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In a bid to better balance their side, South Africa have asked AB de Villiers to don the wicketkeeping gloves for the first two Tests against England and he has agreed. De Villiers was the only keeper named in the 13-man squad, with neither Dane Vilas, who toured India as the first-choice gloveman, nor Quinton de Kock, who was dropped in Bangladesh for poor batting form but has since been in the runs, called up.”AB saw the need that the team has now and understands that if he keeps wicket, it allows us to have an extra batsman,” Linda Zondi, South Africa’s convener of selectors, told ESPNcricinfo. “When we became No. 1, we had seven batters. It gives us an extra edge. We are very grateful from a selection point of view that he has agreed to do it. He is the ultimate team man.”When asked about the chronic back problem that has seen de Villiers see-saw in and out of the role, Zondi said “it will be assessed” during the Tests and immediately afterwards, to determine whether de Villiers should continue behind the stumps as the series goes on. If he does not, one of Vilas or de Kock, who Zondi has assured are “both still part of the plans” and who will play for the South Africa A side against England in a three-day warm-up match, could be called up.The extra batsman is most likely to come in the form of Temba Bavuma, who opened the batting in the fourth Test against India but will move back to his regular position in the middle order. Stiaan van Zyl, who was dropped for the Delhi Test, will return to partner Dean Elgar at the top, with Rilee Rossouw included as the extra batsman. Rossouw missed the entire India trip after he sustained a stress fracture to his foot during the home series against New Zealand in August but has been playing for his franchise, the Knights, in the domestic 20-over competition.That does not mean South Africa are out of the woods when it comes to niggles. Vernon Philander has been ruled out of the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests as he recovers from torn ankle ligaments, allowing both Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada to keep their places in the squad. Dale Steyn, who will have a fitness text next week to determine his availability after a groin injury kept him out of three of the four Tests in India, has been named in the squad, alongside Morne Morkel. South Africa have included just one spinner in Dane Piedt, with both Simon Harmer and Imran Tahir out.

Pace bowlers rested

Six members of the Test squad will play in the opening round of domestic first-class matches in preparation for the England series.
Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Stiaan van Zyl, and Dane Piedt will play for the Cobras against the Knights, Temba Bavuma will turn out for the Lions against the Dolphins and Dean Elgar will be part of the Titans’ side to take on the Warriors. All the matches take place from December 17 to 20. Rilee Rossouw, who is also in the Test squad will be in the South Africa A squad that hosts England from December 20 to 22.
That means Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers are the only specialist batsmen who will not have game time between the India and England series. None of the first-choice bowlers will play in the domestic competition.
“A lot of the senior players were in India for the full duration of the 72-day tour and most of them played in every match, it is vital for them to get some physical and mental rest ahead of the lengthy series against England,” Mohammed Moosajee, the South African team manager said.
“All of the fast bowlers in the Test squad announced today will not take part in any Sunfoil Series matches prior to the series. The fast bowlers feature across all three formats so it is important for us to manage their workloads coming out of a long tour and heading straight into another one.”

