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ScorecardCenturies from James Taylor and Ben Stokes helped England recover from a shaky start to post an imposing 470 for 5 on the first day of their opening warm-up match in South Africa. Despite the failure of their newest opening partnership, England’s day could not have gone much better, with Nick Compton also contributing a half-century from No,3.The star of the show, however, with 158 from 131 balls, was Stokes, who has been recovering from an injury to his collarbone joint sustained in the field during the Sharjah Test against Pakistan. In addition to his forceful batting, he has provided encouragement over his availability as an allrounder for the first Test at Durban by bowling in the nets in Potchefstroom.A domineering display with the bat suggested he has lost none of his edge in the meantime, even if the latter part of his onslaught came against a selection of part-time bowlers. He struck 23 fours and cleared the boundary ropes five times at Senwes Park, doing his best to hit the “Hit Me” target painted on the roof of one of the outbuildings, and helped England past 400 at a scoring rate of almost 5.5 runs per over before retiring.Taylor also retired his innings after making a more sedate century, allowing England’s lower-middle order valuable time in the middle. Moeen Ali reached the close unbeaten on a breezy 33 from 30 balls with Chris Woakes alongside him on 10, while Jonny Bairstow, who has been confirmed by the head coach, Trevor Bayliss, as England’s wicketkeeper for Durban, reached a fluent 35 from 46 balls, including five fours. He was eventually bowled by the pick of the South African bowlers, Thandolwethu Mnyaka, who returned the respectable figures of 3 for 66 in 18 overs.The first of Mnyaka’s wickets had come from the first ball of the day’s third over, when he jagged one back from round the wicket to trap Alastair Cook lbw for 2, and 6 for 1 quickly became 10 for 2 when Alex Hales, another man whose starting place for Durban has already been confirmed, left one from Junior Dala that came back a fraction to hit the top of off stump.James Taylor drives through the off side during his century•Getty Images

England’s recovery came first through Compton, who shared stands of 46 with Joe Root and 99 with Taylor. Installed as the likely successor to Ian Bell at No. 3, Compton left judiciously on his way to a 107-ball half-century – though he was given a life when dropped in the slips on 49 – and picked up nine fours before being pinned lbw for 58 to give Mnyaka his second wicket of the day.Root made a typically punchy start, scoring all of his runs in boundaries during an innings of 28 off 26, but was caught behind off former South Africa Under-19 quick Andile Phehlukwayo while trying to force another back-foot drive. While Compton accumulated steadily, Taylor continued with the busy approach and, after England had gone to lunch on 90 for 3, both moved past fifty in the afternoon session.Mnyaka’s strike left England 155 for 4 but that merely brought Stokes to the crease to begin his destructive intervention. Taylor recorded England’s first century on tour, from 137 balls with 13 fours, a six and an all-run five (thanks to an overthrow), and Stokes followed him to three figures a few overs later, despite Taylor having a 52-run head start.England, who will mix and match their players in the course of the three-day fixture, were set to give opportunities to Woakes and Mark Footitt with the ball, as they look to settle on a third seamer for the Boxing Day Test in Durban. Gary Ballance and James Anderson were also named as part of a 13-man side and will play some part in the later stages of the match.

With a number of counties under attack for packing their sides with Kolpak players – last week Geoff Miller, the head selector, was at Edgbaston where Warwickshire and Leicestershire fielded ten South Africans between them – David Smith, the Leicestershire chief executive, has hit back.Smith said that Leicestershire had identified the need to bring on the best young English talent and, as a result, had a policy of including England-qualified under 25s.”The make-up of our core group of senior professionals this season has been the subject of some comment recently in the media,” Smith said. “What has received less comment is the number of young England-qualified cricketers that we have played so far in line with our stated policy. In each of our three Championship games to date, Leicestershire have selected more England qualified cricketers aged 25 and under than each of our respective opponents, averaging over five per game.”In recent seasons, Durham have demonstrated that the tactical use of non-qualified, senior role model professionals, such as Dale Benkenstein, can be highly effective and beneficial and there need not be a contradiction between playing non-qualified senior players and developing cricketers for England. That is the same path we at Leicestershire have chosen to take.”Smith insisted that young players who show promise in the 2nd XI will be given every opportunity. “With four ECB Level 4 coaches we have one of the most highly qualified coaching teams in the country aimed at developing young cricketers and giving them every opportunity of making the grade in first-class cricket. Our core group of senior players will be rotated over the season.”

