A few weeks after leading England to an historic series win, Alastair Cook and his team are heading back to India for the demands of a one-day series

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Jan-2013There is no need to ask Alastair Cook what his New Year’s resolution is. As he walked with a relaxed stride on Wednesday evening to board the flight to India, to lead England in the one-day series, he only had victory on his mind. And nothing was going to betray his confidence.You can remind him about India being the defending world champions in the 50-over format. You can remind him about the 5-0 annihilation MS Dhoni’s men inflicted on England in late 2011, not to mention the same in 2008 and the 6-1 drubbing in 2005-06. But Cook can equally shoot back out about the historic triumph against India in the Test leg, which allowed the England players to celebrate a lovely Christmas at home. And without being combative, he could at the same time remind you that England, and not India, are the No.1 on the ODI rankings.Of course, Cook did not say any of those things at the team departure press conference. What he did say, though, was the one-day players will do well to adopt a similar approach and work ethic as practiced by the Test squad: adapt, work hard and enjoy.”We can definitely take some confidence as a batting unit, especially the way we handled their spinners after that first innings in Ahmedabad. We have got to do something like that once again in the ODIs if we want to win.”Yet Cook is aware of the challenge awaiting his team. Missing from the first-choice ODI squad are the trio of James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Jonathan Trott ,who have been allowed to rest as part of the selectors’ plan to keep England squads competitive at all times across all formats, along with Jonny Bairstow who is on compassionate leave.”Every time you start the tour it is a huge challenge,” Cook said. “I sat here two-and-half months ago saying to win a Test series in India would be an amazing experience and to do that was a great effort by the whole squad. India in their backyard in one-day cricket is again a huge challenge for us. We lost 5-0 last time, so it will be a good measure of us as a side to see how we have improved. But again we have got a squad that is capable of doing something special.”England have done special things in the last few years but one of the key driving forces, Andy Flower, the team director, will be absent this time India. Flower and the ECB recently agreed that he had to achieve a “realistic and sustainable work-life balance”, he had to take frequent breaks. Under Flower, since May 2007, England’s ODI record win-loss record was 60-52 in 120 matches. In 2012 England won 12 ODIs and lost two with series wins against Pakistan (4-0 in UAE), Australia (4-0 at home) and West Indies (2-0 at home).To try and help ensure a smooth transition as Flower steps aside from the one-day squad, the ECB the former England left-arm spinner and current selector Ashley Giles. Asked if the relationship with Giles, with whom he has never worked in a similar manner before, would be hard to establish, Cook disagreed.He said Giles was an important influence when he entered the England dressing room for the first time in 2006. According to Cook, Giles was the facilitator, acting as the channel between the players and Duncan Fletcher, the then England coach.”He was a senior citizen of the side when I went to Pakistan. He was kind of called the dad in one way,” he said. “He was that gel in the middle of the team, always looking after players. He was the bridge between Duncan Fletcher and some of the players and I see him carrying along that kind of relationship with the players now as a coach.”Flower, Cook maintains, remains the “boss” and is just a “telephone call” away in case of any emergency. But that did not mean they would have to wait for him to take every call as it was the responsibility of him and Giles to take forward the ODI team. The key in making sure this new coaching set-up runs smoothly is to communicate openly and clearly.”It is an unknown territory and we haven’t done it before,” Cook said. “But it is a bit like the three captains. It was new, it was fresh and I thought it worked really well because of the energy those three captains brought to each different side. And I can see this having the same effect on the coaching side with Test and ODIs being split. We all will have to work hard on the relationship and we all are going to have to communicate really well to do it. But as we get used to it, the relationship will improve.”Neither does Cook want comparisons drawn between Giles and Flower. “Of course, they are going to be different because they are different characters, they are different people. What is important is all three of us work together and have a strong relationship because you do need a strong leadership. Gilo will have to get used to me as a captain and I’ll have to get used to him as a coach just like I Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss did.”Like any good forward-thinking leader, Cook did not waste time and has taken the initiative to meet Giles a “few times”, to make sure both men get acquainted to each other’s styles and thoughts quickly. The next few weeks will not define the partnership, but it will lay down some early markers.

