shanto in an exhibition of quick, hostile fast bowling.Bangladesh got back on their feet courtesy a 60-run third-wicket partnership between Mominul Haque and Shadman Islam, which was followed up by more recovery work from Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim. Shortly after the lunch break, though, Zimbabwe wrested back the momentum.Muzarabani had Rahim lbw, shouldering arms, for 11. Replays showed the ball may have gone over the stumps but without DRS in this game, the on-field umpire’s decision couldn’t be contested.Nyauchi then struck the big blows: Shakib Al Hasan caught behind for 3 and Mominul Haque caught at gully for 70. Haque, the Bangladesh captain, struck 13 fours in his 92-ball knock, getting most of his boundaries through midwicket. His dismissal put Bangladesh in a precarious 132 for 6 in the second session, leaving much to do for Das and Mahmudullah.

West Indies lost 3-2 against South Africa and need better returns from their middle order

Andrew McGlashan09-Jul-2021

Big Picture

Australia are back in action. While most other major nations have been playing over the last few months, this will be the men’s side first time in the field since early March in New Zealand. It marks what is meant to be a month of cricket although the Bangladesh leg of the tour has yet to have its biosecure plans signed off.As with all the teams involved, sights are being focused on the T20 World Cup in October although Australia are preparing with one hand tied behind their backs. The absentees have been well-documented with David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson, Jhye Richardson and Daniel Sams making themselves unavailable, and Steven Smith is injured.Aaron Finch has admitted that their final squad for the tournament could be significantly different to what was appearing likely 18 months ago. There have been some warnings, too, that there may not be a direct route back into the side for the missing players if others take their chances.Related

• 'We are going to stick with these guys' – Pollard defends West Indies' young batters

• Australia's conundrum: the search for a T20 finisher

• Christian, Marsh shine in Australia's first intra-squad warm-up

• Agar: 'Trying to be as adaptable and usable as possible'

• Philippe makes his mark ahead of WI T20I series

They are up against a West Indies side that is coming straight off a tightly-fought series against South Africa which the visitors took 3-2 in the decider.Despite being the defending T20 World Cup champions West Indies are currently ranked ninth and since that last global event in 2016 – which they secured so dramatically against England – only Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have a lower win-loss ratio of teams to have played at least 20 games.Evin Lewis was the only batter to pass 100 runs in the five matches against South Africa (178 at 35.60) though captain Kieron Pollard hit 51 off 25 balls in the fourth game and they chased 161 with five overs to spare in the opening match.

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
West Indies LWLLW
Australia LWWLL

In the spotlight

Nicholas Pooran briefly lit up the BBL during a short spell with Melbourne Stars – including a spectacular display alongside Maxwell against Sydney Sixers – but it has been a difficult year so far in T20Is and he also made four ducks in six innings at the IPL. He has a top score of 26 in seven innings against Sri Lanka and South Africa and hasn’t reached 30 since December 2019.Dan Christian is one of the beneficiaries of Australia’s reshaped squad with the unexpected opportunity to resume his international career after a gap of four years on the back of impressive domestic T20 returns. He struck 47 off 31 balls in the first intra-squad warm-up and has been tipped as an option to fill the finisher role that Australia have struggled to find a solution to. He is a handy bowler with plenty of variations, which could be useful on slower pitches, and remains a superb fielder.

Team news

West Indies named a 14-man squad on the morning of the first T20I, with Jason Holder rested and Fabian Allen set to return from injury. Hayden Walsh Jr, the legspinner, is also named in the squad ahead of slow left-armer Akeal Hosein and offspinner Kevin Sinclair.West Indies (possible) 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Kieron Pollard (capt), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Fabian Allen/Hayden Walsh Jr, 10 Obed McCoy, 11 Fidel EdwardsChristian is set for a return as Australia alter the balance of their side away from five frontline bowlers. Mitchell Starc, Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa will be joined by one more bowler. Josh Philippe is likely to take a middle-order role. Ben McDermott could be jousting with Ashton Turner for the final batting position.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Matthew Wade (wk), 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Moises Henriques, 5 Ben McDermott, 6 Josh Philippe, 7 Dan Christian, 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Riley Meredith/Josh Hazlewood

Pitch and conditions

Runs came at a decent rate in Australia’s two intra-squad warm-up matches with Christian saying he felt 170 would be around par. Spin is expected to play a central role. St Lucia was in the path of hurricane Elsa last week but that has cleared through. The forecast is for a cloudy but dry evening.