ScorecardFile photo: Ricky Bhui stroked 50 to build on India’s Under-19s’ positive start•ICC

A century from the opener Rishabh Pant set up India Under-19s’ 104-run victory against Afghanistan Under-19s in Kolkata. India, after being inserted, lost Ishan Kishan early, but Pant and Virat Singh counterattacked by stringing together a 186-run partnership. Pant played the more aggressive foil, striking 14 fours and four sixes for his 98-ball 118, while Virat’s 71 featured seven fours and a six. Both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession by the 33rd over, but the captain Ricky Bhui ensured the hosts’ momentum was not lost, stroking a handy 50 to guide the team to 266 for 7.Afghanistan did not begin their chase well, falling to 8 for 2 inside two overs. The opener Naveed Obaid fought with a 44-ball 63, but received little by way of support from his team-mates, who all failed to make good on their starts. Zeeshan Ansari was the pick of India’s bowlers, taking 5 for 37 to bundle Afghanistan out for 162 in 28 overs.India will now face Bangladesh in the final of the tri-series on Sunday.

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Jamaica suffered a blow to their title ambitions as Barbados completed a 17-run win at Kensington Oval shortly before lunch on the fourth day. Jamaica, who led by 90 on the first innings, needed 201 but were bowled out for 183 after resuming on 133 for 4.Tamar Lambert (46) and Brendan Nash’s (37) fifth-wicket stand of 72 was ended in the third over when Nash was caught behind off a loose drive, the fourth of Pedro Collins’ five wickets, and he completed his five-for three overs later when Carlton Baugh Jr was given leg-before swinging across the line. In the next over, Dave Bernard Jr was also lbw playing back to left-arm slow bowler Sulieman Benn to leave Jamaica 147 for 7.While Lambert remained there was hope, but he was removed by Fidel Edwards, caught at slip chasing a wide one, and although Jerome Taylor helped inch towards the target, he too perished to Edwards. Man-of-the-Match Collins finished with match figures of 9 for 108.Chris Gayle, Jamaica’s captain, was deeply critical of the umpiring. “If you look at some of the decisions that went against us, it was really terrible for sports and the game, and it was just blatant,” he said. “It is not good for the game. It is also not good for people leaving this level and going to international cricket, and then it is something totally different, so we are not really happy about the outcome.”It cannot continue happening like this year in, year out. Jamaica always seem to have it tough, and decisions always seem to go against us. Basically, once we are playing away from home, it always seems to be tough for us, and it was the same thing last week when we played Trinidad & Tobago. We came out on top then, but this time, it was not in our favour.”
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A sixth-wicket stand of 60 between Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin helped steer Trinidad & Tobago to a three-wicket victory over the Windward Islands. Chasing 185, T&T slid to 118 for 5 before the pair came together. Bravo hit three fours and a six, while Ramdin, who was out with seven needed, chipped in with four fours. With one run required, Reyad Emrit was caught behind but T&T crept across the finishing line. Shane Shillingford (2 for 58), NelonPascal (2 for 35) and Deighton Butler (2 for 35) did the early damage, while Amit Jaggernauth with his 12 for 133 in the game, was named Man of the Match.
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Guyana had to settle for a draw after the last day of their game against Combined Campuses & Colleges was abandoned because of persistent rain. Not even the excellent drainage system at the National Stadium at Providence could help, and umpires and the two teams agreed to call off the game just after tea although the outfield showed few effects from the constant downpour.

