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The Interim Board of Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Saturday welcomed the decision taken by the majority of the Members’ Council to accept the principle of a majority independent Board led by an independent Chairperson. This paves the way for the formal amendment of CSA’s Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) and sets the cricket administration on a new governance path. Interim Board Chair, Stavros Nicolaou, in an official statement said: “This is a landmark moment for South African cricket administration. It lays a solid foundation for transparent and sound governance in the future. It is 9 years since the Nicholson Report recommended a majority independent Board and the moment has finally been seized to make a clean break with the past. It is a step in the direction of transparent, innovative and best practice governance for cricket. “A new Board, comprised …

Mohammad Rizwan continued his excellent form against the Proteas by recording yet another half-century as Pakistan scripted their highest-ever T20I run-chase to take a 1-0 lead in their four-match series with a four-wicket win in Johannesburg on Saturday. The right-hander crafted an unbeaten 74 off 50 balls (9 fours, 2 sixes) to help the tourists chase down a testing 189-run target with one delivery to spare. Stand-in captain Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram had earlier struck half-centuries in a strong batting display by South Africa – the former striking an aggressive 50 off 28 balls (2 fours, 4 sixes) and the latter a slightly slower 51 off 32 balls (8 fours, 1 six). Beuran Hendricks then grabbed three for 32 and Tabraiz Shamsi two for 29 to put the home side on the front foot during the chase, but destructive …

Mohammad Hafeez will become the second Pakistan player and sixth overall to feature in 100 T20Is when he takes the field against South Africa in the first of the four men’s Twenty20 Internationals at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday. Hafeez’ T20 form is solid at the moment, with the hosts having lost the ODIs. Hafeez, 40, is one shy of reaching the three-figure mark and all set to join the exclusive club of Shoaib Malik (116), Rohit Sharma (111), Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan, and Ross Taylor (102) who have appeared in 100 or more T20Is since the inception of the shortest format of the game in February 2005. Hafeez featured in Pakistan’s first-ever T20I in August 2006 in Bristol and scored 46 in Pakistan’s five-wicket victory over England. Interestingly, Hafeez’s 50th appearance was also at the Wanderers Stadium …

All-rounder Wihan Lubbe and pacer Lizaad Williams, on Thursday received their maiden call-ups to the Proteas men’s squad. Lubbe has been included in the T20 squad while Williams has been named in both the ODI and T20 squads for the upcoming limited-overs series against Pakistan at the end of this month. The likes of Kagiso Rabada, David Miller, Faf du Plessis, Anrich Nortje, Imran Tahir and Chris Morris have been rested for the T20I series against Pakistan, beginning April 10 and as a result, all these players would be able to participate in the Indian Premier League from the start. The ODI series against Pakistan is set to get over on April 7, and depending on the quarantine protocols, the Proteas players won’t be missing much of the IPL. Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday named the squads to be …

After clinching the ODI series 4-1 against India, South Africa women skipper Sune Luus said that playing in Durban against Pakistan has helped the side tackle Indian spinners in the five-match series.Mignon du Preez (57) and Anne Bosch (58) starred with the bat as SA defeated India by five wickets The victory came in the fifth and final ODI here at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Wednesday to take the series 4-1. The visitors played the Indians spinners confidently throughout the series and the skipper credited the Pakistan series in Durban for the success. “We had the Pakistan series before coming to India and we played in Durban which is kind of sub-continent conditions. We had a lot of spin and that rewarded us. We were mentally ready for the 30-40 overs of the spin. We had a positive mindset …

It was in June last year that Nitin Menon was inducted in ICC’s Elite Panel of Umpires, and in eight months’ time, the Indian official has managed to capture the imagination of cricket pundits with the discipline he showed in the recently-concluded four-match Test series between India and England. The 37-year-old officiated in all four Tests between India and England and was seen at the top of his game, giving top-class decisions on challenging wickets. Rarely was a decision of his overturned by the third umpire and he was so impressive that even cricketing greats like Sunil Gavaskar took note of his performance. In an interaction with ANI, Menon spoke about how challenging the series was for him as an umpire and how he wants to see more Indian umpires being named in ICC’s Elite Panel. He also threw light …

Ahmedabad Feb 25: The English batsmen had no answer to the spin duo of Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin in their second essay of the pink-ball Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday as they were bundled out for just 81 to hand India a winning target of 49 runs to go 2-1 up in the four-match series. The completion of the England innings saw 17 wickets fall across two sessions on the second day. Joe Root and Jack Leach’s domination in the opening session was indication enough that the English batsmen would have their task cut out in the second innings. And that is exactly how it panned out as Axar picked his third consecutive fifer in Test cricket. If Axar finished with 11 wickets in the game (six in the first innings and five in the second), …

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp analyzed his team’s defeat against Everton and said they conceded a “completely unnecessary” first goal before adding that his side failed to capitalise on their chances in the match. Liverpool’s dismal run in the Premier League continued after they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Everton here on Saturday. It was Everton’s first Premier League win at Anfield since 1999 and the victory powered them to go level on points with the Jurgen Klopp’s side. “We conceded a completely unnecessary first goal and we should not forget that. That’s a big part of the game. There were two big parts. You have to defend and we have to score. In one situation we didn’t defend well enough, so they could score, we made a mistake if you want. And we didn’t use their mistakes or we didn’t …