Piedt was preferred after just one Test in India because of what Zondi called a policy of fairness, which allows each player a sustained run, and because South Africa are opting for a containing, rather than attacking spinner at home. “In our conditions, we feel we need more of a holding spinner so although Imran Tahir is still in our plans, at the moment, we have decided to go with Piedt,” Zondi said. “And from a consistency point of view, you can’t give a player one match. We gave Simon a run in Bangladesh and in two of the India Tests, now we are giving Piedt a chance. Let’s see what he can offer. The good thing is that we have options.”South Africa’s depth seemed to be sufficient following the retirements of Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith but they have been stretched after Alviro Petersen left the opening berth. Instead of calling up an opener from the franchise circuit – and Stephen Cook, who will play for South Africa A against England, was an obvious candidate – the leading run-scorer in the first-class competition in 2013-14, van Zyl, was promoted.Van Zyl has only opened in five Tests, all in the subcontinent, and struggled in India, where he was eventually replaced by Bavuma but Zondi thinks it is important to see how he performs in more familiar territory. “We asked Stiaan to open because there was a gap and he has taken up the responsibility so it’s only fair to back him and give him a run on home soil and then we will assess,” Zondi said. “The more you back players, the more you remove the uncertainty.”One player whose career has been shrouded in exactly that is Abbott. Over two-and-a-half years, he has only played five Tests, three of them as a stand-in for an injured team-mate. If he plays against England, he will be standing in for Philander again and will know he may not be able to hold on to the spot if Philander regains fitness.Philander is considered vital for two reasons. Zondi said South Africa “need him the most” in this series because of his ability to exploit home advantage. “It is sad to see Vernon get injured in that way,” he said. “When we need him the most, in the conditions that suit him the most, we don’t have him. It’s a big loss for us.”The South Africa squad for the first two Tests against England•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In addition, Philander’s lower-order batting also adds to his value. “Vernon not there leaves us vulnerable. I know a lot of people will say the top six must get the runs but it doesn’t always work like that,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, said on their arrival back home on Tuesday evening. “We know the top six have got to get runs but the other team can bowl well and that puts your lower and middle order under pressure. At the moment we are hoping our lower order can make some contributions.”Although Abbott is not as much of a batsman as Philander, he has an opportunity to stake a claim for a longer run but only if he is preferred over Rabada. The 20-year-old quick is the flavour of the month and seems set to continue in that vein for the foreseeable future. Rabada played in all but one match on South Africa’s India tour and Zondi said team management are aware of the need to monitor his workload. “We need to manage him. He is still young. He has done very well. It is our role to make sure we are managing him,” Zondi said.South Africa may also toy with the option of playing four quicks, especially in the first Test at Kingsmead, where conditions should be ripe for both seam and swing.South Africa squad: Hashim Amla (capt), AB de Villiers (wk), Kyle Abbott, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Morne Morkel, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl

A couple of months after announcing his retirement, Virender Sehwag has said he was “hurt” by the manner in which he was dropped from the Indian team in 2013. Speaking exclusively to ESPNcricinfo in Delhi, Sehwag revealed he learnt of his axe from the newspapers and the decision wasn’t communicated to him by the selectors, team management or BCCI.”I hadn’t scored runs in two Tests against Australia,” Sehwag said. “So, I was thinking I would get a couple of more opportunities to perform well in the last two Tests [of the series] and then get dropped if I didn’t perform. If the selectors would have given me that option to play two more Tests and then retire.”Sehwag was left out after the second Test against Australia in Hyderabad in March 2013 after failing to post a half-century in eight innings. He returned to domestic cricket but failed to make a case compelling enough for a national recall. In 20 Ranji trophy matches for Delhi and Haryana since his last Test, Sehwag scored 1269 runs at an average just under 40 with three centuries. Sehwag admitted that it took him a while to adjust to playing on the domestic circuit after having had a long international career.”When I got dropped, I was thinking that I’m a good player and can get back into the Indian team but I was still living in the mindset that I am an aggressive opener and can score runs but I did not realise that domestic cricket is totally different to international cricket and I was still playing in the same way,” he said. “I did not score runs that [2013-14] season and my highest was 50-odd [56] and I was struggling to cope up with [conditions in] Delhi.”I then changed my thinking next year and batting style by giving myself a little more time and I scored 500 plus runs, but I needed to score that in the previous season and maybe I would have gotten back into the team. It was too late but I was playing because I wanted to play the game.”Sehwag is widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen of the modern era, but he was quite candid about his desire to play in the middle order towards the end of his career. Despite the retirements of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, Sehwag was never offered that option.”I told the management [about wanting to bat lower down] but they felt that I was still good enough to play as an opener and they didn’t want to take chances with the opening pair. I tried my best but could not get an opportunity in the middle order,” he said. “When I played my last series, Tendulkar was still there, Kohli and Dhoni were there. Pujara was playing as the No. 3 batsman. Tendulkar was playing at 4, Kohli at 5 and it meant that I had to bat at No. 6 after Tendulkar as you could not ask him to bat at No. 3 or 5. So, there was no chance for me to bat in the middle order.”While Sehwag retired with an impressive Test record, his performances outside the subcontinent were inconsistent. Some knocks like the 195 at MCG in 2003 are considered modern day classics, but overall Sehwag averaged just 35.84 in 36 Tests and made just 5 of his 23 Test centuries outside Asia. He conceded that as an area he struggled to match his peers in.”You don’t think of these things when you play,” he said. “When you retire, you look back and see that my Test average outside Asia is 40 and it is 49 overall. If I can change something, I’d like to change that average outside Asia. I tried as hard as I could outside Asia but I couldn’t do that. I gave my best but didn’t score as much as I can. Dravid, Tendulkar, Sourav and Laxman did it and scored hundreds as well.”