The secret to understanding sport is examining a series of moments which explain how a game is won or lost. Take the first six overs of the T20 between South Africa and New Zealand, for example.In that period, the hosts were barely hanging on. They were still sussing out the early-season surface, which was not sprinkled with the usual spice of a South African strip. Their seamers steered away from a short-ball barrage and pitched it up instead. Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson took advantage of the fielding restrictions and the width on offer, and found the boundary 10 times in the Powerplay. New Zealand were stringing together what they thought would be the foundation of their success and AB de Villiers was unhappy with the lack of bite from his bowlers.

August pitch earns praise

South Africa had never played an international in August before Friday and they will be pleased to know pre-season is actually a perfect time to host cricket, at least in Durban where summer rainfall often pours a wet blanket on the action in the peak period. Both captains described the Kingsmead pitch as a “good wicket” with enough in it for both batsmen and bowlers. Kane Williamson went as far as to say it was “probably a 180 wicket” even though his team could only muster 151. AB de Villiers agreed but added that there was also some spice for the seamers and surprisingly, turn for the spinner, Aaron Phangiso, who also expressed surprise at the assistance he got. “I got value for shots,” de Villiers said. “But then the ball also beat the bat and that’s the kind of cricket you want to see: high scoring games but always something in it for the bowlers.”

“It’s an area we will discuss again – the first six overs because we are not as good as we wanted to be there. We wanted to be a little more aggressive,” de Villiers said. “A couple balls were maybe a little bit too full, which is not a bad thing, but you also want to see the aggression.”The game changed, however, in the moments after that. Immediately after the Powerplay, de Villiers gave the ball to left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso, his last hope in stemming the flow. Phangiso’s first over ended with the wicket of Williamson, who admitted he was hoping to take on the spinner but could not. “Phangiso bowled nicely and changed his pace. With the short boundaries, you think you can go after the spin but he controlled his length,” Williamson said.Phangiso, who finished with 2 for 29 in four overs, was also pleased with the show of confidence from his captain. “It was great to see the captain give me the ball under pressure,” Phangiso said. “All players want to succeed under pressure. I enjoyed the pressure and I enjoyed the confidence of the captain giving me the ball at that time.”The sequence of events that followed explain how South Africa went on to win the game. David Wiese took pace off the ball, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel held back the lengths and Kyle Abbott mixed it up to keep New Zealand guessing, prompting de Villiers to call the team’s bowling comeback “near perfect”.”We slowed the game down and turned the momentum around and then ran with it,” de Villiers said. “All the seamers who came back for their second spells bowled really well. We mixed it up exceptionally well. The last 15 overs of our bowling performance was near perfect.The guys had really smart plans. When I spoke to them between balls, the guys knew exactly what they wanted to do. I saw all the variations from them: yorkers, good length balls and bouncers.”As much as South Africa applied the chokehold, New Zealand allowed themselves to be cornered. “We weren’t quite at our best in the last 10 overs. We know we have the firepower in that lower middle order to cash in on situations like that and we weren’t quite on top of things,” Williamson said.The collapse of 7 for 40 was partly due to no one in the middle order taking responsibility of the latter part of the innings and Williamson has challenged his team-mates to change that in the next match. “It’s a fine line when you lose wickets, and we lost two wickets in a row a couple of times which never helps but it takes one other bloke or two other blokes to get going and get the score moving.”

