All posts by n8rngtd.top

McAndrew’s maiden 10-wicket haul and McSweeney’s scores of 64 and 100 helped South Australia to a 186-run win

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2023Nathan McAndrew and Nathan McSweeney have propelled South Australia to a commanding 186-run win that extends New South Wales’ winless streak in the Sheffield Shield.McAndrew produced the most dominant individual bowling performance of the competition so far this season, taking two five-wicket hauls including 5 for 19 in the second innings that restricted the Blues to totals of 183 and 136 at Adelaide Oval. It marked the first time the New South Wales’-born paceman, 30, had taken 10 wickets in a first-class match.It wasn’t enough to claim player of the match honours though with McSweeney rewarded for his superb batting display, making 64 and 100 in a low-scoring match where only three players passed 50. The next highest score in the match was just 58 from Daniel Hughes. No other South Australia batted passed 33 in either innings.McAndrew began the final day with nine wickets already to his name in the match having ripped through the Blues late on day three, taking 4 for 19, as the visitors slumped to 99 for 6 chasing 323 runs for victory in the fourth innings.But there was a chance his 10th wicket would not come. He was strangely not used by captain Jake Lehmann in the first seven overs of the day as Blues duo Jack Edwards and Jack Nisbet added 25 runs for the seventh wicket before Conway broke through.McAndrew was called on from the other end and bowled a maiden first up but Conway added another wicket to his tally in the following over as Edwards pulled one straight down fine leg’s throat. McAndrew bowled another maiden before Conway removed Chris Tremain to grab a fourth wicket for the innings and leave New South Wales nine-down.But McAndrew was able to his 10th with Jackson Bird caught in the gully as the Blues were bowled out for 136.

It was a good day for the two Melbourne sides as Renegades pulled off a last-ball thriller

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2024A classy half-century from Indian opener Yastika Bhatia powered the Melbourne Stars to a comprehensive seven-wicket WBBL win over Hobart Hurricanes.Nicola Carey and Chloe Tryon lifted Hurricanes to 133 for 7 batting first at Junction Oval on Sunday. But Stars were always on top in the run-chase, reaching their target comfortably with 13 balls to spare.Bhatia top-scored with 57 from 46 balls, the left-handed wicketkeeper-batter striking seven fours and one six in a superb knock. Meg Lanning and captain Annabel Sutherland also played important roles with the bat.”Meg really helped me when I was in the middle in the (power) surge,” Bhatia told . “She told me exactly what the bowlers were going to bowl, so it helped me out in the middle. Also, my family is here, so it’s a special moment for me.”Heather Graham removed both Stars openers, and Carey claimed the key wicket of Lanning.Marizanne Kapp and Kim Garth helped put the clamps on Hurricanes. Indian offspinner Deepti Sharma took 1 for 27 from four overs in her first Stars appearance.

Western Australia extended their lead with a solid batting performance against Tasmania on day two of their Sheffield Shield game in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Hilton Cartwright struck nine fours and four sixes in his 145-ball 94•Getty Images

A solid first-innings batting effort from Western Australia extended their advantage against Tasmania in their Sheffield Shield match in Hobart. Resuming on 1 for 149, Western Australia went on to post 410 on the back of fifties from Hilton Cartwright (94), Cameron Bancroft (84) and Josh Inglis (55).Bancroft and Cartwright added 98 for the second wicket, but Tasmania’s bowlers chipped away thereafter, reducing Western Australia to 8 for 369. Wicketkeeper Inglis, batting at No. 7, struck a counter-attacking half-century off just 48 balls to push Western Australia’s lead to 212. Cameron Stevenson picked up three wickets, while Simon Milenko and Cameron Boyce took two wickets each.Tasmania lost their openers within the first four overs of their second innings. In the eighth over, Alex Doolan was caught off fast bowler David Moody and Beau Webster was dismissed four overs later, as Tasmania slumped to 4 for 37. George Bailey and nightwatchman Stevenson took Tasmania to stumps, still trailing by 154.