Stats and trivia

• This will be the first time the two sides have met in a T20I since 2014.
• Dwayne Bravo’s 4 for 19 in the recent series against South Africa were his career-best in the format 15 years after his debut
• Australia have won all four of their T20Is playing St Lucia, which include the remarkable T20 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan in 2010

Quotes

“I’m not going to say they are vulnerable, not going to say it’s a second-string team, what I’m going to say is that we are going to play an Australian cricket team. It doesn’t matter which personnel, it’s a national team and they have world-class players who have played around the world.”
“At the moment we’re going to concentrate on winning this series. It’s something we pride ourselves on in Australian cricket. If you get in the habit or find momentum with winning, everything else usually looks after itself. So it’s a great opportunity for the guys here, and the guys back home have got plenty of credits.”

It will feature all 15 provincial teams as well as the national Under-19 side

Firdose Moonda11-Aug-2021South Africa’s domestic season is set to get underway in September with a T20 knockout tournament featuring all 15 provincial teams and the national Under-19 side. The teams have been divided into four pools of four and will play each over three days before the semi-finals and final. The group stages will be held in Kimberley and Bloemfontein, though exact fixtures have yet to be confirmed.ESPNcricinfo understands that this tournament will not replace the Mzansi Super League, which began in 2018 but was not held last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and that the flagship franchise T20 tournament will still take place later in the year. However, the T20 knockout will provide an opportunity for provincial teams in both division one and two in the new domestic set-up to complete against each other.The tournament features all 15 provincial sides as well as South Africa’s Under-19 team•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

It will also be the first time South Africa’s new structure will be in operation, after the system was revamped over the winter. South African domestic cricket was previously made up of a top-tier of six franchises and a lower tier of 13 provincial teams. It is now a provincial-only system, with the franchises no longer in existence. The provincial structure consists of 15 teams, with eight in division one and seven in division two. Both divisions will play first-class and 50-overs cricket, the top division will compete in the MSL, and all the teams will be part of the season-opening T20 knockout.The competition will overlap with the IPL, which will mean several of South Africa’s top players will not take part, but immediately precedes the T20 World Cup and will ensure that those players who are not involved at the IPL have the opportunity for match practice before the tournament. South Africa’s national team has just three T20I fixtures remaining before the World Cup, to be played on a short, white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in the first half of September.No other fixtures for the 2021-22 season have been announced but the FTP has a busy program for the South Africa men’s team. They are due to host India for three Tests and three T20Is in December-January, and to travel to New Zealand and host Bangladesh thereafter. Cricket South Africa also needs to make up fixtures against India (three ODIs which were postponed from March 2020, then rescheduled to September, and now postponed again because of the IPL) and three Tests against Australia, which were due to be played in March-April this year.

Both teams have selection issues to resolve although the weather could spoil the first two days

Andrew McGlashan29-Sep-20213:31

Raj: Will be great if Tests become a regular feature in bilateral series

Big Picture

This has been a long time coming. It was 2006 when these two sides last met in a Test match. The one-day series has whetted the appetite for what could come on the Gold Coast, particularly with the added element of the day-night pink-ball factor – just the second such Test in the women’s game.It is India’s second Test of the year after their encounter against England in Bristol where they fought hard on the final day to secure a draw. Australia have not played since the 2019 Ashes – England have been their only opposition since that Adelaide Test 15 years ago. Preparation has been a challenge for both teams, although the Australian players have at least been able to practice with pink balls in pre-season. For many, though, it will be learning on the fly – even the home side will only have four players who appeared in the 2017 Test at North Sydney Oval.The multi-format series stands at 4-2 after India’s streak-ending victory on Sunday. There are four points available for the Test, so should Australia win, they will take an unbeatable lead ahead of the T20I series. Matthew Mott, Australia’s head coach, has said that his side will play “one-day cricket for four days”.The previous day-night was a high-scoring draw on a docile surface. There is the hope that this encounter will be a more even contest with the start of Australia’s chase in the second ODI, albeit with a white ball, where it nipped around considerably for Jhulan Goswami and Meghna Singh a hopeful indicator. Ellyse Perry and Tahlia McGrath also swung the ball during the one-day series, although they struggled for control at times.Related