Though admitting to knee pain whenever he pushes his hardest, Australia’s captain Steven Smith has declared his intent to play every match of the home summer as he comes towards the end of an overdue rest period between the West Indies Tests.The niggling knee complaint was the primary cause of Smith’s enforced rest after his side’s victory in Hobart last week, keeping him out of the Sydney Sixers’ first two BBL 2015-16 fixtures. He has been carrying the knee soreness since the ODI series that followed the Ashes in England earlier this year, with flare-ups resulting from any diving in the field.It remains to be seen whether Smith will be fit to take part in all of Australia’s limited-overs fixtures in the new year – David Warner may find himself as stand-in ODI captain against India while Aaron Finch is the incumbent T20 skipper – but the man himself is adamant he will be doing all he can to play throughout, with a tour of New Zealand and South Africa followed by the World T20 in India.”I’d love to play every game,” Smith said at the SCG on Sunday. “This little break’s going to be good for me to make sure I can sustain it and I’m just looking forward to everything else coming up, and hopefully be out in the field every game.”I’d have loved to be out here today [for the Sixers] but the rest will do me the world of good. There’s plenty on for the rest of the summer and going forward, so a little break’s not a bad thing for me and good to go for Boxing Day. It’s been good, nice to spend a little bit of time at home and just unwind and do all that.”I’d love to be a part of the World Cup and the T20s here at home as well, so we’ll wait and see how the rest of the summer goes, hopefully I’ll be fine to play those.”T20s will be the main test of Smith’s maneuverability, and he has admitted that he is presently affected by knee pain whenever striving to move at his fastest. Australia’s players reconvene in Melbourne on Tuesday, where Smith will find out how much his week’s rest has helped alleviate the issue.”It popped up in the one-dayers after the Ashes and it’s sort of stuck around. It feels ok and then if I dive and land on it just irritates it a bit, so I’ve been doing that a little bit,” Smith said. “I guess it’s fine going at 90%, it’s just if I have to go at 100% it’s a little bit sore. That’s why I’m not playing the T20s because I’m a pretty competitive guy and it’s a pretty fast-paced game and you’ve got to go 100% to do well in this format.”Smith said he was also keeping one eye on the fortunes of Usman Khawaja, testing his healing hamstring for the Sydney Thunder at the MCG in the second of Sunday’s two BBL fixtures. “It will be a good test,” Smith said. “Hopefully he gets through it okay and there are no dramas.”

Australia have not yet officially retained the Ashes, but it already seems a matter of “when” not “if” after England’s challenge wilted in the heat on day two in Adelaide. Ben Stokes battled defiantly, facing 151 balls and batting for more than four hours for his unbeaten 45, but the captain found few allies on the burning deck as England were left staring at a hefty first-innings deficit amid ever-diminishing hopes of keeping the series alive until Christmas.Stokes had asked for his players to “show a bit of dog” in their bid to make an improbable comeback from 2-0 down, but England were all too easily brought to heel by an Australia side with more than enough pedigree, despite the absence of Steven Smith and Josh Hazlewood. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon both made an immediate impact on their return to the XI – Cummins taking 3 for 54 in his first competitive outing since July’s tour of the Caribbean – as England were rounded up without much fuss on what looked like the perfect day for batting.Their one minor victory came in keeping Mitchell Starc wicketless for the first time in the series; though, as he had started off proceedings by thumping a flurry of fours to bring up his second half-century in as many games, with Australia merrily adding 45 runs to their overnight 326 for 8, that could only be claimed as a partial success.Ollie Pope throws his head back after dismissals in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide•Gareth Copley/Darrian Traynor via Getty Images

There was more Snicko aggro, too, with both sides making their frustrations with the technology clear. England were aggrieved at Chris Gaffaney, the third umpire, giving Jamie Smith out caught behind off Cummins on the evidence from Real-Time Snickometer, following the controversy around Alex Carey’s non-dismissal on day one. Smith had survived moments before in bizarre circumstances, with Gaffaney determining the ball had come off his helmet, despite TV pictures suggesting contact with the glove, as Australia argued (although whether the ball had carried to Usman Khawaja at slip or not was a different matter).Related