The pink ball, floodlights and the Gabba’s often lively pitch will make for a high octane contest between two sides well stocked with speed

The Preview by Daniel Brettig14-Dec-2016

Match facts

December 15-19, 2016
Start time 1300 local (0300 GMT)3:31

Coverdale: Pakistan quicks could cause trouble under lights

Big Picture

A day-night Test for Brisbane has been unveiled in order to draw greater crowds to the Gabba, but the combination of the pink ball, floodlights and the ground’s often lively pitch will make for a high octane contest between two sides well stocked with speed. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have both prospered here in the past, the latter notably putting on a sublime display on debut against India to help deliver a victory in Steven Smith’s first match as Australian captain. Starc, meanwhile, has been shifting up through the gears since he was rushed back from injury against South Africa, and appears to be finding his very best rhythm in time for Brisbane.Pakistan, of course, have a surfeit of pacemen capable of making the ball bend, in Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir a left-arm combination duo capable of reducing any batting order to ruins. Dangerous, too, will be the wristspin of Yasir Shah, on a ground Shane Warne has always professed to love, though Australia’s batsmen have historically attacked visiting spin bowlers with significant success in Brisbane – just ask Graeme Swann. Critical to the visitors’ chances of unseating the Australians at a ground they feel more at home at than any other will be the holding of catches – scores went down during the recent series loss in New Zealand, with the fielding coach Steve Rixon trying to rectify that in Australia.While the hosts have plenty of advantages, not least greater experience against the pink ball, it should not be forgotten that Australia’s confidence is only in the very early stages of restoration, following five consecutive defeats that culminated in the Hobart humiliation. Pakistan, by contrast, were humbled across the Tasman but have a far sturdier record behind them earlier in the year – the share of a series in England to briefly claim the world No. 1 ranking was a remarkable achievement. In what shapes to be one of the captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s final series, a victory in Australia would be the sweetest icing on his cake. To start that quest at the Gabba in conditions that will suit his pacemen but challenge his batsmen will turn to be either a blessing or curse

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)


Australia: WLLLL

Pakistan: LLLWW

In the spotlight

So far this summer, Usman Khawaja has batted with plenty of determination to succeed, cutting down on some of the more flamboyant strokeplay he offered up last season to become a senior member of the Australian top order. His sound judgment of line will be critical in Brisbane, a ground he knows well as captain of Queensland. It will be up to him, Matt Renshaw and David Warner to ward off Pakistan’s considerable new ball threat.Before England, before the no-ball, before the prison sentence and the exile from the game, Mohammad Amir came to Australia as a teenager on Pakistan’s last Test series visit and impressed all with his speed, swing and stamina. Older and wiser, he still has the ability to swing the ball at high pace, and has the potential to cause chaos in the Australian batting order if he gets it right – and if Pakistan are able to hold onto their catches.How the Gabba pitch plays under lights will be a question on the minds of both sides•Melinda Farrell/ESPNcricinfo

Teams news

Australia are set to take an unchanged team into the Gabba Test following their victory, also with the pink ball, over South Africa in Adelaide.Australia (probable) 1 Matt Renshaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Nic Maddinson, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Josh Hazlewood, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jackson BirdMisbah-ul-Haq and Yasir Shah were both missing from Pakistan’s previous Test XI against New Zealand, but both are expected to resume their customary positions in Brisbane.Pakistan (probable) 1 Sami Aslam, 2 Azhar Ali, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Rahat Ali

Pitch and conditions

Kevin Mitchell Jnr, the Gabba curator, is shaving the grass on the pitch down to 2mm – considerably shorter than for the Adelaide day-night Test and a pretty standard level for any Gabba Test. “Pretty well standard, along the same lines as normal,” he said. “We’ve got a reasonable amount of grass cover on the wicket so we think that’s going to play the same as a normal day Test.”The surface will nonetheless be hard and bouncy with some lateral movement on offer for the pacemen early on. The unknown is how it will play at night – the pink ball can be expected to swing. The weather forecast is fine initially with the chance of some rain over the weekend.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have never beaten Australia in Brisbane, losing three times and drawing once
• The most recent meeting between the sides was in the first Test of the 1999 series. Australia won by 10 wickets in what was Adam Gilchrist’s debut match
• Pakistan drew series in Australia in 1976-77 and 1978-79 but have lost every series since – seven in all

Quotes

“For us the key is adapting to conditions, and if we can adapt to conditions quick enough we’ll be fine. I constantly remind the players if we can be getting 270, 280, 300, we’re in the game because we’ve got the ability to take 20 wickets.”