A day after India and Pakistan met to decide who would finish last in the tournament, another traditional rivalry, between Australia and England, will kick off the Super Six stage

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai07-Feb-2013A day after India and Pakistan met to decide who would finish last in the tournament, another traditional rivalry, between Australia and England, will kick off the Super Six stage. Brabourne Stadium is miles away from Lord’s or the SCG, but as England allrounder Arran Brindle put it, regardless of the venue, “a game against Australia means a huge amount to both teams.”While most of the spotlight was on Group A, which had the defending champions England, hosts India, exciting West Indies and surprise package Sri Lanka, Australia quietly racked up three wins out of three in Group B in Cuttack. They are the only side to have carried the maximum possible four points into the Super Six stage. If anything, they have only upped their level over the past week, as have England following the shock last-ball defeat to Sri Lanka. In Australia’s final group game, against New Zealand, they chased down 228 with more than 11 overs and seven wickets to spare.”I think we have actually been able to improve over those three games,” Lisa Sthalekar, the Australia allrounder, said. “The first two games [v Pakistan and v South Africa] were against an opposition we weren’t familiar with. We were faced with some difficult situations but we were able to get through and then the last game against the Kiwis we finally came out with the type of game we wanted to play in this tournament.”That was in Cuttack, though, on the eastern part of India. On the western seafront in Mumbai, Sthalekar said conditions were different. “In Cuttack there wasn’t a lot of turn. The wicket was two-paced and had variable bounce, especially the game against South Africa. The wicket that we played against New Zealand was truer and that reflected in the scores.”Here, what we had been able to see over the televised matches and in our warm-ups, there’s a bit of turn that excites me as a spinner. The fast outfield and the warm-ups that we played here have given us a good insight as to what the wicket will hold.”England have played two of their three group games at Brabourne Stadium and Sthalekar admitted that gave them a slight advantage. “They have played three more matches to get an idea of the pitch and the conditions. It depends on what wicket you were on and how many times that has been played. But I still feel that our match – the warm-up – was a good enough preparation. We just trained out there which is similar conditions so the girls are getting a good grip and understanding of the wicket. They might have a slight advantage but we are coming here fresh as well, so they might be a bit over the scenery.”Brindle said England now knew the lines and lengths they needed to bowl at Brabourne Stadium and felt the surprise loss to Sri Lanka in their opening game had been an early wake-up call. “As soon as you lose a game in any competition it makes you re-evaluate and fine-tune every part,” Brindle said. “We have done that in the last two games. We are looking to carry that into the Super Six. I think you sometimes learn more in defeat than you do when you go on winning every game.”We have played the last few games with the pressure of having had to win those games. If we perform like we have had, we’ll be a tough side to beat.”England are yet to beat Australia in an ODI at a neutral venue, following 13 defeats and a tie. The previous time the two sides met on neutral territory, in October 2012 in Colombo, Australia won the Women’s World Twenty20 final by four runs.

Mumbai Indians have appointed former Australia captain Ricky Ponting as their captain for the sixth edition of IPL

Amol Karhadkar21-Feb-2013Mumbai Indians have appointed former Australia captain Ricky Ponting as their captain for the sixth edition of IPL, which starts from April 3.Ponting, who retired from international cricket at the end of 2012, was bought at the base price of $400,000 during the player auction earlier this month. Despite the buzz circulating around Sachin Tendulkar to be re-appointed as the captain ahead of the auction, the new Mumbai think-tank of mentor Anil Kumble and coach John Wright have zeroed-in on Ponting to lead the side.Mumbai explained the change of heart through a media statement. “Ricky has a lot of experience to lead a competitive and a high-profile side like Mumbai Indians in the IPL,” Kumble said. “Sachin readily agreed to my suggestion that Mumbai Indians is best served when he leads the batting unburdened by the rigours of captaincy. It was our idea (Sachin and mine) to bring in Ricky as the captain of the Mumbai Indians.”However, Mumbai’s tactics of creating a buzz around Tendulkar to be re-instated as the captain were termed as an “eyewash” ahead of the auction. “Mumbai Indians were not the only team who were interested in Ponting at the auction. So just to take the attention away from the former Australia captain, it seems they would have adopted the strategy of floating Tendulkar’s name as the captain [on the eve of the auction],” an official from another franchise said.Ponting, however, was looking forward to the new responsibility. “It’s a huge honour and I thank Mrs [Nita] Ambani and the Mumbai Indians management for the faith they have reposed in my abilities. Mumbai Indians has the potent combination of Indian and international cricketers and I look forward to leading the team to play to its full potential,” said Ponting, who made a brief appearance for Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008.The owners of the Mumbai franchise, IndiaWin Sports Pvt Ltd – a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd – were delighted to have Tendulkar and Ponting as a potential opening partnership. “On behalf of the Mumbai Indians family, I welcome Ricky Ponting to the team as the leader of the side,” said Nita Ambani. “Today we have world’s two biggest cricketing greats in Sachin and Ricky, and I am sure the duo will be an inspiration for the youngsters in the team. Sachin will always be an integral and important part of Mumbai Indians’ leadership. Ricky will bring in fresh perspective in the team leadership and will have the support of the best cricketing minds like Sachin, Anil and John Wright.”