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Joe Root was also reprieved, with Gaffaney unconvinced that an inside edge on to pad had reached Carey’s gloves on the full. None of which detracted from the fact that England had seemingly torpedoed their own hopes once again with another flaccid batting display as temperatures approached 40C in Adelaide.A sloppy start with the ball, which led to a heated exchange between Stokes and Jofra Archer even as the latter was on his way to securing a first Test five-for since 2019, was compounded by England losing their top three in the space of 15 balls before lunch. Root was then dismissed for the 12th time in Tests by Cummins – nobody has had more success against England’s key batter – and the innings fell away after a 56-run stand for the fifth wicket between Stokes and Harry Brook.Archer did manage to stick around alongside Stokes to the close, putting on the second-longest partnership of the innings, though Australia’s lead was still above 150 and England faced the prospect of batting last on a surface that’s expected to break up in the heat.The suspicion at the end of day one was that Australia had left plenty of runs on the table, despite Carey’s maiden Ashes hundred taking them beyond 300. England needed to make good on the promise of runs, that anticipation only sharpened by Starc striking five boundaries in 12 balls as Australia’s tail wagged to good effect. Archer was leaky but removed both Starc and Lyon on the way to a third five-wicket haul against Australia.Nathan Lyon picked up two wickets in his first over•AFP/Getty Images

England’s openers made a solid enough start, though Ben Duckett rode his luck early on. Already Australia were showing a greater propensity to bowl with the discipline required on a baking morning, and Cummins made the breakthrough with a fine delivery that straightened and bounced to graze the shoulder of Zak Crawley’s bat through to Carey.Much had been said about Lyon’s absence in Brisbane after he had only bowled two overs in the victory at Perth. He came into this game one wicket behind Glenn McGrath’s tally of 563 for Australia, having sat there since July when he was also omitted for the Jamaica Test against West Indies. But within the space of six balls, he had drawn level with and then overtaken McGrath to go second on the all-time list for Australia.Ollie Pope’s dismal record against Australia only got worse as he chipped tamely to midwicket, before Duckett was removed by a jaffa that pitched on middle and turned past a defensive prod to hit the top of off.Jofra Archer finished with 5 for 53•Getty Images

At 42 for 3, England were already feeling the glare of the southern sun. Australia thought they had got Root early, too, when reviewing for a caught-behind of Scott Boland. But although replays confirmed he had edged the ball, Gaffaney concluded that it had bounced on its way into the gloves.Root did not last long after lunch, however, as Cummins lured him into poking at one defensively in the channel. Brook was more measured, after his “shocking” dismissals in the first two Tests, but showed flashes of aggression – skipping down to lamp Boland all the way for six over cover, and thrashing Starc to deep backward point to bring up the fifty stand with Stokes.He survived being given out caught down the leg side off Lyon on 44, technology this time backing up the belief that he hadn’t hit the ball – but only added one to his score before being dislodged by Cameron Green’s second legitimate delivery, another pearler that reversed just enough to catch the outside edge.Stokes had buckled down at the other end, facing 35 balls before scoring his first boundary and adding only two more in an innings of monk-like self-abnegation that at least saw England fight to the close. He scowled furiously from beneath his helmet peak when Smith was told to go, despite more uncertainty surrounding the synching of Real-Time Snickometer, his mood only darkening as Boland removed Will Jacks and Brydon Carse in quick succession. Stokes has produced his fair share of miracles in an England shirt; it may need another to keep this Ashes campaign alive.

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Jamie How and James Marshall helped themselves to some important time in the middle as New Zealand reached 92 for 1 shortly after tea on a rain-interrupted second day against Kent at Canterbury. The prospects of any play at all had seemed bleak at the start of the day, when torrential rain wiped out the first three hours of play, but eventually the clouds lifted as Kent, sitting pretty after Rob Key’s 178 not out, declared on their overnight 324 for 1.New Zealand’s star players are starting to dribble into the country after their stints with the Indian Premier League. Kyle Mills and Jacob Oram arrived this afternoon, ready for this week’s second warm-up against Essex at Chelmsford, while Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori and Ross Taylor will all have landed by Thursday. Until then it’s all about the second-stringers, in particular the battle for batting places ahead of the first Test at Lord’s on May 15.How, the stand-in captain, opened up with Aaron Redmond, the son of the former Kiwi opener, Rodney, who scored a Test century in his solitary appearance against Pakistan at Auckland in 1972-73. Redmond Jr impressed during New Zealand’s one-day curtain-raiser at Arundel on Sunday, scoring 72 in a rain-curtailed encounter with MCC, but he was less effective in this outing.Redmond should have been dismissed on 11, with the score on 23, when he edged an off-stump lifter from Martin Saggers low to Matthew Walker’s right at second slip. But he had added only three runs to his total when he waved his bat limply at Ryan McLaren, and feathered the simplest of chances through to Geraint Jones.How was the most effective of New Zealand’s brittle openers during the recent Test series, and he picked up where he had left off with a comfortable half-century that he completed with a flourish of boundaries in a brief resumption after tea. Kent’s bowlers toiled with limited impact on a pitch that their New Zealand counterparts had also found to be unresponsive, as Marshall eased along to 20 not out.