A three-wicket opening burst was stopped after five overs and the game changed

Andrew McGlashan07-Sep-2022Australia’s deep batting order appears to have spooked New Zealand in to not taking a more attacking option in the field during the first ODI with scrutiny over Trent Boult’s opening spell being stopped at five overs and the delay in bringing him back.Boult had 3 for 12 after a brilliant burst of swing bowling and Australia were 38 for 4 after 10 overs when he was withdrawn from the attack. Matt Henry maintained the pressure by removing Marcus Stoinis to leave the home side 44 for 5, but Boult did not reappear until the 29th over by which time the match-defining stand between Alex Carey and Cameron Green had taken shape.Related

• Top 10 Chappell-Hadlee classics ft. McCullum, Symonds, Stoinis

• Cameron Green, Alex Carey star as Australia seal thrilling victory

• 'Couldn't really walk for a second' – Cameron Green after sensational Australia victory

Boult did later remove Glenn Maxwell to cause a wobble for Australia, but the feeling persisted that the best moment had been missed earlier on. Speaking after the match, Boult indicated he was keen to keep going although referenced “a naughty batting order” with Maxwell at No. 8, a theme which was picked up by vice-captain Tom Latham on Wednesday.”You can look at it both ways,” Latham said. “Either you can bowl him one more over but you’ve got to look at the bigger picture, the batting line-up Australia have, they bat deep…whether you go for the kill at that moment or just hold him [Boult] back. The guys we’ve got in our line-up, whatever the situation is we back anyone to come in and take wickets.Trent Boult bowled a scintillating first spell of 5-2-12-3•Getty Images

“Whether we do that in the same situation next game or whether we do things slightly differently, that’s the way we went about it and we certainly back the guys in those situations. That’s the decision Kane decided to do…you do have to hold a few overs back every now and again and that was the decision we went with.”Lockie Ferguson caused some uneasy moments with his pace, but Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell and Jimmy Neesham were all used before Boult returned to the attack. Conditions did change significantly between innings with spin being very effective for Australia through Maxwell and Adam Zampa before the lights took hold.”The wicket probably got a little bit better than what we expected, skidded on a little bit more and made batting a little bit easier,” Latham said. “The way we were able to bowl at the top and put them under pressure was outstanding [but] unfortunately we weren’t able to create any chances through that partnership and they batted really well. Hopefully if we are in that situation tomorrow we can try and create a few more chances and get a few more wickets through the middle.”New Zealand may ponder whether they can get another frontline seamer into their attack for the second game – Tim Southee, who is three wickets away from 200 in ODIs, was on the bench for the first outing – but that would likely mean weakening the batting.

James Anderson faces a race to be fit for the opening Test against South Africa after scans confirmed he had suffered a tear to his right groin

ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2017James Anderson faces a race to be fit for the opening Test against South Africa after scans confirmed he had suffered a tear to his right groin.He will certainly miss Lancashire’s next Championship match, the return Roses fixture against Yorkshire, which begins on June 2 but he will undergo further assessment by the ECB medical team to determine the full extent of the injury.The first Test against South Africa begins at Lord’s on July 6 and is part of a concentrated period of Test action in which England will play seven Tests by early September. Lancashire play three further Championship matches in June after the Yorkshire match which could give Anderson a chance to prove his fitness although the timescale is tight.He pulled up during his sixth over on the opening day against Yorkshire at Old Trafford and did not bowl again in the match, although he did appear with a runner at the end of Lancashire’s first innings.This is the latest in a run of injuries for Anderson. He has missed four of England’s last 10 Test matches due to a shoulder injury he picked up last summer. It ruled him out of the Bangladesh tour and flared up again in India.Prior to that, Anderson suffered a calf injury early in the 2015-16 tour of South Africa, missing the first Test in Durban, which came on the back of a side strain sustained during the 2015 Ashes.Before then, Anderson had only missed one Test through injury – against Sri Lanka, at Lord’s, in 2011 – since his recall to the side in 2008.