Pakistan Under-19s 256 for 3 (Umar Akmal 84) beat England Under-19s 252 for 5 (Godleman 118*) by seven wickets
ScorecardA fine unbeaten 118 from Billy Godleman was not enough to secure a consolation win for England’s youngsters, as they bowed out of their triangular tournament in Sri Lanka with a seven-wicket defeat against Pakistan.Despite the result, it was a much-improved display from England following a limp performance against Sri Lanka on Monday. They easily posted their highest score in their four matches in the tournament, with Godleman anchoring the innings with a superb 152-ball innings.He struck seven fours in the innings, and received sound support from James Taylor in a 42-run opening stand, as well as the captain Alex Wakely (39) and Tom Westley, who rounded off the innings with a brisk unbeaten 33 from 28 balls.But Pakistan’s openers, Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad, proved unstoppable in response. They added 149 for the first wicket inside the first 20 overs to break the back of the run-chase, before Umar Amin eased them to victory with an unbeaten 68 from 76 balls.

New Zealand should consider Brendon McCullum as a solution to their top-order Test woes, according to the Canterbury coach Dave Nosworthy. The national selectors are meeting in Christchurch this week to decide on a squad to tour England and the opening positions will again be one of their major talking points.Jamie How and Matthew Bell were used against England last month and although How showed promise in making 92 in the first Test, Bell scored three ducks from his six innings. Bell was fresh from a century against Bangladesh, where his opening colleague was Craig Cumming, and just two months prior Cumming had been partnered by Michael Papps in South Africa.McCullum opens in one-day internationals and Nosworthy believes promoting his former Canterbury player in Tests would be a gamble worth taking. “It’s a bit out of left field I know, but the selectors should think about it,” Nosworthy told the . “It throws the gauntlet down to the Poms and sends a strong message to them.”I’m sure some of their new-ball bowlers would be a bit edgy if they had to face Baz [McCullum] first up after what he did in the one-day series. We lack some depth in the top order and that could be a way around it if other things don’t work.”McCullum averaged 65.25 in the recent limited-overs contests against England and in early March he blasted the fastest century and highest score in New Zealand’s domestic one-day history in the State Shield final. Although constructing a careful and lengthy innings might not be McCullum’s strength, Nosworthy said a new approach from the Test openers may be welcome.”No-one has put their hand up massively for the job,” he said. “I know it puts a lot of pressure when the keeper is on his feet all day in the field but the way Baz bats he scores quickly and not out there for that long a period. He could certainly take the shine off the ball quickly.”

Kane Williamson will return to Yorkshire for a third time after agreeing a six-week stint in the middle of the English season.Williamson, who previously played for Yorkshire in 2013 and 2014, will be available from June 9 to July 18 – a period which will include three County Championship matches, eight NatWest T20 Blast fixtures and three Royal London one-day games.Jason Gillespie, Yorkshire’s head coach, said: “We are delighted to welcome Kane back to Headingley. He is a quality player and person. The opportunity to secure one of, if not, the best players in the world is one you have to take up.”His value as a player is beyond question. His attitude, work ethic and leadership as an overseas player is brilliant.In 2015, Williamson set a New Zealand scoring record with 2692 runs across all formats. Depending on England call-ups, he is likely to form a hefty Yorkshire top order alongside Adam Lyth, Alex Lees and Gary Ballance.