• Mithali Raj: 'A little more time' with pink ball would have been 'quite helpful'

• Ash Gardner ready to attack in first home Test

• Yastika's promise, Perry's problems: what we learnt from the Australia-India ODIs

• Haynes ruled out of pink-ball Test and T20Is with a hamstring injury

• Perry set to keep new ball for Test match despite ODI struggles

Both teams should bat deep with a strong group of allrounders to select from. In the final ODI, Australia had Sophie Molineux at No. 10 and something similar could happen in this match, although the loss of Rachael Haynes with injury is significant. Against England, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana added 167 in the first innings (with Verma making 96 and 63 on her Test debut) but the experienced duo of Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur produced a combined tally of just 18 runs.It remains to be seen when India will next play Test cricket after this series, but for Australia, they have the Ashes in January. However, the four days of play out there shouldn’t be 15 years until the two teams meet again. “Hopefully, it’s the first of many and not just a one-off and we can go and play a Test over in India in the next few years, think that would be a really cool thing to do,” Meg Lanning said.

In the spotlight

Ellyse Perry‘s Test record is astonishing: a batting average of 78.00 and bowling return of 18.19. Her last three Test innings have been 213*, 116 and 76*. However, the last 12 months have not been easy for her, especially with the ball, after the injury at the T20 World Cup in 2020. Last season’s tentative return could largely be put down to the recovery but, while a lack of match practice and 14 days hard quarantine made the build-up to this series difficult, her ODI returns were very unconvincing. With the strength of pace bowling coming through the Australia game, it could be that her batting becomes the central role, although never rule out a champion.Jhulan Goswami is one of two survivors from the 2006 Adelaide Test along with Raj. With the ODI World Cup next year a likely end point for her outstanding career, this is shaping as a 12th and final Test match. She bowled superbly in the ODI series, particularly the final two matches (barring that final over with a wet ball), with her seam and swing troubling Australia’s top order. The ball to remove Alyssa Healy was a classic.Meg Lanning did not play the previous day-night Test in 2017•Getty Images

Team news

Haynes being ruled out of the series with a hamstring injury means Beth Mooney will open the batting, something she did on her Test debut in 2017. If Australia want a specialist batter to replace Haynes, they have Georgia Redmayne in the squad, but the more likely route would appear to be another allrounder. Annabel Sutherland impressed in the last ODI. At least one of Darcie Brown and Stella Campbell is expected to debut while both could play.Australia (possible): 1 Alyssa Healy (wk), 2 Beth Mooney, 3 Meg Lanning (capt), 4 Ellyse Perry, 5 Tahlia McGrath, 6 Ash Gardner, 7 Annabel Sutherland, 8 Sophie Molineux, 9 Georgia Wareham, 10 Darcie Brown, 11 Stella CampbellHarmanpreet has been ruled out having not recovered from her thumb injury. That could be a spot for Punam Raut, who played against England, or Yastika Bhatia after an impressive ODI series. India also need to decide on the balance of their side from one of Pooja Vastrakar or Shikha Pandey for a seam-bowling allrounder option, though Vastrakar has fared far better than Pandey with the bat this year. Taniya Bhatia is expected to regain the gloves from Richa Ghosh.India (possible): 1 Shafali Verma, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Mithali Raj (capt), 4 Punam Raut/Yastika Bhatia, 5 Deepti Sharma, 6 Sneh Rana, 7 Taniya Bhatia (wk), 8 Pooja Vastrakar/Shikha Pandey, 9 Jhulan Goswami, 10 Meghna Singh, 11 Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Pitch and conditions

Two days out there was a healthy covering of grass on the drop-in wicket although it was likely to have had a cut before the game. The weather forecast could be a problem with showers and storms forecast for the first two days.

Quotes

“There’s some weather around but we are focusing on what we can control. Sounds like there’s a decent storm coming but we’ll just play with what we’ve got and hopefully, we don’t lose too much time.”
Meg Lanning“It will be my first experience with the pink ball. I’m quite curious to see around that [night] period and they say it will be a little difficult.”
Mithali Raj