Finals series will also be tweaked, going from five teams qualifying to four, with a yet-to-be-determined four-match system

AAP12-May-2023The Big Bash League will be shortened to ten games per side this summer after Cricket Australia struck a deal with broadcasters to cut back the competition. Already due to be 16 games shorter in 2024-25, officials have confirmed that the move from 56 regular-season games to 40 will be brought forward to this summer.The finals series will also be tweaked, going from five teams qualifying to four, with a yet-to-be-determined four-match finals system.Often criticised for being too long, the reduction in men’s matches takes the competition back to 2017-18, when it was in its prime.While dates are yet to be set for this summer, the reduced competition should allow the season to be played entirely within the Christmas school holidays. It will also ensure marquee overseas players are available for a higher percentage of matches, along with giving a greater chance for Australia’s white-ball stars to play all games.CA had first indicated its desire to shorten the competition during last summer’s broadcast negotiations, with changes mooted for 2024-25.Both Foxtel and Seven had been open to bringing the change in sooner, but a number of deals had to be struck with club sponsors, and to alter venue arrangements. However, the general feel across most stakeholders was a shorter season would lead to a better competition with increased ratings and exposure for each match.”A shortened BBL will allow us greater flexibility to ensure we can deliver the best possible fixture for clubs and fans,” BBL general manager Alistair Dobson said. “[We can do that] while providing a platform that allows players to continue to produce the world-class levels of cricket we’ve seen over the duration of the tournament.”No changes, however, will be made to the WBBL for now. While a shorter tournament remains a possibility in the future to continue to attract overseas talent, domestic players prefer a 14-game regular season, given it is the pinnacle of their summer.CA is banking on the notion of drastically increasing the pay for the best overseas talent to $110,000 for the season to try and entice them to the competition.”It’s vital that we make sure the tournament continues to be at the forefront of T20 Leagues, as the global women’s game continues to evolve at a rapid rate,” Dobson said. “As a league, we’re always reviewing and looking at ways we can evolve, adapt and innovate, and as part of that we’ll continue to consider the structure of the WBBL season.”The BBL will also open the door for clubs to begin re-signing off-contract players from next week, before advances from rivals are made from May 22.Officials have also confirmed clubs will be able to begin trading draft order picks for the first time as part of player-trade deals.

Josh Hazlewood believes Australia have already opened up mental scars for Sri Lanka’s unsteady batting line-up that may smooth a path for the tourists on less helpful pitches later in the series