Loughborough University has been named as the country’s first women’s University Centre of Cricket Excellence (UCCE) thanks to funding from the MCC.Loughborough, which currently has 35 players at its mixed UCCE, successfully applied for funding from MCC to support a dedicated women’s section and allow more female cricketers to access the world-class facilities and expertise available as part of the programme. MCC invested nearly £30,000 to allow the university to run a separate squad of up to 13 female students in 2008.Working alongside the UCCE head coach, Graham Dilley, will be his assistant, Nicky Shaw, the England vice-captain. They will benefit from a supported strength and conditioning programme, nutritional and psychological advice, video analysis, medical screenings and subsidised kit and equipment. In addition, they will have access to the ECB’s cricket performance centre.”MCC is proud of its involvement with the UCCE scheme and our investment in University cricket continues to grow each year,” John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket, said. “Loughborough have put a great deal of time and effort into women’s cricket and this funding is fully merited and well deserved. With Graham and Nicky leading the coaching, I have no doubt that we’ll see even more talented women cricketers emerge from the University and, we hope, challenge for a place in the national side.””We are very grateful to MCC for their added investment in our programme,” Dilley added. “Loughborough is a great advocator of women’s cricket and we have always taken the development of our female players very seriously and given them the same opportunities via the UCCE as our men.”This additional programme provides a fantastic opportunity for the girls at Loughborough and is a just reward for the work we’ve put into helping develop the sport and its players.”

Amin revives himselfUmar Amin’s 270-ball 145 helped Sui Southern Gas Corporation build a solid first-innings total of 323, thereby leading his team to victory by an innings and three runs against Faisalabad. The 344-minute knock was Amin’s second hundred of the season. Over the past few seasons, he had been out of selection contention due to injuries but his name has come up again after the retirements of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan. He is currently considered one of the top choices to replace the two recently-retired players, and while he has already made his mark in the shorter format, Amin looks to revive his lost form in the longer format as well.Test openers continue dry runShan Masood and Sami Aslam – after having a disappointing Test series against Sri Lanka – returned to the domestic circuit after the series ended. But their poor run of form continued at home too. Although Sui Southern Gas Corporation won, Aslam contributed only 16 with the bat.And while Masood’s captaincy led United Bank Limited to a seven-wicket win against Rawalpandi, the opener scored only 15 and 21. The duo has been struggling to get big runs, and their dry spell has opened up a slot in Pakistan’s top order – allowing for more experimentation – ahead of Pakistan’s next red-ball action against Ireland in May 2018, before the tour of England.LCCA pitch comes under spotlightAs many as 17 wickets fell on day one at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground as Lahore Blues were bundled for 108 in the first innings before SNGPL, led by Misbah, lost their seven wickets before stumps. Blues fought back in the second innings to put up 215 but that set SNGPL a target of only 125 which they chased down by losing no more than five wickets. The pitches being prepared during the tournament received criticism from Misbah who expressed his “disappointment” saying the tracks were being overused.Fawad watchFawad Alam’s season of ups-and-downs continued after he scored only seven runs and returned bowling figures of 0 for 19 against Faisalabad in the fourth round. After being overlooked by the selectors in the past, which raised eyebrows across the board, the spotlight was on him to shine but he couldn’t do so.Fawad’s form this season has been much worse than the last few seasons, but despite the lack of runs, his first-class average still reads 56.11, having scored over 10,000 runs in his career. Fawad did, however, score a match-winning 105 against Lahore Blues in the third round.

Tim May, chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), has distanced himself from comments made by Ian Smith, the association’s legal advisor.Smith was quoted in The Guardian as warning that the players are set to pass a vote of no confidence in the ICC. “People are increasingly seriously asking why aren’t we walking away,” Smith said. “The competence of the administrators is being called into question at a policy level. We believe that because the players are better organised and that talent has been radically revalued by the Indian leagues it’s time to look at whether the players can do a better job than the current policy makers.”But May moved quickly to clarify that Smith’s views were not those of FICA. “Ian’s comments represent his personal view on the matter and do not represent FICA’s position at this time. This is not to say, however, that FICA does not have concerns with the governance structure of the ICC.”After the World Cup last year, which was widely considered to have been poorly administered, FICA issued a poll in which 56% of players who took part expressed a lack of confidence in the ICC. “FICA stated its concerns with the governance structure of the ICC at that time and called upon the ICC to review its governance structure, to determine whether its current structure is the most appropriate for an international sport,” May said. “FICA’s position in regard to this issue has not changed.”May added that FICA was undertaking another survey with the results expected at the end of next month. “We will then communicate any relevant matters that relate directly to ICC, direct with the ICC.”