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke was taken by ambulance to Sutherland hospital in Sydney overnight after suffering a severe bout of gastroenteritis

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2013Australia’s captain Michael Clarke was taken by ambulance to Sutherland hospital in Sydney overnight after suffering a severe bout of gastroenteritis.Having returned home early from the Test tour of India due to back and hamstring problems that have since ruled him out of the IPL, Clarke was waylaid by the stomach trouble on Sunday night and treated overnight before returning to his home on Monday.”Cricket Australia today advised that Michael Clarke was hospitalised overnight with gastroenteritis,” a CA statement said. “Clarke has since been discharged from hospital and CA confirms that he is recovering at home.”Clarke is working to return to fitness in time for the Champions Trophy tournament in England which serves as a precursor to this year’s Ashes series.

Opening batsman Alviro Petersen has replaced the injured Graeme Smith in South Africa’s Champions Trophy squad

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2013Alviro Petersen has replaced his Test opening partner, Graeme Smith in South Africa’s Champions Trophy squad. Smith has been ruled out following the recurrence of an ankle injury that requires surgery. Petersen will partner Hashim Amla at the top of the order to bring stability to a South African line-up that will be without Smith and Jacques Kallis, after the latter opted out due to personal reasons. He was picked on the value of his experience, strong county form and a modest record in the format, despite not having played an ODI since January 2012.In the last month, Petersen has scored 537 runs for Somerset across the county championship and the Yorkshire Bank 40 series to enjoy what convener of selectors, Andrew Hudson called the “form of his life.” More importantly for Hudson, it proves Petersen has adjusted well to English conditions, which South Africa see as a challenge they must overcome if they hope to lift ICC silverware for the first time in 15 years.”With the tournament being played early in the England summer, we envisage that bowling conditions will favour the seamers and getting good partnerships going up front is going to be paramount to success,” Hudson said.Patience is one of the hallmarks of Petersen’s game, as he showed during his 182 at Headingley during South Africa’s tour of England last year. “He is a proper, proven opening batter,” Geoff Toyana, Peterson’s coach at the Lions franchise in South Africa, said. “He is technically sound and he knows how to build an innings.”Although Petersen played only one 50-over game for the Lions last season, due to international commitments, Toyana chose to use him in the final when he was available. He scored 56, batting at No.4 in the washed-out encounter.He also played an important part in the Lions Twenty20 campaign, which they won. In those matches, Petersen also batted in the middle-order as part of the Lions’ plan to “see his other game”. Toyana explained they wanted Petersen to show he could accelerate when needed.”We wanted to show what he could do when the field was out, and he could clear boundaries and hit into gaps. He adapted to that very well, he showed he can hit the ball in the latter stages of the innings,” Toyana said. “I think he can get that balance right for South Africa, as well. He is a smart guy and he will work it out. He knows it’s a great opportunity for him especially because he has not played much one-day cricket.”While scoring runs will be Petersen’s primary job, he will also have to fill in for Smith in the leadership role. South Africa’s one-day squad is notably lacking in players of stature on whom AB de Villiers has leaned on heavily in the past to assist in decision-making. As captain of the Lions, and a regular member of the Test team, Petersen has earned the respect of his compatriots and will be in a position to assist de Villiers if needed.That “added value” Petersen can offer is, according to Toyana and Hudson, what tipped the scale in his favour and saw him picked over the liked of Henry Davids or Quinton de Kock.The former will be forgiven for feeling aggrieved. Davids is 33 years old, has done his time on the domestic scene and has played a handful of Twenty20 matches for South Africa with some success. But, he has no playing experience in the UK.De Kock will have less reason to consider himself snubbed. He has had a tough time at the IPL, where he has played just three matches for Sunrises Hyderabad and managed six runs. Toyana, who also coaches de Kock at franchise level, had comforting words for the 20-year-old. “His time will come,” he said.