Daniel Brettig26-Jul-2016Josh Hazlewood believes Australia have already opened up mental scars for Sri Lanka’s unsteady batting line-up that may smooth a path for the tourists on less helpful pitches later in the series.Hazlewood, who took 3 for 21 to play a major role in rounding up the hosts for 117 – Sri Lanka’s second-lowest total against Australia at home – in Pallekele, took advantage of some swing and seam with the new ball that he may not find in Galle or Colombo. However, the memories of this day, when numerous Sri Lankan batsmen looked out of their depth against Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and the spin twins of Steve O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon, may now play in favour of Steven Smith’s team.”Anything you can get on the opposition is crucial,” Hazlewood, whose three wickets included that of Dinesh Chandimal, said. “If you can get it straight up on the first morning of a Test series, and get on top of a few of their top-order batters, it does open up some scars, hopefully, for the back end of the tour on some not-so-friendly wickets for us quicks.”We don’t know too much about these guys, we haven’t played them a lot, especially our bowlers, so we’ve worked out a few little things here and there in that innings, and we’ll look to keep on top of them with those plans throughout the whole series.”This was, arguably, a fortuitous toss for Smith to lose, as it had his opposite number Angelo Mathews electing to bat at a ground where there has always been a modicum of help for fast men. Several members of the touring party who were here for the Test team’s last visit, in 2011, including Nathan Lyon and Usman Khawaja, had spoken of some possible early assistance, and Hazlewood found it.”A few of the guys who were here on the last series mentioned that if the quicks are going to get anything out of it, it’s going to be this Test, especially with the new ball,” Hazlewood said. “We made the most of that, and hopefully, we do again in the second innings. I was happy to bowl turning up today, it was a good toss to lose, see how that wicket was going to play. I thought if we bowled well, which we did, we’d get a few wickets early.”It is [going to get harder], hopefully, we enjoyed that as much as we could. The next two wickets are probably going to suit the spinners and then Colombo could be quite flat, so it’s going to be hard work, but we’ve trained on some flat wickets in Colombo when we got here and tried a few different things here and there, so we’re as prepared as we can be. We may have to work on a few other things, and I think reverse swing will be a huge factor as well.”More than once, the Australians raised their eyebrows at how the pitch played on day one, with several deliveries shooting through low and variation in spin suggesting the pitch will only get harder to bat on. Smith had said before the match that one of his goals was for the team to only have to bat once, and by rolling the Sri Lankans so cheaply, they have a chance of doing so.”I thought we were quite patient, and just bowled the usual great lines and lengths,” Hazlewood said. “Mitch Starc was probably not at his best, but still very lethal, no matter when he bowls, and I think the spinners bowled beautifully on that wicket, it did offer them a bit of up-and-down bounce.”It swung a little bit more in our second spells than the first. I think it’s just that hardness, a couple balls nipped here and there, the wicket was a little bit tacky, spikes were going in quite easily, and then, with the spin, I don’t think it spun too much. It was just inconsistent, and that did the damage.”A couple did shoot through for a day-one wicket, so that’ll be interesting the longer the game goes. The spinners are going to come into it a lot more, and they’ve got some quality spinners, so first-innings runs are going to be crucial for us.”

Knight Riders’ top six faces a big challenge as the IPL returns to the Eden Gardens

Vishal Dikshit05-Apr-2023

Big picture – will KKR’s batting stand up?

If a depleted Royal Challengers Bangalore attack could deflate the power-packed Mumbai Indians at the batting-friendly Chinnaswamy Stadium, imagine what they could do at a more pace-friendly Eden Gardens against the underwhelming top six of Kolkata Knight Riders.Against Punjab Kings’ bowling attack, which doesn’t look the most threatening in the tournament, Knight Riders were 146 for 7 in 16 overs, without a single marquee name in their top six which managed a combined 90 runs off 74 balls, leaving too much on Andre Russell’s shoulders and weathered knees. They signing of Jason Roy is a clear boost, but he won’t be joining them in time for this game.On Thursday, they have to match the fired-up top order of Royal Challengers. In the previous match, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis scored blazing half-centuries, hammering 11 sixes and as many fours together. Both of them like pace onto the bat, which could put the onus on the Knight Riders’ spin trio of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Anukul Roy, if he gets another game. Spinners have been more economical compared to the quicks in Kolkata since 2018, and both du Plessis and Kohli haven’t scored as quickly against spinners in the last three IPLs. Kohli also doesn’t have a great record against both Narine and Varun. Remember the 2021 eliminator when Narine single-handedly took out the trio of Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers to help his team to the final?Even if Knight Riders can’t replicate that performance, they will be hoping to put up a better show in front of their home crowd.

Team news – RCB without Topley

Royal Challengers will continue to be without Wanindu Hasaranga and Josh Hazlewood, who are yet to join the squad, and Rajat Patidar has been ruled out of the tournament. Their left-arm quick Reece Topley, who snared Cameron Green with a searing yorker in their last game, hurt his right shoulder badly while fielding and traveled to Kolkata with his arm in a sling. They can bring in David Willey as a like-for-like bowling replacement.Roy will join Knight Riders in time for Sunday’s game in Ahmedabad, and Litton Das will fly in from Dhaka after the ongoing Test against Ireland. Lockie Ferguson, who missed their first game as well, is still bowling with half a run-up in the nets and is unlikely to play.Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis were on fire in RCB’s first match against Mumbai Indians•Associated Press