Against the backdrop of the uncertainty surrounding Andre Nel’s international future, the short one-day international series between hosts Bangladesh and South Africa comes to a conclusion in Mirpur. South Africa have already clinched the series, and much of the focus rests on whether they can complete the sweep that will take them past as Australia as the best ODI side in the world.Reports on Wednesday suggested Nel, upset at being ignored for the upcoming Test series in India, considered quitting South African cricket. Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s captain, had to vigorously persuade Nel to play in the second match, where the fast bowler returned figures of 4 for 27. Nel has been South Africa’s best bowler of the series, taking seven wickets at 7.28 after he was entrusted the leadership of the attack with Dale Steyn not getting a game.Whether Nel plays tomorrow is uncertain but South Africa still have options in Steyn, Player-of-the-Series in the 2-0 Test whitewash, and Morne Morkel. South Africa’s top order was tested in the second ODI but a match-winning partnership between AB de Villiers and JP Duminy took them home comfortably. For the likes of Duminy, yet to cement his place in the side, and Hashim Amla, only two ODIs old, the final match is another shot to impress in the limited-overs format with a busy international calendar ahead.Gerald Majola, CSA’s chief executive, had one eye on the upcoming Test series in India even as South Africa are poised to sweep the ODI series. “We are confident that [South Africa] will win,” he said, “and finish the international season as the best ODI team in world cricket.”For Bangladesh, who have struggled to compete against South Africa, the scenario offers another shot at saving face. Their form, however, suggests South Africa will have few hassles. The previous game, also in Mirpur, could have been a different story altogether had Bangladesh followed captain Mohammad Ashraful’s wish after he won the toss and put up a 230-plus score on the board. Bangladesh’s batting has been a disappointment in the series – only Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and newcomer Raqibul Hasan managed fifties – and their policy of rotation has come under criticism.An under-fire Ashraful, after Bangladesh mustered just 173 in 48.2 overs despite a record 119-run stand for the fifth wicket, blamed his batsmen but his own form has been dismal recently. He has scored just eight runs in two games, on the back of a poor Test series, and Bangladesh have won nothing under his captaincy.Having debuted a crop of young players, and with several veterans either retired or on the way out, Bangladesh continue to be in a period of change. How well they can adapt, having lost the series, and with this being the last opportunity against Test-match opposition before they host Ireland for a three-match series starting March 18, remains to be seen.

Air India crawled to 186/6 from 97 overs against National CricketAcademy on the first day of their MRF-Buchi Babu pre-quarterfinal atthe Guru Nanak College Ground in Chennai today. Far from flying high,Air India were kept on a tight leash after captain Praveen Amre beathis NCA rival Reetinder Sodhi for the toss and chose to take firststrike.After 21-year-old Baroda seamer Rakesh Patel removed opener SandehKawle for one in the seventh over of the innings, Dheeraj Jadhav andNiraj Patel added a battling 68 for Air India of which the latter, anNCA product who could just as well have turned out for his opponents,made 47. With the last ball of his first and only over, Mohd. Kaif’soff breaks dislodged Patel, caught by Rohit Jhalani behind thewickets.Jhalani was again called into action, stumping skipper Amre for 22 offthe bowling of Saurashtra left arm spinner Rakesh Dhurv. Two ballslater, Altaf Merchant had his stumps disarranged by Patel for a duckto leave Air India at 115/4. Satish Samand did not last long but hissuccessor Harvinder Singh Sodhi ensconced himself firmly at thecrease, striking five boundaries in the course of an unbeaten 26.In the 90th over, opener Jadhav’s lengthy and painstaking 283-minutevigil, realising 63 runs (six 4’s), came to an end when off spinnerRamesh Powar won a leg before decision and at stumps wicketkeeper NGGavas was keeping Sodhi company. For NCA, Patel with 2/35 from 19overs produced the best figures among the eight bowlers used.