Essex’s head coach Paul Grayson has issued a public apology over what he described as the county’s “shambolic” display in losing to Northamptonshire by an innings

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2013Essex’s head coach Paul Grayson has issued a public apology over what he described as the county’s “shambolic” display in losing to Northamptonshire by an innings in Division Two of the Championship at Northampton last week.Grayson’s admission that Essex’s performance was “totally unacceptable” has brought further problems for the county in a week when the spot-fixing shame surrounding the county again returned to prominence.Danish Kaneria’s appeal against his life ban for spot fixing while playing for Essex is being heard by the ECB in London this week – and a former Essex bowler, Mervyn Westfield, who was jailed after being found guilty of involvement, has only agreed to give evidence to the hearing after he was ordered to do so by the High Court.Grayson, whose six-year tenure has now reached a critical stage, said: “As head coach, I feel that I wish to publicly express my apologies to all members and supporters for the shambolic performance produced by the Essex players that resulted in an innings defeat at Northamptonshire last week.”At one stage on day two with only two first-innings wickets intact, our opponents were still trailing by 12 runs but by the time the final two wickets had been claimed, they had forged a lead of 216 runs. We then generally batted poorly to add to the obvious shortcomings in the bowling department, all resulting in a defeat by a highly embarrassing margin.”I feel that it is right that our members and supporters should be aware that the players have been told in no uncertain terms that their performance, as a team, was totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”I can assure you that changes will be made for the next match that starts on Monday week against Hampshire at Chelmsford.”I feel that it is important to stress to our members and supporters that I, and the coaching staff, will continue to do everything in our powers to bring success to this club but the players have, of course, a major part to play if that desire we hold is to be realised.”The coaching staff have every confidence in the potential of the squad and we will continue to all work together to get our season back on track.”

Ricky Ponting knows that coming out of Test retirement for an Ashes recall is exceptionally unlikely, but he would consider such a move if Australia came calling

Brydon Coverdale and David Hopps29-May-2013For a few, brief hours, Ashes nostalgia got the better of Ricky Ponting as he indicated that he would be prepared to answer an SOS call from Michael Clarke and help out Australia in the Ashes.”You wouldn’t say no, would you, if that call came and I would never say never,” Ponting told the when asked if he would consider an Ashes comeback. “But you have to say a call-up like that now is extremely unlikely.”But never again the twain shall meet, unless it’s for a beer as Michael Clarke’s men tour the country. A Ponting return would have been akin to a desperate England sending for a 41-year-old Colin Cowdrey midway through the 1974-75 Ashes. In other words, it sounded from the outset as likely as David Warner hiring Robert Craddock to write his biography.A good night’s sleep later, Ponting reconfirmed his international retirement. He had never seriously intended to suggest he was fingering his mobile, awaiting a call. One of cricket’s toughest performers was just indulging in a flight of fancy.”I did an interview with the Mail yesterday and probably didn’t answer this question exactly the way I would have liked,” he told Sky Sports. “I’m a happily retired international cricketer. There’ll be a squad of 17, 18 players and there’ll be reserve batsmen on standby, ready to go if anyone in the starting XI loses a bit of form.”I won’t be playing Ashes cricket this time, there’s no doubt about that. I’m pleased everyone out there thinks that there’s still an opportunity, that I might be good enough to play, but I’m happily retired and it’s time for the young guys now to make the most of their opportunities.”To date, Michael Vaughan, his opposite number as England captain in 2005, has been able to keep his excitement in check. Clarke, too, presented a straight bat when asked about a possibly Ponting return at his Champions Trophy press conference in Cardiff on Wednesday.”You should never say never in life, that’s for sure, but I think Ricky also made it very clear that his time had finished at international level,” Clarke said. “He’s retired from the Australian cricket team. I hear he’s very focused and excited about being a part of the Surrey team. Right now we have a 15-man Champions Trophy squad, and then we’ll have a 16-man Ashes squad. Ricky is not selected in either of those squads at this stage.”Ponting will be in England for a county stint with Surrey in June and July and it could make for an interesting sideshow if he continues the first-class form that he showed for Tasmania after his Test retirement – he topped the Sheffield Shield run tally with 911 at 75.91. Australia’s batsmen struggled in India in February and March on their first Test tour since the departures of Ponting and Michael Hussey and several top-order men will enter the Ashes under pressure.There is no question that Ponting’s decision to play on after giving up the captaincy was made with this Ashes tour in mind. But by the end of the home series against South Africa late last year, when he was embarrassed at his output of 32 runs in five innings, he knew that the time had come to retire, or risk a tap on the shoulder from the selectors.”I felt Australia would have been a stronger side in this Ashes with both me and Mike Hussey in the side,” Ponting said. “The Ashes are the pinnacle and England is the greatest tour to be on. But the bottom line is I just wasn’t good enough any more to be a part of this team. I knew that.Ricky Ponting topped the Sheffield Shield run tally last summer•Getty Images