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers didn’t have to use the Impact Player rule in their convincing win against Mumbai. If they bat second like they did that day, they can bring in another batter like Suyash Prabhudessai or Anuj Rawat in place of Akash Deep or Mohammed Siraj, and do the opposite while batting first.Probable bat-first XI: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Michael Bracewell, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Suyash Prabhudessai, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Akash Deep, 10 David Willey, 11 Karn SharmaProbable bowl-first XI: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Michael Bracewell, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Shahbaz Ahmed, 7 Harshal Patel, 8 Akash Deep, 9 David Willey, 10 Karn Sharma, 11 Mohammed SirajKolkata Knight Riders
While batting second against Kings, they subbed out Varun to bring in Venkatesh Iyer in the chase, and they could stick to a similar strategy in this game as well. Batting first, they could start with an extra batter with Russell slotted at No. 7 and Narine at 8, and sub out Mandeep Singh for a bowler to retain Venkatesh’s bowling option for the second innings. In either case, they could also play Kulwant Khejroliya instead of Shardul Thakur, who leaked 43 in the first game, with enough batting depth.Possible bat-first XI: 1 Mandeep Singh, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Anukul Roy, 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Nitish Rana (capt), 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Shardul Thakur/Kulwant Khejroliya, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Tim SoutheePossible bowl-first XI: 1 Mandeep Singh, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Anukul Roy, 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Nitish Rana (capt), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Shardul Thakur/Kulwant Khejroliya, 9 Varun Chakravarthy, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Tim Southee

Stats that matter – Tie Kohli up with spin

• Maxwell, Kohli and du Plessis don’t have great strike rates against Narine in the IPL. Maxwell’s stands at 101.75 (58 off 57 balls), Kohli’s at 103.06 (101 off 98) and du Plessis’ at 80 (36 off 45 balls)
• On the other hand, Kohli loves hitting out against the India quicks in the Knight Riders squad. He has hit Umesh Yadav for 150 runs off 85 balls and Thakur for 67 off 42. So don’t be surprised if they introduce Narine early against Kohli and du Plessis.
• Russell is going to play his 100th IPL game and Narine his 150th, and it will be in front of the Knight Riders home crowd.

Pitch and conditions – Home disadvantage

The trend at Eden Gardens in the IPL has mostly been to chase. The pitch usually has something for the quicks and spinners both, and the bigger dimensions mean boundaries may not come as often as they did for Kohli and du Plessis at the Chinnaswamy Stadium a few days ago. It’s expected to be slightly humid with temperatures in the late 20s in the evening, and some early swing and dew later as usual.

Quotes

“One cannot be judgmental after only one game. Even in the last game, we were in the game till the end and it was unfortunate [that we lost]. I’m pretty confident about the side we have.”

Lions opener Stephen Cook has been called up to South Africa’s Test squad for the first time, aged 33

Firdose Moonda18-Jan-20161:28

‘It’s finally happened for Stephen Cook’

Of all the things on Stephen Cook’s mind over the last few weeks, having gas in the tank was not one of them. Cook is a batsman who concerns himself with making runs and leading the Lions. At least, that’s what he did until this morning, when he was given instructions to worry about something else.”I got a call from [convener of selectors] Linda Zondi and he said, ‘Make sure you’ve got a full tank of petrol because you’re going to be driving to Centurion’,” Cook told ESPNcricinfo. “And then I just thought to myself, dreams really do come true.”Cook, now 33, has longed to be part of a South Africa squad since he was a young boy and both he and his family did everything in their power to achieve that. He went to a prestigious sporting school, King Edward VII School, the same institute that educated his father Jimmy, as well as Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith. He played in the Coke Week (the country’s most recognised tournament for promising youngsters) twice, for his university, for his province, for his franchise and even for South Africa A. But something always stood in his way on the step up.