Luke Ronchi did not register for the Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions for fear of looking like “a tool”, but when Mumbai made him a late offer he jumped at the chance. The Western Australia wicketkeeper, who has not yet represented his country, this week understood just how massive the IPL is when he attended a dinner party at the home of the world’s fifth richest man.Mukesh Ambani has a net worth of $43 billion and is the head of Reliance Industries, and he also owns the Mumbai IPL franchise that Ronchi is representing. At Ambani’s mansion this week Ronchi chatted with his captain, Sachin Tendulkar, and other members of his team including Shaun Pollock, and later said he was thrilled to get the offer from Mumbai.”It was an amazing call to get, because when you see all the big names putting themselves in the first auction, you think you’ll steer clear of all this sort of stuff because it was more for the international players,” Ronchi told the . “Once I got that phone call, I got fairly excited about it; what it’s going to do for world cricket and how it could possibly change my life as well.”It was an amazing experience to meet [Ambani]. He is one of the richest men in the world, I think. He’s got a massive house. We sat on a grassed area near his pool, he had a big screen set up to show some stuff and we all just sat around at tables chatting to each other and meeting some important people, I guess, from Reliance and from the Mumbai Indians.”It was quite an experience for Ronchi, who does not hold a Cricket Australia contract but is almost certainly the country’s No. 2 wicketkeeper behind Brad Haddin. His explosive batting is the main reason Mumbai chased him – Ronchi owns the fastest century in Australia’s domestic one-day history, a 56-ball effort – but his glovework to the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga will also be important.In his first game on Sunday his Bangalore opponents could include big names such as Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, as well as familiar faces like Cameron White and Ashley Noffke. “Playing with and against amazing players, and we’re going to be on TV in front of millions of people, they are the main things,” Ronchi said. “There is a massive buzz around the place.”

Alviro Petersen continued his fine form in the Momentum One Day Cup, stroking his fifth century of the season to guide Lions to an eight-run win against Dolphins at Senwes Park. Petersen now has 594 runs from six innings, at an average of 118.80. Lions, after being inserted, rode on a 116-run partnership between Petersen and Temba Bavuma (42), which lifted the team to 276 for 7. Petersen hit seven fours and three sixes during his 92-ball 107; no other batsman managed a half-century.Dolphins were struggling at 56 for 3 in their chase before Ryan McLaren (62) and Kyle Nipper (55) led a recovery, sharing a 117-run partnership for the fourth wicket. However, both batsmen fell in the space of two overs, and despite an 18-ball 27 from Calvin Savage, Dolphins could only muster 268 for 7. Matt McGillivray was the pick of Lions’ bowlers, taking 4 for 49. Victory took Lions to second place in the table.Cape Cobras strengthened their position at the top of the table, cruising to a 113-run D/L win against Titans in Benoni. Cobras, batting first, lost two early wickets, but Omphile Ramela (53) and Justin Ontong (65) both hit fifties, and Dane Vilas provided a late surge, slamming a 23-ball 41 to take the team to 237 for 5 in 42 overs.Titans failed to gather any momentum in their chase, with only Graeme van Buuren (40) managing a score of note; nobody else made more than 14. Beuran Hendricks collected 5 for 31 to run through Titans’ line-up in 30.4 overs, as the team folded for 133.