“Hussey is missing because of different circumstances and I’m surprised he’s not here but I know how hard it can be to keep on touring with a young family. As for me, my time had just come. I knew it so I had to bow out against South Africa. It’s down to the young lads now.”While they’re all young lads to Ponting, some members of Australia’s squad are not so youthful by international cricket standards: the selectors hope that the recall of the 35-year-olds Chris Rogers and Brad Haddin will add some experience and stability to the side. Much will depend on the form of Clarke, but Ponting believes the series could be closer than many people expect and he said the output of the other batsmen like Warner, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes and Shane Watson would be critical.”I think it’s going to be a lot tighter than a lot of people have been saying,” he said. “There has been a lot of doom and gloom and negativity about our side but not too long ago we were all being pretty positive about where we stood. Our batting is the key. If it can stand up to the English bowling then we will be competitive. We have a good, solid number of bowlers and our young quicks are really exciting as a fast-bowling group.”England are a very good side, and they played exceptionally well against us in Australia last time. I must admit Alastair Cook surprised me in that series but I see he’s just got his 25th Test century and he’s proving a worthy successor as captain to Andrew Strauss. Joe Root looks a good young player, Jonny Bairstow has something about him and when Kevin Pietersen is fit England will be getting a world-class player again. They are a quality side – but quality sides have been beaten in the past.”Another important factor for the Australians will be their preparation and off-field efforts, which slipped so significantly on the Indian tour that Clarke, coach Mickey Arthur and team manager Gavin Dovey suspended four players for not completed a so-called “homework task”. Ponting said he was uncertain how he would have dealt with such issues if he had still been in charge.”I can understand what the captain and coach were trying to achieve but I’m not sure I totally agree with what happened,” he said. “I don’t know for sure how I would have handled that situation but those type of things didn’t happen when I was captain.”

India have name an unchanged squad from the one playing in the Champions Trophy for the ODI tri-series in the West Indies, which begins on June 28

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2013

India team for tri-series v WI, SL

MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Shikhar Dhawan, M Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Irfan Pathan, Amit Mishra, Vinay Kumar

India have named an unchanged squad from the one playing in the Champions Trophy for the ODI tri-series in the West Indies, which begins on June 28. The continuity is reflective of the team’s success in the ongoing tournament, where they have reached the semi-finals after winning all their group matches.The squad includes five seam bowlers in Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Irfan Pathan and Vinay Kumar, and three spinners: R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra. MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and M Vijay constitute the batting.India will travel to the West Indies following the Champions Trophy, for the series that also includes the hosts and Sri Lanka.The make-up of the squad indicates that the Indian selectors, in relation to the one-day team, have turned their focus firmly on World Cup 2015. India had fielded a new-look team for the Champions Trophy, dropping seniors like Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh. These players as well as others – including Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh – who had been central to India’s success over the previous decade but have had form and injury issues of late, remain sidelined.

India A’s batsmen have faltered twice in chases against Australia A in a series full of huge totals. Will it be any different in the final?

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit13-Aug-2013

Match facts

August 14, Pretoria
Start time 0930 (0730 GMT)India A’s batsmen have come up short against Australia A twice this series•Getty Images