Cook only change to squad

South Africa have added Stephen Cook to their 17-man squad for the Centurion Test but there was no place for Dane Vilas, a late call-up to replace the injured Quinton de Kock in Johannesburg.
Vilas made the 600-mile trip from Port Elizabeth to take up the wicketkeeping gloves but de Kock is expected to recover from a knee injury. Dale Steyn, who missed the second and third Tests after injuring his shoulder in Durban, has been retained although it is unlikely he will be risked.
Dane Piedt will come back into contention as the spin option, having taken eight wickets for his franchise after being released, while Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris, Hardus Viljoen and Kyle Abbott will compete for the pace-bowling spots,
South Africa squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Stephen Cook, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl, Hardus Viljoen

A large chunk of Cook’s career coincided with stability in South Africa’s Test top-order, thanks largely to Smith. But there were the others too. In the 2010-11 season Cook finished behind, among others, Jacques Rudolph, who made his comeback in November 2011. In 2011-12, Cook was behind Alviro Petersen, who was recalled January 2012. In the season that followed, Stiaan van Zyl, Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma all scored more runs than Cook and were given opportunities before him.Then, in the 2014-15 season, Cook led the run charts and South Africa needed an opener. It seemed a no-brainer to pick him but because van Zyl, a regular No. 3, had been promised a chance, Cook was again overlooked.At first, that decision seemed, if not sensible, fair. Van Zyl was the leading run-scorer in the 2013-14 summer, had been included in the national squad on those grounds and scored a century on debut batting at No. 6 in place of the injured JP Duminy. Van Zyl knew that when Duminy returned to fitness, the only place for him would be at the top and he prepared for that role by opening the batting for his franchise, the Cobras.By the time South Africa toured Bangladesh in July, van Zyl was declared ready to take over the senior role. He only had two innings in the first Test, and scored 34 and 33* but it was seen as enough to take him as the opener to India. That was where the mistake was made.The Bangladesh series was so badly affected by rain that South Africa could not actually glean anything from it. They knew the India series would be an enormous challenge for a team in transition and they still chose a makeshift opener over an experienced one.Van Zyl was not the only batsmen that struggled in India – they all did – but he was among those whose confidence was shot. He struggled with basic things like awareness of his off stump and should have been sent back to domestic cricket to regain form instead of retained for the England tour. But the selectors wanted to see what he could do at home and kept him on even as his self-belief shrank.At the same time, Cook was reminding them what they were missing. He scored an unbeaten 53 for South Africa A against England in the warm-up game in Pietermaritzburg, followed up with 168 not out for the Lions in his first domestic match of the season, then scores of 118 and 76. With van Zyl stumbling to 0, 33, 2, 21 and 11 against England, the chorus for Cook was growing louder and even he heard it.”I haven’t had buried my head in the sand, I know there has been a lot being said in the media, especially with the trouble the team has had,” Cook said. “But I’ve also had other goals in mind, like playing well for the Lions. In a way, it’s been good that I’ve been distracted by that.”Now, with the series already lost and South Africa’s next Tests six months away, the selectors have finally heard too. Cook is in the squad, albeit with no guarantee that he will play. Van Zyl has been retained along with Rilee Rossouw, also a No. 3 who was asked to open for the Knights in the last round of matches, but the public sentiment will be one of injustice if Cook is not given a chance. He is doing his best to ignore that.”With or without the expectation, there’s pressure. But then throughout my life there has been pressure,” he said. “What might be pressure for me will be different for a guy like AB de Villiers. Growing up, I was always Jimmy Cook’s son, so there was that pressure. There were the pressures of opening the batting at the Wanderers, where the ball is whizzing around your ears. So I’ve had different pressures. I hope I am not seen as a batting saviour because that will be a bit unfair but if I play I am sure I can add value.”Perhaps it will work in Cook’s favour that South Africa don’t have anything left to save. The Centurion Test is a chance to salvage pride and to start something new, now that South Africa have accepted their golden era is gone. For Cook, that could mean a chance to build on his bigger dream, which he believes is still alive.”HD Ackerman said to me years ago that, for so many people, the call-up is the dream and that’s a mistake,” Cook said. “If people had the mindset that scoring Test hundreds is the dream, it would be different. So yes, my bigger dream is scoring Test hundreds, and winning series for South Africa. My age is the one argument that I could never understand. There have been plenty of examples in South Africa and in other countries of guys who debuted even later than this and went on to be successful. So I hope this is the start of something and maybe in 18 months when we look back we can say the Centurion Test was where it all began.”