Big Picture

It looked an excellent plan on paper. Send your fringe players, and a few first-choice batsmen, to South Africa on an A tour three months before the senior side travels to the country. Ideally, far better preparation than any camp in home conditions would have been. The main course – the two unofficial Tests – are yet to arrive, but going by what has happened in the one-day tri-series, India A haven’t missed home much.The pitch at the LC de Villiers Oval in Pretoria has been so flat the South Africa A captain Justin Ontong has been left hoping for some grass on the wickets for the unofficial Tests. Given that one of them will be played on the same ground, Ontong might as well put in a prayer along with hoping.India A have not experienced what the senior team management might have wanted them to, but they have done what they usually do on such pitches back home. The batsmen have prospered, the bowlers have suffered. In their defence, the other sides have fared similarly.Barring the opening match, the side batting first has scored big and won, although the biggest margin has been only 39 runs. India A have made 291 and 285 and still lost, both times to Australia A. They have also shown off their batting firepower as they often do in one-dayers in benign conditions, plundering 309 in 38 overs against South Africa A. Shikhar Dhawan’s astonishing 248 helped them to 433 against the same opposition.However, it is Australia A, and not the hosts, who await India A in the final. They are the only side to chase successfully in this series. They then went ahead and defended successfully from a seemingly lost cause as India A choked.Just like their opponents in the final, Australia A have several international players, who will be eyeing selection for the limited-overs leg of the senior side’s dismal England tour. “Hopefully some of the performances coming off the back of this tour have got some guys in there,” Aaron Finch, the Australia A captain, said. “Some of the guys definitely have their fingers crossed.” Unlike India A, they can claim their workout in South Africa has been ideal, and timely.

In the spotlight

Suresh Raina has been India A’s most economical bowler. While all the batsmen are internationals, India A have come with an inexperienced bowling attack. The spinners are yet to play for the senior side, as are two of the fast bowlers. Mohammed Shami and Jaydev Unadkat are raw in international cricket. All of them have been expensive, but Ishwar Pandey came in for praise from the coach Lalchand Rajput in his only match of the series. Rajput said Pandey came back strongly after an expensive opening spell against South Africa A to bowl several yorkers at the death and pick up four wickets. India A will need plenty more of them.Glenn Maxwell has taken a liking to the Indians this series. He savaged them for an unbeaten 145 off 79 at No. 7 to launch Australia A from 152 for 8 to 298 for 8. That earned him a promotion to No. 4, from where he hit 93 off 56. What does he have in store for India A in the final?

Quotes

“There has been a run fest for the batters on this pitch and a hard time for the medium-pacers. We have a team of pretty aggressive players and we’re all very experienced in one-day cricket, we’re very confident of our abilities and it’s been good that we haven’t quite played our best cricket and yet we’ve won three matches so far.”

Simon Harmer produced the best bowling figures for South Africa A to guide them to a comprehensive seven-wicket win, and 1-0 series win, against Australia A in the second unofficial Test in Rustenberg

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2013
ScorecardOffspinner Simon Harmer produced the best bowling figures for South Africa A to guide them to a comprehensive seven-wicket win, and 1-0 series win, against Australia A in the second unofficial Test in Rustenberg.Harmer ended the innings with 8 for 87, and in the process, bettered the previous record held by medium pacer Alan Dawson who took 6 for 44 against Sri Lanka A in 1998/99.Australia A began the day at a steady 112 for 2, but the hosts seized back the initiative as Harmer, the Man of the Match, dismissed Alex Doolan, Tim Paine and Glen Maxwell in the first session.Nic Maddinson, much akin to his one-man show in the first innings, once again stood out for Australia A with a fighting 90. He struck 12 fours, but with wickets falling regularly at the other end, Australia A failed to build any substantial partnership and were subsequently bowled out for 277. Apart from Chadd Sayers’ run-out, Harmer picked up all the other wickets that Australia A lost on the third day.Chasing a modest 68, South Africa A completed the victory in just over 15 overs, but after losing their top three batsmen. Haroon Lorgat, the newly-appointed CSA chief, commended the team on the result. “This is a highly encouraging result against opponents who are always tough to beat,” he said, “and an encouraging acknowledgement of the depth we have in multi-day cricket.”This was a classic display from our point of view in that our seamers bowled the Australians out in less than 40 overs after losing the toss and then our specialist spinner, Simon Harmer, took an outstanding 8/87 in the second. This incidentally is one of the best ever bowling performances at this level.”From a batting point of view it was highly encouraging to see three of our batsmen – Dean Elgar, Thami Tsolekile and Rilee Rossouw – all make big centuries during the series.”Coach Vinnie Barnes and captain Justin Ontong and the rest of the squad are to be congratulated on their outstanding performance. We now look forward to next week’s triangular limited overs series that also features a very strong India A side.”The triangular ODI series between the three teams starts on August 6.